As this is a Headscratchers page, all spoilers will be unmarked ahead. You Have Been Warned!
Where did Cuphead and Mugman's Finger Gun power come from?
The prologue shows that their caretaker, Elder Kettle, gave them a special magical potion that gives them their abilities.
Cuphead and Mugman fight Ribby and Croaks in a high-class club... for flies. I have so many questions. For starters, what are the frogs even doing there? Looking for their lunch?
The frogs probably came to eat the flies and Cuphead and Mugman are saving them.
They might be security guards or bouncers. Few troublesome flies would be willing to tango with much bigger frogs willing to eat them.
Also remember: it's a cartoon world that's supposedly modeled after the 1920s of America. Chances are the flies all have guns on them, and they're enjoying the fight, meaning they might be betting on who wins. As for why the frogs don't just eat them, maybe it's just not that kind of world and for the viewers, that's the joke.
In the last phase of Baroness von Bon Bon's battle, there is no transition between the Baroness standing on top of the castle and her going back into the castle, and vice versa. Not to mention that the castle's face returns to the way it looked in the previous phases of the battle when the Baroness goes back in. Considering how much detail was put into everything else we've seen so far, this single instance of Limited Animation is a little jarring. What happened there? That's not going to be in the final version, right?
That's just a bug. It will be removed before the game is released.
So Dr. Kahl didn't owe a debt to the devil but his robot instead? How does that work?
The robot had sentience/sapience and wished for something without Kahl's approval. Maybe a soul?
It's likely that Kahl's Robot struck a deal to borrow a soul from the Devil so it can enjoy the joys of being close to living, on the condition that it returns the soul on a certain date and comes to Hell to work for him.
I assumed that the robot was a Soul Jar. Perhaps even Dr. Khal's soul was in it. Who knows.
In the fight against Verner Vermin, the cat is revealed to be a robot manned by the rodent himself. That leaves a big question, who were the ghosts that fly out of the cat's mouth? Were they enemies of Verner? War criminals?
Why do Cuphead and Mugman work for the Devil anyways? All the other people who are in the Devil's debt got away pretty easily if it weren't for Cuphead and Mugman going after them. So if Cuphead and Mugman just don't hunt them down and go their merry ways, what could the Devil do, given that he seemingly couldn't collect all those other debts himself and also seems to lack other enforcers? It just seems like the Devil lacks a proper way of putting pressure on the Cups.
They bet their souls, so they had to give them to the Devil right then and there. The bosses' debts were due at a definite date, and on that day they dashed and didn't pay up.
Also, considering that the Devil had a list of each debtor, it's likely that he was prepared to go after them, it's just that when Cuphead and Mugman begged for mercy, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to make them do the dirty work instead.
Elder Kettle also specifically told Cuphead and Mugman to collect the debtors' contracts. They went to him since they were convinced he would know what to do. The alternative wouldn't have been great: Cuphead and Mugman would have to either hold down the fort until the Devil himself or another gambling addict would come and try to take their souls.
Elder Kettle also explains to Cuphead and Mugman that with enough practice, they may one day be strong enough to fight King Dice and The Devil. Collecting the contracts and getting through the levels helps get them ready for the real task at the end of the game.
So if all the bosses are on The Devil's payroll, that means they all at some point made deals with him. This begs the question; what did they ask for in return?
Probably all the crazy powers, equipment, and transformations we see them using. This would explain why they're so huge during gameplay, but look relatively normal-sized in the ending. They've been Depowered due to their contracts being destroyed.
What’s that liquid in Cuphead and Mugman’s heads? It looks like... milk, maybe?
Judging by the container in one of the trailers, I'd say it's moonshine.
When you buy a weapon, it comes in the form of a bottle of liquid. So what's in their heads depends on what weapons they have. Though since their starting weapon is called the Peashooter, it's probably pea soup.
If destroying the soul contracts frees the debtors from the Devil's agreement, why didn't the bosses just destroy them when they had them?
My guess is only the literal fires of Hell could destroy them, considering they did it back at the Devil's palace. And why would they go back to Hell and risk meeting the Devil again?
The Devil would still be after them. The burning of the contracts could only stick if The Devil is also put in his place.
Is there some deeper pun/reference to Rumor Honeybottoms' name, besides the obvious? What do rumors have to do with bees, anyhow?
It's based on the slang term for rumors and/or gossip: "buzz". As in "have you heard the latest buzz around town?" There's your bee pun.
