Abel

Abel (アベル) is a French mixed martial artist set to make his first appearance in Street Fighter IV. He is described as amnesiac, a "man with no past" looking to defeat surviving members of Shadaloo. Later in the game, it is revealed that he is the same as Seth which explains the changes in eye color Abel experiences

Appearance
Abel is a very well built individual. He towers over many of the other characters, being on par with Zangief in terms of bulk. He wears a blue Judo gi top with white spandex shorts, and blue shin guards and thick grappling gloves. He has blue eyes and sports a Faux Hawk, and is covered in scars from head to toe; most likely from being experimented on or from being damaged in the wreckage he was found in.

Personality
Abel is a strange individual. He usually talks about the "battle field". He fights to try and recover his memory, so most of the cut scenes you see him asking someone a question. If not, usually someone asks him a question, threatening him as well. Of course, having no memory he gets agitated, and simply gets ready for the fight. He is a man of little words simply trying to find himself. His quiet nature is often mistaken for aloofness and emotional detachment, but in truth Abel is a kind and compassionate man, though his amnesia has caused him to develop a tough outer persona.

Street Fighter IV
Abel was found in an abandoned Shadaloo base and raised by a mysterious soldier. Abel claims that the man who found him died recently, and Abel feels that he has had no family and no memories. He started a journey of discovery to find who he really was and where he came from. He first went to the detective, Chun-Li. Upon hearing his connection to Shadaloo, she recommended that he participate in the S.I.N. Tournament to learn more about his past.

During the course of the tournament, he came across Guile, who was able to use the moves the soldier he was nursed back to health by had used. When Abel recognized Guile's techniques, Guile realized that Abel must have known Charlie, and immediately started pressing him for answers. Abel refused to reveal secrets to someone he'd never met before and their fight escalated. In the end neither got the answers they sought. Abel eventually arrived at S.I.N. headquarters around the same time as Guile and Chun-Li. As Guile raced to rescue Chun-Li from Vega's trap, Seth (or one of the 26 copies of Seth) stopped Guile in his tracks. Abel tackled Seth, allowing Guile to reach Chun-Li before she died. Abel was surprised to find that he and Seth looked so similar. Abel was called "imperfect" as Bison appeared from behind and destroyed "Seth". Bison allowed Abel to leave unharmed for unknown reasons. Abel was last seen looking at the ruined S.I.N. base with Guile and an unconscious Chun-Li in his arms.

Fighting style
Abel has a very aggressive fighting style. He's mainly a grappler, and many of his moves either chain into a throw or set a foe up for one. Since he moves rather slowly, one would assume he would have a difficult time getting close enough to throw an opponent; however, most of his techniques get him either behind an enemy or right in their face. Abel is also capable of grounding enemies that like spending time jumping around, getting very close in the process. Abel is a strong character who needs to get close to finish a fight, and he's very good at doing it.

Abel uses Combat Sambo (Russian wrestling with military elements), and various MMA styles mixed with Judo according to the Street Fighter IV Strategy Guide. It is also highly implicated that Fedor Emelianenko was the inspiration for the character; the fighting style reflects that inspiration.

Gameplay
Because he has great combo potential, and lacks a projectile Abel is generally played as a rushdown based character. He is also equipped with a good variety of crossups and overheads, an AA grab and a command grab, this makes Abel great for keeping your opponents guessing, and punishing their mistakes.

Special Moves
Change Of Direction. QCF+P To start, F+P or F+K on the 2nd and 3rd hit (P for an overhead, K for a low)

Wheel Kick. QCB+K, armor breaking, overhead. The HK Version can hit from about 3/4th of the screen away, though is unsafe on block. The EX version hits twice, and can be comboed from CR.HP

Tornado Throw. HCB+P. The LP Version has the highest range, But least damage, Going to MP and HP sacrifices range for damage. EX has the range of the LP, but comes out faster and has more damage than the medium (But not as much as the heavy)

Marseilles Roll. QCF+K. Goes through projectiles, LP Moves you just about 2-3 character lengths, while HP moves you just over half a screen.

Falling Sky. SRK Input+P. While it is, by definition an Anti-Air move, just about any characters jump-in will beat in, most of it's use comes from cancelling the 2nd hit of CR.HP into it.

Super Combos/Super Arts
Super Combo: Heartless. QCFX2+P. Depending on the button pressed to execute this move, you get a different type of immunity, light punch grants hit immunity, (though any dragon punch type move can sometimes go through this) medium punch grants grab immunity, and heavy gives you projectile immunity. There are various ways to combo into your super, 2 of the most practical being canceling the 2nd hit of your cr.hp or cancelling the first hit of a light Change of Direction

Ultra Combo: Soulless. QCFX2+PPP (All 3 Punches). Projectile immunity from startup until it hits or is blocked, gives his upper body some sort of immunity, though many characters can stop it with a well timed sweep or light kick. Because of it's long range you can punish Projectiles if well timed. The most common way to get into Abel's ultra is through a cr.hp, doing the ultra command at the peak of your opponents height, just as they begin to fall.

Theories

 * It is STRONGLY implied that the soldier who raised Abel is Charlie. He is only seen in shadow (possibly a call back to his identity of Shadow in Marvel vs Capcom), and he seems to be wearing glasses similar to Charlie. However, this soldier's hair is much shorter than Charlie's signature style (but of course, hair can be cut). The major clues are that this soldier is very familiar with Shadaloo and that he knows how to perform Guile's moves. According to Guile, the only two men on earth who can use the Sonic Boom and Flash Kick are himself and Charlie.
 * It is likely that Abel is either a failed version of Seth, or Abel is the original human that Seth and the 26 other copies were based on.
 * Joe from the first Street Fighter is rumored to have suffered from amnesia much like Abel in Street Fighter IV spawning speculation that Joe and Abel may be the same person. Joe's background setting is a trainyard in the US and in Street Fighter IV there is a trainyard in Russia. There are no official character specific backgrounds in Street Fighter IV. A theory can be made that if Abel is Joe, he continues to use trainyards as a means of transportation regardless of where he ends up in the world.

Trivia

 * Abel is based on Fedor Emelianenko, a mixed martial arts fighter sharing the same birth date, fighting style, facial appearance and stoic personality.
 * Several comparisons have been drawn between Abel and professional wrestler Rob Van Dam, due in part to Abel's alternate attire (a wrestling singlet adorned with the French flag and wrestling boots), highly athletic wrestling style and wheel kicks. Abel's voice acting resembles that of actor Jean-Claude Van Damme who has also been known to wear a wrestling singlet in his films.

Video
Abel vs Ryu in Street Fighter IV thumb|300px|left