Photo : L: Drew Angerer (Getty); R: Bandai Namco

In this time of pandemic and national emergencies, disinformation is a serious problem. That’s why Marco Rubio, the senior United States senator from Florida, wants to make one thing clear during this ongoing crisis: You people need to shut up about Tekken character Marshall Law.




“Please stop spreading stupid rumors about marshall law. COMPLETELY FALSE,” Rubio wrote in a tweet this morning, pinky planted firmly on the Shift key to signal the gravity of the situation. “We will continue to see closings & restrictions on hours of non-essential businesses in certain cities & states. But that is NOT marshall law.”

Screenshot : Marco Rubio


Indeed it is not. Marshall Law, or just Law to his friends, is a Jeet Kune Do practitioner introduced to the Tekken series in its inaugural 1994 outing. He was heavily based on real-life martial artist Bruce Lee, but eventually became a mustachioed father figure after being replaced by his son Forest Law in 1997’s Tekken 3. (Rubio did not mention Forest in his tweet.)

I’m not quite sure what Marshall Law has to do with novel coronavirus strain covid-19. He’s not real, for starters, and I don’t remember seeing anyone start rumors about him online. Much of his time is spent training students at his personal dojo. Come to think of it, Law did start a fast food business called Marshall China in Tekken 4, so maybe that’s where Rubio got mixed up?

It’s also possible that the senator does not know how to spell “martial law.”

In any case, it’s important to look to our leaders for guidance in these troubling times.