Good morning friends, there's not much news to report today. Some family issues that I will see about later in the day, plus lawn mowing of course. Things are holding steady but right now I have to get back to work, one of the projectors blew a bulb so that's going to cost somebody money. Let's get back to the second (and final) book of Ryu Final. WARNING: if you would rather wait for the translated issue next month then skip today and tomorrow's blog. I will be talking about everything that happens in great detail.
This comic begins with a rock pile and a stick. It is a grave marker. The red headband of Ryu is tied onto it.
This story does not begin with Ryu but the lessons learned are just as important as everything we saw in the first book. This is the story of Sagat, rather the lessons of Sagat. As the story starts we see Hugo's diesel truck parked outside of a temple in the heart of Thailand. Hugo is taking swings at Sagat. Although he towers over the mighty Thai, he is unable to land a solid hit on him. Sagat is motionless and allows Hugo to throw punches that don't seem to faze him. In a fit of anger Hugo lifts the stone head of a Buddha and throws it down on Sagat. It shatters into a million pieces and this gets a reaction. Sagat takes down the mighty giant with one kick. He then remembers his life of fighting.
We are taken back to a period in time when Sagat was at his most dangerous. He had survived the dragon punch from Ryu and was recovering in Thailand. Furious with himself he takes his aggression out in the jungle. Knocking down trees and trying to make his techniques stronger. Adon watches from a distance, ashamed that the tiny Ryu could have done this to his master. Although bandaged up Sagat has a would that will not heal. He doesn't stop long enough to think about the consequences of his actions until he accidentally knocks a tree down onto a child. He takes the child to a temple where the monks take him in and try to help. The monks warn Sagat of what he is becoming.
Although he survived a potentially fatal blow he survived. Whether is was his size, his determination or his will that kept him alive is unknown. What worries the monks is the scar has been left in the Shoryuken's wake. It is not the physical scar but the emotional one. They warn Sagat that revenge and hatred is what is fueling him now. That hatred is going to eat him up from the inside, that scar will never heal if Sagat remains possessed with a desire to kill. Sagat lived for a reason, there is tremendous potential for him but he seems to miss his purpose. It extends beyond the fight. The monks say that poachers are killing and trapping tiger nearby. Sagat should be defending his homeland. So he leaves the child behind and goes into the jungle.
We see poachers stalking a tiger who instead kills one of them. Before the tiger can pounce on the other Sagat kicks it in the head and scares it off. The poacher thanks Sagat profusely for which he rejects. Sagat has found a new target for his aggression. He begins slapping the poacher all over the jungle. As he does so the scar on his chest opens up and he starts bleeding. While Sagat pauses to clutch his chest the poacher grabs a young villager from a nearby tent. It is the child that Sagat accidentally hurt. The poacher holds him hostage. Sagat throws his hand in between the gun and the child. The poacher fires a round into his hand. Sagat grabs the poacher with his free hand and lifts him into the air. The poacher fires a few more rounds into the torso of Sagat.
Sagat can easily kill the poacher but he chooses not to. He had just cause and unlike Ryu, this person was a criminal willing to murder Sagat in cold blood. At that point Sagat has chosen his path, he will not let rage consume him, he will not use muay thai as a means to have his revenge. He will not stain the name of his beloved country. The bandages fall away from his chest as he holds the poacher aloft. The massive scar on his chest has stopped bleeding. Sagat has matured as much as Ryu in the universe. He has learned many lessons and he perseveres. He is proof that even a mortal wound can be overcome.
Ryu and Oro know where their path will lead. In Ryu's memory the reader is taken to the past again to witness an important moment in SF continuity. Nakahira shows us the fight between Gouken and Gouki in all its violent glory. Ryu and Ken are young, about the age they were in Zero if not a little younger. One day Gouki just begins shooting fireballs at his brother from high atop a ridge in the woods. Gouken senses these strikes and jumps out of the way. They begin battling all over the woods in a very cinematic fashion. They hurl special moves at each other but Gouken is eventually overtaken by his brother. He is beaten and killed when Gouki punches his hand through his chest. Gouki takes the string of giant beads from the body of his brother and places them around his own neck. Ken and Ryu call out for their master but it is no good. They can barely hold themselves back but they know neither of them is remotely a match for Gouki. He warns them and then walks off. The memory remains with Ryu for a long time and now is the time to do something about it.
It is now the present and Ryu returns to Thailand for a rematch. Ryu and Oro pass a couple of teens farming near the temple. The villagers that Sagat saved many years ago are growing up. Sagat waits for Ryu, the battle between the tiger and dragon has been a long time coming. Sagat is stronger than he's ever been, Ryu has been training harder than ever. Of all the rivalries in Street Fighter this is the oldest. Nakahira tells us what happened between them during the SF III continuity. This is important because the beef was not settled in canonical terms or in the videogame, Sagat was not in III. Both Ryu and Sagat prepare for the fight with Oro and the teens acting as spectators. There is a storm brewing but neither Sagat nor Ryu will let the rain stop them. They square off and begin fighting when the lightning strikes nearby.
The battle is over in a few hits.
