For the claw-wielding assassin named Balrog in Japan, see Vega.

Balrog, known as M. Bison (マイク・バイソン, Maiku Baison?) in Japan, is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing as a non-playable boss in Street Fighter II before becoming playable in its update, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. He is a greedy American boxer and personal bodyguard to M. Bison.

Contents show]

Biography Edit

Concept Edit

Balrog is loosely based on the real-life semi-retired boxer Mike Tyson.

Another inspiration may include Leon Spinks, the undisputed world heavyweight champion of 1978 who won the title against Muhammad Ali, and whose 1980s undisputed heavyweight champion young brother Michael Spinks faced off against Mike Tyson in 1988 in his only loss and last match of his career. Notably, Leon Spinks would also turn to competing in boxer versus wrestler matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1980s, including a famous loss by submission to Antonio Inoki, and into the 1990s, would compete in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, which he would win the title of world champion by 1992.

Appearance Edit

Balrog is a tall, heavily built and very muscular African-American boxer. He wears blue boxing trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top, as well as red boxing gloves and boxing shoes. His short hairstyle is similar to Mike Tyson's haircut from the era of Street Fighter II 's release. Official artwork at the time also depicted him sans a canine tooth in the upper right side of his mouth. This outfit became his "Nostalgia" costume in Street Fighter V.

In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie he is seen with no boxing gloves.[7]

In Street Fighter V, Balrog wears a blue openly hooded robe with yellow outlines and ripped sleeves; on the back it has the design of "Crazy Buffalo" in a black round sign, a large golden crown with clouds and several red stars, the outline on his boxing gloves are black with gold star designs, his boxer shorts are black and he wears matching boxing boots with white outlines. Likely in allusion to Mike Tyson's famous appearance in the Nintendo game Mike Tyson's Punch Out, his black boxing shorts and boxing boots match those of Tyson in his appearance as the final boss of Punch Out's World Circuit.

His first alternate costume is business attire similar in design to the one he wore in Street Fighter II V; the sleeves are rolled up into cuffs, his boxing gloves are gold and he wears sunglasses.

His second costume is somewhat similar to his primary outfit but with a United States flag motif. He wears a white and red striped long sleeve hoodie, blue trousers with white star designs, white sneakers and fingerless gloves.

Name changes Edit

When Street Fighter II was localized in the United States, Capcom was afraid of a lawsuit from Mike Tyson over a character with his likeness as well as a similar sounding name (his Japanese name being "Mike Bison"). Additionally, when the designers presented the game to Capcom USA's marketing department, they believed that the name "Vega" did not fit the character it was given to. They decided to rotate the names of three of the four boss characters in the following manner:

The boxer is known as M. Bison in Japan and Balrog in the U.S.

The Spanish assassin/bullfighter is known as Balrog in Japan and Vega in the U.S.

The evil dictator and head of Shadaloo is known as Vega in Japan and M. Bison in the U.S.

In certain illustrations, including ones for the Street Fighter II series, his Japanese name, "Bison", can be seen on the waistband of his trunks, although it is usually removed when these illustrations are published outside Japan. In later games, the word "Champion" appears in its place.

Despite the name change, many of his moves have a bison/buffalo theme.

Only recently did Mike Tyson learn of the character, stating, "I'm really honored with that impersonation of me."[8]

Personality Edit

Balrog is generally self-centered, hot-tempered, arrogant and sadistic. He is a belligerent pugilist who possesses an insatiable urge for money and a vicious, bullying mean streak, often refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Despite being a once great prize boxer, Balrog intentionally cheated in his fights whenever he felt like it, and has even killed one of his opponents (though by accident).

Balrog is also shown to lack leadership skills; when M. Bison was believed to be dead after the events of Street Fighter Alpha 3, the role of leader of the organization fell to him, and it collapsed immediately, which forced him to work security at casinos and other places just to get by. His lack of skill in pursuits other than fighting has been attributed to his unruly and delinquent youth, as his pursuit of strength and dominance in the mean streets of his home city led him to drop out of school.

