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Glass Joe (グラス・ジョー, Gurasu Jō) is arguably the easiest boxer to defeat in every version of Punch-Out!! he's in. His defensive skills are poor and he takes quite a while to mount any offense. His lone signature maneuver is his "Taunt Punch" in which he takes a few steps back, shakes his gloves, and shouts "Eh, eh? Vive la France!" (Huh, huh? Long live France!) before rushing forward and unleashing a right uppercut, which can easily be counter-punched for an immediate knockdown.
Nicknamed "France's Glass Jaw", Glass Joe has the worst record out of all the boxers in the series, losing 99 matches and winning only 1, in a freak accidental win against Nick Bruiser, states the Official Nintendo Magazine Punch-Out!! programmer. The cutscene theme for him in all games is La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France.
Appearances
Glass Joe first appeared as the first opponent in the arcade classic Punch-Out!! in 1983. He made his next appearance on the Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! in 1987; once again as the very first opponent in the minor circuit. Glass Joe didn't appear directly in the 1994 Punch-Out!! game, but was linked to two characters in the game: Gabby Jay as his former boxing student and Nick Bruiser as the only boxer Joe had (allegedly) ever defeated. He later re-appeared in the fifth game in 2009.
Punch-Out!! (Arcade)
Glass Joe first appeared as the first opponent in the arcade classic in 1983. He's incredibly easy and is essentially a practice opponent. He'll attack very little and will almost never dodge the player's punches. His attacks are extremely slow, he has very poor defensive skills, and he has no unique punch like everyone else in the game. His palette swap is Kid Quick, who also lacks a unique attack.
Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream (1987–1990)
Glass Joe made his next appearance on the Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! in 1987, once again as the very first opponent in the Minor Circuit. He is still extremely weak and has very poor defense. When he goes back to execute his Taunt Punch, the follow-up hook is very weak and if he is punched before returning to the center, he'll be knocked down no matter how much health he has left. He is mostly in the game for players to learn how to use punches and avoid attacks. His palette swap is Don Flamenco.
Attacks:
- Right Hook: Winds up to Little Mac's left before following through with a right hook. Can be dodged, ducked, blocked, or countered precisely with a left uppercut for a star. His right hook is extremely weak, dealing only about 1/9 of Mac's health. It takes 9 right hooks to knock Little Mac down.
- Left Jab: Glass Joe opens his mouth, then takes a step back before throwing a jab. Can be dodged, ducked, blocked, or countered precisely with a right punch for a star. His jab does about double the damage of his right hook (though it is still extremely weak, dealing only about 1/5 of Mac's health.). It takes 9 left jabs to knock Little Mac down.
- Taunt Punch: Steps to the back of the arena and taunts Mac, before stepping back to the center and throwing a hook. Can be countered for a knockdown or knockout, depending on the timing.
Stars:
- Counter his Right Hook with a left jab.
- Counter his Left Jab with a right punch.
- Get him to very low health in the first 40 seconds of the fight. You can do this by landing 3 precisely timed left uppercuts before landing a large, consecutive number of left punches. This is very hard but you'll know that you timed the uppercuts right if he never shifts his guard down to block the left punches. If done correctly, you'll get a star to knock him out on his taunt a quarter of a second faster, and the star punch counter is a lot easier to get reliably than the perfectly timed counter.
Instant Knockdowns:
- Simply counter his taunt.
- Hit him with a star punch after the first knockdown.
Instant Knockouts:
- Counter his taunt with precise timing.
- Counter his taunt with a star punch.
Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Theme:
Music after Fight:
Contender
Glass Joe makes a returning appearance in Punch-Out!! as the first opponent in the Minor Circuit. In his slideshow, he is shown to be a somewhat nervous Frenchman with a love for croissants, baguettes and coffee. Nonetheless, he is very proud of his nationality, evident by every one of his pictures depicting famous landmarks of the city of Paris, namely the Arc De Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. He is voiced by Christian Bernard (French-Canadian) and speaks legitimate French.
As in previous appearances, Glass Joe retains his frailness and status as a tutorial fighter for beginners and can be punched in his neutral stance depending on where he guards, alternating between guarding his upper and lower torso. He does not throw punches until he performs his "Vive la France!" taunt.
If Mac loses to him, Glass Joe will say his name, march around, and show his (lack of) toughness. If the player wins with a star punch in Contender & Title Defense, he will be launched into the air in slow motion while croissants fall from the air while saying "Aieeeeeeee..." in pain.
