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 elite Shyster Bodyguards. Mack was not a fool, and sent a group of Shysters to attack the pair. After they defeated them, Mack engaged them together with the bodyguards.

Mack is a fairly easy opponent, and 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 and driving back the invading armies. 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.
• Jack the Knife, a character from Wario: Master of Disguise, has a name very similar to Mack the Knife. It's possible that his name also comes from the song "Mack the Knife".
• 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.
• Strangely enough, the ending seems to imply that the original Mack apparently survived after his defeat, as he, along with Bowyer and Yaridovich, were last seen in the ending parade getting 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.

References

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