M. Bison

This article is about M. Bison, known as "Vega" in Japan. For the character known as "M. Bison" in Japan, see Balrog (Street Fighter). For "Vega" outside Japan, see Vega (Street Fighter).
M. Bison (Vega)
Street Fighter series character

M. Bison in Super Street Fighter II, as drawn by Bengus.
First game Street Fighter II
Designed by Akiman (Street Fighter II)
Voiced by (English) Tom Wyner (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V (Animaze Dub)
Markham Anderson (Street Fighter II V (ADV Films dub # 1))
Mike Kleinhenz (Street Fighter II V (ADV Films dub # 2)
Richard Newman (TV series)
Gerald C. Rivers (Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, Street Fighter V, Wreck-It Ralph)
Voiced by (Japanese) Tomomichi Nishimura (Street Fighter Alpha series, Street Fighter EX series, Marvel vs. Capcom series, Namco x Capcom)
Kenji Utsumi (Street Fighter II V, Japanese television dub of the Street Fighter film)
Norio Wakamoto (Capcom vs. SNK series, SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, Capcom Fighting Evolution, Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, Street Fighter V, Project X Zone 2)
Banjō Ginga (CD drama)
Masaharu Satō (Street Fighter Zero drama CD)
Takeshi Kusaka (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie)
Makoto Gunji (Street Fighter II Turbo commercial)
Tesshō Genda (Japanese video and DVD dub of the Street Fighter film)
Shin-ichiro Miki (Real Battle on Film)
Kazuhiro Yamaji (Japanese dub of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li)
Taiten Kusunoki (Wreck-It Ralph)
Motion capture Darko Tuskan (The Movie games)
Portrayed by Raúl Juliá (Street Fighter: The Movie)
Neal McDonough (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li)
Fictional profile
Fighting style Lerdrit (Psycho Power-infused style)
Occupation Ruler of Mriganka, Leader of Shadaloo

M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega (ベガ Bega), also known as Dictator, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character and villain in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street Fighter Alpha series, and later a supporting villain in the Street Fighter IV series. He is also the final boss of the non-canonical Street Fighter EX series, and will appear in Street Fighter V. As one of the series' most iconic villains, M. Bison is widely considered to be the true main antagonist of the Street Fighter franchise, outshining fellow villains Sagat, Akuma, Gill, and Seth.

A would-be world dictator and megalomaniac, M. Bison rules the fictional Far East country of Mriganka with an iron fist. His ultimate ambition is to control the world's governments through his covert crime syndicate, Shadaloo (シャドルー Shadorū, sometimes spelled as "Shadoloo", "Shadowloo" or "Shadowlaw"). He serves as the host of Street Fighter II 's fighting tournament[1] and is the last opponent fought in the game. Several Street Fighter characters—including Guile, T. Hawk, Cammy, Rose and Chun-Li—have their personal vendettas against M. Bison and have entered the tournament in the hopes of facing him personally. M. Bison wields an inherently evil energy known as "Psycho Power".

Conception and development

In Japan, the character is named Vega (ベガ Bega), derived from the star of the same name. However, during localization of Street Fighter II for the English language market, Capcom's North American branch felt that the name sounded non-threatening to North American audiences for the game's final boss and was more suitable for the Spanish cage fighter Balrog. At this same time another concern arose that the name of another character, Mike Bison, conceived as a parody of real-life boxer Mike Tyson, would be a legal liability for Capcom. As a result, the characters swapped names, and the game's final boss was dubbed M. Bison for English language appearances of the character.[2] Capcom has never explained what "M" stands for, calling it "part of the character's mystery".[3] Regardless, Bison has been addressed as Master Bison in Street Fighter Alpha 3 repeatedly, as well as in the animated movie. In his introduction before a fight in (Super) Street Fighter IV, he refers to himself as "The Mighty Bison". In endings in Alpha 2, he is referred to by a henchman as Commander Bison.

When developing Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, it was decided to give him a more muscular appearance, rather than have him resemble "a middle aged man", while his face was modified to appear somewhat demonic.[4] This appearance was later carried onto the Street Fighter Alpha series, featured as his original appearance before the Street Fighter II series.

