Adon

"Ah, Sagat... It only took one fight to transform you into a sniveling coward. I had so much respect for you, but now you are a tiger with no fangs."

- Adon

"I'll show you just how strong I am! (オレ様が最強ってことを教えてやるぜ！)"

- Adon (Street Fighter IV series)

Adon (アドン) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing as a non-playable opponent in the original Street Fighter, before becoming playable in Street Fighter Alpha. He is a former pupil of Sagat, seeking to surpass his disgraced master and become the Emperor of Muay Thai.

Appearance
Adon is well-built and lean with broad shoulders and a muscular back. While shorter than Sagat, he is still taller than Ryu. In the original Street Fighter, his hair was short and spiky, but in later games, it is done up in a flat-top style. His hair is always colored either orange or red, depending on the artist. His eyes are fierce, and he almost always has a conniving, wild smile on his face, reflective of his personality.

Adon wears trunks resembling his former mentor's, though the stripe pattern on his trunks forms a V shape while Sagat's simply have two stripes running down the legs. Adon also wears wraps on his hands and feet like Sagat, though his are smaller than his master's due to his smaller size. Unlike Sagat, who apparently did away with his ceremonial Muay Thai gear, Adon wears the traditional mongkhon on his forehead and pra jiad on both biceps. These articles of clothing are worn by Muay Thai fighters in the ring as both proof of ability and good-luck charms.

Personality
Adon is shown to have a large ego and is quite cocky, as well as boastful to the point of true arrogance, desiring to be seen as the "god" of Muay Thai. He also tends to belittle and look down upon most other fighters, like his former Master. Adon seeks self-aggrandization and strength above all else, but is not truly evil.

Sagat
Adon became Sagat's student three years after Sagat became God of Muay Thai. After Sagat was defeated by Ryu, Adon was furious at his former teacher was lost for being unable to uphold Muay Thai's honor (conveniently forgetting how Ryu had bested him during the World Warrior tournament), scorning him as "a tiger who has lost his fangs". From then on, Adon has distanced himself from Sagat to walk his own path of self-glory. Sagat himself finds the fact that Adon was once his student "a source of great shame".

Akuma
Because Akuma killed a Muay Thai master that Adon was supposed to fight, He seeks to defeat him to prove himself. In Alpha 3, he finds him and loses to him. Akuma doesn't kill him, however, due to him deeming Adon unworthy of it.

Ryu
Adon seeks to defeat Ryu, to prove he has surpassed Sagat.

Background
Adon was born from a poor family in Thailand. When he was five years old, his father took him to the Khmer Ruins for the first time, where many fighters challenged the Muay Thai Emperor Nuakan, his father included. None of them managed to defeat him. Adon then wished to grow stronger and one day challenge Nuakan. Some years later, a young man named Sagat managed to defeat Nuakan, and Adon was impressed with their intense battle. A few years later, Adon asked Sagat to make him his disciple.

Street Fighter
Adon became Sagat's student three years after Sagat became God of Muay Thai. Frequently likened to a "lesser version of Sagat", even though he strives to differentiate himself with more acrobatic techniques, Adon enters the first World Warrior tournament to prove he is more than that. The cocky Adon lets his guard down when he faces Ryu, who takes him out with a single Shoryuken. Afterwards, Ryu goes on to defeat Sagat, which leads to Adon's eventual distancing of himself from his teacher.

Street Fighter Alpha
Adon challenges Sagat for the title of "God of Muay Thai" and defeats him. After Adon's victory, M. Bison, who was watching, tries to recruit Adon into Shadaloo. Adon rejects his offer and challenges him, but the outcome of the battle is unknown. The events of the game were effectively retconned by the sequel.

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Adon is not mad at Ryu for defeating Sagat, but at his teacher for being unable to uphold Muay Thai's honor (conveniently forgetting how Ryu had bested him during the World Warrior tournament). He challenges Sagat for the title of God of Muay Thai and wins, but the enraged Sagat does so much damage to him in the fight that Adon has to be hospitalized for months.

