Street Fighter II/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


See also:


E. Honda - Japan

"Now you have learned the meaning of Sumo! DOSUKOI!"

Voiced by: Masashi Sugawara (Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2), Daisuke Gouri (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Richard Epcar (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, English), Yoshikazu Nagano (Street Fighter IV, Japanese), John Snyder (Street Fighter IV, English, as Joe DiMucci).

Full name Edmond Honda. A sumo wrestler who is really fond of his craft. He entered the Street Fighter II tournament to prove the superiority of sumo worldwide. In IV he decides to take sumo all the way to the Olympics.

  • Acrofatic
  • Always Second Best: Honda never achieved the highest rank in sumo, Yokozuna, but he has earned the second highest, Ozeki. Of course, it's hard to believe becoming a Yokozuna is completely outside the realm of his abilities given all the crazy stuff he can do.
  • Ass Kicks You: His Sumo Squat, his Oicho Throw and his second Ultra in SSFIV. The latter has more ground pounding.
  • Big Eater

"Eat chanko to build your body! Push the opponent out of the Dobyo!"

"Wanna get a bite to eat?"

  • Big Fun: Has the distinction of having MANY good friends who enjoy his company. Ryu, Zangief, Sodom, and newcomer Hakan have all been shown to be buddies with him.
  • Boisterous Bruiser
  • Button Mashing: His hundred hand slap.
  • Executive Meddling: In-universe example. In his ending in SSFIV, he figures the only way to make Sumo Wrestling an officially recognized world-wide sport is to directly join the Olympic Committee and force them to vote it in.
  • Facial Markings: His face is painted in the kumadori style of makeup used by kabuki artists.
  • Food End: His SF II ending.
  • Hot-Blooded
  • Lightning Bruiser: Despite his size, he's relatively quick. Not anywhere near Cammy or Vega's levels, but still quick.
  • Nerf: The weak version of his headbutt attack has gone through many balance changes. At first it could go through fireballs on the first frame, but in Alpha 3 they changed it so it couldn't. Then in HD Remix it completely negated fireballs, inverting the nerf, but in IV it couldn't.
  • Panty Shot: Especially in Street Fighter IV. OK, he's already wearing more than most Sumo wrestlers, but still...
  • Patriotic Fervor: Like with Zangief, this is illustrated in the UDON comics by having his speech balloons white with red text, in grand Hinomaru[1] style.
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs/Spam Attack: Hundred Hand Slap!
  • Red Baron: His shikona (ring name) for sumo is "Fujinoyama" (Mt. Fuji).
  • Spam Attack: His "Hundred Hand Slap".
  • Spirited Competitor: A heroic version.
  • Stout Strength: Honda's built like a sumo wrestler and still has six pack abs.
  • Techno Wizard: In his appearance in the American Street Fighter animated series, Edmond is depicted as a computer whiz who loves hacking government files.
  • Too Kinky to Torture: In the movie, though less due to kink and more due to mental (and bulk).
  • Use Your Head: The Sumo Headbutt.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Seems to be this with Hakan, although it only shows when the two are trying to see which is better between Sumo and Turkish wrestling.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: He wears a kimono over his sumo belt, but chooses not to wear it with his arms in the sleeves.


Blanka - Brazil

"Now you understand that the wild is more powerful than anything you can master!"

Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Street Fighter IV), Scott McNeil (American cartoon), Unsho Ishizuka (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Taliesin Jaffe (Street Fighter IV, English)

Real name Jimmy, a youth who was lost in the rainforests of Brazil after a plane crash. He survived alone and became a Wild Man who learned how to channel electricity through his body. Good friends with Dan Hibiki, since he saved Dan's life once. In II he finds his long-lost mother Samantha and in IV decides to enter the new tournament to make her proud, and to support Dan's Saikyo school somewhat.


Guile - USA

"Are you man enough to fight with me?"

Voiced by: Toshihide Tsuchiya (Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marvel vs. Capcom 2), Tessho Genda (Street Fighter II V, Street Fighter EX), Kirk Thornton (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V; English), Unsho Ishizuka (Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2), Takenosuke Nishikawa (SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos), Hiroki Yasumoto (Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, Japanese), Travis Willingham (Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, English)

An All-American Air Force major who has sworn Revenge on Bison for the death of his friend Charlie (as later seen in the Alpha series), and almost succeeds in Street Fighter II until his wife Jane and their daughter Amy arrive and convince him to stop. He spares Bison and goes home to live a life away from fighting... until IV when something comes up involving Shadaloo and he's sent in to investigate S.I.N. Has really big hair, which he apparently maintains via a military-order hairspray. His wife Jane is Eliza's sister, making him and Ken in-laws, but they don't really like each other very much.

  • All-American Face: Moreso in the western cartoon.
  • Anime Hair: His hair gives him the ability to defy gravity. He uses military-issue hair product, which, in the video game of Harvey Birdman, turns out to be extremely flammable.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking
  • Badass
  • Badass Biker: As seen in his prologue from SSFIV.
  • Best Served Cold: Against Bison for Charlie's death. Justified in that Guile thought Bison was dead between Alpha 3 and Street Fighter II.
  • Boring but Practical: Guile the same two special moves in IV that he did in II and some super/ultra version of each. Most characters have at least three and many are flashier then Guile. He's still a badass.
  • Cameo: Many, not all of them video games:
    • He appears in the background during the boss battle with Freddie in Final Fight 2
    • One of the skins the player can unlock in Crimson Tears makes the character look like Guile.
    • He appears in first episode of Lucky Star (called "Foreigner"); He was asking Tsukasa for directions, but Konata thought he was threatening to kidnap her, so they fought and she won, using similar moves to Ryu, with Ryu's stage as the backdrop.
    • He appears in episode 010 of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt as a trucker eating a hamburger during a musical number.
    • In Wreck-It Ralph, he's one of the portraits at Tapper's bar.
  • Calling Your Attacks:

"Sonic Boom!"

Guile: Happy anniversa--
Julia: Couch.
Guile: I brought you some flowers--
Julia: Couch.

"Mission start"

Chun-Li - China

"I'm the strongest woman in the world!"

Voiced by: Yuko Miyamura (Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter EX, Marvel vs Capcom 1, Marvel vs. Capcom 2), Miki Fujitani (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Lia Sargent, (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V, Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation), Michiko Neya (Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2), Mari Jitsukawa, (SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos) Chisa Yokoyama (Street Fighter II V, Japanese), Yumi Touma (Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, Japanese), Atsuko Tanaka (Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Namco X Capcom), Laura Bailey (Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter X Tekken; English), Fumiko Orikasa (Street Fighter IV, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter X Tekken)

Interpol agent and the original fighting game Action Girl. She joined Interpol to investigate her father's apparent death at the hands of Bison and constantly pursues him and any other members of Shadaloo. In IV, she goes to investigate S.I.N.'s possible connection with Shadaloo along with Guile and Cammy. By the time of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, she has retired from Interpol and runs an orphanage. When one of her kids is abducted by Urien, she goes into Mama Bear mode and goes after him. She rescues the kid and all is well.

Chun-Li has the honor of being the first playable female in a fighting game. The trend of female fighters being quicker and lighter, and liking kicks can be traced directly to Chun-Li's huge and powerful legs.

  • Action Mom: She has several adopted children in III.
  • Amazonian Beauty: Her legs are massive pillars of muscle.
  • Anime Chinese Girl: Set the standard for all the others.
  • Author Appeal: Chun-Li seesaws between thick and muscular and thin and petite, depending on the game. Yoshinori Ono, the director of the series, has stated that he prefers her slimmer, Alpha-era look, while Daigo Ikeno, the main artist for the series, loves meaty thighs. Ikeno has admitted that he makes sure that his designs are the final drafts sent to the programmers.
  • Baby Got Back: Goes along with her legendary thighs.
  • Badass Adorable: Would you expect a woman like her to jump for joy or strike a "V" Sign and proclaim "Yatta!"?
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: In Street Fighter II V
  • Badass in Distress:
    • She's had to be rescued fairly often in the history of the franchise, usually by Guile.
    • The first issue of the Street Fighter Unlimited comic book ends with a shot of her BoundAndGagged after having been captured by Vega.
  • Button Mashing: Her lightning kick.
  • Calling Your Attacks: "Spinning Bird Kick!"
  • Cameo: LOTS of them:
    • Appears in the background of the Hong Kong stage of Final Fight 2
    • She's in the crowd in Saturday Night Slam Masters, near the entrance on the left.
    • If the player in Breath of Fire asks the guy in the thief's house in Bleak to do a magic trick, and then answers his question correctly, she appears there practicing her Lightning Kicks.
    • A tennis player named "Li-Li" who looks like her appears in Capcom Sports Club.
    • Appears on a poster in Resident Evil Survivor.
    • One of the skins the player can unlock in Crimson Tears makes the character look like Chun-Li.
    • She's the reporter in the prologue of Mega Man 9.
    • She appears to be the policewoman who appears in the epilogue of Asura's Wrath, giving Kalrow a ticket for using his Segway among pedestrians. (How the Mighty Have Fallen...)
    • She is part of the army of video game heroes in the finale of Ready Player One.
  • Catch Phrase: "Gomen ne!"
  • Cool Big Sis: Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition portrays her in this light towards Yun and Yang. If one factors in the implications that a martial arts instructor/master in considered to be a father figure and the ties shared by Gen, Lee, Chun-Li's father, Chun-Li, and the Lee Bros., she technically qualifies as their elder sister in a martial arts sense as well.
  • Energy Ball: Her Kikoken and Kikosho.
  • Ethical Slut: Downplayed. She obviously doesn't sleep around, but she is something of a playful flirt at times towards male opponents, often making suggestive win quotes towards Ryu, Charlie, Honda, and in the case of Marvel vs. Capcom, Thor.
  • Fan Service: The famous Shower Scene in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. The uncensored version showed her breasts.
    • There's also her alternate costume in IV, and those legs.
    • While she is sometimes used as fanservice, Capcom usually prefers to keep her classy as well, and she is surprisingly not as heavily used in that role as the other female characters.
    • The animation for her Kikouken in Super Street Fighter II was redesigned so that more of her rear would be sticking out, something that was retained for IV.
  • Fair Cop: Interpol, of course.
  • Fragile Speedster: Her moves have a tendency to be heavily risky, often having some sort of long delay after they hit. If her moves are blocked, she leaves herself wide open for combos.
    • Lightning Bruiser: How she did start. The original Street Fighter II is a good example of this.
  • Goomba Stomp: Her Yousou Kyaku.
  • Gratuitous Foreign Language: She's Chinese but speaks English when she does her spinning bird kick and her celebration pose, in SF2 at least, has her shouting "Yatta!".
  • Homage: Her design was at least partially inspired by Charlotte Chang, a character (played by Jan Gan Boyd) in the 1987 Charles Bronson film Assassination.
  • Hurricane Kick:

"Spinning Bird Kick!"

  • Informed Attractiveness: Word of God has Chun-Li as the most beautiful female of the cast. It has to be expected, from a character designer who admitted that his own thunder thighs fetish influenced her character design for a good majority of the series.
  • Interpol Special Agent
  • Ki Attacks: The Kikoken projectile.
  • Kick Chick: Trope Maker/Trope Codifier as the first female fighting game character ever she's done more for this trope then any other user.
  • Lethal Chef: As shown in her Arcade Ladder ending in V, her attempt to cook for Li-Fen - even while carefully following a recipe in a cookbook - results in her burning the food, though thankfully not so bad that Li-Fen cannot salvage it.
  • Lovely Angels: With Cammy in the opening cinematic of SSFIV. The two are shown to be friends, and artwork from around the time of II and Alpha had a habit of pairing them up. This is pretty much canon, since source material shows that Interpol has had collaboration with Delta Red and the U.S. Armed Forces when investigating Shadaloo. Guile is frequently paired with the two to form a Power Trio.
  • Mama Bear: Someone should have told Urien that you do not kidnap her adopted children.
    • She already showed some signs in Alpha, as she was VERY pissed off when she met a struggling Cammy and found out about the Dolls. Upon seeing Bison, she pulled her gun on him while screaming about how could he do such things to innocent teenage girls.
  • Meaningful Name: Her name means "Spring Beauty" (春麗) in Chinese.
  • Mind Control Eyes: In Street Fighter II V, when she and Ryu end up Brainwashed and Crazy thanks to Bison.
  • Multiple Endings: In most versions of Street Fighter II, Chun-Li is given the option of two different ending outcomes. No other character in the franchise shares that.
  • Muscles Are Meaningless: Subverted. Aside from Daigo Ikeno's fetish for thunder thighs, it'd make sense that Chun-Li's legs are so strongly-built and muscular since they're her main form of attack.
    • Her sleeveless outfit in the Alpha series revealed some impressively ripped arms. Capcom would later "Nerf" her physique to fat legs and noodle arms...until IV, that is.
  • Odango
  • Panty Shot: She avoids this, since she has tights, but in Pocket Fighter, one of Chun-Li's attacks has her dress up as a cheerleader and do a high kick. There's also her alternate outfit in IV and the fight with Vega in the animated movie.
  • Plucky Girl: So much, that when she faced Bison in Alpha 2, he was impressed by her spirit and promised that he'd use both hands the next time they met.
  • Rapid Fire Kicks: Her Lightning Kick/Hyakuretsu Kyaku attack.
  • The Rival: Vega.
  • She Fu: In general, her arsenal of moves is extremely acrobatic if nothing else.
  • She's Got Legs: She's got a nice pair. Both long and thick. They're also quite powerful, so no touchies.
  • Ship Tease: Naturally, she's gonna be shipped with plenty of characters. In this regard, Ryu is the most prominent. The two have really good chemistry and it's been proven that she admires Ryu greatly and loves fighting him every chance she gets.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Prior to Super Street Fighter II, she was the only female fighter on the roster.
    • One of her victory quotes in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (where the genders of playable characters is roughly equal) is a Call Back lampshading this: "I remember when I was the only girl on the roster."
  • Sphere of Destruction: The Kikosho.
  • Statuesque Stunner: Believe or not, despite her legendary stems, she only barely qualifies at 5'8".
  • Supercop: Of the Badass Abnormal variety.
  • Supporting Leader: Chun-Li tends to be the one to oppose the Big Bad. Her arcade endings often have her stopping Shadaloo, S.I.N, and the Illuminati rather than Ryu.
  • Sweet Tooth: Specially French crepes.

"I love sweets. Feeling up to goint to get a bite to eat after this?"

Bison: Yes, yes, I killed your father, what's with you women anyway? I killed my father, and you don't hear me whining about it!

    • In the first movie:

Bison: For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. but for me... it was Tuesday!

Zangief - USSR / Russia

"I am the Red Cyclone!"

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi (Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter EX), Tessho Genda (Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2), Kenta Miyake (Street Fighter IV, Japanese), Peter Beckman (Street Fighter IV, English, credited as Anthony Landor]

Russian wrestler and the Boisterous Bruiser of the series. Like Honda, he enters the tournament to further the glory of his country and art. The numerous scars come from his training methods: wrestling bears. He also hates Vega immensely. Same goes for projectiles.

  • Ambiguously Gay: From his debut, his official profile has listed "pretty young girls" as one of his dislikes. His quotes in Street Fighter 4 make liberal use of the word "fabulous." Regardless, his set-on-stone sexual preference hasn't been known yet.
  • Animal Nemesis: The aforementioned bears.
  • Badass Beard
  • Badass Normal: Aside from his Mecha form, all he has going for him is his wrestling prowess. However, he's good enough that he doesn't even need projectiles.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Tends to be portrayed this way. However, as proud as he is of his abilities, he tends to be portrayed as very respectful of opponents' abilities. He'll DEFINITELY rub it in if you're a bad guy, though.
  • Canon Immigrant: His Mecha Zangief costume originated in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and shows up as an alternate skin in Super Street Fighter IV.
  • Carpet of Virility: So much so, that even his Mecha costume has the equivalent in the form of a metal plate. Can't nobody top that.
  • Comic Relief: In the live-action movie. Helped by the fact that casting Andrew Bryniarski as him is PERFECT CASTING.
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: He can pull off a Final Atomic Buster with ease.
  • Demoted to Extra: In Street Fighter II the Animated Movie.
  • Difficult but Awesome: Like Akuma, people go wild when Zangief players start winning in SF4 tournaments. He's the slowest character in the game next to T. Hawk, his only options against fireballs are jumping, Lariat, or a well-placed Green Hand, and his only true damage output lies in his command grabs (his combos are all extremely hard links). In short, he's a thinking man's character who has to go through A LOT of hurdles to get up close, but once he gets into that special range their hard work pays off, as players can exploit their opponent's fear of getting grabbed and win with effort.
  • Dirty Communists: Despite ostensibly being a hero—or at least a loveable incidental fighter—in every other source, Zangief is a villain in the two American Street Fighter productions he appears in. But the nineties' anime weren't that much better in that regard. In Street Fighter II V he was sent to find, fight and capture Ryu, in Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie he was pretty much a savage Mooks that Dr. Sadler used. The only remote exception was in The (Animated) Movie, where he appeared in a glorified cameo fight with Blanka. Finally discredited with authority in SFIV where he's an out and out pro-wrestling hero, loved and adored by his fans all over the world (or at least Russia).
  • The Ditz: This is how he's portrayed in the first live action movie.

"Quick! Change the channel!"

  • Dumb Muscle: In the Animated Adaptation and The Movie. Although he doesn't tend to show any truly egregious stupidity.
  • Everything's Better with Spinning: EVERY SINGLE MAJOR MOVE of his involves spinning. Taken Up to Eleven with the Siberian Blizzard.
  • Fire-Breathing Diner: Alpha 3 shows (via a Victory Pose) that Zangief can do that after inhaling some vodka.
  • Flung Clothing: His entrance attire in Alpha and some cutscenes is a Badass Cape that he throws away before the fight. First appeared in The Animated Movie.
  • Friend to All Children: Children LOVE Zangief. LOOOOOOVE him. He's an idol in the wrestling world to them, and making his fans proud is one of the reasons he competes.
  • Gentle Giant: See trope directly above: Yes, it IS possible to bring out his soft and gentle side.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Many scars on his body from wrestling bears in the Motherland. Good in the games, evil in the American movie and cartoon.
  • Gratuitous Russian: Okay, his SFII appearance didn't suffer from this, seeing that the Russian texts were written somehow well in here (although the "Children aged less than 18 are not allowed to watch" banner in the background seems to be a bit out of context), but when he went Alpha, he also went Яussian. Not even talking about the moments when this trope has been directly inherited into the Vs. crossovers. For instance, his "Bolshoi tavieda!" sound sample when he wins. Sounds hilarious, right? Well, yeah... Even more hilarious to native Russian speakers. Because actually, the phrase "The Big Victory" must be translated as "Bol'shaya pobeda" (Большая победа). His stages in Alpha aren't safe, either. ("... to work... ... to work... ... to work..." screen in Alpha 2 and "Machine heat" (both words to be treated like nouns in this case) in Alpha 3) In a similar vein, Marvel vs Capcom 1 had the Neo St. Petersburg stage in... Kazakhstan.
  • Heel Face Turn: In the movie.
  • Hot-Blooded: Oh so much.
  • Husky Russkie: Zangief is the largest character in the games after Hugo and T. Hawk, except they aren't Russian. He's pretty much the uber-russkie.
  • Improvised Weapon: He's show happily eating a sub on a train in the cartoon until Guile and Cammy show up. Then he proceeds to throw his sub threateningly enough that Guile and Cammy actually dodge it like it's lethal!
  • In a Single Bound: His Final Atomic Buster. Taken to its logical pinnacle in the EX series, where he goes into orbit.
  • In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You Piledriver Spins You!
  • Ki Attacks: In his Banishing Flat, Zangief performs a quick spin with an aura-imbued fist that is able to neutralize opponent's fireballs, as well as deliver damage and quickly shorten distances with the enemy.
  • Man Bites Man: Despite his status as a good guy, one of his grapples in most of his games is to grab hold and chow down on an opponent's face. Even has a super version of it in Super Gem Fighter..
  • Meteor Move: His "Final Atomic Buster".
  • Mighty Glacier: Heavy on the mighty, but surprisingly light on the glacier part. While he IS slower than the average character, he can move surprisingly quick with some of his moves. The Banishing Flat can easily get him across the screen in a hurry, for example. However, his EX Flying Power Bomb is this trope incarnate: he slowly inches forward, and can even take a hit without flinching, until he grabs you and takes you to your doom!
  • Mother Russia Makes You Strong
  • Only Known by Their Nickname:

I AM (THE) RED CYCLONE

"Hyper! Atomic! BUSTAH!!!"

"Final... Atomic... BUSTER!"


Dhalsim - India

"I will meditate and then destroy you."

Voiced by: Yoshiharu Yamada (Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter EX), Eiji Yano (SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos), Gary Chalk (American cartoon), Shozo Iizuka (Street Fighter II V, Japanese), Steven Blum (Street Fighter II V, English), Daisuke Egawa (Street Fighter IV, Japanese), Christopher Bevins (Street Fighter IV, English)

Indian mystic who has trained in Yoga so well that he can extend his limbs further than any man alive. He enters the Street Fighter tournament to raise money for his village, and is often consulted by many of the other fighters in regards to his spirituality. Has a cute wife named Sally and a son, Dhatta, whom he loves very much. By the by, the skulls he wears are those of children who died due to a famine in his village, not the skulls of his enemies. In IV S.I.N builds a dam far upstream blocking a river that provides water (and trade, fishing, etc.) to his village, so he enters the tournament once again to reclaim it.

El Fuerte: "Teleportation and flame power? What kind of spice does that?"

(When winning against Rufus) "I'm not an alien!"


Balrog - USA

"My fists have your blood on them!"

Voiced by: Koichi Yamadera (Street Fighter Alpha 3), Joji Nakata (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Satoshi Tsuruoka (Street Fighter IV, Japanese), Bob Carter (Street Fighter IV, English)

Balrog is a disgraced heavyweight boxer and one of Shadaloo's Four Devas; he joined the organization after his excessive violence got him kicked out of the pro boxing world. After M. Bison's disappearance, Balrog spends all of the riches gained from his employment, ending up right back where he started. He enters the Street Fighter IV tournament hearing that S.I.N. has some kind of "treasure" -- and that Shadaloo would pay him well enough. In Super Street Fighter IV, he encounters Dudley and challenges the British boxing champion to a match between regions.

"What's a kick?"

"I GOT PAID!"
"I AM CHAMP!"
"DON'T STOP ME!"

  • Lightning Bruiser: Very fast jabs and his Dash Punches.
  • Megaton Punch: Or should I say Gigaton Punch Gigaton Punch Gigaton Punch ~ Gigaton... Punch!
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: He's a Captain Ersatz of Mike Tyson, there's little point in denying it. In fact, in the original version, he was named "M. Bison" while the final boss was named "Vega", the guy with the mask named "Balrog". The names of the bosses were swapped for American release to prevent a lawsuit.
  • Only in It For the Money: Pretty much his driving force.
  • Pet the Dog: His ending in IV.
    • Played with in SSFIV, where Balrog just drags the boy throughout the desert while trying to find out if he can "fly or see the future." Seeing that the boy can't (apparently) do anything special, Balrog just calls him worthless, but continues still dragging him along.
  • Red Boxing Gloves
  • Scary Black Man: The fact that he's openly sadistic doesn't help his image any. Hell, Michael Clarke Duncan plays him in Street Fighter the Legend of Chun Li.
  • Shirtless Scene: One of his winposes, where he flexes with enough force to rip his shirt to shreds. He also has a shirtless alternate outfit in Super Street Fighter IV.
  • Sympathetic POV: The song "Bison's Dream" from the SFII vocal album.
  • Techno Wizard: The cartoon has him doing nothing but using a computer to make a false tapes and typing with BOXING GLOVES!
  • Took a Level In Dumbass: A level?
  • Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty: His moveset is comprised of numerous illegal boxing moves. Naturally, his Dirty Bull Ultra in Super Street Fighter IV is the pinnacle of this, combining a headbutt, foot stomp, and a wicked ELBOW to the face. Balrog seems to know this, as he finishes the super by acting innocent and not caring.
  • Urban Legend of Zelda: Right off the heels of the Mike Tyson ear bite, rumors persisted that you could become a Cool Loser by cancelling the Megaton Punch into a hidden Super Combo just as the punch lands. Rotate the controller 720 degrees and hit all three buttons and Boxer will lock his opponent in a headlock and start biting until Edi E busts Balrog and carts him off to jail, forfeiting the match.
    • Ascended Meme: In Super IV he gets a new Ultra called Dirty Bull which, before AE, was a 720 motion and involves illegal boxing maneuvers such as sucker punching, stepping on someone's foot, and clinching.
  • Use Your Head: In one of his grabs, in the Buffalo Head, and more recently in his second Ultra in SSFIV.
  • Younger Than They Look: According to notes on official art, Balrog is only 21 at the time of Street Fighter II—likely making him the youngest character in the game. This may have received a slight, unspoken retcon around the release of Alpha 3, though, since as a prequel he'd have to be even younger.

Vega - Spain

"Handsome fighters never lose battles."

Voiced by: Kaneto Shiozawa (Street Fighter EX, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V), Yuji Ueda (Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2), Richard Cansino (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V), Mark Hildreth (American cartoon), Kiyotomi Goshima (Gunspike, SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos), Vic Mignogna (Street Fighter II V, ADV dub), Junichi Suwabe (Street Fighter IV, Japanese), Doug Erholtz (Street Fighter IV, English)

Vega is a Spanish ninja and bullfighter who became a serial killer after he witnessed his mother's death at the hands of his own father -- an ugly nobleman whom his mother had married for wealth. Due to these circumstances, Vega has a strong hatred for anything he deems ugly. He joined Shadaloo and quickly became one of its Four Devas, developing feelings for Cammy in the process. In IV, it is revealed that after Bison's downfall, Vega resumed his usual lifestyle until he received word that Shadaloo had been revived. He eagerly rejoined the organization and has been tasked with gathering a certain piece of data in S.I.N.'s headquarters which is the key to Shadaloo's complete revival.

Vega is extremely narcissistic; he believes that he is the most beautiful person in the world, and all others are inferior to him. To keep that delusion intact, Vega wears a mask while in battle to protect his face. (Too bad the mask is easily broken.)

  • Abusive Parent: His father was a thug who physically abused him and his mother.
  • As Long as It Sounds Foreign: His yodeling winpose. Yodeling did not originate in Spain, it originated in the Alps. But given he came from an essentially Eurotrash background, it's not improbable for him to have picked it up traveling through the Swiss (or Italian or French) Alps.
  • Attempted Rape: On Chun-Li in II: The Animated Movie before killing her. It doesn't quite work, seeing the fight ends with Chun-Li Lightning Kicking him to Hell and back before driving his body through a wall, but the battle does keep Chun out of commission for the remainder of the film.
  • Badass Long Hair
  • Badass Spaniard
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: Given his upbringing, he wholeheartedly believes this.
  • Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Except in the case of the below trope.
  • Berserk Button: He goes insane if you so much as touch his face. In the Animated Movie, Vega threatens to kill Chun-Li after she rearranges his face with her foot. In the comics, he goes straight into kill mode when Eliza (then Ken's fiancé) so much as slaps him in the face (keep in mind that she's not a fighter like Chun-Li). If it wasn't for Ken arriving just in time, she'd be torn to shreds.
  • Bishonen: His alternate outfit in IV only makes him more flamboyant.
  • Blood Lust
  • Catch Phrase:

"Handsome fighters never lose battles."

"How dreadfully dull. Nothing offends my refined senses more than children."

  • Claw Crazy
  • Cool Mask: Although he wears it to protect his handsome face, and freaks out if his beauty is tarnished by blood. In Street Fighter IV, getting his mask off (either intentionally or by taking damage) lowers his defense rating and increase his offense at the same time.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: The "accident" that involved his parents during his childhood deeply afflicted him.
  • Dark Chick
  • Dub Name Change: Balrog in Japan, Vega everywhere else.
    • And quite a funny one, since Vega is, indeed, a very common Spanish family name. But you will see a green dog before you see a Spaniard named Balrog.
  • Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: Vega is a narcissistic effeminine matodor who seemingly regards women with contempt and disdain. He wears purple eyeliner, nail polish, and what appears to be lip gloss. In the subs, he tends to speak in a soft somewhat feminine tone. For years, gamers thought Vega was gay, until Capcom stepped forward and stated Vega was not gay, but a narcissist. They even had him take an interest in Cammy (so to speak) as a way of showing this.
    • In the Animated Movie, he became jealous when Bison appeared to take an interest in Chun Li's "talents." And, when tasked with eliminating her, Vega's method was saddistic; delighting in Chun Li's suffering until she stepped on his face.
    • This seems to have been somewhat toned down in IV, if we take the Vega vs. Chunners Rival Match in consideration. Though alternatively, if could make him more patronising and possibly passive-aggressive than anything else.
  • Mr. Fanservice
  • Evilly Affable: Most people seem to take Vega's bloodlust and profession as an assassin in stride or completely overlook it/forget about it. Maybe it's because of his bishieness, coupled with charismatic/flamboyant personality and sad backstory...
  • The Fighting Narcissist
  • Foe Yay: A one-sided case with Chun-Li. She's a cop who's only concerned with arresting him by any means necessary, but Vega shows concern for Chun-Li for the same reasons listed in the Pet the Dog entry below. As long as she is alive and oh so beautiful, he looks forward to the next time when they may cross paths.
  • Fragile Speedster
  • Glass Cannon: While Vega has average stamina, losing his claw makes it considerably lower and nerfs his reach while losing his mask lowers his stamina even further but gives him a slight offensive boost.
    • Lampshaded in IV, which gives him a move that lets him toss away his claw (and mask in the EX version of said move). This may appear to only be a gimmick move, but taking the mask off and picking it back up resets the number of hits Vega can take before it is removed. Throwing away the mask lowers defense but also improves offense, intentionally invoking his own Berserk Button to empower him.
  • Hair Colors: Although originally presented as a brunette in II (this was retained for IV), he's a blond in Alpha 3, EX, and Capcom vs. SNK, perhaps due to his Adaptation Dye Job for II: The Animated Move.
  • Highly-Visible Ninja: Just because he practices Ninjitsu doesn't mean he cares about being an actual ninja.
  • Hypocritical Humor: His win quote against Ken in SSFIV is kind of like the pot calling the kettle black:

"The concept of true beauty is lost on superficial men like you."

Maki: "What? A Spanish Ninja? Now I've seen it all!"

M. Bison - Shadaloo

"Embrace your fear as you are enveloped by an eternal nightmare!"

Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter EX, Namco X Capcom), Norio Wakamoto (Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2, SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos, Street Fighter IV) Banjo Ginga (drama CD), Takeshi Kusaka (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Tessho Genda (Street Fighter: The Movie dub), Gerald C. Rivers (Street Fighter IV, English)

M. Bison is the Big Bad (and Final Boss) of II (and most of the Alpha games), the leader of the multinational criminal organization Shadaloo, and the enemy of damn near every character in the franchise. Bison wields a corrupt form of Rose's Soul Power called Psycho Power, which is fueled by evil thoughts and desires. Bison's ultimate desire is to Take Over the World, and his desire has made him responsible for nearly every bad thing that happens in the series. Bison personally killed Chun-Li's father and Charlie, pushed T. Hawk's people off their native lands, and abducted teenage girls from around the world (one of them being T. Hawk's childhood friend) to serve as his brainwashed bodyguards and assassins.

In Alpha 3, Bison has completed construction of a superweapon called the Psycho Drive; it can be used to boost his power and as a Kill Sat. He is also looking for a new body, since the Psycho Power is beginning to exceed the limits of his own. He tries to take Ryu's body by brainwashing him and setting him against his friends, but they free him, and shortly afterwards, Bison is killed -- but his soul somehow survives, and eventually, Shadaloo's scientists create a new body for him (albeit a severely weakened one).

Bison hosts the Street Fighter II tournament to gain revenge on those who bested him, but before he can extract that revenge, he is attacked by Akuma. His soul survived the Shun Goku Satsu, however, and he was once again given a new body -- one which would be able to hold the full extent of his Psycho Power (it's a combination of his Alpha and II bodies).

In IV, Bison is attempting to revive Shadaloo, and the first objective in his new scheme is to eliminate the traitorous Seth.

  • A God Am I: 1st movie only.
  • Affably Evil: According to some official publications, Shadaloo has a dating centre, a shopping mall (!!), a swimming pool, and video games. In Street Fighter Alpha 2, he actually makes a few sarcastic jokes to his enemies. This could be justified by saying that he wants his future soldiers to trust him or be in good shape, but... damn.
  • Arch Enemy: To Chun-Li, Charlie, Guile, and sometimes Akuma. Oddly, he never has any special animosity towards Ryu, despite Ryu being the one who - canonically - defeats him every time.
  • Badass Arm-Fold: Is quite fold of this too.
  • Badass Cape: He actually wears it in Alpha. Otherwise...
  • Bad Powers, Bad People: The Psycho Power is pure negative energy that only truly works once you have purged yourself of all goodness. And Bison has done just that.
  • Battle Strip: In the original Street Fighter II, he starts a fight by throwing off his cape. He leaves it on in later games, however.
  • Benevolent Boss: As stated above, there are worse organizations than Shadaloo where a mook could find work.
  • Big Bad
  • Big No: With English voices on, this is the result when he loses in IV.
  • Brainwashed (And Crazy): His squad of "Dolls". And Ryu, in Alpha 3.
  • But for Me It Was Tuesday: Raul Julia's Bison is the legendary Trope Namer.
    • Ironically, however, this is Subverted in the games, where he does indeed remember Chun-Li's father and recognizes her as a dangerous enemy.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: Shadaloo is bad. Bison has no compunction about sharing that with anyone.
  • The Chessmaster
  • Cloning Blues
  • Commissar Cap
  • Composite Character: His later appearances don't try to differ Street Fighter II incarnation from the Alpha version, the former was his new body after his "death" in Alpha, with a slender and more average build and weaker in-story, the later where Bison was at the prime of his powers (but in risk of dying because of it) with a more muscular build. Nowadays Bison remains as muscular as ever, with no clear metion if he got his powers back from his Shin Bison days or just an artistic choice to keep him buff.
  • Crazy Prepared:

"I will be reborn no matter how many bodies it takes! Bison is eternal!"

  • Devil in Plain Sight: He wears a friggin' Nazi uniform, for God's sake!
  • Dub Name Change: Vega in Japan, M. Bison elsewhere.
  • Equal Opportunity Evil: Bison is a considerate boss who hires men and women from all over the world in the pursuit of evil. Okay, he brainwashes women from all over the world, but still. Referenced and mocked in the live action movie, where Anti-Shadoloo videos depicted the diverse members of Bison's army as insulting national stereotypes.
  • Evil Versus Evil: In IV, he and Seth are enemies.
  • Expy: It is believed his design was inspired by that of Yasunori Katō, the Villain Protagonist of the the Japanese historical fantasy franchise Teito Monogatari. Yf anything, his clothes look very similar to Katō's.
  • Flung Clothing: He tosses his cape away during his entrance in II.
  • Grand Theft Me: Pulls this on Rose to ensure his survival post-Alpha until a suitable replacement body was made. He also planned on using Ryu as his host in Alpha, had Cammy manufactured as a backup body, and sees some value in Juri (according to their Rival Battle).
  • The Jimmy Hart Version: Irreconcilably, his theme from EX and EX3 sounds a bit like Flash Man's theme from Mega Man 2, especially in the beginning.
  • Joker Immunity: Until we find out Bison's ultimate fate by the time of III (Urien at least makes a cryptic comment about Chun-Li being able to shut down Shadaloo), it seems that this guy will never die. Justified in-plot by his ability to exit his own body when it dies, and affix his soul to a new one. He's got a handy stable of clones which he keeps around for this purpose, pretty much ensuring he'll always come back.
  • Karma Houdini: His subordinates, despite aiding a megalomaniacal world-class criminal, get away scott-free. (Though at least Sagat acknowledges his massive fuck up and tries to turn new leaves.)
  • Kneel Before Zod: His Psycho Punisher Ultra.

Bison: "Kneel before my Psycho Power!"

  • Light Is Not Good: His "true" form in Street Fighter EX 2.
  • Made of Evil: Considering that he purged himself of all of his good qualities (which went on to become Rose) to master his Psycho Power (which can be described as the literal interpretation of the trope; nothing but concentrated negative energy), he'd technically qualify for this.
  • Megaton Punch: He pulls out a psycho-imbued one as his second Ultra in SSFIV, the Psycho Punisher. Or, as someone nicknamed it upon seeing it used on the ladies, Psycho Abortion. For the men, there's Psycho Castration or Psycho Vasectomy.
  • Mind Control Device: Although other devices are the primary cause of the victims brainwashing in the Street Fighter II V series and the animated movie—Ryu, Chun-Li, and Ken respectively) in each case Bison also seems to help brainwash them with his Psycho Power which most likely is the cause of the victims getting the rarer Mind Control Eyes trope where the sclera (the white part of the eye) changes color—in this case pink to possibly emphasize the Psycho Power.
  • Monochromatic Eyes: From Super Street Fighter II onward.
  • Nice Hat: That never falls off, no matter what attack you hit him with. It only comes off when he takes it off to briefly comb his hair with his hand. He doesn't even have his hat in his damaged alternate costume in IV. The movie shows he has several similar hats in beige, green, and blue colors.
  • Not Quite Dead: Came back to life three times:
    • Ryu destroyed his body after being freed from his mind control (Alpha 3), but his Psycho Drive regenerated him.
    • Charlie killed him again and destroyed the Psycho Drive (ALSO Alpha 3)
    • When he was revived in a weaker body and organized the World Warrior tournament, (unlike the word on the street which said that Akuma killed him) Bison (according to The Ties That Bind) killed himself to prevent his capture by the heroes. As shown by IV, he's back again.
  • Obviously Evil: Wears a blood-red military uniform, has pupil-less eyes, and controls an energy that is essentially the very essence of pure negativity itself. Also shows up to some fights ominously draped in a cape and the insignia for his enterprise is a skull with wings.
  • Out of Focus: Shin Bison, or any True Final Boss form of his, with screen tearing Psycho Crushers.
  • Parts Unknown: Like all of the FinalBosses in the series (Gill, Seth and he) and unlike all of the other world warriors, his country of origin is never specified.
  • Power Glows
  • Prophet Eyes
  • Psychic Powers: Psycho Power, thank you very much.
  • Putting on the Reich
  • Seen It All: In the movie.
  • Self-Made Orphan: To quote the American cartoon:

"Yes, yes, I killed your father. What is it with you women anyway? I killed my father too, and you don't hear me whining about it."

  • Shirtless Scene: He has a battle-damaged costume in IV which gives him slightly torn pants and shredded shirts.
  • Slasher Smile: Tends to wear one quite often.
  • SNK Boss:
    • Final Bison in Alpha 3' has a screen-filling Psycho Crusher that did the most block damage out of any move in the entire game, could not be air blocked, and if you were unlucky enough to be caught by it, took away roughly 60-70% of your lifebar. Add to that the fact of the A.I.'s tendency to activate the move during the first frame of animation for your character's attack!! Oh, and the attack freezes your character until it actually hits.
    • Shin Bison in EX2 has an infinite super bar and a version of the Knee Press Nightmare lifted from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 where he attacks you alongside two illusions of himself.
    • Bison II from EX2 and EX3 is a much more milder version of this trope, but would still probably make those who fear regular Bison piss their pants.
  • Take Over the World:

OF COURSE!!!

  • Teleport Spam: His Boss incarnation in the Alpha and EX series is prone to do this.
  • Third Person Person: Winquotes only.
  • This Cannot Be!: Any ending in Alpha 3 where he dies, which is virtually all of them.
  • Verbal Tic: In Japanese only. He has a tendency to use English words that are not commonly used in Japanese, even as loan words. "Body," "fifteen," etc.
  • Villains Never Lie: One of Bison's character traits is that he does not lie, ever—unless you count Cammy's ending in Super Street Fighter II, which was actually changed by the localization of the game.
  • You Fool!: Very fond of this phrase. It appears in half of his win quotes in Street Fighter IV.

Characters debuting in Super Street Fighter II

T. Hawk - Mexico

"My totem is too great for your desperate fighting techniques."

Voiced by: Shozo Iizuka (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Steve Blum (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, English), David Vincent (Super Street Fighter IV, English)

Full name Thunder Hawk. A Native American warrior from Mexico whose ancestral homeland was taken over by Shadaloo, following the murder of his father Arroyo at the hands of Bison. In Alpha 3 T. Hawk looks for the members of his tribe to return them to their homeland. He finds Julia/Juli, a member of his tribe, but does not remember him. They fight, but it is unknown if she returned with him afterwards. In Street Fighter II he enters Bison's tournament to get revenge on him for taking his homeland. When Bison is defeated, T. Hawk regains his people's homeland and promises to make it what it once was. He shows up in Super Street Fighter IV, still searching for Juli.


Fei Long - Hong Kong

"You have trained to be a great loser. Now you must learn to fight."

Voiced by: Masakatsu Funaki (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Kazuki Yao (Street Fighter IIV), Kosuke Toriumi (Street Fighter Alpha 3), Yuuichi Nakamura (Street Fighter IV, Japanese), Matthew Mercer (Street Fighter IV, English)

A Hong Kong action film star who began his Kung-Fu training since the age of 6. After being involved in numerous street fights, he was spotted by several movie directors and began his filmmaking career. Following the Street Fighter II tournament, he turned down a role for a movie in Hollywood, deciding to focus more on developing his unique style of Kung-Fu dubbed Hiten Ryuu or the "Flying Heaven style". He decides to take up new movie roles in IV, but finds that mysterious accidents have occurred on the set of the movie, causing many staff members to be critically injured. The accidents were caused by S.I.N due to the writers changing the terrorist organization depicted in the movie to a multinational corporation--fitting S.I.N's bill exactly. He enters the Street Fighter IV tournament to confront Seth.

  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
  • Badass Boast: "There is no way you could ever knock me out!" Complete with the signature Bruce Lee Finger Wag.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Not surprisingly, since he is a...
  • Bruce Lee Clone: As if his his very existence wasn't enough to tell, one of his alternate outfits in IV is taken from Enter the Dragon. This is taken to a new level with the PC version of IV; since the game's textures are modifiable, several mods popped up to make him resemble several famous Bruce Lee roles even more, including a mod to give him the scars Bruce sported at the end of Enter the Dragon as well as the yellow jumpsuit. Super Street Fighter IV takes this to its logical next step by having him dress up similar to Kato from The Green Hornet, and his Gekirinken Ultra in SSFIV is a Counter Attack that culminates with the legendary One Inch Punch. Here they have the sense to have him be inspired by Bruce Lee in-character; he even occasionally wears the signature yellow and black tracksuit from The Game of Death. Fei Long is no mere clone.
  • Clear My Name: Toyed with in Alpha 3. He's accused of being involved in Shadaloo-based drug trades and it's one of the reasons why he joins the SF tournament, but it's not his story mode's main focus. Unless you play Yun's path since Yun and Yang take the accusations at face value and try to capture Fei-Long, who ends up playing the trope straight in the last mid-boss fight. Luckily, Defeat Means Friendship and Fei Long manages to explain what happened.
  • Counter Attack: His Gekirinken Ultra in Super Street Fighter IV. To properly utilize it, you need impecable timing. Pull it off correctly... Kick to the knee, "Soredemo kakatte koi!" ("I'm still coming in!"), ATATATATATATATATA, One Inch Punch.
  • Depending on the Writer: In Street Fighter IIV, Fei Long's story and background are very different. In this media he is the protegè of Chun-li's father as well as Chunners's childhood friend, a Teen Genius who's already in the way to HK movie stardom, and quite more emotional and Hot-Blooded than in the games.
  • Finger Wag: One of his taunts in IV, likely lifted from one of Lee's movies.
  • Iconic Item: His nunchaku.
  • Justice Will Prevail: He's nowhere as gung-ho in regards to this trope as other characters, but it's still there.
  • Kiai
  • Meaningful Name: The name Fei-Long (飛龍) is Chinese for "Flying Dragon". Incidentally, the name is spelled with the same characters as the Japanese name "Hiryu".
  • Perpetual Frowner: Seeing him smile is very, very rare.
  • Playing with Fire
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Parts of both of his Ultras in IV.
    • Fun fact: R.F.F. has real life counterpart known as "Straight blast", which is a Jeet Kune Do technique. Jeet Kune Do is a martial art developed by... Guess who?
  • Tall, Dark and Snarky: Even when he's not as tall as other charas here.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one of these to Ken in the cartoon. Ken's comeback is... quite lame.

Ken: "And you... you're a LOSER!"

  • Self-Made Man: According to the fanbooks. He began training in Kung-Fu as a 6-year-old child, as a teenager he became a stuntman fron HK movies, and from then on he worked hard in minor roles and training to reach the top. After an assistant director asked him to show his skills in a single scene take, the rest his history.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene


Dee Jay - Jamaica

"Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme. Get on up, it's Dee Jay time!"

Voiced by: Ginzo Matsuo (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Japanese), Beau Billingslea (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, English), Kenji Hamada (Super Street Fighter IV, Japanese), Chris Cain (Super Street Fighter IV, English)

A Jamaican kickboxing musician known as the "Southern Comet", who enters the Street Fighter II tournament seeking inspiration for his next hit song. He reappears in Super Street Fighter IV, in which he joins the tournament looking for some excitement to spice up his life.


