QUICK FIX: "MACHO" MIKE HAGGAR vs ZANGIEF
Final Fight: Bonus Story (UDON)
Where: Street Fighter II Turbo #6 When: May 2009
Why: Ken Siu-Chong How: Eric Vedder

THE TAPE...
Strength: Draw 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Mike Haggar 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 5 (Martial Arts)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)

Math: Mike Haggar
Ranking: Zangief (#740)

THE FIX...
If I remember correctly, I mentioned at the beginning of May's entries that I was planning to be a little bit more ambitious with the schedule. For Infinite Wars, that meant trying to incorporate more quick fix entries to expand content. As it happens, we weren't the only ones trying to be more ambitious, it would seem.

UDON unleashed the first glimpse of their Capcom licensing expansion in the form of a four page short story summing up the life and times of "Macho" Mike Haggar. The story acts as a disconnected prequel to what will almost inevitably be a new Final Fight series from the studio-cum-publisher. UDON are actually playing coy for the time being, teasing fans with artwork and appearances of characters in the Street Fighter II Turbo series, while petitioning for e-support.
Ostensibly this is the confirmation of another Capcom sourced series.

I have to confess to being distracted this month with a side-project.
Yes, I've been cheating on you with a younger, sexier subject, but it isn't entirely irrelevant to today's quick fix! Truth be told, sometimes the rewards for running a blog like this are few and far between. I love comics and keeping a reader like you informed and entertained, but for the second or third time, the gamers have embraced me enough to seduce me to maintain regular free-flowing updates on a blog at 1up.com (recently featured on the front-page "Popular Blogs" list).

If you look closely at the panel above, you'll notice a handful of colourful characters from the other games. If I'm not mistaken, squinting into the middle of the pack will reveal Dan Hibiki just below Zangief's boot, and possibly even the enigmatic Street Fighter III character, Q, shrouded in shadow on the right. More interesting, however, and pertinent to the posts I've been making on 1up, is the presence of characters from the early nineties Saturday Night Slam Masters games (known in Japan as Muscle Bomber)!

The burly bearded fellow on the left is Kimala the Bouncer (Jumbo Flapjack in the United States), the masked lucha libre giving thumbs up is El Stinger (Stingray in the United States), and with him, Aleksey Zalazof (Biff Slamkovich in the US).
These guys, along with Zangief and Haggar, have been part of an experiment I've been conducting on the 1up blog to try to stress test a theory that Saturday Night Slam Masters would be viable as a retro revival, complete with modern wrestling game mechanics like an indepth storyline driven career mode.

To test this theory, I've decided to take a shot at writing a year's worth of real-time results for Muscle Bomber's feature promotion, the Capcom Wrestling Association.

If you've read any previous Street Fighter entries on the Infinite Wars, or somehow remember me as a writer for prowrestling.com, then this fact probably won't come as a huge surprise. Even less so if you've hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on me, and know I dabbled in a little bit of online text-based fantasy wrestling. Ouch!

Should you find yourself curious about this combative experiment, then you can find all the mammoth "kayfabe" (in-character) write-ups at the following URLs:
- Undisputed Muscle Bomber Comeback!
- CWA: The International Blowout Preview
- CWA: The International Blowout
- CWA: Saturday Night Slam Masters (06/13)
- CWA: Saturday Night Slam Masters (06/20)

The results combine characters from various Capcom properties, including Street Fighters like R. Mika, Zangief, Alex, and El Fuerte; Final Fight characters like Sodom and Hugo Andore; and the ten SNSM originals and four characters added to the numerical Slam Masters sequel. Storylines and characterization bridge from what's established in the game canons to contrive prowrestling-style feuds, while inventing new details, and even borrowing a few ideas from the likes of UDON, ie; El Fuerte's fandom for R. Mika, as revealed in a previous Turbo back-up!

Mike Haggar also features in a non-wrestling role, building on the canon that will be elaborated upon should UDON go ahead with their expected Final Fight comic series. As the Turbo back-up story reveals, Haggar was a famous prowrestler (in the Saturday Night Slam Masters games), but first appeared on the streets of Metro City as a retired-fighter turned city Mayor, intent on cleaning up the crime ridden streets with his own brand of piledriving street fighting.

Final Fight was the side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Capcom in 1989 as a follow-up to the very first Street Fighter arcade game. In fact, some early artwork reveals their original intentions, billing the game as Street Fighter '89: The Final Fight!

