Grandpa Kettle

Grandpa Kettle is the family ship between Cuphead, Mugman and Elder Kettle from the Cuphead fandom.

Cuphead (Video Game)
Cuphead and Mugman start the story under the care of the wise Elder Kettle. Kettle treated them fairly, allowed them to play and have fun as long as they never go too far away from home. For the longest time, the brothers heeded their caretaker's request, but then they got bored of seeing the same things every day. Despite Kettle's warnings that there are dangerous people on the outskirts of the Inkwell Isles, Cuphead and Mugman dared to go far on the "wrong side of the tracks". There, they stumbled into a casino, and had such a winning streak that they carelessly gambled their souls away, with the Devil himself showing up to collect them. When they pleaded for another way to repay him, the Devil demanded that they take the souls of all their debtors instead, then rudely kicked them out. Cuphead hoped that Elder Kettle knew what to do, so he told Mugman to go back home and tell him the truth.

Elder Kettle wasn't mad, just disappointed. He regretfully tells the boys that there's nothing he can do against the Devil and the only chance they have is heeding his request to get all the soul contracts from his debtors. He can help them by giving them a potion, unlocking magical powers that allow them to shoot energy blasts from their fingers. He then trains them by telling them to go to his writing desk, he puts them on a piece of paper and draws an obstacle course for them, preparing them for what's to come.

When finishing the first five debtors on Inkwell Isle I, Elder Kettle catches up to the boys as best as his old legs could. He tells them that he is incredibly proud of them and admits that he thought that maybe they should take on the Devil himself. He tells them that they get stronger with every fight, so eventually they reach the point where they could overpower him. When the boys are swelling with confidence, Elder Kettle warns them to never hand their own soul contracts over to the Devil. He then allows them to proceed onto the next Isle.

Should the brothers succeed in defeating the Devil, Elder Kettle will be there celebrating with the debtors when the boys tell them that they are now free from the Devil's grasp. The narration states that Elder Kettle was "literally brimming with pride". While they were being lifted and celebrated by their former enemies, the two boys promise that they will never get into trouble again... until their "next adventure".

Fanon
Despite being a main character in the game, Elder Kettle got popularized by his portrayal in the Netflix cartoon, which gave him a redesign and stronger personality. His relationship with the boys is one of the most popular platonic relationships for the cartoon.

For the game, a decent amount of people were disappointed that Elder Kettle never gets to react to the reveal that his fears were proven correct and that the boys giving the Devil their soul contracts would turn them into his minions. Some even thought of a scenario where the old man sacrifices his own soul for the boys, leading to them having to fight him.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION