Belger (Final Fight)
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Belger is the last name of two related villains in the Final Fight video game series, both ultimately killed by members of the Travers family (Cody and Kyle). They have been the main antagonists of all the Final Fight games with the exception of Final Fight 2 and Final Fight 3.
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[edit] Horace Belger
| Belger | |
|---|---|
 Artwork of Belger in Final Fight Revenge by Akiman. |
|
| Game series | Final Fight series |
| First game | Final Fight |
| Designed by | Akiman |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | Mad Gear |
Horace Belger (simply called Belger until Final Fight Streetwise) is the mastermind of the Mad Gear gang and the final boss of Final Fight, hiding behind the guise of being a businessman. Though he rides around in a motorized luxurious wheelchair, and in the arcade version of the game moves only with short hops and jumps, the home versions of the game suggest that he only uses the wheelchair to discourage any likely adversaries from fighting him.[1] His weapon of choice is a repeating bolt-action crossbow gun. When first confronted by Haggar, Cody and Guy, he is rapidly moving around in the chair, using Jessica as a human shield to protect himself. Before he can be damaged, he must be thrown from the chair. At the end of the battle, he was canonically killed by Cody; knocked out of the window of his own tower to fall to his death.
Belger is depicted in later renditions as believing Metro City needs both him and Mad Gear. He tells Haggar that Mad Gear is a sanctuary for the troubled youth to escape the horrors of the city. It's unsure just how much underlings share his ideals: Sodom and Rolento both seem to hold to the ideal of a utopian society as reflected in their Street Fighter Alpha series storylines (yet have differing opinions on how that should come about), though other members such as Edi. E. are in Mad Gear simply to further their own selfish desires. It's even more unclear just what his full goals really are for the city and Mad Gear: other than chaos and the subsequent shut down of rival gangs around the city through Edi. E. arresting them, Capcom has never stated exactly just what the final plan was for the group in Belger's eyes.
Belger is an immigrant, though from what country or from how long ago is never stated. Given his brother uses the last name "Bella" and sets his base of operations in Little Italy, it's very possible he's Italian, having changed his surname from Bella to Belger to better fit in with American society (a tactic often used by prominent movie stars). However, why he would take a Germanic-sounding name in that case is unclear.
[edit] Appearance
Belger is a mostly bald, black-haired man with a goatee. He wears a tuxedo shirt with a black bowtie and pants. As mentioned, he moves around mainly via his wheelchair, though it's important to note in the English localizations of the SNES and Game Boy Advance versions, the wheelchair was replaced by an office chair, to avoid any implications that the player's character is beating up a crippled man (incidentally negating the purpose of him using the chair to begin with).
His height is never actually stated, though according to a montage showing all the characters, he stands roughly the same height as fellow Mad Gear member El Gado. (6'6") It's important to note in this montage and earlier artwork, he was shown with a fuller beard and white hair.
[edit] Zombie Belger
Belger returns as Zombie Belger in Final Fight Revenge. He is the final opponent in the game and is not a playable character save via a cheat device, though even then the results are somewhat unstable. He is nothing more than a typical zombie in this state, lacking any of his original personality. The zombie is destroyed for good by Guy, Cody and Haggar, but manages to survive long enough to infect Guy through a bite. Guy retreats afterwards to meditate and purge himself of "the evil taint". Given that Guy appears in later games in the SF timeline (notably FF3 and SFA3), he obviously overcomes this.
No reason is exactly given why or how Belger is revived, though it's hinted that his evil hasn't yet died with him. He is the only true zombie in known SF canon, though similar exists in the form of those affected/resurrected by the drug Glo in Final Fight Streetwise. Those revived by the drug here however (notably Weasel/War) seemed to retain some intellect and speaking ability, as well as mutated bodies. Glo isn't mentioned in Zombie Belger's background (it's doubtable the concept even existed back then), so he most likely is not a result of the substance.
[edit] Gameplay
Zombie Belger's gameplay revolves around him being able to stretch his limbs similar to Dhalsim, giving him a great deal of attack range. He also has the ability to throw exploding organs, or himself explode in a rain of body parts for his hyper attack (only to raise himself from the ground a moment later). His other attacks include vomiting acid or biting the opponent.
An interesting twist to the fight with him was that as he took damage his body parts would fall off and be usable as weapons similar to those found in the game (his head behaved like a bowling ball). Beating the game without continuing rewards players with Zombie Belger dancing akin to the zombies in Michael Jackson's Thriller music video.
