M. Bison

M. Bison, known as Vega (ベガ/Vega) in Japan, is one of the main villains and primary bosses of the Street Fighter games. M. Bison was inspired by Yasunori Kato, the main villain from the fantasy film, Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, he refers to himself by the full title of Master Bison.

Street Fighter Alpha
His first chronological appearance is in Street Fighter Alpha, as the head of an elusive criminal and military organization known as Shadaloo. Along with his aspirations for world conquest, M. Bison has been working on perfecting a lethal and deadly energy that will exponentially increase his fighting ability, an inherently evil energy he refers to as "Psycho Power". During the events of Street Fighter Alpha, Shadaloo comes to the attention of Interpol, which sends Chun-Li (an operative with a personal vendetta against the crime lord, who apparently killed her father) to thwart Bison's plans. Chun-Li and M. Bison eventually confront each other and battle. M. Bison defeats Chun-Li and then escapes on his helicopter while mocking her and promising to kill her in the same manner he killed her father if she confronts him again. During the events of Alpha or Alpha 2, M. Bison also comes into conflict with Rose, a mysterious woman who wields "Soul Power", the opposite of Bison's Psycho Power. This fact and the fact that her quest is to stop any and all of M. Bison's evil plans indicate the intricate connection between the two, which is later revealed.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
By the time of Street Fighter Alpha 3, the Psycho Power begins exceeding the limits of his body. Having predicted this event, M. Bison had his scientists engineer a body that he could transfer his essence to in the form of Cammy: a genetically engineered young woman using Bison's DNA as a template. He included her in the Dolls: his elite squad of brainwashed young women who serve as assassins. However, over the course of Alpha 3, Cammy's brainwashing begins to weaken and she goes rogue. He sends Vega (one of his enforcers) to retrieve her, and then Juli (one of the Dolls) when Vega fails. Bison then turns his sights to Ryu, one of the most powerful fighters in the world, and the personal nemesis of Bison's right-hand man Sagat.

Bison sends Juni, another Doll, to gather data on Ryu. Later, Bison finds Ryu and eventually subjects him to his Psycho Power. When Sagat objects, Bison tells Sagat he can finally have his rematch. While Sagat battles Ryu, Ryu's friends Ken and Sakura arrive and fight Bison together. With Sagat's urging, Ryu comes to his senses and defeats Bison, destroying his body temporarily.

Following Cammy's encounter with her fellow Dolls, Cammy and the Dolls later confront their regenerated master. Bison decides that the Dolls have no further purpose and decides to kill them; however he has not counted on their survival instincts kicking in. Despite their complete loyalty they resist, and Bison taunts that if the psychic link between him and the Dolls is severed, they will die meaning that they cannot kill him without killing themselves. Despite this, they kill him and their minds quickly start to deteriorate.

Meanwhile, USAF officers Charlie and Guile are on a mission to stop the dictator. Guile and Charlie are joined by Chun-Li. After learning that the bombardment of Shadaloo was called off due to corruption in Interpol and Bison's manipulation, Chun-Li realized that they would have to destroy the base themselves.

Cammy, with not much time left, takes advantage of her genetic similarity to Bison in order to operate the Psycho Drive. Using it, she removes the psychic failsafe on the Dolls and saves them.

While Chun-Li and Guile escape the base (which they have rigged with explosives), Charlie keeps fighting the resurrected Bison to allow their escape, and apparently sacrifices his own life. M. Bison's soul, however, ends up surviving the explosion and despite the destruction of the Psycho Drive, takes control of Rose. It is revealed that, while trying to master Psycho Power, M. Bison had to expel all the humanity and good in his soul to accommodate and supplant the intense energy the power gives him, and that Rose is actually the formation of all of M. Bison's good energy. He stays inside of Rose's body until his Shadaloo scientists forge a new body for him.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo
M. Bison then holds the second Street Fighter tournament to get revenge against the people who destroyed the Psycho Drive, and to lure out Ryu once more. His Psycho Power seems to have diminished since the destruction of the Psycho Drive, but he is still very powerful. In the end he falls short of winning; and although the results of the tournament are unclear, it is most likely that he is defeated by Guile, who had planned on killing him. Despite Guile's desire for revenge, however, he relents and spares Bison, not wanting to be a murderer. Nevertheless, Bison is destroyed by Akuma, who appears again to use the Shun Goku Satsu on Bison once more, saying that Bison is a fool who has been conquered by his power rather than conquering it instead.

