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.]

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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.]

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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!]

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Go For Broke!
VEGA versus DAN HIBIKI
The Tournament Begins (Group TAC/Capcom/Manga Entertainment)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kazuyuki Ishikawa

Quick Fix...
With the various goings on around the place, we've had an influx of new readers. Some of them have actually arrived here because of previous Street Fighter entries, but for those who haven't, let it ring out through the village: I'm as keen on superheroes as I am on beat 'em ups!

Okay, so maybe not all beat 'em ups, but I think I've got the basics covered. SF, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Dead or Alive. Sure, I can stretch to some of the others, but this would undoubtedly be my core, with DOA bridging the familiarity gap between those I'm less aware of, like the SNK series, and those I love, like Street Fighter!

Some fans might ask, why Street Fighter?
It's failed to make the transition to "3D," it doesn't have FMVs, it often lacks in the story department, and the wheels really fell off during the process of Street Fighter III and the pseudo 3D Ex series.

I'd say, sure, a lot of that is true, but the undeniable appeal of that initial idea, and the memorable revamp it underwent going into Street Fighter II keeps me wanting more. It's the characters and the style that have made a loyal fan of me, and also represent such interesting ideas for comic, manga and animé.

As a brand, Street Fighter is now regarded as little more than a nostalgia product to be regurgitated in several vaguely different forms. The product has arguably been squandered over the years, hovering too long around tweaked revisions at the cost of casting an illusion of forward momentum. SFIII, the final true attempt to move forward, remains one of the most disappointing, redeemed only by it's final revision which made long overdue inclusions of classic characters.

Consistency of characterization and the purity of the design seemed lost on the final generation of Capcom contributors. Garrish pseudo-superheroes, monsters and robots replaced the classic formula of martial arts caricatures, complimented by broad, but distinctive, ethnic strokes.

This is a fact almost certainly recognised by those that would develop the property for the minority market still interested. Largely more popular in the US, the Street Fighter Alpha animé "OVA" project was produced, paying close homage to versions of the characters not yet capitalized upon in animated form.

While Alpha stays much closer to the popular starring characters like Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li, it expands it's cast from well known supporting characters [Sakura, Birdie, Akuma] to cameos with Alpha initiates like Adon, Rolento and Cody.

Narrowly missing out on entering an American Street Fighting tournament held in a partially demolished highrise, Ken Masters accompanies an enthusiastic Sakura to find Ryu. There they witness one of the tournament matches, a brutal encounter between the vainglorious Spaniard, Vega; and the similarly arrogant, but entirely unjustified - Dan Hibiki.

Vega makes good use of his acrobatic abilities, leaping into the air with Hibiki already on the back foot after suffering a slash from Vega's wrist-mounted claw.
The Spaniard twirls earthbound, slashing this time at the pink-garbed martial artist's face.

Vega finds his way behind Dan, wrenching back on his neck before pulling back with his full weight to position Hibiki on Vega's feet. With a springy strength, the masked matador launches his opponent, catching him in mid-air with a flipping stomp. Unrelenting, Vega looks to finish the fight with trademark brutality.

Letting out a shrill scream, Vega buries his claw in the floored Hibiki's chest, erupting a volcanic explosion of blood and gore. Though his mask hides his emotions, one can only imagine the ecstatic pleasure the sadistic Vega takes.

It would be diplomatic to express some kind of interest in the Dan character, but let's be honest, the world loves a bastard. Vega is one of the prime examples of the enticing and pure characterization of Street Fighter's elite.

Vega is unashamedly comprised of utterly vivid portions of vanity, psychotic massochism, all mixed with the glamor of the Spanish matador. Though his connection to the martial arts is marginal at best (his style lazily described as Ninjitsu by American translators), he remains one of the most memorable characters to come from the first revamp, Street Fighter II.

The Alpha "movie" does manage to stay relatively faithful to the characters and concepts, even though it pinwheels on entirely original material to this particular story. Included for the first time, a data-obsessed scientist, his power absorbing android, and a much maligned fictional Brazilian brother to Ryu.

When laid out like that, it's perhaps evident just how remarkable it is that Alpha can be recalled in such positive regard. Again a testament to the power of using the characters well; Alpha peppers cameos throughout, staying closer to an independent story than the revered SFII animated feature, but utilises the cast much better than the unrelated sequel that follows: Generations.

Even so, with so much weight behind the cast of the series, it's a wonder there wasn't more effort made, particularly in the sequel, to include more characters into the story. It seems unfair to disregard the tale of Ryu/Akuma as what it is, but I think those broader, second-tier character appearances are really what remains the driving force behind any successful Street Fighter venture.

The Fix: 4.5 The Movie: 5.5
Winner: Vega

[Yes, I'm using the US names. In a perfect world we'd have a streamlined, one-answer option, but with CapcomUS now owners of the franchise, I'm pulling rank. If you're interested in Street Fighter, but are unfamiliar with the story, SFAlpha is a great place to get acquainted, particularly with core characters like Ryu and Ken.]

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SAGAT versus DHALSIM
Yoga Mind Trick (UDON)
Where: Street Fighter II #2 When: December 2005
Why: Ken Siu-Chong How: Skottie Young

Quick Fix...
Street Fighter Alpha takes full advantage of one of the unique skills of the Japanese, maintaining a relatively simple story, but using style over substance to justify maintained interest in the product. It skillfully dwells on the minutia, without actually going into any depthy meaning or layers. It simply is what it is.

