Udon Street Fighter # 2

 By Mark Rodriguez

I thought I had the full Street Fighter run, when I realized I must have somehow missed issue 2 back then. Thanks to Hipcomics I was able to find the second issue without paying some insane price.

Last time, Guile went to stop some Shadaloo thugs led by Birdie that were causing trouble in a restaurant in Chinatown. It just so happened that Ryu, Ken and Eliza were also at this restaurant. As one of the thugs got away, Chun Li arrives to cut him off, as she's also out to stop Shadaloo.

The issue opens with Agent Killer Bee AKA Cammy, reporting Ryu's location to Bison. She observes Ryu, Ken and Eliza as they exit the restaurant in Chinatown, San Francisco. Bison says Ryu doesn't realize his full potential. He tells Cammy to continue to follow him and keep him updated on any major movements.

Guile chases the Shadaloo thug that got away and sees that Chun Li already took care of him. Chun Li introduces herself as being an agent of the Hong Kong division of Interpol. Guile introduces himself as being part of U.S Special Ops, who is also working with Interpol. He asks what brings Chun Li to this area and she says she is supposed to meet with Commander Charlie Nash to discuss their next move against Shadaloo.

Guile says Charlie is his friend and tells her that he disappeared on a mission two months ago and knows Bison is somehow responsible. Chun Li reveals that she's also after Bison. Guile tells her to meet him at the Interpol HQ the following day as they have a lot to talk about.

At Ken's house, Ryu has a dream of back when he was a child. Akuma and Gouken are facing off, with a young Ryu bearing witness. Akuma tells Gouken that the martial arts he teaches Ryu are flawed unless he embraces the murderous intent of Shotokan. Gouken says Shotokan is not about death and destruction and he dishonors Master Goutetsu's name by saying so. 

Akuma says even their master did not understand. He put him to the test and not only defeated him, but killed him. Akuma and Gouken charge towards each other and fight before Ryu's eyes. Akuma is defeated and he tells Gouken to finish him. Gouken says he will not, and he will continue to use his martial arts to preserve life rather than destroy it. 

Akuma says his mercy will be his weakness. He tells Gouken that he accepts a half-truth and he will never be as free as he is. Akuma walks off, telling his brother that the day will come where he will regret not having killed him. As he walks off, Akuma's 'ten/heaven' character is very evident on his back.

Ryu wakes up and recognizes that character as the same one left behind upon Gouken's death. Ryu remembers Akuma and wonders if his master was really killed by his own brother. Regardless of who's responsible, Ryu will avenge his master's death.

Ten minutes later, Ryu tells Ken about Akuma and asks if he will help find him in Japan. Ken says he will and Eliza says he won't go without her. Ken will get his jet ready so that they can head out in two hours. Ryu is surprised he owns a jet and Ken said it was a gift from his father after he won the US Martial Arts Tournament a few years back. 

Cammy is outside and spying on them. She informs Bison that Ryu and Ken are heading out to Japan. Bison contacts Vega and tells him that he has a special assignment for him.

The next morning at US Interpol HQ, Chun Li tells Guile that Bison took out her father. He was doing undercover work for Interpol and Shadaloo caught on. Her father has been missing for half a year but she still holds out hope on finding him alive. Chun Li asks about any updates on Shadaloo's activities and Guile tells her that they have shown interest in a man named Ryu. Chun Li says Ryu was the guy at the restaurant they were in. 

Guile gets on the phone to get the last known location of Ryu from the Shadaloo file. He finds out that Ryu is headed for Japan. He says if he's involved in one of Shadaloo's plots, then Ryu can lead them to Bison. He has to find out what happened to Charlie and Chun Li's father.

Ryu and Ken arrive at Gouken's Dojo in Japan. Ryu asks if Eliza will be ok on her own. Ken says 'give her a four star hotel, a mall full of fashion boutiques and a credit card and she won't even miss them'. Ryu says he found himself a good woman and asks how he got so lucky. Ken says she asks him that every day, and then asks if Ryu has any 'sparring partners'. Ryu doesn't answer and Ken says he's still 'all work and no play'. 

They go to their fallen master's favorite place to meditate and Ken laments that he hasn't returned under happier circumstances. Ken says he thought of bringing flowers, but will instead show him something that will mean more to his master. He says Gouken always told him that the ShoRyuKen was always his strength, so he created a new technique based on the one he taught him, something made in his honor.

Ken leaps in the air and shouts SHINRYUKEN, which is a vertical spinning version of the classic move, leaving a spiral trail of fire coming from Ken's fist. Ken lands and tells his master that he promises to help Ryu avenge him.

