Sandbox / Very Punchable Wick Check

This page will cover a wick check for the trope Very Punchable Man.

Progress: Complete (50/50).

Why?: To borrow an extremely apt expression from Theriocephalus, this looks like "several tropes in a trench coat".

Based on the questionably-written description, it appears to refer to a character that's so unpleasant they only exist to (deservingly) get clobbered by The Hero, combining elements of Asshole Victim, Mugging the Monster, Karmic Butt-Monkey, and just plain old Jerkass, as well as the Stock Phrase of a Smug Snake-esque character being described as "very punchable". I am doubtful as to whether it's distinct enough to be a trope in its own right.

Comments in bold. Indexes excluded.

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Matches description - a jerkish character whose main purpose in the narrative is to get thumped (or worse) by the protagonist (15/50)

• Recap.Monarch Legacy Of Monsters S 1 E 2 Departure: Shaw's first chronological scene in the series in 1952 is him getting into trouble with General Puckett for beating up a pair of drunken soldiers who were sexually molesting an unwilling Filipino barwoman.
• YMMV.Shazam: Despite being ruthless bullies who repeatedly assault a disabled kid, the Breyer brothers are very amusing to watch, especially when they meet their downfalls.
• Characters.Saturday Night Live: They are so overconfident about their bad rapping, they end up getting a smackdown from Questlove.
• Recap.Furry Fight Chronicles A 1 P 1 C 6 The Smiling Nighthawk: Nyarai's hippo client is rude, arrogant, racist, and perverted. His screen time is dedicated to give Nyarai a justified excuse to kick his face off.
• The Second Gate: Several, but the most punchable are the three pirates who assaulted Rumil when she was working as a stripper.
• The Invisible Maniac: Deconstructed with Henry. One of the reasons Chet picks on him is because Bunny claims the way Henry watches the girls creeps them all out, so he goes chewing out Henry and pushing him around in order to impress her; yet Henry is by far the closest thing to an innocent character in this entire movie (and Chet goes spying on Bunny and all the other girls in the showers without their consent just as much as any of the other males in this movie do), so Chet's really doing nothing but Kicking The Dog here.
• Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio himself often qualifies, but Ricardo Rodriguez in particular gets it pretty bad. Every time he attempts to interrupt a match in Del Rio's favor usually leads to a very nasty beatdown from his opponent. Even more passive Faces such as Rey Mysterio Jr. have been driven to a merciless rage over his interfering. This did not disappear even now that Del Rio was a Face. In fact, it seems to have been cranked up to eleven, now that Big Show has singled out Ricardo as a target.
• Characters.One Piece D And D (Lieutenant Hubris): Really just exists to be an obnoxious Marine who gets his ass kicked.
• Angels, Devils and Squid: From a story perspective, it makes sense. You see it a lot in stories where God and Satan Are Both Jerks. The angels serve as foils for the hero, allowing him to show off his rule-breaking attitude. The devils prove the hero's toughness and cleverness by giving him someone to beat. And the outsiders serve as the villains of the story.
• Characters.No Time To Die (Dr. Obruchev): He gets thrown around like a rag doll by both Bond and Nomi. Given that he's a genocidal Mad Scientist, he deserves every bit of it.
• Characters.Hazbin Hotel Hell (Katie Killjoy): An official source stated that she was based on Gail Hailstorm from Scary Movie, a newswoman deliberately made to be a Hate Sink for the protagonists to abuse.
• Seasons of Love: Andrew in "The Renewal," who exists solely to have sex with Stacey before getting punched out by John. Until he returns in a few later episodes.
• Characters.Superbad (Jesse): Slater wrecks his shit for spitting on him.
• Shadow of the Conqueror: Fergen, a Jerkass whose only role in the story is to briefly show up and get his ass kicked by Daylen.
• Recap.Cobra Kai S 2 E 6 Take A Right: The jerkass at the bar who sexually harasses a waitress and makes fun of Tommy's terminal illness exists solely for the purpose of being a big enough asshole to justify the OG Cobra Kais beating up him and his friends in a Bar Brawl.

Character is described as or is otherwise inherently "punchable" (14/50)