Haggar appears alongside Cody Travers and Guy; two protagonists who found their way into the Street Fighter canon as playable characters in the Alpha series. They appeared opposite Final Fight villains, Sodom and Rolento, who also trainsitioned from their roll as Mad Gear Gang sub-bosses in the scrolling fighter, to be fully playable.

Though Haggar's history in wrestling was reflected in his distinctly burly moveset, it really wasn't until the first Slam Masters game in 1993 that this facet of his character was really elaborated on. Interesting, considering that would effectively render the wrestling fighter a prequel to his adventures in Final Fight, barring an unforseen dismissal from his celebrated position as Mayor of Metro City.

Though his "Macho" monikker suggests reference to wrestling great, Randy Savage; it would not be surprising if some influence came from eventual Governer of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura. While it would not be until 1998 that Ventura would reach his famous role a Governor, in 1990 he was elected as Mayor of Brooklyn Park, a position he remained in until 1995. Final Fight was released in arcades in Japan in 1989, but I can't be certain if plot details such as Haggar's role as Mayor were present then, or instated right around the time Ventura was as well, making them a topical reference to the time. Either way, there's curious symmetry.

As depicted in the panels featured earlier, UDON have Haggar stepping in to the ring with Russian rival, Zangief! While gamers never got the chance to have the dream battle, the tale pans out in favour of Haggar, seeing the fight finish with a 360 lariat that follows the finishing spinning piledriver!

Console gamers with Street Fighter IV got a taste of the action with the alternate costume downloadable content that garbs Zangief in the trademark belt/slacks get-up of the Macho Mayor. It was a fitting scenario, given their shared use of the two trademark moves depicted in UDON's short story battle, but has already started rumors about possible appearances of Haggar and other characters in a potential sequel or SFIV iteration.

Producer and driving force behind the Street Fighter revival, Yoshinori Ono, showed some reluctance in interviews about potentially including characters from other Capcom fighters in the the fourth numerical instalment. Second generation Street Fighters like Fei Long and Cammy White, along with prominent Alpha inclusions like Sakura and Rose, all made their way to console versions of the game despite dedication to SFII aesthetic. Given Capcom's propensity for churning out interative re-releases of their Street Fighter games, often boasting the addition of new characters, it seems of reasonable plausibility.

No word yet on when (or if) a Final Fight series will emerge, but back-up stories will continue to be featured in monthly issues of Street Fighter II Turbo. Characters from the Final Fight franchise will also be appearing in the Street Fighter story itself, as some already have. As has been a regular theme in more recent times, we would caution that UDON should carefully consider their choices when adding clearer detail to the Final Fight narrative, suggesting perhaps the consideration of a writer other than sole contributor, Ken Siu-Chong.

The Fight: 4 The Story: 4
Winner: "Macho" Mike Haggar

For more game talk and fantasy Saturday Night Slam Masters results, check out http://sixarmedsamurai.1up.com/, and the recent post recap to help catch you up! Be sure to leave a thumbs up!
Street Fighter II Turbo is currently appearing monthly via UDON comics, along with other Street Fighter and Capcom titles. You can follow (archival) information in the Infinite Wars Shipping Lists, or keep in touch via the UDON website! You'll find other issues of the Street Fighter comics in the Secret Archives, with complete links in the online store to collections featuring those issues reviewed. By using purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor future entries on the Infinite Wars. Triumph or die!

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: When Fighters Attack!
RAINBOW MIKA versus ZANGIEF
(UDON)
Where: Street Fighter Legends #1 When: August 2006 Why: Double KO & Ken Siu-Chong How: Omar Dogan

Quick Fix...
Every day at least one new reader finds their way to the Infinite Wars be it by accident, or design. The over-arching scheme of this site is to be a friendly and depthy resource for readers new and old, but it you aren't inclined to quickly hook into what we do, then you're probably out in the cold.

With the exciting announcement of Street Fighter IV [set for release in 2008] there's a contingent of fans finding their way via that particular niche. For most it probably isn't a huge obstruction, but it might be nice to know that, at our centre, we are a comics review/discussion site with a penchant for combat. Not a movie review site, as may have been apparent given the slew of film and television reviews.

