Fighting game storylines lend themselves well to comic books. It’s the nature of the stories, which feature tons of characters, some ready-made conflicts, and excuses for fights to happen. Different games have led to different tie-ins. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat each have a long history of comics of differing quality. Games like Darkstalkers, Killer Instinct, Primal Rage, Eternal Champions, and Virtua Fighter have had a couple minor releases here and there.

But what of Tekken? In terms of U.S. mainstream popularity, Tekken is up there with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. The game’s story would surely lend itself well to a comic book adaptation. And yes, it did get a handful of attempts. It’s just that…well, there’s a reason why nobody talks about them.

Like I said, the basic concept of Tekken’s storyline works. There’s an evil, power-hungry criminal mastermind who holds a corporate and military chokehold on the world. He holds a fighting tournament for his amusement, and of all the combatants, only one man is able to stand up to him. Unfortunately, this man – his son – is just as corrupt as his father. As decades pass, their bloodline’s reach expands and threatens to engulf the planet itself.

We begin in late 1997. By this point, Tekken 3 had already released in arcades across the world and was only months away from taking the PlayStation by storm, becoming the second-best-selling fighting game in history. (#1 is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so if you’re one of those guys who’s all, “Smash isn’t a REAL fighting game!” then fine, Tekken 3 was the best-selling fighter of all time.)