Vega is in Shibuya Japan saying that finding Ryu will take longer than expected since Killer Bee lost track of him once he left the states. Bison tells him over the phone that Ryu is Japan's Greatest Warrior and shouldn't be hard to find. Vega says they could have avoided the delay if Killer Bee had done her job properly. He wonders why he continues to put his trust in her and the other Doll Agents. Bison says the Dolls are not his concern, they have never failed him and Vega better do the same. Vega says Bison will see the limitations of the Dolls soon enough. He sees a billboard advertising Japan's Greatest Warrior.

There is a long line to meet this warrior, who is none other than renown sumo, Edmund Honda. Among the fans are Sakura Kasugano and her friend Kei. Kei is bored to always be dragged to these events but Sakura says Honda is the greatest there is and she wants to grow up and be just like him. Kei asks if she wants to be 400 pounds. Sakura says she will if she can, and she already joined some hot dog eating contests to bulk up. Just then she notices something going on.

Vega approaches Honda and tells him he was expecting Ryu but instead found a fat slob. Honda asks if he can back his big words with his actions. Vega puts his mask on as Honda launches himself at him with a Sumo Headbutt. Vega flips out of the way and asks if that's all he has. Honda attacks Vega with his Hundred Hand Slap and Vega slides under him and gets behind him.

Vega kicks Honda on the back of the head and then uses a slide kick to trip him off his feet. Vega says Honda is as agile as a walrus and the Sumo gets enraged. Honda takes to the air, hoping to land on Vega with a Sumo Smash. Vega leaps out of the way and catches him with an Air Suplex. Vega holds his claw up to Honda's face and says he would finish him under most circumstances but in this case he believes he is already more than ugly enough. Vega walks off and puts his coat back on as a photo of Ryu slips from his pocket.

Sakura goes over and picks up the picture of Ryu. 

Vega walks past a building and admires his reflection. He then notices that Ken and Eliza are walking behind him. He turns to see them walking towards him, completely unaware of who he is and that he is after them.

Back Up Story-

Bison sends Killer Bee after a Shadaloo agent that is actually a double agent working for Interpol. She asks if he wants him dead or alive. Bison says alive for now since he wishes to speak with him. Cammy asks for his location, and Bison tells her to go to Hong Kong.

Chun Li's father is being pulled into a black car as he calls out for her. Chun Li runs towards him but Cammy suddenly leaps in and kicks her back.

Chun Li asks the blonde who she is and why she's doing this. Cammy says she's just following orders and tells her to forget him. Chun Li kicks the agent, who blocks her strike. Chun Li and Cammy block each other's attacks until Cammy lands a kick to Chun Li's midsection and lands a punch to the face.

Cammy goes for a kick but Chun Li leans back to avoid it. Chun Li grabs her and throws her to the ground. Cammy says it was a good throw, but she's delayed her long enough. Cammy bounces upwards off the walls of the buildings lining the alleyway as she makes her escape. She tells Chun Li that her father is long gone. Chun Li notices the car is gone and laments the disappearance of her father.

Cheap Shots-

Akuma just defeated Dee Jay, another victory in a long running winning streak. He takes a moment to savour his victory when suddenly he's hit by a huge wave of water. Even Akuma is powerless against the harsh water as he is completely engulfed. 

A kid tells his friend over the bathroom stall that he accidentally dropped his Game Boy Advanced in the toilet. 

My Thoughts- 

The story continues as Ryu and Ken seek out Akuma, not knowing that Bison is sending his people after them. One thing you're going to see in this series is a lot of 'this person just so happens to run into that person and then this other person also happens to be in the area' and so forth. Street Fighter's backstory is so convoluted, especially with the Alpha storyline going into the past and adding more characters that weren't around during Street Fighter 2. Udon does its best to cover all its bases and still finds ways to add something new.

It's always been assumed Bison killed Chun Li's father Dorai personally. However, being in charge of such a large organization, it's not that out of the question that he can just send someone to do the job for him, like how he's sending Vega after Ryu now. In this version of the story, it seems the Shadaloo agents grabbed Chun Li's father and sent Cammy to keep her busy long enough for them to get away. In a similar case, the Street Fighter 2 V anime had Bison hire Cammy to kill Dorai directly. 

This issue also mentions Master Goutetsu, the man that trained both Akuma and Gouken. He was first seen in the actual games in Akuma's ending of Street Fighter Alpha and he has appeared in the Street Fighter Alpha Generations movie.

This issue introduces us to Cammy, Honda, Sakura and Vega. We'll see how their story continues as Ryu and Ken start their search for Akuma. 

I have to say, Udon is probably happy that Capcom finally started making the story go forward with Street Fighter 6. If they ever made a Street Fighter Alpha 4 or so, I'm not sure how Udon would somehow incorporate all the new characters in flashbacks or so without screwing up all the stories they've already done.