A symmetry of villainy, final part

Over the past week I gave examples of building symmetric, and asymmetric villains in comics. I used the strongest characters in DC, and Marvel as an example. Superman, and the Incredible Hulk had faced a number of powerful beings over the decades. The ones that gave them the greatest challenge were sometimes absurdly powerful physical beings. In the previous blog I talked about Doomsday, and Onslaught. In other cases the heroes fought evil versions of themselves from another timeline, or another dimension. Superman faced off against Ultraman in several stories. This was essentially a Superman who lacked the morals instilled to him from Martha and Jonathan Kent. The Hulk battled the Maestro, an evil version of himself from the far future. Bruce Banner suffered from multiple personality disorder. Each one of the figures trapped in his mind could manifest as a version of the Hulk. He fought to keep his identity as the dominant one. The traditional "Savage" Hulk was the best known of his alternate personalities. There was also the street savvy Gray Hulk aka Joe Fixit. There were demons that Banner kept locked away in the furthest recesses of his fragile psyche. These included Kluh, Titan, and the Devil Hulk. Believe it or not they were each potentially more dangerous than the Maestro.

These types of villains were fantastic for a short arc, however their impact would be diminished if writers kept trying to revisit them again, and again. The best rivalries for both Superman, and the Hulk happened with foes much weaker than either of them. It took a lot of effort to create a memorable villain, let alone a recurring threat in the Marvel stories. A bad guy that could challenge the universe, somebody like Onslaught had to have the powers of multiple characters like Professor X, and Magneto combined in order to bring the Hulk to the edge of defeat. This was the kind of impact that the Leader held in Hulk continuity. He didn't challenge the Hulk with one ability, but with a barrage instead. How Marvel created this character, and what made him tick was an important lesson in rival design. When it came to which version of the Leader I thought worked best, which one explained his abilities, and threat level then I would actually point to video games. 

From a visual standpoint I believe the Leader looked best in video games rather than in comics. The designers at Radical Entertainment created a decent Hulk game in 2003. It was a follow-up to the Ang Lee live action film featuring Eric Bana in the role of Bruce Banner. Eric even voiced the character in the game. Despite amazing visual effects the movie was a flop. It probably explained the lukewarm reception the game received. Thankfully it took place after the film, and was set in a more comic book environment. It featured a collection of some of the Hulk’s greatest comic opponents. They were pulled from a number of different writers, stories, and arcs. The gamma-powered lineup included Half-Life (Anthony Masterson), Madman (Philip Sterns), Flux (Private Benjamin Tibbits), Ravage (Professor Geoffrey Crawford), and the Leader (Samuel Sterns). The story was an amalgamation of different plots, and locations from the movie, and comics that worked well together. The use of cel-shading, and even dramatic angles helped make it look like a graphic novel brought to life.

The Hulk game was good, but their follow up title The Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction was absolutely amazing. Released in 2005 it didn’t only raise the bar for Hulk games, but forever raised the standard by which all comic book games would be measured. The story, design, animation, control, and combat were unparalleled for years to follow. Its influence would be felt across the industry. In fact the locomotion of the Hulk had a direct influence on how Spider-Man would move in the award-winning games by Insomniac some 12 years later. I considered it one of my favorite games of all time, and even mentioned that on the blog. The game didn’t feature as many rivals as the previous Hulk title by Radical, but the handful they had were memorable. These included the powerful psychic Abigail “Mercy” Wright, the Hulk’s latent rage persona known as the Devil Hulk, General Ross, and The Abomination.

The earlier game was notable because it featured not only the Leader, but his brother Philip as well. Peter David, and artist Jeff Purves created an opponent that brought the Hulk to the brink of death in the Incredible Hulk issue #363. The Madman did this through subterfuge, and gamma poisoning. Philip Sterns followed in the footsteps of Banner, and became obsessed with him to the point of developing a toxic love. Once his brother mutated into the Leader he blamed Banner, and the Hulk for taking him away. Philip became a nuclear scientist. He wanted to gain powers as well so he experimented on himself repeatedly with gamma radiation. He effectively scrambled his own brain in the process. He developed multiple personalities, which determined how his powers manifested. For the Madman it resulted in having abilities different than his brother. The Madman could actually make himself appear like any other person. His ability was on par with Mystique, an X-Men villain that could shapeshift into other people. That was only part of what made him dangerous. He was still an accomplished scientist, perhaps not on par with his brother, but still smart enough to figure out a way to destroy gamma mutations. At will he could also “Hulk-out” as well. When he changed he had red clay-colored skin rather than green. He was also taller, denser, and stronger than the Hulk, but he could only maintain this form for short bursts of time.

The Madman debuted in the four-part “Countdown” arc in 1989.  If I were to describe his mental state he melded the personalities of an agent of chaos, with a raging beast. To put it in context I would compare him to two iconic DC villains; as if the Joker, and Bizarro had an offspring that was obsessed with Banner. The Madman had created a virus that was destroying the Hulk's gamma mutation. The gray "Joe Fixit" version of the Hulk was wasting away in each panel of the series. If he transformed back into Banner he would deteriorate even faster. It broke my heart seeing the most powerful mortal on Earth reduced to skin, and bones. I saw the race to cure Mr. Fixit as an allegory for the AIDS crisis. The epidemic was on our collective minds through the late '80s, and early '90s. In fact it wouldn't be the first time that Peter David faced the issue of HIV in the series. I thought the Countdown arc did much more to establish a legitimate threat the Hulk more than Doomsday did for Superman. The Madman was regarded as being too dangerous for his own good. He was so dangerous that the Leader even teamed up with the Hulk to track him down. He asked the Hulk to stop him because he couldn’t bring himself to hurt his own brother. The Leader was afraid that Philip’s mind had completely lost to the Madman persona. If any part of him remained it would better for the Hulk to put him out of his misery. It was brilliant storytelling, and fantastic reveal. It was pulled off much better than the introduction of the Red Hulk, that's for certain! 

