M. Bison

M. Bison, known as Vega in Japan, is a video game character and primary antagonist of 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 self-imposed dictator and megalomaniac seeking world domination.

Appearance
His general attire consists of a red military uniform with large silver shoulder plates, wrist bands, and shin guards; on his peaked/service cap is the skull insignia of his crime syndicate known as Shadaloo. His clothing highly resembles the uniforms worn by SS officers of Nazi Germany; the winged skull on his visor cap and the first letter of Shadaloo on his belt is shaped as a single Sig rune. He sports a dark-colored cape in the Alpha series, in which he appears with his original body. From Street Fighter II on (and in the Capcom vs SNK series), he appears with a much slimmer body, and removes his cape before battle.

M. Bison has neatly cut black hair under his peaked cap, which he is almost never seen without (save for two of his alternate costumes); in the Brazilian Street Fighter comics (Editora Escala), he was instead bald. His eyes were originally red both within and outside the irises (though the irises were still visible); after Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, they were changed to a complete ghastly white, a trait shared by other characters such as Sagatand Dhalsim. His eyes will glow pink when his Psycho Power is glowing.

As of Street Fighter V, Bison's look has changed slightly, now wearing a trenchcoat over his outfit without the cape. His hair has also turned white due to the effects of Psycho Power.

Personality
M. Bison is an archetypal villain motivated by his own self-seeking interests and lust for absolute power through world domination. He is a megalomaniacal and psychopathic dictator and terrorist who seeks to rule the world with an iron fist whilst also being universally regarded as the greatest and most powerful martial artist of all time (stated in his own pre-boss fight dialogue with Ryu in Street Fighter Alpha 3), and will readily destroy anything or anyone who dares to stand between him and his shady goals. He shows a complimenting side, however, when he states to Karin Kanzuki that he watched her and Sakura fight, stating that they fight very well for girls and, after she defeats his Dolls, that Karin did well and is a qualified fighter. Possessing a vast ego and a god complex, Bison is physically incapable of feeling empathy for others and even takes pleasure in watching people suffer at his hands, never feeling a shred of regret or remorse for the numerous atrocities that he has committed. In many ways, Bison's characterization is comparable to the clinical diagnosis of a real-life psychopath. Bison's malevolence and sadism are reflected in his iconic smile, a very wide grin that exposes not just all of the teeth but even the gums as well. He occasionally refers to himself in the third person and displays a twisted sense of humor, as well as a "business before pleasure" attitude.

As the founder and leader of Shadaloo, M. Bison uses as many illegal methods as possible to achieve his destructive and barbaric goals, ranging from drug trafficking and arms dealing to terrorism and illegal human experimentation. He is not above using coercion (as seen during at least one storyline in Street Fighter Alpha 3) and brainwashing to convert skilled martial artists to his cause, and has even cheated death and returned to wreak havoc not once, but at least twice. While demanding absolute loyalty and obedience from his subordinates, M. Bison considers them as mere pawns rather than human beings, has described the bickering and strife between his top generals as "delicious entertainment", and overall tolerates his henchmen only as long as they serve his dark ambitions, displaying his complete disregard for human life. For the same reason, he offers to spare the lives of particularly talented foes on the condition that they pledge their undying loyalty to him; he doesn't care how deep or shallow said loyalty runs, only that their talents serve his purposes. Unsurprisingly, he has earned the eternal enmity of many other Street Fighter characters for his malevolent and sinister nature. Of course, he usually does not care and tends to consider his numerous enemies as mere nuisances.

Throughout various media, M. Bison is shown as an extremely powerful figure, often justifying his arrogance by being able to simultaneously take out multiple opponents through use of his Psycho Power (and often without it). In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, M. Bison soundly defeats Guile, and then proceeds to fight and nearly overpower Ken and Ryu, arrogantly relenting in order to prove his superiority. In Street Fighter: The Movie, M. Bison effortlessly kills plenty of AN soldiers in unarmed combat, but is shown to be no match for Guile and is forced to revert to his electromagnetism-powered suit (the film's stand-in for Psycho Power). The UDON comics show him as more than able to defeat several of the fighters he faces, including a Psycho Power-infused Charlie, and he meets his only match in Akuma. In the Street Fighter Zero 2 HK Comic only, when M. Bison faces Akuma, he performs an attack named "15 Shadows", in which fifteen shadows based on the characters from Street Fighter Alpha 2 (except Sagat, Akuma and himself) appear to grab and hold his enemy.

In most of his appearances in crossover games, M. Bison has been deemed worthy of respect by villainous characters who would join forces with him, such as Magneto, Geese Howard and Rita Repulsa. Namco × Capcom and Project X Zone also reveals a curious personality trait - he is hinted to be an extremely provocative and lustful man with an interest for women, as all the opponents he choose to copy using Doppel's powers were attractive girls like Chun-Li, Morrigan and Valkyrie (a fact that is also emphasized by the playable party).

Abilities
In the games, M. Bison fights with a self-taught style using the Psycho Power. In the non-canonical Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game, M. Bison is said to use the martial art developed and taught by himself, Lerdrit. Though in reality, Lerdrit is actually a Thai form of martial arts taught and used by the Royal Thai Army. It should be noted however that while M. Bison's fighting style in the games is original, it may borrow elements from Lerdrit.