At some point before this destruction by Akuma, Bison ordered the creation of at least 26 androids by S.I.N., the weapons division of Shadaloo. #15 was chosen to be the new head of S.I.N., demonstrating a higher level of intelligence than the others. #15 was referred to indirectly as "Bison's right hand". After Bison's apparent demise at the hands of Akuma, #15 takes the name Seth and makes his own attempt at world domination, beginning with the announcement of a new tournament.

Street Fighter IV
Bison returns, however; his soul transplanted to yet another new body, again not as powerful as his Alpha days. Though his scientists try to dissuade him (their reasoning being that, in time, a new body could be created that could hold the Psycho Power in its entirety) Bison chooses the weaker body instead of remaining dead any longer, stating that it will only be a matter of time before Bison would inhabit Ryu's body, anyway. Bison then takes part in Seth's new World Warrior tournament, completely incapacitating his opponents in the qualifying rounds. Bison eventually reaches Seth's S.I.N. headquarters at the head of the remaining androids, attacking Seth for losing his mindless servitude to Bison, which makes him useless. Seth protests that he had almost rebuilt Bison's empire which had fallen into decline since the second World Warrior tournament, however Bison counters by saying that everything that has happened has, in fact, been part of Bison's plan. Whether Bison finishes off Seth himself or leaves him in a weakened state to be destroyed by one of the other tournament participants is unknown. Bison then ambushes Rose, also at the S.I.N. headquarters. Remarking that she owes him something, Bison takes it back "with interest" - a part or all of Rose's Soul Power. Later, another android which had been fighting Abel shows signs of also developing self-awareness like Seth, and Bison promptly destroys it, remarking that Abel has grown since an unspecified last meeting. His exact relationship with Abel is unknown, however it is implied that Abel was somehow party to the experiments that created the androids.

On the early video of Super Street Fighter IV, there is a rivalry clip showing Guile and M.Bison, stating that Guile will send him straight to hell this time. The conclusion of the rivalry is unknown.

Ultimate Fate: Unknown
What happened to Bison after the events of Street Fighter IV is currently unknown. However, Bison was not heard of in Street Fighter III, and Chun-Li's mid-boss dialogue with Urien in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike suggests that Shadaloo was destroyed. In Street Fighter IV, however, Shadaloo is also thought to be destroyed, though Bison is obviously taking steps to revive it. Additionally, Bison mentions several times in Alpha 3 that he has taken many names and forms over the centuries, though whether he's telling the truth is another matter. Because of this, it is impossible to know whether Bison has been truly killed by the time of 3rd Strike.

On the Capcom Fighting Jam game, Bison's ending shows that he appeared on Street Fighter Alpha 3 and defeated Gill (Urien's big brother), alongside with Sagat. However, this game is not considered canon.

Appearance
His general attire consists of a red military uniform with large silver shoulder plates, wrist bands, and shin guards; on his cap is the skull insignia of his crime syndicate known as Shadaloo (sometimes referred to as Shadowlaw or Shadowloo). 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. The fact that Bison has anything to do with Nazi Germany storywise has yet to be confirmed since there's no official reference to this for except his clothing. Bison's eyes lack both pupils and irises (exception in "Street Fighter Alpha," when he had his original body), leaving them a ghastly white color. He sports a dark colored cape in the Alpha series, in which he appears with his original body. In Street Fighter II and the Capcom vs SNK series, he appears with a much slimmer body, and removes his cape before battle.

Gameplay
M. Bison is a "charge character" in that his special moves require that you hold in directions for a few seconds before pulling a move off. One of his special moves is the "Psycho Crusher" which sends him flying in the direction of his opponent with a damaging spin. The "Double Knee Press/Scissors Kick" allows him to do a forward flip which will knock the opponent away. With the "Head Stomp", Bison jumps into the air and homes into the opponent, bouncing off their heads in which he can follow up and smack them with his own hands. Bison also posseses the "Devil's Reverse," wherein he leaps forward like the Head Stomp, but will then flip upside down and chop the enemy with a Psycho Power-covered hand when any punch button is pressed. This acts as both a fake-out version of the Head Stomp, and as a viable attack, allowing Bison to play with his opponent's head.

In the Alpha series, his Psycho Crusher is a super (on A-ISM) instead of a regular move. He gained new moves such as the "Psycho shot" which was his very own projectile and a couple abilities which allowed him to teleport and hover in the air.

