Udon Street Fighter # 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

Udon's Street Fighter comics have always done amazing work bringing the Street Fighter characters to life, and somehow untangling the mess that is the game's lore. The first series started off going under the Image label until it would eventually go under Udon. The first few issues go into the backstories of the characters and the overall Street Fighter Alpha storylines, leading up to Street Fighter 2.

The fun part is that I got the full line of the first Street Fighter run, but most of them are in Spanish since I bought them in Mexico and since I was living there at the time. I didn't realize that I actually found a few American issues here and there, so in a way I have 'repeats' of some issues. I'll take advantage of this to add any oddities or weird translation changes I might run into as I review the issues.

In this particular case, I noticed the Mexican edition started with a few extra pages that weren't seen in the American comic before both versions 'synch up', so I'll also mention that in the review since I want to go over the full story. I am not sure why this version was not in the American comic, especially since a certain panel is very popular. 

A fun coincidence is that it seems every comic I picked up in the states in which I already owned a Mexican copy always turned out to be different covers since every cover had variants.

The issue opens with Ryu training near a waterfall as we get narration from his Master Gouken. Gouken says he remembers seeing Ryu grow from a child he once adopted into a man within the halls of his dojo. He turned from a clumsy beginner to his best student. He witnessed how he has mastered so many techniques as if he was the one that created them. Ryu has achieved what so many have sought after but few have obtained, the balance between grace, speed and power. 

Gouken says Ryu is about to become everything that he wishes he could be, or into everything he could have feared. Ryu has made it far, following the same path of perfection that he has seen in someone else. 

This other person also sought to completely dominate the Shotokan Martial Arts, but it led him to a cruel and brutal path. His training led him to a crossroads, to pursue greatness with honor and a pure heart or to allow his desire for victory to lead him into becoming a murderer. When met with that decision, he chose to sacrifice his humanity for power. Ryu will eventually hit the same crossroads and it's a decision he'll have to make.

Gouken says Ryu has a part of him that every warrior that devotes himself to martial arts must face. This is the part what wants to win even when the price is too high. When the price of victory involves taking a life. Ryu will have to face himself.

As Gouken says all this, Ryu is meditating when he sees a vision of the Evil version of himself. Ryu goes to throw a punch and his evil form leaps over him. Evil Ryu does a Hurricane Kick, which Ryu ducks under. Ryu kicks at his feet but his opponent dodges it. Ryu and Evil Ryu fire off a Ha-Do-Ken at each other, but the Evil version knocks Ryu back into a tree.

Gouken says the fight will be difficult, but he must never give in to the temptation of his dark side. Ryu gets up as his opponent approaches him and throws a kick. Evil Ryu teleports behind him and catches him off guard. Evil Ryu knees Ryu in the back, following up with a punch to the midsection, a punch to the face and sending him flying back with a ShoRyuKen. 

As Ryu tries to get up, his evil version leaps up and lands on him, slamming his face into the ground. Gouken says that he hoped Ryu can reach his unlimited potential not by succumbing to his power, but by mastering it. Every light has its darkness, Gouken wishes that Ryu's darkness never overcomes him. 

Ryu snaps out of his mediation as he hears his name called out. He wonders if all of this was a dream. Ryu recognizes the voice as that of his master and runs over to his dojo. He sees the dojo's sign broken in half and steps inside. Ryu sees his master Gouken, laying dead as his blood stains the walls in the form of the symbol Ten (Heaven). 

Both the American and Mexican comic opens with Bison lifting Charlie up by the face as Vega, Sagat and Balrog watch. Bison smiles evilly as his Psycho Power flares up. Charlie's military dog tags fall to the floor. 

Sixty days later, Guile sits in his office at the US Interpol Headquarters in San Francisco. He wondered what happened to his friend Charlie since he went off on that mission to investigate Bison and Shadaloo. Even after the rescue team went to retrieve him, all they could find were his dog tags. Guile says Charlie was his best friend and he taught him how to fight. He felt like together they could accomplish anything. It's been two months since he'd been told to accept that he was dead. That's something Guile refuses to do. 

Elsewhere, Ryu arrives in San Francisco, looking for Ken who sent him a photo of his new house and his new girl. Just then some dogs run at Ryu and surround him. He just gives them a glare and they all run away. Just then Ken arrives, saying he hopes he's ready because he's been waiting a long time for this. Ryu drops his duffle bag in time to block Ken's flying kick.

Ken throws a punch that Ryu shoves to the side. Ken does a kick that Ryu moves back to dodge. Ken jokes that if Ryu doesn't fight back, he's going to hurt his feelings. Ryu catches his fist and says this isn't time for games. Eliza calls out to Ken and asks him what he's doing out there. Ken says he was just finishing up training when Ryu showed up. Eliza is glad to see that Ryu finally came to visit them. Ken notices Ryu's face and asks what's wrong. Ryu tells them that their master has been murdered. 

Eliza is shocked and Ken asks how this happened. Ryu says he's not sure. Ken says he can get settled in and then he can explain everything. He says it's still good to see him as Eliza carries Ryu's duffle bag.

Elsewhere, Officer Gibson has the Shadaloo report that Commander Guile has requested. She says Shadaloo has been busy lately and they've gotten a lot of information from the Shadaloo agents they grabbed during a sting. Their operations have intensified in the west coast and Guile asks if it's their usual weapons and drug trafficking. Gibson says something new came up. They discovered a lot of surveillance reports and files on a man named Ryu, and Shadaloo seems very interested in him. Guile asks if it's the same Ryu that defeated Sagat in the last Street Fighter Tournament a few years ago.

Guile says that Sagat is one of Bison's right-hand men, but that doesn't explain why he'd go to such lengths to find Ryu. He asks what information they have about Ryu and Gibson says not much. She says that according to US Immigration, he just entered the country this morning, in San Francisco. She looks for a recent picture of him as Guile gets a phone call. Guile heard that Shadaloo agents have been seen causing trouble in Chinatown. He says Gibson can finish briefing him when he returns.

In Chinatown, Ryu, Ken and Eliza are having dinner. Ken tells Ryu he should eat something. He then asks what happened. Ryu explains he was training when he heard a cry from the dojo. He ran towards the dojo but his master was already dead. Ryu could tell that a battle took place but he doesn't know anyone that could have brutally murdered their master. Behind Gouken's body was the character 'Ten' written in blood, but he doesn't know the meaning behind it. He just knows that Master Gouken, the man who raised him as if he were his son, is now dead and he needs Ken's help to avenge him. 

Just then some men walk into the restaurant, bothering the patrons. They go up to the owner and tell him they owe them some protection money. The owner says they already paid the Raging Storms the week before and they better leave if they don't want trouble. The man says they took care of the Storms four days ago. The man introduces himself as Birdie and says there's a new player in town named Shadaloo. He asks for the money and also some spring rolls. The man refuses and Birdie slaps him across the face with his massive backhand. 

Birdie asks him to repeat himself and the owner still refuses. Birdie says it's 'his funeral' when Ryu suddenly grabs on to his fist. Birdie turns to see him and says he just signed his own death warrant. Just then Guile arrives and tells everyone to freeze.

Guile and some cops arrive to calm things down. Ken tells Ryu to let the authorities handle things, since this isn't his fight. Guile catches sight of Ryu, and Ryu notices. Just then Birdie says he's not going to give up so easily and he raises his fists at Guile. Birdie whips his chain at Guile, which he manages to duck. Guile spins and throws a punch, which Birdie blocks. Birdie raises his arms and drops the chain down but Guile leaps out of the way. 

Guile combs his hair and says he was expecting some Shadaloo agents but instead found some Shadaloo wannabes. He says he'd be surprised if Bison even knew their names. Birdie is enraged and he leaps out at Guile. Guile smiles and sends Birdie flying back with his Flash Kick. 

Birdie is defeated and Guile tells his men to cuff these street punks up. One of Birdie's men elbows one of the officers in the face and tells him he's not going down like that. He makes a break through the kitchen as Guile tells the cops to get him. As the thug exits the kitchen he suddenly gets hit by rapid fire kicks before being knocked into the air. He lands in front of Chun Li who asks if he works for Shadaloo. 

