Claymorton

“Listen up, gang! These guys are gonna put a stop to OUR party! Are we HAPPY about this?!”

—Mack, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Mack is a member of the Smithy Gang and one of Smithy's lieutenants. He appears in the game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Mack is in command of an army of Shysters, pogo-stick riding Shy Guys. Mack also wields powerful fire magic. With his army of soldiers, Mack attacked the Mushroom Kingdom and occupied it. Mario, conveniently, was in Bandit's Way with Mallow, chasing down the thief Croco. Mack allowed his Shysters to overrun the town, causing chaos as they wished. Along with Bowyer, Yaridovich, and the Axem Rangers, Mack's inspiration was a weapon, in this case, a knife.

When Mario and Mallow returned to town, they were shocked by the sudden appearance of the Shysters. Together, they rescued townspeople and fought to the throne room of the castle, where they confronted Mack and his Shysters.

Mack is accompanied by a quartet of Shysters. The five use melee until Mario and Mallow defeat the Shysters. At this point, Mack will attack with fire magic. After a while, the Shysters return and Mack will leap into the air. All four Bodyguards must be defeated for the knife creature to return. After a few successful cycles, Mario and Mallow prevail, acquiring the first Star Piece. Following Mack's defeat, the two remaining Shysters left to inform Smithy of Mack's destruction. The duo then set out to seek counsel with Frogfucius, Mallow's grandfather.

Mack would return in Smithy's Factory, in the form of a gray mass-produced copy of the original.

Mack is a red-colored, roundish figure who holds onto a pair of handles on top of a giant knife with floating eyes (or maybe the knife itself), thereby riding the knife much as Shysters and their derivatives ride on pogo sticks. When attacking, Mack shakes his head.

Trivia

• Mack's name comes from the song, "Mack the Knife" (originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" in German). The song was composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, for the music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, in English, The Threepenny Opera. "Mack the Knife" was later covered by both Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darrin.
• When Mallow uses his Psychopath ability on the Machine Made version of Mack, he will say, "Mario! I'm BAAAAAACK!". This implies that one of the Machine Made versions of Mack is actually a rebuilt version of the original, rather than a copy like all the others.
• The ending seems to imply that the original Mack survived after his defeat, as he, along with Bowyer and Yaridovich, is seen in the ending parade being pounded by Smithy's hammer. This does not automatically indicate his survival, however, as the parade is merely an interesting way of showing the characters who were in the game.
• It is possible to skip the Mack encounter with a trick involving a tricky jump from a Shyster over to the Chancellor, who is hiding in the corner. The Shysters won't notice Mario, thus the fight will not be triggered. Mack and his gang will be gone after speaking with the Chancellor. The game will continue as normal, though the first Star Piece won't show up in the menu until after the second one is obtained since it wasn't formally collected.
• In the Minigame Body Builder from Mario Party 6, a robot's head resembles Mack's Head

References

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