Cammy - England

"I could have this scar removed if I wanted, but it reminds me of who I am."

Voiced by: Susan Hart (X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Capcom vs. SNK, Marvel vs. Capcom 2), Akiko Komoto (Street Fighter Alpha 3, Namco x Capcom) Miki Nagasawa (Capcom vs. SNK 2), Debra Jean Rodgers (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, English), Lisa Ann Beley (American cartoon), Miyuki Sawashiro (Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, Japanese), Caitlin Glass (Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, English)

Cammy White was born as a DNA copy of Bison, working as an assassin for Shadaloo under the codename of "Killer Bee" (as seen in X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 3). At the end of Alpha 3, she rebelled against Bison, lost her memories, and was taken to Britain (by Vega); it was there that she joined the special forces unit known as Delta Red. Cammy participated in the Super Street Fighter II tournament to learn about her past; she learned the shocking truth from Bison himself, but managed to cope with the revelation thanks to the support of her Delta Red comrades.

In Street Fighter IV, she is sent to investigate S.I.N.'s connection to Shadaloo and to acquire data on the BLECE Project.

"How does it feel to be beaten by a little girl like me?"

Characters debuting in Super Street Fighter II Turbo

Akuma - Japan

"I am power made flesh! Feel how weak you truly are!"

Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (Street Fighter Alpha, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Street Fighter EX, Street Fighter III, Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Namco x Capcom), Yasunori Matsumoto and Daisuke Gouri (Street Fighter Alpha: Generations, Japanese), David Kaye (American cartoon), Taketora (Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs. Capcom 3; Japanese), Dave Mallow (Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs. Capcom 3; English)

Akuma is a self-proclaimed "Master of the Fist" who wields the Satsui no Hadou ("surge of murderous intent"; also translated as the "Evil Intent", the "Killing Intent", "Dark Hadou", or the "Murder Wave".). The Satsui no Hadou forces unto its wielder the urge to win every battle at any cost, even if it means the death of their opponent. When he was still training under Goutetsu, Akuma delved further and further into the Satsui no Hadou; he eventually mastered its ultimate technique -- the Shun Goku Satsu ("Instant Hell Murder, but popularly known as the "Raging Demon") -- and killed Goutetsu with it to prove his mastery. He challenged his brother Gouken sometime afterward and killed him as well.[2] Despite his arrogance, Akuma will not fight anybody who is not equal to or more powerful than himself, feeling that they present no challenge. Akuma views Ryu as a worthy adversary, and he constantly seeks to convince Ryu to follow the Satsui no Hadou as well.

In III, he works on creating new techniques to bolster the Satsui no Hadou style and further his fighting prowess.

He is confirmed to be Oni from Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. See the Street Fighter IV character sheet for more information.

  • Above Good and Evil: Though people who know him might call him 'evil' (such as Ryu or Gouken), when you get down to it he's only acting on his code as a warrior. If surrendering yourself to the Dark Hadou is necessary to find your innermost strength, then it's acceptable to him, even if it's looked down on by some of the more straight-minded characters of the series.
  • Ambiguously Brown
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: And how. He only challenges people he believes are worthy of fighting.
  • A God Am I: "I am superior to all men!"
  • Anime Hair: To this day, speculation rages as to what the hell his infamous hairstyle is supposed to be.
  • Badass: To wit: He sunk an entire island by PUNCHING IT, walked around on the ocean floor without need of oxygen or protection from the crushing pressure, split Ayers Rock in half (also by punching it), raised a sunken ship out of the ocean using his Demon Armageddon ultra, and the numerous cast members he has demolished in his quest to find someone who could match him. His alternate outfit from Super SFIV has become finally befitting, looking like some kind of dark warlord. And if you want more, in his Capcom Fighting Evolution ending, as Shin Akuma, he SHORYUKENS AN ASTEROID. Bad. Ass.
    • Badass Back: Upon either using the Shun Goku Satsu or winning.
    • Badass Boast: Several, as both regular Akuma and Shin Akuma:

"Evil is what I am. Death is what I bring."
Shin Akuma: "I am power made flesh! Feel how weak you truly are!"

