Stinkoman

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"Are you asking for a CHALLENGE?!!"
This article is about the character. For the game, see Stinkoman 20X6.
Looking for challenge

Stinkoman (occasionally spelled Stinko Man) is Strong Bad's 20X6 counterpart. He is an amalgam of anime clichés. This includes having blue hair; big eyes; a blocky sort of body; a head shaped like a bean; a mouth that is very small when closed, very large when open, and out of sync with his speech (a parody of poor dubbing). He also has a tongue that is sometimes green, and an obsession with challenges and fighting. He was introduced on January 6, 2003 in the Strong Bad Email japanese cartoon, which makes his birthday fall exactly one week before Trogdor's. His name is taken from island when Homestar Runner calls Strong Bad "Stinkoman". Stinkoman also stars in the game Stinkoman 20X6, which The Brothers Chaps introduced in the NYU Talk and later released on homestarrunner.com.

Most of Stinkoman's early appearances were accompanied by theme music, a MIDI of the track "Sunset Coastline" from the NES racing game Rad Racer occasionally with lyrics consisting mostly of the words "Challenge" and "Fighting" repeated. A full "Theme from Stinkoman" by Paul and Storm was written in 2007 or earlier, but would not see a full release until 2020. This theme features original music and lyrics about the 20X6 series, alongside interjections from Stinkoman himself.

Stinkoman employs technology to arrange, engage in, and practice for his challenges. He has a cell phone which he uses to challenge Marzipan in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 8.0. When the distance to his foes is too far, he whistles for the Stinkowing for transportation. Stinkoman uses his friend Vector Strong Bad as his "training simulator", as seen in alternate universe, but when not preparing for upcoming challenges he relaxes by playing the NES at Stinkoman Headquarters. Stinkoman's favorite foods appear to be chicken soup with dumplings, bread, power crunches, pudding, and prawns, as seen in Stinkoman 20X6.

His trademark attack is the "double deuce", which shows him holding his "hands" in front of himself and shouting "DOUBLE DEUUUUUUUCE!!!" while a glowing aura surrounds him.

Stinkoman vs. Mega Man

Various facets of Stinkoman's persona refer specifically to characters in real-world popular culture. In particular, Stinkoman is very similar in build to the NES incarnation of Mega Man, who also had blue hair at one point. In fact, Stinkoman's sprite in Stinkoman 20X6 is a modified version of the original Mega Man sprite. When Stinkoman grits his teeth, plus signs (+) make up the cracks between them. This illustration style was common in classic Nintendo arcade art. Stinkoman's lines, "Are you asking for a challenge?!" and "No way, you're just a kid! Maybe when you're older!" are very similar in both content and intonation to messages spoken by the Mega Man 8 boss Tengu Man: "Are you worthy of my challenge?" and "It's just a kid, don't make me laugh!". Stinkoman's condescending, dismissive attitude to the younger "kid" 1-Up is similar to how Kaneda treats Tetsuo in the anime movie Akira; his voice is somewhat similar to Cam Clarke's depiction of Kaneda in the 1989 dub. The 20X6-Akira connection appears again in an Easter egg in 3 Times Halloween Funjob. His "Double Deuce" is similar to various powered-up attacks seen in the Dragon Ball series.

Stinkoman has a strange habit of eating dirt, such as in Under Construction when he tastes what he thinks is dirt (although it turns out to be pudding). Additionally, in time capsule he eats "four hundred bites of dirt" despite finding the taste unappealing.

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Gallery

Character Evolution

Image Info Created Appearances What's Changed?
First design of Stinkoman 2003 japanese cartoon; Main Page 17 N/A
Second Stinkoman 2003 Toons from 20X6 vs. 1936; various Strong Bad Emails starting with time capsule; Stinkoman 20X6 Pants lighter colored and shaded; arms appear slightly longer, thinner and set higher up; his pants are also shinier.
Current design 2008 Toons from Twenty THANXty Six Highlights and shading are more detailed — pants now have shadow, circular highlights are two-tone, red shadows are lighter and slightly smaller, and the blue half-domes on his boots have more detail. His pants, body, boots and hands are animated more smoothly.

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