• Characters.Kill The Joker Survival Game: His being punched counter is over 5, and it's only chapter one.
• Justice by Other Legal Means (Real Life): "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli became the most hated CEO in America after he raised the price of an AIDS-related drug by over 5,000%. However, raising a price of a drug he owns is legal, so nothing could be done about that. Then it was discovered that he was involved in a Ponzi-like scheme, which is a federal crime. Also, it turns out that making yourself the most hated CEO in America is not conducive to getting an unbiased jury. Shkreli was ultimately sentenced to 7 years in prison, crying in court while his verdict was read.
  The Court: The question is, have you heard anything that would affect your ability to decide this case with an open mind. Can you do that?
  Juror no. 144: I don’t think I can because he kind of looks like a dick.
• Final Boss Preview (Professional Wrestling): One of WWC's sillier uses of this trope was Ricardo Rodriguez. He was a talented wrestler who cut good promos, but he was nowhere as physically intimidating as the Puerto Rican Champion Ilegal Chicano. Furthermore, Rodriguez had just come off a lengthy stint as the punchable mangaer of El Patron Alberto, where Chicano was a legit combat sports athlete fields pro wrestling, including an undefeated in amateur boxing that continued into the pros when he was forced to turn pro by Puerto Rico's athletic commission. To make fans see Rodriguez as a credible threat to a Cotto, one would need to build him back up for months, maybe even years, but WWC couldn't resist having a Mexican win the Puerto Rican Championship belt and rub it in the faces of the fans.
• Characters.Genshin Impact Liyue Harbor (Hu Tao): Qiqi refers to Hu Tao as someone with a "very punchable face" ad verbum due to her prankster and cheeky behavior, to say nothing of how she tried to bury her in the past.
• RunningGag.Vinesauce Tomodachi Life: Broccoli and his "incredibly punchable face". Vinny brings it up almost every time he appears.
• Recap.What If S 2 E 5 What If Captain Carter Fought The Hydra Stomper: Nat and Peggy both declare their reality's version of Loki an extremely punchable person. Then they proceed to do just that.
• Funny.Pokemon Reset Bloodlines (Expanded Universe): Drake referring to Herbert in his mind as 'punchable kid'.
• Anansi Boys: Every time he talks with Grahame Coats, Fat Charlie has to constantly talk himself down by reminding himself that strictly speaking he would go to jail if he punched his employer.
• Characters.Planet Of The Apes Reboot Series Humanity (Douglas Hunsiker): He receives misfortunes in his appearances and turned out to be well-deserved due to his despicable behavior.
• Cat Fight (Pro Wrestling): Jim Cornette believes men make better managers than women because wimpy men tend to be more punchable and that women who can't wrestle are best for this trope. That said, on shows he has anything resembling an authoritative position, such as SMW, Ohio Valley, TNA or Ring of Honor, he's made his preference for actual matches between trained women athletes than for cat fights visible. His lamentation being there are simply less of those athletes available since Fabulous Moolah stopped working as a trainer.
• Characters.Coreline (Thailog): An arrogant, Too Clever by Half sumbitch. By Gargoyles-verse standards, he won the Superpower Lottery; he has a lot of monetary and political power, and he's the kind of Magnificent Bastard that can be a threat with just one inch when other villains need a dozen miles. In a Fiction series written by Greg Weisman, he would probably have "Invincible Villain" written on mile-high neon letters. But the Core Timeline runs on different rules, and he's going to have to roll with a lot of punches.
• Working Class Anthem: Songs that glorify things like income inequality and 20-hour workdays are usually sung by Sleazy Politicians and Upper-Class Twits who you Love to Hate, thus you associate these terrible things with a Very Punchable face.
• Characters.Code Prime Decepticons (Starscream): Both Autobots and Decepticons have joked that the only reason Megatron keeps Starscream around is to use him as stress relief, since it's so fun to punch him.
• Characters.Double Cross (Hancho): You even get more Upgradium if you punch him after the boss battle.

Character is a Karmic Butt-Monkey, being unpleasant and repeatedly suffering misfortune (4/50)

• Central Intelligence: Steve is a highly perverted co-worker of Calvin, who gets everyone uncomfortable with his raunchiness. So it's always satisfying when Pamela tasers him every time he hits on her.
• Characters.Zig And Sharko Zig: He's a villain and this universe has had more things happen to him than just being punched^note though that's happened several times too...
• Characters.The Karate Kid Other Characters (Brucks): His actions and words towards his victims are contemptible, to the point that seeing Johnny, Miguel, and Hawk take him down in a fight is satisfying to watch. These fights all happened separately.
• One Foot in the Grave: Victor is often an example of such a fellow when given center spotlight, given his unpleasant (though occasionally justified) demeanor often earns him terrible retribution from the universe around him. A good few one shots act as this under Victor's more sympathetic moments however, perhaps most notably a repulsive snob who bullies him during his job as doorman, before getting a vicious scolding and his toupee thrown down the drain in retaliation.
  • Of course, given the kind of universe Victor lives in and the stereotype he's come to epitomise, his predicament is understandable.

Character exists for a superhero to demonstrate their powers on, á la Bit Part Bad Guys (2/50)

• Ramen Fighter Miki:
  • Miki encounters an unfortunate thief, Lowly Criminal Yakuza, and Japanese Delinquents, all of them only there to Mug The Monster Miki and give her an excuse to Curb-Stomp Battle them, and then be forgotten.
    "Hey Missy, are you going to pretend that you didn’t bump into me? You shouldn't distress us ordinary citizens. Maybe you should pay me as an apology."
  • This trope also explains why Miki treats Kankuro as the Unknown Rival. Miki has forgotten why Kankuro wants to defeat her, but she considers him a Bit-Part Badguy / Very Punchable Man that keeps meeting her. Joint example with Bit Part Bad Guys.
• UnknownRival.Anime And Manga: This trope is justified and deconstructed with protagonist Miki Onimaru of Ramen Fighter Miki who can never remember Kankuro Nishiyama, despite his attempting to serve her with a formal challenge to battle nearly every episode. Justified because Miki is The Bully/School Yard Bully All Grown Up who suffers Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny! and But for Me, It Was Tuesday. And deconstructed because as a Fighting Series protagonist, Miki always encounters Bit Part Bad Guys/ Very Punchable Men that defy her, she promptly defeats and immediately forgets about; why should Kankuro be different than them?