The closest that a game had come at recreating the power burst that the Madman exploited in the comics could be seen in the multiplayer game Marvel Rivals. Banner was a playable character, and when he transformed he became the "Hero Hulk." If the player managed to raise his energy levels in the middle of a skirmish then he could power up even further, and turn into the "Monster Hulk." This gave him different attacks, and a higher amount of health points. This version of the Hulk was much stronger, denser, and bigger than the regular Hulk. It was exactly how I imagined the Madman would jump from human scale to monster scale, bypassing the traditional Hulk, but again only in short bursts. By comparison the size of the Hulk, Ravage, Flux, and the Madman were more or less the same in the older Radical Ent. game. In the comics there were notable differences in their frames. They were all hyper-muscular, but some were leaner, shredded, distorted or bulky compared to the Hulk in the comics. Given his powers, and unpredictable nature I think it proved difficult to write scenarios featuring the Madman. Hence he was used very sparingly by Mr. David, and future writers. I was grateful at least that he appeared in several encounters in the Hulk game, under the orders of the Leader.

The Leader would show up in animated form, and various comic arcs over the years. He would not appear again in a prominent gaming role for more than two decades. The Marvel Contest of Champions (MCOC) was a mobile game with a massive following, and deep library of characters. It debuted in December 2014, and had generated millions in revenue for the developers at Kabam, and of course Marvel. It gave global audiences the ability to fight as, or against 275 popular, and rare characters. It was a fantastic introduction to the universe for Generation Alpha. It was also an accessible, and balanced fighting game for all audiences. I wrote about the title, and its comic book origins in a blog series. It was linked below if you haven’t read it. I enjoyed having multiple versions of the Hulk as playable characters, and even featuring the Maestro as one of the major villains. Even with the Rhino, Abomination, Juggernaut, and Onslaught to battle against it still felt like someone was missing. The Leader was finally announced for 2024, and I could barely contain my enthusiasm.

I was a huge fan of the aesthetic Kabam used with the character art. This was fortunate side effect of optimizing the game. The graphics capabilities of mobile devices determined how far the studio could push the visuals. Not every device was the latest iPhone or Android, so the studio had to make it playable on older devices as well. Many had limited memory, limited processing power, and limited 3D rendering capabilities. In order to keep the game running smoothly across multiple platforms the studio had to optimize their engine in every possible way. For example the fighters featured simpler shapes, fewer frames of animation, and limited polygon counts when compared to console, or PC characters from the same era. These figures nonetheless worked from a style standpoint. The art team at Kabam did their homework. Each champion was pulled right from the comics, films, and television shows. From largest to smallest, the library of fighters were all easy to read, and looked brilliant. I wished that there was a MCOC toy line for how great a job the studio did. Kabam gave the Leader a somewhat classic look in his reveal. The shape of his head was vertical rather than Jiffy-pop. He even sported his familiar mustache, and Van Dyke beard. The orange, and yellow colors of his uniform went back to his earliest appearance. Despite the retro touches he still worked within the Contest of Champions.

The team at Kabam updated his look by adding a psychic band on his forehead, and a number of gadgets to his costume. These touches explained his ability to float, generate a shield, deflect attacks, and project beams of energy. They were exactly the sorts of things he might use in a comic book battle. By comparison the designers at Radical Entertainment had a completely different take on the Leader much earlier. They gave him an armored metallic purple uniform, and a round head shape. He had electrical nodes on his skull, and shoulders, these allowed him to project beams of psychic energy directly from his forehead, or channel them through his hands. He was able to float, create barriers, project multiple versions of himself, and throw the Hulk with his mental powers. There had never been a version quite like this in the comics, but in game form it made absolute sense.

Despite these awesome psychic attacks the game was still filled with clues to his inventing prowess. The Leader had created a Gamma Orb which was a compact tool that he used to syphon Banner’s power. It was a fraction of the size of the Gamma Sphere that caused his mutation in the film. The Leader built an entire underground base called Freehold. It was populated with his mutations, and weapons. He had teleports, and even a transport system running underground. The majority of the game was essentially fighting through his defenses in an attempt to reach the mastermind. I was glad to see that the villain was getting a new chance to show off his powers in the Marvel Contest of Champions. I hoped that someone working at one of the AAA publishers was working on a pitch for a new Hulk game. Something that could build on the work of Radical Entertainment, Insomniac, and the other great comic game developers. It would hopefully make Incredible Hulk, and especially the Leader relevant again. If you want to find out more about the Contest of Champions please check the links below. 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 1… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 2… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 3… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 4... 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 5… 

The Marvel Contest of Champions Legacy, part 6… 

Did you have a favorite Hulk villain that I did not mention? Or another rare character you want to talk about? What were the elements that you thought made for a great villain design, or a great villain reveal? Tell me about it on the comments section. As always if you 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!

