Cody

"I've saved the city, saved the girl, but couldn't save myself."

- Cody, SFA3

Cody Travers (コーディー・トラバーズ) is a video game character from both the Final Fight and Street Fighter series. He has been fighting his way to survive the harsh slums of Metro City since he was a kid.

Appearance
Cody is a street fighter who, before being taken to prison, wore a white shirt and blue jeans, with white sneakers. After prison, he now wears a variation of the prison uniform, which has dark blue stripes and has two handcuffs linked with a long chain. Unlike other prisoners, he intentionally keeps his prison uniform, as well as the hand cuffs around his arms, though he can easily remove his handcuffs. In Final Fight: Streetwise, he wears the classic outfit, but with an orange prison shirt over the t-shirt.

In his Street Fighter Alpha 3 sprite, Cody is seen wearing a pair of Adidas Superstar. Some of his original artworks from Final Fight already implied that these where the shoes he had always wore, but this sprite was the very first time where it could be fully confirmed. His rival, Guy, wears shoes similar to Nikes, perhaps referencing the competition between the brands.

Cody's first downloadable costume in Super Street Fighter IV is a more stylized take of his attire from Final Fight, with his white t-shirt being replaced with a white singlet with black trims, as well as tattoos, jewelry and hand accessories.

His second downloadable costume is a more modern prison uniform, which is orange in color and adds slippers. Despite it being a one-piece uniform, it does somewhat resemble his appearance from Final Fight: Streetwise.

Personality
Cody is a reckless, but ultimately good-at-heart man. He has a powerful sense of justice that surpasses even his love for Jessica.

After spending several years in jail, Cody has become very apathetic as of his most recent appearances, but remains pugnacious as ever, seeing fighting as the best way to relieve his boredom. He also seems to harbor a little resentment of the outside world, musing that he fought solely for the sake of the city and still ended up in jail despite his intentions. Despite this, and as certain bits of dialogue indicate, his sense of justice and desire to stamp out evil still remains.

Mike Haggar
Haggar and Cody seem to have a father-son relationship, though Cody is often annoyed by his preaching.

Guy
Cody and Guy are close friends and rivals who seem to battle often. In the Arcade Mode off Street Fighter Alpha 3, after defeating Guy, Cody concludes that "some things never change", most likely referencing one (or more) of his and Guy's past duels in which, judging by this quote, he held the upper hand. Their dialogue in Super Street Fighter IV further supports this; Cody says "This feels familiar, don't it?" when he wins a round against Guy.

Despite their frequent battles, the two have no problem teaming up to achieve a common goal; Cody even implies that he enjoys doing so.

Final Fight
In the original Final Fight, Cody teams up with his best friend/rival Guy and the Mayor of Metro City, Mike Haggar, to save Jessica (Cody's girlfriend and Haggar's daughter) from Belger, the leader of the Mad Gear gang. Cody takes on many of Mad Gear's worst thugs, including Damnd, the first Mad Gear Gang member to kidnap Jessica, and Edi E., a corrupt police officer that uses a gun and police baton against Cody, making the fight very difficult to win. His penchant for fighting often leaves the others free to pursue the other bosses of Metro City.

In the end, Cody confronted Belger on the top floor of his penthouse building and after a tough battle, Cody was able to use a strong uppercut punch to knock Belger off the top floor of the penthouse building, sending Belger plummeting to his death towards the street below. Cody is then celebrated as the hero of Metro City and that Jessica herself wants to celebrate with Cody, but Cody tells Jessica that he can't sit still while evil continues to stalk the streets and after sharing a passionate kiss with Jessica, Cody leaves the city for parts unknown.

Final Fight Revenge
Cody would soon reappear in Final Fight Revenge, which is chronologically set between the events of Final Fight and Street Fighter Alpha 3. He returned to Metro City from a year of traveling, where he learned that the Mad Gear gang is beginning to reform, and that his girlfriend Jessica has gone missing after a series of riots that occurred in the city following the destruction of Mad Gear. Hoping to prove himself that he is Jessica's hero, Cody tried once more to come to her rescue, battling many thugs along the way. Sadly, Cody wouldn't get the chance to continue his search for Jessica, as he was arrested by Edi. E. for crimes that were committed by Mad Gear member Poison and the many street fights that Cody had participated in from his time.