There were a lot of Street Fighting battles that hovered around for this weekend, but ultimately I thought it would be nice to quickly check in with the comics again. Sadly, as regular readers will know, I'm more than six months behind on purchases, and a barrage of UDON products are right up there on the wishlist!
A little bit more about those in later, but first, an opportunity to revisit one of the most eagerly anticipated returning characters for SF4: Sakura Kusanago!

Traditionally there seems to a be an obscure divide between average American comics readers, and the trappings of the far East. As a youngster who milled around arcade magazines and machines for a glimpse of the SF characters, I was well primed to be in the thick of things come the animé resurgence of the late nineties.

With that rivetting backstory, I like to think I at least have the credibility to lodge the fact that; despite being quite comfortable with the conventions of animé culture; I am not particularly interested in the shojo, young girls scene.
That said, like any ridiculously dedicated fan, I'm pretty willing to forego that disinterest if there's some sort of pay-off in the form of broader character appearances, which is where Legends: Sakura earns its grace.
[Although, given how bad I'm dragging my heels right now, maybe that grace extends to reading it more than reviewing it... - Malcontent Mike]

If you caught our last Sakura feature [Street Fighter Legends #2], you'll already know the mysteriously popular Hibiki clocks an appearance, along with guest-spots by Honda, Zangief, R. Mika, Karin, and a roster of cameos by characters from Rival Schools. Also making an appearance is Sakura's reluctant sensei, Ryu, who prompts her quest to examine other fighting skills as part of her training. This rather conveniently shoe-horns the wrestlers into the picture, while also creating a logical deviation from the core series. Not a bad line-up for a character largely segregated to a world of sailor suits, homework, and hotdogs!

During one of those rare moments of positivity for the works of Brian "I prefer the square peg*" Bendis [Daredevil #75], we mentioned a predilection for drawing inspiration from real world sources. It's a process I like to read, and indulge in as a writer myself, and if it was somehow lost on you, I also like sports, structured violence, and statistically based leagues and competitions.
It's this recipe - inherent to professional wrestling - that slides effortlessly into Sakura's pop driven fancy, and leads her to a local main event between Alpha stalwarts; Rainbow Mika and Zangief.

The canonical relationship between Mika and Zangief is put aside, presumably by design of both the lighter nature of this reading material, and the similarity between Mika and Sakura's roles as smitten young fighters, characterized by their adoration for longer standing icons of the series.

Here, Zangief and Mika engage in rope hitting action, while Sakura and her friends share cutesy modified versions of iconic WWE isms popularized by Steve Austin, the Rock, and Hulk Hogan. As one comes to expect from any entry level references to wrestling, the parallels here between the SF universe and reality are none too subtle, but enough to sell the world to a casual reader.

Grafting game specials into a world of trademark moves, Mika hits the infamous flying peach butt pump, before going to work on Zangief with a chair, presumably of a steel persuasion. The attack proves sufficient for R. Mika to overcome her burly adversary, scoring her a knock-out win before the capacity crowd.

When Zangief comes to some time later, he furiously calls Mika out for an impromptu rematch. The scene is played for laughs, but highlights the clash of worlds as Zangief personifies Street Fighter logic confronting a realworld performance based perception, held by Mika.

As mentioned earlier, you can find Zangief's disgruntled rampage in a previous Infinite Wars entry [Street Fighter Legends #2], as he carries the fight to the signing table, blissfully unaware of the scripted nature of professional wrestling.

As the importance of so-called realism is pushed further in popular fiction, we sometimes find fiction compromised by it's awkward marriage of the real and imagined. I think in the past I've made my fondness for the internal conceits of the Street Fighter world quite clear, and it certainly relevant to this quick fix.

As much as I like the idea of Street Fighter drawing upon real world reference, the success of the series has always been built on a fiction.
The enduring characters from the first sequel epitomize this formulaic, caricature-based representation of styles, and nation's traditions, that make the Street Fighter fiction work so well. UDON have done reasonably well here to bring the two logics together, without compromising the overall asthetic.

That said, Legends: Sakura notes writing that is particularly light-on.
There's a B-throughline of Dan Hibiki's pursuit of Sakura, but for the most part the series reads as a disjointed collection of cartoony moments. It's probably this kind of storytelling, which lacks any skeletal strength, which is going to befuddle and turn away American readers not already interested in the branding and kitsch of the series.

