 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Balrog | |
|---|---|
| Street Fighter character | |
.png) Balrog inStreet Fighter x Tekken | |
| First appearance | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991) |
| Designed by | Akira "Akiman" Yasuda[1] |
| Voiced by |
|
| Portrayed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Fighting style | Boxing |
| Origin | United States |
| Nationality | American |
Balrog, known in Japan asMike Bison (Japanese:マイク・バイソン,Hepburn:Maiku Baison), is afictional character inCapcom'sStreet Fighter series.[2] He made his first appearance inStreet Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991. In the series, he is a disgraced boxer and antagonist who works forM. Bison's organization, Shadaloo.
Balrog is depicted as anAfrican-Americanboxer wearing blue trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top, wearing red boxing gloves and boxing shoes. In Japan, the character of Balrog is named M. Bison (with the letter being an initial for "Mike") after real-life boxerMike Tyson. However, when the developers ofStreet Fighter II were working on the overseas versions, they rotated the names of three of theboss characters for the English localization (with the other two becomingM. Bison andVega), fearing that naming the boxer character "Mike Bison" might be a legal liability.[3] The story ofStreet Fighter 6 acknowledged this change within the context of its narrative, claiming that all three names were aliases that Shadaloo's leadership operated under to protect their true identities.[4] Ironically, years later, Mike Tyson revealed that he was unaware of the character, but was honored by the homage.[5] At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m),[6][7] Balrog is a tall and heavy built fighter. Balrog is simply known as Boxer for international tournaments.
A character named Mike, who was also a 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m) tall, extremely well-built African-American boxer, appears in the originalStreet Fighter. Although recognized as a separate character,[8] Mike is considered to be a prototype of Balrog due to their similar names (when one considers Balrog's Japanese name of Mike Bison) and gameplay.[9]
Balrog appears inStreet Fighter II as one of the opponents, and would become a playable character in subsequent revisions of the game, beginning withStreet Fighter II: Champion Edition. He is characterized as a bully or a ruffian who is a tough, aggressive and belligerent street-raised boxer seeking the "American Dream" and one of the "Four Devas" (Shitennou,"Four Heavenly Kings") of Shadaloo.
His next major appearance was inStreet Fighter Alpha 3, where he was a sub-boss in the arcade version who faced certain characters and became playable after certain requirements were met, but was also playable via a secret code. He was made into a regular playable character in the arcade update and subsequent home versions and given his own in-game plot, home stage, and endings. This incarnation of Balrog also appears inCapcom vs. SNK andCapcom vs. SNK 2. He later appears in otherStreet Fighter games, such asStreet Fighter IV,Street Fighter X Tekken, andStreet Fighter V.
In the 1994 live-action film version ofStreet Fighter, Balrog is portrayed byGrand L. Bush and is a supporting protagonist and thevideographer inChun-Li's news crew.
He later appears in the 2009 filmStreet Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, portrayed byMichael Clarke Duncan.
Rapper and actor50 Cent is set to appear as Balrog in theupcoming reboot.
Balrog appears in the filmStreet Fighter II: The Animated Movie, where he serves in a similar capacity to his role in the video game.
He also appeared in the 1995Street Fighter animated series.
Balrog was voted 18th inCapcom's own popularity poll of 85 characters for the 15th anniversary ofStreet Fighter.[10]IGN ranked Balrog at number 15 in their list of topStreet Fighter characters in 2008, noting his similarities to Tyson as well as his role as one of boxing's representatives in fighting games.[11] Tyson would become aware of Balrog's similarities in 2019, decades after his introduction, commenting that he felt honored that they made the impersonation.[12]
Den of Geek compared his relationship to Bison to that ofHe-man charactersBeast Man andSkeletor, in that he acts as a powerful but dumb henchman for a much stronger villain. They further lamented that his original storyline of causing Shadaloo's downfall was retconned, though praised his new role as Ed's surrogate father, and wished to see how it progressed.[13]
My name is Vega. You may call me by that name, if you wish. Some also call me Balrog. Neither are my true name, of course. They are no different than my title as one of the kings of Shadaloo. These names are but a smokescreen meant to protect the leadership of the organization from identification.
byCapcom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
