Kolin

"I didn't quite explain myself before. Let me just say that I utterly despise Bison... but there is another man more suitable to lead this world. That's why I want to destroy Shadaloo. Is that satisfactory?"

- Kolin, as 'Helen'

"It's so nice to meet you."

- Kolin (Street Fighter V)

Kolin (コーリン), also known by the alias Helen (ヘレン), is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing in Street Fighter III: New Generation as a non-playable character before making her playable debut in the second season of Street Fighter V. She is a conniving and devoted agent of the Illuminati, primarily serving as Gill's personal assistant.

Appearance
Kolin is an attractive woman of apparent Eastern European descent with blonde hair and blue eyes. In her first appearance in Street Fighter III, she is distinguished by her asymmetrical updo hairstyle. Kolin wears a finely-tailored black ladies' suit with matching skirt, and walks in high heels. This outfit returns as her 'Nostalgia' costume in Street Fighter V.

In Street Fighter V, she wears her hair loose in a longer style, under a black ushanka hat with a four-pointed star decoration at the center. Instead of her black suit from III, she wears a black fur-accented military-style jacket that ends in a miniskirt. Thigh high black stockings and fur boots replace the stiletto heels of her secretary outfit.

Her premium Battle costume consists of a black unitard with bare legs, over which she wears a grey thermal short vest and various accessories including a gun strapped in a holster across her thigh. Her hair is tied in a ponytail and she wears black tactical goggles with red lenses pushed up on her head.

Her Story costume is a grey military-style jacket with black accents that ends in a miniskirt with yellow trim. She retains her ushanka hat, but further accessorizes the look with a pair of mittens and a yellow scarf that covers her mouth. Her usually bare legs are covered by tight black leggings.

Personality
In Street Fighter III, Kolin appears primarily in the role of dutiful assistant to Gill. When she interacts with other characters, she is a bit standoffish.

In Street Fighter V, she is depicted as a conniving schemer who seems to alternate between two personalities: a false, kind one, with which she acts as a nursemaid to Charlie Nash and a helper to heroes, and her true self: zealous, ruthless, cruel, and vindictive, seen when she throws Charlie's unavoidable return to the grave in his face.

Kolin is deeply religious, devoted to Gill and the teachings of the Secret Society. She carries a copy of the Book of Miraha, the Illuminati holy book, and reads aloud from it for strength when she is disheartened.

Gill
Kolin is deeply loyal to Gill, entirely convinced that he is the prophesied messiah. At the end of A Shadow Falls, she is shocked and honored that despite her failure to satisfy the ancient prophecy with her Nash project, Gill still wishes for her to serve at his side.

Urien
Kolin and Urien appears to have an antagonistic relationship, though she refers to him deferentially as "Lord Urien".

Street Fighter V
When Street Fighter V was first released in February 2016, Kolin (as 'Helen') appeared in Charlie Nash's Character Story and the A Shadow Falls story. She did not become a playable character until February 2017, when she joined the fray under her real name as a DLC fighter.

Character Story
According to her Character Story in Street Fighter V, Kolin originated from somewhere in (or analogous to) the former Soviet Union.

A Shadow Falls
A mysterious woman named Helen revives the corpse of Charlie Nash using the eleventh vessel from Urien's laboratory. She and Urien decide to use Charlie to stop Shadaloo's plans, taking advantage of his desire for revenge on Bison. While Charlie is still weak from his resurrection, Helen tasks him with the unpleasant assignment of taking down his best friend, Guile.

After Charlie secures Guile's piece, Helen reveals she has also recruited Rashid and Juri as part of her operation to take down Shadaloo. Urien arrives and attacks Charlie to test his mettle, but is prevented from killing him by Rashid. He tells Helen to prove that Shadaloo is truly defeated. Before they infiltrate Shadaloo to stop the Black Moons, Helen uses some sort of power to charge the green gem on Charlie's forehead and keep him alive.

After an unsuccessful attempt at halting the Black Moons, Helen gives Rashid the riddle from his friend whose answer will stop Operation C.H.A.I.N.S. -- and, excited, asks Charlie if he has killed Bison yet. Charlie answers that he has not, and Helen is enraged, complaining that she worked so hard to revive him and rubbing in his face the fact that his new body is decaying rapidly and he is truly dead. Charlie surprises her by revealing he knew this already, and leaves to perform the mission his own way. Helen is last seen comforting herself by reading a prophecy about Gill from the Book of Miraha while watching the destruction of the surrounding city. Urien castigates her for her failure.

In the mid-credits sequence after the story ends, Helen kneels before Gill and tells him of the fall of Shadaloo and Bison's defeat at the hands of Ryu. She apologises for failing him with her Nash project. Gill rises from his throne and asks her to come with him, addressing her as Kolin and apparently using his cryokinetic powers to transform her from Helen into her familiar design from Street Fighter III (it is left unexplained whether the 'Helen' persona was simply a disguise all along or if her existence as Kolin is a new development). Kolin gazes upon Gill's face with worshipful loyalty as the credits resume.

Street Fighter III series
Kolin acts as a personal assistant to Gill, managing aspects of the Third World Warrior Tournament.

