Jerkasses come in many shapes and sizes, but this character provokes a special kind of visceral loathing or irritation at first sight, to which other characters will openly admit — everything about them screams that a fist must be applied to their face, and that instinct is (almost) always spot-on.

A key trait of a Very Punchable Man is that he (and it typically is a he) is particularly open about his nastiness, intentionally or not, and makes no attempt to disguise it. They could be The Bully, a sleazy opportunist, insufferably arrogant, or otherwise delight in tormenting others. They will frequently Kick the Dog, and particularly effective ways of doing this include professing bigoted beliefs or being a perverted creep. Alternatively, a character's enmity towards them might stem from a more personal reason, whether they are simply an annoying Sitcom Arch-Nemesis or a deadly rival. It's also worth noting that a Very Punchable Man usually won't be an actual threat: Jerks Are Worse Than Villains after all, and the default reaction to this character is one of annoyance rather than fear — though that doesn't exclude the possibility they could become more dangerous later on.

Naturally, it is very likely that a character will ultimately act on that initial instinct and clobber the Very Punchable Man, which is usually rather satisfying, especially if the one doing the punching is a victim of theirs. Some works will make the Very Punchable Man a repeated target of misfortune that the protagonists and audience can enjoy seeing suffer, while others will draw out the Punchable Man's receipt of karma towards a particularly painful conclusion, which can be considered a form of Pay Evil unto Evil.

Even if they do have a Freudian Excuse behind their negativity against others, it won't always automatically mean that they'll get a forgiving pass, as their inherent douchebaggery has surpassed it, anyway. Another good way of identifying this sort of character involves the kindest and most empathetic character in the work agreeing that they need a good thumping.

Due to the nature of this trope, this is most likely going to be Always Male, but of course, Slapstick Knows no Gender, so not even the ladies are particularly scotch-free from this issue, either.

Characters particularly likely to become this include the Heel, Entitled Bastard, Mean Boss, Corrupt Corporate Executive, and Insufferable Genius. Contrast Devil in Plain Sight, where an obviously shady character is treated as completely innocent. Irrational Hatred is another possible reason a character might become Punchable. A Very Punchable Man tends to have so many enemies that a Who Murdered the Asshole? scenario may result if they are killed.

In German, a character like this is often called a backpfeifengesicht, which translates to "someone in need of a punch/slap in the face".

Please note this this trope covers In-Universe Examples Only — other characters or the narration must identify them as deserving of physical harm on general principles. If it's the audience who wants to punch them, see Hate Sink (for intentionally hateable characters) or The Scrappy (for unintentionally hated characters).

Examples: