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For the Street Fighter character known as "M. Bison" in Japan, see Balrog (Street Fighter).
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega (ベガ), is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, the character is a recurring boss and antagonist in the Street Fighter series of fighting games. A would-be world dictator, and a pure incarnation of evil, M. Bison's 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 hope of having a shot at him. M. Bison wields an inherently evil energy known as Psycho Power. Some gaming literature has identified his fighting style as Lerdrit, a military variant of Muay Thai.
[edit] Conception and developmentIn Japan, the character was named Vega, 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 androgynous bullfighter 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 General M. Bison for English language appearances of the character.[2] Unlike the boxer, Capcom has never stated the meaning for the "M." in the American name, calling it "part of the character's mystery".[3] 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] [edit] Video games appearances[edit] Street Fighter seriesBison first appears in the original Street Fighter II 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 prior to battle. He was originally a non-playable character in the first edition of Street Fighter II, but became selectable 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 terrorist 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 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 of him in the Game Boy Advance version). Capcom later released Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, a prequel to the Street Fighter II games inspired by the animated movie that 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 dead war buddy from Street Fighter II, who seeks to track him down. 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 regular playable character. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, released in 1998, a non-playable version of Bison called Final M. 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. 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.[5].In this game, Bison's alternate costume reveals that he indeed has a ponytail, leaving one to speculate that he must usually keep his hair tied up under his familiar red hat (although art from earlier games show him to sport a shorter haircut underneath his hat). Bison appears in the Street Fighter: The Movie, a 1995 video game adaptation of the 1994 film. The game plays in a similar way to the Mortal Kombat, with each character 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.[6] Consequently, Bison's fight animations were performed by actor Darko Tuscan. Film clips of Juliá as Bison are included within the game's cut scenes. [edit] Other games
In the Marvel series of crossover fighting games, Bison is frequently included among the ranks of Capcom characters. Both X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996) and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997) feature Bison as a playable character. Bison's character sprite is identical to that of his Street Fighter Alpha incarnation, except that he is constantly grinning. He is noticeably absent from Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998), though he appears in several of the game's ending sequences.[7][8] In Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), the Alpha version of Bison is once again a playable character, though he must be unlocked before he is made available. Bison underwent a makeover for his role in the SNK vs. Capcom series, reverting to the slimmer appearance of his Street Fighter II counterpart. He has regularly appeared in each entry of the series, beginning with SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (1999) and its sequels, Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 and Capcom vs. SNK 2 (2001). Bison appears at the halfway point of each game as a mid-boss (along with Geese Howard) if the player has accumulated enough points. Most recently, he was included as a playable character in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (2003). Bison appeared in Capcom Fighting Jam (2004), which features an assortment of characters from each individual series published by Capcom. Outside of the fighting game genre, a Bison trading card has also appeared in the handheld collectible card game SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash (1999). He also appears in the Japanese action/tactical RPG hybrid Namco × Capcom. [edit] Alternate versionsIn 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, 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 the Special Moves his regular self uses during A-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 X-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 selectable only in the home versions of the game. In Street Fighter EX 2 Plus for the arcade and PlayStation, another version of Bison appears called "Bison II" (or "Vega II") as a secret final opponent in the 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 Bison by the white-colored outfit he wears back in EX2. While in EX3 he sports a black uniform, gold plates and orange tinted skin. Like Final Bison in Alpha 3, the player cannot continue after losing against Bison II in EX 2. In Street Fighter EX 3, Bison II returns as a secret, playable character. His arsenal is identical to that of his normal counterparts, with the exception of two additional Psycho Cannon attacks. A third, computer-only version of the character, labeled as "Shin-Bison" (or "True Vega"), is also included in the release of EX 3. 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 moves, and a new Knee Press Nightmare Meteor combo where he creates 3 copies of himself, one above and two beside him which gives the move a massive range boost. This incarnation by far is considered his most formidable one. [edit] In other media[edit] Live-action[edit] Street Fighter Bison was portrayed by the late Raúl Juliá, in the 1994 live-action film Street Fighter. Julia perceived Bison in the same vein of villain as Richard III, and approached the role with a Shakespearean tone.[9] In the film, General M. Bison is a crazed military commander who plans to mass-produce supersoldiers to take over the world. His ambitions have led to a civil war against the Allied Nations (AN), led by Colonel Guile, the movie's main character, in Shadaloo City. To blackmail the AN, he captures a large number of AN relief workers and holds them hostage, intending for the AN to pay him twenty billion dollars in exchange for their safety. Guile refuses to relent, and in retaliation, Bison makes Guile's friend, Carlos "Charlie" Blanka, his first super soldier test subject, commanding his kidnapped doctor, Dhalsim, to mutate him into a beast. Bison also retains his relationships to Sagat, who supplies Bison's army with arms and Chun-Li who has a personal vendetta against him. As Guile plans an assault on Bison's base, thanks to information provided to him by Ryu and Ken, Bison eventually captures Chun-Li, Balrog, E. Honda, Ryu and Ken, who were conspiring to kill him before Guile arrived. The deadline for the ransom eventually arrives, and Bison prepares to kill the hostages by setting Blanka on them, but Guile and his army arrive in time and a furious battle breaks out between Bison's men and the AN forces on the island. Bison, meanwhile, faces Guile alone. Guile gains the upper hand and smashes Bison into a computer, killing him, but a life-support machine resurrects the general, and he resumes his assault, this time with superpowers provided by his uniform, such as the ability to fly and manipulate electricity. Bison begins to beat Guile around, until Guile discovers Bison's weak spot: he is defenseless while flying towards him. Guile uses his opportunity to kick Bison straight into a huge screen in the monitor room, and he ends up hanging from the broken glass, unable to move. The energy shield turns unstable, and Guile is forced to leave Bison behind to flee the base instead of taking him into custody. Bison perishes in the ensuing explosion, but a post-credits scene reveals that the life-support machine survived, and it promptly resurrects Bison once again. This version of Bison appears in the arcade game based on the film, Street Fighter: The Movie, as well as in the home video game bearing the same title. Street Fighter was Raúl Juliá's final theatrical role, and is dedicated to his memory. While the movie made no mention of Bison's nationality, Juliá used a perfect English accent for the role. In the Japanese dub of the film, he is still called "M. Bison" as opposed to "Vega", his name in the original Japanese versions of the series. [edit] Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-LiMain article: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Bison appears in the movie as the main antagonist, opposite Chun-Li. He is played by Neal McDonough. This version of Bison dons a business suit rather than his traditional costume. He is also an Irish international businessman based in Thailand who can speak multiple languages instead of a military man/international drug dealer. He also has superhuman strength. Bison was abandoned in Thailand by his Irish missionary parents, which hints of his Irish accent. [10][11] [edit] Animation[edit] Street Fighter II: The Animated MovieBison is featured prominently in the Japanese anime film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. He is the main antagonist of the film and a shared enemy of several other fighters, mainly Chun-Li and Guile. Bison is voiced by Takeshi Kusaka in the Japanese version, Tom Wyner in the English dub and Antônio Moreno in the Brazilian dub. Bison's organization, Shadowlaw, is stated as being an international terrorist organization. It employs a great deal of sci-fi technology, including cyborgs (known as "Monitor Cyborgs") which pose as human while broadcasting live images to Bison. The spelling "Shadowlaw" is used on-screen early in the film. Intrigued by Ryu's fighting skill, Bison orders a nationwide manhunt to capture and brainwash him to work for Shadowlaw.[12] Ken, Ryu's old friend, is brainwashed by Bison's "Psycho Power" after the terrorist leader easily outmatches him in a fight. Shortly after, Bison intructs Ken to attack Ryu. Ken complies due to Bison Psycho Power control over him. Ken cannot recognize Ryu. Ken viciously beats Ryu until Ken realizes that Ryu is his friend. Bison nearly kills Ken with a large energy shot of Psycho Power. Bison toys with Ryu, while Ken shakes off Bison's attack through meditation. Ken and Ryu challenge Bison simultaeneously. Bison states that he'll fight them "on their own level" as a martial artist. Ken and Ryu are no match for Bison as he has a delightful time pulverizing the two with excellent defense in which Ken is K.O'd.. Due to Bison's over-confidence Ryu catches him with a brutal and lengthy combination to which Bison finally recovers from and K.O's. Ryu. Ken recovers and begins to attack Bison. Ryu crawls from the ground and tackles Bison's legs while Ken unleashes a lightning fast Tatsumaki senpuu kyaku which stuns Bison badly. Ryu quickly follows up with a 2-hit Shoryuken. Both launch a combined Hadouken attack to push M. Bison towards his own VTOL fighter jet, seemingly destroying the villain when the jet explodes. Despite Bison is thought to have perished, he reappears at the helm of a semi truck bearing down on Ryu before the film ends. Ryu leaps towards the truck ready for another battle, and the end credits roll. [edit] Street Fighter II VBison appears in the second half of the anime series, voiced again by Tom Wyner but sporting a blue uniform instead of his traditional red one. He is still the leader of Shadowlaw, which now has many subdivisions, such as the Ashura Syndicate. When Ashura is destroyed by Ryu, Ken, Chun-li, Fei-Long and Dorai (Chun-Li's father), Bison orders Dorai murdered and Ken kidnapped and held ransom after witnessing him defeat Vega in a very dramatic fashion, and later sends his henchman, Zangief, to capture Ryu, whom Bison had seen on the beach practising Hadou, and have him brainwashed. In the meantime, Bison succeeds in brainwashing both Chun-Li and Ryu and setting them on Guile and Ken, respectively, after killing Charlie. In the end, Ken manages to break Bison's control on Ryu, and the two take on Bison (like in the animated movie). Bison, clearly the superior fighter, easily handles both Ryu (who is momentarily K.O'd.) and Ken, until they discover that Bison can be damaged using their Hadou powers. Ken is knocked unconcious while Ryu battles on. Bison prepares to finish off Ryu with a Psycho Crusher, but is intercepted by Ken using his Hadou Shoryu Reppa. Ken's strength is depleted and Ryu takes on Bison one-on-one who is still woozy from Ken's attack. Ryu uses a series of moves to defeat a defenseless Bison. Utilizing a Guile-esque somersault kick, followed by a tatsumaki senpuu kyaku, and finally finishing with a shoryuken. Ryu then fires a Hadouken which hits Bison square in the chest and destroys him completely. [edit] Street Fighter: The Animated SeriesVoiced by Richard Newman, Bison's portrayal in the US Street Fighter series is considerably close to his portrayal in both the live-action film and significant aspects of the video game. His primary nemesis is Guile, as in the movie. In the first season, Bison's attack on Chun-Li's village (referenced in the live-action film), appears in a flashback, revealing how he killed Chun-Li's father, who attacked him in futile defiance. Bison later reveals to a vengeful Chun-Li that he also slew his own father in cold blood, and remarks that she doesn't see him whining about it as she does. The second season explored Bison's relationship with Cammy in the same manner as the games and the anime movie, with Cammy being triggered as a "sleeper agent" in the opening episodes. She discovers the truth about Bison in the series finale, but not before she reestablishes her romantic bond with him. Bison seems to worship a Thai deity that instructs him on what to do with his resources, and in the finale, Bison convinces himself he has been told to destroy the Earth through the launching of nuclear missiles. A final battle with Guile, Cammy, Chun-Li, Sagat, and Cammy's former teammates concludes with Bison being eaten alive by his own computers, aborting the launch and seemingly killing him. [edit] Comics[edit] UDON ComicsBison is heavily featured as the primary antagonist of the UDON-published Street Fighter comic series. His story is mostly unchanged from the official version, portraying him as the dark and sinister leader of Shadaloo. He operates behind a veil of various agents and associates who do his bidding as well as having numerous enemies (such as Chun-Li and Guile). Bison is the student of a mysterious woman whose tribe has mastered the art of Soul Power. After being exiled from further training, he studies the forbidden texts of their people and learns the nature of Psycho Power, the negative half of Soul Power. He returns to her later in life and uses this power to massacre his mentor's tribe, leaving only one survivor (Rose). Like the official story, Bison has a great interest in Ryu after watching him defeat Sagat at the last Street Fighter tournament and observing the nature of the Satsui no Hadō. At the end of the first series of comics, Bison is defeated in a battle with his own creation (Charlie, who had been empowered with Shadaloo technology) when Charlie sacrifices himself to plunge Bison into a river. Bison survives the fall and his body is reanimated with the Psycho Drive, whereupon he resumes his role as Shadaloo dictator. As the comic moves forward, Bison announces his "Street Fighter II" tournament, the second global gathering of martial artists, and is documented in the Street Fighter II Turbo series of comics. [edit] ShadalooShadaloo is a fictional crime organization which 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, as well as in numerous cut scenes.[13] The Four Main members of Shadaloo include Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and Bison himself. Both Balrog and Vega are fighters who were recruited under the promise of wealth, whereas Sagat was motivated by the prospect of revenging himself on Ryu. In Street Fighter II, Bison ostensibly hosts the game's fighting tournament to seek out new talent for Shadaloo. Bison and Shadaloo feature more prominently in the Alpha series of games. New Shadaloo henchmen are introduced, including the 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. 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.[13] 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. It's supposed, from a Bison's soldiers song and two posters ("generalo Bison", "terroristo"), that the official language is Esperanto. 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. [edit] Promotion and receptionIGN ranked Bison fourth on their 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.[14] GameSpot listed him at number five on their "Top 10 Video Game Villains" list, stating a preference for his attack set while bemoaning his portrayal in the live action film.[15] GamePro placed him at number thirty in their "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 Shadoloo. That's brave, man."[16] GameDaily named Bison one of their favorite Capcom characters of all time, calling him "one of the best end bosses ever."[17] They 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".[18] [edit] See also[edit] References
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Categories: Street Fighter characters | Video game bosses | Fictional military personnel | Fictional mass murderers | Fictional characters who can teleport | Fictional characters who have mental powers | Fictional criminals | Fictional dictators | Fictional generals | Fictional warlords | Male video game characters | Characters created by Akira Yasuda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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