The cranky eagle villager Apollo has been around since the beginning of the Animal Crossing series and has appeared in every game since, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Apollo is one big reference to the United States. He's a bald eagle, the national symbol of the U.S.A. that has become somewhat of a meme in more recent years, but Apollo's birthday also falls on the 4th of July, or Independence Day, for the country. While he doesn't make any joking references to "freedom" or other America-related cracks, it's widely thought that his name is a reference to Apollo 11 and the Apollo Space Program, an American-driven initiative that landed the first humans on the moon. Additionally, Apollo 11's lunar module used the callsign "Eagle," and a bald eagle appears on the mission's patch.
But as a cranky eagle villager in Animal Crossing, it's also possibly a reference to the Greek god Apollo, who was known to have an arrogant personality similar to Apollo in the world of Animal Crossing. Like most cranky villagers, Apollo will be grouchy in most instances and are more difficult to befriend than other villagers such as peppy Animal Crossing villagers. They'll become angry if the player disagrees with them, and Apollo specifically enjoys spreading rumors about others in his free time, especially peppy villagers.
Prior to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Apollo would play K.K. Soulful on his stereo, which is known to be possibly inspired by the hit song "Lean On Me." But with New Leaf, Apollo began playing K.K. Rock, which could be another reference to his American-inspired design. Since the beginning of the series, his homes have featured mostly Modern furniture such as the Modern Bed and Modern Lamp with other elements mixed in, like his Diner Mini Table in New Horizons.
His favorite clothing styles are cool and simple, but black clothing is often a great gift for the A-tier villager Apollo, and he iconically wears a Flight Jacket in black as his default clothing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Likewise, his favorite style before New Horizons was rock 'n' roll. The exterior of his home in the most recent Animal Crossing installment is similar to a plain black-and-white design.
While he does enjoy the usual relaxation hobbies, his favorite hobby is music, a known fact in the mobile spinoff Pocket Camp as well, where the player must craft an Electric Bass before he can be invited to the player's campsite.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out now for Nintendo Switch.