How did all the debtors steal their soul contracts from the Devil? It's happened enough times that he as a list of all those who succeeded, so either they're just left out in the open, or security is Hell is pretty lax.
Their contracts probably represented that they had to give their souls to the Devil at a certain date, and didn't show up when that date came.
The pink die in King Dice's battle is cube-shaped, yet somehow has only three sides that you can land on. How?
He made the die for the game that he puts the brothers through.
For tabletop games, it's called a d3. It has 1-2-3-1-2-3 on the six sides. So there are only three numbers, but it's still got six sides.
So for the Phantom Express boss, was it the train itself that made the deal with the Devil? How exactly does that work?
It might have been a collective deal, like with Ribby and Croaks
If Cuphead/Mugman's shots can't affect ghosts, how can they affect the blue, slim ghost on the Phantom Express?
They affect ghosts if they pacted with the Devil.
Maybe there are different types of ghosts, and the one on the Phantom Express is a different "species" than the Mausoleum ghosts.
The ghost on the Phantom Express could be part of the train, possibly giving it a weak spot since it's bound to a physical object.
So, King Dice's only job was to make sure Cuphead and Mugman had all the soul contracts and then let them through? Why didn't he collect the contracts himself whenever the Cups visited a Die House, and then deliver them to the Devil himself? Then King Dice and the Devil could have avoided being cheated out of the contracts...
King Dice bet on the boy’s abilities to do so with the Devil, presumably against them, since he’s so pissed when you’ve got them all. He was most likely trying to hinder your progress as much as possible (his own Villain Song mentions he doesn’t play fair; ‘I never play nice’). Besides, he was there under the guise of making sure the Cups are fulfilling their deal, since the Devil said he ’’may’’ spare their souls, if they go get the debtor’s soul contracts, and if they try to get to the Devil without them all, then presumably Old Scratch ain’t gonna be pleased.
Why have Ribby and Croaks turn into a slot machine? Why not save a slot machine boss for King Dice's level? What do slot machines have to do with frogs, anyway?
They're boxers in a floor show at a clip joint, which is a term applied to both nightclubs and casinos that overcharge or cheat their customers out of money. Both boxing matches and gambling were often fixed by organized crime, so the connection is more between those two than frogs necessarily.
Grim Matchstick question: Do his other two heads have personalities or are they all him? If they're all different, why doesn't he have them out all the time, even at the end when he's standing with a look of approval at our heroes on the stage?
This falls under WMG, but it's very likely the extra heads are what Grim sold his soul for. If that's the case, then he wouldn't have them in the end because after losing his contract he lost them too. The reason he doesn't have them out during his other stages probably falls under Rule of Drama: he goes from seemingly dazed and injured to leering at the camera instantly, meaning he was saving the heads for when it was "coolest".
How the heck does the crane in Mr. Chimes' battle have such a good grip on him? Just think, the one time a crane game doesn't let the price fall, and the prize is trying to kill you. What a ripoff.
It's the Devil's crane game, so it's designed to work against you in every way whether it makes sense or not. (So, a normal crane game).
Since the fluid in the brothers' heads is their souls how come it can leak and spill with no repercussions?
Presumably, the fluid just goes right back into their heads using Toon Physics.
They could also be using a minor case of Negative Continuity, or their souls simply regenerate.
Just before fighting The Devil, there's a cutscene where he tells you to hand over the soul contracts... and join his team. Wait, what? Since when was that second thing part of the deal? The whole point of the journey was that Cuphead and Mugman would be off the hook if they did what the Devil said. Granted, it's in the Devil's nature to cheat, but if you die during the first phase he scolds you for breaking your promise. It's also a bit mind-boggling that saying "Yes" is even an option as if anyone would agree to hand over their souls after working so hard to keep them.
Ignoring the fact that this is the Devil we are talking about. I guess that there may have been some kind of hidden catch that Cuphead and Mugman didn't know about. Maybe doing the devil's work (i.e. collecting souls owed to him) makes you turn evil and become his minions, which could be considered a separate matter to the Devil owning your soul via contract.
I thought it was a trick to take their souls anyway. He bet on them being too eager to get a reward for running his errands and forgetting they were doing it to get off the hook and not to gain something. Seeing how impulsive and competitive Cuphead is to play with the Devil without a second thought, it might have worked.
Maybe it was a Xanatos Gambit. If Cuphead and Mugman fail to get the contracts, the Devil gets their souls. If they succeed, they will have done the Devil's work, therefore putting them under the Devil's control. This means that the Devil technically gains ownership of their souls anyway, along with the souls of all the debtors. In the Good Ending, Cuphead and Mugman Take a Third Option by getting the contracts, but then defying the Devil right to his face and fighting him.
So how does Railroad Wrath work? You're fighting a train full of ghosts. Did every single one of them lose a soul bet against the devil? What about the ghosts who don't even have the hands needed to gamble, such as the train?
Why did the Elder Kettle even have that magical potion?
Considering the fact that the literal Devil lives on the Inkwell Isles, it's safe to say that the Elder Kettle would want to have some means of protecting himself and his children.
When Cuphead and Mugman die in-game, they turn into angels and ascend up to Heaven (unless the other player parries them back into the fight). But isn't the entire point of the game the fact that they'd be going in the other direction when they die?
Well-spotted. The fact is, throughout folklore, deals with the Devil are essentially lies. He doesn't get your soul because you made the deal; he gets your soul if, like most people who make a deal with him, you used what you got for evil and/or selfish purposes. Since Cuphead and Mugman are essentially just fighting people, all of whom attack first, they're not condemning themselves until and unless you hand the soul contracts over to the Devil.
Maybe they're not going to Heaven, but to St. Peter to get judged. Presumably, he'd see that the boys lost their souls to the Devil, then send them to Hell.
Toon logic, like when the weasels "die laughing" in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The weasels who turn into angels aren't actually Killed Off for Real, they're just invoking the image of being dead. This explains how Cuphead and Mugman can keep coming back after dying each time. It also explains how Chef Saltbaker went right back to normal after his battle, even though the battle showed his body shattering.
Why are the enemies in Funfair Fever and Funhouse Frazzle enemies? It would make sense for the enemies in the other platforming levels (animals, plants, and mythical creatures) to be neutral and territorial, but why do a bunch of circus performers and toys want to kill Cuphead and Mugman?
Why don't the brothers (and Chalice) use their own planes in the fight with the Howling Aces?
The Aces are clearly experienced pilots, having even gotten their kids into flying, so they'd likely curbstomp you in a proper dogfight since the cups only recently learned to fly, and they'd never faced a rival pilot before. Piggybacking off another pilots's plane and fighting with their finger guns was the best way to even the odds.
Notice the direction the Bulldog's aircraft and the Saluki's airship attack from. One attacks from above, the other from the sides and behind. Without the use of EX weapons or Supers, the Cups in their airplanes wouldn't be able to hit either aircraft, as the shots fly forwards and the bombs hit downwards.
What happened to King Dice after his defeat? Unlike the Devil, King Dice is a mortal residence just like Chef Saltbaker, who was arrested, and reformed after doing community service.
When you meet the Devil just before fighting him, he notes that you beat King Dice, and calls him a "good-for-nothing lackey." Clearly, he already knows that you defeated King Dice. Maybe the Devil gave him a hellish fate offscreen.
Do we actually have any evidence that the Howling Aces are a family? Sure they have similar fur colors but that doesn't necessarily mean that they share a blood relation, the pups could just be younger recruits that the bulldog and saluki pilots are training. Even if they are related, they could merely be siblings/cousins. It feels like there's a little too much ambiguity to call them a married couple with kids.
Why does Chef Saltbaker call the Cups "meddling"? They did exactly what he asked them to do.
Up until they wandered into his secret lair and stumbled upon his plans and true nature, at which point they went from 'helpful patsies' to 'meddling kids'.
How does Saltbaker kidnap the soul? Wouldn't that require complete control over the astral plane, which one needs the Wondertart for?
Whoever's soul he has, maybe he killed them. (Or at least, beat them up until they turned into their ghost form, if we're going by one of the other theories on this page that toons in this world can't actually die.)
So... What happened to Wally Warbles and his son? The last time we see Wally is him getting spiced by the paramedics. Does this mean Wally and his son both got Eaten Alive? Are he and his son still alive? Or did they disappear into the Ed, Edd n Eddy universe?
If this is anything like The Cuphead Show!, the Devil can leave Inkwell Hell whenever he wants. He could potentially follow them to the ends of the earth. If the bosses are going to fight back against him, or whoever he sends after them, maybe they feel that it's best to do so in their own territories.
How are the Howling Aces capable of turning the screen? A lot of things can be answered with being in a cartoon world with magic, or similar explanations. But an Interface Screw that only happens in this fight to such an extent seems a bit too much to handwave.
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