Street Fighter 6 Evolution Special

 By Mark Rodriguez

After what seemed like forever, Street Fighter 6 is finally here and has had several new comics covering the story and new characters. While the mini series dealt mostly with Ken's story, this one deals with Rashid, Cammy and newcomer AKI. Let's take a look.

'Rashid VS AKI' opens with Rashid going about his day in Cairo, Egypt, while being observed by someone hiding in the shadows. The woman says Rashid is her master's foe, and once she turns in his head, he will be proud of her. 

Rashid has a fight with Dan, which is being filmed. Dan blocks one of Rashid's strikes, and Rashid ducks under his flying jumpkick. Both guys punch each other in the jaw at the same time, knocking each other back. Rashid laughs and says that was great. The woman wonders if Rashid was actually able to beat her master with those skills. 

Rashid checks his 'Footube' numbers and figures they could be better. He wonders if Menat is in town, when suddenly he runs into a cloaked figure. The cloaked figure turns out to be AKI, who lunges towards Rashid.

Rashid easily dodges all of her attacks and asks he if she wanted to challenge him after seeing his videos. He asks if they can fight tomorrow since it will be dark soon and the fight will be difficult to film. AKI is unamused and launches one of her Poison Bubbles (Nightshade Pulse) at him. 

Rashid recognizes the bubble is made of poison, which reminds him of FANG. He creates a whirlwind to snuff out the bubble and then launches at her with a series of kicks. As AKI blocks them, her foot is getting close to the ledge. AKI falls off the ledge but Rashid grabs her wrist and pulls her back up. AKI thinks that he leaves himself wide open.

Rashid tells AKI that she has good offense but that poison isn't good for her. He offers her a rematch for Footube, but without poison this time. AKI vanishes, thinking she can eliminate him at any time but decides to let him live a while longer. Rashid focuses on his video views and AKI says he really does leave himself wide open as she leaves for now.

'Dee Jay VS Cammy' opens wit Dee Jay about to announce the winner of the best Reggae album. The nominees are the previous year's winner Mista Morrows, Chandelier and the legendary Chilton Reid. Suddenly Cammy leaps in to attack with a Cannon Drill (or Spiral Arrow if you prefer). 

Dee Jay gets out of the way, telling her he thought that they ended their feud years ago. Cammy says some old grudges never die, and the best place for her to beat him is in front of a worldwide audience. The fight surprises Dee Jay's cameraman. Dee Jay says 'this old drum can still wail out some new beats' as he uses his speed to dodge her attacks. He says the fans still want to hear the classic hits as he hits her with his Machine Gun Uppercut. 

Cammy says she hasn't been resting on her laurels either and has a new spin for him. She flips in the air for her Hooligan Combination and wraps her legs around his neck. She then sending him flying with her Fatal Leg Twister. 

Dee Jay tosses one of his Air Slashers at Cammy, which she manages to block. He rushes at her and grabs her shoulders just as she latches onto his. Dee Jay asks if she's ready to end the track and Cammy says the song's not over yet. Cammy notices one of Dee Jay's cameramen about to pull out a gun on them. Cammy gives the signal and Dee Jay launches her towards the man with a flying kick, which takes him down.

Cammy asks Dee Jay if the man was a friend of his. Dee Jay says the man is named Rasta Ferrari, one of the Reggae nominees from the previous year. Rasta says he should have won and Dee Jay is only getting by with nostalgia. Dee Jay and Cammy do a fist-bump showing that their fight was a ruse to reveal someone that was trying an attempt on the Jamaiican kickboxer's life. Cammy says the fight gave her enough time to determine who the attacker would be. 

Dee Jay remembered that he still had to name the winner. The winner was Chilton Reid. It was his 11th nomination but this was his first win. He thanks his fans, saying he never thought he'd get there and thanks them for remembering him. Cammy is glad he won and Dee Jay says the next generation shows a lot of promise but they can never count the 'old timers' out.

'Jamie VS Luke' opens in Metro City as Jamie knocks Luke to the ground with his breakdancing moves. He tells Luke he shouldn't have challenged the 'Peacekeeping Breakdancer' in his own neighborhood. Luke says this is his city and both of them argue over who gets to protect Metro City.

After a bit, Jamie and Luke are sitting on the sidewalk talking about growing up in the city. Jamie explains his bros kept him going, and he still thinks he's not in their league. Luke explains his father inspired him. He thought he was a deadbeat but he was really strong. They introduce now formerly themselves and Luke Sullivan and Jamie Siu. Later on they hang out at a bar and the ladies flock over Jamie. Both of them start talking tough and it leads to another fight between them.

Jamie and Luke fight it out in front of a crowd. Jamie drinks from his jug until he's 'loaded up', which makes his hair go wild. Jamie hits Luke with one of his combos, and Luke counters with a Rising Uppercut. Both men smirk and at each other and then lunge towards each other again as their fight continues.

My Thoughts- 

This was a fun read and it's cool seeing the newer characters and SF6 version of classic characters in the Udon comics. The most notable story is clearly the first one since it was released shortly before AKI was released in the game. While AKI had an interesting look and style, we didn't know exactly what her abilities and fighting style were going to be. This comic gave us a first look at her personality and also her connection to FANG and poison.

I was also surprised to see Dan make a cameo, as so far he isn't in Street Fighter 6. I don't know what's more surprising, the fact that Dan made an appearance, or the fact that he actually landed a punch on Rashid strong enough to knock him back. Dan is finally becoming a better fighter???

The story about Dee Jay and Cammy surprised me since Cammy was the aggressor in the story. I was wondering if those two had some sort of rivalry on some back issue of the multiple issues I've missed out on with this long running series. We saw that it turned out to be a ruse to lure out the attacker that was after Dee Jay, but it did catch me off guard. It was cool to see these two fight it out with their new SF6 looks. I liked the message which was basically 'it's cool to get excited about the new guys, but don't forget the classics', especially since both Cammy and Dee Jay were at one time known as 'The New Challengers'.

The third story was barely a story other than the art. Luke and Jaime fight.... then chill at a bar... then fight.... and then... they fight some more to end the story. The only bit we got to see was when they were discussing their childhoods for a moment. I mean, AKI was sizing Rashid up since she was planning to kill him. Cammy helps Dee Jay find out who was planning to kill him. Luke and Jaime... were just fighting just because. 

As always the artwork was cool for all three stories, each with it's distinct style. The Dee Jay vs Cammy story was definitely the most vibrant and colorful. It was still fun to see Udon start doing Street Fighter 6 stories. This issue advertises a Kimberly one shot story, and that's the next one we'll be checking out.