Cuphead

who is cuphead

Cuphead is the protagonist of Cuphead. Cuphead is Mugman's irresponsible older twin brother and, like the rest of his family, lives on Inkwell Isle. He is usually played by the first player and as a result was Player One's default character prior to the April 2019 update, after which the first player can choose whether to play as him or Mugman.

Cuphead's physical appearance

As his name suggests, Cuphead's head is a wide cup with his soul inside, topped with a red and white striped straw. His face consists of close-set eyes with black, pie-shaped pupils and a small red nose. He always has a determined expression in the face of danger. She is mostly seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, white gloves, red shorts, and brown shoes. To emulate the way characters were drawn at the time of the game, her coloring is inconsistent; She is sometimes depicted wearing red or yellow boots and/or yellow gloves. As an anthropomorphic mug, it is a light gray mug and is made of ceramic or porcelain. Upon taking damage, Cuphead will separate at the waist, and her straw will break 20% of the way from the bottom to the top, although both Cuphead and her straw will snap back together. Her ghost still has the cup-shaped head and gloves, but her appearance is now a ghostly blue. Her shorts and legs are now replaced by a ghost tail, her straw is now a halo, and her expression is melancholy. In the center of Cuphead's ghost's chest, there is a pink heart that can be stopped to resurrect him. When she is used as Super Art, her ghost is muscular and her expression is determined. If the answer "Yes" is chosen in the scene with the Devil before their battle, which triggers the evil ending, her appearance changes dramatically. As a demon, her red colors change to violet and she now has a bitten straw and evil looking yellow eyes with black and red pupils, a manic smile and sharp teeth. In some artwork, she is also shown to have fire coming out of her head. Overall, Cuphead's appearance is reminiscent of the character designs of classic 1930s cartoons, around which the game's art style is designed.

personality

Cuphead is usually a good person and a "kid" along with his younger brother Mugman, who enjoys a good, quiet life, but is relentlessly optimistic. Although his confidence and adventurous drive may lead him to appear reckless or get him into trouble, deep down he is a kind-hearted soul who wants to do good, but has a tendency to leap before he looks. Cuphead looks like a daredevil. He is shown to be the more confident type, fun-loving and a bit cheeky. He (unlike his twin brother) often takes a lot of risks. His personality was primarily inspired by the "charming but troublesome" character archetype, as seen in the protagonists of early cartoons. As seen in the introduction, Cuphead appears to have a somewhat greedy personality, seemingly willing to risk anything to get what he wants, causing the infamous bet that nearly cost them both their souls. Despite his flaws, however, he seems to have a good heart and generally good intentions, such as in the good ending where he and Mugman burn all the soul contracts, freeing everyone. Cuphead also seems to have a vengeful side. As seen after Chef Saltbaker laments the destruction of his bakery, Mugman and Chalice showed some sympathy for him, while Cuphead, on the other hand, angrily claims that he got what he deserved, as he was still upset that Mrs. .Chalice/Mugman/him He was kidnapped by the wonderful cake and tricked by the chef. Cuphead loves his family and friends. He is very loyal to them, despite his flaws, and he will do everything he can to protect them.

history

On Inkwell Isle, Cuphead, along with his younger brother, Mugman, lived happily and carefree under the watch of Elder Kettle. One day, the children wandered away from home and ended up at the Devil's Casino, despite Elder Kettle's warnings. At the casino, Cuphead and Mugman were on a winning streak at the craps table. When the Devil came to the table (which was a surprise to the children) he made a bet: if the children won, they would take all the loot from the casino, but if they lost, the Devil would take their souls. Cuphead, blinded by easy riches, rolled the dice and landed on snake eyes, losing the bet. Cuphead and Mugman begged for their lives, so the Devil sent them on a mission to collect soul contracts from their debtors before midnight, saying that he would consider forgiving them. Cuphead and Mugman ran back home as fast as they could, in a panic, to Elder Kettle, who gave them a potion that gave them powerful abilities to help them on their journey. After some training, Cuphead and Mugman went to collect the soul contracts, using their powers to fight bosses, go through levels, and save the Legendary Chalice. Traveling from Inkwell Isle One to Inkwell Isle Two, Elder Kettle informs the children that his strength is growing thanks to the power of soul contracts, and will soon be enough to defeat King Dice and even the Devil in battle. .

more history

Once all the soul contracts are collected, the children encounter King Dice, who forces them to play a "game" before they can see the Devil. After King Dice is defeated, Cuphead and Mugman encounter the Devil, who was waiting for them in his office. What the couple does depends on the choice the players decide. If the players decide to give the Devil the soul contracts, Cuphead and Mugman become his personal lackeys and turn into demonic cups, resulting in a "bad" ending. If the players decide not to give them soul contracts, the Devil will be outraged and fight them. Following the Devil's defeat, the boys accept his surrender and burn all soul contracts, freeing the residents from their eternal servitude to the Devil. The children then returned home and told the residents that they were now free of their debts. They were praised for their bravery and a day-long celebration began. After their success, the boys vowed to never get into trouble again, until next time.