Jessica's whereabouts in the game are never resolved in any of the playable characters' endings. However, the design sketches for Cody from Street Fighter Zero 3, as well as the Street Fighter Zero 3 Secret File Book would establish that Haggar was able to rescue Jessica from the immediate danger and that Cody and Jessica had ended their relationship with one another on a bitter note, due to the fact that Cody was jailed for his reckless street fighting and that Jessica had decided to take a study abroad in Europe.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
Cody broke out of prison after a riot ensued. During his travels, he met up with Edi. E (who is trying to recapture him), Rolento, and even Guy once more. Rolento wanted him to join his militant movement, which Cody refused after a heated argument (it's unknown if they had actually fought). Guy, meanwhile, wanted to reform Cody and get him back on the good path, but Cody said that he was no hero and basically lived for fighting. The two then had their own battle but after the two calmed down, Guy accepted the fact that his friend had to live his own life. The two separated afterward when Guy asked if Cody would stay in Metro City, but Cody said he still had traveling to do. Guy bid him farewell, realizing that deep down inside, Cody is still a good person.

Super Street Fighter IV
Apparently bored of his prison life, Cody 'casually' breaks out of prison. Telling the terrified guard that he'll be back later, he ventures outside. While out, Cody looks up at a familiar face that he hasn't seen for a while: his old friend and rival Guy. Cody's main motivation seems to be finding a way to alleviate his boredom by participating in S.I.N's tournament.

After defeating S.I.N., Guy appears again, asking Cody if he's fighting for what's right and if there's still a bit of good left in him. Cody says that he only did it because S.I.N. was in his way, and states he'll be returning to his prison cell, because that's where he belongs.

Final Fight Streetwise
In the sequel to the original Final Fight, Cody has long retired from street fighting due to his knees suffering from arthritis, and instead coaches his younger brother Kyle in pitfights, but gets frustrated due to Kyle's lack of focus, which in turn stokes Cody's wish to fight once more.

Due to this, Cody started to use a new drug called "GLOW", fueling Cody's strength and relieving the pain in his knees, but getting him addicted and out of control in the process. Without telling Kyle, Cody started fighting in Vito Bracca's fight club. However, Vito finds out about his drug use, and Cody is taken by the mob enforcer known as The Stiff, leaving Kyle to search all over Metro City to look for his brother with the help of Guy, Haggar and others. He finds Cody, heavily addicted under Guy's custody, but Cody breaks free once again.

Near the end, Cody fights Kyle as the Horseman of Death under the psychotic Father Bella, as revenge for Cody killing Bella's brother - Belger. When the fight is over, Bella has Kyle at gunpoint, causing Cody to regain his senses and tackles Bella off the church, dropping along with him. After Bella died and both Kyle and Cody are hospitalized, Cody has beaten his addiction and states (after jokingly asking Kyle for the date of their next match) that due to the massive dosage he received, his knees are feeling "better than ever".

UDON comics
In the Street Fighter II Turbo comic book published by UDON, Cody is presented as one of the toughest fighters around. Prior to the World Warrior qualifier, he encounters former members of the Mad Gear Gang: Hugo, Rolento and Poison. Cody comments that Hugo should have brought his entire freakish family if the Mad Gears planned to stand a chance against him. Apparently intimidated, the trio does not respond.

During the qualifier itself, Cody defeats Poison, though she later leaves him cuffed to an elevator. After he manages to break free, Cody faces Ryu in order to claim the last remaining gold ticket for the competition. Ryu, wanting a fair fight, removes Cody's shackles, though Cody warnes him that he is accustomed to fighting multiple foes and that, due to this fact, Ryu is already in major disadvantage. As confirmation, Cody easily knocks Ryu unconscious. Before he manages to leave with the ticket, the Satsui no Hado takes control of Ryu, who then defeats Cody. Fortunately, Ryu comes to his senses in time to stop himself from going any further.