Both strike each other quickly, over and over, but Sagat manages to land a devistating knee. He sends Ryu crashing through a sleeping Buddha statue. Oro was the only one that was able to perceive the blows and know when each struck the other. Ryu looks beaten but Sagat takes a knee and concedes defeat. Ryu does not understand. Both men were capable of taking the fight much further. Sagat has taken a knee because his old wound has reopened. He knows now that the path of the warrior is not validated if he must fight to the death. Ryu learns that every battle does not have to end with him crippling or knocking out his opponent. He must take the fight as far as it has to go and no further. Ryu must not becomes that which he despises. Ryu and Sagat come to an understanding after that. Ryu and Oro leave Thailand. Sagat bandaged up again, the teens holding an umbrella over his head and watching an old adversary walking away. This might very well be the last time Sagat is supposed to be seen in continuity, the end of an amazing chapter in the history of fighting games.
Ryu and Oro make it to Japan where they reunite with Ken and Sean. Ken and Ryu prepare to end another chapter in the series. They set fire to their masters temple. It is a majestic castle that has been in the background of every Street Fighter game. Sadly this is the last time we shall see it standing. Ryu and Ken square off to determine who must challenge Gouki as their dojo burns in the distance. Ryu connects with one well placed strike. Suddenly the temple explodes and collapses. Gouki descends on a pile of rubble. The two great warriors pause to study each other.
In a way it is funny that the path Ryu has wandered on for years takes him back home. Gouki finds irony in the little boy he saved has grown into a capable warrior. They both laugh a little. It is the only time you will ever see a smile on Gouki, it is slightly unnerving. Ryu tries to catch Gouki with a dragon punch. Gouki grabs Ryu's hand and crushes it.
The fight is brutal and although Ryu has grown and learned a lot in the past few years he is still no match for Gouki. Gouki beats Ryu and hits him with the legendary
Shun Goku Satsu or Instant Hell Murder. The finishing strike is a punch through the chest, just like he gave his brother and master. To make sure that Ryu is done for he drops a fireball from the hand that went through him. This explains the flash of light that you see at the end of the videogame version. Ryu spits up blood in the face of Gouki. He is wiling to return the favor in kind and do something that his master was not willing to. Ryu places his palm on the side of Gouki and shoots a fireball right through him. Gouki pulls his arm out and both men stagger back.
Ryu is bleeding profusely and wonders how Gouki can remain standing. Gouki tears off his gi and we can see the gaping hole in his torso. Gouki is hollow inside, he has been completely consumed by the Dark Hadou. All that remains is a rage-filled shell of his former self. Ryu curses the monster for killing his master and killing himself.
They strike each other once more. Gouki connects first. As soon as Ryu hits the face of Gouki he becomes consumed by fire. Gouki turns away from Ryu and staggers into the flames of the burning temple. The demon is defeated but at the ultimate price. Ryu collapses and Ken runs to his side. He is unresponsive as Ken yells his name. Ryu is dying.
The epilogue. We see Alex sitting in an alley, distraught. Earlier that day he had a match with Ken at Madison Square Garden. Alex was a big up-and-coming fighter in the MMA circuit. In SF canon he even knocked out M. Bison in a MMA fight. He gives Ken a good battle in the final but is ultimately defeated. Alex is disappointed in himself, not for losing to Ken but because he realizes that he is still not strong enough to fight Gill, whom he really wishes to battle and avenge his family. Alex's adopted family finds him sulking in the alley and helps him. A few days later Alex seems to be doing better when he runs into Ken and his family. Ken advises that the only way to get better is to go around the world and learn from the best. Little Mel reaches out and gives Alex the red headband of Ryu, knowing that Alex respects the legendary fighter greatly. Ken and Alex part ways.
We see Alex months later in the hills of Japan. We assume that he has already done extensive traveling. Learning from Birdie, Zangief and Adon as per the canon. He stops at the ruins that was formerly the temple where Ken and Ryu trained. It is a sad scene now, nothing but rubble remains. There is a pile of rocks marking a grave and a post. Alex kneels and ties the red headband to it. He wishes that he could have learned from the best, to have sparred with Ryu once.
We see a silhouette appear on the horizon. We don't know if it's a memory or Alex's imagination. He turns around.
Ryu is standing there, smiling. His hair unkempt. A large circular scar on his chest.
THE END.
Now do you know why I am so critical of the Udon books? Why can they not write or draw anything as epic as Ryu Final? So what can we make from the end of this book? Well aside from the near-impossible
surviving from a punch through the chest we can take many things for the future of the series in canonical and videogame terms. His surviving a death blow was foreshadowed by Sagat at the beginning of the book. Ryu returns not as a messiah but as a true martial artist. Ryu has learned to harness the power of a killing strike in his Fist of the Wind and seems to have finally completed his journey. From this point on he should hold a place of great importance in the universe, the transition from fighter to master. From this point on Ryu is no longer the intro into the world, or should not be. I am speaking in manga and videogame terms. From this point on Ryu should be something more... What should we expect if Capcom creates a true Street Fighter IV and not a II.5?
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