Necro

"I'm long and I'm strong! To challenge me would be so wrong!"

- Necro

Necro (ネクロ) is a character in the Street Fighter series. He first appeared in Street Fighter III and is voiced by Michael Sommers in New Generation and 2nd Impact and by Lawrence Bayne in 3rd Strike.

The events of the game reveal that Necro (the Greek word for "death") is actually a codename given to him by Gill, which is a name that may be a reference to his "deathly" pale appearance; his name was originally Illia (イリア).

Appearance
Necro is a tall, lean individual who is completely bald and ghastly white, with orange-red markings on his face and shoulders. The loss of color in his skin can be attributed to his mutation; his stage in New Generation and Second Impact hints in the background that various animals and even materials, from octopi to rubber, had their properties infused genetically into his being. In comparison, Twelve is a product of similar experiments. The markings could possibly be a result of the mutation as well. Necro's eyes are a light yellow and lack both pupils and irises.

Wrapped around the base of his neck is a metallic collar, with a bolt on the front and two on the back. The only clothes Necro seems to wear are a pair of overalls with several straps around the chest, cuffs around his wrist, and a pair of boots, all in the same vibrant violet color. His suspenders appear to be attached to his collar in most artworks. In some artworks, he also appears to be wearing small, gold earrings, and on-screen in the game, his fingernails appear to have red nail polish.

As revealed when electrocuted in a fight, Necro's arm and leg bones are segmented, presumably a result of the G-Project. This allows for his limbs to stretch to inhuman lengths, yet keep their shape when at "normal" lengths.

Personality
Necro is plucky, optimistic, and ever determined when it comes to his goals; despite his capacity for wise-cracks, however, he is also quite surly and prone to rather dark comments. Despite being on the run from the Illuminati and always pressured when they turn up, Necro still dreams big and has his eyes always on the faintest of hope in the middle of a bleak situation. Even after being transformed into the superpowered mutant he is today, he still enjoys the newfound powers and abilities that come with it, and he hopes to raise hell with those powers and give the Illuminati a run for their money.

Background
Illia is the third youngest of his two brothers and youngest sister, and left his small and poor village in the North of Russia to seek independence and riches since the fall of the Soviet Union. Near Moscow, Gill and his organization confronted him and promised him a better life. They persuaded Illia to join, but he was tricked and experimented on. He was given a soft body that allows him to stretch beyond normal and the ability to produce electricity from his body, at the cost of leaving him looking like a mutant. A cybernetic computer was implanted into his brain that enhanced his fighting abilities as well. Illia began taking on special missions for the organization under the name "Necro".

Street Fighter V
In Rashid's prologue story, Necro is seen as one of the several people he is communicating with; his username is "FreedomTraveler_Illya"; his avatar is of him and Effie. He questions Dhalsim being labeled as a yoga master, saying that yoga and stretching can't be related. Necro has already been mutated by this point; Urien and Dr. Wu are seen working on the G Project, having already created Eleven, Twelve's direct predecessor.

Street Fighter III: New Generation and 2nd Impact
Necro entered the third Street Fighter tournament and saw it as a way to gain back his freedom and get revenge on Gill. But he was tricked again and trapped and tied up, and Gill left him to die inside the self-destructing base. However, Necro's companion Effie managed to save him, and they escaped before they were killed. They were now both free, but they knew they would still be chased by Gill's organization.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Necro and Effie traveled through Russia to escape the Illuminati. At one point, the duo face Twelve, the perfected version of the G-Project, which was responsible for Necro's current mutated form. The winner of the battle is unknown, but Necro probably was victorious, as he and Effie survived and Twelve went back to the Illuminati for recuperation. In his ending, Necro and Effie are on a train heading to the borders of Russia, but the Illuminati closes in on them. Trying to find a way out, Necro and Effie jump off the train into a chasm. Effie falls faster towards the bottom, but Necro managed to save her with an outstretched arm. Upon saving his girlfriend, he says that for the first time, he feels grateful for his powers, and a heart forms around the two.