Fortunately, while many of the Street Fighter characters have struggled to develop more complex motivations in film or game; the good folks at UDON manage to maintain not only a beautiful and recognisable visual approach -- but also a script that compliments much of what we know of the characters, while still directing them in a unique, reasonably progressive story. Again, it isn't revolutionarily dense, but on the twenty-two page platform of a comic book, the luxuries afforded in animation quickly melt away.

For comics, Street Fighter perhaps represents one of the most inviting and exciting licenses available. Irrespective of it's in-built fanbase, the characters represent the ultimate in branding. Even the best of the second-tier is instantly recognisable thanks to brilliantly simple design. Each character brings not only a trademark visual, but a two-dimensional characterization that is an extention of their look, a trait that leaves plenty of room to elaborate in an on-going medium, without presenting a slate too blank to enjoy from the beginning.

These well defined characters really do lend themselves to an on-going medium, providing recognisable perspective from which they can clearly react to the on-going events of a story or situation. A true master would be able to develop and shape these characters into more depthy personas, but even the contemporary average need only stay faithful to succeed as the SF brand requires.

UDON does well to do a little bit of both, meandering it's way through familiar concepts (like Cammy White's brainwash ordeal under Bison), but also adds developing spice to stories and relationships, like Sagat's search for knowledge and power in the wake of his famous defeat at the hands of Ryu (circa the first, often forgotten side-scrolling Street Fighter game).

Either taking inspiration from the Street Fighter II V animated series, or arriving by the same logics; UDON takes Ryu on a journey to the mysterious yoga master, Dhalsim. Hoping to find inner peace and a control over the potential of the dark hadou energy, Ryu discovers Sagat, who has also been training to control his inner rages and become a better fighter.

In this back-up story taking place after Sagat's defeat of Ryu [Street Fighter II #2], we learn of Sagat's journey with Dhalsim, and the beginnings of his exploration of the mysterious yoga arts.

With the glow of a campfire to light them, Sagat confronts Dhalsim in the heart of a forest. There he challenges Dhalsim to prove the value of his yoga teachings, apparently unconvinced of their capability to aid his already impressive strengths.

Dhalsim gladly takes the challenge, using his defying contortions to evade Sagat's kicking attack. Instead of matching the violence, the stoic Dhalsim makes a fool of Sagat's brutish style, forcing blood to cascade from the Muay Thai fighter's nose with little more than the power of his energy.

Dhalsim follows it - extending his limbs to strike Sagat's proud jaw - before sending him through a tree with a devestating body blow.

The yoga master schools Sagat not in the physical art of fighting, but the clarity of mind. He decrys Sagat's motivations, and willing surrender to anger and hatred, "... the most distracting and dangerous of those emotions."

With quiet confidence, Dhalsim declares there is much he can teach Sagat, before punctuating his point with his signature attack, the yoga flame!

On his knees, Sagat opens his eye to discover he is unharmed. Dhalsim reveals the power of the mind, prompting Sagat to take a meditative position by the campfire. He is now Dhalsim's student.

Most casual fans will recognise Sagat as the scarred Muay Thai fighter of the series, and may even recall his position as final of the three sub-bosses in Street Fighter II. He supersedes Balrog (boxer) and Vega (see above) as Shadaloo bosses working for Bison, his motivations directly influenced by his apparent defeat (and scarring) at the hands of Ryu, who defeated him with the legendary sho-ryu ken attack that left his chest marked forevermore.

It's those origins that always leave me a little conflicted about a Sagat who is portrayed in a more positive style. In the TV anime series, SFII V, Sagat is portrayed as a fallen champion who was framed when he refused to take a dive for the criminal pawns of Shadaloo, the Ashura. In prison he encounters Ryu, undertaking a similar quest to develop his martial arts skills, and the two become friends as Ryu reignites his fighting spirit and good heart.

If I had to choose, I'd definitely take the UDON version.
Having missed a chunk of the first series, I'm not certain when I assume Sagat has not yet come into the service of Shadaloo. His motivations resemble Ryu's more closely, desiring only of fighting superiority, initially in the name of besting Ryu in a rematch, but after Dhalsim's training, in a more general sense.

Sagat, like Vega, is one of those secondary characters that really jazzes me.
Highlighted by his varying characterization, Sagat's story really doesn't begin until it breaks away from Ryu, and even then further depth is sketchy, additions like his service to Bison, and his arrogant student, Adon, being noteworthy.

Still, despite this general consistency of minimally developed characters, I just can't get enough of Street Fighter. Still months behind on purchases, it's perhaps the UDON translated manga and original releases I'm missing the most right now. Maybe to make up for it, we'll consider a little experiment...

The Street Fighter universe famously brought about a convergence between gamers and comic fans with the Capcom versus Marvel series, and it's many different entries. On a website dedicated to ranking superheroes based on their fights, can they possibly hold their own against an incursion of street fighters?

There are only three months left in season 2007, so maybe we'll play a little game with Saturdays. Let's see if A) I can keep it up, and B) if a Street Fighter character can usurp a top five ranking in 2007 before the year is through.
One would expect someone like a Ryu to take the spot, but without specifically contriving such a result, we'll leave it open. We may just get a surprise!

The Fix: 3.5 The Issue: 6
Winner: Dhalsim

[UDON continue to honour Capcom with their contributions to the Street Fighter franchise. Will they contribute to catapulting a Street Fighter into the Infinite Wars top five? Drop a comment and show your interest, and stay tuned to see if the impossible can happen! Get ready fighters. Go for broke!]