Adon's injuries eventually heal, and a new fighter captivates his attention; rumor reaches his ears of a fighter who has mastered the power that had enabled Ryu to win the first World Warrior Tournament. This fighter kills a man who was about to challenge Adon for his title. Adon sees this as a challenge; knowing only that this mysterious fighter has red hair and wears a black gi with the symbol "Ten" on his back, Adon swears to find him and test his strength.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
Traveling the world, Adon encounters Ken and realizes that Ken has trained in the same style as the fighter he seeks, and fights him in order to recognize this mysterious fighter by the moves Ken uses. Ken in turn recognizes Adon as Sagat's student, an identification which enrages Adon. The two fight, and Adon is victorious. Later, Rose attempts to convince him not to continue on his current path, as it will lead ultimately to destruction and ruin. Adon cannot be swayed, however, and continues on his way.

Eventually, he encounters Bison, who commends his abilities and admits that he has underestimated him. Adon rejects Bison's praise and tells him that he doesn't need him; he is searching for something else. Bison somehow knows what Adon is seeking: mastery of the Shun Goku Satsu in order to perfect the Muay Thai style. Adon is stunned, and Bison goes on to tell him that his goal is foolish; the Shun Goku Satsu is nothing when compared to his Psycho Power, which he attempts to demonstrate.

The two fight, and though Adon is technically more proficient, Bison cannot be defeated and eventually wears him down. As Bison is about to deal the finishing blow, laughing that he does not fear death, Akuma appears out of nowhere and performs the Shun Goku Satsu on him, defeating him (but not killing him, it seems) for the time being. Akuma then leaves, leaving Adon with the realization that Akuma is the fighter he is seeking. More determined than ever, Adon vows to find Akuma again and claim the power of the "Raging Demon" as his own.

Super Street Fighter IV
Returning to his changing room after a fight, Adon hears of S.I.N.'s latest fighting tournament. Knowing that Sagat will of course be taking part, and scorning him as "a tiger who has lost his fangs" he seizes the opportunity to put Sagat "out of his misery".

Adon and Sagat fight, with Adon emerging as the victor. Satisfied with his victory, he watches from above as a content Sagat returns home to his village, remarking that he has now "declawed and dethroned" Sagat and that he will show the world the power of Muay Thai by destroying all those who enter the ring with him.

Street Fighter cartoon
Adon appears in the Street Fighter cartoon as a non-speaking fighter in the episode "The Medium is the Message".

SFA: The Animation
He also makes a brief cameo in Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as one of the fighters participating in Professor Sadler's tournament. His constant boasting during the trip wins over the attention of Birdie whom he gets into an argument with. Adon is later shown fighting with Rolento in the base's arena.

Street Fighter Alpha manga
In this continuity, Adon works along with Shadaloo, hoping that this will give him opportunities to fight others and, in doing so, bring back the glory of Muay Thai (which he believes was lost after Ryu defeated Sagat). He is depicted as especially ruthless in this manga's storyline, and is willing to kill his opponents even after achieving clear victory.

Adon battles against Eagle, eventually winning the fight against him and murdering him. When Ryu enters the tournament, Adon lures him into a fight by threatening Chun-Li's life. As the battle between Ryu and Adon continues, Adon comes close to winning. However, the Satsui no Hado begins to corrupt Ryu, and he loses control of himself altogether. Adon is then ruthlessly defeated by Evil Ryu, and he falls to the ground, covered in blood. Evil Ryu continues to attack him and is about to finish him off with the Shun Goku Satsu, though Guy arrives before Adon can be hit with the attack. Adon angrily tells him to "get lost," but Guy simply scorns Adon's murderous actions and calls him unworthy of rebuilding Muay Thai's honor. As Evil Ryu's energy grows, an explosion of chi erupts through the area, and Chun-Li pulls Adon out of danger.

UDON comics
Adon makes an appearance in the UDON's comic continuity of the Street Fighter series, after Sagat lost his battle against Evil Ryu, Adon became upset, thinking that Sagat has let down the strength of Muay Thai fail. Sagat told Adon to leave him be, not wanting to be bothered that he failed the art of Muay Thai. Adon then fought against Sagat after he refused to give him the answer that he wanted, as Sagat was in deep thought, he defeats Adon with his full power, he told Adon that he has his own reason for fighting.