The first source of inspiration for M. Bison's design came from the character General Washizaki, one of the main villains of the popular martial arts manga Riki-Oh.[5][6] However both Washizaki and M. Bison's designs (especially the latter's supernatural abilities) are widely believed to be a homage to the character Yasunori Kato, the mystical antagonist of the influential fantasy novel series Teito Monogatari and its subsequent cinematic adaptations.[7][8][9][10]

Appearances

Street Fighter series

Bison first appears in the Street Fighter II: The World Warrior as the final computer-controlled opponent in the single-player mode, following the player's defeat of the other three Grand Masters. The battle takes place in the streets of Bangkok, Thailand in front of a crowd, where he poses with his cape, which he throws off prior to battle. He became a playable character from Champion Edition and onward, while maintaining his position as the final boss until Super Street Fighter II Turbo, in which a hidden character named Akuma defeats Bison and challenges the player as an alternate final boss.

The storyline through the numerous versions of Street Fighter II characterizes Bison as the leader of a criminal organization called "Shadaloo" who sponsors the World Warrior tournament. A few characters who participate in the tournament have a personal vendetta against Bison. Chun-Li and Guile are both seeking to avenge the deaths of their loved ones (Chun-Li's father and Guile's best friend respectively), while T. Hawk wants to avenge both his homeland and his father, that were destroyed and devastated by the villain; the amnesiac Cammy, on the other hand, believes that Bison is connected to her past and learns in her ending that she was once one of his agents (changed to being lovers in the original English localization of the arcade, and then changed into being a DNA copy made for the purpose of impersonating him in the Game Boy Advance version).

Capcom later released Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, a prequel to the Street Fighter II series, further fleshed out and developed the fictional universe of the series. Bison appears in the first Alpha as the final boss for certain characters and a hidden playable character available via a code. Two characters with ties to Bison were introduced: Rose, a fortune teller with spiritual ties to Bison, whose Soul Power is the opposite of Bison's Psycho Power; and Charlie (Nash in Japan), Guile's deceased war buddy previously mentioned in Street Fighter II, who seeks to track him down. Bison, as he appears in the Alpha games, fights wearing a cape. and gains a teleport and a projectile move.

Street Fighter Alpha 2, released the following year in 1996, follows the same plot as the original Alpha, but features completely revamped endings. Bison is featured in this game as a playable character without any cheat codes required.

In Street Fighter Alpha 3, released in 1998, a non-playable version of Bison called Final Bison serves as the final boss of all the characters (with the exception of Bison himself, who fights Ryu). Several revelations are made in this game, including the fact that Rose is the good half of Bison's soul and the fact that Cammy is a female clone of Bison. In the end of the game (regardless which ending the player gets), Bison's body is destroyed and a new one is built for him by his scientists after the game.

In Street Fighter EX, Bison retains a projectile attack and teleport, and gains a new throw, which was later used in Street Fighter IV. In his ending in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, Bison develops an experimental drug called "SH-11". In Street Fighter EX3, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with Vega.

Bison returns in Street Fighter IV, a continuation of Street Fighter II set prior to the events of Street Fighter III. The Street Fighter IV Training Guide reveals that Bison was destroyed by Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu and now inhabits a new body created for him by his scientists. Unlike his previous bodies, this one is capable of withstanding the full strength of his Psycho Power.[11]

Bison is one of the fighters scheduled to return for Street Fighter V, where he is depicted with gray hair.[12]

Bison appears in Street Fighter: The Movie, a 1995 video game adaptation of the 1994 film. The game looks similar to early Mortal Kombat games, due to each character being represented by digitized sprites of the film's actors. Bison's portrayer, Raúl Juliá, had intended to participate in the project, but bowed out due to health problems.[13] Consequently, Bison's fight animations were performed by stuntman Darko Tuscan. Film clips of Juliá as Bison are included within the game's cutscenes.

Other games

Alternate versions

In some versions of Street Fighter games, the player will face an alternate version of M. Bison, usually as a computer controlled opponent in the game's single-player mode. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, the player will face against Final Bison (Final Vega in the Japanese version) in the end of the single-player mode (except when playing as Bison himself, Balrog, Juni, or Juli, in which case Ryu will be the last opponent). Final Bison differs from the regular version of M. Bison, in which he uses a fighting style similar to X-ism dubbed Shadaloo-ism (or S-ism), which is available only to him in the arcade version. He has all of the special moves his regular self uses during S-ism, with more powerful basic moves and a new Super Combo dubbed the Final Psycho Crusher (instead of the Knee Press Nightmare his regular self uses during S-ism mode). In the arcade version, the player is not allowed to continue after losing a match against Final Bison; instead, the game will play a bad ending. Final Bison is only selectable in the home versions of the game.