Attacks:
- Left Jab: An easily telegraphed attack, he will take a step back, preparing to attack, and jab Mac. Very easy to evade, since it can be blocked, dodged to any side and ducked. Counter it with a normal punch for a Star, but the timing is slightly strict. At full stamina, it roughly takes ten left jabs to knock Mac down.
- Right Uppercut: Also telegraphed, he will grunt, preparing to attack, and strike with a right uppercut. Slightly harder, though still easy to evade: it can be dodged, but cannot be blocked or ducked. Counter it with a left hook for a Star, but the timing is also slightly strict. At full stamina, it roughly takes ten right uppercuts to knock Mac down.
- Taunt: He will do a taunt by lowering his arm, raising his chin, and laughing at Mac. He always does at the start of a round, and often between matches. Hit him when he flashes yellow for a star.
Glass Joe's Vive La France! in Punch-Out!! (Wii).
- Vive la France: Glass Joe's signature move. He will go to the back of the mat, do a long taunt while saying, "Eh, eh? Vive la France!", go back to the middle of the mat, and do a right uppercut. Hit him with either a normal punch, a Star Punch or a Two-Star Punch to knock him down in one hit. Hitting him with a Three-Star Punch will OHKO him. If he is not hit, then he will start attacking after this taunt.
Stars:
- Hit him during his regular taunt.
- Hit him from the side he comes from while he recovers from an attack.
- Counter his left jab with a right punch.
- Counter his right hook with a left punch.
- Continually attack him for the first 30 seconds of the match without him blocking an attack. This requires the player to alternate hooks and jabs in groups of three (i.e. Left Jab, Right Jab, Left Jab, Right Hook, Left Hook, Right Hook, etc.).
Instant KD Tricks:
- Hit him as he returns from his Vive la France taunt.
- Use any level star punch after his second knockdown in the same round.
Instant KO Trick:
- Hit him with a Three-Star Punch as he returns from his Vive la France taunt.
Infinite:
- Joe cannot protect both his head and chest simultaneously: which is telegraphed by how he defensively lowers or raises his hands. The combo is very simple; hit him where he is exposed, switch after 3 hits, and continue switching. For example: If Joe blocks his face; hook him 3 times, then jab him three times, and repeat the cycle.
Glitch:
- At the start of the fight, hook him when he taunts, then hook him before he comes back to the center for another star, then throw in another hook, then do three jabs, three hooks, three jabs, three hooks, and immediately use the Two-Star Punch to knock him down. When he gets up, landing any punch before he does the taunt gives Mac a star AND knocks him back.
Title Defense Mode
Glass Joe returns in Title Defense to defeat Mac and win the champion's belt. In his slideshow, he is seen with his doctor talking about his frail head. The doctor then gives him a protective headgear (which is allowed by the W.V.B.A. after suffering 100 losses), which allows him to block all incoming damage to his head.
Aside from his headgear blocking all damage from Mac's jabs, Glass Joe becomes slightly faster and has also learned some fake-out moves, allowing him to be a rather challenging opponent. Also, because his headgear will block jabs for him, he only needs to guard his stomach, meaning that his poor between-punches defense has now been fixed. Because of his headgear, damage from a Star Punch will be dramatically reduced (even more than against most other Title Defense opponents, except King Hippo). Fortunately, said Star Punches knock his headgear up into the air, allowing Mac to land jabs on him, which cause more damage than a hook:
- One-Star Punch - 6 jabs
- Two-Star Punch - 10 jabs
- Three-Star Punch - 13 jabs
At some point, his headgear will shine yellow (two jabs before the limit, such as 4 jabs after a One-Star Punch), giving the player a signal to hook him for a star.
If Mac loses to him, Glass Joe will laugh, run to a ring corner and joyfully proclaim his victory to the audience.
Attacks:
- Left Jab: He will take a step back, preparing to attack, and jab Mac. Not very different from his Contender attack, except it is faster and stronger, and the countering timing is stricter. It can be dodged, ducked under or blocked. At full stamina, it roughly takes seven left jabs to knock Mac down.
- Right Uppercut: He will grunt, preparing to attack, and strike with a right uppercut. It is evaded by dodging to either side. Not very different from his Contender attack, except it is a bit faster and stronger, and he recovers faster if he misses as well. At full stamina, it roughly takes seven right uppercuts to knock Mac down.
