M. Bison

For the Street Fighter character known as "M. Bison" in Japan, see Balrog (Street Fighter).

M. Bison
Street Fighter series character
File:Bison (Super Turbo).PNG M. Bison in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, as illustrated by Bengus.
First game	Street Fighter II

M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega (ベガ, Bega), 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, 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 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 Psycho Power, an energy which makes itself manifest as blue or purple flames and electricity. The character was named the 30th most diabolical video game villain of all time by PC World.

Conception and development

When the original Street Fighter II was being localized for the English language market, the developers rotated the names of three of the Four Devas (the final four CPU-controlled opponents in the game), fearing that the character who originally bore the name M. Bison, an American boxer conceived as a parody of real-life boxer Mike Tyson, was a legal liability for Capcom. Thus, the American boxer known as Balrog in the west is actually M. Bison in Japan, while the Spanish Ninjutsu master Vega is named Balrog, and the military commander M. Bison is named Vega. The fact that Capcom's U.S. marketing staff felt that "Vega" was a non-threatening name for the final opponent also contributed to the name change.

In the context of the western versions, the initial in the name "M. Bison" is never given any proper meaning and some games, such as X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and Street Fighter EX, omit the initial entirely and simply refer to the character as Bison.

Design

Bison's attire consists of a red military uniform, with addition of metal shoulder plates, wrist bands, and shin guards. On his cap is the skull insignia of Shadaloo. Before a match, Bison is seen sporting a grey cloak around his uniform, which he tosses aside once the fight begins. In all appearances following Street Fighter II, Bison is shown lacking pupils and irises, leaving his eyes ghastly white. Some say the inspiration of Bison's costume design came from Generalissimo Killt in Bionic Commando, another Capcom game. The Japanese Wikipedia claims that Bison's design was directly influenced from Yasunori Kato, the similar demonic antagonist of the Teito Monogatari novels by Hiroshi Aramata. Specifically, Bison's character portrait in Street Fighter II highly resembles Kato from the 1987 film version of Teito Monogatari wherein he was portrayed by Japanese actor Kyusaku Shimada (whose image is at the bottom of the page in reference 5).

Bison's design may have been inspired by one of the prominent villains featured in the 1980's manga Riki-Oh, by Masahiko Takajo and Saruwatari Tetsuya, called Washizaki, to whom Bison bears a striking resemblance, being almost identical both design-wise and conceptually.

In the Street Fighter Alpha and Marvel vs. Capcom series, Bison's physical stature is larger and more imposing. He wears a gray-colored cape at all times, including battles. Bison's repertoire of moves was changed to reflect his 'new' appearance: Among his new abilities is the Psycho Shot, a previously-unseen projectile attack. Bison also demonstrates greater mastery over his Psycho Power, able to teleport across the screen and hover in the air. In the Capcom vs SNK series, Bison's physical appearance is much leaner, one reminiscent of his role in Street Fighter II. As before, he removes his cloak before battle. Also when faced with Geese Howard (antagonist of the Fatal Fury series), instead of him removing his cloak, it will be disintegrated by Geese's Violent Wave Fist. He gains a move called the "Psycho Banish"; a downward Psycho Power hand slash which allows him to negate projectiles. In Street Fighter IV, an alternate costume for Bison is available. He has no hat, and his uniform is tattered and worn. This appearance reflects the aftermath of what happened to Bison after receiving the Shun Goku Satsu from Akuma.

Video games appearances

Street Fighter series

Bison 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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, 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.

In other media

Live-action

Street Fighter

Raúl Juliá as Bison in the 1994 live action film

Bison was portrayed by the late Raúl Juliá, in his final role, in the 1994 live-action film Street Fighter. At one point during the film, Bison quotes the video games by saying "Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed!", while Guile quotes the line "Are you man enough to fight with me?" 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, whose father he killed in his days as a druglord.

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, setting the scene for the animated series follow-up.

In the film, Bison is depicted as an average fighter, with no super powers whatsoever, since partially due to ill health, Raúl Juliá was unable to learn and perform the fighting moves necessary to make Bison an equal match for Guile, and most scenes where he strikes back at Guile were either cut or heavily edited. Instead, his uniform contains powerful electromagnets which allow him to levitate, as well as shoot lightning from his hands. During the film's climactic fight, Bison challenges, "You come to fight a madman, and instead find a god? Do you still refuse to accept my godhood? Keep your own God! In fact, this time may be a good time to pray to Him! For I beheld Satan as he fell from Heaven like lightning!" (cf. Gospel of Luke 10:18: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." KJV)

A very arrogant man, Bison adorns his quarters with comically-heroic portraits of himself. Hanging on his wall is an edited version of Jacques-Louis David's painting, 'Napoleon Crossing the Alps'. The original painting depicted Napoleon Bonaparte posing on a white horse; Napoleon's body is replaced by an image of Bison in the same pose. Another painting seen in his room is the famous painting of a clown by convicted murderer John Wayne Gacy. In this version of Gacy's painting, the clown wears a hat identical to Bison.

Although the movie makes no statement whatsoever of Bison's nationality, he speaks with a perfect English accent.

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: The Legend of Chun-Li

Main 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.

Animation

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

Bison 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. Ken, Ryu's old friend, is brainwashed by Bisons "Psycho Power" after the terrorist leader easily outmatches him in a fight. With Ryu's help, Ken shakes off Bison's influence, and the two of them destroy Bison's VTOL fighter jet with a combined Hadouken fireball. Though 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.

Street Fighter II V

Bison 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, beats on both Ryu and Ken, until they discover Bison's weak points and exploit them. Bison prepares to finish them off with a Psycho Crusher, but Ryu counters by firing a Hadouken which hits Bison square in the chest and destroys him completely.

Street Fighter: The Animated Series

Voiced 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 slayed 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.

An internet meme is based on a clip from this series, in which Bison dramatically shouts "This is DELICIOUS!" as he watches Guile get beat up, then shouts "YES!" twice in an overexcited manner while over the top epic horn music plays in the background.

Comics

UDON Comics

Bison is heavily featured as the primary antagonist of the UDON-published Street Fighter comic series. His story is greatly 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.

Shadaloo

Shadaloo 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. 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.

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.

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.

Promotion and reception

IGN ranked Bison at number four in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his role as a villain in the series that did not leave fighting to his henchmen. 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. 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." GameDaily named Bison one of their favorite Capcom characters of all time, calling him "one of the best end bosses ever." They later listed Bison at number five on their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, stating "One of the most vile, powerful end bosses ever put into a video game, M. Bison is not someone to be taken lightly."

Sources

• Studio Bent Stuff (2000). All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Games 1987-2000. A.A. Game History Series (Vol. 1) (in Japanese). Dempa Publications, Inc. ISBN 4885546761. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)