His motivations for joining Shadaloo and M. Bison throughout the Street Fighter series have always been to attain massive wealth, fame and glory so he can be on easy street for life. As such, though Balrog would cheat, steal or even kill to this end, he is not evil so much as he is greedy, and takes little substantial interest in Shadaloo affairs otherwise; he also relates to characters with similar motivations (e.g. C. Viper).

The only depiction of empathy and humanity in him is his relationship with Ed, showing that deep down, he is capable of proper relationships, empathy and even fellowship. Even after their fight and the latter leaving, he is shown to genuinely care about Ed.

Relationships Edit

Enemies Edit

Due to his loud mouth and cheating ways, Balrog has made many enemies.

Despite Balrog having been shown to have an extreme affinity towards women, Chun-Li is a notable exception. Her constant investigation into Shadaloo activity has earned her Balrog's scorn and he is eager to put her out of business whenever given the chance.

Dudley is Balrog's boxing rival and his polar opposite. Balrog is loud, corrupt, and a cheater, while Dudley is refined, well-mannered, and a fair fighter. Due to their many differences, they have nothing but contempt towards each other.

Originally allies as members of Shadaloo, they became enemies when Balrog was sent to kill Birdie after the latter sought to overthrow Bison and take control of Shadaloo for himself.

While their exact relationship is unknown, Balrog likely holds a grudge against Alex for defeating him in the Vale Tudo Eternal Fighting finals.

It is unknown if Balrog despises Ryu in the canonical Street Fighter games, but in the Street Fighter UDON comic book series, he certainly does. Vega had wanted to confront and battle against Ken alone at the latter’s wedding while Balrog would accompany him as back-up. Balrog had focused his attention on fighting and battling against Ryu. He even tried a new punch on him, saying “he was the sucker he wanted to try his new move on.” In the end, when the police came, Balrog said “that Vega can be pretty goddamn annoying, but he does some good work, doesn’t he?”, which led to Ryu silencing him with a kick.

Balrog strongly dislikes Zangief, likely due to the latter being more burly than Balrog himself. During the events of Street Fighter V's A Shadow Falls, in which Balrog faces off against Zangief in India, he calls the Russian wrestler "a big meathead" and told Zangief he could just die before punching him with a Gigaton Blow. However, Zangief unexpectedly manages to push the blow back with his strong defense, much to Balrog's own shock and surprise.

Balrog did not seem to take Ibuki seriously during the events of A Shadow Falls, taunting her more than R. Mika about the Chess Piece. Balrog had also seemed to mock her with his body language as well after the latter had did her best against him in battle. He took R. Mika more seriously when she had countered his Giagton Blow just like her mentor Zangief.

Allies Edit

Balrog greatly annoys Vega, a fellow assassin working for Bison, whom he occasionally is partnered up with. Balrog's contempt for Vega is mostly due to his "pretty boy" persona, with Vega's feelings towards Balrog being mutual. Balrog tends to annoy, tease and make fun of Vega whenever he gets the chance. In spite of this however, the two are not seen fighting each other in A Shadow Falls where the two in fact seem to team up, when they try to fight F.A.N.G at one point after he makes them fight soldiers to test their abilities, likely due to their shared hatred for F.A.N.G.

Balrog's personal affiliation with his employer M. Bison is incredibly distant. He cares very little for what Bison's schemes involve and begrudgingly follows his orders as long as he is paid. Should Shadaloo return, however, he will not hesitate to rejoin them.

Balrog despises F.A.N.G for his constant showboating and mockery. F.A.N.G also hates Balrog for his simplistic attitude and considers him a fool.

Ed is one of few, if not the only, known person Balrog seems to have actually cared about beyond their material use to him, although Ed came to dislike the way Balrog thought of him as weaker than himself and in need of his protection.

A falling-out occurs between Ed and Balrog some time after the fall of Shadaloo, as Ed tried to leave Balrog in an attempt to protect him, due to a fortune telling Ed had received from Menat previously. Ed defeats Balrog in a fight and Balrog sits with his back to Ed silently until, when Ed calls to him and Balrog shouts "get lost" in a way that sounds emotional and possibly tearful, showing that he genuinely cared for Ed despite having initially only saving him for selfish reasons. Ed then departs and some time later forms Neo Shadaloo.

