In Greek mythology, Ixion ( /ɪkˈsaɪ.ən/ ik-SY-ən; Greek: Ἰξίων, Ixīōn; gen.: Ἰξίωνος) was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares, or Leonteus, or Antion and Perimele, or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas, whose name connotes "fiery". Peirithoös^[1] was his son (or stepson, if Zeus were his father, as the sky-god claims to Hera in Iliad 14).^[2] Ixion married Dia,^[3] a daughter of Deioneus (or Eioneus) and promised his father-in-law a valuable present. However, he did not pay the bride price, so Deioneus stole some of Ixion's horses in retaliation. Ixion concealed his resentment and invited his father-in-law to a feast at Larissa. When Deioneus arrived, Ixion pushed him into a bed of burning coals and wood. These circumstances are secondary to the fact of Ixion's primordial act of murder; it could be accounted for quite differently: in the Greek Anthology (iii.12), among a collection of inscriptions from a temple in Cyzicus is an epigrammatic description of Ixion slaying Phorbas and Polymelos, who had slain his mother, Megara, the "great one".^[4]

Ixion went mad, defiled by his act; the neighboring princes were so offended by this act of treachery and violation of xenia that they refused to perform the rituals that would cleanse Ixion of his guilt (see catharsis). Thereafter, Ixion lived as an outlaw and shunned. By killing his father-in-law, Ixion was reckoned the first man guilty of kin-slaying in Greek mythology. That alone would warrant him a terrible punishment.

Ixion by Jules-Elie Delaunay

However, Zeus had pity on Ixion and brought him to Olympus and introduced him at the table of the gods. Instead of being grateful, Ixion grew lustful for Hera,^[5] Zeus's wife, a further violation of guest-host relations. Zeus found out about his intentions and made a cloud in the shape of Hera, which became known as Nephele (nephos "cloud") and tricked Ixion into coupling with it. From the union of Ixion and the false-Hera cloud came Centauros, who mated with the Magnesian mares on Mount Pelion, Pindar told,^[6] engendering the race of Centaurs, who are called the Ixionidae from their descent.

Ixion was expelled from Olympus and blasted with a thunderbolt. Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning. Therefore, Ixion is bound to a burning solar wheel for all eternity, at first spinning across the heavens,^[7] but in later myth transferred to Tartarus^[8] Only when Orpheus played his lyre during his trip to the Underworld to rescue Eurydice did it stop for a while. "The details are very odd, the narrative motivation creaks at every juncture," observes Robert L. Fowler;^[9] "the myth smacks of aetiology." He notes that Martin Nilsson suggested^[10] an origin in rain-making magic, with which he concurs: "In Ixion's case the necessary warning about the conduct of magic has taken the form of blasphemous and dangerous conduct on the part of the first officiant.".

In the fifth century, Pindar's Second Pythian Ode (ca. 476-68 BCE) expands on the example of Ixion, applicable to Hiero I of Syracuse, the tyrant of whom the poet sings; and Aeschylus, Euripides and Timasitheos each wrote a tragedy of Ixion: none have survived.

José Ribera's grittily realistic Ixion, 1632 (Museo del Prado).

Ixion was a figure also known to the Etruscans, for he is depicted bound to the spoked wheel, engraved on the back of a bronze mirror, ca 460-450 BCE, in the British Museum.^[11] Whether the Etruscans shared the Ixion figure with Hellenes from early times or whether Ixion figured among those Greek myths that were adapted at later dates to fit the Etruscan world-view, the figure on the mirror-back is shown as winged, a characteristic shared with Etruscan daimones and Underworld figures rather than human heroes.

See also[link]

• Wanyūdō

References[link]

Primary sources[link]

• Pindar. Pythian Odes, II.21-48.
• The story of Ixion is also told by Pseudo-Apollodorus Epitome of the Bibliotheca, 1.20; Diodorus Siculus, 4.69.3-.5; Hyginus, Fabulae 33 (mention) and 62; Virgil in Georgics 4 and Aeneid 6, and by Ovid in Metamorphoses 12.
• Lucian of Samosata, Dialogues of the Gods (On-line text in English)

Secondary sources[link]

• Graves, Robert, (1955) 1960. The Greek Myths, Section 63 passim.
• Kerenyi, Karl. The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames & Hudson, 1951 (pp. 158–160).

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ixion

• Greek Mythology Link (Carlos Parada) - Ixion

• Gaelle Ginestet. “Ixion.” 2009. In A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Classical Mythology (2009-), ed. Yves Peyré. http://www.shakmyth.org/myth/131/ixion

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This is a list of characters from the Street Fighter fighting game series. This list covers the original Street Fighter, the Street Fighter II series, the Street Fighter Alpha series, the Street Fighter III series, and the Street Fighter IV series, as well as other related games.

[edit] Introduced in Street Fighter

Adon[link]

Adon (アドン^?, Thai: อาดอน) appears in the original Street Fighter as a Muay Thai warrior the player faces before the final match against Sagat and its subsequent sequels: Alpha 2 and Alpha 3. In the first two Alpha games, Adon is characterized as a former pupil of Sagat seeking to surpass his disgraced master by defeating him,^[1] and in Alpha 3 he tries to track down and challenge Akuma.^[2] He briefly appears in Sagat's Street Fighter IV prologue where he is defeated by Sagat once again. Adon is a playable character in Super Street Fighter IV.^[3] In the same way as Birdie and Eagle, Adon and Sagat share a motif: both characters' special moves are inspired by felines, the jaguar and the tiger.

Adon appears in the Street Fighter cartoon series as a non-speaking fighter in the episode "The Medium is the Message". He also makes a brief cameo in Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as one of the fighters accompanying Ryu to save Shun from Professor Sadler. He notably gets into an argument with Birdie, and is later shown fighting Rolento in the base's arena.

Birdie[link]

It has been suggested that this article be split into a new article titled Birdie (Street Fighter), accessible from a disambiguation page. (May 2012)

Birdie (バーディー, Bādī^?) first appears in the original Street Fighter as the first of two opponents the player faces in England. In this game, Birdie is depicted as a tall white punk rocker with a beak shaped mohawk. He and Eagle are named after the golfing terms Birdie and Eagle.

The character would reappear in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams in 1995 and its subsequent sequels, Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 and Alpha 3 in 1998. In this game, Birdie was depicted as a hulking Black British punk rocker with a blonde blade-shaped mohawk. The character jokes about this inconsistency in Alpha 3 by stating he "looked pale because (he) was sick". Birdie fights in the Alpha series with a grappling style similar to Zangief's, using his chains to slam opponents and a dashing headbutt similar to Balrog's punch rush.

In the first two Alpha games, Birdie is characterized as a former pub bouncer who seeks to gain fame for himself by joining M. Bison's organization, Shadaloo. In the endings of both games, he defeats Bison in combat and is allowed to join his organization. The first game depicts Birdie with the Shadaloo skull logo on his jacket, outside Jack's Bar, possibly a reference to the character C. Jack from Street Fighter EX. In Alpha 3, Birdie is already a member of Shadaloo, but seeks to take over the organization by rebelling against Bison.

Birdie also appears in the Street Fighter cartoon series in two episodes. He is first shown as an unknown fighter in the episode "The Medium is the Message" and later appears in "Cammy and the Bachelor", teaming up with Final Fight's Sodom as the two fighters cause a crime wave in England under orders from Bison and Shadaloo. He also makes a small appearance in Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as one of several fighters accompanying Ryu to rescue Shun from Dr. Sadler. He is the first to win a preliminary match, against Dan, and is taken inside the base, but ends up trapped in a machine which saps him of his fighting potential. He is rescued by Ken and Chun-Li and later apparently dies in the fight against Rosanov. In the anime, he is portrayed as a much more benevolent character, constantly imploring Ken and Chun-Li to flee the base without him and attempting to fight Rosanov even when badly injured.