- Delayed Right Uppercut: A delayed version of the right uppercut, considered to be his deadliest move, simply because it looks very similar to his regular right uppercut, except it is slightly stronger than its non-delayed counterpart. The way to tell he is using it is by looking at his head: if it's lowered, he'll use this attack. At full stamina, it roughly takes six delayed right uppercuts to knock Mac down.
- Quick Attack: He runs around in a flurry and then stops to throw a jab. He performs this attack after being knocked down twice. This attack can throw off newcomers, as it is nothing like any attack he has used up to this point. Blocking it lets Mac land more hooks during a stun.
- Taunt: Different from his Contender version. He taps his helmet while saying one of his two taunt lines, bragging to Mac that he can't jab him. Hook him when he flashes yellow on his vulnerable side (the side where he raises his arm and taps his head) for a star.
- Vive la France: He will go to the back of the mat, do a long taunt while saying, "Eh, eh? Vive la France!" (Huh, huh? Long live France!), go back to the middle of the mat, and do a right uppercut. Unlike the Contender version, Glass Joe also adjusts his headgear during the taunt, and Mac can only hook him or use a Star Punch to knock him down, and the timing to do it is a bit stricter than his Contender version.
- Liberté: Similar to the "Vive la France" taunt, he says "Eh? Eh? Liberté!" (Huh? Huh? Liberty!) and he fakes returning to the center once before he throws a very quick punch, making timing even stricter. Instead of a right uppercut, he does a left jab.
Stars:
- Hook him on his vulnerable side (the side where he raises his arm and taps his head) during his taunt.
- Hook him while he recovers from an attack. (since he has the headgear, he can't be jabbed for this star)
- Counter his left jab with a right hook.
- Counter his right jab with a left hook.
- Counter his right uppercut with a left hook.
- Counter his delayed right uppercut with a left hook.
- While his headgear is knocked off, hook him when the headgear turns yellow.
- When he dodges an uppercut, hook him as he comes back.
Instant KD Tricks:
- Hit him with a hook as he returns from his Vive la France taunt.
- Hit him with a hook as he returns from his Liberté taunt. Timing is stricter (as he finishes stepping forward a second time).
Instant KO Tricks:
- Hit him with a Three-Star Punch as he returns from his Vive la France taunt.
- Hit him with a Three-Star Punch as he returns from his Liberté taunt. Timing is stricter (as he finishes pulling his leg back from faking out returning to the center).
- Land 50 jabs on him successfully.
Infinite:
- From the start, do a left hook on his taunt to get a star, and immediately use it to knock his headgear into the air. Either do a four or five-jab combination, then hook him with the opposite hand the last jab was used to earn a star, and immediately use the star to knock his headgear again, and repeat. If Mac misses a Star Punch or Joe gets knocked down, countering his attacks can give Mac a star to perform the infinite again. Arguably one of the easiest infinite combos to perform in the game, and this is vital to complete the 50-Jab challenge in Exhibition mode.
Exhibition Challenges
Contender:
- Knock Glass Joe down 3 times and let him win...by decision!
- Find the one-punch-knockdown weak spot.
- Win the fight without dodging, ducking, or blocking a punch!
Title Defense:
- Win the fight and land EVERY punch thrown!
- Land 50 jabs...
- Defeat Glass Joe in only 4 punches!!!
Rule infractions
As per the unified rules of boxing established by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combat Sports:
- "Glass Joe wears headgear during his Title Defense battle, which is forbidden unless both combatants get headgear, since the head is one of the most easily punched parts of the human body."
- However, this is only an infraction out-of-universe, since the W.V.B.A. allows for one to wear headgear upon losing 100 times, and beating Glass Joe the first time pushes his loss count to 100.
Associated stereotypes
- The French don't like fighting.
- The French love their own cuisine to an extreme level, often eating baguettes and drinking coffee several times a day.
Appearance in Super Smash Bros.
SSB4 - Glass Joe
In SSB4, Glass Joe appears as a trophy. He has two different descriptions depending on your console region.
NA: It's either very brave or very silly for a boxer to have a name so close to "glass jaw." When this French boxer takes a serious hit, he'll see croissants instead of stars. To his credit, Glass Joe never gives up—he's lost more bouts than most have fought in, and yet he never surrenders.