Urien paid Balrog in exchange for Operation C.H.A.I.N.S. The boxer would then work for him after the fall of Shadaloo, but planned to one day betray him. Balrog is currently unaware of the part Urien played in manipulating him and Shadaloo and causing Bison's death.

Story Edit

Background Edit

Rising from a childhood of poverty,[9] Balrog was once a great boxing champion and prize fighter who fought his way to the top. Due to his somewhat cutthroat and ruthless nature from his time on the streets, however, he was banned from boxing in his later career for permanently injuring his opponents and accidentally killing one, as well as his illegal maneuvers, particularly his headbutt. Though he enjoyed great fame, especially in the city of Las Vegas where he lived, he valued money more than glory, leading him to join the Shadaloo criminal organization, where he eventually became M. Bison's chief enforcer.

"Balrog is the former heavyweight boxing champion. This Shadaloo executive worked his way up from the lower ranks. Armed with the world's strongest punches, his ambition continues." —Balrog's profile in Street Fighter Alpha 3

While running errands for Bison, he killed Dhalsim's elephant with a single Gigaton Punch. In one mission, Balrog was sent to terminate Birdie, although he did not know the reason for this mission. Birdie told him about the Psycho Drive, and Balrog agreed to help him find it, thinking he could make money from it. When the Psycho Drive exploded, Balrog realized that he had not been paid recently.

When Bison committed suicide after being defeated by the other World Warriors, ownership of Shadaloo was transferred to the former prize fighter. Unfortunately, he ended up running the entire organization into the ground in no time. After the fall of Shadaloo, Balrog ended up back on the streets, working menial jobs such as casino security.

When Bison makes his return through the construction of his new body, Balrog is immediately brought back into the organization, hired by Bison to pick up Seth after he was defeated by Ryu before dropping him off his headquarters and guard Bison's replacement bodies, which Balrog refers to as "dolls". Balrog is not satisfied with this, however, and forms a new get-rich-quick scheme. He manages to make his way into the S.I.N. building (along with fellow agent Vega).

While looking for treasure in his ending, he stumbles across a young bandaged boy begging for help. Initially disinterested, Balrog notices a mark in the shape of the Shadaloo symbol glowing on his hand. Realizing the boy could hold some valuable secrets, Balrog pulls him out of the ruins, believing he's finally lucked out.

However, when Balrog asks what the boy can do, he reveal that he is powerless on his own; though Balrog assumes he's useless, he carries the boy off anyway. Balrog is convinced that the child will be of use to him later, and owes his as much in return for rescuing him.[10]

On October 2015, a data mining of Street Fighter V's PC beta test revealed fighter data and character meshes of "Boxer", later revealed to be referring to Balrog, along with six other fighters (Dhalsim, Juri, Urien, Ibuki, Alex and Guile).[11][12] Balrog and the rest of the characters (except for Dhalsim who was confirmed earlier as a default fighter) were later officially confirmed as DLC on December 5th, 2015 at the PlayStation Experience. Balrog's reveal trailer was released in June 27th, 2016.

In his character story, F.A.N.G was impressed to see Balrog had found the bandaged boy from the S.I.N laboratory who is revealed to be Ed. F.A.N.G informs him about their plan(Operation C.H.A.I.N.S.) is now in full swing and to keep this information a secret. He also remarks that his actions are considered betrayal which causes Balrog to fight him. After the commotion, Balrog manages to knock F.A.N.G's hat off before retreating saying that he has work to do. When he calls Ed to come out, Ed manages to burn the hat into ashes.

In China, Balrog and Ed meet up with Urien then Necalli confronts them in order to devour their souls. Urien tells Balrog to beat Necalli down for some reward money, which Balrog excitedly agrees as he fights off Necalli. When Necalli was defeated, he turns into dust. Urien pays him the reward and wants him to deliver the data of Operation C.H.A.I.N.S. in exchange for his service at Shadaloo. Balrog accepts the payment.

Back at the Shadaloo Base, Ed remarks that Urien was more of a jerk. Balrog reveals that will bash his face once the job is done. Ed agrees to his plan as both he and Balrog walk away.

