Abel

"You've got good skills, but you have some growing to do before going pro."

- Abel

"Well, then. Let's begin. (さあ 始めようか)"

- Abel (Street Fighter IV series)

Abel (アベル) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing in Street Fighter IV. He is an amnesic mixed martial artist and failed replacement body for M. Bison.

Appearance
Abel is a very well built individual who bares a strong look-alike resemblance with Seth. This is due to the fact that the two were originally meant to be one of M. Bison's many spare bodies. What makes him different to Seth is that due to his success, Abel was either made to look human or because he was a "mold" for all male dolls, where as Seth has grey skin and black/glowing eyes.

He towers over many of the other characters, having similar bulk to Alex. He wears a blue Sambo Gi top with white spandex shorts, blue shin guards and thick gloves, alluding to his MMA appearance. 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.

In SFIV: The Ties That Bind, Abel's gi top is black instead of blue.

In Street Fighter V, during Guile's prologue story, Abel wore a blue Shadaloo uniform under disguise. After getting injured by F.A.N.G, and the events of A Shadow Falls, he wears a casual outfit; a blue short sleeved collared shirt, white trousers and blue slippers. He has a bandaged on his arm and eye, and leg.

Concept
Interestingly, Abel's design had gone through a complete overhaul before the game's release. Abel was originally meant to be a small boy and judo fighter who could be mistaken for a girl, wearing his hair in pig tails, a top made of bandages, baggy blue pants, and sandals.

It is highly implied that Russian mixed martial arts expert Fedor Emelianenko and French judo champion David Douillet were the inspiration for the character; the fighting style reflects that inspiration, and in fact his main blue outfit is an exact replica of the gi and gloves Fedor used to wear; the only exception is that his Russian flag on his gi is inverted and misordered in color to look exactly like the French flag.

Also of note is that his hairstyle and fighting style resembles traditional wrestling and more contemporary MMA techniques, particularly MMA fighter Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko.

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 and face resemble that of actor Jean-Claude Van Damme who has also been known to wear a wrestling singlet in his films. Van Damme himself did portray Colonel William F. Guile in the 1994 Street Fighter film.

Personality
Abel has a quiet nature that is often mistaken for aloofness and emotional detachment. In truth, however, Abel is a kind and compassionate man, though his amnesia has caused him to develop a tough outer persona. By the time of Super Street Fighter IV, though he remains somewhat aloof, Abel has become more sociable and friendly to his allies, thanking Chun-Li, and giving El Fuerte chocolate. He also shows a soft spot for puppies, something he proudly shares to cat lover Yang, a fascination to bears, as seen in Street Fighter X Tekken, and is a big fan of Fei Long.

Guile
When the two first met, Abel, having watched Guile practice his Sonic Boom, asked how Guile could perform it. Knowing that only he and his mentor, Charlie, could do it, Guile asked Abel where he first saw it. Thinking that Guile is a spy (from Guile's POV) he said that he wouldn't tell someone he doesn't know his secrets (from Abel's POV) and refuses to talk, thus the two fight. The result is unknown, but since Abel later shows Guile, Chun-Li and Cammy to the S.I.N base later in the story, it is presumed that either Guile won or that Chun-Li persuaded Abel to take them.

In Street Fighter V, Abel now works alongside Guile to stop Shadaloo as an informant to stop Shadaloo, now on much friendlier terms than when they first met.

Fei Long
Abel is a massive fan of Fei Long and his movies. In Fei Long's rival battle, he asks him for the honour of fighting him. He lost, but both had fun nonetheless. Abel later shows up at his studio to warn him about Shadaloo in Fei Long's ending.

Zangief
Also a fan Zangief, the two are friendly towards one another in a comrades-at-arms-like relationship. Serving as Zangief's rival in the latter's arcade mode, Zangief find's Abel deep in thought about something that's troubling him, so he fights Abel to help clear his head.

In Street Fighter V, when Abel was brainwashed by the Psycho Power Zangief made him unconscious and brought him back to the Kanzuki Estate.

Street Fighter IV series
According to the official UK website, Abel is "actually nothing more than a genetically engineered replacement body created for use by M. Bison. He was to be disposed of with the other failed creations, but he alone managed to survive and escape ". His status as a spare body is hinted at by several elements in the games, including his Soulless Ultra Combo.