In Street Fighter EX2 Plus for the arcade and PlayStation, another version of Bison appears called "Bison II" (or "Vega II") as a secret final opponent in single-player mode. If the player defeats the regular version of Bison at the end, Bison will resurrect himself as Bison II and challenge the player. Bison II can be distinguished from the regular version of Bison by the white-colored outfit he wears back in EX2, and the background which changes to a colorful light stream coming out of the floor in a pure black room. In EX3 he sports a black uniform, gold plates, and has orange-tinted skin. Like Final Bison in Alpha 3, the player cannot continue after losing against Bison II in EX2.

In Street Fighter EX3, Bison II returns as a playable secret character. His move set is identical to that of his normal counterpart, with the exception of two additional Psycho Cannon attacks.

A third, computer-controlled only version of the character, known as "Shin-Bison" (or "True Vega"), is also included in EX3. Shin-Bison appears with pale, purple-tinted skin, blue-green plates, and a white uniform. In addition to an overall speed increase, he has an infinite amount of SC energy, the ability to cancel most of his attacks, and a new Knee Press Nightmare Meteor combo where he creates three copies of himself, one above and two beside him, which gives the move a massive range boost. This incarnation is considered to be his most formidable.

In other media

Raúl Juliá as General M. Bison in Street Fighter.

Shadaloo

Shadaloo, named Shadowlaw in early localizations, is a fictional crime organization that is run by Bison. Its insignia is a winged skull with a lightning bolt—forming an "S" for Shadaloo—etched onto its forehead. The symbol can be seen on Bison's cap from Champion Edition onwards, as well as in numerous cutscenes.[22] The Four Main members of Shadaloo include Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and Bison himself. Balrog and Vega were recruited by Bison with the promise of massive wealth, whereas Sagat was motivated to join by the prospect of revenge for his defeat at the hands of Ryu in the first Street Fighter tournament. In Street Fighter II, Bison ostensibly hosts the game's fighting tournament to seek out new talent for Shadaloo. Bison's end sequence in Super Street Fighter II sees him establish a new world order.

Bison and Shadaloo feature more prominently in the Alpha series of games. New Shadaloo henchmen are introduced, including the Dolls, a group of female fighters who are programmed to serve Bison. Cammy was bred as a member of this group, but eventually broke from the group and fled to England. The character Birdie joins Shadaloo during his ending sequence in the first Street Fighter Alpha game, but turns against Bison and leaves in Alpha 2.

In Street Fighter Alpha 3, Bison's headquarters is located in the interior of a Thai statue depicting a female deity. During the game over sequence, the face of the statue crumbles away, revealing a skull-like robotic head. The robot's eyes fire a laser into the stratosphere, which is intercepted by Bison's satellite and deflected back toward Earth.[22]

In Street Fighter EX, C. Jack is a member of Shadaloo who seeks to escape the organization. In his ending in the first game, he derails a Shadaloo train.

In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Shadaloo (here named Shadowlaw) plays out the same role as in the game series, but it is established here that Bison is not the true master, but merely a figurehead for a politician, Edward Pressman, who is running for President of the United States. Pressman is not seen throughout the film, and Bison acts as Shadowlaw's master. Pressman's fate after Shadowlaw's fate is unknown. In Street Fighter II V, Shadowlaw is shown with varies subdivisions, one of which is known as Ashura, operating primarily in Hong Kong under Mr. Zochi, who himself answers to Bison. In Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, the organisation is not present, but the villain, Dr. Sadler, has connections with Shadowlaw.

In the 1994 live-action Street Fighter film, Shadaloo is a hostile dictatorship. According to maps shown during the film's opening, it is a fictitious country located in a segment of present-day Burma. Zangief and Dee Jay were members of Shadaloo in the film. Members introduced in the game of the film are Blade, Arkane, F7 and Khyber, who were all members of Bison's shock troops. It can be surmised, from a song sung by Bison's soldiers and two posters ("ĝeneralo Bison", "teroristo"), that the official language of Shadaloo is Esperanto. Bison's nationality is not revealed in the film, although it can be assumed that he is depicted as an Englishman, given his use of a perfect English accent and his desire to conquer England first after defeating Guile and the Allied Nations.

In the 2009 live-action film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, Shadaloo (in this case, Shadowlaw) was a major crime syndicate operating out of (but not limited to) Bangkok, Thailand dealing mainly with narcotics, extortion, and several legal fronts such as high priced commercial and residential real-estate. Bison (portrayed by Neal McDonough) rose to power of this organization by hiring Vega to decapitate all the other shareholders to the company, and then later placed their heads on a platter to be discovered by interpol agent Charlie Nash. Bison's appearance in this film is severely altered as well being changed to that of a blonde haired, blue eyed Irish immigrant to Thailand due to his parents being religious missionaries to that country.