PAL: Glass Joe might not sound exactly like 'glass jaw', but you've got to admit, it takes guts to go into the ring with a name that tells everyone your weak point. Knock him out and…it'll rain croissants. Weird things aside, there's one thing you can say about Glass Joe: he's a man who doesn't give up, no matter how many times he loses.
In SSB Ultimate, Glass Joe appears as a spirit.
Other Appearances
Glass Joe's cameo in Captain N: The Game Master
Glass Joe has also appeared as a Hasbro Action Figure, in a Topps trading card series, and on a Punch-Out!! garbage can. He also made a cameo appearance in Captain N: The Game Master in the episode Videolympics, where he is seen boxing his own shadow, to which he loses.
Personality
Matching his weak physique, Glass Joe constantly complains about his pain in between rounds. He can be heard complaining about such things as his gloves being too tight, being too old for fighting, his stomach hurting and most importantly about his weak jaw. In Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream, he even commonly asks if he has time to take a nap before the fight and is eager to retire.
In Punch-Out!! (Wii), Glass Joe is a lot more energetic than in his previous appearances. While he still sometimes complains about his pain between rounds, he tries to gain the audience's cheering and even lightly taunts Little Mac. He has a passion for baguettes, croissants, and coffee, as seen in his intro. He is also shown to be patriotic to France, as his taunt has him declaring "Vive la France" (which ironically left him with enough of an opening to be easily knocked down).
Quotes
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream (NES)
- "Do I have time to take a nap before the fight?"
- "Make it quick... I want to retire!"
- "This is my last match! I'm too old for fighting!"
- "Watch the jaw!! Don't hit my jaw!"
Punch-Out!! (Wii)
- "Ha ha." (When you select him in Contender)
- "Bonjour, bonjour! Je suis Glass Joe! Ha-ha!," meaning "Hello, hello! I am Glass Joe! Ha-ha!" (Contender intro)
- "Bonjour, bonjour! Ahhh! Heheheh..." meaning "Hello, hello! Ahhh! Heheheh..." (alternate Contender intro)
- "Eh, eh? Vive la France!" meaning "Hey-hey! Long live France!" (during taunt)
- "Oh zut!" meaning "Oh damn!" (sometimes after several punches)
- "Les mains me font mal, les gants boxe sont trop serrés." meaning "My hands hurt, the boxing gloves are too tight." (Contender intermission)
- "Attention à mon menton ! Ne frappe pas mon menton !" meaning "Watch out for my chin! Don't hit my chin!" (Contender intermission)
- "Ha ! Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, KO !" meaning "Ha! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, KO!" (When starting a new round in Contender)
- "Glass Joe! aah, aah, ooh..." (When Glass Joe wins in Contender)
- "AAAHH!!!" (When you use star punch)
- "HEY!" (When you use star punch)
- "Alors, vous aimez ?" meaning "So, do you like it?" (When you select him in Title Defense)
- "Je viens te chercher !" meaning "I'm coming after you!" (Title Defense intro)
- "Eh? Eh? Liberté!" meaning "Hey! Hey! Liberty!" (during taunt)
- "Mon docteur a déclaré que tu es mauvais ... pour ma santé." meaning "My doctor said that you are bad... for my health." (Title Defense intermission)
- "Ma tête est en pleine forme, mais mon estomac est en bouillie..." meaning "My head is in great shape, but my stomach is mush..." (Title Defense intermission)
- "Oups" meaning "Oops" (When dodging a star punch in Title Defense)
- "Alors, t'es en forme ?" meaning "So, you in good shape?" (Title Defense, adjusting his headgear)
- "Alors, ça te plait ?" meaning "So, do you like it?" (Title Defense, adjusting his headgear)
- "HA HA, HA ! J'AI GAGNÉ !" meaning "HA HA, HA! I WON!" (When Glass Joe wins in Title Defense)
Doc Louis Tips
- "Dodge! Dodge! Dodge and counter! Dodge and counter!! You got it?"
- "Whaddya say, Mac baby?! Let's welcome Glass Joe to the Big Apple. Greet this sucka with the Star Punch!"
- "Savor this moment. Knock Glass Joe into retirement."
- "Glass Joe!? What kinda name is that? Let's greet this sucka with the Star Punch."
- "Listen, Mac. If your punches are blocked, you're gonna tire out."
