Paul Phoenix

Paul Phoenix is a character from the Tekken games.

Paul is a hotheaded, aggressive character, determined more than ever to win the King of Iron Fist Tournament to prove he is the best fighter in the entire universe.

Although he gets close several times (especially in Tekken 3), Paul has never won a tournament. Despite his initial setup in the first game as a possible rival to Kazuya, as well as his serious standing in earlier games, Paul has increasingly become something of a joke character (story-wise). This is quite obviously evidenced by the facts that he is rivals with joke characters (Kuma I and II) and that his endings have become more comedic. Nevertheless, he is among the most popular and well loved Tekken characters.

Appearance
Paul is a well-built American with blue eyes, bushy eyebrows and an iconic hi-top fade hairstyle. Paul also has a scorpion tattoo on his right arm and, in Tekken 2, he also had two earrings in his left ear; these earrings are seen exclusively in this game, as they were removed for all future installments.

Paul's outfits have not differed greatly throughout the series, with the two most recognizable and frequently seen being his black motorcycling leathers and his red judo gi, which he was also seen wearing with the top removed and tied around his waist in Tekken 4; it was in this same game where he was seen wearing another outfit, a more casual outfit of jeans and a t-shirt bearing a flaming skull image. Some of his outfits have differed by having noticeable embellishments, such as flames and skull logos.

Personality
Paul is an extremely overconfident, muscle-brained individual who never doubts himself. This overconfidence tends to get the better of him as his ego spins out of control with the end result usually leaving Paul in difficult and awkward situations. Despite this, his arrogant attitude has never changed throughout the years and still he enters tournaments striving to prove himself to be the "best in the universe" (he means this literally, according to his ending in Tekken 5). Paul has always been portrayed as being short-tempered, albeit kindhearted, slightly dim-witted, brash, loud and totally presumptuous. He considers Kazuya Mishima to be his rival, though Kazuya tends to see him as little more than a nuisance at best. Paul shares a deep friendship with Marshall Law, despite the two's constant squabbling. Law is usually seen as Paul's mentor or advice giver, and the pair tend to end up in the most bizarre of circumstances alongside other characters. Paul is also friends with Forrest Law and Steve Fox. Paul's laziness usually results in him being bankrupt and in desperate need of money, leading him either to find temporary work as a bouncer or enter a tournament just to win the prize money to keep himself going a little while longer.

Abilities
Paul's fighting style is a personal hybrid martial art based on Judo, as can be seen by his throws. His style has many other elements of other martial arts, including elements of Karate, (seen in his strikes) Jiu-Jitsu (seen in his ground grapples) and even Baji Quan, visible in his variations of Chain Leg Kicks and back shoulder attacks. Paul's fighting style has probably undergone more changes following cross-training with his long time training partners Marshall and Forest Law.

Trivia

 * Along with Heihachi Mishima, Nina Williams, and Yoshimitsu, Paul Phoenix has appeared in every single Tekken game to date.
 * According to current canon, Kazuya Mishima and Kuma II are the only two characters ever to have defeated Paul in a tournament. This means that Paul could be regarded as one of the most powerful or "toughest" fighters in the Tekken universe, somewhat ironic considering Paul has become more of a comedic character in recent installments. Naturally, Paul is comically oblivious to this feat.
 * It was admitted by Katsuhiro Harada in an interview with EDGE Magazine that Paul's hairstyle and first name are based on Jean Pierre Polnareff from the manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
 * Paul's hairstyle is similar to Street Fighter character Guile's hairstyle, but with a taller height. In Street Fighter X Tekken, both characters recognize this and make remarks about the similarity of each other's hairstyle.
 * In Street Fighter X Tekken, Heihachi Mishima sees Guile's hair and ponders where he has seen that hairstyle before, referring to Paul.
 * A running gag throughout the series, first seen in his friend Law's Tekken 2 ending, is Paul's inability to fully complete a somersault when trying to mimick Law, constantly throwing himself up in the air and falling face first onto the ground. He is eventually able to fully perform a somersault in front of Law during a win animation in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, much to both of their surprise. At some point after Tekken 2 Paul recieved the Incomplete Somersault as one of his moves, and in Tekken 7, it also became one of his win animations.
 * Another running joke is Paul's obsession with punching through walls, first seen in his Tekken ending, where he can be seen smashing through a brick wall with a crude drawing of his "rival", Kazuya, on it. This was then later mimicked in Kuma I's Tekken 2 ending where Kuma punches through a wall with a drawing of Paul instead. The wall would then not be smashed until years later in Tekken 5, once again in Paul's ending, but this time with a crude picture of an alien, Paul's new enemies, on it instead. Then, in the Scenario Campaign mode in Tekken 6, where Paul appears as a boss, he enters the stage by once again punching through a wall. Then finally in Tekken 7, Paul can now intimidate his opponent by smashing through a brick wall, which he apparently stacked himself moments earlier, as one of his intro animations.
 * Paul Phoenix also bears striking similarities to Street Fighter character Ken Masters. They are both American martial artists with blond hair who wear a red torn judo gi and brown karate gloves. They also have best friends and rivals who are of Asian descent(Ken Masters has Ryu while Paul has Marshall Law). Also, Paul's hairstyle in his Tekken 4 alternate outfit is similiar to, and can also later be customized to look like, that of Ken Masters'.
 * Interestingly, Ken's new outfit in Street Fighter V is very reminiscent of Paul's main outfit from Tekken 4.
 * Paul is the only character without an iWR attack.
 * Paul sports a scorpion tattoo on his right arm.
 * One of Paul's voice actors, Jamieson Price, also voiced Heihachi Mishima in Tekken: Blood Vengeance and Street Fighter X Tekken.