Other character story appearances Edit

Balrog makes a non-speaking cameo in M. Bison's character story. He is shown attending a Shadaloo meeting on the status of the Dolls.

In Urien's character story, which is a contrast to Balrog's own, after the latter defeated Necalli, Balrog accepts the reward from Urien who wants him to deliver the data of Operation C.H.A.I.N.S. in exchange for his service of Shadaloo. When Balrog accepts his reward, he insults him for making a sweeten payment causing Urien to get snapped and scold Balrog for defying the terms of their agreement as the fight ensues. Balrog was no match from Urien and he was assisted by Ed to use his Psycho Powers. Urien manages to disperse it and became interested to see Ed was inherited from Bison's Psycho Powers as he leaves telling Balrog not make their incidents anymore.



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Balrog does not appear in the Street Fighter III games, but he is mentioned in a Secret File that he participated in an event called the Vale Tudo Eternal Fighting (B.E.F.) prior to the events of Street Fighter III: New Generation. Some of the fighters Balrog defeated in the tournament were Like Bernardo, Kamo Leopoldo and Jumbo Flapjack. He faces Alex in the finals. In the first round, he completely dominated the fight. 1 minute 20 seconds into the second round, Balrog landed 23 solid heavy punches into Alex. But Alex countered with his own combo and K.O's Balrog.[13][14]

Crossover appearances Edit

Balrog is playable in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, Capcom vs. SNK 2 and SVC Chaos.

In Street Fighter X Tekken, Balrog is sent alongside Vega to retrieve Pandora. The two despise each other, but continue to work as a team, if only in order to obtain Pandora for themselves. Their rivals are Yoshimitsu and Raven, who ambush them during their travels.

Balrog and Vega's ending depicts Balrog attempting to open the box, but the former prize fighter tires of his co-worker's vanity and decides to kill Vega instead for sole possession of the box. Both are taken over by the influence of Pandora, and proceed to attack each other.

After the credits roll, a post-ending explain Balrog's fate.

If the player defeated Ogre with Balrog, it is stated that he won the fight and killed Vega, obtaining Pandora for himself. Balrog then used its powers to finish off his enemies, starting with his former boss M. Bison.

If the player defeated Ogre with Vega, it is stated that Balrog lost the fight against Vega and was killed.

Balrog is one of the bosses of Street Fighter × Mega Man. He has twice as much health as the other bosses, and will instantly defeat Mega Man on contact. Balrog will constantly use his Violent Buffalo as the screen scrolls to the right, other enemies and obstacles also must be avoided. If Mega Man survives long enough, Balrog will fall into a bottomless pit, allowing him to advance.

Live-action movies Edit

In the 1994 live action film, he was portrayed by Grand L. Bush and was one of the heroes, who worked as the camera-man in Chun-Li's news-crew. Like the other members (Chun-Li and E. Honda), Balrog held a grudge against Shadaloo for ruining his boxing career. Near the end of the film, he dons his regular outfit from the games.

In the film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Balrog is portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan. His role in Shadaloo as one of Bison's loyal enforcers alongside Vega, remains unchanged.

Animations Edit

In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Balrog's portrayal is close to his original role in the game - dumb-muscle for Bison. Interestingly enough, he does not don his boxing gloves when he fights E. Honda. He is voiced by Joe Romersa in the English dub and Joji Nakata in the Japanese version. He first appears in the series as a representative of Shadaloo at a criminal convention in Las Vegas, where he watches a battle between Zangief and Blanka. Later, he accompanies M. Bison to Thailand for the final showdown. While Bison battles Guile and a brainwashed Ken battles Ryu, Balrog battles E. Honda.

Though Balrog has the upper hand initially, repeatedly punching and head butting Honda in quick succession, Honda strikes back with a head butt of his own. The two charge at each other and the impact of their collision causes both of them to hurtle off a cliff side. The rest of their fight is not shown; Honda defeats Balrog, and is seen carrying his unconscious body up the mountainside following Bison's defeat.