Most notably, at Gill's behest she gives Dudley his father's car keys back in his New Generation and 2nd Impact endings.

Udon
Kolin appears in UDON's Super Street Fighter comic book series, an adaptation of Street Fighter III. The UDON comics were the first source to portray her as a combatant.

Most recently she also appears in the 2015 prequel one-shot Street Fighter V: The Life and Death(s) of Charlie Nash, in which she curiously performs the same plot function she does as Helen in Street Fighter V. Here, instead of operating as Helen, she appears to Nash and the reader unambiguously as Kolin, without a disguise.

Kolin and Urien seemingly discover Nash in the desert, approaching him via helicopter, but later reveal they resurrected him in their laboratory to serve the Illuminati. The desert and helicopter are illusions, and Kolin and Urien are actually speaking to a comatose Nash telepathically, using Illuminati technology. Kolin offers Nash a second chance at life if he will serve her willingly, and Nash agrees.

Street Fighter: Resurrection
Kolin appears in the live-action miniseries Street Fighter: Resurrection, credited as 'Illuminati Agent'. She is portrayed by Amy Olivia Bell.

Gameplay
Kolin utilizes her cryokinetic powers to turn her hands into icy blades for slashing attacks. Her V-Trigger Diamond Dust is a wave of ice on the ground that prevents the opponent's stun gauge from depleting, and can freeze them solid if the gauge fills. Her V-Skill Inside Slash allows her to deflect and automatically punish incoming moves with ease. Her Critical Art Frost Tower has her dash forward with a slice of her hand and if the attack connects, she’ll continue summoning large icicles from the ground, throwing the opponent into the air and shattering the ice to drop them to the ground.

Abilities
Kolin fights using the Russian martial art Systema. Like Gill (who gifted her with this power) she is a cryokinetic, able to manipulate ice and snow for various attack effects.

Before her playable debut, Kolin was implied to be a fighter by Juri in Act 2 of A Shadow Falls, where she displays impressive dexterity and sleight of hand in pick-pocketing two chess pieces from Rashid without his notice.

Kolin displays a number of other supernatural powers over the course of A Shadow Falls: she vanishes into thin air when Nash looks away in Act 1, and she recharges his body in Act 2 by projecting a blue energy into the gemstone in his forehead. She implies she has the power to "touch souls", but cannot do this with Nash as he is dead.

Quotes
See: Kolin/Quotes

Trivia

 * There are a number of potential sources for Kolin's name. "Colleen" (how it's pronounced in English) is a common Irish name also used as a general term for a girl or woman, from the Irish cailín (caile, countrywoman). If the name was originally intended to be Korin with an R (due to Japanese L/R ambiguity), then КОРИН (Korin) is a Russian surname, and the Japanese word kōri (こおり) means "ice".


 * "Helen", the name Kolin uses to gather warriors in the story mode of Street Fighter V, is perhaps a reference to the mythical Helen of Troy, whose face launched a thousand ships to war. It is an English variation of the Ancient Greek name Helenē (Ἑλένη).


 * Kolin's asymmetrical haircut in Street Fighter III, like her master Gill's two-toned skin, was designed to showcase the graphical power of the new CPS-3 board, which allowed non-mirrored sprites for the first time.


 * Kolin shares her birthday, February 14th (Valentine's Day), with Ken.


 * Kolin's win animation resembles Poison's win animation in Ultra Street Fighter IV.


 * While it is currently unconfirmed by Capcom if Kolin hails from Russia, there is evidence to suggest her Russian or at least Soviet heritage; in Street Fighter V Kolin wears Russian garb, operates in Russia, uses the Russian martial art Systema, and speaks English with a Russian accent. The flag that she and her friends are seen carrying in her Character Story is an allusion to the flag of the Soviet Union, only slightly modified.
 * As it stands right now, Kolin and Ingrid are the only playable female characters in the series whose nationalities are officially listed as unknown.


 * Interestingly enough, Kolin shares some similarities with Millia Rage from the Guilty Gear franchise. Kolin's SFV design pays homage to the latter's Guilty Gear Xrd appearance. The two also have cold-blooded personalities, use rushdown playstyles, and have served a major in-universe organization (Illuminati and Assassin's Guild respectively).


 * Kolin's V-Trigger, Diamond Dust resembles Mega Man's Ice Wave in Mega Man 8.
 * 'Diamond Dust' has also been used as an attack name in other media:
 * Cygnus Hyōga's signature attack from the Saint Seiya manga and anime series.
 * Shiva's signature attack from the Final Fantasy game series.
 * One of Meru's Dragoon Magic from her Dragoon form in the game Legend of Dragoon.


 * Kolin's Critical Art, shares the same name as Mega Man X's Frost Tower weapon in Mega Man X4.


 * Kolin's rapid punches and her uppercut special attack bears a resemblance to Makoto Nanaya's Infinite Rush from the BlazBlue series.
 * Interestingly, Kolin's English voice actress, Cindy Robinson, also voices Makoto in the BlazBlue series.


 * Kolin's ice-based powers and special moves are reminiscent of Kula Diamond's fighting style in The King of Fighters series.

Gallery
Main article: Kolin/Gallery