SADLER'S CYBORG versus RYU
Dr. Sadler's Ultimate Weapon (Group TAC/Capcom)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kane Kosugi, Hidenari Ugaki, Reiko Kiuchi, Kazuya Ichijô

The story so far...
Having been approached by a young Brazilian boy claiming to be his long-lost younger brother; Ryu embarks on a journey of self-discovery with his oldest friend; Ken Masters; and new allies, including Interpol agent, Chun-Li.

Struggling to contain the tempting dark hadou energies that represent the evil side of his ki-harnessing martial art, Ryu opts to observe from the sidelines at the street fighting tournament that has lured Ken Masters from his home in the US, back to Japan.

It's whilst fighting the hulking Russian wrestler - Zangief - that Shun suffers over whelming odds and begins to tap into the powers of the dark hadou, forcing Ryu to step into the combative arena and face his own dark energy. Though he is able to resist whilst defeating Zangief, a new opponent presents himself instantly, pulling Ryu once more into his internal battle.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Cyborg 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Ryu 2 (Average)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Cyborg 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Draw 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Ryu 3 (Explosives)


- The exact nature of the cyber-organic creature created and utilized by Dr. Sadler is unknown, but it's chief purpose is to antagonize the custom attacks of skilled ki fighters in an effort to absorb and gauge them.
To fullfil this role the cyborg was designed to be on the highest level of both resistance and physical strength. It's fighting arsenal includes focused energy beams, as well as simulated fireball attacks. Despite it's incredible size, the cyborg is deceptively fast and agile, which may suggest limited ki control.

Though controlled by Dr. Sadler, the cyborg exhibits limited degrees of independence in it's ability to strategize in combat. It appears capable of speach and emotion, although, this is typically replaced by an unemotive silent smile.

- Ryu is a Japanese fighter who was orphaned and raised by the master of the mysterious unnamed ansatsuken fighting style, Gouken. A life of training would develop Ryu into one of the greatest fighters in the world, utilizing Gouken's fighting techniques and mastery over the hadou ki energies.

Ryu is an incredibly well rounded fighter capable of harnessing his ki for trademark attacks such as; the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku hurricane kick, Hadou-ken fireballs, the Sho-ryu ken dragon uppercut, along with an array of variations of each.

The Math: Sadler's Android Ranking: Ryu (#15)

What went down...
The metaphoric shadow of Akuma looms over him as Ryu probes the battered young boy who claims to be his younger brother. Before he is even able to digest the prospect that Akuma may have fathered them both, a new enemy descends through the dust, to resume the battle that Zangief lost. [Street Fighter Alpha]

The monstrous silver-haired fighter blocks Ryu's knee, but takes an airborne roundhouse kick to the side of the head. The move fails to phase him, allowing the giant to unleash a barrage of heavy swinging punches.

Ryu is nimble enough to dart around each fist and again launches a conversive response with his feet. Another roundhouse, followed by a leaping kick that finishes with a flip over the giant, again highlights his eerie strength.
Ryu gathers his energies for a devestating straight punch to the gut.

Though the punch fails to move the beast, it reveals his secret nature. A green scanning lense pops from the socket of his squinted eyes, recasting the Cyborg's dumb grin and hollow eyes as incidental, rather than any sign of true power.

The Cyborg launches his own offensive, firing off a crackling electric beam of green energy, which Ryu easily side-steps, leaving it to strike another piece of the already crumbling building they fight in.

Interpol agent, Chun-Li, having been but an unwitting spectator through the tournament and destruction, leaps onto the arena platform to join the fray.
She charges at the mechanical beast with her own energy attack, in the form of a kikou ken fireball. Alas, the Cyborg not only defends against the attack, but deflects it straight back to the source!

With Chun-Li skidding to a messy halt, the Cyborg allows itself to be distracted from Ryu, looming over the fallen fighter to deliver a devestating kick that sends her flying across the battlefield into a piece of crumbling wall.

No doubt motivated by both the woman's plight, and the safety of both he and his newfound little "brother", Ryu again waves his pledge to avoid combat, charging the attack that moments ago nearly swallowed him in darkness.

Despite Ryu's impressive powers, his hadou-ken joins Chun-Li's attack in failing to break the Cyborg's defensive capabilities, deflected harmlessly into the dirt.

The smiling Cyborg charges another electrical strike to respond in-kind, but this time the results differe grealty. Presumably fearing for his brother's readiness after the deflected attack, the young Shun leaps to his feet to absorb the impact of the attack.

Blood spatters from the boy's mouth as an ominous chuckle is prompted from the Cyborg's grinning visage. Shun tries to tell Ryu, "Big-- brother-- I'm not...", but before he can finish, slips into unconsciousness.

The injury to the young boy effects Ryu's heroic heart greater than any of the Cyborg's punches or energy blasts. With the boy cradled in his arms, Ryu is swallowed by the abyss of his dark desires.

Wind swirls and a pink hue takes the fight space as the dark hadou begins to grip Ryu's soul. The energies burn the Cyborg's jacket from his cyber-organic body, prompting an unlikely moment of discourse, "I'll give you a taste of that, too."

Charging his hadou, Ryu slowly stalks his way toward his inhuman opponent, who continues to boast his claims of victory. The Cyborg fires off four fireball attacks that are all easily dodged by the slow moving Ryu, who continues to charge his dark hadou powers into his fists.

Ryu edges his way directly infront of the mechanical beast, burning with an intense energy. Despite his non-offensive stance, the Cyborg appears unable to launch any preemptive attack as it's swallowed up by the dark hadou.

Ryu's powers blast through the Cyborg's core, enveloping it in the blue glow of the hadou-ken. Only a dark shadow from within the blast indicates the Cyborg's gradual decay from machine, to melted slag.

The blast destroys the remaining upper levels of the abandoned urban tower, leaving it exposed to a helicopter that soon descends. While an exhausted Ryu is incapacitated totally by the horror of his actions, a concerned Chun-Li is seperated from the wound young Brazilian boy by the Copter's gunfire.

Despite the best efforts of Chun-Li's partner, Wallace; the victory is made hollow by Shun's abduction by an escaping Dr. Sadler. Thus, the remaining heroic powers are left to contemplate their next strategy, freed of the Cyborg menace - for now.

The hammer...
With a welcome assist from Chun-Li (and Shun), (and the dark hadou), Ryu! Those keenly following the track exploits of our Street Fighter Sundays, which approach the opportunity for one of the SF characters to enter our top five rankings, will note that this puts Ryu right on course.

It's amazing, with one more Sunday left in 2007, to reflect not just on the staggering number of Street Fighter entries we've no had, but all the entries still available to us. Though I'll probably take a break to recover from fatigue; the lead-up to Street Fighter IV, and the much talked-about feature film that now boasts Kristin Kreuk in the lead role of Chun-Li, pose a lot of incentive to return to the Street Fighter universe.

Still untouched is the entirety of manga series, including; Street Fighter Alpha, Hang in there Sakura [Sakura Ganbaru], Street Fighter III: Final Ryu, and Versus SNK: Chaos. Also lacking representation is much of UDON's first volume; Malibu's ill-fated licensing product, complete with Sagat's infamous scalping of Ken; the US cartoon series; and last, but not least, the legendary SFII animated movie.

Y'know, coupled with remaining entries from SFA, SFIIV, and SFII, you can almost imagine an entirely seperate blog! That might sound like a subtle hint for 2008, but trust me, it's just the post-Christmas ponderings of someone who should really be catching up on sleep at 2am in the morning [as opposed to polishing off late blog entries -- this now being the 29th, for those just joining us].

With so much to draw upon, it's become a little disheartening, when reading new materials regarding SFIV, to see so much attention toward gameplay. Granted, it's always going to be a major part of the Street Fighter series, but for the most part, very little seems destined to change in the basic mechanics of the SF series. Even in it's darkest hours, Street Fighter has remained, to the unfamiliar picking up a joypad, unmistakable.

It's probably naive, after examining even contents from contemporary outlets like Ken Siu-Chong's work for UDON, to expect a more thorough examination of characters and their motivations and plot. It's this area, despite visually and conceptually brilliant characters, that has probably eluded Street Fighter from it's very beginnings, but in that respect, I thought it might have been the first to change.

Street Fighter IV goes up against genre mainstays like longstanding Midway rival, Mortal Kombat; and more recent contenders like Namco's, Tekken. Both share much in common with their founding father, but surpassed their predecessor in an era of 3D graphics, and character development that saw each telling their stories in unique ways.

Tekken, much like SF, struggles to expand it's story beyond it's chief protagonists, but compensates with a layer of self-relevant characterization that is very thin, but particularly enjoyable in high quality CG FMV.
Vivid characters remain key to Tekken's intrigue, and to further solidify it's qualities as inheretor to Street Fighter's throne; characterized fighting styles make even palette swapped character a unique experience to enjoy.

On the other side of the fence, Mortal Kombat has made shakey attempts to improve upon their fighter's individuality. Though not entirely freed of their past, the MK team developed motion capture based fighting techniques for their in-game dial ins. Intially styles exhibited great diversity in Deadly Alliance, but soon became more uniform exchanges in high kicks, high punches, and so on; stripping individuality from the fighter's moves to recall earlier MK outings.

The newest MK games have prospered mostly in their creativity, finally wrenching the colour coded palette swaps of games past, to tailor logic and individuality into it's cast of characters. Though stubborn fans have ensured the lingering presence of the ninja masked swaps, for the most part even characters like Sub-Zero and Scorpion have enjoyed divergence and originality in their new looks.

Likewise, as the appearances of characters has developed, the story surrounding them has gone deeper than ever before. The realm spanning battles of it's martial arts characters saw the development of one of the most involving storylines in video game history, full of character-based agenda, and universal influences of circumstance and convenience.

So; while Street Fighter IV is almost assured of it's place in history as a solid entry into the beat 'em up genre, what of the story? Popular belief currently suggests a return to Street Fighter II, with nothing specific to suggest any kind of elaborative qualities to the story. Then again, there really isn't much of any tangible information to go on right now, without picking apart translated quotes.

Some phrases suggest the incorporation of returning faces from subsequent installments of the series, with one quote said to be indicative of an effort to balance up the sexes. This could mean any number of things, such as; the inclusion of iconic fan-favourite, Sakura; in an SFII revamp, the inclusion of Bison's army of dolls, represented by Juni and Juli; baseless fleshing out with relevant cult characters like R. Mika; or maybe an insurgence of newbies.

Though inclined to be critical, I suppose it's only fair to reserve some hope, with plenty of information yet to come before the game's release in 2008.
Likewise, though not typical of what one would expect, you have to imagine that Kristin Kreuk's involvement with the feature film represents not only a step forward for her career, but a step forward for the movie's status.

While neither Chinese, nor particularly known for her exploits as an action star [I'm not sure a few spin kicks against Michael Rosenbaum counts, fanboy...], I tend to think there's at least a glimmer of hope for a solid story.
Again, I'm unfamiliar with any specific details, although the film is said to be part of a Capcom initiative to revive the series with film, television, and games.

Even with the bad taste of Generations lingering, I say, it's just great to see some effort going into it. And as reluctant as I am to play that card, anything's better than April "Ming-Na" O'Neal.

The Fight: 6 The Film: 5.5

You'd never know it reading through, but one of the delightful things about these reviews is that our accounts focus on the linear events pertinent to each fight. This means while you get a very good taste of the film/comic in question, there's plenty for you to discover upon further investigation, and fewer examples could be truer than Street Fighter Alpha.
Purchasing the film from Amazon not only gives you an opportunity to fill in the many conceptual/story gaps (ie; the unmentioned presence of Ken Masters and Sakura), but also presents the high quality art in it's fullest form, beyond the select few caps used to lure you in.

SHUN versus ZANGIEF
The Tournament Begins (Group TAC/Capcom)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kane Kosugi, Hidenari Ugaki, Reiko Kiuchi, Kazuya Ichijô

The story so far...
Having returned to Japan for a major street fighting tournament; Ken Masters, wealthy United States champion, reunites with his fighting rival and best friend, Ryu. Together they mourn the death of their master, Gouken, and together face the threat of the dark hadou energy that threatens Ryu.

In an effort to curb the dark energy rising in Ryu, he limits all fighting activity, opting only to accompany Ken to the tournament, along with a young Brazilian orphan claiming to be Ryu's half-brother.

Though Ken would ultimately be side-tracked and miss registration, the young Brazilian boy, Shun, would go on to enter and pitted against overwhelming odds. Emerging from the opposition cage the Russian man-mountain: Zangief!

Previous Form:
Zangief (#319): Suffered defeat against the tag team of R. Mika and Sakura.
Ryu (#56): Recorded victories over Balrog & Sagat.
Shun: Making his debut in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Zangief 4 (Steroid Popper)
Intelligence: Draw 2 (Average)
Speed: Ryu 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Zangief 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Ryu 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Ryu 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Ryu 3 (Explosives)


- Shun is a young Brazilian boy with very basic, informal training in the martial arts. He has developed an innate connection to the dark hadou, apparently inherited from his father, along with an underlying viciousness in battle.
Though he claims to be Ryu's younger brother, this ultimatley proves to be part of a larger plot to recreate Ryu's more powerful mastery of Hadou.

- Ryu is a Japanese fighter who was orphaned and raised by the master of the mysterious unnamed ansatsuken fighting style, Gouken. A life of training would develop Ryu into one of the greatest fighters in the world, utilizing Gouken's fighting techniques and mastery over the hadou ki energies.

Ryu is an incredibly well rounded fighter capable of harnessing his ki for trademark attacks such as; the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku hurricane kick, Hadou-ken fireballs, the Sho-ryu ken dragon uppercut, along with an array of variations of each.

- Known as the Czar of Wrestling and the Red Cyclone; Zangief has established himself as one of the most powerful fighters in the street fighter circuit.
Having entered training funded by the Soviet Union government, Zangief learnt to harness his impressive strength in bizarre attacks such as the spinning piledriver -- said to have been learnt while training in the unforgiving storm of Siberia, where he was plucked up by a twisting wind mid-piledriver.

Zangief is both physically and mentally a slow mover, but his instincts for battle can never be underestimated, nor should his courage as a super-patriot of the long dead Soviet Union.

The Math: Zangief The Pick: Zangief

What went down...
Lowered to a platform formed by decaying levels of an abandoned highrise, Shun is confronted by the looming visage of the Russian powerhouse, Zangief!


Delighted by the challenge, Shun leaps immediately into a spinning roundhouse kick that leaves the Russian stumbling. He follows with an unrelenting diving heel kick that crushes the wrestler's nose in a spray of blood. The combination proves sufficient to allow the leaping youngster to topple his giant opposition.

Far from defeated, Zangief rises to counter Shun's leaping attack with a rising uppercut. Knocked helplessly into the air, Shun suffers a volleying elbow drop, only to be snatched from his descent to suffer a more motivated plummet.

Debris from the crater left by Shun's face begins to hop and skip as a dark energy ripples through the arena. The invisible force rattles Zangief as Shun rises with a pink hue in his eyes. Observing from lower levels, Ken and Ryu, though seperated, each sense the rising ki of the dark hadou that repels Zangief.