Birdie's appearance in the first Street Fighter was voted joint last in Capcom's own popularity poll of 85 characters for the 15th anniversary of Street Fighter.^[4] In 2009, Street Fighter Alpha's Birdie topped the Gameist's list of "The 10 Lamest Street Fighter Characters Ever Conceived".^[5] Birdie was one of the fighters that IGN wished to see in Street Fighter IV.^[6] Birdie was ranked 39th best character out of 50 by UGO.com.^[7] Askmen.com nominated Birdie as one the the five characters the five characters they wished to be included for Streetfighter IV.^[8]

Eagle[link]

Eagle (イーグル, Īguru^?) is characterized as a bouncer from England and master of singlestick. He craves to experience all fighting arts, searching for the perfect duel.^[9] He is introduced in the first Street Fighter as the second computer-controlled opponent the players face in England. He would re-emerge as a selectable character in the crossover game Capcom vs. SNK 2, having become a secret agent for MI6, and from there was included in the GBA and PSP versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3. He has special moves named after Canterbury, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and St. Andrews.

In 2010, Tekken 5 champion Ryan Hart listed Eagle at the top of his list of best Street Fighter characters.^[10]

Geki[link]

Geki (激^?) is a Japanese ninja who fights with hand claws and shuriken and has the ability to teleport. He is the second Japanese opponent in the original Street Fighter,^[11] a battle which takes place near Mount Fuji. In an issue of UDON's Street Fighter comic book, Geki appears as an assassin sent to kill Gen.^{[volume & issue needed]} In the Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki comic miniseries, Geki is depicted as a rival clan to Ibuki's clan.

Gen[link]

Gen (元^?) first appears in the original Street Fighter (1987) as the second opponent the player faces from China in the single-player tournament (the first one being Lee). Gen is portrayed as an elderly martial artist who according to the game's backstory, works as an assassin as well.

Gen would resurface as a playable character in Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996) and its sequel, Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998). Gen is the only character in the game who can switch between two fighting styles during gameplay: the Mourning Style and the Hateful Style, also known as the Mantis and Crane styles respectively. He changes not only his fighting stance and basic moves, but his special moves and Super Combos as well. In Alpha 3, this feature is removed when Gen is selected in X-ism mode. In the storyline of the Alpha series, Gen is a terminally ill assassin who seeks to fight Akuma as his last opponent before dying. Gen also confronts Chun-Li (whose father was Gen's student according to the backstory) as a secret rival character in Alpha 2 and Ryu as mid-boss in Alpha 3, believing that he uses the same murderous style as Akuma. Gen appears in the home version of Street Fighter IV as an additional character. Gen's connection with Chun-Li's father and his conflicting emotions with her plays a role in his backstory in the game. He was played by Robin Shou in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

Joe[link]

Joe (ジョー, Jō^?), who appears as the first American opponent in the original Street Fighter, is an underground kickboxing champion who practiced by participating in street fights. Correlations between Joe and the blonde-haired, red jeans wearing underground fighter "Ghost" from the Capcom game Final Fight: Streetwise have led many to believe they are the same guy.^[12]

Ken[link]

Lee[link]

Lee (李（リー）, Rī^?, pinyin: Lǐ) is a Chinese martial arts expert seeking to test his skills against worthy opponents. He is the first Chinese opponent in the original Street Fighter,^[13] at the Great Wall of China. He later appears in the manga Sakura Ganbaru!! as an opponent who challenges Sakura in a street fighting event sponsored by Karin Kanzuki at the Setagaya Ward. He also appears in UDON's Street Fighter Legends: Chun-Li to challenge Fei Long for the honor of revealing a Chinese artifact. Lee is also revealed to be an uncle of the Street Fighter III characters Yun and Yang, and possibly Gen's son.

Mike[link]

Mike (マイク, Maiku^?) is an African-American boxer who formerly competed professionally until he accidentally killed an opponent during a match. He is the second opponent the player faces in the USA in the original Street Fighter. He is thought to be a precursor to M. Bison/Balrog from Street Fighter II due to his similar profile and outer appearance.^[14][15] Capcom has stated that both characters are "probably one and the same".^[16]

Retsu[link]

Retsu (烈^?) is a former Shorinji Kempo instructor who was expelled from his temple after getting involved in too many fights. He is the first opponent the player faces in Japan in the original Street Fighter.^[17] Although Retsu has never appeared in another Street Fighter game, his character has been depicted in later Street Fighter related media, including two Japanese Street Fighter II audio drama albums, an appearance in the US Street Fighter comic book and as a card in Card Fighters 2.

Ryu[link]

Sagat[link]

[edit] Introduced in the Street Fighter II series

Akuma[link]

Balrog[link]

Blanka[link]

Cammy[link]

Chun-Li[link]

Dee Jay[link]

Dhalsim[link]

E. Honda[link]

Fei Long[link]

Guile[link]

M. Bison[link]

T. Hawk[link]

Thunder Hawk (サンダー・ホーク, Sandā Hōku^?, T. Hawk), is one of the four new characters introduced in Super Street Fighter II. A member of the fictional Thunderfoot Native American clan, T. Hawk's homeland was taken over 30 years prior to the events of the game by M. Bison, who also murdered his father, Arroyo Hawk. T. Hawk enters the tournament to reclaim his homeland from Bison. During the development of Super Street Fighter II, T. Hawk was originally named "Geronimo", a name which was changed after it was suggested by an American staff member that the name Geronimo might be seen as racially offensive.^[18]

T. Hawk, since his introduction, has been billed from Mexico and his backstory explains he was born in the Sonora desert and resides in the Monte Albán plains. T. Hawk's second appearance as a playable character was in the home versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3. In Alpha 3, T. Hawk leaves his home village following the disappearances of some of the locals. He encounters Juli, one of Bison's bodyguards, as his last opponent before fighting Bison. The girl T.Hawk is searching for is revealed to be Julia, who was captured and brainwashed into becoming one of Bison's assassins named Juli. T. Hawk returns in Super Street Fighter IV. T. Hawk has regained his homeland following the events of the Street Fighter II series, but must fight Shadaloo once more, this time to rescue his girlfriend Julia, who has disappeared again. His fighting rival is El Fuerte, who challenges him after a previous and yet undisclosed defeat at T. Hawk's hands.

In the 1994 film version of Street Fighter, T. Hawk (played by Gregg Rainwater) is portrayed as a military sergeant serving the Allied Nations Peacekeeping Force under Colonel Guile. He is portrayed in this version as American, although Rainwater is of Native American descent. He makes a cameo appearance in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, in which he travels to America to seek out and defeat Ken. Despite landing a few good hits, T. Hawk is ultimately defeated, and he develops a newfound respect for Ken.

The Lightning Hawk Magnum weapon in Resident Evil 5 is an in-company reference to T. Hawk's full name of "Thunder Hawk".

Vega[link]

Zangief[link]

[edit] Introduced in the Street Fighter Alpha series

The storyline of the Street Fighter Alpha series serves as a prequel to the Street Fighter II series. In addition to characters from Street Fighter II, the Alpha series also feature appearances from characters in the original Street Fighter and Final Fight, as well as a few original characters.

Charlie[link]

Known in Japan as Nash (ナッシュ, Nasshu^?), Charlie is first mentioned by name in Street Fighter II and its subsequent revisions, where he is the deceased war buddy of Guile, one of the selectable characters. Guile's motive for entering the Street Fighter II tournament was to avenge Charlie's death, who was killed by the tournament's host M. Bison sometime before the events of the game.

Charlie would later be made into a playable character in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, a prequel set before the Street Fighter II games, using both of Guile's trademark special moves, albeit with altered animations (he does the Sonic Boom one-handed, and the Flash Kick in reverse). Street Fighter Alpha itself was followed by two sequels, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3. In Charlie's storyline of the Alpha series, he is a first lieutenant in the United States Air Force^[19] and is given the duty to track down Bison and uncover corruption within the American military. In his endings in the first two Alpha games, Charlie is killed by Bison and his men (he is first struck by Bison from behind in the first game, and in the second game he is shot in the back by his own men and thrown down a waterfall in Venezuela, however, Guile's ending in the American version of Street Fighter II adds the location of Charlie's death as Cambodia). The console version of Alpha 3 introduced Guile as a playable character in the Alpha series, and his mission is to "find Commander Charlie".^[20] In Guile's ending, he and Charlie infiltrate Bison's base to blow up the Psycho Drive, and Guile escapes while Charlie stays behind to hold off Bison; he is presumed dead after the explosion.

Guile also wears Charlie's old clothes as an alternate costume in Street Fighter IV. Charlie also appears along with other Street Fighter Alpha characters in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. In Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter an alternate version of Charlie named "Shadow" appears as a hidden character. Shadow's sprite is the same as Charlie's, but with nearly his entire body blacked out, and a white eye shining behind his glasses. He has all of Charlie's moves, but his attacks set his opponent alight with blue Psycho Power flames. Shadow also appears in Marvel vs. Capcom as a "helper" (characters who can assist the player in combat) and in Chun-Li's ending, rescuing her from Bison. In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Charlie appears as his regular self once again.

Outside of fighting games, Charlie also appears a playable character in the shoot 'em up Cannon Spike with fellow Street Fighter character Cammy. Charlie was also one of the characters who was scheduled to be featured in Capcom's unreleased 3D fighting game Capcom Fighting All-Stars.

In Street Fighter IV,^[21] the UDON comic book version, and the English adaptation of the Street Fighter Alpha manga by Masahiko Nakahira, as well as other media, the names "Charlie" (his English name) and "Nash" (his Japanese name) are combined to form the full name of Charlie Nash.

In the 1994 film adaptation Street Fighter, Charlie Nash was combined with the character of Blanka to form the character Carlos "Charlie" Blanka, and was a friend of Colonel Guile and a soldier in his unit who is taken as a POW in Bison's Shadaloo compound. His hair is changed to black for this film. When Bison discovers the friendship between Charlie and Guile through one of Guile's threats, he sends him to be brainwashed and mutated by Dr. Dhalsim (who is Bison's unwilling scientist in this film) to become the green skinned, red haired killing machine known simply as "Blanka". Dhalsim, however, secretly changes Blanka's cerebral programming to prevent him from becoming a killer, and so he aids Dhalsim in fighting Bison's soldiers at the film's climax. He chooses to remain behind and perish with Dhalsim in the explosion of Bison's base, but it is revealed that they both survived in the animated series follow-up where, eventually, Dhalsim reverts Blanka to his human form.

Charlie also appears in the Street Fighter II V anime series, serving alongside Guile in a mission to locate Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li, who have been abducted by Bison. He is the first to find Bison, but is strangled to death. Charlie Nash was also played by Chris Klein in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, where he is portrayed as a member of Interpol.

Cody[link]

Dan[link]

Guy[link]

Haggar[link]

Ingrid[link]

Ingrid (イングリッド, Inguriddo^?) is a character who was slated to appear in the canceled Capcom Fighting All-Stars arcade game, however, her animations were completely recreated in 2D and she was introduced as a playable character in Capcom Fighting Jam for the arcades and PlayStation 2, and she entered the Street Fighter universe in Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX for the PSP. Little is known about her, however, Alpha 3 MAX gives away some possibilities about her true origins. She tells Rose to think of her as "an envoy from the heavens", and alludes to the existence of others like her. Judging from her speech patterns in the Japanese version of the game, it can be inferred that Ingrid is actually a lot older than she looks.

Ingrid has the ability to break brainwashing/mind control over her opponents (such as shown with Ryu in game).^[22] Rose cannot look into Ingrid's future as she did with other Street Fighters.^[23] She states that the core of the Psycho Drive (M. Bison's power enhancer) actually belonged to her in the first place, and she intends to take it back. How Bison came into possession of the item is never exactly explained, though it is similar in appearance to the crests on her head. When Bison is eventually defeated, she comments that a regular human being like him couldn't possibly control that energy, and takes the whole Psycho Drive with her as she leaves. Finally, Ingrid has the power to travel through time, as she mentions heading to the year 201X in order to contact Ryu in her ending (in the English version, that ending was mistranslated and alluded to Ryu becoming a monk in the future, when Ingrid actually simply called him a "kid" (小僧, kozō^?), yet another indication that she's not as young as she appears to be).

Additionally, she plays a role in the background story of Street Fighter X Tekken where in the prologue comic book it is revealed that she is the creator of Pandora.^{[citation needed]}

Juni and Juli[link]

Juni (ユーニ, Yūni^?) and Juli (ユーリ, Yūri^?) make their first appearance in the arcade version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 as a pair of sub-bosses whom the player face prior to the final battle against M. Bison in the single-player mode. The player faces Juni and Juli at the same time in a two-on-one fight similar to the Dramatic Battle match. The two characters are unlockable in the arcade version, but they have no storyline in the actual game (sharing their ending with M. Bison). The characters are actually head-swaps of Cammy, but have their own special moves and Super Combos. Juni and Juli are the only characters in Alpha 3 that have special moves and Super Combos that are used exclusively when both characters fight as a pair during the Dramatic Battle mode.^[24]

Juni and Juli are members of a special unit within Shadaloo called the "Dolls", also known as Bison Elite Guard (ベガ親衛隊, Bega Shin'eitai^?), which is composed of twelve young women brainwashed to serve as Bison's personal assassins. The twelve members of the Dolls are named after the months of the Gregorian calendar in various languages, with Juni and Juli being German for June and July.^[25][26] Juni and Juli were given their own individual storyline and ending as they became part of the regular roster in the console versions of Alpha 3, with Juni assigned to track down Ryu, while Juli is assigned to track down Cammy. Juli's backstory is also fleshed out in the home versions, with the addition of T. Hawk to the cast. In T. Hawk's single-player storyline, Juli is revealed to be Julia, his girlfriend who used to live in T. Hawk's home village before she was kidnapped and brainwashed by Shadaloo.^[27]

In addition to Alpha 3, Juni and Juli also appears in Namco x Capcom as two enemy characters the game's protagonists faces through the course of the game. The duo also make a cameo appearance in M. Bison's ending in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos. Both characters make cameos in Super Street Fighter IV, in which Juni appearing in Cammy's ending while Juli appears in T. Hawk's ending.

Karin[link]

Karin Kanzuki (神月 かりん, Kanzuki Karin^?) was originally a character in Masahiko Nakahira's Sakura Ganbaru! manga, where she was Sakura's initial rival in the story.^[28] Her character would be integrated into the video game series in Street Fighter Alpha 3, where she appears as a playable character. Karin is the only daughter of a corporate family and as a result makes a habit of acting snobby and dismissive, calling everyone around her "commoners". Karin's parents are Daigenjūrō Kanzuki and Nadeshiko Kanzuki. She has a muscular butler named Ishizaki and another employee named Shibazaki. To honor her family motto of "Be the winner of everything", she travels the world to track down and defeat Sakura.^[29] She would re-emerge in Namco X Capcom fighting alongside Sakura,^[30] and by herself in Capcom Fighting Evolution (although Sakura also appears as a playable character).^[31]

Maki[link]

R. Mika[link]

Rainbow Mika (レインボー・ミカ, Reinbō Mika^?, R. Mika) was introduced in Street Fighter Alpha 3, which currently remains her sole playable appearance. Her real name is Mika Nanakawa (七川 美華, Nanakawa Mika^?), a Japanese girl planning to make her debut as a professional wrestler and become "Star of the Ring", working very hard to achieve her dream. To this end, she travels the world, fighting various street fighters to promote herself, meeting her idol Zangief along the way.^[32] She receives rigorous training from her manager, Yoko Harmagedon, a large muscular woman who is seen in a few of her victory poses riding a golf cart and wielding a shinai.

She later appears as a cameo in the Capcom game Startling Adventures.

Mika was created to introduce a "tricky and technical character" in the series, though she was not a female wrestler in the beginning. After her development, the team introduced Karin to act as a contrast to her.^[33]

Rolento[link]

Rolento, who is given the full name Rolento F. Schugerg (ロレント・F・シュゲルグ, Rorento F Shugerugu^?) in Street Fighter Alpha 2,^[34] was originally an enemy character in the beat-em-up Final Fight, where he appears as the boss of the Industrial Area stage. He is a former member of the fictional Red Beret special forces unit, who serves as the supervisor of the Mad Gear gang's weapons plant. In the game, he fights using a rod and resorts to throwing grenades when he's low on energy. Although Rolento was omitted in the SNES ports of Final Fight, he appears in the SNES sequel, Final Fight 2, as the boss of the Italy stage. In the sequel, his name is transliterated as Rolent both in the game and in the instruction booklet.^[35]

Rolento makes his first appearance in the Street Fighter series in the original Street Fighter Alpha, where he makes a cameo in Sodom's ending among other former Mad Gear members gathered by Sodom to help rebuild the gang. His actual debut as a playable fighter was in Street Fighter Alpha 2, in which Rolento seeks to build a military utopia following the downfall of the Mad Gear gang and is looking to recruit his former ally and nemesis, Sodom and Guy respectively, to his cause. Rolento's ending in Alpha 2 depicts him invading the streets of Metro City after forming his own army. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, Rolento seeks to persuade Cody, another former nemesis, to join his army. In his ending, Rolento attempts to infiltrate Shadaloo's underground base to gain M. Bison's secret weapon, the Psycho Drive, only to destroy it with Sodom's help.^[14]

Rolento's fighting style in the Street Fighter is roughly based on his Final Fight counterpart. He uses his rod and grenades from Final Fight, as well as throwing knives and wires. One of Rolento's Super Combos in the Alpha series, "Take No Prisoners", involves Rolento's opponent being hooked to ceiling by either, El Gado or Holly Wood, both enemy characters from Final Fight who appear to be working for Rolento during the Alpha series.^[36][37]

Outside the Street Fighter series, Rolento appears as a playable character in Final Fight Revenge, a 3D fighting game spinoff to the Final Fight series, as well in Capcom vs. SNK 2. Although he does not actually appear in the game, Rolento also plays a role in Doctrine Dark's back-story in the original Street Fighter EX, in which Rolento was the one responsible for physically crippling him and his psychotic breakdown (Dark's fighting style is also partly modeled after Rolento's, who was inspired by Rolento's motto of "nothing is unfair as long as you win"). He also makes several cameo appearances through Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. Rolento returns as a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken, with Ibuki as his official tag partner. Askmen.com nominated Rolento as one the the five characters the five characters they wished to be included for Streetfighter IV.^[38]

Rose[link]

Rose (ローズ, Rōzu^?) first appears in Street Fighter Alpha, as she is characterized as a mystic fortune teller from Genoa, Italy, who searches the world for Bison in order to eradicate his evil power with her own unique ability known as Soul Power. At the end of the game, Rose engages Bison in combat and seemingly kills him. However, in the ending of Street Fighter Alpha 2, Rose consults her tarot cards and learns that Bison survived the attack.^[39]

At the climactic moment of Street Fighter Alpha 3, she faces Bison once more and rams her fist through his chest, channeling her energy into his body. As Bison grapples with Rose, he reveals that they both share half of "the same soul". In the end, Bison's physical form discorporates and Rose collapses from exhaustion. Soon afterward, she is recovered by Guy and taken to safety.^[40] Although it appears that Bison has been killed, he has actually transferred his consciousness into Rose, effectively claiming her body. In the interim between the Alpha series and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Bison remains inside Rose's body until his scientists can form a new (albeit weaker) one for him. Bison appears as the final boss of Street Fighter II. The Street Fighter IV Training Guide reveals that she survived the possession, but has no memory of the ordeal.^[41]

Rose appears in the console and PC versions of Street Fighter IV voiced by Gina Grad as an additional character. Her story for the game has her track down Bison after learning he had survived Akuma's attack at the end of the second World Warrior tournament, intending to stop him for good.^[41] During her participation in the tournament, she runs into Ryu, dead-set in stopping his advancement for his own protection, stating that he is "the last hope". This results in a fight with much reluctance from both parties. In her ending, she is confronted by Bison, who takes back his remaining power from Rose, causing her to fall unconscious to the ground. As Bison stands over her, he declares he'll keep her alive to satisfy his soul. The cliffhanger is resolved in Guy's ending of Super Street Fighter IV, where he rescues Rose from Bison as he attempts to flee with her.

In the comic produced by UDON, it is revealed that Rose was a Roma. Elizaveta Kiryukhina portrayed Rose in the 2009 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Many references are made to the "White Rose". This turns out to be a ship carrying M. Bison's Russian speaking daughter, Rose. Earlier in this film, it is noted that the section of Bison's good soul/morals has been transferred to Rose prior to her birth. As the film comes to a climax, Rose watches her father die at the hands of Chun-Li.

Sakura[link]

Sodom[link]

Sodom (ソドム, Sodomu^?) originally appeared in the beat-em-up Final Fight, where he is the boss of the Subway stage. An underground wrestling promoter dressed in a samurai-like helmet and gear, Sodom fights the player in an underground ring within the Metro City's subway, wielding two Masamune blades. In the international versions of Final Fight for the SNES and Sega CD, Sodom was renamed Katana, due to the obvious reference to sodomy.

Sodom would make his first appearance in the Street Fighter series in the original Street Fighter Alpha. In the Alpha series, Sodom is characterized as an American Japanophile who is greatly fascinated by Japanese culture, but actually misunderstands it. After he was defeated by Guy during the events of Final Fight, Sodom realized that he had a wrong perception of Japan and traveled there to re-educate himself. He develops a new fighting style based on Japanese and Western martial arts and trades his Masamune blades with a pair of jitte. On the front of his outfit, Sodom has scrawled the Japanese kanji shi (死), meaning death. In the first Alpha, he seeks to rebuild the Mad Gear gang by defeating his old rival Guy in combat. In his ending, he reforms the gang and holds up a poster reading 魔奴義亜. In his ending in Street Fighter Alpha 2, Sodom goes to a sumo ring in Japan to seek new members for the reformed Mad Gear and ends up being challenged by E. Honda. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, he seeks a new hideout for his gang and goes to claim Shadaloo's new underground base as his own when he learns about it from his former ally Rolento and ends up crashing his own truck into M. Bison's in order to foil his plot. In Alpha 3 he also regains his katana blades from Final Fight when the player selects him in the X-ism style.^[42]

In the Japanese versions of the Street Fighter Alpha games, where the series is known as Street Fighter Zero, Sodom's victory quotes are composed of seemingly nonsensical English phrases that are actually meant to be mispronounced Japanese phrases. For example, Sodom would say "Die Job Death Car?" instead of Daijōbu desu ka (大丈夫ですか^?, "Are you all right?") and ""Nip On Die Ski!" instead of Nippon daisuki (ニッポン大好き^?, "I love Japan!").^[43][44] In the English version of Alpha 3, Sodom says "Don't thank me! In fact, 'don't touch my moustache!'" in one of his victory quotes. "Don't touch my moustache" is a commonly taught approximation of the phrase dō itashimashite (どう致しまして^?, "you're welcome").

In addition to the Alpha series, Sodom also appears as a playable character in Final Fight Revenge and makes a couple of cameos in Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. In Mighty Final Fight, there are actually three Sodoms (or Katanas, as the character is referred to as in the English version) known as the Three Katana Brothers.

[edit] Introduced in the Street Fighter III series

Alex[link]

Alex (アレックス, Arekkusu^?) is the lead character of Street Fighter III, who was initially designed to substitute series' mainstays Ryu and Ken (who were still included in the released game due to fan demand).^[45]

According to his back-story in the original Street Fighter III and Street Fighter III 2nd Impact, Alex is an American from New York (given his accent, many assume Alex is from Brooklyn, although his stage in 2nd Impact is Greenwich Village). Alex entered the third World Warrior tournament because its sponsor, Gill, had seriously injured his best friend and mentor/father figure Tom, even though Tom had told him Gill had won fairly. Tom allowed him to go, letting him make his own decision. Alex won every match and then faced Gill. Although he defeated Gill, Alex did not have a chance to kill him, and he went home, to find Tom fully recovered.^[46][47][48] In Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Alex senses an unknown urge to continue fighting after experiencing numerous battles against other martial arts masters around the world. Seeking to find a stronger opponent, he goes against his friend Tom's wishes and sets off on a journey.^[49]

Alex's other fighting appearances were in Capcom Fighting All-Stars, Capcom Fighting Evolution^[31] and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.^[50]

In December 1997 Alex ranked 44th on Gamest' "top 50" list of the best video game characters, tying with Goro Daimon,^[51] and in January 1998 was named the 22nd best character of the preceding year, tying with Ryuji Yamazaki.^[52]

Dudley[link]

Elena[link]

Gill[link]

Gill (ギル, Giru^?) serves as the boss and antagonist of the Street Fighter III series. Gill is the President of a secret society that has controlled the underworld for thousands of years and seeks to turn the whole world into a utopia by the 23rd century. Every 24 years, the Illuminati chooses a new President, with the current one being Gill at the start of the series. His ultimate goal is to test the skills of several warriors and coerce them into his cause. Gill appears in his default costume as a tall, muscular man with flowing blond hair, the right side of his body colored red, and the left side colored blue, wearing nothing but a loincloth.

2nd Impact introduces his younger brother Urien as a player character, who has a similar build and attire. In Urien's ending, its is revealed that Gill was promoted to "Emperor" (天帝, Tentei^?, "Celestial Emperor") after Urien received Gill's former position of President, a position he still holds by the time of 3rd Strike^[53] The blond woman who assists Gill prior to battle in 3rd Strike is his secretary Kolin (コーリン, Kōrin^?), who also appears in Dudley's ending in the first two games, handing him the keys to Dudley's car.^[54] Gill is not playable in any of the arcade versions of the Street Fighter III games. However, he is selectable once he is unlocked from within the console versions of 2nd Impact and Third Strike.

Hugo[link]

Hugo (ヒューゴー, Hyūgō^?) is a massive professional wrestler from Germany who originally made his first appearance in the Final Fight, known in game as Andore (アンドレ^?), but made his first appearance in the Street Fighter series in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact where he wears a similar pink leopard-print shirt and pants with chains around his waist. Because of his physical appearance and strength, Hugo is often compared to André the Giant, who was a real-life wrestler that worked for the WWF in the mid-80's and inspired the Andore character. Hugo is the son of a farmer from the German countryside and was raised alongside his two younger sisters. After leaving his hometown at the age of 20, he became a popular wrestler in the USA, with former street warrior Poison, another enemy character from Final Fight, acting as his manager.^[46][55] In 2nd Impact, Hugo seeks to find a partner for an upcoming tag team wrestling tournament that is set to take place in a matter of months. Hugo's final opponent in the single-player mode varies, with the four possibilities being Gill, Ryu, Elena, or Necro. Afterwards, Hugo and his rival go on to form a tag team to compete in the CWA tag tournament. In 3rd Strike, Hugo achieved such an overwhelming victory in the tag tournament, that no other wrestler dares to challenge him anymore. Worried about the lack of matches for Hugo, Poison gets an idea to form a new wrestling organization with Hugo, recruiting only the mightiest of fighters for their cause. In Hugo's ending, he and Poison form the Huge Wrestling Army (H.W.A.), which includes other members of the 3rd Strike cast.^[49][56]

Outside the Street Fighter III series, Hugo appears as a playable character in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos and Street Fighter X Tekken. He is an optional pit-fight opponent in Final Fight Streetwise. He also makes a cameo appearance in the Metro City stage in Super Street Fighter IV.

Ibuki[link]

Makoto[link]

Necro[link]

Necro (ネクロ, Nekuro^?), whose real name is Illia (イリヤ, Iriya^?), was born in a poor Russian village near a lake. He was the third of four children, which included two elder brothers and a younger sister. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he wandered off from his home village and into the vicinity of Moscow, where he came into contact with Gill's organization, who remodeled his DNA to turn him into a living weapon, granting him superhuman flexibility. His fighting style was simulated by computer, then programmed into his brain with cyber implants.^[46][57] Necro has a long reach, and can also use throws and electrocution. In his ending, Necro is tricked by Gill and left for dead in a facility, until he is rescued by a young girl named Effie (エフィー, Efī^?), and the pair go on a journey together. Necro's story is the same in 2nd Impact, although he also has a role as one of Hugo's potential final bosses and tag partners, in which Necro gains the nickname of the "super electromagnetic alien", forming the tag team of "Thunderbolt". In 3rd Strike, Necro and Effie are being pursued by agents of the organization, but still live with the hope of "truth and liberty". In his ending, Necro manages to save Effie from falling, and thwart agents of the organization while at the Siberian railroad.^[49][58]

Oro[link]

Poison[link]

Remy[link]

Remy (レミー, Remī^?), who first appears in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, is a young turquoise-haired savateur from Paris, France who seeks revenge against his father, a martial artist who abandoned him and his sister. After Remy's sister died, he encased her body in an iced casket, which he keeps in an underwater cove within the Bay of Biscay. Remy takes his aggression out on other martial artists by challenging them to battle. Remy's rival match illustrates this, as his sudden appearance and challenge take Alex by surprise, who takes him for being nothing but a troubled man. In his ending, Remy realizes that he has been inadvertently following his father's footsteps. He makes peace with his sister and begins following a new path. His attacks are similar to that of Guile and Charlie, but no notable connection has been established between the characters.^[17] Remy was voted 8th in Capcom's own popularity poll of 85 characters for the 15th anniversary of Street Fighter.^[4]

Sean[link]

Sean Matsuda (ショーン・マツダ, Shōn Matsuda^?) is an athletic young boy who grew up in an average home in Brazil. Impressed by Ken's performance at a martial arts rally, Sean went after him to become his disciple, calling him "Master Ken" or Sifu. A hot-blooded, but courteous young man, Sean is determined to win no matter what. He was once trained by his grandfather, who is of Japanese descent. His greatest weakness is receiving attacks while attacking. He dreams of creating his original special moves.^[46][59]

Sean is the character who leads the basketball parry bonus round in 3rd Strike. In his ending, Sean becomes Ken's disciple, only to be told that he needs to defeat Ryu to become worthy. In 3rd Strike, Sean is allowed to participate in an actual martial art tournament, only to be told by Ken that with his current skills, he won't even be able to make it pass the preliminaries and that he needs to develop his own "style". In his 3rd Strike ending, Sean appears to had won the championship title at first, but his victory is then revealed to be a dream and that Sean actually lost the qualifying rounds due to his lack of training.^[12][49]

Sean makes a cameo appearance in Ryu's ending Marvel vs. Capcom, in which he is being trained by Ryu.

Twelve[link]

Twelve (トゥエルヴ, Tueruvu^?) is a humanoid creature introduced as a playable character in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. His stage background, shared with Necro, is Saint Basil's Cathedral.

Twelve is the ultimate humanoid-type weapon developed by Gill's organization. He has a shapeshifting body which is actually a completed version of the prototype body given to Necro, improved and strengthened. Via a super art, Twelve has the ability to copy his opponents form and moves. Twelve's targets are filled with absolute despair when cornered by him.^[49] Twelve has the ability to copy the appearance of his opponent and mimic their abilities. Twelve's objective is to track down Necro and Effie, who are fleeing from the organization.^[60]

Urien[link]

Urien (ユリアン, Yurian^?) is Gill's younger brother introduced in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, who shares many of his traits, including physical build. Gill and Urien were the children of gifted parents who excelled in their physical and intellectual capabilities. The brothers were separated from their birth parents by the organization after they each turned six and were given a specialized education by the organization to be candidates for the Presidency of the organization. Eventually Gill was chosen over Urien to be the President of the Organization, leaving Urien bitter with regret.^[46][61]

In 2nd Impact, Urien challenges his brother Gill to usurp his position as President. He gains the title at the end, only to learn that his brother Gill has been promoted as the Emperor, the true leader of the organization whose existence is known only to the Presidents and chairmen of the organization. In 3rd Strike, Urien is resentful over the fact that he is still outclassed by his brother, in spite of his new position. He decides to eliminate Gill once and for all and destroys the preservation facility where Gill is still recovering inside.^[27]

Urien also appears in Capcom Fighting Jam as one of the characters representing the Street Fighter III series.

