Garuda

Garuda (ガルダ) is a playable character from the Street Fighter EX series. He is a demon dressed in samurai-like armor wearing a skeletal mask who can make thorns appear from every part of his body.

He is initially said to be a nonhuman entity that is a compilation of all the souls killed by possessors of the Satsui no Hado, and it is later revealed that he also feeds on negative feelings such as anger, hatred, envy, treachery, and despair; but not to the extent of M. Bison's Psycho Power.

His age, exact origin, and fighting style are unknown. Like most characters in the EX series, he has no confirmed encounter with any of the other characters. Garuda fights harder against those who utilize Satsui no Hado.

Storyline
Garuda is the demonic embodiment of all that is Satsui no Hado. He was awakened as a result of the struggle between Akuma and Kairi. Desperate to save his life from the savagery of Akuma's attacks, Kairi released an uncontrollable burst of energy just as Akuma was about to execute the Raging Demon on Kairi. This burst both stunned Akuma, and attracted Garuda to the location of the fight.

Kairi was enveloped in light and disappeared from the battle before Garuda could arrive. Garuda, finding only Akuma, challenged said fighter to a fight. Akuma, thinking that Garuda was some weak henchman sent from the netherworld, was more than happy to destroy this demonic form. But to Akuma's surprise, the harder he fought, and the more he tapped into Satsui no Hado, the stronger and more forceful Garuda's strikes became. After sustaining several damaging blows, Akuma realized he was no match for Garuda, and began to plot an escape from the fight. Just as Akuma was about to make his move, Garuda stopped.

Garuda realized that Akuma was not the source of the burst of energy that Garuda was seeking. No longer interested in Akuma, he left the scene, in search once more for the source of the energy. Garuda searched for a long time, and could not find the man responsible. It wasn't until the second EX tournament that Garuda sensed that the man had returned. He sought to fight Kairi, interrupting his fight against M. Bison.

Kairi did possess some form of Satsui no Hado, but Garuda was unable to draw upon its power to the same degree as he could when he fought against Akuma. Something prevented him, and he didn't know what it was. The fight ended in a draw when, furious with the interruption, M. Bison performed the Psycho Crusher on Garuda. Garuda attempted to fight back and destroy this nuisance by unleashing the Soukon Dan attack. But to Garuda's surprise, the souls launched at Bison did not burn him, they merged with him and made his power stronger. Unsure of how that was possible, he fled the arena to continue his search for Kairi.

Garuda would not have his rematch with Kairi until the third EX tournament. Kairi, his heart now softened by the pleas of his little sister Nanase, had twisted the power of Satsui no Hado into a force for life as opposed to a force for death. Garuda challenged Kairi with the intent of killing him, and he proceeded to beat Kairi within an inch of his life, just as Akuma had done. With what little energy Kairi had remaining, he released a burst of light in the form of the Shouki Hatsudou attack, which instantly dispersed Garuda.

Fighting style/Gameplay
Most of Garuda's special attacks make use spikes protruding over his body. He can also summon spirits as part of one of his Super Combos. Like Hayate, Garuda is also a master swordsman; he has a sword hidden within/on his body, which he uses as part of his Meteor Combo.

Controversy
Garuda is one of the few characters in the EX series whose attacks cause the opponent to bleed profusely. This was removed from American ports of the game.

Trivia

 * Along with Skullomania, Garuda is considered one of the most memorable characters from the EX series.
 * Tekken's Yoshimitsu through his player one outfit from Tekken 5 bears a striking resemblance to Garuda.

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