Donkey Kong, a Mario character or a Nintendo character of his own?
 

I've been thinking about this question for a month on debating if Donkey Kong is a Mario character or not. I know his first game was Donkey Kong where you play as Mario and save the princess by jumping over barrels. But, I'm debating on if he's a Nintendo character on his own. Since we had Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, and Donkey Konga. He dosen't feel like a Mario character. But, when he's been in every sport Mario has been through I kinda doubt the fact he's a character on his own. Same goes for Smash Brothers. since Mario's symbol is a mushroom and Donkey Kong's symbol is DK. Meaning they're different. Sure Yoshi had an egg for his symbol on SSB ,but I can also talk on how many games Yoshi has been on his own or in a Mario game just as much, Yoshi seems more like a Mario character since all of his game mention Mario in some way. So, I want to people's thoughts on if they think DK is a Mario character or a Nintendo character different then Mario. Discuss.