Earth Bound Series - Recurring Elements - Characters - Porky Minch

Porky Minch

Porky Minch (ポーキー・ミンチ, Pōkī Minchi?), called Pokey Minch in the English-language version of EarthBound, sometimes referred to as Master Porky/Master Pokey, is a primary antagonist of EarthBound, and the main antagonist of Mother 3. In EarthBound, he begins as Ness' highly obnoxious best friend. He has a little brother named Picky Minch, who is much braver than he is. He joins Giygas, becoming his right-hand man because of the alien's mind controlling powers and because his father was physically and mentally abusive towards him and Picky. Another reason he joins Giygas is because many of the kids in Onett hate him and make fun of his weight a lot of the time. He is regularly seen attempting to thwart Ness. He eventually ends up in the "Cave of the Past", an area existing long before the events of EarthBound, where Giygas is located. He taunts the protagonists as they fight Giygas, and once Giygas is ultimately defeated, Porky disappears into space and time using a Time Distorter. His brother, Picky, comes to Ness' house at the end of the game, and gives Ness a note from Porky which suggests that he will return.

He was confirmed during the development of EarthBound 64 to be the primary villain; in fact, the game was at one point subtitled as "Fall of the Pig King". Not much information is provided on him, only that he formed an army of people who wear pig uniforms. EarthBound 64 was ultimately canceled, but was revived for the Game Boy Advance as Mother 3. He remains as the leader of the Pigmask Army and the primary antagonist, but is only revealed late in the game. His excessive time traveling petrified his body and mind, but he shows obvious signs of extreme age, which could range anywhere from 1,000 years old to 10,000 years old. His motives for attacking the Nowhere Islands, the primary location of Mother 3, are that he wanted to access the Dark Dragon's powers, which would cause the entire Earth to be destroyed and because as he himself says he wants to cure himself of his extreme case of boredom. He fights much like Giygas.

In an interview with Shigesato Itoi, he describes Porky as being a symbol of humankind. The interviewer commented that he turned extremely evil in Mother 3, going so far as to describe him as a demon. Porky's feelings for Ness are not clear; in the interview, Itoi commented that Porky had no friends, so perhaps he only played with Ness. He further added that his mean-spirited nature could have come from his parents Lardna Minch and Aloysius Minch, both of whom he described as being "pretty terrible." In the final battle of Mother 3, Porky encases himself in a device called the "Absolutely Safe Capsule". He is protected from all danger inside, but he cannot exit it. Shigesato Itoi commented that in theory, even when the Earth comes to an end in 5.5 billion years, Porky would still be alive. Itoi commented that the grief of this was depressing to him, and that Porky is "truly a poem in himself."

IGN editor Lucas Thompson included Porky on a list of five characters who may be included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl based on what he described as one of the more credible proposed rosters, describing his bed-mech as an intimidating sight to see. In the Subspace Emissary storymode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is a boss, following Lucas through an abandoned zoo. Ness jumps in to help Lucas, and together, they defeat Porky's spider-mech.