Little Mac

Little Mac is the protagonist in the NES classic Punch-Out!!. He is, as his name implies, a rather small character, though his dream is to become the best boxer in the Boxing circuit. During the game, he is trained by Doc Louis, another popular character in the series.

The young adult is supposedly 17 years old, and only 4 feet, 8 inches (and 107 pounds). He was born in the Bronx, New York, and wishes to one day be a member of the World Video Boxing Association. While in New York City, he traveled the area in search of a trainer, though was rejected at least 200 times. However, a previous boxing pro named Jerome Louis decided to help the kid.

Ultimately it was up to the player to determine if he accomplished this goal of his, and if the player was good, he'd be required to go up against the toughest fighter of them all, Mr. Dream.

First Appearances
In 1984, the arcade game, Punch-Out!!, was released. In that game was an unnamed boxier that was striving to become the champ. Many fans claim that this unnamed boxer is Little Mac. If that is the case, then 1984 was Little Mac's debut year. In that game, Little Mac fought against six boxers. Four of those boxers - Glass Joe, Piston Hurricane, Bald Bull, and Mr. Sandman - will appear in future Punch-Out titles.

In 1985, there was a sequel to the arcade game called Super Punch-Out!!. In this game, Little Mac boxed against five opponents. All five of these boxers were to appear in later titles in the series. They were Bear Hugger, Dragon Chan, Vodka Drunkenski (who is better known as Soda Popinski in the NES, Great Tiger, and Super Macho Man.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
In 1987, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out was released, and this marked the first game where the challenger whom the player controls gained an identity. This is the game where Little Mac gets his name and his background. Because this is the only Punch-Out game where the controlled boxer has a name, all Punch-Out games have dubbed the main challenger the name of Little Mac.

Little Mac was no taller than 5 feet, and barely weighed over 100 pounds, but his ultimate dream was to become the heavyweight champion of the World Video Boxing Association (WVBA). Having Doc Louis, a retired pro boxer, as his boxing coach, Little Mac trained day and night for the challenges in the ring. Boxers such as Glass Joe, Bald Bull, Mr. Sandman, and Super Macho Man make their appearances in this game. Other notable boxers that challenged Little Mac were King Hippo and Japanese boxer Piston Honda. Little Mac worked his way up, earning titles from the Minor Circuit, the Major Circuit, and the World Circuit, until finally he made it to the Dream Fight, the fight which determined who would be the new heavyweight champion of the WVBA. Mike Tyson was a special character added to the game to be the last boxer. But when Nintendo's license to have Tyson as a special character expired, an new and official Nintendo character, Mr. Dream, replaced Tyson. So officially, it is Mr. Dream who Little Mac had to defeat in order to become champion.

Super Punch-Out!!
Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES featured a blond-haired boxer named by the player. The Electronic Arts game, Fight Night: Round 2 for the GameCube claims that this character is "Little Mac" (or simply "Mac" according to the boxers he wears), but as the Fight Night series was not made or released by Nintendo, this is not considered canon; however, Nintendo hasn't confirmed whether or not that this is the remake of the original Little Mac.

Punch-Out!! Wii
Fans clammored for the return of the Little Mac, and Nintendo thankfully honored their wish when Next Level Games and Nintendo announced a new Punch-Out for the Wii titled Punch-Out!! Wii (tenative title). The game would, once more, feature Little Mac as the game's protagonst. In this game he, and all the other characters, will be represented in a cell shaded manner (similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker). However, even though Little Mac returned to his original NES appearance, it has been modified. In the upcoming Punch-Out!!, Little Mac appears tan and sports a new hairdo.

Other Appearences

 * Little Mac was featured as the protagonist in the Punch-Out!! stories featured in Valiant Comics' Nintendo Comics System, appearing in the stories "The First Fight", "Outsiders", and "Fox and Hounds".
 * Little Mac makes a cameo in the prologue short of the Captain N comic books, suggesting that his stories are canonical to the Captain N continuity, although he never showed up in any of the actual Captain N stories (nor did King Hippo, a Captain N regular, appear in the Punch-Out!! stories).
 * Little Mac appears in one of 9-Volt's microgames in WarioWare: Smooth Moves.
 * Little Mac appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an Assist Trophy. Here, whever he appeared, he'd jab opponents repeatedly, then finish them off with his trademark uppercut.
 * Little Mac appears in the Wii game, Captain Rainbow, as a supporting character. In the game, he travels to Minmin Island to once again become World Champion.  However, he has gained a lot of weight over the years, and the protagonist, Nick (aka, "Captain Rainbow") helps whip him back into shape.