The Russian man-mountain makes a conceited effort to put a preemptive stop to the massing energies, charging in with a driving knee that swats the entranced Shun across the battlefield like a ragdoll.

Moving at staggering speeds for a man of his size, Zangief catches the flopping body of the young Brazilian, snatching it in a muscle bound bearhug.

Zangief leaps into the air looking to turn the grapple into a suplex, but finds himself now faced with a second opponent, and Ryu rushes to intervene on the behalf of his supposed brother. The Japanese fighter leaps through the air, clipping Zangief with a flying kick.

He uses his fancy feet to catch Shun and bring him to a soft landing.
Ryu makes a vague order of Shun to stop it, the kind of command only an older brother can make. Alas, the snarling Zangief moves like a moth to the flame, making an unspoken demand of combat from one of the two.

Ryu indulges the Russian, throwing a kick that Zangief manages to avoid with another display of surprising agility. He turns the tables, knocking Ryu down with a sitff headbutt, setting the Japanese fighter up for his patented spinning piledriver!

With Ryu floored, Zangief is unrelenting. He brings a giant-sized boot crashing down upon Ryu's exposed chest.

The battered Shun lets out a pathetic exclamation, too weak to even make steady progress toward his supposed brother. The peril faced by his protector proves enough to once again summon the haze of the dark hadou, this time for more noble causes. Shun's spine straightens as his body is renewed.

The silent menace of the Czar of wrestling turns to face the source of the energy, turning his back on the leveled Ryu. As before, Zangief swats Shun to curb the gathering of his energies, sending him hurtling to the edge of their combative platform. Inexperienced with such energies, Shun is unable to move, dangling helplessly over a fall of many hundreds of feet.

Continuing his theme of brutality, the unfeeling and unspeaking Zangief drops his foot down on Shun's back. The blow echoes through Ryu, inspiring similar feelings as felt by Shun, tantilizing his already compromised hadou energy.

Zangief turns to find Ryu now upright, emenating a similar pink energy of the dark hadou. The kind fighter's disposition notes a distinct shift, far more menacing, and reminiscent of the fallen warior -- Akuma!

As the dark energies feed and build Ryu and Shun both, Zangief begins to charge at the Japanese fighter, hoping to cut him off in a similar fashion to Shun.
With a hint of vicious delight, Ryu gathers his hadou ki in his hands, summoning his dark powers for the hadou-ken.


Beams of light spark from Ryu's hands as he summons the attack, and with a vicious grin he moves swiftly to prepare it. Unaffected by the lure, Ken shouts desperately to his friend in an effort to break through the dark temptation.


Ken's cries manage to reach the embattled martial artist, who pulls his energy back at the last moment. The devestating hadou-ken energy blast narrowly misses Zangief, firing off into one of the decrepid walls of the skyscraper.

The massive display of power delights the man behind the tournament, the clandestine Dr. Sadler. As the very building shakes and partially collapses from the blast, he prepares his cybernetic puppet to enter the fray.

The observers of the tournament make it out with varying degrees of injury.
Ken is forced to tend to the injured young girl, Sakura, who accompanied him to the tournament; while Interpol agents Chun-Li and Wallace regroup in awe.

Zangief, still standing after the close call, plummets as part of the precarious fighting stage breaks away. The degree of resulting injury is uncertain, but Ryu remains the victor in their impromptu battle.

The hammer...
Your winner, with an assist from the much maligned animated original (Shun), Ryu! This victory elevates Ryu to the top of the cumulative sponsored Street Fighter stakes, but with only a month to go, it's starting to look unlikely for any character to make it into the 2007 top five, come year end.

Meanwhile, wow! We're running a few days late on our "daily" updates, and hopefully this entry, which is positively mammoth, made up for that a little. Barring chemical imbalance of being American, you would surely have to empathise with the ridiculous task that was, this entry's battle summary!
Of course, that would mean I also have to empathise with anyone crazy enough to attempt to read it... Hello!

We've discussed the dark hadou at length, and this is a great example of [Alpha]'s depiction of the struggle, early on. We see Shun, who is a much maligned pawn in the story, fulfilling his role in tempting the dark hadou and sucking Ryu into it's grips. Of course, you can find more dark hadou and Street Fighter through the afforelinked tag, or the previous cover to cover blurb.

Of real interest here is the characterization of Zangief!
Something that's always made this character particularly interesting was, despite his debut fresh out of the Cold War in the 1991 Street Fighter II, he was a Soviet character who wasn't particularly villainous. In fact, the story goes that as a Soviet super-patriot, he shared similar anti-Shadaloo goals as other All-American heroes like Guile!

It's interesting then to note the villainous portrayal the character has endured in the film medium in Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter II V, and the American feature film. The V series perhaps indicates an unlikely cross pollination from the American Van Damme vehicle, maintaining an endearing slavic dimness to the character, depicting him as manipulated or misunderstanding, more than evil.

In Alpha, Zangief appears here with no lines, in what was really a role that could've gone to any Street Fighter character. This is more about a glorified cameo than any kind of character statement, but it's interesting that it would be he who was chosen for the role of the almost psychotic antagonist to Shun.
Obviously at the heart of this scene was a desire to pit Shun (and Ryu) against an overwhleming physical presence, but excessive force and physical prowess together make a more fitting description for Balrog, than Zangief.

One has to wonder how the relationship between the US and Russia has shaped this character's destiny. Of particular note is Zangief's allegiance to the Soviet Union, which has been specifically referred to long after the formality of Russia.
It might be this very specific Soviet connection that has invariably conveyed a sinister quality to the character. We might call this the Drago-effect.

The Drago-effect is felt, albeit less specifically, even in the Street Fighter Legends spin-off mini from UDON comics. UDON seems to pepper reference to all avenues of Street Fighter lore throughout their product, and here again we have the dim-witted Zangief acting as brutal villain, unaware of the difference between the on-screen and off-screen aspects of professional wrestling.

In the games, Zangief is an idol for Japanese womens wrestler, Rainbow Mika.
Again providing some logic for Zangief's status as antagonist, UDON's efforts to recast Zangief and Mika as active components in a traditional wrestling profession, invariably demanding enemies of opponents: the face to the heel.

Of course, another contributing factor to Zangief's evolution is probably a symptom common to most beat 'em up video games. Be it for better or worse, traditionally there's a conceit to develop characters on broad strokes, and position them into the game however possible. This typically creates a hub of characters connected to the A-plot, while others fall by the wayside, suffering flimsy motivations and reasons for being involved.

Zangief connects broadly to the anti-Bison contingent of characters, who are many in the Street Fighter mythos, but does so without any real specific plot device. He simply fulfills the roles of powerhouse, wrestler, and Russian.
Broad strokes that leave the character open to new motives in adaptation, and generalized understandings.

Also, to be fair to Alpha, we've seen previously that the animé pays much less attention to the specifics of characters, instead using them in specific context.
Nothing about the film undermines the theory that Birdie is a brit-punk with desires of grandeur with Shadaloo, despite the fact he adopts a heroic role in the battle against Sadler. The circumstances justify the means, just as Zangief appears here simply as a competitor in a tournament, albeit as an especially, and uncharacteristcally vicious one.

If you'd like to see more tournament action, you can check out the only other battle featured from this tournament: Vega versus Dan Hibiki; or you can spin on to the second half's concluding tournament, featuring a wide array of cameos from the Alpha game series. In the mean time, I've got some catch-up to play!

The Fight: 6 The Film: 5.5

Street Fighter Alpha continues to be a great source of material for our weekend features. Though not the triumph of the franchise that Street Fighter II: The Movie represents, Alpha remains a great addition to any fan's collection! Still coming, more action featuring Chun-Li, Birdie, and Akuma!

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Sadler's Tournament
BIRDIE versus DAN HIBIKI
Sampled Fighters (Group TAC/Capcom/Manga)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kazuyuki Ishikawa, Ryûzaburô Ôtomo

Quick Fix...
Capcom declared a megaton bomb for an upcoming announcement, and on the basis of that promise a lot of fans quickly guessed what was coming.
Even before the clues, the Infinite Wars made speculation about the likelihood of a new game [The New Challengers], but even if it was pre-expected, the impact of Street Fighter IV's confirmation could not be squashed!

If you consider the fact that the first two iterations of Street Fighter III came out in 1997, this means it's effectively been ten years since the last major step forward in the Street Fighter franchise! We'll take a closer look at SF4 in the second half, but first...

We've talked a lot in-reference to the tournament aspect of Street Fighter, particularly in regards to the direction of the series from UDON. I thought now might be as good a time as any to examine that aspect a little closer, considering it is the driving force between the entire line of games to this point.

What really brings this to mind is the fact that both comic and celluloid alike have largely overlooked the tournament structure the characters are best known for. To their credit, constraining the diverse and exciting cast of SF characters to a single thematic device or location might not be the best use of them. Never the less, the tournament remains one of the largely unrepresented qualities.

Actually, more to the point, it's the quality of a sport that I feel is the most lacking. To be fair we have seen competition moments like Zangief/Blanka or Honda/Dhalsim in the SFII animated movie, or even Zangief/Shun and Vega/Dan in Sadler's preliminary tournament halfway through the SFA movie.

Street Fighter operates on a delicately balanced logic set that marries elements of the real world to it's own fiction. Within that fiction is a culture of fighting that exists worldwide in a regional context, from which many of the fighters are plucked for Bison's initial machinations. Style-specific leagues are acknowledged for characters like Mika and Zangief, from pro-wrestling; likewise, Ken Masters represents one of the fighters well known for being a champion in his sport.

It's this wider sports league culture that I'd like to see more of, particularly in something like the UDON series, which has the benefit of being a monthly, on-going affair. It would be great to see many of the characters existing more explicitly, or even incidentally, within the confines of large fighting efforts -- which exist from within the source material, if only by reference.

The games, of course, revolve around plot-centric gatherings that detail character motivations, and of course the schemes of big bads like, M. Bison [or, yes, Vega in Japan, if you want to wave the CapcomUSA ownership].

The Alpha movie picks up themes from the Alpha games in the vaguest of senses with the original character, Dr. Sadler, representing Shadaloo in the search for fighter data. It's a plot point from Cammy's story in the Alpha games, and was similarly represented by monitor cyborgs in the Street Fighter II movie.