Q[link]

Q, who first appears in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, is a mysterious individual wearing a trenchcoat and hat whose face is concealed with a featureless metal mask. Q is being tracked by the CIA due to his presence in numerous strange disasters.^[49][62] To date, nothing of Q's background has ever been revealed. All of Q's techniques are named in "descriptive" form rather than traditionally-styled move names, as if they are given by people who have watched him fight.

Yun and Yang[link]

Yun (ユン^?) and Yang (ヤン, Yan^?) are twin martial artists from Hong Kong who were separated from their birth parents when they were infants and raised by their adoptive grandfather, who manages a restaurant at Shanghai and trained the brothers in a variety of Chinese martial arts. The twins are the godsons of eight bosses in the underground community and the two became leaders of their local town at a young age. The elder brother Yun (the one in the white outfit and blue cap) is outgoing and impulsive, whereas the younger brother Yang (the one in red) is calmer and more analytical.^[27][46][63] The twins are related to Lee from the first Street Fighter and a character in the game addresses the twins as the "Lee brothers" (リー兄弟, Rī kyōdai^?) in their ending in the original Street Fighter III and 2nd Impact.^[64] In Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, the twins decide to fight Gill's organization, the Illuminati, who are threatening to invade their home town.^[49] After defeating Gill, the twins return home, where they are greeted by their friend Houmei and her younger sister Shaomei.^[27][63] Originally Yun and Yang had identical abilities and techniques in the original Street Fighter III, with Yang being selectable as an alternate version of Yun. In 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike, Yang was made into a distinct selectable character with his own techniques and abilities (including different Super Arts), as well as his own endings.

After the Street Fighter III series, Yun appeared as a playable character in Capcom vs. SNK 2, with his brother Yang assisting in some of his special moves and Super Combos. This version of Yun would appear again in the portable versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3 for the GBA and PSP, as well as Capcom Fighting Jam. The twins made a cameo in Chun-Li's introductory cut-scene in the console versions of Street Fighter IV and also her ending in Super Street Fighter IV, and are playable characters in 'Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition'

IGN voted Yun and Yang the characters they wished to see in a new Street Fighter IV game.^[65] Yun and Yang were voted 10th best Street Fighter characters by UGO.com^[66]

[edit] Introduced in the Street Fighter EX series

Note that the below characters are non-canon to the Street Fighter storyline and that Capcom actually does not have ownership/copyright over the characters, Arika does and Capcom has mentioned the difficulty of them appearing in future games.^[67] Though producer Yoshinori Ono has said that they haven't ruled the possibility of them appearing in future titles mentioning that Capcom still has a good relationship with Arika.^[68]

Ace[link]

Ace (エース, Ēsu^?), who is introduced in Street Fighter EX3, is a government agent who is ordered by the prime minister of his nation to find information about a secret weapon being developed in an underground base. Ace uses a custom fighting style which can be edited by the player by passing a series of trials in the game's Character Edit Mode, and thus has access to a wide variety of techniques including Cammy's Killer Bee Assault and Elena's Healing, and some of his own.

Allen[link]

Allen Snider (アレン・スナイダー, Aren Sunaidā^?), who appears as a secret character in the original Street Fighter EX and as a regular character in Street Fighter EX Plus and EX Plus α, is a fighter who was once said to be the strongest fighter in the American Karate circuit until he experienced his first defeat against a young Ken Masters at the All-American Martial Arts Tournament, who told Allen that he was only a "big fish in a small pond". Motivated by Ken's words, Allen decides to prove that he can be not just the best in America, but also the best in the world.^[47] Although absent in Street Fighter EX2 and subsequent games, he makes an appearance in the Arika-developed arcade game Fighting Layer, where he seeks to defeat the strongest opponent in South Island.^[69]

Area[link]

Area (エリア, Eria^?), who first appears in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, is a young girl with braided hair who is daughter of a scientific inventor. Her intellect is said to surpass her own father. When her father's inventions fail to sell, she decides to modify them as weapons and test them in combat against the world's greatest martial artists. In battle, she wears a pair of high-speed rollerblades and a mechanical right arm codenamed "Cancer" (キャンサー, Kyansā^?).^[36]

Blair[link]

Blair Dame (ブレア・デイム, Burea Deimu^?), who appears as a secret character in the original Street Fighter EX and as a regular character in Street Fighter EX Plus and EX Plus α, is the daughter of a wealthy European family. She fights wearing a light blue leotard and long boots. In addition to receiving a formal education, Blair also trained herself in various combative sports, believing that one day she will need to know how to not only defend herself, but her loved ones as well. She travels the world to hone her skills with her bodyguard Cracker Jack, whom her mother had hired to protect her. Blair is also acquainted with Pullum due to their mutual membership in the International Debutante Club.^[70] In an end sequence, it is revealed that her butler is called Sebastian. Like Allen, Blair also appears in Arika-developed arcade fighting game Fighting Layer, where she decides to take a sudden trip to South Island.^[71] She is also mentioned in Jack's ending in Street Fighter EX3.^[72]

C. Jack[link]

Cracker Jack (クラッカー・ジャック, Kurakkā Jakku^?) is a bat-wielding former bouncer from Las Vegas known for his unstoppable punches. When he's being pursued by an unknown organization, he decides to become Blair's bodyguard in order to travel the world and flee his pursuers. In Street Fighter EX2, his younger sister is kidnapped by an underground fighting champion named Bharat. In Street Fighter EX2 Plus, he is continued to be pursued by the mysterious organization^[73] and by the end of Street Fighter EX 3, he decides to seek refuge in Blair's mansion.

Cycloid-β and Cycloid-γ[link]

Cycloid-β (サイクロイドβ, Saikuroido Bēta^?) and Cycloid γ (サイクロイド-γ, Saikuroido Ganma^?), who both appear as secret characters in Street Fighter EX Plus and EX Plus α, are a pair of cyborgs who use the special techniques of other characters. Beta primarily uses command-based special moves, while Gamma specializes in charge-based moves. Both characters were based on test models used for motion capturing purpose during the development of the game. Beta is an untextured blue polygonal model resembling a male human, while Gamma is a green wireframed model.^[74] In the Japanese version of Street Fighter EX Plus α for the PlayStation, Gamma is given an additional back-story a weapon secretly developed by Balba (Pullum's father) in order to annihilate a huge criminal organization.^[75] In Street Fighter EX2 Plus, Cycloid Beta appears in the game's bonus rounds, but Gamma does not.

D. Dark[link]

Doctrine Dark (ドクトリン・ダーク, Dokutorin Dāku^?), whose real name is Holger (オルガー, Orugā^?), is a German-American mercenary seeking revenge against Guile. In the past, he served the American armed forces and joined a special forces unit led by Guile until Holger's unit got involved in a scuffle against a rival unit led by Rolento. Holger was the sole survivor of the unit, but suffered tremendous physical and mental scars. He seeks revenge against Guile, feeling that he did not train him sufficiently. His back-story for Street Fighter EX2, also establishes that Dark was raised in a mercenary training facility where he was trained in the usage of weapons similar to Rolento's such as knives, grenades, and wires. During the development of Street Fighter EX, Dark was nicknamed by the developers "Mr. Foul-play" (反則くん, Hansoku-kun^?).^[76]

Darun[link]

Darun Mister (ダラン・マイスター, Daran Maisutā^?) makes his appearance in the original Street Fighter EX as a hidden character. He is a popular wrestling champion from India who seeks to challenge other wrestlers such as Zangief and Victor Ortega (from the Slam Masters series). He agrees to become Pullum Purna's bodyguard, hoping to use the opportunity to travel the world and fight many wrestlers. He is absent in the original Street Fighter EX2, but returns in Street Fighter EX2 Plus where he obtains another opportunity to fight against more wrestlers around the world after Pullum becomes a Princess.^[77] In Street Fighter EX3, he has a special ending if the player finishes the single-player mode with Zangief as his tag-partner.^[78]

