Crimson Viper

"Try getting a real job!"

- Crimson Viper

Crimson Viper (クリムゾン・ヴァイパー), also known as Maya (マヤ), is a character in the Street Fighter series. She is an American fighter who enters and participates in S.I.N.'s tournament under the guise of acquiring data for the Battle Suit for S.I.N., though her true motives are to acquire data from the BLECE Project, in addition to eliminating "Number 15".

Appearance
Crimson Viper wears a specially designed Battle Suit for the tournament, developed and manufactured by S.I.N.. When inquired by an Executive as to the reason for her participation in the tournament, she states that she's the only test subject to fully utilize the suit's capabilities effectively, and thus is the prime candidate for the field test.

The suit is remarkable in the sense that it resembles an ordinary business suit, though two weapons lurk within the accompanying gloves and boots. The Battle Suit presumably does not protect the wearer from damage, as it was designed for stealth and ease of concealment.

Personality
Crimson Viper's working personality is superior and condescending, as seen in her interactions with Chun-Li, Cammy and Hakan. However, she is also genuinely interested in the inner workings and problems of the other fighters, as shown in her various win-quotes, but when it comes to her missions, Viper will not let anyone stop her from completing her goals. When Viper is not doing missions, however, she is shown to be a loving mother, as shown in her Super Street Fighter 4 ending.

Concept
Designed by Capcom artist Daigo Ikeno, C. Viper was designed around the concept of a 20 year old single mother. Visually, she resembles Sharon, a redheaded special agent from Street Fighter EX 2.

C. Viper was also designed based upon marketing research on what sorts of characters an American audience would enjoy playing, and tailored her towards Western tastes as an experiment to see how audiences would receive the character.

In response to claims that the character resembled one found more commonly in SNK developed games, Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono retorted that the resemblance was unintended, and that she was created from the best parts of several proposed designs during early development. He went on to state that she was also an attempt to create a character with a "cool" design, which he feels are predominate in SNK titles.

Super Street Fighter IV
Though employed by S.I.N., in reality, Crimson Viper is a secret agent under the employ of a U.S. government agency, later shown to be the CIA. She is in charge of the "Battle Suit project" in her role as S.I.N. operative, and enters the tournament they are holding to test the prototype. If successful, she will be reassigned to the BLECE project. In addition to this, she's also to scout for potential recruits on a list she is given, one of whom is Hakan - whom she rejects as a candidate.

Before the tournament, she is informed that members of a C.I.A. team which was investigating S.I.N.'s rumored links to Shadaloo have all been assassinated. Realizing that she alone must finish the mission, she infiltrates S.I.N.'s HQ searching for information. While there, she comes across a wounded Seth, who recognizes her as a CIA agent. She responds by finishing him off. Unfortunately, the data pertaining to BLECE is destroyed by Cammy before Viper has a chance to copy it, resulting in several years of investigation disappearing into thin air. The data linking Shadaloo to S.I.N. is not destroyed, however, and is recovered by Chun-Li prior to the Facility's destruction.

Returning back to the CIA, she reports to her superiors that "#15" (i.e. Seth) has been eliminated, and that the "remaining 26" are in her sights. She then returns home to her daughter Lauren, who is finally seen and confirmed after having gradually been hinted at since the Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind anime.

Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind
Prior to the tournament, Viper attacked Ryu under Seth's orders to test his skills, but the fight is interrupted by Cammy; Viper manages to defeat and brutally torture her in an attempt to enrage Ryu into giving into the Satsui no Hado. She is successful, but the surge of the power destroys her monitoring equipment, and she is forced to flee back to S.I.N..

Super Street Fighter IV: Juri OVA
C. Viper appeared near the end of the OVA having remotely hacked into Chun Li's laptop and monitored the battle with Juri at Shadaloo's base in the mountains. Commenting on the events, she hoped Chun Li had managed to dig up good Intel on Juri, and looks forward to the Interpol agent continuing to purse the Taekwondo fighter for Crimson Viper's purposes.

UDON comics
C. Viper appeared in UDON's Street Fighter IV comic, which focuses on her and the game's other newcomers.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
C. Viper is a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and its updated version, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. She is the first Street Fighter IV representative to be playable in the series. In her ending, she is confronted by Nick Fury, who seems to be impressed with her skills and offers her a chance to work as part of S.H.I.E.L.D. This is hinted at by Captain America in his win quote against Viper: "S.H.I.E.L.D could use an agent of your skill. One with a bit more training, anyway."

The Legend of Chun-Li
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li depicts a character, Detective Maya Sunee, who is based on Crimson Viper, according to the "Making of" commentary included on the DVD.

Gameplay and fighting style
As a CIA agent, Crimson Viper likely went through the same training regiment as all other CIA operatives, which can be surmised to mirror that of the real-life organization; included among the styles utilized in training are judo and Krav Maga.

Crimson Viper's techniques in particular are centered around augmenting her natural speed and agility with her special Battle Suit. The gloves have metal knuckles that can be electrically charged, creating visual arcs of electricity when enough power is supplied; these can stun or damage an opponent quite heavily based on the limiter's settings, often via sending powerful shockwaves through the ground.

The boots hold jets inside the arc between the heel and sole, with a switch on the side of the boot activating the temporary jet propulsion. The boots are capable of granting the wearer a much greater jumping ability, though Viper frequently fires them up and uses them for a defensive, burning kick.

Viper's use of high-tech weaponry is commented on frequently by the other characters, and is usually looked down upon due to their 'unorthodox' nature.

Gameplay-wise, Viper is useful as a rushdown character, and can keep foes off-balance with her speed and variable attacks.

Quotes
See: Crimson Viper/Quotes.

Trivia

 * C. Viper is the first playable female character from the United States in the series.
 * Crimson Viper's appearance could most likely be inspired by Angelina Jolie's roles in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Tomb Raider.
 * She has a mobile phone very similar to the Nokia N76, as seen in Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind.
 * In the Ties that Bind OAV her boots allow sustained flight, though in-game they can only provide quick bursts of height. This is not surprising, though, for no character is able to fly in-game in the Street Fighter series.
 * The Super Street Fighter IV website lists her birth date as July 18, and the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 site lists her age as 30.
 * Viper's second alternate costume features a logo around the chest area incredibly similar to that of the real-life CIA.
 * Her suit and moves closely resemble those of fellow Capcom character Captain Commando.
 * C. Viper's gloves and boots are fully visible if she is wearing either her Street Fighter IV or Super Street Fighter IV alternate costumes.
 * C. Viper is the only playable character from SFIV not to make a direct and/or cameo appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken. However, Tekken character Jin Kazama dons a battlesuit similar to Viper's as one of his Swap Costumes, and Viper herself is referenced in the descriptions (and the Japanese website).
 * C. Viper might have worked with Colonel Wolfman (Cammy's boss in Delta Red) in the past, according her post-round win quote against Cammy.
 * An unlockable title for Viper in Super Street Fighter IV, captioned "Gotta Quit Smoking" suggests (though not confirmed) that Viper is a smoker.