His Super Attacks contain The Final Psycho Crusher (In Alpha 3, it is his most powerful attack taking up the whole screen when used) and the Knee Press Nightmare, which is a more varied version of the Double Knee Press. In Street Fighter 4, he gains the Nightmare Booster, 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's Reverse, smacks the victim to the ground, and ends it with a full-body version of the Head Stomp).

Shin Bison
Shin Bison is an alternate version of M. Bison with more powerful abilities, fewer weaknesses, and often a different costume. Much like Shin Akuma, this modified version of the character is meant to portray Bison when he chooses to unleash the true, vast depths of his power. The only canon appearance of Shin Bison takes place in Street Fighter Alpha 3 (serving as the final boss for every character except Evil Ryu, who fights Shin Akuma, and of course Bison himself, often referred to as Final Bison'), but he has also appeared in both Street Fighter EX2 Plus (referred to as Bison II), and Street Fighter EX3 as a secret, computer-only boss character.

When fighting in this more powerful form, Bison’s abilities differ from game to game. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, his fierce punch attacks send out a wave of energy and his Psycho Crusher super combo fills the entire 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 does severe damage even when blocked.

In Street Fighter EX 2 Plus and Street Fighter EX 3, Shin M. Bison appears with pale, indigo-tinted skin and a white uniform. In both of these games, he has an infinite amount of SC energy, the ability to cancel most of his moves, and three greatly improved Psycho Cannon projectile attacks.

Shin Bison also tends to be far more aggressive than his normal counterpart in all the titles he appears in, and makes frequent use of his teleporting ability.

Other appearances
M.Bison appears in the live-adaptation movie portrayed by Raúl Juliá as the main antagonist, who died shortly after the movie's release. Bison is depicted once more as a megalomaniac with plans of world domination and is depicted as an ordinary human until his final confrontation with Guile which grants him lightning powers and the ability to fly, which were provided through his tech suit and life support system. Though presumed dead at the end of the film, in the after-credits scene his hand smashes through the rubble of his base hinting at his survival and return.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Bison appears in the movie as the main antagonist, focusing on Chun-Li. He is played by "Neal McDonough". This version of Bison dons a business suit rather than his traditional costume, also is from Ireland. Bison was abandoned by his Irish missionary parents in Thailand. "Shadoloo" as it is referred to, is a multi-leveled criminal syndicate comprised of a plutarchy of an unknown number of powerful crime families that have connections ranging from the locale mafiosos of the countries to even factions of the government (in the film's current case, the department of commerce). Though Bison's full goals are not divulged, his first order of business is to buy up an entire waterfront district and restructure it specifically for the wealthy and elite, thus further adding to the funding of his operations. He first appears as a simple mob head, only to skyrocket through the ranks after killing off a number of allied families and usurping their power for himself. He is depicted as being uncomfortably upbeat about everything, as he usually reveals shortly afterward that he is in control of almost every element of espionage and intrigue he is involved with. There is a moderately less supernatural background with Bison than there was with his video game and anime counterparts. In a backstory told by Gen, Bison sacrificed his pregnant wife in the bowls of a supernatural cave, where he imbued his daughter, Rose, with the goodness of his soul, thus ridding himself of any sense of conscience. Bison's raw physical power is seen to borderline on supernatural, as he usually only required one punch or kick to send an opponent hurtling through the air. His power is first exhibited during his introduction where his spiritual energy was so immense, it heralded his arrival by a soft breeze inside Chun-Li's family manor. He is killed at the end of the film in front of his daughter when Chun-Li twists his head around by use of her legs. It is unknown whether or not Bison's powers will resurrect him, but in the possibility of the film leaving room for a sequel, there is a chance if the writers keep the film loyal to the series. In a deleted scene, where Nash is comforting Rose, her eyes glow a deep red - keeping true to Bison's spirit taking possession of Rose's body in order to return to the living world.

Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game
In role-playing game from White Wolf, Bison won their psychic powers from a alien meteor. Based on these powers, he created his own fighting style, which he calls Ler Drit.

In Popular Culture
Bison's over-the-top characterization in the live-action movie and the subsequent cartoon has proven popular, with most of the movie's scenes (especially those featuring Bison) being lampooned ad nauseam on sites like Youtube, and his "But for me it was Tuesday" speech inspiring a trope on TV Tropes due to the high camp factor. Today, Bison is one of the more recognizable video game villains in the industry.

Special Move Videos
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Video
M. Bison vs Sagat in Street Fighter IV

M. Bison performing Ultra Combo, Nightmare Booster, on Crimson Viper in Street Fighter IV