Street Fighter X Tekken
Cody appear in Street Fighter X Tekken along with Guy as a DLC character. Cody is approached by Guy in Metro City. Guy says he wants to stop Shadaloo and the Mishima Zaibatsu from getting their hands on the mysterious box of unknown power in Antarctica, Pandora, and that he needs Cody's help to do it. Cody sighs but says he will do it, saying that the city was boring him anyway.

On the way to Antartica, they are attacked by a psychopathic zombie-cyborg named Bryan Fury and his giant robot, Jack-X, which classifies both of them as AAA rank fighters. Bryan attacks them to weed out the competition for Pandora, despite Cody's warnings. Guy dodges Bryan's attacks, and Cody matches the enormous Jack-X robot in strength. They defeat Bryan and move on.

After their final victory against Ogre, they find Pandora in the middle of Antarctic. The wish-giving Pandora's Box senses the just wisdom and selflessness within their souls, and Pandora erases itself from existence before Cody and Guy can destroy it. Guy notes that it was all for the best, since its powers could cause untold chaos to the world, and Cody comments that it's all the same to him. As Cody leaves, Guy mentions how good it was to fight as a team again. Cody concedes and admits that it definitely was not boring. In a rare break from his usual stoicism, Guy smiles and says that's good to hear, and the two go home.

In his ending, Cody felt satisfied from all the fighting he did on his journey, and on the way home, he encountered a gang fight. Initially wanting to avoid it, he agreed once the people asked to. After the fight, Cody comments that he feels more like his old self, remembering how it is to fight for another's sake.

Gameplay/Fighting style
Cody's fighting style is street fighting in its "purest" form, and he proves to be a powerful opponent, even while restrained; his reason for keeping his handcuffs on is to make his fights more challenging, though he can take them off at any time. As such, Cody is one of three characters (the others being Oro and Akuma) who voluntarily handicap and restrain themselves.

In the Street Fighter games, Cody is an offense-oriented character with a diverse moveset, powerful normal attacks, and good combo capabilities. His movement speed is relatively slow, and lacks options when it comes to handling rushdowns, as many of his special moves are slow to come out.

Cody's move set is mainly based on his Final Fight appearance, similar to Guy, with some "street fighting" moves added in. Cody possess a sliding kick that can strike at various heights, an uppercut that produces a tornado, which is useful against projectiles, and can throw sand at the foe as a reversal. Cody can also pick up rocks and throw them at foes, with the ability to delay the throw in order to confuse the opponent.

In the Street Fighter Alpha series, his Super Combos are Dead End Irony and Final Destruction, both of which work well at close range. Final Destruction also has unique properties based on the ISM being used (explained below). In V-ISM, Cody has a move called Yoke that can be used to dodges moves, similar to the later-introduced parry mechanic of the Street Fighter III series.

In Super Street Fighter IV, he gains an additional sucker punch that can break through Super Armor (along with the Ruffian Kick). Dead End Irony returns as his Super Combo, and works differently, starting with a Ruffian Kick that depends on the kick button used. Final Destruction returns as his first Ultra Combo, and also works differently, centering instead around a single punch. His second Ultra Combo, Last Dread Dust, allows him to strike from a further distance and nullify projectiles by kicking up sand. He follows this with a series of swinging punches and finishes with a pipe.

In Street Fighter X Tekken, Final Desctruction reappears as his Super Art, where it again works differently; it starts similarly to Super Street Fighter IV's Dead End Irony, and the Ruffian Kick can be charged into it.

Final Fight-Inspired Moves
Final Fight's use of weapons - a common feature in "beat 'em up" games - is referenced in Cody's fighting style. A knife even appears in any fight where at least one player is using Cody; the knife is his best weapon in the Final Fight games, and only he can pick it up. The knife can be used for fast, damaging attacks, and can also be throw at the foe (which replaces the Bad Stone).