Abel was the first person to be chosen by Bison to be converted into a doll. Unlike other dolls which are marked by number, this successful one was named "Abel", and would later influence the naming of another of the spare bodies. Based on UDON's Street Fighter IV comic, after Bison's doll No. 15 lost his battle with Akuma, his head was kicked hard, resulting in the software installed by Bison being destroyed and No. 15 becoming free; he then named himself Seth.

Abel was found in an abandoned Shadaloo base suffering from amnesia and raised and trained by a mysterious soldier who is implied to be Charlie Nash. Abel claims that the man who found him died recently, and Abel feels that he has had no family. After finding a stray puppy and taking him in, he starts a journey of discovery to find who he really was and where he came from, after which he says he will be able to name the dog. He first goes to the detective, Chun-Li, who is investigating Shadaloo. Upon hearing his connection to Shadaloo, she recommends that he participate in the S.I.N. Tournament to learn more about his past.

During the course of the tournament, he comes across Guile, who is able to use the moves the soldier he was nursed back to health by had used. When Abel recognizes Guile's techniques, Guile realizes that Abel must have known Charlie Nash, and immediately starts pressing him for answers. Abel refuses to reveal secrets to someone he's never met before and their fight escalates. Guile then learns that the man who saved Abel could use the Sonic Boom, and tells Abel that it must have been Charlie. Abel also encounters Fei Long at some point, and the movie star is impressed with the mercenary's ability.

Abel eventually arrives at S.I.N. headquarters around the same time as Guile and Chun-Li. As Guile races to rescue Chun-Li from Vega's trap, Seth (or one of the 26 copies of Seth) stops Guile in his tracks. Abel tackles Seth, allowing Guile to reach Chun-Li before she dies. Abel is surprised to find that he and Seth look identical. Abel is called "imperfect" as Bison appears from behind and destroys "Seth". Bison allows Abel to leave unharmed for unknown reasons. Abel is later seen looking at the ruined S.I.N. base with Guile and an unconscious Chun-Li.

After the tournament, Abel informs Chun-Li that he's going to go on another journey to find more answers. He also goes to Fei Long, warning him of the dangers he may face from S.I.N. and offering to help.

Street Fighter V
In Rashid's prologue story, the aforementioned fighter is seen messaging multiple individuals through social media; one of these individuals is Abel, who states that he found former Shadoloo king Sagat deep in the mountains.

He makes an appearance in Guile's prologue story in Street Fighter V. He is confronted and nearly killed by F.A.N.G but is saved by Guile. F.A.N.G is responsible for injuring Abel, which stops him from being able to fight for most of the prologue. He later teams up with Guile to investigate the abandoned S.I.N Laboratory where they meet Juri who taunts them before escaping. He and Guile discover Shadaloo's next plan, Operation C.H.A.I.N.S., before the lab crumbles. Back in China, Abel expresses gratitude for Guile rescuing him. Suddenly Vega ambushes them. Guile manages to fend off Vega, who warns them about the stage of death before he escapes. Guile explains to Abel the battlefield and the will to survive being the reasons that they will win against Shadaloo in the end.

A Shadow Falls
In the main story, Abel is taking undercover as one of the Shadaloo's foot soldiers as he aids Chun-Li and Karin during the first infiltration of the Shadaloo base. Therefore, when F.A.N.G. successfully made a back up for their plans as well as the activation of its Psycho Powers, including the Dolls, Abel is also losing control of himself, due to his body being influenced from Bison's Psycho Powers. He turns on both Chun-Li and Karin, chasing them in a rage. Upon escaping, Abel is soon knocked down by Zangief, who unleashes his signature Spinning Pile Driver to take him to safety.

As the fighters regroup in the Kanzuki Estate, Abel awakens while losing control, due to the influence of Psycho Power, while both Guile and Charlie tried to hold him off. Charlie manages to absorb the Psycho Powers controlling Abel with his new abilities. Finally drained of his berserk state, he thanks Charlie for freeing him and stays at the Kanzuki Estate to recover, not being seen again for the remainder of the story.

UDON comics
Abel appeared in UDON's Street Fighter IV comic which focus on the game's newcomers (himself included).

Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind
Abel makes a brief appearance during the conclusion of the animated movie, where he wears a black top instead of his usual blue gi. As Chun-Li, Guile, and Cammy discuss previous events, Chun-Li spots Abel and nearly mistakes him for the recently defeated Seth.