Comics
Necro makes an appearance in Udon's Street Fighter: Super Combo Special Comic (2014) 's second story, "Your Enemies Closer". During the events of this story, Necro is part of an Illuminati strike team along with three foot soldiers and Twelve (disguised as M. Bison); they are sent to hunt down Seth. Seth makes short work of the foot soldiers, finishing them off with a Sonic Boom, Shoryuken and a Hyakuretsukyaku respectively. Seth tries to attack Necro using Dhalsim's ability to stretch, but Necro gains the upperhand by quickly leaping and connecting with double handed chops to Seth's face. Necro follows this up by pummeling Seth with repeated vicious blows. Seth tries to rush attack Necro, but is stopped in his tracks by Necro's electrical discharge.

Necro's story in the UDON canon is expanded upon in the first two issues of Street Fighter Unlimited. In issue #1, Cammy and her Delta Blue team are dispatched to an Arctic research station to retrieve a kidnapped member of Parliament. During this mission, she encounters Necro, whom she defeats and captures after a brief scuffle. However, Necro manages to elude Delta Blue's custody.

Necro's escape is fully explained in his standalone story, "A Couple of Misfits", in the second issue of Street Fighter Unlimited. Here, he is being transported within a convoy of armored trucks while being questioned about his powers. A girl dressed in red (later revealed to be his female companion, Effie) appears out of nowhere, causing the convoy to crash. After a short fight, during which Necro frees himself and takes out his captors, the two ride off via motorcycle into the horizon.

Fighting Style and Gameplay
Necro's fighting style involves grappling his opponents with his unpredictable and flexible rubber limbs, and using the electrical current generated in his body to shock them. His combat style has no real origin or connection to other styles, implying that Necro taught himself how to fight. The cybernetic computer in his brain helps give him superhuman fighting abilities.

Necro's abilities seem to be inspired by Dhalsim and Blanka, and while he can stretch his limbs similarly to the former and generate electricity similarly to the latter, his play style is completely different in comparison to them. Like his personality, Necro's fighting style is somewhat unusual, being able to fight mid and close range battles. Unlike Dhalsim, who is usually seen using long-range and can be considered a defensive character, Necro is more combo-reliant, close-ranged, and offensive. As for Blanka, Necro only has three moves, two of which are Super Arts, which allow him to generate electricity.

Gameplay-wise, Necro can be difficult to use in the beginning, and is often considered low-tier in the Street Fighter III rankings. While he lacks a projectile attack, Necro can hit far targets with his heavy-attacks, which make him stretch his limbs. He has good anti-air attacks and is skilled at pressuring the opponents at mid and close range. When the opponent is cornered, players can use Necro's many different unique and normal attacks to pressure them. His taunt is one of the few taunts in Street Fighter III that can damage opponents, as well as being able to increase his attack power. However, he is somewhat slow and does have some unsafe attacks.

Super Arts
Necro's first Super Art, Magnetic Storm, is essentially an upgraded version of his special, Electric Blaster. With it, he unleashes a large barrier of electricity around his body. His second Super, Slam Dance, is a command grab Super which involves Necro grabbing his opponent and performing two suplexes on them with his stretched arms. After the second suplex, he uses his legs to take hold of them, backflips a final time, before finally slamming them to the ground. His final Super, Electric Snake, makes Necro stretch his arms and charge his hands with electricity, before electrifying the floor and his opponent.

Quotes
See: Necro/Quotes.

Trivia

 * When Necro wins the round that decides the fight, Effie will run in and copy his victory pose. Furthermore, if Necro loses the round that decides the fight, Effie will run in and collapse beside him.


 * Necro and his "perfected" copy, Twelve, have a special opening, if they fight each other. Twelve, and some his copies, surround Necro, with him using his Electric Blaster to scare them away. The main Twelve copy stays, and the fight begins. If Necro loses the deciding match against Twelve, the copies of Twelve surround him and Effie while the main Twelve leaves the stage.


 * Necro is one of the eleven playable Street Fighter characters who are in a romantic relationship or are married, Effie being the one Necro is going out with.


 * Necro also looks similar to the Mortal Kombat fighter Quan Chi in terms of skin color, markings, and baldness.


 * Some of his dreams, alongside becoming an opera singer, is to own a Mercedes Benz and enjoy a hamburger lunch, while wearing casual clothes and a Rolex watch.


 * Many of his 3rd Strike win quotes have outright if not borderline tendencies of breaking the fourth wall. Ryu has a comparable quote that breaks the fourth wall as well.


 * Despite being Russian, Necro lacks the accent, having more of an American-sounding one, albeit more computer-like.

Gallery
Necro/Gallery

Sprites
Necro/Sprites