Reception

Since he appeared in Street Fighter II, M. Bison has received a mostly positive reception. IGN ranked Bison fourth on its list of the "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters", praising his role as a villain in the series that did not rely solely on his henchmen.[23] IGN would also list him as the 19th best video game villain, describing him as a formidable boss and one who has endured for years as a mainstay in the Street Fighter series. GameSpot listed him at number five on its "Top 10 Video Game Villains" list, stating a preference for his attack set while bemoaning his portrayal in the live action film.[24] He was also featured in GameSpot's Top Ten Boss Fights with editors describing him as "cheap."[25] GamePro placed him at number thirty in its "47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time" article, stating "This guy had the nerve to look you dead in the face, threaten your very soul and then tell you he represents an organization called Shadaloo. That's brave, man."[26] GameDaily named Bison one of its favorite Capcom characters of all time, calling him "one of the best end bosses ever."[27] It later listed Bison at number five on their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, describing him as "One of the most vile, powerful end bosses ever put into a video game".[28] He was also 2nd in GamesRadar's "The 12 most misunderstood videogame villains" with comments on the various sub-stories Bison is involved in the Street Fighter series.[29] UGO Networks placed M.Bison at #14 on their list of Top 50 Street Fighter Characters", stating "Bison is the second (Street Fighter's last boss was Sagat) and only true villain in the series. Other bosses in the series are motivated by one thing or another, but Bison's true goal is to oppress the world for his own selfish benefit."[30] 1UP.com listed him as of the characters they wanted to see in Street Fighter X Tekken.[31]

References

  1. The History of Street Fighter - M. Bison. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-3-26.
  2. "Interview with Street Fighter II composer Isao Abe" (in Japanese). Capcom. Archived from the original on 2004-04-09. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  3. Staff (August 1993). "The Mail". GamePro (49): 14.
  4. SF20: The Art of Street Fighter. UDON. October 2009. ISBN 1-897376-58-8.
  5. 月刊ゲーメスト10月号増刊『ストリートファイターII』p83。
  6. 『COMPLETE FILE STREET FIGHTER II』P59(発行:カプコン、発売:朝日ソノラマ・1992年刊)。
  7. Review of TOKYO: THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS Anthony Romero, Toho Kingdom, September 22, 2006
  8. Comparison between Vega's Image and Kyūsaku Shimada's Portrait (at the bottom of the page). Retrieved on 2009-6-01.
  9. Poll about Vega's Inspiration. Retrieved on 2012-8-04.
  10. Japanese Review of TEITO MONOGATARI (1988). Retrieved on 2012-8-07.
  11. "You must read the Street Fighter IV 'Training Manual' to stand a chance". Destructoid. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  12. " Street Fighter 5 - M. Bison Reveal Trailer". IGN. 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  13. Alan Noon. Street Fighter the Movie Broke My Heart. Shoryuken.com. (2007-1-25) Retrieved on 2008-4-2.
  14. Ending for Marvel vs Capcom - Chun-Li (Arcade). VGMuseum. Retrieved on 2008-4-12.
  15. Ending for Marvel vs Capcom - Shadow Lady (Arcade). VGMuseum. Retrieved on 2008-4-13.
  16. Cruz, Bárbara (1998). Raul Julia: Actor and Humanitarian. Enslow. ISBN 0-7660-1040-6.
  17. The new M. Bison is... Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved on 2008-3-29.
  18. Bison Cast. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-3-29.
  19. Noah Davis. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994). PopMatters. Retrieved on 2008-3-26.
  20. "Comic-Con: Capcom Greenlights ‘Street Fighter’ Sequel Series ‘World Warrior’". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  21. 1 2 Ending for Street Fighter Alpha 3 - Bad Ending (Arcade). VGMuseum. Retrieved on 2008-4-2.
  22. Smith, D. F. (2009-02-17). "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters - The Final Five". IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  23. Staff. "TenSpot: Top Ten Video Game Villains". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  24. Staff. "TenSpot: Top Ten Boss Fights". GameSpot. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  25. Staff (2008-02-04). "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time". PC World. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  26. Workman, Robert. "Top 25 Capcom Characters of All Time". GameDaily. AOL. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  27. Workman, Robert. "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time". GameDaily. AOL. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  28. Goulter, Tom. "The 12 most misunderstood videogame villains". GamesRadar. Future US. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  29. Furfari, Paul (2010-08-25). "Top 50 Street Fighter Characters". UGO.com. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
  30. Crisan, Neidel (2010-07-30). "Street Fighter X Tekken Preview for PS3, 360, Vita from". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
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