Back Up Story-

Two years before the main story, someone is alerted that the final fight of the Street Fighter Tournament is about to begin. The person says the tournaments have begun to bore him since Sagat always makes such short work of his opponents. The other person says that this fight might be different since an undefeated Shotokan fighter from Japan has made it to the finals and might actually give the champ a challenge. The person says maybe this fight will offer him some degree of entertainment.

Ryu is using his Hurricane Kick, which Sagat is blocking. Sagat asks if he's the best this tournament could offer him and calls him pathetic. Sagat fires off a Tiger Shot that Ryu blocks with his Ha-Do-Ken. Sagat's Tiger Shot overpowers Ryu and knocks him back. Sagat leaps towards Ryu declaring the fight to be over. Ryu says he will not lose and hits him with a ShoRyuKen, hard enough to slice Sagat across the chest. 

Sagat falls and Ryu wins the fight, but he wonders what is this feeling inside him. As he heads out, Bison tells him that he has potential and not to waste it. Bison says they will meet again.

Cheap Shots-

We see Ryu and Ken getting ready to fight. As Ken runs in to attack, Ryu notices something is wrong. Ken lands several hits on Ryu's face and asks why he's not blocking. Ryu says he can't. Two kids are playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 in the arcades and one of them says his joystick is busted. 

My Thoughts- 

I was very confused when I saw a different first page between both comics, one with Ryu training in the woods and the other with Bison grabbing Charlie. As I read the American comic, I saw the blurb about Street Fighter # 0, so I found out it was a preview issue with this story. The Mexican comic put it in there and it flows pretty seamlessly with the rest of the comic.

The story is pretty good, and of course, Udon had the power of hindsight as the new games, particularly the Alpha games added a lot more lore and personality to the characters. If you compare this to the Malibu comics, back then we didn't even know what Charlie or Gouken looked like.

The story starts out with Ryu and Ken and what will become their quest to avenge their master's death, but we're already seeing threads involving the others. In the classic games, Bison was the big enemy for both Guile and Chun Li, which drove the story beyond just the tournament. With the animated movie and Alpha games adding the plot about Bison trying to get to Ryu as well, this brings Ryu and by extension Ken, deeper into the story. 

Udon's art is always top-notch. One of the things that made their Street Fighter comics pop is that almost anime-style that comes real close to the official character designs from the games and promotional artwork. There's a lot of attention to detail in terms of the attacks, not just the special moves, but the basic punches and kicks and such too. 

Now when we compare it to the Mexican comic, sadly the colors do look slightly washed out when compared to the originals. I apologize in advance when I get to the issues where I don't have the American version handy. I have the full 14-issues series of the Mexican run, but only a few of the American ones.

Obviously the biggest difference between both comics was the Mexican version slipping in Street Fighter # 0 in the beginning. The translation is pretty spot on from what I could see. There were some odd examples that stood out though. When Guile mentions that Ryu won the Street Fighter tournament, not only did they translate Street Fighter into 'Pelea Callejera', he also said two years ago, instead of a couple of years ago. Thanks to the bonus story we do find out that Ryu did, in fact, defeat Sagat two years ago, so maybe the translators jumped the gun. Also while 'Pelea Callejera' is an accurate translation of Street Fighter, most of the times Mexican franchises don't translate the names of the series and leave them in English. To make it weirder, in the bonus story, they left the word Street Fighter as is.

 Other oddities I found deal with American phrases and/or slang. When Birdie entered the Chinese restaurant, he said 'smell that MSG' and I'm surprised the Mexican version kept is as MSG. MSG is short for  Monosodium Glutamate, which is a flavor enhancer for foods. In Spanish it's called Glutamato Monosódico so the abbreviation should be GMS. Another thing is Birdie called the Raging Storms gang 'candy-asses', to which the Spanish version would translate into sissies. I do wonder if the Raging Storms was a sly reference to Geese Howard from Fatal Fury.

Cool start to what would become a long-running series for Udon as they cover the different games in the Street Fighter franchise. Can't wait to check out issue 2.