skills

Finger Shots: Cuphead can create energy bullets by constantly snapping his fingers. He can also charge them to perform an EX attack, which is usually a much larger bullet that hits multiple times. The type of bullets depends on the potion you buy: Peashooter – Cuphead's main weapon, long light blue bullets that travel non-stop with average and long-range damage. EX Move: Mega Blast - A huge fireball that hits multiple times, Spread - Fires red pyramid bullets that spread out in 5 rows. It has a limited scope. EX Move: Eight Directions – Send 8 large bullets around Cuphead. Chaser - Fires green homing bullets. It has below average damage. EX Move: Chaos Orbit – Sends multiple homing bullets that attack. More bullets orbit Cuphead, damaging enemies that touch him. Lobber – Purple orbs that bounce twice before bursting. It does a lot of damage but has delayed the shot. EX Move: Kablooey – A large orb that explodes on impact. Charge – A fiery orange horizontal spiral that can be charged to deal a large amount of damage. It takes a long time to load. EX Move: Radical Barrage – A large explosion that affects all of Cuphead. Rotunda – A light blue boomerang-like bullet that will return if it doesn't hit something after a short distance. EX Move: Jumbo Bounce – Sends a large boomerang bullet that hits multiple times. Running: Cuphead can run a short distance both in the air and on the ground. With the Smoke Bomb skill, he can "teleport" while he runs and not take any damage.

but skills

Parry Slap – While in the air or flying his plane, Cuphead can attack pink objects by turning his straw into a hand and hitting it, whether they are enemies, projectiles, or objects. Parry Sugar will allow Cuphead to automatically stop anything she jumps towards. This helps fill the Super Meter, necessary to perform a Super Art. Resurrection: When Cuphead dies, she can be resurrected when her heart, which is at the center of her spirit, is stopped. As long as Mugman is with him and her spirit is still on the screen, she can fight again. Flight: Although Cuphead cannot fly on his own, he is a master pilot and comes equipped with his own red fighter jet, complete with bullets. Rapid Fire Bullets – The plane's default bullets. Like the Peashooter bullets, Cuphead can fire multiple bullets and they have a long range. EX Move: Toothy Terror Missile – Known simply as "Attack", Cuphead fires a missile with a Toothy Terror muzzle that deals multiple damage. Mini Bomb: He fires missiles in a downward arc that deal above average damage to the enemy but have a slow rate of fire. EX Move: Magnet: He fires multiple magnets that home in on the target. Size Reduction: In his plane, he can shrink to be part of the plane, making it easier to dodge attacks and increasing speed. Cuphead can still use his bullets while he is in this reduced stage, but they deal less damage and have limited range.

but skills

Super Bomb Transformation – As a Super Art, Cuphead can transform into a giant bomb that explodes on impact or if the duration runs out. Energy Beam – The energy beam is the first super art to be unlocked. Cuphead uses the liquid from his head and pours it out as a horizontal beam that damages enemies. Invincibility: As a second Super Art, Cuphead crosses the astral plane, transforming into a large, eyeless version of his head that spits out a complete, shiny, golden version of himself. This makes Cuphead invincible for a few seconds before returning to his normal self. Giant Ghost: As a final Super Art, Cuphead sends his spirit out of his body. Unlike Cuphead's spirit when he dies, his spirit is now larger and more muscular. The direction the ghost goes depends on how Cuphead moves (i.e. if Cuphead moves left, the ghost moves left). The ghost damages enemies nearby. He does this for about 10 seconds before disappearing, except for his heart, which slowly rises. His heart can also be stopped. Astral Projection: Since the last two Super Arts involve him entering the astral plane, it can be implied that Cuphead has the special ability to enter the astral plane and have out-of-body experiences.

weaknesses

Made of Porcelain: 3 hits can kill him (4 while equipped with the Heart Amulet, 5 while equipped with the Twin Heart Amulet, and 6 with the Heart Ring Amulet if Cuphead manages all 6 saves before being hit). He cannot be resurrected without Mugman's help (similarly, Mugman cannot be resurrected without Cuphead). Easily manipulated, making a very high risk bet due to being blinded by riches.

curiosities

According to the Moldenhauer brothers, the liquid inside Cuphead's head is his soul. The fact that her soul is white is for the whites of her eyes, as seen in the television series. In the opening moments of a boss battle, Cuphead will pull up his pants, smiling and with determination on his face. The only exception to this is the fight with The Devil, where he appears to be terrified, reusing the sprites Cuphead uses if he fails to stop The Specter Syndicate from reaching the Legendary Chalice urn in the Mausoleum levels. After the update, he may sometimes move his muscles with a more determined smile. Cuphead is based on old cartoon characters, notably the cartoon mug "Omochabako series dai san wa: Ehon senkyûhyakusanjûroku nen (1936)" as stated by a developer. He is also based heavily on Bimbo the Dog. He may also have been influenced by the design of several sentient porcelain characters from the 1934 Silly Symphony The China Shop. Cuphead's shoes and gloves will change color depending on the screen he is on. The developers deliberately made this color inconsistency, as many 1930s cartoons had posters in which the color of the character's shoe or glove was slightly different from the original. In the title screen and in boss battles, he is seen wearing white gloves and brown shoes. This design was also used for his cameo in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as both his costume and Spirit's artwork of him use it.

more curiosities

According to Evan Skolnick, Cuphead is a teenager. However, in a Twitter response to a fan, Studio MDHR jokingly described Cuphead as a "kid." Despite this, Cuphead goes to elementary school; according to Carnival Chaos, Cuphead goes to Inkwell Elementary School. In the E3 2015 trailer, Cuphead appears to pour a drink labeled "XXX" onto his head, although he is never seen doing this in the final version. This, along with Mugman drinking his soul in his intro animation, led to the infamous theory that his heads contained alcohol. Like the older characters, Cuphead can remove his head without dying, and as such, he has no neck. However, Cuphead is seen swallowing with his neck in "Crisp Apples". In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Cuphead appears as a Gunner Mii Fighter costume, along with Cagney Carnation's Floral Fury as an additional music track. Cuphead also became one of the spirits of the show's "Ready? Blow!" event, along with Mugman, King Dice and The Devil. When Cuphead dies, his head disappears and he becomes a headless skeleton, but then his bones turn into a pile of ashes.