While I have a great affection for the universe in question, I really regret UDON's decision not to make a more independent move with the franchise. Sakura has enjoyed solo success through the manga, Sakura Ganbaru! ["Hang in there, Sakura!", currently being translated by UDON], and leaves UDON's decision making feeling a little rote.

Of the core series, the most noted concern has probably been similar questions of depth, and if we review the UDON/SF output as a whole, Sakura ultimately drags it down. It might be an unfair assessment, but direction and writing like this inevitably feels like a classic case of a penciller trying to be a writer.
There's a lack of attention that sufficiently facilitates a visual comic book story, but fails to lend any weight to the pages within. Whether or not this is a personal stigma due to UDON's artistic history, I cannot say, but the content of this four-issue mini is what it is, regardless of inflection.

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 4
Winner: Rainbow Mika

This Christmas Sakura's probably strictly for the SF die hards, and maybe wide-eyed young readers.

UDON have expressed interest in pursuing other Legends series, with Chun-Li tossed around as a character to star. While much of UDON's strength has come from strong representation and derivative mythology, I'd rather see them blaze a trail with characters less touched upon. While the core series hovers around the popular icons from the games, anime, and manga, it might be nice to see a Legends series use a character as vehicle to touch upon a theme.
Pursuing similar fiction that touches real world concepts, like the Muay Thai or Boxing characters, might be a fun bit of history to explore.

---

BILLY versus CHUN-LI
Battle 01: Shad (Tokuma)
Where: Street Fighter II #1 When: July 1994
Why: Masaomi Kanzaki How: Masaomi Kanzaki

Quick Fix...
If you're a regular War Monger, you'll notice occasional references to When Fangirls Attack, the 'hive vagina' for so-called comics feminists around the internet.

Despite having pretentions on neither side of the debate, I do find myself with a passing interest in that particular corner of opinion and neurosis. For the most part, it deals with the goings on of American superhero comics, but occassionally a manga post will pop up, as far as I'm aware, usually for the positive.

Top 25 Female Characters
#1 Invisible Woman (Marvel)
#2 Storm (Marvel)
#3 Catwoman (DC)
#4 Wasp (Marvel)
#5 Zatanna (DC)
#6 Elektra (Marvel)
#7 Kitty Pryde (Marvel)
#8 Rogue (Marvel)
#9 Hellcat (Marvel)
#10 R. Mika (Capcom)
#11 Phoenix (Marvel)
#12 Black Cat (Marvel)
#13 Wonder Woman (DC)
#14 Black Widow (Marvel)
#15 Lyja (Marvel)
#16 Tabitha Stevens (Marvel)
#17 Hawkwoman (DC)
#18 She-Thing (Marvel)
#19 Sakura Kusanago (Capcom)
#20 Harley Quinn (DC)
#21 Spider-Woman (Marvel)
#22 Firebird (Marvel)
#23 Cheetah (DC)
#24 Powergirl (DC)
#25 Spitfire (Marvel)Manga has been a phenomena in the comics market that has positioned itself as a perceived threat to traditional American enterprise. Despite well known sub-genres of rabid mysogyny and tentacle invasions, the Japanese have endeared themselves to a market of women and children with parallelled cultures built around a variety of female and feminine archetypes.

This previously reviewed single issue [Street Fighter II #1] exists as a movie-time item of curio in my collection. If subsequent issues were made available at the supermarket I bought it, then I never saw them, but it's a moot point anyway. Fortunately UDON has collected a newer series of translations, which feature artwork unchanged from it's original black and white form.

I refer back to this issue because, it's a bit of fun, and also because the female stars of Street Fighter have been grossly under represented during our weekend romps. Sure, we kinda know that in sponsoring a top five contender, Ryu and Ken are the most likely success stories, but that says absolutely nothing of powerful female leads like Chun-Li, or Cammy White!

Wacky happenstance sees many of the new UDON issues that I've missed containing much of the Chun-Li/Cammy portions of the series, so here we are, arriving at a quick fix feature with Chun-Li and the innocuous dockside sailor, Billy.

Similar to the film, this series depicts a segregated rogue city, this time shortened to just Shad [as opposed to Shadaloo, used in the film, but canonically the name of Bison's criminal organization - Manhattan Mike].
This man-made island has a strong fight culture and a strong criminal element simmering in the bowels of it's seedy underbelly.