Garuda[link]

Garuda (ガルダ^?), first appears as a non-playable boss character in the original Street Fighter EX, but becomes a playable character in subsequent installments. He is a demon dressed in samurai-like armor who wields a sword hidden within his own body. According to his back-story in the original Street Fighter EX, he was created by the souls of dead men who were consumed by the Satsui no Hadō, although his revised back-story in Street Fighter EX2 suggest that he is an accumulation of negative feelings such as anger, hatred, envy, treachery, and despair. Garuda's form is said to change depending on his opponent: he takes a strong form against warriors seeking strength and feeds on the hatred of warriors who are seeking vengeance.^[79]

Hayate[link]

Hayate (ハヤテ^?), who makes his first appearance in the original Street Fighter EX 2, is a Japanese swordsman from the Village of Kukunoichi (木霊村, Kukunoichimura^?) hidden within the mountains. He is following the footsteps of his father, a legendary hero who once saved his home village from the demon Orochi (巨蟒^?) and is one of the few Street Fighter characters to use a sword in combat. At the end of the original EX 2, he vanquishes the demon his father once sealed and saves the local shrine maiden, becoming the new guardian deity of Kukunoichi.^[80] Hayate was the only character from the original EX 2 who was absent in the arcade version of Street Fighter EX 2 Plus. He was re-included in the PlayStation version of the game as a hidden character.^[37]

Hokuto[link]

Hokuto (ほくと^?) is the daughter of a Mizugami (水神^?) branch family who was trained in the family's style of Kobujutsu. She was known as Shirase (訃^?) when she was a child. When Hokuto turned 17, she was sent on a journey to find her older brother Kairi, who went missing for years. Unknown to Hokuto, the true purpose of her journey was not only to find her brother, but to defeat him. She was implanted by the "Seal of Blood" (血の封印, Chi no Fūin^?) in order to exterminate her brother. In the original Street Fighter EX, Hokuto wore a blue white outfit resembling a Japanese archer gi and white hachimaki around her long hair. In EX 2, she wears a hakama and ties her hair with a pony-tail. She reverts to her original design in EX 3. In addition to her regular version, an alternate version named Bloody Hokuto (血の封印を解かれたほくと, Chi no Fūin Tokareta Hokuto^?, "Hokuto with the Seal of Blood Broken") is featured as secret character in Street Fighter EX Plus^[81]

Kairi[link]

Kairi (カイリ^?), who first appears as a secret character in the original Street Fighter EX, is depicted as an amnesiac martial artist who was initially conceived to be the main character in the EX series. He appears in the original EX and its rereleases with long black hair and a scar over his right eye. He lost his memories while fighting an unknown challenger, rumored to have been Akuma, and now walks the "path of the Shura", fighting to survive. He learns he is actually Hokuto's elder brother, who was on a mission to find him. In EX 2, his hair has changed from black to white due to his constant battles. He recovers his memories after confronting Hokuto and Nanase and learns that he was responsible for the death of their father.^[82]

Nanase[link]

Nanase (七瀬^?), who first appears as a hidden character in the original Street Fighter EX2 and becomes a regular character in Street Fighter EX2 Plus and Street Fighter EX3, is the younger sister of Hokuto, who was raised to be a successor to the Mizugami clan. Although her mood is different from her older sister, she is very close to Hokuto, who is the only person she confides in. Nanase becomes worried about Hokuto after leaves the shrine where they live and does not return. She then learns from her grandfather she has a brother named Kairi, of whom Hokuto was sent to find. She goes on a journey to find her sister and a brother she never knew existed, unaware that her journey is also test to determine whether she's fit to inherit the Mizugami's teachings.^[58]

Pullum[link]

Pullum Purna (プルム・プルナ, Purumu Puruna^?, Arabic: برم برنا) is the daughter of an Arabian multimillionaire. She decides to travel the world with her bodyguard Darun when she overhears her grandfather whisper the name "Shadaloo", believing that it is the name of a person. Unknown to Pullum, the reason why her grandfather was worried about Shadaloo was because she has a blood relative working for the organization who was a candidate in becoming a Shadaloo executive. Absent in the original Street Fighter EX2, she returns in Street Fighter EX2 Plus where she inherits a kingdom after the death of a relative and decides to travel the world once again with her bodyguard Darun to search for her missing father.^[70] Pullum's theme tune was later used in the game Technictix.

Shadowgeist[link]

Shadowgeist (シャドウガイスト, Shadōgaisuto^?) first appears in the arcade version of the original Street Fighter EX2 and in Street Fighter EX2 Plus as a secret character, as well as in Street Fighter EX3. He is an unknown man from an unnamed country dressed in a superhero costume similar to Skullomania's, who has artificially enhanced his body in order to overthrow the men in charge of the totalitarian government responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter.

Sharon[link]

Sharon (シャロン^?), who debuts in Street Fighter EX 2, is a red-haired beautiful woman with a tattoo of a rose on her chest. Sharon was depicted wielding a gun in the character artwork for the original EX 2, but she does not actually use any firearms until EX 2 Plus. In the story, she lives a double life as a nun who takes care of orphans at a monastery, as well as an A-class agent for a secret intelligence group. Having separated from her parents when she was young, her only desire in mind is to be reunited with her family and learn about her past. When she learns that a key member of a criminal organization she was assigned to investigate has the same tattoo she has, she decides to chase after him to find out the truth. Sharon is believed to be some sort of blood-relative to Blair, but not specified precisely. Although no location is given, she has a move called Bermuda symphony.

Skullomania[link]

Skullomania (スカロマニア, Sukaromania^?) is the secret identity of Saburo Nishikoyama (西小山　三郎, Nishikoyama Saburō^?), a third-rate businessman from Tokyo who works to support his wife and children. He adopted his superhero identity when a client asked him to dress-up and pose for a superhero attraction at his department store. Donning a full-body suit resembling a skeleton, Skullomania decided to fight evil for real. In Street Fighter EX2, his costume is redesigned, with the adding a red scarf and a red letter "S" in front of his mask.^[83] Many elements of Skullomania are homages to the Tokusatsu genre of Japanese action shows in general and Kamen Rider in particular, specifically the red scarf, belt, and prominence of flying kicks in his fighting style. He later made an appearance in the PlayStation 2 music game Technictix, and also in Fighter Maker.

V. Rosso[link]

Vulcano Rosso (ヴルカーノ・ロッソ, Vurukāno Rosso^?), who also makes his debut in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, is a mysterious Italian warrior who leaves his organization in order to avenge the death of his lover, presumably killed by Bison's Shadaloo operatives. His special moves are named after locations in Italy such as Aetna, Vesuvio, Canossa, Ponte dei Sospiri, and Torre Pendente. At the end EX2 Plus, he fulfills his revenge but still mourns the death of his lover.^[84]

[edit] Introduced in Street Fighter: The Movie

Blade[link]

Blade (ブレード, Burēdo^?) (played by game designer Alan Noon) is a character who appears exclusively in the Street Fighter: The Movie arcade game. He is not based on any previous Street Fighter II character, but is dressed as a red-clad member of Bison's shock troops from the film which the game is based on. Blade has undergone rigorous physical training and conceals an array of weapons such as knives and grenades. In Blade's ending, he is revealed to be Guile's brother Gunloc (a character from Saturday Night Slam Masters), who has infiltrated the Shadaloo Gang as a deep cover agent.^[26]

In addition to Blade, there are also three hidden characters in the arcade game who are all palette swaps of Blade. Khyber (the yellow shock trooper) uses special techniques that resemble the ones used by Dhalsim (a character who was not featured in the arcade game) such as the Yoga Flame and Yoga Blast, while Arkane (the blue shock trooper) has a teleporting technique. F7 (the black shock trooper) has all the techniques of the other three shock troopers. They also share Blade's ending.^[85] The four shock troopers are the only characters from the arcade game excluded in the Street Fighter: The Movie console game (which is a different game based on the same film).

