The King of Fighters/Fridge: Difference between revisions

* [[The King of Fighters|Ash Crimson]] is pretty much [[Just for Pun|The King of]] [[The Scrappy|Scrappies]]. He's a [[Jerkass]] [[Smug Snake]] who has gotten away with some pretty controversial stuff in the current saga (namely, stealing the powers of [[Barrier Maiden|Chizuru]] and [[The Rival|Iori]]) simply because ''[[SNK]] [[CreatorsCreator's Pet|likes him too much]]''. If you've played ''The King of Fighters XI'', you've probably noticed that there's a [[Theme Naming|common motif]] with a few of the team themes, such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24rUGSD_1ms Jack], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ozaXGgFfk Queen], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFy7cHbnTnk King;] they're all high level playing cards (in fact, Ace is the only one missing from the bunch). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-1xYnuKZoY Joker] is the theme of the "[[In Name Only|Hero]]" Team. Given that there's a literal [[Death Dealer|card-wielding]] [[Badass Grandpa]] on the team, you might think that this theme had [[The Gambler|Oswald]] in mind. However, this was subtle foreshadowing at its finest. The Joker is used in a variety of roles when it comes to card games. It can either be the most powerful card to play or the weakest. ''It can even be used as a placeholder for missing cards.'' Ash Crimson only ''appears'' to be a frail, unassuming weakling, but he's a bastard of both the [[Manipulative Bastard]] and [[Magnificent Bastard]] varieties. ''He is literally the personification of the Joker, a true [[Wild Card]].'' Not only did he run the masses with an [[Expy]] of [[X-Men|Gambit]] and a [[Blood Knight|fight-craving]] [[Badass Normal]] in order to progress far enough through the tournament, but he set it up with such finese so that after [[A House Divided|he turned his former allies against one another]] ([[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|when they had outlived their usefulness]]) [[An Offer You Can't Refuse|by preying on their personal ambitions]] ([[Enemy Civil War|thus eliminating any potential threats by having Shen Woo and Oswald duke it out to the death]] [[Villain Exit Stage Left|as Ash slips away]]), he could then steal Iori's powers (as ''[[Super -Powered Evil Side|Orochi]] [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|Iori]]'', may I add) ''immediately'' after Iori had been worn down in a fight with [[The Protagonist|Kyo]] and [[Determinator|Shingo]]. That's [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] so brilliant that you might wonder whether or not Ash is [[The Chessmaster]]. You can't deny it. - [[Tropers/X 2 X|X 2 X]]

** Going back even farther, one of Ash's win quotes in ''2003'' was "Don't play your trump card till the end... the ''very'' end!" In hindsight, SNK was pretty much telling us, "Keep your eye on this guy. [insert word here]'s gonna happen." - [[Tropers/X 2 X|X 2 X]]

*** Additionally, this all seems to tie in with the revelation that {{spoiler|Ash [[Good All Along|really is on the heroes' side]]. He functions as a [[Guile Hero]] because of the very probable mindset that if more people (including [[Onee -Sama|sister figure]] Elizabeth, presented here as [[The Rival|a rival]] to Ash) knew about [[Ret -Gone|his true intentions]], [[Batman Gambit|his plans]] to stop [[Big Bad|Saiki]] and [[Standard Evil Organization Squad|Those From the Past]] would be less likely to actually succeed. The [[Jerkass Facade]] he dons is a calculated farce used to further his goals and ensure that the number of other fighters thrown into the crossfire is a bare minimum.}} Perhaps you could say he didn't want anyone to call his bluff. - [[Tropers/X 2 X|X 2 X]]

* For some people, Yuri's Neomax, the Haoh Raiouken, seems lackluster compared to flashier Neomaxes, save for the [[Everything Makes a Mushroom|mushroom cloud]] at the end. Then, I realized that, unlike fellow Kyokugen practitioners Ryo and Robert, she was only taught the very basics of Kyokugenryu, aptly named the Raiou principle. In a way, her Neomax serves as a [[Take That]] to her father and brother, showing that she can throw away Raioukens like atomic bombs. - [[Tropers/Aenthin|Aenthin]]