In Alpha's conclusion, Sadler brings fighters together for his second tournament for the movie, this one held at an isolated fortress in the desert. Here, Sadler is able to mine the energies of fighters with a complicated array of technologies, draining them of life and intellect in the desire for power.

Gathered with the lure of cash, street fighters of varying classes including; Ken, Chun-Li, Guy, Birdie, Sodom, Ryu, Dhalsim, Adon, Rolento, and Dan.

Left to decide their own fate, Dan Hibiki, [having survived a brutal encounter with Vega in the preliminary tournament], makes an open challenge to any of the gathered fighters. It is the Shadaloo street thug, Birdie, who answers the call.

Hibiki immediately opens the account, firing off a gadou-ken energy attack that dissipates centimeters from his hand, leaving the competition bemused.

The incompetent and over-confident fighter is quickly off his feet, wrapped in the choking grip of Birdie's chain attack! The jovial brit punk cackles heartily at the foolhardy struggling of his pathetic opponent. He puts an end to it, tossing Hibiki into the air, only to yank him back earthbound to a hard defeat.

Birdie is taken away to a holding cell by some of Sadler's goons, to await his reward while waiting for a complete list of first-round winners to form. Or at least, that's what he believes, the truth actually being a fate worse than death.

As you can see, it's the fighting/sports culture that so readily brings these characters together. Having familiarized himself with many fighters at the initial, apparently well publicized fight (it's the reason Ken returns to Japan), Sadler is able to have his pick of the punch. Which inexplicably includes Hibki...

The Fix: 5 The Film: 5.5
Winner: Birdie

[Unfortunately, it's this scene that features the most characters from the games, and even then most are reduced to set-dressing or action snippets without dialogue. Birdie proves an unusual inclusion, operating without the trinkets of familiar characterization. Likewise, he really highlights that this is two "OAV" releases spliced together, with the viewer asked to root for him, despite having no prior appearance.]

---

KEN MASTERS versus SODOM
Sampled Fighters (Group TAC/Capcom/Manga)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kazuya Ichijô, Masao Fuda

Privvy to intelligence derived from Chun-Li's interpol investigations, Ken and the gang decide to investigate further, concerned for Birdie's fate. If you want more discussion about SF4, scroll ahead y'dirty scamp!

MEANWHILE, back at Sadler's desert laboratory; Ken, Ryu and Chun-Li are suspicious about what is unfolding at the tournament. To save his friend facing battle and the lure of the dark hadou, Ken takes it upon himself to challenge a fighter to gain them entry to Sadler's fortress.

The American tragic for Japanese culture, Sodom, is the one to answer the challenge. The two clash in the air, with Ken presumably delivering a swift kick that sees the much larger fighter felled before his sai can even come into play.

The US champ's quick fix victory gives the heroes the access they desire, but what they find is a nightmarish future that could easily be their own. That, however, is a story for another entry!

When one stops to ponder that we're looking forward to a fourth installment twenty years after the first, it's a little bit odd. SF has, of course, maintained a consistent presence through add-on series like the complicated-pseudo-prequel series of Zero/Alpha game; the approach at 3D polygon renders in the EX games; and the classic hyper-kinetic battles with characters from the Marvel and SNK universes in various Versus games.

Even so, perhaps what makes Street Fighter's success with only "three" games to date is that they've endured despite a distinct lack of clarity and forward momentum with their storylines. As the degrees of difference between games and capabilities narrows, story is becoming more and more important to the medium. On reflection, it's almost surprising video games as an entertainment institution were able to get by so long on such thin plots and convoluted storys.
Then, I suppose this is where the video game stops being a child's toy, and grows up to become the mass marketed home entertainment system.

For my money, Street Fighter IV needs to represent progress in as many ways as it needs to remain faithful to what's come before. Time and again SF games have learned the necessity to include the classic characters, the most prominent example being the EX and III entries, which introduced large casts of new characters, who wholely disregarded much of what made the SF characters so great.

SFIV needs to do several things to ensure it's viability as a contender in a current market where even Mortal Kombat has overcome it's past handicaps:

- A new villain
Central to any beat 'em up is a final boss, and for the sake of maintaining a coherrent plot, I think it's important that Bison remain shelved in favour of a new villain. Unlike previous attempts, this will mean both examining the larger context of the story, and recognising how that can translate to a character that is suitable for the Street Fighter logic.

- Clarification
Promotional work has included the tagline "a new beginning", and for this to really be true, it's time for CapcomUSA to take the bull by the horns and establish firm canon. This means clearing dangling threads like Akuma/Ryu's relationship, and other minor details still squabbled about amongst fans.

Some characters I'd
like to see return:
Adon
Balrog
Birdie
Dan Hibiki
Dee Jay
Joe
Karin Kanzuki
Ken Masters
Mike
Rainbow Mika
Ryu
Sagat
Sakura Kusanago
Vega
Zangief- Motivations
Everyone loves seeing their favourite characters lumped into massive rosters, but if this is really going to be a new beginning, each cast member needs a good reason for being connected to this new chapter. That might be something as simple as being a stalwart of the fighting circuit (re; sports culture), but it needs to be well considered. If Bison is dead, he needs to stay dead. The characters deserve strong motivations.