A symmetry of villainy, part 2…

In the previous entry of this series I talked about some of my favorite comic book rivalries. I noted that some villains were evil mirror versions of the heroes, like the Abomination was to the Hulk, the Reverse Flash was to the Flash, or Bizarro was to Superman. That type of design worked well in many stories, and was a tool that young authors could use when fleshing out the antagonists for their own stories. I also mentioned that many of the greatest rivals were asymmetric in look, and ability. Such as the Joker to Batman, Doctor Doom to the Fantastic Four, or the Mandarin to Iron Man. I argued that these were the most interesting types of rivals. Creators that understood the format were able to build worlds that appealed to many readers throughout the years. Award-winning writers understood that the best characters represented something greater than themselves. For example the Hulk was a stand-in for rage, Superman stood for hope, and the Joker for chaos. When done well we could use that understanding across genres. I believed that the best storytellers could use those archetypes in entirely different languages. I have said that the best Superman arc, and best Hulk story of the past decade were featured in the works of the Japanese creator known as ONE.

One Punch-Man was every bit a spoof as it was a love letter to the super hero genre. The main character was overpowered, not unlike Superman. The heart of the story was how the supporting characters would deal with world-ending threats before Superman, err, rather Saitama could deliver one of his trademark punches. This was essentially the same dynamic of the Justice League holding off a colossal enemy until Superman could show up. You would think that having a character that could defeat any opponent with a single punch would become boring after the first issue, but ONE managed to build a lot of tension by investing us in the street-level heroes. By comparison Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama wanted nothing more than to catch the eye of a girl he was crushing on, all while dealing with latent psychic powers. The heart of the Mob Psycho 100 story was how people would try to manipulate him, or exploit his powers. It was a cautionary tale dealing with bullying, self image, loss of control, and much more. Nothing could contain Mob when he was pushed to the breaking point. Similar to how Bruce Banner did his best to avoid conflict in the pages of the Marvel comics. When the Hulk was unleashed even the strongest villains found out that he was impossible to stop,. The Hulk had his own Lex Luthor, a human antagonist rather than a super-powered villain that functioned as a great rival for over 45 years.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross hounded the Banner, and the Hulk. His crusade against the Green Goliath took him, and his battalions all over the world. He was a complex character, and doubly important because he was the father of Elizabeth “Betty” Ross, the love interest, and future wife of Dr. Bruce Banner. It had been argued that the Hulk was an allegory for war. General Ross represented the military industrial complex, the duo had a destructive relationship. He assumed that any problem could be solved if enough bombs were dropped on it. The opposite was true in the stories. It was impossible to beat the Hulk through perpetual escalation. The billions the government spent on military equipment did nothing but annoy the Jade Giant. He would only become stronger, cause more destruction, and collateral damage the further he was pursued. Thunderbolt’s single-minded obsession was comparable to Captain Ahab from the story Moby Dick. His mania would only lead to the estrangement from his daughter, a mental breakdown, and his eventual downfall. As for the Hulk, it turned out that peace, or rather leaving him alone was the best way to get him to revert to back into Banner.

This dynamic was critically important for the development of the series. Not every villain that the Hulk faced had to be a gamma-powered monster. His toughest battles were fought with his own human family members. At least this was the dynamic explored by all the great series writers except for one person. Jeph Loeb had written for films, television, and comic books for years. In an interview he mentioned that he had a wishlist of things he had always wanted to do in a comic book, and was looking for a character to apply it to. He wanted to see the Hulk stop holding back, to cut loose on the Marvel U, and see what he was really capable of. These included fourth wall breaks ala Deadpool. Things like punching the Watcher, beating up Thor with his own hammer, stealing the Silver Surfer’s board, etc. He knew that it wouldn’t work for the character that fans were already familiar with, so his idea was to assassinate the Abomination, and replace him with an even more powerful rival called the Red Hulk. This would allow him to check off the things on his wishlist without breaking the character that audiences were familiar with. After several issues it was revealed that the Red Hulk was actually General Ross. The editors at Marvel were on board, and the character became a part of continuity in 2008. To fans like myself if demonstrated a misunderstanding of Ross, and the dynamic of the Hulk comics up until that point.

First off the idea of General Ross as the Hulk was explored in a What If? comic from 2004. In it he was gray, and not red. The important part of the story was that Ross saved Rick Jones during the gamma bomb field test, and received the gamma rays that transformed him into the Hulk instead of Banner. During his initial rampage he accidentally killed Betty. When he realized his mistake he transformed back into his human form. A distraught Banner snuck up behind him, and shot him in the head. Thus concluding the story. It made little to no sense for Loeb to add yet another strong guy into the Hulk books. There archetypes were already established through decades of adventures. In addition to the Abomination there were heavy hitters like the Absorbing Man, the Juggernaut, and the Wendigo. In fact when it came to parallel, or rather symmetrical villains there were two that had also been established previously. Professor Geoffrey Crawford was one of Banner’s university instructors. In an attempt to cure a terminal disease he ended up turning himself into Ravage. Yet unlike the Hulk he retained the intelligence of the nuclear scientist. Then there was a version of the Hulk from the far off future in which Banner’s personality had long since deteriorated, and all that was left was a tyrant known as the Maestro. Either one of these villains were overpowered compared to the rest of the Marvel universe. They could have potentially carried off Loeb’s wishlist. Yet I had a feeling that Jeph did not really understand how the powers worked in the Hulk books, how the psychology of the characters affected their mutations, or the roles of long-established foes. 

I would argue that Jeph Loeb didn't really understand the heroes or villains from the Hulk books. He instead wanted to rewrite the cast to fit his own interpretation. In doing so it would cause a domino effect that would also turn Betty Ross into a Red She-Hulk, and make the Hulk have a couple of illegitimate offspring. It was the same misunderstanding of the characters that would lead writers to break up Peter Parker, and Mary Jane, and turn Spider-Man into a long suffering hero. This ended up disappointing a large number of fans. While there were many people that liked the Red Hulk, the role of General Ross was completely missed by Loeb, and his successors. I want you to think about it for a moment. Would this type of villain evolution work for the strongest characters in any other book? What if a writer that didn't understand the dynamics of Superman decided to give Lex Luthor all sorts of powers? What if this writer then started calling his creation Alpha Superman? How would fans react to this sudden change? Once the genie was out of the bottle Luthor would never go back to being a mere mortal. It didn't make much sense in this context. It certainly wouldn't have made for a more interesting villain. In fact I think the opposite happened with General Ross.