In the 1995 animated series, Street Fighter, Balrog is not only a boxer, but also a scientist as well (in contrary to his trademark "brainless muscle" stereotype) who programs Shadaloo computers for M. Bison. He makes a single appearance in the episode "The Medium is the Message", in which he creates a false video of the Street Fighters defiling a sacred Hindu temple in India under orders from Bison himself. Although the series borrows several elements from the 1994 movie, Balrog and Dee Jay's alliances were switched during production. He is voiced by Paul Dobson.

In the anime series Street Fighter II V, Balrog, despite not being a boxer, still works for Shadaloo as a spy with the task of infiltrating the police forces in charge of investigating and foiling Shadaloo's criminal activities and reporting such operations directly to M. Bison, while posing aside the law officers as a legitimate Interpol executive. Using this disguise, he tricks Cammy, who in the series works as a mercenary assassin and has no relation with Shadaloo, into assassinating federal Hong Kong police officer and Chun-Li's father Dorai after telling her that he is the supposed drug lord in the Chinese branch of Shadaloo's drug route, but Dorai survives the assassination attempt later on, despite his heavy injuries and falling into an unconscious coma. After fighting Fei Long (who was protecting the still-alive Dorai), Cammy realizes she has been deceived by Balrog and attacks him the same way she did to Dorai, but without killing him. Cammy then quits the job and hands the badly injured Balrog over to Fei Long and the local authorities.

Comics Edit



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Others Edit

In Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game, it is stated that Mr. Ray has been Balrog's manager from his pro-boxing days to his time with the Street Fighter Circuit. Also, Balrog is training Samson Jr., the son of an old friend from the streets.[15]

Fan film Edit

Balrog is the focus of the short documentary fan film, Balrog: Behind the Glory, which debuted on Evolution 2011 Championships. The short film was produced by Chubby Boy Films.

The film depicts the brief history of Balrog, his childhood story of being bullied and fighting against the bullies, his training from his father who also once boxed, his winning success in his boxing career and popularity in the media, his marriage and divorce with a supermodel, how he was being taken advantage of managers and business due to his greed, his controversial headbutt that killed a boxer, thus resulting into a disqualification-ban in boxing and arrest, his path into Mad Gear and Shadaloo, his name switch from Mike Bison to Balrog, and what has happened to him afterwards. The documentary interviewed Balrog's father Greg Bison, a book author Micah Shultz who wrote about the rise and fall of Shadaloo, and former Trainer Tim Tashun.

Gameplay Edit

Fighting style Edit

As boxers, Balrog and Dudley are the only characters in the Street Fighter series whose movesets are almost entirely comprised of arm-based moves (punches, elbows etc.), since kicks are illegal in boxing, although Balrog has no qualms about violating the rules of boxing both in and out of the ring in other ways. His moveset usually includes a headbutt, and during his second Ultra Combo in Super Street Fighter IV known as Dirty Bull, he grabs and headbutts the opponent, then stomps on their foot - the first time he used his foot at all in the games - and finally nails them with a powerful elbow shot.

Moveset Edit

Despite being an undisciplined boxer, Balrog is strong. He relies on punching speed and raw strength, giving him strong normal attacks. A large portion of his moveset is composed of several variations of dashing punches, including his Super Combos, but he also uses uppercuts, low-sweep attacks, smash blows and overhead swings, which can keep the opponent guessing if used well. Unlike most characters, Balrog did not have any unique attacks until his appearance in Street Fighter V.

In Street Fighter V, Balrog gains more unrefined boxing moves which serve as a contrast to Dudley's special moves. His V-Skill is the KKB; he is able to twirl his body while moving forward, deflecting projectiles and making string combos together against his opponents. His V-Trigger is named the Crazy Rush; once its activated, it allows him to do a varying combo utilizing both his Charging Buffalo and Bursting Buffalo moves. His Critical Art is the Gigaton Blow; he unleashes a destructive straight punch to his opponent. Balrog also has a new unique attack called Stomping Combo, a crouching punch followed by a stomp, the second time he has attacked with his feet.

