Cuphead

Cuphead
Universe	Cuphead
Debut	Cuphead (2017)
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Cuphead in The Delicious Last Course (2022, DLC)
Appears in
Console of origin	Xbox One and PC
Species	Cup
Gender	Male
Eye color	Black
Homeworld	Inkwell Isles
Created by	Chad and Jared Moldenhauer

Cuphead is the eponymous protagonist of Studio MDHR's run-and-gun indie game Cuphead, alongside his brother Mugman.

A Mii Fighter Costume modeled after him was made available as DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Character Description

Cuphead is a young man with a teacup for a head. According to the creators, Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the design was inspired by a 1936 Japanese propaganda cartoon that featured a character who also had a teacup for a head. Much like the rest of the Cuphead game itself, the character is meant to pay homage to the rubber hose designs of classic cartoon characters from the Golden Age of American animation, namely Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Felix the Cat. According to the Moldenhauers, Cuphead initially went through over 150 redesigns, some of which didn't have the teacup head.

Main story: Don't Deal With the Devil

Cuphead as he appears in the game, alongside Mugman.

Cuphead lives in the Inkwell Isles with his brother Mugman under the watchful eye of their elderly caretaker, the Elder Kettle. One day, against the Elder's wishes, the boys wander far from home and end up at the Devil's Casino, where they begin to play craps. The game earns them a winning streak, which catches the attention of the Devil himself. Impressed, he strikes a deal with the brothers to raise the stakes of the game; if Cuphead and Mugman can win one more roll, all the money in the casino is theirs; if not, the Devil will take their souls. Overcome with greed, Cuphead ignores his brother's pleas and plays one more round, only to lose when he rolls snake eyes. When they plead for mercy, the Devil offers another deal; if he can collect the "soul contracts" of previous debtors by midnight the next day, he might spare them. To aid them, the Elder Kettle gives them a potion that gives them the ability to fire energy blasts from their fingers. With their new powers, the boys set off on their journey across the Isles, though not before the Elder Kettle warns them of the dangers ahead.

In the game, the debtors are the various difficult bosses that the brothers must defeat at the end of each level, while at the same time trying to avoid many of the Devil's goons. Once Cuphead and Mugman have successfully collected all of the contracts, they return to the Casino but find themselves blocked by the manager, King Dice. He directly challenges the boys after claiming that their victories have made him lose a bet against the Devil. After defeating King Dice, the boys confront the Devil, in which the player is given the choice whether to turn over the contracts to him or not; if the player decides to do so, he will turn Cuphead and Mugman into demonic creatures. If the player refuses, it will enrage the Devil, allowing the final battle to ensue. Eventually, the brothers prevail against him and burn the contracts; in return, the debtors, now free from their fear of the Devil, celebrate the duo's heroic actions.

DLC story: The Delicious Last Course

Cuphead as he appears in The Delicious Last Course DLC.

During the main campaign, Cuphead and Mugman free the spirit of the Legendary Chalice from one of the mausoleums. She returns to summon them to a distant fourth isle of the Inkwells, where she shows them the Astral Cookie - a food item that will briefly transform her back into her corporeal form as Ms. Chalice, but consequently turn one of the brothers into a ghost as a trade-off. In order for Ms. Chalice to retain her physical body permenantly, they need the Wondertart, a pastry created by Chef Saltbaker, but its ingredients are being held by new difficult bosses scattered around the islands. The trio then set off on their new adventure.

After collecting the ingredients, Chef Saltbaker reveals his deception, as he is actually planning to bake a soul into the Wondertart to conquer the astral plane (the soul being the one character the player did not have control over upon returning to the bakery). Whomever the remaining two are must engage in a battle against Saltbaker, which ends with the destruction of the bakery and no way to make the Wondertart. Ms. Chalice decides to return back to spectral form, unwilling to let anyone share the same fate as her, and remain in assistance to the brothers. In the epilogue, Saltbaker reforms himself through community service and rebuilds the bakery.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Mii Fighter Costume

A costume for the Mii Gunner modeled after Cuphead was made available as a part of the Round 5 batch of DLC costumes. Much like in the original game, the costume's "gun" is Cuphead's index finger. Bundled with the costume is a direct rip of the track "Floral Fury", the boss battle theme for Cagney Carnation.

Spirit

A DLC Spirit of Cuphead was added into the game during the special Cuphead-themed Spirit Board event "Ready? Wallop!". It is a Primary Attack Spirit under the Ace class.

His battle uses Mega Man, who is assisted by three giant Peaches (referencing all of Sally Stageplays phases) in a Stamina match. The stage is the Omega Form of New Pork City, meant to resemble the Devil's Casino, with the song "Final Results - Wii Party U" playing in the background. To win, only Mega Man must be defeated.

However, if the Cuphead costume has been purchased, the Mii Gunner wearing it will replace Mega Man and the song instead will be "Floral Fury".

No.	Spirit	Artwork Origin	Type	Rating	Effect	Slots
71398		Cuphead		★★★	Shooting Items Power ↑	1

Trivia

• Cuphead is one of three Mii Fighter costume characters to hail from an indie game, following Sans and preceeding Shantae.
  • Much like Sans and Shantae:
    • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks the first time Cuphead has been officially modeled in 3D.
    • Both of their costumes come packaged with a song.
• Cuphead's segment of the "Mii Fighter Costumes - Round 5" trailer makes several references to the game:
  • The opening mimics the game's introduction. The picture used inside of the book's first page is meant to match the one from the original introduction, and even uses the phrase "a swell battle", a line used before boss fights.
    • This section is also the only time a Mii Fighter costume character has a pre-rendered segment in a Mii Fighter Costumes trailer.
  • A brief clip features the Cuphead costume in Mushroomy Kingdom during a Stamina match, which is meant to emulate the gameplay of Cuphead.
    • The characters used in the segment are meant to be analogous to the various bosses; Piranha Plant represents Cagney Carnation, blue Kirby for Goopy Le Grande, green Charizard for Grim Matchstick, and Falco for Wally Warbles.
• The Cuphead costume is the first DLC costume to be used in a Spirit Battle.
• The index finger (rather, the "gun") of the costume is noticeably bigger than its other hand, most likely due to the regular size of the Mii Gunner's Arm Cannon.
• The artwork used for his Spirit is based on his appearance in the results screen of Cuphead, but with his gloves edited to being white colored instead of yellow. This was most likely done to match the costume's design.