Additionally, in Super Street Fighter IV Cody uses a wrench during his Focus Attack, and he uses a pipe during Last Dread Dust, as shown above.

Cody's A-ISM Final Destruction is an homage to a glitch in Final Fight. In Final Fight, a player could deliver two hits, turn around — instantly canceling the combo — and then turn back and chain the same two hits; repeated, this could act as an infinite combo attack. Cody mimics the attack, and finishes with another combo of punches and a Criminal Upper. His X-ISM Final Destruction changes the Super Combo Gauge to a timer; for a short time, this replaces his moves with the original Final Fight moveset, where tapping any button repeatedly performs his normal combo from Final Fight, and all his air attacks are replaced with the Crack Kick.

Trivia

 * Cody was likely inspired by Tom Cody, the main protagonist of the 1984 film Streets of Fire. Both are formidable street brawlers that are great with knives, and wage war on the local gang in an attempt to rescue their love interests along the way; in the end, they both walk out on the girl.
 * Cody's portrait in SSFIV very much resembles Michael Pare, the actor who portrayed Tom Cody in 'Streets of Fire'.
 * In Street Fighter Alpha 3, the 'escaped criminal fighter' was originally planned to be Joe returning from the original Street Fighter. Cody later replaced him.
 * The two look similar and even share a kick animation (Cody's Crack Kick heavily resembles Joe's kick).
 * Cody's artwork for Super Street Fighter IV displays a destroyed brick wall showing the Street Fighter logo. Also, in the intro for Super Street Fighter IV, he destroys an entire brick wall with just a small rock, with the camera doing a closeup on the rock right before he throws it. Both are a throwback to the original intro of the first Street Fighter - and by extension, Joe.
 * Coincidentally, he is the only person to utilize street fighting as a fighting style, despite not originating from the series; of note in this regard is that Final Fight was originally titled Street Fighter '89.
 * In Super Street Fighter IV, when two Cody players both go for the knife, the one who loses out has a shocked expression on his face.
 * Cody makes an appearance in the Street Fighter 1995 cartoon. However, Cody is depicted in his Final Fight attire, due to Street Fighter Alpha 3 not having been released yet at the time the episode originally aired.
 * Cody's rival in Super Street Fighter IV was originally intended to be Chun-Li, but was then changed to Guy shortly before the release.
 * The reason for this is because it is revealed in the game that Cody was in fact Chun-Li's inspiration to be a street fighter, and she looked up to him.
 * Oni and E. Honda are the only characters who recognize that Cody, while still wearing very loose chains, is in fact holding back on all his battles. Unusually, before Cody fights Oni as a boss in Arcade Mode, Oni actually implies that Cody might survive a battle with him if he doesn't hold back.
 * Cody is also one of many characters in Street Fighter universe to utilize a weapon during his fights.
 * If Cody, who is one of the most blunt and honest about fights, wins in a fight against Akuma, he admits he thought Akuma was rather weak compared to his expectations, being the only Street Fighter to honestly imply that he was unimpressed by Akuma's strength.
 * If Cody wins against Oni in Arcade Mode, he'll say that was the most fun he's had in his life worth living, making it the only time besides fighting Ryu that he admits having fun.
 * Cody and Jessica make a small stage appearance in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 2. In SFA2, if one or both characters battling on the Metro City stage, are female, Cody passes them a naughty glance which results in him being slapped by jealous Jessica. He also has a cameo appearance in Capcom Fighting Evolution.
 * On some occasions in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Edi. E (who is a boss from Final Fight) chases Cody around, trying to arrest him after a win. An even rarer occasion shows him getting kicked off the screen after this.
 * In Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, When Cody is in V-ISM, he can dodge certain attacks while blocking.
 * Cody closely resembles Axel Stone from Streets of Rage, a beat 'em up by Sega.
 * In Street Fighter Alpha 3 one of Cody's win quotes is "After waiting for so long, it feels good to do more than two moves", referencing Final Fight's limited movesets.