For almost a century comic book writers had to challenge themselves to create an engaging story. A story where normal humans posed legitimate threats to the most powerful heroes in their respective universes. These writers had to build the tension, and maintain the voices that readers were used to. They had to plot out story arcs that would keep audiences hooked month after month. A well written villain could be used over, and over without feeling tired or broken. New villains were sometimes given a gimmick that flew in the face of established history. This was just so writers that didn't understand the books could have a couple of cool moments pop up. This was what I think Jeph Loeb did with the Red Hulk. General Ross represented much more than a domineering father, or dogmatic soldier. War was all he understood. The concept of peace was foreign to him. He could not bear to let Banner and Betty enjoy their life together. His obsession with control, with Banner, and the Hulk was an illness. He was willing to sacrifice his own men in his pursuit. This made him the actual monster in the stories. A person like Ross would be diagnosed with Ahab Syndrome, an actual condition where a person was consumed with revenge.

The introduction of the Red Hulk showed that Jeph Loeb completely misunderstood the dynamics of the Hulk. Mr. Loeb decided to rewrite the story of Moby Dick. In his version Captain Ahab would mysteriously get absurd powers. In fact the captain would beat up the whale at the start of the book, and then audiences would watch him go around the ocean beating up other sea monsters. The end of this story would somehow remain the same. The whale would take his revenge, and dispatch Ahab without much fanfare. Mr. Loeb ignored all the established heavy-hitters, and used the most basic type of symmetry to create the type of dumb strong guy that people assumed the Hulk was. The two Hulks would have a few fights, but they lacked the gravity of the battles against the Abomination, or Maestro. Audiences did not fear for the Hulk when this new monster popped up. In fact the Red Hulk would stop being used as a villain altogether. He would end up leading the government sponsored Thunderbolts on missions. You could imagine how absurd it would be if a symmetrical rival like the Reverse Flash, or Doomsday lead the Justice League after their debut. The Red Hulk was just another antihero added into a universe that had become saturated with cynical voices. Mr. Loeb did not create a rival that would withstand the test of time. 

In my opinion Jeph Loeb did a disservice to the character, and continuity of the Hulk. Mr. Loeb lacked the nuance, and understanding that a creator like ONE had when it came to writing for overpowered heroes. The Marvel books would never be the same because of this. There were many rivalries that still meant something in the comics. I will talk about whom I consider to be the Hulk’s greatest rival in the next entry. Until then I want to read your take. Tell me about it on the comments section. As always if you 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!

A symmetry of villainy, part 1...

Hello friends, I hope you are doing well. Today I want to talk about great comic book rivalries. How they are put together, and what I think makes the best ones work. This topic was actually inspired by the return of one of my favorite Incredible Hulk villains. I’ll talk about who that is in a moment. Right now I want to focus on my theory of great rival design. It is a sort of follow-up to a blog I wrote ages ago regarding The Frightful Symmetry of Street Fighter. I argued that all great fighting game designs worked because there was a lot of symmetry in the development of their cast. In the early days of fighting games the main characters had a rival or balance. They were often presented as the Asian versus Western master of the fighting arts. Think of Ken, and Ryu from Street Fighter, or Paul, and Kazuya from Tekken. Then later on the library was expanded to make female counterparts to lead characters. I talked about this on The Legend of Blue Mary. If you were a budding comic book, video game, or storyteller then you might find it hard to come up with a great recurring villain. The easiest way to approach this was by creating an opponent that was a mirror rival to the hero. For example long-time comic book fans might argue that The Abomination was the greatest enemy of the Incredible Hulk. They might be right.

The Abomination was a gamma-irradiated villain that was bigger, and stronger than the Hulk. He was also intelligent, sadistic, and cruel. Whereas the Hulk was filled with a blinding rage, he was still a moral character that just wanted to be left alone. When they battled the Earth literally trembled. There were few forces in the Marvel Universe that could come between them, let alone try to stop them. Unless you had read a lot of comic books then you might not realize how the power scale worked between different comic books. The villains on a street level hero / anti-hero like the Daredevil, or the Punisher, were nowhere near as dangerous as the villains the Hulk comics. The Hulk had single-handedly taken on characters that the entire X-Men, or Avengers rosters were unable to stop. When the Hulk, and Abomination fought it was the western equivalent of a daikaiju battle, like Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. The best course of action was to evacuate the nearest city, and let them fight. Good or evil would triumph, and the survivors would have to deal with the fallout. The Hulk, and Abomination were an example of symmetrical design. Think about your favorite comic book rivalries, and try to recall how many were symmetrical in nature.

My favorite DC hero was the Flash, it was debatable if I liked Barry Allen, or Wally West as the Flash more. Their greatest rival was also symmetrical in nature. The Reverse Flash was among the most dangerous opponents in all of DC canon. Eobard Thawne hailed from the far future. He had made it his mission to travel through time, and destroy the life, and legacy of the Flash. In several continuities he had succeeded in this, wiping out the Flash, and all of his allies. Having a compulsion to destroy entire generations of characters was a scary thought. Knowing that few in the DC universe could stop the Reverse Flash including Batman or Superman, made having the Flash there to protect the universe essential. For comic books, and most pop culture storytelling making a rival be a perfect balance just made sense. However I would argue that the most interesting rivalries were when the opponents were not perfectly balanced. Let’s talk about asymmetrical rivals.

