Mother Onion

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The idea of a 'Mother Onion' is entirely fan-made. In official Pikmin lore, Onions are stationary, ship-like structures that produce Pikmin from collected pellets and nectar. They do not move across terrain, communicate via pheromones, or display problem-solving abilities. No ancient, mobile progenitor of Onions has ever been referenced in any official material.

In Their Own Story

On August 31, 2010, Jafari created the YouTube channel JonTronShow, originally to be called JonTron 2.0 because the name was "reminiscent of technology." He uploaded a two-part review of the Nintendo 64 version of Daikatana, the first installment in his series. In each episode, Jafari reviews singular games or games of a particular theme, often accompanied by his green-cheeked parakeet, Jacques, who speaks with a robotic voice. Jafari incorporates sketch comedy to display his reactions to the games. He has reviewed fondness for Nintendo games and those developed by Rare from the 1990s, while criticizing later titles like Star Fox Adventures and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. He has also reviewed numerous video game adaptations of popular franchises like Hercules, Barbie, Home Alone, Star Wars, and Conan the Barbarian, as well as obscure NES games like Monster Party and Takeshi's Challenge.

Reader's Guide

For fans looking to understand Jafari's career, start with his early work on ScrewAttack.com in 2010, where he reviewed GoldenEye 007. His JonTron series began with a two-part Daikatana review on August 31, 2010. Key milestones include his DinoCity review reaching number one on Reddit, which boosted his notability. In May 2014, his channel hit 1 million subscribers. In May 2015, he released the spin-off series JonTron's StarCade, produced by Maker Studios, which ran for nine episodes until December 2015. His 2016 video criticizing Blizzard's shutdown of the Nostalrius private server helped raise awareness and led to thousands of signatures on a Change.org petition. Throughout 2019 and 2020, he broadened his content to cover Flex Tape, Soulja Boy's SouljaGame console, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop, Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka, and the TV series Kid Nation. His Flex Tape video has over 72 million views as of June 2024, with a sequel featuring a cameo from Phil Swift himself.

Did You Know?

• Mother Onion is not a real entity in any official Pikmin game, manual, or Nintendo-published material.
• In official canon, Onions are stationary structures that only move when landing or taking off from a planet; no mobile Onion exists.
• The described behaviors, such as pheromone production, rhythmic pulsing, and storing nectar/seeds, are fabricated and unsupported by official sources.
• No in-game lore or legend mentions a progenitor or matriarchal Onion species; all Onions in the series are functionally identical and not part of a colony hierarchy.
• The concept of a 'Mother Onion' is a fan invention and should not be treated as canonical.

Origins and Early Digital Footprint

Jonathan Aryan Jafari was born on March 24, 1990, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, to Afshin and Irene Jafari. His father is of Iranian descent and his mother is of Hungarian descent. He attended Palos Verdes Peninsula High School from 2004 to 2008. His digital content creation began in 2003 when he created a Newgrounds account under the alias "BirdmanXZ6," uploading five animations depicting anthropomorphic onions. By 2006, he had a YouTube account under the same name. In 2010, he uploaded videos on ScrewAttack.com reviewing games such as GoldenEye 007, laying the groundwork for his future career.

The JonTronShow Phenomenon

On August 31, 2010, Jafari created the YouTube channel JonTronShow, originally conceived as "JonTron 2.0" because the name was "reminiscent of technology." He uploaded a two-part review of the Nintendo 64 version of Daikatana, the first installment in his JonTron series. In each episode, Jafari reviews singular games or games of a particular theme, franchise, or genre, often accompanied by his green-cheeked parakeet, Jacques, who speaks with a robotic voice. According to Jafari, in an episode of Game Grumps, Jacques was originally to speak in a stereotypical jive voice with Jafari's mouth superimposed onto the character's face, rather than his eyes glowing red whenever he talked. Jafari has shown fondness for Nintendo games and those developed by Rare from the 1990s, while criticizing later titles like Star Fox Adventures and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. He has reviewed numerous video game adaptations of popular franchises such as Hercules, Barbie, Home Alone, Star Wars, and Conan the Barbarian, as well as obscure NES games like Monster Party and Takeshi's Challenge. He has also reviewed various unlicensed games based on Pokémon, the 1997 film Titanic, and Disney films. According to Jafari, in an episode of Game Grumps, JonTron began achieving notability after a Reddit post featuring his review of DinoCity reached number one on the website. JonTronShow reached 1 million subscribers in May 2014. In 2013, Paul Tamburro of CraveOnline said, "Mixing a large dollop of offbeat humour with a light sprinkle of insightful commentary, JonTron's reviews of games of old have inspired many imitators, but none have proven to be more hilarious." Time magazine listed JonTron as 2015's seventh most searched Internet meme on Google.

Expansion into StarCade and Social Advocacy

In May 2015, Jafari released a spin-off web series on his YouTube channel titled JonTron's StarCade, in which he reviews games based on the Star Wars franchise. The series included cameos from numerous internet personalities and actors such as Egoraptor, Markiplier, Nathan Barnatt, Ross O'Donovan, and Kyle Hebert. The series was produced by Maker Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and concluded in December 2015 after nine episodes. In 2016, Jafari uploaded a video made in response to Blizzard Entertainment shutting down private servers of World of Warcraft, mostly criticizing the shutdown of the popular private server Nostalrius. His video helped raise awareness and led to thousands of signatures on a Change.org petition. Throughout 2019 and 2020, Jafari broadened the range of media covered on his show, covering topics such as Flex Tape, rapper Soulja Boy's SouljaGame console, actress Gwyneth Paltrow's company Goop and its web series The Goop Lab, actor Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka brand, and the 2007 TV series Kid Nation. JonTron is largely credited with public awareness of Flex Tape and Phil Swift, and its transformation into an internet meme. The original Flex Tape video has received over 72 million views as of June 2024, and the sequel has over 29 million views and features a cameo from Swift himself.

Collaborative Ventures and NormalBoots

NormalBoots was created in late 2010 by Screw Attack colleagues Jafari and Austin "PeanutButterGamer" Hargrave to act as a hub where they could post content and receive advertisement revenue. Soon after its creation, Indie Games Searchlight and Cold Morning joined. In June 2011, the YouTube channel Continue? joined, and in August 2011, Underbelly joined. In October 2011, Cold Morning left, and in June 2012, Underbelly left. Shortly after each departure, new YouTubers joined, with The Completionist joining in November 2011, and Did You Know Gaming? joining in July 2012. The site was closed down in November 2012, as Google AdSense offered better revenue options for the content creators. NormalBoots was relaunched on January 24, 2014, so members could upload videos that weren't "YouTube-friendly." Jafari alongside the remaining members of NormalBoots, apart from Indie Games Searchlight, came back, with two new YouTubers joining: ProJared and Satchell Drakes. On May 17, 2017, the group announced they were going to reconnect due to the creators drifting apart. A new YouTube channel was created to unite the creators. During this time, Jafari decided to leave to focus on his own channel but would still remain as a founding member. Jafari also co-created and co-hosted Game Grumps with Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson, starting in July 2012. On June 25, 2013, Jafari left Game Grumps to focus on JonTron, and was replaced by Dan Avidan on the same day.