Street Fighter Masters- Elena # 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

Some time ago, the Udon series introduced a new series of villains working for an evil organization called Vortex. So far Chun Li, Zangief and Guile have run into several members of this group. After months of delays, we finally get the Elena solo comic based on her current Street Fighter 6 iteration. Let's see how she deals with these new Vortex villains. 

 

The story opens with Elena sending an invite for Ibuki and Makoto to visit her in Africa between semesters. Her family has offered a place for them to stay. Currently Ibuki and Makoto are rushing through the airport as the plane is about to leave without them. The girls make it on time and sleep through most of the multi-hour flight to Africa. Once they arrive, Elena greets them and welcomes them to Kenya.

Elena has Ojwang drive them home. Ojwang calls Elena 'princess' and she explains to Makoto that her father is the tribal leader. Elena says she was planning on staying at Kenya University during break week but her father insisted she went home. He has a big surprise for her but whatever it is, her mother doesn't sound too thrilled about it. Just then Ojwang warns everyone of an incoming sandstorm.

After getting blasted by sand, Elena tells her friends that windstorms and sandstorms have been arriving without warning. She'll get her friends some wide-brimmed hats for shade and cover. They arrive at the village and see a large arena-like structure that surprises even Elena.

 

Elena's mother arrives and Elena introduces her friends to her. Elena asks her mom about the building and how it got there. Her father comes in and says now that she has arrived, his plans are complete. Elena asks what plans he'd referring to. A big guy named Arlo says the plans include a big opportunity and big money. He knows about Elena since her father sent him footage of her fights. Elena's father says Elena carries the proud tradition of Capoeira.

Arlo wants Elena to be a feature fighter at his upcoming tournament, assuming that she kept up her training while away at school. Elena admits she keeps up with her workout regimen, but Arlo says she hasn't had any actual matches this year. Makoto says Elena hasn't gone soft and can still knock the block off of anyone. Arlo gestures towards two of his men and says he wouldn't mind seeing that. Elena's mother says she had just arrived, but Elena is up for it.

 

Elena and one of the men put on protective gear and Arlo says this is a fun match, nothing strenuous and says whoever hits the mat first loses. The match begins and the man unleashes a flurry of punches that she blocks. He then swings a kick that hits Elena on her side. Elena's parents are worried and Ibuki says he's just testing out what the guy can do before she fights back. Makoto hopes she's right.

The man goes another kick and Elena says he favors the left side. She grabs his foot and hits the guy on the side of the face with an Enziguri kick. She tosses the guy onto the mat and wins the match. Arlo congratulates her. He wants her sign a contract to make her dreams reality.

Elena's father tells her this was the big surprise. Elena has been working hard at her university but that education has kept her away from her family. He also knows she's a fighter at heart and is eager to test her skills with opponents from all over the globe. By investing with Arlo and his Brit-Brawl company, the village has built this world-class arena. They can raise the community's profile, make money and Elena can now stay with her family.

Arlo says he already has an exhibition match lined up that weekend as a 'soft open' to put the village on the map. He just needs that contract signed and sealed. Elena says she's very excited but also wants to be a good host to her friends and show them around so they can look at paperwork tomorrow. She hurries off with Ibuki and Makoto.

Once off on their own, Ibuki says the arena is huge and wonders how long it would take the village to pay it back. Elena shares those concerns. Makoto says it's a lot of money but at least they're investing in her future. Elena says it's flattering that her family wants her close to home, but she didn't like that all of this was decided without her. She doesn't want to drop out, nor does she want to sign a contract with a stranger and a strange company.

Ibuki takes this chance to get some info. She calls up her friend Sarai and tells her to use her ninja hacking skills to look into Brit-Brawl. She says they seem legit at first glance in the sense that they're making deals all over Africa and the Middle East as well as making lots of press releases. They have been doing a lot of construction through another company called Builder-X. Ibuki tells her to keep digging and call back if she finds anything weird. Elena is eager to show the girls her country so they don't spend all the time together worrying about stuff.

Elena shows her friends the sights and shops all over town. As they gaze upon the mountainside, they consider the contract and list the pros and cons. One pro is Elena will be home with family, but the con is they village will be in debt. Another pro is Elena can use her fighting skills, but the con is she'll be fighting for money instead of pleasure. Elena decides to go for the exhibition match and see how things go. Ibuki says to make sure to decide what she wants to do even if her family thinks differently. Makoto says they'll back her up every step of the way.

The weekend arrives and the arena is packed. There will be a two-on-two match between Elena and Makoto and two guys named Dust-Up and Dynamo. Elena asks about Ibuki and Makoto says she's backstage to make sure everyone is playing fair.