Superman was arguably the most popular hero in DC, if not all of comics history. When he debuted in 1938 he fought mostly low level villains. The gangsters, and petty criminals that most people saw in media. Through the years different creators starting making villains more unique, and powered as well. Once the atomic bomb had been used in WWII the power scaling in comic books jumped exponentially. This was especially true for Superman, and lead to the creation of the Incredible Hulk. One of Superman’s greatest opponents was a freakish mirror version with all the same powers known as Bizarro. While Bizarro had many memorable encounters with the Man of Steel there was one villain who was a perpetual thorn in his side. Lex Luthor was seen by most as his greatest rival. He was intelligent, rich, and calculating. Using his money, and influence to gain as much power as possible he was aware that Superman was the only person that could stop his ambitions. Despite not having any super powers he had brought Superman to brink of death time, and time again. Although Bizarro was a great opponent, it turned out that Luthor was the one that gave Superman the most trouble.

Batman was similar to Superman in that they fought opponents with comparable abilities. Whether it was strength, and martial prowess (like Bane), intelligence (like the Riddler), or fear (the Scarecrow) then Batman had an opponent that could challenge his individual abilities. It was a literal wild card that gave Batman the most trouble. The Joker was pure chaos. He was unpredictable, and nothing the Batman did could prepare him for the next encounter. The Joker did not have the fighting ability of the Batman, nor the ability to calculate his next move. He would often surprise himself with his random schemes, and thus ensure that Batman would be caught off guard as well. This type of character design, the ability to fill a world with both symmetrical, and asymmetrical opponents was critical to pop culture. It made the best comic book, tv, movie, and video game battles work. I would argue that with a few exceptions it was the asymmetrical foes that were the most important for the hero to overcome. This lesson was especially true in team settings. 

Think about the greatest evil organizations in comic book history. DC had the Legion of Doom which was created to battle the Justice League. The evil organizations were made up of rivals with symmetrical powers to the heroes. This type of design was also featured in a number of Marvel books. The X-Men fought the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Morlocks, and the Reavers to name just a few. They were often composed of opponents that had asymmetrical designs as the heroes, but similar powers. This sort of balance went for a few other teams in the Marvel Universe as well. Most people were familiar with the Fantastic Four, but unless you were familiar with the comics you might have never heard of the U-Foes. This team recreated the same space flight that gave the Fantastic Four their powers through cosmic radiation. They even had brother and sister; Jimmy, and Ann Darnell. The duo of X-Ray, and Vapor mirrored Sue, and Johnny Storm. The respective Invisible Girl, and Human Torch. Yet again, unless you were a long time comic book fan then you might have never heard of these villains. By the same token if you were to poll casual fans, and comic book fans as to who was the greatest enemy of the Fantastic Four were they would often point to Doctor Doom.

Victor Von Doom was an individual gifted with absurd levels intelligence, a creative mind, and an affinity for the magical arts. He combined the sciences, with the dark magics, and made for one of the most powerful villains in all of Marvel history. It was his unique blend of magic, and technology that allowed him to counter anything the Richards family could throw at him. It was this sort of asymmetrical design that made him a standout character, and able to be placed in a story that would work across the spectrum of Marvel heroes, and villains. He could one day be fighting against Dr. Strange, and the next be teaming up with him in order to save the Earth from a demonic invasion. The complexity of his design, and absolute resolve in his purpose allowed writers to put him in stories that were as fascinating for the villain, as they were for the hero. The creators at Marvel understood that the most memorable villains had nothing in common with the heroes.

I was lucky enough to have brothers that also read comic books, and we collected titles across the spectrum. We were well versed in the happenings all over the Marvel universe, and the DC universe to a lesser extent. One of the most fascinating rivalries was that of Iron Man. He was possibly my little brother’s favorite Marvel hero, next to Dr. Strange. While Iron Man did fight other armored warriors like Titanium Man, the Iron Monger, and the Crimson Dynamo none were as big a nemesis as the Mandarin. The magic rings that the Mandarin wore allowed him to fight Iron Man on a physical level, but also Tony Stark on a psychological level. People that were only familiar with the characters thanks to the Marvel live action films had no idea how many amazing battles the duo had. As the years went on I realized that being able to create asymmetrical rivals meant a lot to the longevity of a title. It also made me realize that when new creators were placed on a book they did not always understand the characters that they were writing for. I will talk about this more on the next blog. For now I would like to know if there were any great rivalries that you enjoyed. Whether in a movie, game, or comic book. I’d like to hear about it on the comments section. As always if you 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!

The Frightful Symmetry of Street Fighter

This blog has material that was originally posted on 1UP on Aug 7, 2008. I've decided to expand on the ideas, and connect them to the announcement of Street Fighter 6. I have talked a little bit about Luke, and Jamie, the young stars of Street Fighter 6. I had to do a quick take on both of them first because they connect us to the roots of the fighting game genre. Luke had gotten, and still continues to get a lot of angst for being pushed as the new lead across the end of SFV in 2018, and into the launch of SF6 scheduled for 2023. One of the things that audiences disliked about the character, was that he was pushed ahead of established stars of the game. Another reason he was disliked was because he lacked a rival. The Street Fighter series, and most great fighting games in general, was lead by two main characters. If you are a budding designer I want you to think about creating two main heroes when constructing a narrative for your fighting game. If you only have one main character you actually run the risk of limiting the direction of the title, let alone potential series.