[edit] Appearance
His clothing is a shambled mess of what he wore when he was alive, torn up now though and blood splattered from the fall that killed him, and his shirt collar open. One eye is bloodied, and blood drips from his mouth. His skin has taken on bluish hue, most likely the result of decomposition and his skin cells deprived of oxygen. The red blood on him is most likely from his latest meal, which he can be seen feasting upon in his introduction.
Unlike his state when he was alive, he is very much able to walk around fully instead of hopping. However his status as a zombie and state of decay have reduced him to only being able to shuffle slowly in whatever direction he's headed in. Any sophistication he had when alive is now completely removed, his behavior akin a classic slow zombie.
[edit] Alternate versions
[edit] Mighty Final Fight: Cyborg Belger
In Mighty Final Fight, a humorous take on the series, Belger appears as a half-man, half-machine cyborg. In this game, Jessica is stated to be a beacon of light for the city, and Belger's reasons for kidnapping her lie in the fact he's fallen in love with her (something he reacts to with a bit of surprise[2]). Save for the lack of tie and the addition of cyborg components, he resembles a super-deformed version of his regular self, though no longer bothering with his wheelchair. No reason is ever given as to why he is a cyborg at all, though it isn't treated as a surprising fact either. Unlike his original counterpart Belger's involvement with Mad Gear is treated as a known fact.
His attack style focused around rapid fire punches and long leaps around the room, with hits causing him to temporarily vertically split in two. His speed too is far superior, making him difficult to effectively avoid in many instances. Regardless of his new tricks Cody, Haggar and Guy defeated him, with Haggar knocking Cody out of the way with a spinning clothesline to get to his daughter (and Guy dragging a protesting Cody away from the scene to give them some time alone). Belger's final fate is unknown in this game.
[edit] Street Fighter (USA Cartoon)
- See also: Street Fighter (TV series)
In the cartoon series, Belger rides on a mechanical chair (a reference to the original Final Fight game). This chair also is equipped with weapons, such as lasers and missiles. He kidnaps Jessica to scare Mayor Haggar into paying him a shipment of diamonds. Ryu and Ken team up with Cody and Guy to rescue her. Ryu and Ken disguise themselves as gang members to infiltrate the gang. After Cody and Guy take on Rolento, they rescue Jessica. At the last minute, Belger tries to kill Mayor Haggar with a small missile from his mechanical chair, but Guy kicks it into the wall. Afterwards, Belger falls out from his broken window; only his chair crashes on a police van. He is left hanging by his cummerbund from a flagpole. Belger was presumably rescued and incarcerated off-panel.
[edit] Father Bella/Father Belger
Father Belger (aka Father Bella) is the mastermind of Glo outbreak in Metro City and the brother to Horace Belger. Under the guise of a priest named Father Bella (due to the name of Belger being infamous in the city), Fr. Belger forced Dr. Chang to make Glow, in an attempt to take over the city and become its "savior" and to cleans it of all sinners. His accomplices are the Weasel, who would distribute the Glow throughout the city, Blades who stopped and otherwise killed anyone who interfered with the plan, including his former boss, Vito Bracca and the Stiff, Fr. Belger's lead henchman who got him in touch with Cody Travers, a local hero turned retired vigilante fighter. Father Belger provided Cody with Glow so he can fight again until eventually Cody was addicted and out of control.
Initially, Cody was so out of control he sent Blades to kill him, but interference from Kyle Travers, Cody's brother, put an end to that. With more Glow made by Dr. Chang, Father Belger created his version of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Weasel, Blades and Stiff as War, Famine and Death respectively and a monstrous beast made by Dr. Chang called Pestilence. After further interference from Kyle Travers killing the Stiff, Fr. Belger made Cody, doped out of his mind on Glow, as his replacement as Death.
After defeating the other three Horsemen, Kyle would face the visibly changed Cody (now "Death") and sadistic Fr. Belger. Belger tells Kyle, that he sought revenge for the death of his brother at Cody’s hands by having Cody as Death kill Kyle. Initially Cody fought by himself, but Fr. Belger would help using grenades, a pistol, a bazooka and a sword to help fight Kyle, injecting more Glow into Cody if he has fallen.
Once both were defeated, Fr. Belger shot Cody and saw the opportunity to kill Kyle. Cody saved Kyle by knocking him and Belger off the roof of the church. While the both survived the fall, Kyle finally puts an end to Fr. Belger’s madness by shooting him in the head at point blank range with his own gun. Before dying Belger states himself to be Kyle's savior, but Kyle replies he's nothing.
His ultimate goal was to kill Kyle, not Cody. His scheme was "an eye for an eye": Cody killed his brother, so he would in turn kill Cody's. Like his brother, he is apparently an immigrant. He is a devout religious fanatic, justifying his actions through his religious beliefs.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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