 

Outside, some men help Arlo load the cash to they can leave. One guy asks how much they'll give to the locals and Arlo says he'll worry about that. The other guy asks if they're just leaving before the match even ends, and Arlo tells him to shut up and load the truck. Ibuki is watching from a distance but her phone goes off, alerting the men of her position. With her cover blown, Ibuki leaps into action.

The fight starts and Elena blocks a punch from Dust-Up. Dynamo goes for a spinning kick and Makoto blocks it. As Ibuki fights the gunmen, she gets a call from Sarai. She explains that Brit-Brawl are 'super-duper bad news'. Builder-X is a sham as they buy super cheap construction materials and mark them up by 500%.

Makoto goes for several strikes, pushing her opponent back. Elena goes for a flying kick against Dynamo. Outside, Arlo makes a run for it as Ibuki defeats his men. Sarai tells Ibuki that the same guy that owns Brit-Brawl also owns Builder-X, making this a shell game. Ibuki tosses a smoke bomb to stop Arlo in his tracks.

As the fighting continues, Ojwang rushes in to alert Elena's father, Jafari that a huge sandstorm is headed their way. Jafari says Arlo assured him that the arena is built to last.

Back to the fight, Elena and Makoto dive towards each other, switching places. Elena hits Dust-Up with her Rhino Horn flying kick and Makoto sends Dynamo flying with her Fukiage punch. Both men are knocked out and the Street Fighters won the match. The announcer says the arena is shaking with excitement... and then realizes the building itself is shaking.

 

The sandstorm tears through the roof and the announcer calls for an evacuation. Makoto yells out for everyone to head out nice and orderly. Arlo comes in asking for help as a ninja is after him. Ibuki leaps into the room and tells Elena to stop him. She says the company is fake and he's stealing all the ticket money. Arlo says she can't prove anything. Elena leaps over the ring fence and knocks Arlo out with a kick to the face. The sandstorm wrecks the arena.

The next morning, Jafari laments all the time and money lost. His wife says the important thing is that everyone evacuated and no lives were lost. Elena says they can rebuild a smaller builder that can better support the village. She can do some charity matches to help raise money back at the University of Kenya. Jafari says she can stay with them. Elena says she might after she graduates and decides for herself. Jafari sighs and says he understands.

Makoto says that all of this must be hard for her. Elena says it is but it's easier with her friends by her side. Elena pulls Makoto and Ibuko in for a hug and Ibuki says they'll always be there.

Later on, Xavia shows up, having paid Arlo's bail. He's surprised and was expecting him to just rot in jail. As they head out, Arlo says he tried to make the Brit-Brawl racket as profitable as possible. He was building for cheap and signing fighters for lifetime contracts but it all fell apart. He said the Capoeira princess had two extra friends, a black belt martial arts girl and a ninja. Xavia says she knew he'd screw up and planned around it.

Xavia says petty cash from a fighting tournament is nothing compared to the cobalt and diamonds buried in the mountains near the village. Now that Jabari is deep in debt thanks to Arlo's scam, she'll sweep in and help him rebuild, giving them access to everything. The alliance will be a great benefit to their cause. Xavia tells Arlo that he should know by now that Vortex is unstoppable.

 My Thoughts-

One thing I always liked about the Udon comics is that characters not appearing in certain games still make appearances since it would sometimes wouldn't make sense for them not to. Elena wouldn't just drop Ibuki and Makoto because they haven't (yet?) appeared in Street Fighter 6. Likewise, Sarai is still friends with Ibuki too. That being said it's funny to see Elena being the only one with a new look since it's too early to predict if Ibuki and/or Makoto will have new looks or hairstyles if they ever get added to SF6. There was a missed opportunity for one of them to comment on Elena's new hair.

I did like the new outfits the girls wore throughout the story, which really showcases that they've been in Kenya for several days. Elena in particular gets to show off both her classic Street Fighter III outfit and her new SF6 outfit. 

The story was pretty good, and I like how the girls interact. It almost feels like a sequel to the Ibuki mini-series and the Afterschool Special. The story also dealt with family, as Elena's parents miss her and want her close to home. Elena wants to honor their wishes but also wants to forge her own path. Also making such rash decisions such as building an entire coliseum and hoping Elena would just go along with it wasn't the best plan. I assume Arlo talked them into it.

Speaking of Arlo, it's surprising to see that despite being large and imposing, he seems to be more of a schemer than a fighter. He didn't even try to fight Ibuki and I was expecting more of an actual fight against Elena near the end. So far out of the guys we've seen, he seems to be the weakest when it comes to a fight. Even with his scams, Xavia was already counting on him screwing things up to proceed with her own plans.

The next one-shot after this will be one about Karin as she also runs into one of the Vortex members. This time the issue is set to come out March 2026 and it looks like it will be out on time. I wonder when the full story will come together.