I think that sometimes developers don't understand why their game is not well received. There are elements that are shared across both US, and Japanese titles. If the most basic rules are ignored then the game feels lacking. One of the oldest tropes used by the industry is the casting of the main characters.  The oldest fighting games always started with two, almost equal characters. This of course could be attributed to Player 1, and Player 2. They were sometimes friendly rivals, like Ken, and Ryu in the original SF. They could even be brothers like Yun, and Yang in SFIII. Whether friend or foe the leads were almost universally a Japanese martial arts master, and a Western counterpart. This rule seemed to apply to brawler games as well.

The rest of the cast often tended to be a mix of different styles, and different body types. This most basic rule of designing a cast was observed by just about every Japanese studio in the early '90s. Studios didn't yet realize that a fighting game could feature dinosaurs, robots, or aliens. The US would help redefine the genre when they got involved. Studios like Rare, Midway, and Atari took a unique approach to graphics, and controls, with games like Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat, and Primal Rage respectively. Japanese studios kept things straightforward in the early days. The titles they developed relied on a Japanese, and American lead. At first they were pallet swaps with shared moves. Little by little the main characters were given their own unique set of moves, and special attacks. 

Technology evolved, and sprites gave way to polygons. The developers still followed the same basic formula. Japanese karate guy, versus USA karate guy. Despite the visual aesthetics it was becoming a slower, and more expensive proposition to stay with sprite-based technology. This became apparent when Capcom began development of Street Fighter III on their new CPS-3 hardware. The studio wanted to completely reboot the franchise. Ken, and Ryu were the only characters slated to return. The rest would be new faces. Alex was proposed to be the star of the game. For the first time in the studio's history, SF was released without a rival to the main character. Technically Gill, the boss character, was the main opponent to Alex. The proposed rival, Hugo, would not appear until months later in the expansion Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. Introducing Luke first in SFV, and Jamie in SF6 was a repeat of history. 

There is not one single reason why the SF characters became iconic while other fighting characters faded into obscurity. The success of the SF cast transcended the artist, and programmer. Their lasting status is a result of many factors. The look of the character, age, sex, features, color palette, wardrobe and even haircut were part of the equation. The way they moved, fought, and handled added to their mystique. Lastly their plot and purpose in SF canon helped solidify their status. In a way the most memorable characters were greater than the sum of their parts. One of the things that made SF so amazing was the careful use of balance, and symmetry. If you take a step back and look at the entire SF series you begin to spot the patterns. The balance of the titles was so well done that very few studios ever manage to recreate it, if even acknowledge it.

At the heart of almost every fighting game the designers know to put a main protagonist and to balance that character out with a rival. As I said above sometimes it is a friendly rival and other times it is a heated rival. In the planning stages these are generic, well-rounded strikers, essentially the Player 1 and Player 2 template from Karate Champ. At first look Ken and Ryu seem to be generic karate fighters. Those that have stuck through the series know that their look beguiles their ability. They look like strong fighters because of their huge muscle, and outfits. They draw the player into the world. They are human avatars and the gateway into the universe. We would not have identified with them right away had they been skinny kids wearing street clothes, or alien creatures on a distant star.

Every good fighting game has always begun with two main characters, balanced but unique in their own regards. Paul and Kazuya borrowed some of the stylings, and use of color from Ken and Ryu respectively. Although the plot, and fighters in Tekken got absurd in sequels, at the core it began as a three-dimensional response to Street Fighter II. Not every great fighting game had begun with two balanced protagonists though. Sometimes even great games needed some time to warm up before we got to see the counterparts join the cast. Before Luke, and even before Alex there was Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown in 1993.  His bitter rival Genjuro was a former friend, and would not appear until Samurai Showdown II in 1994.

Even in the USA developers were becoming keen on the basic idea of a balanced fighting cast. Liu Kang, and Johnny Kage were the Ryu, and Ken reflections in Mortal Kombat. Scorpion, and Sub Zero however became the most obvious pairing. As the series progressed the designers at Midway continued adding ninjas by the pair, be they human or robot. For a while these "pallet swap" characters seemed the norm in fighting games. Designers managed to grasp the nuances that SF introduced with their "symmetrical" characters. What few studios caught was the idea of using asymmetry with rivals.

Ryu is associated with the mythical dragon. His uppercut special attack is even known as the dragon punch. Ryu thus assumes more than one identity in the SF universe. He is a hero in the classic tradition. He is smart, strong and wise for his age. His origins are Japanese and thus he carries the culture and tradition of the Japanese martial arts. Gouken, Ryu’s master and mentor, was killed by his own brother Gouki. This gave Ryu a tragic origin. Ryu travels the Earth searching for a purpose through and for battle. His abilities are as mythical and awe-inspiring as the dragon he symbolizes.

For every hero there is a villain. Sagat began his SF career as the original world champion and arch rival to Ryu. Sagat is a physically imposing man, standing well over seven feet tall and all solid muscle. To counter Ryu’s disciplined karate Sagat is the master of Muay Thai kickboxing, a very physical and dangerous form of martial arts. Sagat is symbolized by the tiger. The tiger is a revered creature throughout Asia because it holds both cultural and spiritual symbolism. In the zodiac the tiger is the second most powerful creature behind the dragon, but unlike the dragon the tiger is a real creature thus connecting the heavens to the Earth. Sagat’s special attacks included the tiger uppercut, and tiger fireball.