- "Woowee, Mac baby. Let's give Glass Joe a little respect here, okay? He can always take a whoopin'!"
- "Alright champ, Glass Joe's trying to fool you with his hooks. Wait for him to punch, and then get out of the way."
- "Say "Au revoir", Glass Joe's jaw is headed into retirement."
- "Check it out, son. That headgear is protecting his jaw. There's gotta be a way to knock it off. Find it, Mac!"
Trivia
- His name comes from the boxing term "Glass Jaw," which is fitting since one of his intermission quotes from both Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Punch-Out!! (Wii) is about him begging the player not to hit his chin.
- Glass Joe and Gabby Jay share many characteristics;
- They serve as the first boxer you fight in their respective games.
- They are both from Paris, France.
- They both weigh in at 110 lbs.
- This makes both characters the lightest boxers in the entire franchise, other than the main character Little Mac (who is only 3 pounds lighter) and Hoy Quarlow (10 pounds lighter).
- They both use the "Taunt Punch" attack.
- They have the same initials (G.J.)
- Their names are both 8 letters long, 5 in the first name, 3 in the last name.
- They are tied for fight experience, each of them having fought 100 bouts.
- Their records are the same, with a record of 1-99.
- The major difference between the two is that Glass Joe, at 38 years old, is ready to retire, while the much older Gabby Jay, at 56 years old, has no intention to retire until he "wins at least one more fight".
- The Official Nintendo Magazine claims Glass Joe defeated Nick Bruiser, supported by the fact that he is on the fastest score list. However, Nick Bruiser has an undefeated 42-0 record.
- Currently, the easiest theory helping this is that Super Punch out is actually a video game released sometime in the Punch Out timeline, This fixes his undefeated record while still letting Glass Joe beat the REAL Nick Bruiser.
- In Punch-Out!! (Wii), Glass Joe is the only opponent that has a challenge that requires the player to lose the fight.
- Glass Joe will occasionally stumble during his intro in Contender Mode, cutting off his usual introduction.
- This intro is more common than the full intro.
- Much like Von Kaiser, he can be defeated within 30 seconds if using the right methods.
- Little Mac can actually obtain a protective headgear similar to Glass Joe's by suffering 100 defeats, much as Glass Joe did when he got his own. Glass Joe gaining his headgear possibly hints at this being part of the WVBA's regulations. However, Little Mac's headgear only diminishes all damage as opposed to negating head damage completely like Glass Joe's.
- Glass Joe and Little Mac are the only characters in Punch-Out!! (Wii) who can receive headgear during the course of the game.
- This also makes Glass Joe one of two opponents in Punch-Out!! (Wii) to use a gameplay mechanic usable by the player, the other being Doc Louis for his use of the Star Punch.
- Ironically, Glass Joe can be knocked down up to 5 times in both Contender mode and Title Defense, unlike higher-ranked fighters in the Minor Circuit (except for King Hippo, as he'll be defeated once after getting knocked down), who can only get knocked down 4 times in Contender mode, then 5 times in Title Defense.
- Also ironic is the fact that Glass Joe is tied with Gabby Jay as the most experienced fighter, edging out Mr. Dream by 1 fight.
- Even more ironic is that 50 jabs will immediately defeat Glass Joe in Title Defense, yet in Contender mode, he can endure even more than 100. It's possible that his head had received so much damage after his first fight with Little Mac that it could barely withstand anymore, let alone 50 jabs. This is probably because a Star Punch is required to knock off the headgear, doing damage.
- At full health, without ever finishing a stun or countering, he can take up to 34 punches.
- Of all the World Records on Punch-Out!! Wii, Glass Joe is the only one that utilizes a glitch that stops time during the taunt, by throwing a left uppercut at a specific time. See here.
- Glass Joe's personality traits, in that he is inexperienced but enjoys what he does anyway, are common stereotypes of French people.
- In the Wii version, there is a glitch that makes Glass Joe play two of his audio clips at the same time when he is Star Punched, as seen in this video (at 0:37)
- His North American trophy for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS description mentioning how despite losing, he "never surrenders" as something where credit is due to him refers to a known French stereotype where they were a country that surrenders to an enemy easily. The stereotype originated from World War II when France surrendered to Nazi Germany when the Nazis bypassed the Maginot Line.
- In Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!, the sprites for Glass Joe and Don Flamenco are missing part of their right foot, likely due to size limitations.
Gallery
