King (Tekken)
| King | |
|---|---|
| 'Tekken series character | |
| File:King (T2).jpg King in Tekken 2. | |
| First game | Tekken |
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King is the name of two different characters in the Tekken fighting game series. The character was inspired by both legendary Japanese pro wrestler Tiger Mask, as well as Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta, who just happened to be a Catholic priest who became a masked wrestler in order to support an orphanage.
History
King I
King is a famous luchador from Mexico. There are actually two Kings in the series, both of whom wore a jaguar mask in matches.
The first used to be a ruthless street brawling orphan with no care in the world except fighting. In one of his fights, King was grievously wounded and collapsed in front of a monastery. The Marquez priests saved him from death. After recovering, King realized the error of his ways and resolved to start a new life. He became a Catholic priest and renounced his old fighting ways. He then became a man with a mission; he dreamt of building an orphanage for street children, hoping to save them from becoming the kind of person he used to be.
King has one problem, however. He lacks the necessary funds to achieve his dream. King discovers The King of Iron Fist Tournament and hopes to win the prize money. King enters the tournament and manages to get third place, winning enough prize money for the orphanage. He also met his rival, Armor King.
King won enough money and had his orphanage, which became very successful. After a child died in his care, King became depressed and, giving up his jaguar mask, returned to the street and became a raging alcoholic. He would have perished had he not been convinced by his old rival, Armor King, to again wear the jaguar mask and join The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2.
King trained intensely and recovered from his alcoholism. He battled Armor King at the tournament and lost. After the tournament, King participated in both pro-wrestling and martial arts tournaments to win money for his orphanage. He also taught his fighting skills to the children under his care as a means of self-defense.
Sometime later on, Ogre, the God Of Fighting, was awakened from an ancient ruin in Mexico by Heihachi Mishima's Tekken Force. Ogre attacked several martial artists around the world, including King, who was supposedly killed afterwards.
King I's Endings
Tekken
- Players are shown a church, focusing on its clock and bells. King appears, looking at the church as some kids come out and surround King, cheering happily. Finally, King raises his arms in the air victoriously as he has won enough money for his orphanage.
Tekken 2
- Looking down-trodden, King shows up outside of his snow-covered orphanage where the children are celebrating Christmas. Having lost the tournament, he feels ashamed and leaves his presents at the front door and starts to walk away. Suddenly, some kids appear and surround him (similar to his Tekken ending). This makes him happy again.
King II
| King II | |
|---|---|
| 'Tekken series character | |
| First game | Tekken 3 |
A street urchin was brought up in a Mexican orphanage owned by the original fighter to bear the name 'King.' By the age of 24, this wrestler worked hard with King until one day, news broke of King's tragic death at the hands of Ogre.
Seeing that the orphanage would crumble into ruin (the money gained from King's wrestling matches was the only funding received), this man donned the mask of King and imitated his style. Unfortunately, he had only seen King's wrestling moves as a child, and he lost every competition he entered. One day however, another man with a mask visited the new King, introducing himself as an old friend. This man revealed himself to be Armor King, who was interested in finding out if the rumors of a new King were true.
For four years the two of them trained, and the new King learned quickly; maturing into a forceful wrestler with extreme power, known as King the Second. By this time, the now 28 year old wrestler was a worthy heir to the throne, however he longed to punish the one responsible for the original King's death.
With rumors of the "God of Fighting" circulating, Armor King revealed to his student that the elusive entity was the one most likely responsible. Armor King watched as the new King, fueled with rage, set his sights on avenging his foster father's death and proving himself worthy of wearing the mask.
King discovered that his master, Armor King, had been killed in a bar fight. The perpetrator, Craig Marduk, had been arrested in Arizona and was sent to prison. Upon Marduk's release (thanks to bribes paid by King himself), King sent a letter challenging Marduk to the tournament in Tekken 4.
He defeated Marduk in Tekken 4, sending him to the hospital, where King followed him to deliver a deadly blow. However, he stopped after seeing a portrait of Marduk and his elderly parents. King let him live, realizing how foolish he had become.
King is later enraged to find out that Marduk has been defeating opponents in a black jaguar mask (identical to Armor King's), and he has issued a televised challenge to King for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Seeing Marduk disgrace his master, King steps into the ring once again to settle the score once and for all.