On the docks; the wondering fighter Ryu stops to take in the sights, as gambling yobs toss their cash against the prospects of a danty, blue-qipao garbed fighter called Chun-Li. With a win-streak of fifteen bouts, Billy takes the hot odds, but Ryu informs one vocal punter that he's made a greivous financial error.

Behaving like, well, a sailor, "Billy" makes a skeevy attempt to hit on his opponent asking for a date after the fight. As if to foreshadow the events yet to come, Chun-Li shoots him down with a devestating witty retort that makes insinuations about his cognitive functions!

Billy explodes in a rage over Chun-Li's quip, only to run head-long into a barrage of boot blow! The Chinese fighter unleashes the full force of her Hyakuretsu Kyaku attack, setting him up for the finishing blow, a brutal face-shove that leaves Billy's skull to "krunch!" against the street!

As the Interpol agent looking for her father's killer; Chun-Li represents a none too subtle archetype of the genre, but with visuals as strong (yet vulnerable) as her character, she's set herself apart from even folks like Guile; who represents the US Air Force male equivalent of the same role.

Before closing, I do have to lodge the fact that I much prefer Chun-Li's revised outfit of the Alpha series. Apart from being infinitely more believable and practical, it's a great looking suit. I do not, however, weigh in on it's use for crotch shots in the anime, versus the butt shots of the manga.

The Fix: 4 The Issue: 4
Winner: Chun-Li

As mentioned earlier, the Tokuma series of Street Fighter manga by writer/artist Masaomi Kanzaki are now available in newly translated and un-edited form thanks to UDON! An obscure item even amongst some groups of fans, it's the ultimate gift this Christmas for Street Fighter fans across the globe! And in issue two, Chun-Li fights Blanka! Primo!

*Not an actual nickname for Brian Bendis.

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!

ZANGIEF versus R. MIKA & SAKURA
(UDON comics)
Where: Street Fighter Legends #2 When: September 2006
Why: Ken Siu-Chong & Double KO How: Omar Dogan

The story so far...
Martial arts fanatic and school girl, Sakura Kusanago, begins her journey to become a great martial artist after meeting Ryu, the nomadic street fighting legend who dethroned the king of Muay Thai -- Sagat.

Staying in touch, Sakura receives the advice from Ryu that to become the ultimate martial artist, she should be open to learning from various styles. Thus, Sakura begins a new quest to learn from various fighting champions.

Her quest takes her to the professional wrestling show in town, where she hopes to observe her favourite wrestler in action -- Rainbow Mika!
R. Mika defeats Zangief in the ring, but while signing autographs Sakura finds herself between Rainbow Mika and a challenge from the kayfabeless Zangief!

Previous Form:
R. Mika, Sakura, Zangief: None of the three Street Fighters have previously been featured on the site.

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


Here we are again, running a little late, and revisiting the Street Fighter scene!
Which really, if you think about it, plays straight into this little section we like to refer to as The Tape.

Zangief is a big ol' Russian who bares scars from fighting polar bears.
He's a legit pro wrestler. Now, if your laughter has subsided, and you're able to stop for a moment to ponder the nature of the grappling system, you'll observe one major a thing -- neck injuries. Seriously, even the pros suffer life altering injuries, and they aren't even playing for keeps.

So, a seven foot tall Russian who fights bears is probably going to be a seriously problem. He's got reach on his side, and while slower than your average Street Fighter, he's still pretty fast considering the bulk of his muscle.

Keys to victory here come down to the numbers game.
If R. Mika and Sakura can double team the big man, then you're starting to calculate a pretty basic win. If he can eliminate and isolate, then it comes down to individual skills.

Both Sakura and Mika have Zangief pegged on the speed and agility front, but neither is as technically proficient with their respective fighting styles, including Mika's brand of high flying/butt pumping wrestling.
So it's got to be about getting in and out, using the speed to the avantage to take out Zangief. But that's probably much easier said, than done.

The Math: R. Mika & Sakura (Total) Zangief (Average)
The Pick: Zangief (Champion Class)

What went down...
Having delivered his rematch challenge at the end of last issue, Zangief wastes little time highlighting the severity of his intent -- launching a flying body press attack at the relatively diminutive opponents.

R. Mika and Sakura leap clear of danger either side, leaving Zangief to land flat on his face.

Mika jumps on the Balkan behemoth, surprised to be joined by Sakura, who imitates her daydream headlock. An off-the-cuff remark about becoming a tag team becomes a reality as the two drive Zangief's head into the ground.