- Endings
I would really love to see CG or conventionally animated FMV endings for each character, but I'm going to assume the company that has been reluctant to invest in a nostalgia brand might not have the cash to go there. Then again, the excuse that SF wasn't a viable investment might have been a diversion to delay the game for the twentieth anniversary... Roughly...

Either way, connecting again to the importance of clarity and story, every character should have a solid ending. Nothing is more embittering than playing through a game only to discover there is nothing more than an arcade experience to be had. This is not the reason gaming has gone home to consoles.

Regardless of the outcome, Street Fighter IV is hugely exciting, and I greatly look forward to it. Hopefully it can garner enough attention to warrant more regular sequels in a similar fashion to the Tekken and MK sequels.

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, you need to get yourself on YouTube, or head over to Street Fighter World, where they've got it on the main page in a higher quality format. It's truly awe inspiring, and a true tease for the SF fans!

The Fix: 3 The Film: 5.5
Winner: Ken

[Ken and Ryu are currently being featured in the teaser trailer for Street Fighter IV, which can be found at the new official home of Street Fighter: SF World! As we continue to sponsor the Capcom characters on the weekends, Ken positions himself as a stronger contender for a top spot, lurking behind Guile and Ryu!]

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Sho-Ryu Ken!
KEN versus RYU
Stage 01 (UDON/Image)
Where: Street Fighter #1 When: September 2003
Why: Ken Siu-Chong How: Alvin Lee

Quick Fix...
Y'know, in it's own way, UDON and their Capcom books are a really interesting look at "independent" comic books.

I do this blog thing for many reasons, one of the important ones being the enjoyment I get from taking a little time to discuss, review, and observe these pieces of entertainment that I find so joyous. Of course, as much as I'd like to derive world dominating noteriety from this blog, I'm not so sure there's a long future for me in comics review.

What I do feel very strongly about is writing and creating comic books.
Sure, that's not an unusual aspiration. Most fans and their silly photographed cats want to write comics, but I like to think there's something inevitable about comics and I. I'm not one to believe in destiny, but I think if you plucked anyone who's known me through my lifetime, none would be shocked to learn I had found fate in a creative field. It's just one of those cosmic things.

That said, it's not like capability, flair and know-how instantly get you the job.
As submission processes become less common, and technology becomes more readily available, the intrepid fan pursues the dream of self-publishing to a quality unparalleled in the previous two decades of small press.

Of course, that only solves part of the problem. As one of the thousands of wannabes who are rightly or wrongly convinced of their birthright, self-publishing methods provide you but the uterine goal for your up-stream battle.

What I like about UDON is their initiative to take full advantage of their power as a studio of pencillers, inkers, colourists, and digital artists.

They did the work-for-hire thing generating work for top companies (like the superb, unutilized, costume revamp for Taskmaster), they co-opted with the pseudo self-publishing process provided by Image Comics, and then finally stepped firmly out on their own as UDON Entertainment, producing a fine line of self-published comics. Bravo!

See, the difficult thing for a would-be comics writer, no matter how brilliant he is, is that comics are a visual medium. A writer who cannot pencil finds himself staring down the barrel of nothingness if he can't secure a penciller to work with him, and as many writers would testify to, often that involves surrendering your conceptual brilliance, and/or making a multitude of compromises.

Like it or not, even in this industry that has so thoroughly promoted the conceptual idea and the written word, the "artist" has the controlling stock.

Perhaps, then, the only thing more bitter than struggling to get along in this publishing jungle, is when the penciller makes no effort to capitalize on his natural, controlling gifts. Sure, pencillers often write like pencillers, but with the ruling power in the equation, they have the luxury of producing as little, or as much, as they like.

UDON manage to write a little better than that underhanded remark implies.
In this issue we're privvy to accurate characterization drawn from both the video games and other sources from the Street Fighter mythos, and while it sometimes isn't the most brilliant script, you can never doubt their visual efforts.

Ken and Ryu represent the hallmark, mascot characters for the series.
Though the best of friends, various outlets story their fierce but friendly rivalry as martial artists of comparitable skill and determination. For Ken Masters, heir to a wealthy fortune, the joy of the fight is playful and exciting, involving martial arts competitions and many victories across the world.
For Ryu, a nomad who has only known the martial arts, it is meditative and spiritual crusade that takes him across the world, and deep into himself.

Having received an invitation to Ken's San Francisco mansion, Ryu travels across the globe to visit his old time friend. Barking dogs meet him at the edge of the compound, but as he soon discovers, it's not just the canines that are waiting for him.

Ken attempts to surprise his best friend with a flying kick, but finds himself swiftly blocked by his martial arts equal. The sparring session continues, Ryu confidently blocking and dodging through Ken's aggressive assault.

Ken playfully challenges his buddy to make an offensive, leading with his own, but Ryu's block is the final in their session. The fighters conclude their battle with the arrival of Ken's girlfriend, allow Ryu a pause to deliver grim news: Their master, Gouken, is dead -- murdered by the fallen warrior, Akuma.