There is a grander philosophy behind the balance in the SF universe. No character exists within the universe “just because.” Whether intentional or by accident, the characters of Ryu and Sagat have stood to symbolize much more than simply fighting game icons. Visually any person can tell who the “good guy and bad guy” are even if they have never played the game before. Upon further inspection the character seems to have several connotations associated with his name and likeness. Cultural and historical ideals are placed on all of the characters in the series, and more so to the main characters. Good and evil characters become complex when given their history in the game, animé and manga.

Both Ryu and Sagat are not black, and white, good and evil characters. They cross over into the gray area where combat exists simply for the sake of itself. Good guys sometimes have bad guy qualities (Ryu and his dark side or "Evil Hadou") and bad guys sometimes evolve (the newfound wisdom of Sagat). The character balance in SF is unique compared to other fighters because Capcom was the first studio to use the idea of two rivals as part of a greater whole. Despite their physical differences Ryu and Sagat are a balanced perfectly. Like the tiger and dragon set to be eternal rivals but never reaching conclusion. This is an example of asymmetry being used to balance the cast.

Symmetry was used heavily in the original SF. Every location featured two fighters that complimented each other. Ken and Ryu, Retsu and Geki, Joe and Mike, Lee and Gen, Birdie and Eagle, Adon and Sagat. The last two on the list were another example of great balance. While Ken balances Ryu, and Ryu balances Sagat, so too did Adon enter the equation to balance Sagat. He was the understudy, the Jaguar, ready to pounce on the aging Tiger. The original SF showed that it was possible to balance a cast without relying on similar styles or even backgrounds. Age could be used as a symbol of wisdom and technique (Gen) rather than as a way to "count the days" until a character was surpassed (Sagat). The idea of balance between these non-playable characters was fleshed out when SF II was developed. The World Warriors were an attempt at complete balance within the game. Although Ken had Ryu, the rest of the cast was lacking a balanced rival, those issues were addressed in following titles.

The idea of a younger upstart balancing out an established veteran returned with Chun-Li's friendly rival. As the only female in SFII Chun-Li represented many things in form and purpose. She was very similar to Ryu in that her inclusion was well thought out, and she captured many of the heroic ideals, however she was lacking her own "Ken." Cammy was supposed to replace Chun-Li in the draft of Street Fighter III. Regardless of that her addition in Super Street Fighter II was welcomed by fans. A young secret soldier using British military themes rather than traditional Chinese Kung-Fu garb helped cement her purpose. Cammy became a hit, whether gamers acknowledged her as Chun-Li's balance or not.

The idea of younger dopplegangers was very strong in the following sequels. Even more inspired was making them of the opposite sex. Sakura was very much a modern retelling of the Ryu character. She did not have the same martial arts path that Ryu had. She was the modern fighter, born to a media-saturated world that didn't carry over the old traditions of the ancient martial arts. She was brash and young, running headfirst into battles against more experienced fighters. Her natural ability saw her through the fights. In this way her spirit was as enduring as Ryu's.

Masahiko Nakahira introduced a young female version of Ken in the Sakura Ganbare manga. With red sailor suit, and all! This perfectly mirrored Sakura and added another layer of balance to the Street Fighter Zero series. Strong female leads could be used in the series to balance each other out but uniquely for the men as well. Not many games featured male and female protagonists that complimented each other, let alone did it well.

Even boss characters with mysterious powers could be balanced by women with equally unique abilities. This was the case for Vega / Dictator. The boss of SFII had a unique fighting style that employed "Psycho" powers. Not to mention that he had a secretive past. To help expand on his background, and explain his powers the studio introduced Rose. 

Female protagonists could also add an extra dimension to the martial art they represented. R. Mika was Zangief's very own "Sakura" but she also added some top rope moves too. Now wrestling in SF had a unique cross section of grappling techniques, and over-the-top pro wrestling moves. Makoto in SF III serves in a similar function, her form of karate is far different than what Ryu or Sakura practice, and she helps add an additional level of balance to the universe.

Capcom producer Noritaka Funamizu was able to connect various games through the Zero series, and help make for some interesting balance ideas. For example he tied together the worlds of Final Fight to Street Fighter, and Street Fighter II. Relationships between characters were established. Even though these men weren't against each other in canon, the military theme and evil fighting style of Rolento was a good way to balance out the heroic soldier Charlie Nash.

However not every character in the SF universe had to represent a specific style. This was an open tournament, and brawlers were welcome to fight. The diversity of characters helped ensure that players would be able to find one that suited them. Among these characters the idea of symmetry remained. Birdie and Sodom were characters on the fringe of the SF universe yet whose oddball style helped break up the monotony of the traditional arts.

The most memorable of the unique characters would have to be Dhalsim and Blanka. Their esoteric fighting art, or lack thereof, added an extra dimension to the SF universe. Those characters represented the unknown or untapped human potential. They represented the forms yet to be discovered by the "modern" world as much as they were an homage to characters from pop culture films. Dhalsim and Blanka blew the doors of the SF universe wide open, so that strange styles and characters like Urien, Gill and Necro would "fit" into the world.

If there was one fighting game whose entire purpose was a quest to balance the entire SF cast it would have to be Street Fighter EX. The game was filled with amalgamations of the original world warriors as well as nods to real fighters, and pop culture as well. So the series now had two balanced wrestlers, two balanced karate fighters, two balanced military veterans, etc. The main characters in the story, Kairi and Allen, served to be the respective Ryu, and Ken of that world. Notice that Kairi has the youthful appearance of Ryu with the scarring and solitary eye of Sagat. Notice also that his counterpart has stylings reminiscent of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Ken should have been so unique! These parallels went right down the line with the rest of the cast. An evil military fighter named Doctrine Dark countered Guile, Pullum Purna balanced Chun-Li, and Skullomania countered Dhalsim.