Zangief shrugs the attack off, and to Rainbow Mika's shock he's "wrestling for real". Sakura shoves her idol out of the way to take a diving dropkick.

Rainbow Mika comes to the rescue of Sakura with a moonsault, but it has little effect on Zangief.
He swats Mika off his back, hurtling her into the air.

R. Mika recovers, but sets herself up to suffer at the hands of Zangief's spinning clothesline of the man dubbed the Red Cyclone! Then, with Mika reeling, he intends to follow up with the banishing flat, but... His grip misses.

Yeah... He grabs her arse.
Now, fair enough, it was an accident. He actually meant to finish her off with a deadly finishing move, but... Yeah. He's gonna get it now, chief.

In a rage, Mika throws herself at her rival for a rainbow hip crush, switching her butt from plush, curvy plamed fun -- to deadly weapon of pain!

With Zangief reeling, Rainbow Mika calls in the assist from her fan, referencing the finish to a match from earlier in her career.
Sakura, knowing the reference, slips behind on all fours behind the hulking Zangief, to finish him off with a crescent kick/trip combo.

Only, even though he goes down hard... He gets back up.

Rainbow Mika switches things up for some hardcore rules, spraying the Russian with a fire extinguisher. She taunts him as he stumbles around trying to put his big mits on his foe, and at that crucial moment Dan, seeking to train Sakura, stumbles in.

With the extinguisher foam cleared from his eyes, Zangief doesn't get to see what's coming as Rainbow Mika sneaks behind with a Wingless Airplane reverse head scissors. Leaving him wide open to a juggle combo shouoken attack!

Zangief goes down for good, unable to dispute the defeat this time.
And much to the chagrin of Karin Kanzuki, who happens to be watching TV at the time, Sakura becomes a star!

The hammer...
The winners of this bout, Sakura and Rainbow Mika!

We've got a lot of new people joining us every day, and some of you might be surprised to stumble across Street Fighter on a website mostly dedicated to Marvel and DC superheroes. Fair enough!

My gross slant toward Marvel (and DC) withstanding, this site is actually really just directed toward comic book and comic book related battles, as a vehicle to discuss and document those products. So, be fully aware that Street Fighter animated movies are just sitting in waiting.

I'm a big fan of the work UDON are doing with the Street Fighter books!
If you haven't been reading, you might like to slide back to one of our previous Top Rating Reads. [Street Fighter II #2]

That said, there's a distinct problem I think I'm finding with the Street Fighter franchise, and it actually has nothing to do with the slow release schedule.
I'm a fan of various beat 'em up video games, and like many-a fanboy who insists they're a "writer", the characters in these kinds of games have mooshed around in my head and I've come up with some ideas for story.

What seems lacking in Ken Siu-Chong's stories is a sense of purpose.
For me, because the games so often offer minimal information, I look at the potential of taking everything provided and building it up to a story. Which is what's being done to a degree, but what concerns me is just how unfocused it all seems. I say this having picked up another issue or two of the main book as well, and not just the Legends: Sakura mini-series.

There's clearly a familiarity with the franchise, and UDON seems to be very keen on servicing that, but it as a story it just lacks the kind of density and sense of purpose that I would much prefer. I hate to go down that line, but it really feels like a series that's being written by a penciller.

As a guy who's brimming over with projects but is struggling to get work printed because he needs collaborators, it's probably not a great opinion to hold. But, in all honesty, there are a lot of pencillers who maybe think they supercede writers, but without them... Yeah...

This isn't a book that's suffering a hard crunch, but my attentions certainly have the potential to wander if it doesn't pick up a thread and go with it. That said, if you're a Street Fighter fan and are looking for a fun read, this isn't a bad issue at all. I'm just projecting my concern for the future, as I see the book very loosely tying threads together.
As a fan, I'd like a more complete picture, and it's not casting that net.

Buy it anyway. It's not like you're going to get a Street Fighter 4! *sniff*

So, anyway! I mentioned last Friday [New Avengers #27] that it was International Woman's Day, and we're sort of continuing the theme here with the two girls scoring the victory over Zangief. That theme will continue through next Friday as I pull out a recent tale I've been hoping to have reason to use!

I'm very tired, it's a very late update again.
I've noticed the hits are waning, spread the word folks so that I may have new victims upon which to leech energy. Until they, see you Monday!

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4.5