Character is unpleasant and/or a Jerkass, no further elaboration (2/50)

• Characters.New Tales From The Borderlands: Gives a hard time to the trio prior to the show and refuses to reveal what his device does. Pierre Pallantine
• HateSink.Video Games: Skyrim also gives us Nazeem, an infuriatingly arrogant Redguard trader who constantly taunts and treats the rest of Whiterun like idiots and acts like he's the most important person in the entire city. His only other defining character traits are that he's a Dirty Coward and a Sycophantic Servant, with his Catchphrase being mocking the Dragonborn for not attending the "Cloud District", Whiterun's highest city level and home to Jarl Balgruuf and his court. Combining all that together and the fact that not even the other people of Whiterun like him (his own wife, Ahlam, often snarks that he can be found "stuffing himself up the Jarl's backside"), and one gets the idea that Nazeem is practically Tamriel's physical embodiment of the Very Punchable Man.

Zero-Context Examples / Potholes (10/50)

• Characters.Premarital Relationship: Both sides of the fourth wall want to punch his face in. Elder Park
• Home (Out-of-Lullabies): The cop most definitely. Andrew also really.
• PlayingWith.Slimeball: The creators haven't made a designated Hate Sink or Very Punchable Man yet, and Tommy still feels a little unfinished... Hmmm, maybe combine Tommy's corporate background with a jerkish personality?
• Funny.Mitama Security Spirit Busters: Joh tries to warm their heart with the kind of corny faces and dialogue that you see in bad PSAs, but it only makes him Very Punchable even when they are apologizing. Incomprehensible pothole.
• Defile Circles: Tamar reconnects with Thebes due to an off-screen altercation with one of these.
• Paul Dano: He's not killed off enough to be a Chronically Killed Actor, but his characters tend to take a lot of punishment (sometimes they qualify as Very Punchable Man), to the point where a podcast called "Is Paul Dano OK?" was created to cover his career and lampoon all the abuse he's taken. Needless to say, fans love making jokes about his track record of being beaten up. For example, he's been...
• Secret Histories: Philip MacAlpine in The Spy Who Haunted Me he was thrashed by Eddie and Molly he was demoted to MI-13. He then used his contacts to find members of the old satanic conspiracy. Then made himself the leader of the new satanic conspiracy.
• EnsembleDarkHorse.Pro Wrestling: EC3's one-time partner, Rockstar Spud also qualifies, despite having even less in ring credibility to his name, mainly existing to serve as a meat shield for Ethan Carter and whoever else TNA wanted to milk an impending encounter with. Again, what worked was people finding him funny. When Ethan eventually became more of a serious wrestler and Spud got tired of his abuse, the two were well-received, to the point Spud spent an enjoyable tenure as an underdog face and later EC3 was able to turn into the company's top face through a Face/Heel Double-Turn with Matt Hardy over the TNA world title. Can't determine context.
• Fridge.Chronicle: The scene with Richard and Andrew at the hospital is bad enough as it already is, but there could be an even worse interpretation: Taking into account that this is where Andrew becomes fed up with his father, who really did care about his mom enough to be upset about her death, and that there have been some parallels between them, especially said mom being the Morality Chain they've now lost, then Richard possibly had enough of his son as well (not that we know how much, exactly), and an "apology" from Andrew was just what he wanted first... Though it's even more likely that the odds would have been against him, either way.
• All You Need Is Love: Mello (with Naomi doing the punching.)

Misuse / Other (3/50)

• Characters.Like A Dragon: Really, these guys only exist just so you can have the satisfaction of beating them to a bloody pulp, and provide a steady amount of punching bags to test your HEAT moves on. Relating to the Thugs, which are just weak Mooks, so I don't see how this trope could apply.
• Characters.Sword Art Online Underworld (Raios Antonious and Humbert Zizek): They are a pair of snobbish nobles who treat Kirito and Eugeo with contempt for being common citizens, and the two would eventually have parts of their body severed off by their victims in retaliation for an attempt to violate both Ronye and Tiese. Given their treatment towards their victims, it's hard to feel sorry for them. Sounds like Laser-Guided Karma.
• PlayingWith.Mugging The Monster (Enforced): In general, this is all about some criminal or bully getting a well-deserved ass-kicking from someone they erroneously judged to be an easy mark. Human nature being what it is, it would be difficult to find an audience who wouldn't find this appealing. In short; Very Punchable Man. This just seems to be describing Asshole Victim, no?

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