Subpages Edit

Quotes Edit

Balrog/Quotes

Pop Culture Edit

Balrog/Pop Culture

Gallery Edit

Balrog/Gallery

Sprites Edit

Balrog/Sprites

Trivia Edit

Due to his regional name differences, he is often referred to in the international community as "Boxer".

Balrog was the first Black playable character in the series.

Due to his appearance, moveset and Japanese name, Balrog was speculated to have been an updated version of the African-American boxer Mike, one of the computer-controlled opponents in the original 1987 game. However, Capcom has insisted that, despite these similarities, they were always intended to be two separate characters. The Street Fighter World Warrior Encyclopedia (hardcover version) also lists them as separate individuals[2] as does the Street Fighter V website, which has a separate character page for Mike and redesigned artwork for him.[16]

In Street Fighter IV , in the background of the Small Airfield stage, there is a black S.I.N. plane where Balrog can be seen in the door of the plane (he will open the door with a punch). If Balrog is selected, Vega will be in the plane instead. If Balrog and Vega are selected, M. Bison himself appears in the plane. This is a reference to the international name change between the three fighters.

, in the background of the Small Airfield stage, there is a black S.I.N. plane where Balrog can be seen in the door of the plane (he will open the door with a punch). If Balrog is selected, Vega will be in the plane instead. If Balrog and Vega are selected, M. Bison himself appears in the plane.

Balrog is shown with all his teeth in the Street Fighter IV sub-series, while in the past games, he has a missing canine tooth on the upper right side of his mouth. This could indicate that Balrog wears a prosthetic tooth in later games.

sub-series, while in the past games, he has a missing canine tooth on the upper right side of his mouth.

Balrog is the only one of the four bosses from Street Fighter II that does not appear in the Street Fighter EX games. It should also be noted that despite Balrog not appearing in the EX series, a character named Cracker Jack shares a similar fighting style with him, down to using special and super moves and techniques with the same names and appearances.

that does not appear in the games.

Balrog's win quote from Street Fighter II through Hyper Fighting is written incorrectly ("My fists have your blood of them!"). This is corrected in Super Street Fighter II and onwards ("My fists have your blood on them!"). The SNES versions of Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting and Super Street Fighter II replaced this quote with "Get up, you wimp!", and "Hey, what happened? I'm not through with you yet!", likely due to Nintendo of America's strict censorship policy at the time.

Balrog has had amusingly bad facial expressions and animations in several of his appearances. This is most apparent in his fight against E. Honda near the end of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie and in the games when Balrog gets hit, he appears cross-eyed.

In the manga Street Fighter III: Ryu Final, it is said that after Shadaloo was destroyed and Gill established himself, Balrog went into the wrestling world.

In Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Balrog is shown to be much older than Chun-Li while his offical birth date has him being only six months and three days younger than Chun-Li.

On the Street Fighter II casino stage, the nickname of the game's lead designer, Akira Nishitani (Nin Nin), can be seen on the sign for the background casino called "Golden Nugget: Nin Nin Hall". In the remastered version of the stage for Street Fighter V, the casino was renamed "Golden Bullion: Shadaloo Hall"; the word "Nugget" was likely changed to "Bullion" as not to step on the toes of a real life casino of the same name, while Akira has long since left Capcom to form Arika.

In Street Fighter V, if the story mode costume is selected, during his win animation Balrog's sunglasses will have a reflection of either Bison or Ryu, depending on the side he's facing.

Despite his height being officialy listed as 6'4" (193 cm),[4][5] the Lair of the Four Kings stage (when knocked to the left corner) list it as 6'6" (198 cm).[17]

In the World Warrior, Balrog is the only character in the game to have "transition frames" when he crouches and stands that can not be interrupted by Inputs.

Stage themes Edit

Street Fighter II CPS-1-Balrog Stage Street Fighter II Balrog SCE Theme Super Street Fighter 2 The New Challengers OST Theme of Balrog Super Street Fighter II Street Fighter Alpha 3 OST Untamable Fists (Theme of Balrog) Street Fighter Alpha 3 Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix OST Balrog (Ｍ.バイソン) Theme Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Super Street Fighter IV OST Theme of Balrog Super Street Fighter IV Street Fighter V - Theme of Balrog

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Videos Edit

See also Edit