Super Macho Man

is a fictional character in the Nintendo-produced ' series of video games that has first appeared in arcade game ' in 1984. He is an American boxer hailing from Hollywood and a professional bodybuilder, as well as a Hollywood celebrity. The character has received mostly positive reception.
Concept and appearances
Super Macho Man is an American boxer, bodybuilder and celebrity, hailing from Hollywood, California. He first appeared in ' for the arcades, and again in ' for the , ' for the Super NES, and ' for the Wii. He has been featured in multiple sets of merchandise, including a series of Punch-Out!!-themed Topps trading cards and a series of Punch-Out!!-themed action figures.
The character was designed by Makoto Wada for the NES version, and by Eddie Viser for the Wii version. He was voiced by Mike Inglehart for the Wii version as well. Super Macho Man and very muscular, often showing this off by flexing his pectoral muscles or his arms. He wears gold earrings, a gold necklace, sunglasses, and has a gold tooth. He also wears a speedo that says his name on them. He has gray hair, though his in-game sprite in the NES version of Punch-Out!! has his hair colored black.
Reception
Super Macho Man has received mostly positive reception. Both G4TV and Sports Illustrated called him a memorable character. Super Macho Man was featured on the cover of Gamefan as part of their cover story on Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES. GamesRadar editor Chris Antista listed it as one of the greatest video game covers, owing its quality to Super Macho Man's "iconic pose" featured on the cover. While 1UP.com found issue with Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES replacing King Hippo, Glass Joe, and Piston Honda with Gabby Jay, Piston Hurricane, and Bear Hugger, they found solace in the fact that Super Macho Man returned for it.
IGN editor Jesse Schedeen named Super Macho Man one of the series' top fighters, describing him as a "thinly veiled parody mash-up of and another famous fighter who goes by the nickname 'Macho Man'." Operation Sports editor Christian McLeod compared Super Macho Man with the professional wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage, stating that they both use the same wrestling clothesline attack. Discussing the name change of Piston Honda to Piston Hondo, Bitmob editor Andrew Fitch commented that "Randy Savage has a more legitimate legal beef with Super Macho Man."
The character was noted for the high difficulty of the fights against him. Operation Sports editor Matt Gagnon commented that fighting Super Macho Man in the NES Punch-Out!! still posed a challenge in 2008. GameSpy editor Ryan Scott described Super Macho Man as a "rightly feared powerhouse." UGO Networks editor Chris Plante commented that while people remember seeing the end of Punch-Out!! for the NES, he was never able to get past Super Macho Man.
Discussing stereotyping in the Punch-Out!! series, GamesRadar editor Brett Elston opined that Super Macho Man embodies the stereotypes of American celebrities, namely that they are "overly tan, materialistic narcissists obsessed with fame, money and appearance." He added that Super Macho Man was not just a parody of celebrities, but "Hollywood and American's fascination with celebrities." Elston cited images depicting "money-grubbing models" surrounding him as he poses for pictures, calling this a comment on "both on Americans’ personal priorities and how we constantly reward people who engage in this behavior." German edition of GamePro described Super Macho Man as an "arrogant pretty boy;" describing an image of Super Macho Man leaving the ring by a rope ladder from a helicopter, GameSpot editor Tom Mc Shea stated that Super Macho Man is "just asking for a beating."
The Onion published a series of fake interviews with Mike Tyson and other Punch-Out!! characters, including Super Macho Man. In the parody article, they depict Super Macho Man as "clinically depressed" and "confined to a wheelchair, the result of medical complications arising from the weight of his enormous upper torso bearing down upon his tiny legs." In a humour article, ESPN created several parodies of Punch-Out!! characters based on real-life "punch-worthy palookas," including one of Super Macho Man called "Super Madoff Man," based on Bernard Madoff. MTV editor Jason Cipriano jokingly questioned whether or not Super Macho Man was "not only the President of Steroid Club for Men, but also a client."
In his review of Cho Aniki, a video game with several homosexual undertones, Lucas M. Thomas of IGN made reference to Super Macho Man demonstrating these undertones, stating that players may have looked away from him "flexing his pecs." An ESRB description of Punch-Out!! for the Wii mentioned a boxer who flexed his pectoral muscles, leading MTV editor Stephen Totilo to question whether this was Super Macho Man or not.

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