My favorite character, only because I am such a mark for wrestling, was Darun Mister. There has not been a wrestler invented yet that has been a better compliment to Zangief. He was large and burly plus had his own unique cosmetic features. Most important he was based on a real (yet relatively unknown in the West) undefeated wrestling legend. Unlike the sailor Vodka Gobalsky that became wrestler Zangief, almost as an afterthought, Darun had a direct connection to wrestling. Do a Google search for the "Great Gama" and read about the Indian's amazing exploits back when wrestling was "real." Darun is easily the best wrestling character not featured in any other Capcom game including Muscle Bomber / Saturday Night Slam Masters. Darun was placed in the game as the true rival to Zangief and the outcome of their encounter has never been concluded. The EX cast should have returned in latter numbered SF games because they so perfectly balanced the established icons.

The idea of balance and symmetry was not as strong between the characters introduced in SF III, and SF IV when compared to the original World Warriors. There were several reasons for that. First off the studio wanted to completely redo the series. They had to as a sense of being practical. A good number of the developers that had worked on SF, SF II, SF Zero had left Capcom over a decade to start up projects at SNK, DIMPS, and ARIKA. In order to move the franchise forward Capcom wanted to only bring back Ken, and Ryu. They would get caught up in entirely new fight, with new friends, and opponents. By featuring men, and women of different ages, and backgrounds, it was an attempt to recreate the magic of SF II. There was a problem however, fans weren't ready to let go of their favorites. Ken, and Ryu were the stars of the franchise from a narrative standpoint. But audiences enjoyed the gameplay with their favorite characters. The rest of the cast was so well done, and so well balanced that it seemed a waste to throw them away. Imagine the reaction to a studio that made a great racing game, but then decided to throw away all the pre-2000 cars in favor of only post 2000 models. That sort of explained the post SF II reactions to the series. 

Alex had the elbows of Adon, the headbutt of Birdie, and the suplex of Zangief, but he wasn't as fun to play with as those individual characters. Dudley was an amazing boxer, and played completely different than M. Bison/Boxer. Some wanted to see how the two would match up. The leggy Elena was not quite Chun-Li, Necro was not quite Dhalsim. Fans had a hard time warming up to the cast, and their new fighting mechanics. In time they would enjoy what Capcom was trying to do, but it took two more updates, and the addition of Chun-Li, Urien, Hugo, Gouki, Makoto, Q, Remy, and Twelve to get there. There were similar growing pains with Street Fighter IV, and V. Continually going back through the roster, and adding fan-favorite characters wasn't a bad thing. Nor was trying to experiment with new styles. The titles felt like Capcom was going through the motions, but the games were not progressing. The series was moving on the whims of a fickle producer with an odd sense of humor. Then something radical happened. Yoshinori Ono was let go, and Street Fighter 6 got bold new direction. 

The studio seemed to learn from the reactions to SF IV, and V. First off there were no comedy fatties, or other silly characters that distracted from the lineup. These people almost all looked like representatives of a unique fighting art. Director Takayuki Nakayama, Producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, and Designer Yusuke Hashimoto wanted to tell an entirely new story, without losing touch with their legacy. The old stomping grounds of Metro City would be revisited. The original eight World Warriors returned. Representatives from Super Street Fighter II, IV, and V as well. Sadly nobody from Zero, or III made the cut. Of course DLC would remedy that. Then there were eight entirely new faces (five of which were women!) from around the world. The rules of balance, and symmetry had returned. Luke wants to parallel the journey of Ryu, while having Jamie acting as his Ken. The balance wasn't as heavy-handed as it was in the EX series. That's a good start. A few of the new characters seemed destined to be perfect match-ups for the icons. 

Chun-Li had returned with an entirely new look. I'm still going to write about her in the future. For now I want to mention that A.K.I seems to be her new balance. Both women are from China. Chun-Li represents a classical fighting tradition. Her kicks are unparalleled, as is her sense of duty to the police. A.K.I. looks like a villain right out of a comic book, or possibly action movie. Her porcelain-white skin is eerie, making her appear almost supernatural. She wears flats like Chun-Li, but the similarities end there. Her costume is black, a sinister shade, and form fitting. She has pant leggings, and tulle-sleeves over her pale arms. She lacks the muscle definition of Chun-Li, but has claw-like jewelry. She's signaling that she is not a kicker, but a slasher. Just like Han, the villain from Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. I can't wait to learn more about A.K.I.

Juri is in the game as well, long considered the balance to Chun-Li, as she was cut from the same cloth. The diabolical Korean has a new match up to consider. Mimi hails from France, and seems to have legs longer than either Chun-Li, or Juri. Not only that there is minimal fabric restricting the range of motion on her kicks. Fans have long contemplated when the French kickboxing art of savate would be featured in the series. To be fair Remy in Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike was a practitioner of savate. His ability to throw "sonic boom" fireballs, and use a flash kick similar to Guile sort of distracted from that.  Hopefully Mimi brings entirely new kick mechanics to the franchise. 

I want everyone reading this blog to study the symmetry, and balance between other characters featured in Capcom fighters like Rival Schools, and Vampire / Darkstalkers. I want you to look at SNK, and all the other game studios that made good use of balance. There was a method to their success. If only the designers working on SF IV, and V had taken the same consideration at the ways in which characters used to compliment each other, through the years, and through different games. Then they would have shaped their cast accordingly. That's what I think anyhow. I would like to hear your thoughts on the symmetry, and balance of character designs. Post your takes in the comments section. If you 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!