Marshall Law (Tekken)
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- For other uses, see Marshall Law (disambiguation).
| Marshall Law | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Game series | Tekken series |
| First game | Tekken |
| Voice actor(s) | Robert Clotworthy |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Fighting style | Jeet Kune Do |
| Home country |  USA |
| Age | 48 |
| Height | 5' 10' (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 152 lbs |
| Blood type | B |
| Occupation | Former restaurant and dojo owner; currently a dishwasher |
Marshall Law is a character in the Tekken fighting game series. The character is a homage to martial artist Bruce Lee and shares many characteristics with the famous martial artist, even uttering similar high-pitched shouts and whoops when he performs certain strikes and attacks.
Marshall also appears in the game Urban Reign, along with his friend Paul Phoenix. In that game, he is unlocked by completing one free mode level.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Tekken
Marshall Law is a Chinese American who fights using various martial arts. Sometimes known as "The Fighting Chef", he is a close friend of Paul Phoenix during Tekken 1 and Tekken 2, and he is the father of Forrest Law. He entered the first King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to gain enough money so he could start his own dojo.
[edit] Tekken 2
In Tekken 2, Law enters the tournament to exact his revenge on the Taekwondo fighter Baek Doo San, who attacked Law's pupils and destroyed his dojo.
[edit] Tekken 3
Marshall declined to participate in the this tournament. Afterwards, Paul and Law fall out somewhat after Paul convinces Marshall's son, Forrest, to enter The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3.
[edit] Tekken 4
Before Tekken 4, Law finds success as the master of a martial arts dojo, and as the owner of a restaurant chain called "Marshall China", back home in San Francisco's Chinatown. However, a rival restaurant chain drives him bankrupt, and he falls into an alcoholic state of excessive binge drinking. When The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 is announced, he beats himself into shape to compete in the tournament to pick up his business.
[edit] Tekken 5
At the end of Tekken 4, after Law fails to win the tournament, he is completely broke, and he now works as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Japan. Just before the events of Tekken 5, he receives a phone call from his wife in America. She informs him that Forrest was badly hurt in an accident while riding on Paul Phoenix's motorcycle. Marshall enters the 5th Iron Fist tournament in order to pay his son's medical bills.
[edit] Appearance
In his original appearance in Tekken, Marshall was an almost exact facsimile of Bruce Lee. However, by Tekken 4, a 21-year gap in the storyline produced a much older, bearded Marshall. This has not deterred the character from being a Bruce Lee homage, however. For example, in Tekken 4, he retains the yellow tracksuit which was worn by Lee in the film Game of Death. In Tekken 5, Law's second attire (his cook suit) can be turned into a close copy of the character Kato from The Green Hornet, a character which Bruce Lee portrayed. Also, upon close inspection, the chest scar on Marshall Law is very similar to the one received by Bruce Lee's character in Enter the Dragon.
[edit] Endings
Tekken
- Marshall is in his dojo watching his students perform somersault kicks, and he is shouting at them at the same time (his words cannot be heard). Then, Marshall demonstrates three somersault kicks of his own. After he finishes, he puts his hands on his hips.
Tekken 2
- Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law are shown together. Marshall is trying to teach Paul how to perform a somersault kick. Marshall attempts a somersault kick first, and he succeeds. Then, Paul smirks and attempts to replicate the somersault kick, but he fails and lands on his stomach. Marshall shrugs, and his ending video ends.
Tekken 4
- Law won the tournament and earned the Mishima Zaibatsu fortune. His fighting spirit was now focused on rebuilding the Marshall China restaurant empire. Marshall is walking through a Marshall China restaurant. Some punk customers insult the taste of the Marshall China food. An insulted Marshall starts fighting with the rough customers. A few seconds later, a newspaper states that Marshall China went out of business because of this incident. Afterwards, Marshall and some other men are shown inside the reopened Marshall Dojo. The other men are throwing slow punches, and they are grunting quietly. Marshall tells them to put more anger into it. Marshall throws a punch and lets out a loud grunt as an example of what he wants the others to do. The other men begin to throw faster punches, and they begin to grunt louder. As the camera pans away from the dojo exterior, Marshall is heard giving his students more guidance.
Tekken 5
- Law spends his prize money to pay all his debts from bankruptcy and Forrest's medical bills, ended up as he said, "Broke again." Suddenly, Paul rides up to him on a rickety bicycle (with pieces of his wrecked motorcycle strapped to his back) and hands him a bill containing a new debt he has to pay. Marshall sweats nervously and, after Paul's persistence, a mock-battle begins. (Complete with all the nuances of the game's HUD display). Marshall delivers an uppercut that completely depletes Paul's life bar and quickly flees the scene.
- Note: This is one of the few endings in Tekken 5 which does not depict Jinpachi Mishima's death.
[edit] Fighting Style and Moves List
[edit] Fighting Style
In the Tekken canon, Marshall Law's fighting art is simply stated as "Martial Arts". This can be found in the English instruction manuals of Tekken 5 where his bio still states his style as "Martial Arts", even 10 years after his first appearance in Tekken 1.
It is universally acknowledged that he is a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do, the martial arts philosophy created by legendary martial artist, Bruce Lee. However, as Lee did not intend Jeet Kune Do to be a strict "style", it can be suggested that Law does not strictly follow any set style of his own.
[edit] Moves List
[edit] Trivia
- In the arcade version of Tekken 2, if the "New Character" test mode setting is set to "Baek & Lei", Law must face Jun Kazama in order to clear Stage 8. If set to "Jun & Lei", it is reversed, as Law faces Baek Doo San instead.
- Marshall Law, who was in both "Tekken" and "Tekken 2", does not make another appearance as a playable character until Tekken 4. His son, Forrest Law, replaces him in Tekken 3, Tekken Tag Tournament, and Tekken Advance. Since Forrest has made no further appearances, this makes Marshall Law the only "mentor" character in the Tekken series to effectively replace his own "successor" after the 20 year gap between the second and third tournaments. Michelle Chang, Armor King, Baek Doo San, Jack-2, Jun Kazama, Kazuya Mishima, and Wang Jinrei have all returned to fight alongside their protegés in at least one game released after Tekken 3. At the same time, other characters such as the original King, Jack, Kuma, and Roger have remained replaced by their successors.
