30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #7

Darun Mister is one of the great all-time grapplers in the Street Fighter universe. He debuted more than 20 years ago in Street Fighter EX. I've already talked about Victor Ortega, the pro wrestling heavyweight champion in the Street Fighter universe. Victor dominated the competition and retired undefeated. He resurfaced years later to test out the next generation of pro wrestlers. I've also talked about the Wraith, one of the more obscure, and macabre pro wrestlers in the Street Fighter universe. Both Ortega and the Wraith were gigantic and fearsome grapplers. But neither, at least not to the best of my knowledge, have ever faced Darun Mister in or out of the ring. Darun is the Indra (Indian) wrestling champion. His championship belt is among the greatest ever designed for a game. I mean just look at the gold, silver and ruby-encrusted elephant on the belt! He dominated the competition in South Asia as much as Ortega had around the world. He also served as the personal bodyguard for Pullum Purna. The duo traveled the globe fighting other champions during the EX tournament. 

Darun was such an exceptional grappler that he actively sought out masters of other disciplines. When he was defeated by the demon Garuda he swore to return stronger for a rematch. Just a reminder that Garuda killed his opponents but Darun was simply too tough to die. If the story of Darun rings a bell it's because he is a second-take on the character Zangief. The Red Cyclone set a standard that was pretty tough to beat in the Street Fighter series. The team at ARIKA had a hand in developing the original Street Fighter II cast, so when they created the EX series they made parallels in their fighting lineup. Darun was beat-for-beat a counter to Zangief and was destined to be his rival in canon. Believe it or don't Zangief was inspired in part by an actual wrestler named Victor Zangief that the Capcom crew saw on TV. I mentioned previously that Victor Ortega was inspired by wrestlers like Superstar Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan. The Wraith was inspired by The Undertaker and even Darun was based in reality. The Great Gama was a turn-of-the-century wrestling legend from India that sought out and beat the European champions. He was celebrated as a hero in his home country and was a perfect template to rival the burly Russian.  

More than a hundred years has passed since the Great Gama was in his prime. The good news is that Darun Mister will always be in peak physical condition and looking for opponents to mangle. I enjoyed playing as the character in Street Fighter EX and look forward to his return in Fighting EX Layer. Today we celebrate this legend. Do you have a favorite Street Fighter wrestler? If so tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!