Street Fighter doesn't lay out a canvas that immediately speaks to Eisner-award winning story telling, and I sometimes wonder about the quality of script, largely given the benefit of the doubt by my sheer love of the characters and brand, but I like to think even these two panels alone are proof. UDON are masters at what they do, and it's fantastic that they're doing it on their own terms.

Though not particularly important in the scheme of the American comics market, I struggle to think of any collective of artists who have made such a bold move since the formation of Image. So, while I bide my time as a writer-in-waiting, hopefully inching closer to the goal through works of enthusiasm, like this blog, and works of craft and experimentation, The Kirby Martin Inquest, let the pencillers and artists be active!

The Fix: 4 The Issue: 6
Winner: Draw

[UDON wrapped up their first "volume" with Image Comics as the numberless "Street Fighter" with fifteen issues, before reassessing their efforts with the self-published and re-titled "Street Fighter II."
UDON continue their relationship with Capcom, developing work for a revamped video game, and translated Manga from Japan.]

---

KEN versus RYU
Akuma: The Dark Master
(Group TAC/Capcom/Manga Entertainment)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kane Kosugi/Matthew Austin & Kane Kosugi/Steven Jay Blum

Quick Fix...
Sometimes you can be so close to the stats and information, recall of what you actually want can be a little interrupted. Especially when you're writing at 2:27am, but even so, I struggle to think of an American superhero comics equivalent to the rivalry shared between Ken Masters and his martial arts buddy, Ryu.

They really represent the penultimate friendly rivalry, but it isn't all sunshine, lollipops, and romps through shutdown ruined parts of cities overrun by ninja and mobsters, no sir. There's an underlying darkness to these two that makes a constant theme through the Alpha series of games, manga and movie.

The basic philosophy of good and evil runs common between these two.

The Street Fighter universe is littered with fighters who have found their way to a sinister end. We've seen already Sagat; the Muay Thai champion who fell from grace when he was defeated by Ryu, in the employ of the villainous Bison. A fighter who showed great nobility in a later confrontation with Ryu in the pages of the second UDON series [Street Fighter II #2].

The SFIIV [television] series highlights their struggle as both moral and primal. The yoga master Dhalsim refers to them as fighting monsters, and guides them on internal journies to stem their violent tendencies. In Alpha the philisophical struggle takes a turn for the literal, manifesting in the potential corruption of the Hadou ki energies fighters of Ken and Ryu's styles harness.

For Ryu, an orphan who was raised and trained by the master Gouken, the threat is the more prevelant, logically so. Branching from the Evil Ryu game token, Ryu's lifelong association with the martial arts makes him especially susceptible to the sinister temptation of the murderous intent of the Dark Hadou.

Among the students of the unnamed Ansatsuken art, Gouken's brother and rival, Akuma, is most legendary for succumbing to the temptation of the Dark Hadou.
It was he who murdered Gouken [see above] and continues to live in seclusion, honing his fighting art and accepting only the challenges of worthy opponents.

Concerned about his shrouded past and potential predisposition to give in to the Dark Hadou, Ryu travels to the mountains to confront Akuma, accompanied by Chun-Li. With ambiguous results, Ryu returns to his life disillusioned.

Chun-Li probes Ryu for answer he does not know, standing on the beach with no true understanding of what it is the Dark Hadou represents.
Knowing his best friend well, Ken emerges on the beach, knowing Ryu would have travelled to see Akuma about his current predicament.

Ken, concerned about his friend's plight borne of the fight, strips down to join him in ponderous combat. Chun-Li finds herself confused by their method of bonding, seeing the catalytic nature of combat for immersion in the Dark Hadou, but can only stand and watch as the martial arts legends collide and spar.

Ryu swiftly ducks and dodges Ken's aggressive combat, in much the same way he did in the first half of this entry, before throwing his own punches. The two batter each other across the beach, Ken charging for a gravity defying kick barely blocked by Ryu.

While those that care about them ponder their reasons for fighting, Ken and Ryu break and pose. They indulge in acrobatic swirls and flips, flying into the air to throw kicks that finish each other off. They fall to the sand with a thud.

Taking faith in his friend's skill, determination and spirit, Ken enthusiastically speculates Ryu's ability to overcome the Dark Hadou. More solemn about his predicament, Ryu makes plans for the future, asking of his friend a promise to finish him off should he lose the struggle, and appear to be manifesting.

Rising from the ground with a stagger, Ken remains grimmly silent in response.

Before we wrap up a customary thanks to When Fangirls Attack, who included the dubious discussion about Catwoman from our last entry in one of their reference lists. The enthusiasm and interest of that readership is always enjoyed and welcomed, and maybe one of these days we'll talk about something interesting.

No doubt there'll be more Dark Hadou discussion in the coming Sundays as we continue to sponsor the Street Fighters in 2007. Now I'd better get to work on catching up on our Monday Marvel Ultimate Alliance post!

The Fix: 6 The Movie: 5.5
Winner: Draw

[Draws all over the shop today and yesterday! Ken and Ryu remain the two most likely fighters to be sponsored into the top five rankings through our weekend initiative. Still plenty more to come from the Street Fighter Alpha movie, including individual battles!]