King's friendship with Craig Marduk developed during The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
At the end of the previous tournament, King caught wind of an attack upon Craig--he blew a gasket when he heard the assailant looked exactly like Armor King! King was determined to learn the true identity of Craig's attacker.
During that time, King heard The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 would soon be held. He decided to enter the tournament with Craig.
King II's Endings
Tekken 3
- King enters a wrestling match under the watchful eye of Armor King. Easily dispatching his opponent, King looks to the side and realizes that Armor King has left his ringside. Rushing to the locker room, King sees that his mentor is sitting alone with his mask off, looking sad. This, coupled with Armor King's ending in Tekken 2 (X-rays, a heart monitor and a ticking sound, followed by Armor King walking, stumbling, his vision blurring and blood falling), sparked the theory that Armor King was dying.
Tekken Tag Tournament
- Under Armor King's watch, King practices one of Armor King's combination throw techniques on a wooden dummy, finishing with a Spinning Pile Driver. The multi-throw shown in this ending eventually became a new multi-throw sequence available for King in Tekken 5.
Tekken 4
- Having defeated Craig Marduk, King enters his hospital room. For a few moments, King contemplates taking a final blow on Marduk and ending his life. However, on Marduk's bedside, he spots a photograph of Marduk surrounded by his family. King then comes to his senses, realizing that he has gone too far on his quest for revenge, and walks away.
Tekken 5
- King is being double-teamed by a tag team during a wrestling match. After suffering a back suplex and an elbow drop to the throat, King crawls to his corner and tags Craig Marduk. Having befriended Marduk after a second victory against him, King and Marduk easily win the competition, finishing it with a combination slam. Both win championship belts.
Fighting style/moves
Being a wrestler, King has many powerful throws at his disposal. Some of his attacks can also end in throws (Convict Kick Counter, Front Kick - DDT), which provides an easy way to deal heavy damage. King has a good mixture of high and low attacks and a very simple pair of ten hit combos which are simply ten single-button presses.
As of Tekken 5, King seems to have drawn more wrestler-inspired moves into his repertoire, especially from superstars employed by the world-famous World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). For example, he has a Stunner often used by Stone Cold Steve Austin and an Elbow Drop and Rock Bottom popularized by The Rock. Additionally, King has been able to perform the Tombstone Piledriver used by The Undertaker and Kane since Tekken 2. One of his victory poses has him side-stepping in a manner characteristic of the original Tiger Mask. King is also seen in the opening FMV performing a Tiger Feint after being thrown across the wrestling ring by Craig Marduk, in order to prevent a collision to the outside of the ring. The maneuver is currently a trademark move of Rey Mysterio, although the original Tiger Mask pioneered its use during matches with the Dynamite Kid in the early 80's. Other moves he uses include the Burning Hammer (made famous in Japan by Kenta Kobashi), the Steiner Screwdriver (made famous by Scott Steiner).
Not surprisingly, King also shares moves with other fighting game wrestlers, such as the Giant Swing, the same throw technique used by Virtua Fighter character Wolf Hawkfield and Dead Or Alive character Tina Armstrong. Also, his Tekken 5 incarnation has a version of the Spinning Pile Driver, the trademark command throw of Street Fighter character Zangief.
References outside Tekken series
In this game, he is a friend of Felicia, possibly due to their mutual feline affinities (or possibly due to their affiliations to religious charitable organizations). Felicia makes remarks alluding to King's supposed fangs and sense of smell, prompting him to remind Felicia that he is not half-cat, merely wearing a mask. He is one of two playable characters (the other being Armor King) who does not have a voice actor.
In this title, King's signature jaguar mask is an unlockable item for Character Creation mode.
Trivia
- In the Tekken universe, King never seems to break kayfabe, and his wrestling persona appears to be his true personality.
- King never audibly speaks. He is only heard making a growling noise that sounds unsurprisingly like a jaguar's growl. Others seem to understand what he's saying despite this. Similarly, many Tekken 5 characters seem to understand one another despite speaking separate languages.
- King II has never officially revealed his face. In fact, in his Tekken 5 prologue, King is moving about in public fully-masked. However, a portion of his face is visible in Tekken 5's Customization Mode while equipping the selectable Vale Tudo mask. In addition, King I's face is partly visible for a few seconds during the intro of the first Tekken while he slowly puts his jaguar mask on. King also tends to attach his tail to his civilian outfits.