At some point after, he is visited by Ryu and Sakura, who was looking for Sagat to help him with a personal problem he had, Adon told him that he was no longer his student, stating that Sagat had stop caring about Muay Thai after his defeat in the previous Street Fighter tournament, and became bent on defeating Ryu. Two years later, Adon is asked to join a tournament that was hosted by Shadaloo, despite his progress in the tournament, he is eventually beaten by Chun-Li.

Later on after Shadaloo was disbanded, he enters the tournament that is being hosted by Gill, he fights off against Rufus, as his foe was badly defeated, Gill used his ki to heal Rufus as he was back to normal within minutes, Adon and all other fighters were amazed by this ability, during his next match, his foe was Sagat, he was able to defeat him, not knowing that Sagat himself was actually holding back.

Cameos
In Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, Adon appears in the background of a stage at a Chinese restaurant, where he is seen standing at the front gate watching the fight.

Adon appears in the background of a stage in Capcom Fighting Jam, where he is seen training.

Fighting style
Adon fights with a more dynamic and acrobatic form of Muay Thai, allowing him to deliver ranged airborne attacks effectively.

Moveset
Adon's special moves are generally fast-moving strikes that are counter-able if missed, requiring players to sufficiently confuse foes before overwhelming them with speed. As a foil to Sagat, much of Adon's moves are kick-based with flashy-offense compared to Sagat's somewhat more fundamental style that focuses on the neutral game.

The Jaguar Kick is a slashing somersault kick that can be used in midair, where it is a good anti-air. The Rising Jaguar is a double knee thrust, capable of intercepting airborne attackers at a low angle and passing through projectile attacks. The Jaguar Tooth, Adon's most versatile special move, allows Adon to leap off the edge of the screen to strike his opponent; he can potentially surprise them by landing 'short' and delivering an alternate attack.

These techniques are all highly effective at countering projectile-users, and give him a slight edge against characters such as Ryu and Ken. It also provides a means of offense against characters that rely excessively on defense (known as turtling).

When using X-ISM Adon in Street Fighter Alpha 3, pressing any kick button while jumping will execute his trademark Jaguar Kick. However, this version of the Jaguar Kick is considered a normal move, and thus does not inflict chip damage.

Quotes
Adon/Quotes

Trivia

 * Adon is one of the five previously playable characters to make a non-playable appearance in Street Fighter IV, the others are Charlie, Juli, Yun, and Yang. Adon, Yun and Yang become playable in Super Street Fighter IV.


 * Adon's stage—in Street Fighter Alpha 3—is based on the real-life Khmer Ruins found in the northeastern part of Thailand.


 * In several games, Adon performs a Waikruu (Muay Thai ceremonial dance) at the start of a round. However, the Waikruu is a dance of respect to the performer's teacher. Given Adon's dislike for his own mentor, Sagat, this behavior seems a bit odd coming from the former.


 * His 10th color represents his first incarnation from the first Street Fighter game.


 * A Muay Thai fighter that closely resembles Adon appears in Elena's stage in Street Fighter III: New Generation.


 * Adon and Blanka share some similarities with each other: they have reddish-orange hair, they are both voiced by the same person in English (Taliesin Jaffe), and their 10th alternate colors in Super Street Fighter IV represent their former color schemes from when they first debuted (Adon first appeared in Street Fighter, and Blanka first appeared in Street Fighter II).


 * The King of Fighters character Hwa Jai shares some similarities with Adon, with both being powerful Muay Thai practitioners with arrogant and egotistic personalities. The two also wear similar gear; sporting trunks and the traditional mongkhon on their heads. Additionally, Hwa has a color-swap that is similar in color scheme to Adon's costume.


 * In the UDON comics, Adon is hinted to be close in physical age to Sagat.

Gallery
Adon/Gallery

Sprites
Adon/Sprites