Street Fighter X Tekken
Abel appeared as a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken, where he searches for Pandora, hoping to learn more about himself in the process. He joins up with Guile, who is under orders to secure Pandora as well. Guile allows Abel to come with him as long as he does not jeopardize the misson - something Abel almost does on multiple occasions.

During the cutscene before the rival battle with Heihachi and Kuma, Abel notices the pair walking towards them, and immediately takes interest in the bear. As he and Guile prepares to fight, Abel makes a "deal" with Heihachi, stating that they will take Kuma if they win - a proposition neither Guile nor Kuma particularly approve of. Heihachi agrees, doubting that Abel and Guile would win; both he and Kuma believed Abel intended to eat the latter (which is a running joke throughout the game), when in reality Abel simply wanted to pet him.

In their ending, Guile and Abel finally find Pandora and believe that they have hit another dead end. Abel is amused by the light from the box and tries to open it, but Guile stops him, believing it to be some kind of trap. Suddenly, Pandora opens, and a flying saucer appears above it, from which several alien bears appear and teleport inside the box. As Abel watches the aliens, Guile simply leaves in disappointment, planning to return to the U.S.

After the credits, Abel plans to embark on another journey, and seeks to enlist the help of the now-world famous Guile - who, ironically, has sworn off working with partners as a result of Abel's actions.

Fighting style
Abel has a very aggressive fighting style, and uses Combat Sambo (Russian Judo with military elements) and various MMA styles mixed with Judo, according to the Street Fighter IV Strategy Guide. This means that most of his punches consist of open palm strikes, a rising elbow strike (down-forward heavy punch) and uses a fair few kicks.

Moveset
Abel is mainly a grappler, and many of his moves either chain into a throw or set a foe up for one; several moves also take advantage of the foe's direction. 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 airborne foes, getting very close in the process. Abel is a strong character who needs to get close to finish a fight, and has plenty of moves to achieve that end.

Because he has great combo potential, several grabs and lacks a projectile, Abel is generally played as a mixup-based character. He is also equipped with a good variety of crossups and overheads, an anti-air grab and a command grab; this makes Abel great for keeping opponents guessing, and punishing their mistakes.

Quotes
See: Abel/Quotes.

Trivia

 * It is implied in the Street Fighter IV games that the soldier who saved Abel was Charlie himself. He is only seen in shadow (possibly a call back to his identity of Shadow in Marvel vs. Capcom). According to Guile, the only two men on Earth who can use the Sonic Boom and Flash Kick are himself and Charlie (though it must be noted that Seth throws the move with one arm like Charlie). Abel mentions that the person who saved him told him to stay away from Shadaloo. An official Capcom character relations chart confirms that Charlie was indeed the one who rescued Abel from Shadaloo, providing hard evidence of his survival. Abel's biography page in the Street Fighter: World Warrior Encyclopedia (hardcover version) backs up this evidence as well.


 * Abel shares his name with a character from the early 3D weapon-based fighting game series Battle Arena Toshinden. Coincidentally, both characters have evil counterparts that serve as major villains; the Abel of Street Fighter is connected with his progenitor, Seth, while the Abel of Toshinden faces a villain by the name of Veil.


 * His first Ultra Combo bears a resemblance to Marvel Comics character Captain America's Final Justice Hyper Combo.


 * In the original Street Fighter IV, Abel's name is mispronounced by the announcer upon winning a versus match and an online match, using the short "a" sound instead of the long "a" sound. The announcer in Super Street Fighter IV pronounces Abel's name correctly using the long "a" sound.


 * Abel and Cammy share many similar character traits:
 * Their past is linked with Shadaloo (as "replacement bodies" for M. Bison and Shadaloo experiment objects).
 * They both share a soft spot for stray house pets; Abel enjoys dogs while Cammy prefers cats.
 * They both suffered from amnesia.
 * They both hate M. Bison: Cammy hates him because he brainwashed her and turned her to be an assassin; Abel, on the other hand, remembers him as the man from his past, linked with the disappearance of his adoptive father.
 * They both are blond-haired European born/representative fighters: Abel is possibly from France, while Cammy hails from England.
 * Both of their English voice actors (Jason Liebrecht and Caitlin Glass respectively) are based in Texas.


 * Although Abel is one of the characters to be mistaken for Ken Masters by Rufus, he is the only person to reply in his win quote ("I'm not Ken Masters. Until today, I've never been told I even look like him.").


 * Dudley shares Abel's intro quote in Super Street Fighter IV.

Gallery
Abel/Gallery