Street Fighter- Shadaloo Special # 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

I bought this one at the local mall bookstore a few years back, and the funny thing was, every time I tried to get around to reviewing it, it would get lost somewhere. Luckily I was able to find it so it could join me on my big move with Ninja Jupi. Now that I have it, let's check it out before I accidentally misplace it again.

'Viva' starts with Balrog getting driven in a limo as he returns to Vegas. He says Wall Street was too white collar for him and he made a living in Vegas by working with his hands. The limo driver says Balrog was the best in the ring. Balrog says he had the town in the palm of his hand and he will again. He says he's betting on the winning horse and will own the city again.

Suddenly steel claws stab themselves through the car's roof. Balrog tells the driver to lose the attacker as he he punches through the top of the car. The attacker is Vega who says that have business to discuss in person. Balrog says he has two seconds before he caves his face in. 

Balrog tries to punch Vega, as the ninja matador dodges his attacks. Vega says that Balrog betrayed him and gave information of his whereabouts to Guile. Vega says when Shadaloo fell and they divided it between themselves, they were supposed to stay out of each other's way. Balrog says he was dangling from a skyscraper when he was forced to talk. 

Vega says he turned into a fine wine as he aged, while Balrog turned to vinegar. Vega grabs and slams Balrog with his air suplex saying he plans to end their partnership. He does his rolling claw attack, trying to put Balrog out of his misery. Balrog tears his shirt off and uses it to catch Vega's arm and flip him the ground. Vega's face gets messed up which makes him angry. Both Street Fighters prepare to lunge at each other.

Suddenly purple smoke fills the area, making Balrog and Vega fall to the ground. FANG arrives and says they're two children fighting over their parents' inheritance, while Shadaloo is still very much alive. FANG tells him men to take Balrog and Vega, as Shadaloo needs them alive.

'SpyJinks' Starts with Juri working alongside C.Viper via earpiece. Viper tells Juri that the locals say that 'she' shows up every other night, and that is their only lead. Juri says it's the third night so far. Just then a cloaked woman arrives and Viper confronts her.

The woman throws her cloak over Viper, revealing herself to be Decapre. Decapre kicks Viper back and makes a run for it. Juri stomps on her head to stop her. Viper grabs her in a headlock and asks her about Shadaloo. Juri says Decapre will talk or she will bleed, or probably both.

Just then an officer arrives telling the three 'cosplayers' to leave since they're too close to the construction site. Juri and Viper say they were just leaving with their friend who just had a fall. The officer offers a helping hand, and Decapre takes this chance to slam him into Viper.

Decapre socks Juri in the face and prepares to finish her with a shovel. Viper kicks the shovel away and then kicks Decapre on the top od her head. Juri trips her up and slams the Doll on the ground, asking if Bison is still alive. As Decapre tries to speak her eyes light up. She is informed of a rendezvous point and Juri tries to stop from her from escaping. Decapre hits Juri between the legs and throws her into Viper. Decapre gets away as the officer is now after Viper and Juri. Viper tosses a smoke bomb and carries Juri on her back as they run off. The chase for Decapre continues in Street Fighter Legends: Cammy.

'Delta Reunion' opens as people run from a medical center that is under attack. Several Shadaloo agents shoot at Delta Red agents, who are barricaded behind a desk. Matthew has a plan but Keith says they can't risk any large blast or they risk breaking the seal in the briefcase that one of agents has. One of the Shadaloo agents tosses an explosive and they get away through the hole it blows through the wall. 

Lita runs up to them and tries to slice the getaway card with her sword. Delta Red get a bread truck and give chase. They try to shoot out the tires of the Shadaloo getaway car. Lita contacts Anna through radio and says they're about to lose the target. Anna arrives in a helicopter and says they'll provide some air support. 

The chopper sends in the little ghost thing that George always carries around and it causes the speeding car to pull out its air bags and flip over the road. The getaway car lands on its side. Cammy and George leap off the helicopter and land on the car. Cammy pulls out her gun and tell them to hand over the briefcase. The agents tell them to take them in too, since they'll be safer in prison once Bison learned they failed. 

Delta Red thanks the recently formed Delta Blue for the assist. Kieth says they've been short-handed once their group splintered off. Cammy says she does know a Korean kickboxer.

'New Shadaloo' opens with Balrog and Vega fighting their way through Shadaloo agents. Vega says someone has been playing with the Shadaloo checkbook and they intend to find out who. As they enter the base, they find FANG, who introduces himself and tells him he's been in charge of keeping Shadaloo going while those two were with the Secret Society. 

Balrog and Vega say that Shadaloo is theirs and they charge in to attack. FANG fends them off and tells them that after Sagat left, he became Shadaloo's Number Two King. He says he was a king while Balrog and Vega acted like spoiled princes. Balrog and Vega prepare to take him out when they realize that their hands have been tainted by poison. 

FANG flaps in the air using his Shishiruirui Critical Art, and douses them both with poison. Balrog and Vega are down and out. FANG tells them that they haven't gotten immune to his poisons yet and it takes years to do so. Someone arrives and tells FANG to stop, there is work to be done and Balrog and Vega are needed. Balrog and Vega are both shocked to see that Bison is still alive. Bison tells them that he has contingency plans for everything, including death, in which FANG assisted him with.

Vega says they did what they could to keep Shadaloo going but didn't think it would be temporary. Bison doesn't care about the past and says the only thing that matters is to restore Shadaloo to its former glory. Bison shows them a hologram of the Earth and several orbs floating around it. Balrog asks what that is. Bison says they are the means in which they will rule the world absolutely. As these new moons rise so will a new Shadaloo. 

My Opinions-

While I'm not completely up to up to date on Udon's attempts to weave the Street Fighter story, I know the main story with their Street Fighter Unlimited series dealt with Gill and the Secret Society. Since Udon had the foresight that Balrog and Vega (as well as everybody else from SF2) would return in Street Fighter 4, they were kept in story as each one took over a share of Shadaloo after Bison's death. 

The first and final story don't match up at all. In one story Balrog and Vega are fighting each other until FANG captures them and takes them to Bison. In the other story Balrog and Vega are working together and find out that FANG has been running Shadaloo from under their noses. This comic collects short stories added in Udon's hardcore Street Fighter collections, so this inconsistency wouldn't be as noticeable until all four stories were collected in a single book. 

The story with Viper and Juri has them on the chase after Decapre. I like the dynamic between the two. I have to say it's very rare to see a woman take a crotch shot, even if it is Juri. Juri's enough of a jerk where it's funny if it happens to her.

The Delta reunion is cool as it gave a chance for the other members to see some action besides Cammy. I can only guess that Delta Blue splintered off of Delta Red in the Unlimited series? It's a good way to constantly use one of Cammy's alternate color oufits. Also who the hell was Cammy referring to by Korean kickboxer? It felt like a shoutout to callback to something but so far Street Fighter doesn't have one of those. Juri is Korean but uses Tae Kwon Do. Sagat, Adon and Dee Jays are kickboxers... but neither of them are Korean. 

Either way a fun issue that takes us back to the beginnings of Street Fighter 5. FANG is featured and we get to see Vega and Bison with their SF5 outfits. For those that forget, Balrog and Juri were added as DLC later on so they have either their SF4 outfits or brand new ones. I'm glad I finally got to read this, and it's cool to see Udon releases these bonus stories for those that missed out on those hardcore collections. I still say the first and last stories just don't fit together.