Glass Joe first appeared as the first opponent in the arcade classic Punch-Out!! in 1984. 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. His name is a pun on the phrase "glass jaw," indicating a boxer with a weak jaw that can be easily broken. Glass Joe has also appeared as a Hasbro Action Figure and in a Topps trading card series and on a Punch-Out!! Garbage Can. When Nintendo's license with Mike Tyson ran out, they remade the game and called it Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream. In the game Glass Joe once again reclaimed is position as the easiest character to defeat.
Glass Joe is the easiest character to beat in any version of Punch-Out. He has poor defensive skills and takes quite a while to mount any offense. In Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, his lone signature maneuver is his "Taunt Punch" in which he takes a few steps back, shakes his gloves, mumbles a few words and then rushes forward to unleash his right hook. He is also known as 'France's Glass Saw'.
The theme music played for Glass Joe is taken from "La Marseillaise", the national anthem of France. Joe being from France may be a reference to the French military's lack of success in World War II. Glass Joe trained boxer Gabby Jay who appeared in the Super Nintendo game Super Punch-Out!! Glass Joe later made an appearance in the pages of the Nintendo Comics System in the story of "The First Fight" against Little Mac. He also makes a cameo appearance in the Captain N story "The Happy Zone".
Glass Joe returned in the Wii game Punch-Out!!. In the game, he is the first opponent that the player will take on to keep with tradition. Like the other characters in the game, Glass Joe is cel-shaded.
Trash talk
- "This is my last match! I'm too old for fighting!"
- "Make it quick... I want to retire!"
- "Do I have time to take a nap before the fight?"
- "Watch the jaw!! don't hit my jaw!"