One of the playable characters in World Heroes is Rasputin. He is roughly based on Grigori Rasputin, the infamous 20th century Russian mystic and faith healer. The game’s Rasputin is a 13th century Russian philosopher, alchemist, and sorcerer, according to one Wikipedia page. Other game wikis describe him as “the leader of a pansexual love cult” and indicate he was born in the 19th century.

He is often assumed to be homosexual because of his effeminate mannerisms (see image below).

He also invites players to spend the night in his Garden of Love.

This may be a reference to his special move, called “The Secret Garden” in which he pulls the other fighters (nearly all men) into bushes. Hearts emanate from the bushes. The fact that it only works with male fighters have lead some to offer this as definitive evidence of Rasputin’s sexuality. The video below shows this move in action.

Citations:

Bazooka TV (2010, November 27). World Heroes – Rasputin. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI3qfvyZlug Bilgi Dunyasi. (2014, January 4). World Heroes Perfect- Super Moves/ FAQs: Rasputin. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgMqbOPbFIQ ecb5264. (2014, October 14). A look into the dark(er) side of gaming. Grey Gaymer. http://sites.psu.edu/greygaymer/2014/10/14/a-look-into-the-darker-side-of-gaming-rasputin-from-world-fighters-and-some-game-ideas-of-my-own/ Grigori Rasputin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin LGBT themes in video games. (n.d.). Retrieved http://8tracks.com/bitchtapes?mixes_per_page=1000from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_themes_in_video_games Rasputin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters3/rasputin.html Rasputin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/Rasputin