In the games, M. Bison wields his deadly Psycho Power to great effect; he is known for his trademark Psycho Crusher, which sends him flying in the direction of his opponent with a damaging "torpedo" spin. The Double Knee Press (or Scissors Kick) allows him to do a forward flip which will knock the opponent away. With the Head Press, M. Bison jumps into the air and homes onto the opponent, bouncing off their heads, he can follow up and smack them with a diving hand thrust called the Somersault Skull Diver. M. Bison also possess the Devil Reverse, wherein he leaps forward like the Head Press, but then flips upside down and chops the enemy with a Psycho Power-charged hand when any punch button is pressed. This acts as both a fake-out version of the Head Press and as a viable attack, fittingly allowing M. Bison to play with his opponent's head.

In the Alpha series, his Psycho Crusher is a Super Combo (on A-ISM or Z-ISM) instead of a regular move. He also gained a couple of new moves, such as the Psycho Shot and the ability to teleport and hover in the air.

In Street Fighter V, M. Bison has a more aggressive play style than before with air juggles and on/off-the-ground attacks, his crouching Heavy Kick (sweep) knocks opponents into the air and his Head Press can now hit grounded and airborne opponents. M. Bison gains the Psycho Reflect, the move reflects projectiles back at the opponent similar to Rose's Soul Reflect. M. Bison gains Psycho Blast and Psycho Inferno. M. Bison's teleport is incredibly fast where he can teleport just before a project hits unscathed with little recovery time. His EX Scissor Kick now hits multiple times. M. Bison's V-Trigger allow him to warp from the air to the ground and perform a psycho-infused Head Stomp twice.

His Super Combos include the Final Psycho Crusher - which is his most powerful attack in Street Fighter Alpha 3, exlusive to his Shadaloo-ISM form, which takes up the whole screen when used - and the Knee Press Nightmare, which is a super version of the Double Knee Press. In Street Fighter IV, he gains the Nightmare Booster Ultra Combo, which is a combination of all of his special moves (two Double Knee Presses, followed by a Psycho Crusher which carries the victim upward, after which he flips upside down similar to the Devil Reverse, smacks the victim to the ground, and ends it with a full-body version of the Head Press). From Super Street Fighter IV onward his second Ultra, Psycho Punisher, sees Bison jump up into the air and deliver a falling stomp with both feet and if the opponent is caught in the stomp's shockwave Bison grabs them by the face and lifts them off their feet, then drives his other fist into their stomach and fires a blast of psycho power into their abdomen.

In Street Fighter V, Bison's Critical Art appears to be the Ultimate Psycho Crusher with elements mixed from Street Fighter II V. Upon activating his Critical Art, he releases a large barrier of Psycho Power around him. Anyone hit within the blast, is knocked into the air where Bison is flying while charging up with one hand his Psycho Power and then charging with both hands, then finally performing his signature attack in one hit against his opponent into the wall.

A more powerful form of M. Bison with stronger abilities and fewer weaknesses appears as the final boss of Street Fighter Alpha 3 for every character except Evil Ryu, who fights Shin Akuma, and M. Bison himself. Should the player lose and not continue, an edited version of M. Bison's ending will play, and the game will end. Unlike Akuma's Shin form, this version of M. Bison has no official name and looks identical to the regular version.

There are some minor differences with this form aside from damage output. His fierce punch attacks send out a wave of energy and his Psycho Crusher Super Combo fills the whole screen with a devastating streak of blue flames. This improved Psycho Crusher is much faster and stronger than its normal counterpart, cannot be blocked in the air, and inflicts severe damage even when blocked; it is the most powerful move in the game. He also has a different theme song, called "Brave or Grave".

The player is also able to choose this version of M. Bison as a 4th ISM, dubbed Shadaloo-ISM (or S-ISM), in the console versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3, by choosing Bison with the select button.

He also has other forms that appeared in both Street Fighter EX2 Plus (Bison II or Vega II, and Street Fighter EX3 as a secret computer-only boss character. Bison II appears in a black uniform while in Street Fighter EX 3 only, Shin-Bison appears with pale, indigo-tinted skin and a white uniform. In both of these games, these forms have an infinite amount of SC energy. They also tends to be far more aggressive and makes frequent use of his teleporting ability.

Trivia

 * Due to how he is named differently in varying regions, he is known in the international community as "Dictator".


 * Bison was the first character in the series to have a unique intro animation; in the Street Fighter II games, he removed his cape before being fought as the final boss.


 * M. Bison is speculated to have originated from Thailand, as in his debut game, he was fought in that country. However, his true birthplace remains officially unconfirmed by Capcom themselves.


 * In Street Fighter Alpha 3 he refers to himself by the full title of Master Bison ("Vega-sama" in the Japanese version), with Cammy and the Dolls referring to him in the same way as well. Despite M. Bison's followers (and himself) referring to him as "Master Bison" in Street Fighter Alpha 3, he is named "Lord Bison" in his Arcade mode introduction sequence in Street Fighter IV.


 * In Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, M. Bison's win quote ("Get lose! You can't compare with my powers!") is clearly misspelled. This is set right in Champion Edition and subsequent SFII versions ("Get lost! You can't compare with my powers!").


 * M. Bison's Japanese voice actor, Norio Wakamoto, is also known for voicing other Capcom video game antagonists, such as High Max from Mega Man X6 and Oda Nobunaga from Sengoku BASARA.


 * M. Bison was planned to be a playable character alongside Charlie Nash and Ibuki in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, but was dropped due to time constraints.


 * His kick throw and extended animations for his Knee Press Nightmare all came from his Street Fighter EXappearances, and was first adopted in his Capcom vs. SNK appearance. He did not have a kick-based throw previously.


 * During some character story battles in Street Fighter V, M. Bison has dark brown hair instead of white hair, implementing that some parts of his storyline happened (some time during or before the events of A Shadow Falls) before his hair whitened.