Sawada[link]

Captain Sawada (キャプテン・サワダ, Kyaputen Sawada^?) is an original character from the 1994 Street Fighter who appears as a playable character in both, the arcade and console version of the Street Fighter: The Movie video game. Sawada's voice is the only one dubbed in the film, as Sawada himself only speaks a little English.^[86]

Capcom at the time pushed heavily to promote actor Kenya Sawada in any means possible, giving the staff behind the film and game the impression that he was to be the "face" of Capcom, their own action hero to star in later material.^[87]

He is characterized as Colonel Guile's right-hand-man and the leader of the AN commando force. He is a hand-to-hand combat specialist who is proficient in all kinds of martial arts. Sawada's actual role in the film is very minor. He's shown only a few times actually speaking and fighting in the film, and has command of a small amount of ground troops in the assault on Bison's base. Yet at the end, he's shown amongst the main characters as they take a pose at the very end of the film.

His design varies somewhat from that in the film in the video game. The developers who worked on the arcade version had him go shirtless, based on the fact he was "buff" and inspired a bit from Mortal Kombat II characters of the time.^[88] Had this presented a problem, the staff would have opted to have a shirt painted over his sprites.^[89] The design resembled in many ways that of Fei Long, and led to the actor being involved in digitizing sessions for both Sawada and Fei Long. For Fei Long, the design itself took little need to alter outside of a change of pants, shoes, and hair. However Fei Long's frames were never cleaned due to time constraints, leaving only Sawada.^[90]

Despite speculation to the contrary, Sawada is unarmed in the arcade game. The "katana" shown was intended at the time to be "motion blur": given a conflict between the two capcom branches however, flicker transparency was not applied and it was instead left solid. His slashing attacks were intended to have an ethereal appearance to them, akin to the Hadouken. The designers argued for the flicker effect but were instead denied, and as a result opted for a look based on Mortal Kombat's effects at the time.^[91] Later appearances from the console version of the game changed this aspect of him giving him an actual katana.

Michael Dobson voiced Sawada in two episodes of Street Fighter as head of the A.N. Special Forces when Gulie was discharged and formed his team.

[edit] Introduced in the Street Fighter IV series

Abel[link]

Abel (アベル, Aberu^?) is a French martial artist described as an amnesiac, a "man with no past", who is covered in scars from head to toe. His fighting style is based on Combat Sambo, and he has a move called Marseille rolling. Obsessively following every lead on the whereabouts of Shadaloo's remnants, he was found in the burning remains of a Shadaloo base and nursed back to health by a group of mercenaries, working alongside them to find out his past and defeat Shadaloo once and for all. He recognizes Guile's technique Sonic Boom, but refuses to comment when Guile presses him for information regarding Charlie, the originator of the style. As a Combat Sambo practitioner, Abel is adept at using both striking and throwing moves.

It is hinted in Abel's ending that he was actually created by Shadaloo as a prototype of Seth or abducted in his youth to serve as a "replacement body" for M.Bison. This is reinforced by dialogue from both Bison and Seth, who mention him as "the one that got away". The appearance of his eyes also change to resemble Seth's during the initiation of his Ultra Combo. It is also hinted that Charlie is the person that helped him as he recognized Guile's fighting style and comments to Chun-Li about the soldier that rescued him from Shadaloo. In Abel's rival encounter, Abel mentions that he recognizes Guile's Sonic Boom leading to speculation that he may have spent time with Charlie.

His game mostly revolves around mixing up strikes and throws, and also emphasizes cancelling his standing medium kick cancelled into a dash, and then linking into his standing heavy punch, or mixing up between strikes and throws after the standing medium kick, which leaves him at point-blank range with an advantage. His signature move — his ultra "Soulless" - involves him changing his eye color, delivering a series of punches and kicks to his opponent, throwing them into the air and body slamming them back down on to the ground. His second ultra "Breathless" makes Abel run to his opponent, grab him, spin, creating a tornado, and drop opponent on the ground.

Abel is voiced by Kenji Takahashi in Japanese, and E. Jason Liebrecht in English. In his original design, he was a young judo fighter who wore pigtails and "could be mistaken for a girl."^[92]

Abel appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken, with Guile as his official tag partner.

C. Viper[link]

El Fuerte[link]

El Fuerte (エル・フォルテ, Eru Forute^?), meaning "The Strong One" in Spanish, is a masked Mexican luchador. He is an aspiring chef who seeks out the greatest fighters in order to learn what they eat, and incorporate their recipes into his cuisine. Despite his love of cooking, it seems he is actually quite incompetent as a chef. Many of his moves have Mexican food themed names. In the UDON comic series of Street Fighter, it shows that El Fuerte is a big fan of R. Mika. As a wrestler, he automatically recognized fellow wrestler, Zangief, as "Tornado Rojo" (aka Red Cyclone); he then announces his title as "The Hurricane of the Gulf of Mexico." He also has a friendly rivalry with T. Hawk, having been bested by him before the events of Super Street Fighter IV and told to challenge him again when he got stronger. Unlike the other characters of the series, El Fuerte takes his source of inspiration from real wrestlers from Mexico, in particular El Santo, the most prominent masked Mexican wrestler of the past half-century, who also wore a silver mask and was famous for his exciting wrestling style. El Fuerte is voiced by Daisuke Ono in Japanese, and J.B. Blanc in English.

El Fuerte makes a cameo appearance in stage backgrounds for Street Fighter X Tekken.

Gouken[link]

Hakan[link]

Hakan (ハカン^?) is an oil wrestler from Turkey and is the second new addition to Super Street Fighter IV. His fighting style is based on Yağlı güreş and revolves around him coating himself in oil, making his body slippery. This gives him an edge as he can slide across the ground and launch his opponents by squeezing them through his bulging muscles. The father of seven young children, Hakan is also the president of an olive oil company, who seeks to create the perfect olive oil. He is apparently old friends with E. Honda, who is his fighting rival in Super Street Fighter IV. Hakan was frequently rumored before he was revealed, due to a forum post with a photo that was believed to be concept art for new characters. Director Ono stated that Hakan was deliberately written as a "loving husband and father" in order to alleviate any perceivable homoerotic implications that oil wrestling has to American audiences.

Juri[link]

Rufus[link]

Seth[link]

The boss character of Street Fighter IV, Seth (セス, Sesu^?), nicknamed the "Puppet Master", is the Chief Executive Officer of S.I.N., the weapons division of Shadaloo. His body has been heavily modified using advanced technology, with a device installed in his abdomen called the "Tanden Engine." Seth is intent on completing BLECE, an acronym for Boiling Liquid Expanding Cell Explosion, which spurs the creation of a new fighting tournament.^[93] He is named after Seth Killian, Capcom's senior manager.^[94]

His normal moves are similar to those of Urien from Street Fighter III,^{[citation needed]} while his Special Moves are mainly techniques used by other characters. For example, Seth can perform a variation of Guile's Sonic Boom and Chun-Li's Hyakuretsukyaku. He also uses the Tanden Engine for a Special Move, his Super Combo, and both of his Ultra Combos.

Seth is a computer-only final boss in the arcade version of Street Fighter IV, but is selectable in the home version.^[95] Seth is voiced by Akio Ōtsuka in Japanese, and Michael McConnohie in English. In Seth's ending in Street Fighter IV, he is revealed to be known as number "15", one of many similar androids created by Bison. Originally created to become one of Bison's "replacement bodies", 15 rebelled against his programming, resulting in him attempting to overthrow Bison and pursuing his own agendas.

VideoGamer.com heavily criticized Seth, describing him as "cheap to fight against" and a lazy effort on the part of the game's development team. They went on to describe him as resembling a rip-off of Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan, adding that the culmination of his "silly name" and moves taken from existing characters made him a disappointment.^[96] Eurogamer felt similar sentiments, citing the character's gameplay would "cause many tantrums above the easiest difficulty".^[97] IGN AU, while stating he one of several "great" additions to the game's roster, emphasized that the character felt "gimmicky".^[98] The magazine Xbox 360 described him as the game's only major disappointment, noting that despite how imaginative other characters in the title felt his role as the game's final boss felt anti-climactic.^[99]

References[link]