Glass Joe is a slender man. In the game, he usually fights without a shirt, wearing red-and-white shorts, red boxing gloves, and shoes. He has red hair. In the Wii version, the developers from Next Level Games added cutscenes that show him as a rather fashionable Frenchman. His character is a mix of stereotypes and comedy. He’s cowardly, constantly nervous, and clearly doesn’t feel confident in the ring. This is very evident in his dialogue (voiced by Christian Bernard): he begs not to be hit in the jaw, complains that his gloves are too tight, and also likes to count to ten in French. At the same time, he’s proud of his nationality: in the game’s slides, you can see that his photos include famous Parisian landmarks (the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe), and as a taunt, he uses the phrase “Vive la France!” Glass Joe is French; he was born in Paris. He is 38 years old. The character first appeared in the arcade version of Punch-Out!! in 1984, then moved to the NES version, and got a new lease on life with extra details in the Wii release. Interestingly, his name is a play on words: “glass jaw” hints at his fragility and vulnerability in fights. In the game’s story, Glass Joe always serves as the player’s first opponent (including in the Wii version). Essentially, he plays the role of a “tutorial fight”: his moves are easy to read, and it’s simple to predict, block, or counter them. His boxing record is 1 win and 99 losses (and one of those wins was a knockout). In the “Title Defense” mode in Wii, an upgraded version of the character appears: following a doctor’s recommendation after a skull X‑ray, Glass Joe wears a protective helmet. This changes the tactics: head hits no longer deal damage while the helmet is on, so the player needs to find other ways to win (for example, use a Star Punch to knock the helmet off). His name is Glass Joe!