  • Battle Aura: That usually forms the kanji for "ten" (天). In Alpha 3, it can set you on fire.
    • As if it wasn't fearsome enough, SSFIV Arcade Edition gives Oni a constant blue fire aura.
  • Black Eyes of Crazy: Whenever they're not straight-up Monochromatic Eyes.
  • Black Screen of Death: What we see when Akuma uses his Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
  • Blood Knight: The exemplification in the series.
  • Blue and Orange Morality: He does have a strong, but alien and not easily understood, code of honor.
  • Brought to You by The Letter "S": His pose after the Shun Goku Satsu usually has the "ten" kanji appearing on the back of gi. In Capcom vs. SNK 2, Shin Akuma has a different symbol (this time, the "shin" character means "god" instead of "true").
  • Call Back: Many of Akuma's greatest feats only happens during his endings sequences in the various games he has been in; apparently Shin Akuma has the ability to fly (and breath in space...) as in Capcom Fighting Evolution he sets off earth to shoryuken an asteroid; in SSFIV Arcade Edition, Oni can actually fly in game during his winning animations and taunts as well as perform an air dash and aerial version of the Shun Goku Satsu.
  • Canon Immigrant: Shin Akuma's design - originally this form was just Akuma merely going all out against a Worthy Opponent with no visible changes in his body. When Akuma absorbed Rugal's Orochi powers in Capcom VS SNK 2 his hair turned white, his skin turned red, and his aura changed too, but this new form was also named Shin Akuma. Subsequently all future portrayals of Shin Akuma, except in SFIV, would be that of the white haired demon, with no mention of the Orochi influence on him as if implying that Akuma can naturaly achieve this Shin form, or rather, always could.
  • Cain: To Gouken.
  • Character Exaggeration: Back in the days when the translated script for the series was sketchy at best, some cases of this were thrown in for western releases of the series, Akuma got a bit of it. First with his name being brough over as Akuma (Demon) instead of Gouki (Strong Fist), which helped sculpt the impression of his character as a raging demon instead of a rough fighter in the west. Another change was Akuma losing his humanity by succumbing to the Dark Hadou - in canon, he controls it just fine like his master Goutetsu did, and only in Street Fighter IV the possibility of him losing control over it was brought up as Oni.
  • Crush! Kill! Destroy!: "Metsu." ("Destruction.")
  • Curtains Match the Window
  • Cutscene Power to the Max: He can Shoryuken submarines and split Ayers Rock with a single punch. But in cutscenes only.
  • Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Shun Goku Satsu. The user teleports both him/herself and the opponent into Hell, where both are viciously mauled by demons, each hit dealing a blow for past sins. The technique can kill not only the opponent, but also the user as well. Only true masters of the Satsui no Hadou can survive the technique without dying. As it turns out, he's one of them. It's the reason of why Akuma is such a Badass.
    • A similar but alternate description says that the user and his target are not literally pulled into hell, but rather the user channels the 16 Hells of Buddhism through his or her own soul into his opponent.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Despite what many believe from taking notes from other medium by way of Character Exaggeration, Akuma is not evil in the dry sense of the word - he does not randomly seek people to kill, but rather only kills stong opponents in their best condition. In Canon he only killed two: Goutetsu and Gouken; the former being his master (who was actually proud of being beaten in a duel to the death against his disciple - Goutetsu firmly believed in the Dark Hadou and Akuma showed him its purest form), and the latter in fair match which was retconned anyway, so Akuma's current body count is only one. Akuma also performed heroic acts such as saving Earth by Shoryuken'ing an asteroid into oblivion in Capcom Fighting Evolution, and spared some time out of his training to save a lost child in Street Fighter Alpha.
  • Death From Above: Misogi.
  • Defeat Means Playable: In Street Fighter IV.
  • Demoted to Extra: In Street Fighter II the Animated Movie, his appearance is a brief, last-minute "blink and you'll miss it" cameo.
  • Difficult but Awesome: Akuma is a real crowd-pleaser in tournament and online play, but he requires A LOT of practice to be good with him (about 1–2 months' worth) because of his extremely flexible playstyle. Akuma is easily one of the most difficult characters to learn in Street Fighter IV, but when you at least try he can also be the most fun character.
  • Dark-Skinned Redhead
  • Dynamic Entry: He beats the crap outta Bison in his first appearance (although this never happened according to IV), and repeats in III: 2nd Impact to your rival and/orGill. No worries though, Gill revived himself, as always.
  • Duel to the Death: What he is ultimately looking for.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Ryu, Ken and Gouken.
  • Evil Redhead
  • Fangs Are Evil
  • Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: The original space flea. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, lose no matches and use no continues, and as M. Bison throws off his cape, Akuma ambushes him, kills him and challenges you. And you only get one chance. There's a reason why people say they "discovered" Akuma.
  • Glass Cannon/Lightning Bruiser: If he's balanced, he's the former. If he's the latter, he's a Game Breaker.
  • Ground Pound: The Kongou Kokuretsu Zan, which Akuma considers his ultimate technique. It took him years until he could finally master it in Street Fighter III.
  • Guest Fighter:
    • In X-Men: Children of the Atom. His inclusion was a joke by Capcom because his first appearance was in Super Street Fighter II X, therefore making him an X-Man by himself. Coupled with his cameo in Marvel Super Heroes, this anticipated what would happen two years later.
    • He has also made appearances in Cyberbots (as Zero-Gouki, a Humongous Mecha in Akuma's likeness)
  • Holding Back the Phlebotinum: Akuma will only fight at full power if you're of an admirable fighting aptitude. See "I Am Not Left-Handed" for more info.
  • Hurricane Kick: Takes it Up to Eleven with his "Demon Armageddon" Ultra.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: Shin Akuma. This is what happens when Akuma fights you with all of his power. The only way you get to face this version of Akuma is usually accomplished by beating your opponents with a certain amount of Perfects and super finishes, and without continuing. Have fun.
  • Iconic Item: Akuma's prayer beads, which he pilfered from the corpse of his dead master Goutetsu.
  • Informed Ability: The Shun Goku Satsu actually being able to kill someone. With the potential exception of those who are pure, or "pure enough", it's description says that both the user and its victim are dragged into the netherealms to be assaulted by demons, the wicked being plagued by their sins (each hit represents the 16 hells of Mahayana Buddhism, 8 cold and 8 hot; the last hit is the killing blow, the final hot "traditionally seemingly eternal" hell). Gameplay and Story Segregation aside, its success rate is jarring. Gen blocked it by emptying his heart of all emotions and thoughts. Akuma's jump on Bison, thought to be for a long time the reason behind his disappearance after II, turned out to be only temporary (and Jossed by Bison himself) as of IV. Gill revived himself in 2nd Impact. Gouken has been recently revealed to have simply been in a comatose state. Alternatively, he may hold the Shun Goku Satsu back in the same way he reserves his Shin form for only the strongest of foes.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He killed his brother and his sensei, crippled several people... and once saved a child who got lost in his cave. According to canon, all the murder and maiming he does happens while fighting and (according to him) is not his fault because of that fact. He also refuses to fight anyone who isn't in top form - during his fight with Gen, Akuma called things off mid-fight because he noticed Gen was ill and therefore not in peak physical condition.
  • Leitmotif: Notably, his theme is so well known that it was the only theme to get both an update and a remix in Capcom vs. SNK 2.
  • Limit Break: His Shun Goku Satsu and Kongou Kokuretsuzan.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: In the non-canon Alpha: Generations it's implied that Akuma is Ryu's father, a result of him knocking up Sayaka sometime before his deathmatch with Goutetsu and Gouken. In series canon, Akuma is merely Ryu's adoptive uncle.
  • Meaningful Name: His Japanese name, Gouki (豪鬼), means "Strong Demon". His overseas name, Akuma, is derived from the Japanese word for "devil" (悪魔).
  • Monochromatic Eyes
  • Needle in a Stack of Needles: In Street Fighter II V, Akuma makes cameos on a regular basis, Hidden in Plain Sight. In one instance, he's a part of a gang of Mooks! Here's a link for your convenience.
  • I Need You Stronger: Shows signs of this towards Ryu. The two have battled in the past and Ryu is not a challenge for Akuma in actual practice but Akuma chooses to walk away rather than strike the killing blow. It is through this that he believes that he can nurture Ryu's killing potential and basically shape him into a second Akuma. Subverted by the end as Ryu entirely rejects Akuma's fighting philosophy to follow Gouken's path.
  • Noble Demon
  • Non-Lethal KO: Inverted in Street Fighter IV and all of its incarnations. When finishing off an enemy with a Super or Ultra, the screen flashes in the background are black instead of orange and the KO sign doesn't appear. This implies that he killed his opponent instead of simply knocking them out. This also applies for Evil Ryu's Super and Oni's Super and Ultras.
  • Obviously Evil: You'd think so, since he likes to play with dark forces and is rather cruel in battle, but his story suggests he believes himself to be beyond tags like 'good' or 'evil' and simply trains himself to be the best humanity can possibly offer in a warrior. His morals are shaky but it doesn't necessarily cross him into actually being 'evil' in any way (antagonistic, maybe).
  • Pet the Dog: His Shin Akuma ending in Capcom Fighting Evolution/Jam. The Earth is about to be hit by a meteor that will kill everyone, but Akuma JUMPS UP INTO SPACE AND DESTROYS IT WITH ONE PUNCH. Doubles as CMOA.
  • Prophet Eyes: Though his are red instead of white.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: In just another one of Akuma's atonishing displays of power that he saves for Cutscene Power to the Max moments, in his SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos ending where yet again Akuma leaves the tournament unsatisfied filled with such weak opponents according to him, Akuma simply jumps into heaven to face against Kami-sama, God Himself from the classic Athena arcade game by SNK.
  • Red Baron: The (Supreme) Master of the Fist. Suffice to say, he lives up to that moniker.
  • Shotoclone: The first of many, but to be fair at least he easily differentiates himself from the other Ryu/Ken-types.
  • The Rival: Gouken and Ryu.
  • Shirtless Scene: His alternate outfit is also shirtless.
    • His win portrait in Street Fighter Alpha 3 is shirtless. Too bad you only see him from the back.
    • His portrait in X-Men Vs Street Fighter is shirtless too.
    • Oni fights without a shirt as well... so long as he actually is Akuma.
  • Spirited Competitor: A less moral version.
  • SNK Boss: In some games.
    • True Final Boss: Both this incarnation in SSFII Turbo and his Shin incarnation in Alpha and Capcom Fighting Evolution are this.
    • Bonus Boss
  • Sure Why Not: How he was conceived. EGM created Sheng Long (the would-be Gouken) for one of their infamous April Fools articles and caused people to swarm to arcades to find him. Capcom USA ended up calling Capcom Japan about this secret boss character, and so they decide to go with it and add in Akuma.
  • Surpassed the Teacher: Killed his master Goutetsu in a fair fight to prove he had surpassed his teacher.
  • Teleport Spam
  • This Loser Is You: In Pocket Fighter, he is evicted off his island because it got turned into an amusement park. Even he is no match for big business.
  • Warrior Poet
  • World's Strongest Man
  • Your Soul Is Mine: In the Street Fighter cartoon, complete with the rather shameless line "Your chi is mine!" (starts laughing)
  1. ↑ The name of the Japanese flag
  2. ↑ Or so it seemed...
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