Guile

"Go home and be a family man."

- Guile (Street Fighter II)

"Mission start! (Mission Start!)"

- Guile (Street Fighter IV series)

Guile (ガイル) is a video game character in Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games, introduced in Street Fighter II. Although his role in the Street Fighter story was at first minimal, he is considered the third leading and best male character in the series, after Ryu and Ken, largely due to his effectiveness as a character and his popularity.

In the live action Street Fighter movie, Guile is given the full name of William F. Guile, with the military rank of colonel. Although Capcom did not canonize the name, it was also used in the US Street Fighter cartoon that was loosely based on the movie. However, in UDON's Street Fighter comic book, "Guile" is the character's first name. According to the official Street Fighter website, Guile has the USAF rank of Major at the time of Street Fighter IV.

Appearance
Early Street Fighter II sketches and notes suggest that Guile was developed specifically to appeal to American fans. His physical appearance is strikingly different from the many Asian characters in the Street Fighter series, with light blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, and a particularly tall flattop haircut. The length of Guile's hair varies greatly from appearance to appearance; it is relatively realistic in Street Fighter II, and impossibly tall in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos. Capcom source books suggest that Guile's famous hairdo is styled with a special-order army hair spray to keep it up (though he ends up fixing it quickly after a match).

Guile's all-American image includes military fatigues and United States flag tattoos on each arm; following standard United States military protocol, the stars are on the left hand side to give the illusion that the flag is flying 'towards' battle. The image of the uniformed American Airman is well known in Japan due to the number of United States Armed Forces bases present in that country.

Guile wears Charlie's dog tag alongside his own; in Street Fighter IV, one of Guile's alternate costumes is Charlie's costume.

Personality
Guile is a tough man, both physically and mentally, who takes pride in family, and is a loving husband and father to his family. A stoic man at heart, Guile's calm and emotionless exterior actually hides the rage within him after Charlie's death. Although loyal to the military and the United States, Guile is extremely persistent. He is so driven to find out who betrayed him in the jungles of Thailand, and to try and get at M. Bison, that he would even put that over his duties.

In Street Fighter X Tekken, it is revealed that he is scared of bears.

Concept
Guile's design was possibly inspired by Rudol von Stroheim, a character from the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, who also has a military background as well as a patriotic personality.

Background
When Guile was a trainee in the United States Air Force, he befriended his superior officer, Charlie Nash and asked him to teach him in his unique form of fighting, which Charlie agreed to do. Guile learned the style, but his hot temper caused him to lack proficiency in the moves (shown in how Charlie can shoot Sonic Booms with one hand, while Guile needs both).

Street Fighter Alpha 3
In the Street Fighter continuity, Guile was not introduced to the series until the events of Street Fighter Alpha 3, where he is addressed as "Commander". Guile is sent by the United States Air Force to look for his senior teammate and best friend Charlie, who has gone missing during a secret investigation. Guile's search eventually leads him to the Interpol investigator Chun-Li, who warns him not to follow Charlie due to the danger involved. Guile demonstrates his fighting ability, and assures Chun-Li that he will not let their friend come to harm. He eventually finds the Shadaloo base in Thailand. Guile informs Charlie that they do not need to be there any longer, as an aerial bombardment will begin in an hour. Charlie, however, insists that Shadaloo leader M. Bison will escape, and they come to blows. The sinister and powerful M. Bison appears and attacks the two Airmen, but is no match for their combined prowess. He is forced to retreat, calling a gunship to keep them pinned down and cover his escape.

The two give chase, and follow him into the base, deciding that M. Bison's source of power, the Psycho Drive must be destroyed. Chun-Li then appears and informs them that the bombardment has been called off, surmising that Bison has somehow used his influence. She goes on to tell them that she has set explosives in an attempt to destroy the base, but is unsure if they'll be enough. As she rushes to escape, Charlie and Guile decide to set explosives around the Psycho Drive to ensure that if nothing else, it at least will be destroyed.

As they set their charges, M. Bison fought with Ryu and his allies in an epic battle. In the end, Ryu defeated him, destroying his body temporarily and forcing M. Bison to regenerate in the Psycho Drive. Bison successfully regenerated his body then Charlie convinces Guile to escape while he holds Bison off, and Guile escaped right before the base explodes, with Charlie and Bison presumably caught in the blast. Chun-Li and Ryu eventually find Guile standing on a mountain, and Chun-Li says that Charlie may perhaps be alive somewhere, just as she believes that her father may be. Guile agrees, and says that he will continue to believe in Charlie.

Street Fighter II
Holding Bison responsible for the death of his best friend, he seemingly dedicates his whole life to exacting revenge on Bison, who has somehow survived the explosion. A court case against the Shadaloo dictator fails when Bison bribes all the judges to let him go free. Bison by this time wants revenge on Guile, Chun-Li, and many other people who had hindered his syndicate's efforts. To this end, he sets up the second World Warrior tournament to trap them, among other reasons. Guile, for his part, takes the bait, deserting his wife and daughter to pursue the vendetta.

Guile's ending depicts him having Bison at his mercy and reminding him of Charlie. Bison shows no regret and taunts Guile to kill him. Guile hesitates and is interrupted by arrival of his wife, Julia (called Jane in SFII series) and daughter, Amy, who persuade him to give up on his revenge and return home. Guile, refusing to become a murderer like Bison, concludes that he feels like he's waking up from a long nightmare and returns to his family. However, like most of the SFII endings, canonicity of this one is very questionable.

Pre-Super Street Fighter IV
Some time after the fall of Shadaloo, Chun-Li, Guile and Cammy are summoned to a theme park to stop the rampage of S.I.N. operative Juri, who is wreaking extreme havoc. While Guile and Cammy try to evacuate the civilians still trapped, Chun-Li faces Juri just as she executes a rogue S.I.N agent and a woman. Juri seriously injures Chun-Li but before she can execute her, she is forced to flee when Guile and Cammy arrive due to her artificial eye malfunctioning.

Guile and Cammy later act on anonymous intelligence and track Juri down to an old Shadaloo base which houses the former twelve Dolls. When they arrived, Juri had already defeated all twelve dolls and had just finished off Juli and Juni. A fierce fight ensues and Guile is eventually heavily incapitated by Juri, leaving Cammy to face her alone. Guile later informs Chun-Li about their failure to apprehend Juri.

Street Fighter IV
Though Shadaloo is seemingly gone, Guile is restless and still believes it possible that Charlie may be alive since Charlie's body was never recovered. Guile demands of his superiors to allow him to continue the search. His commanding officer refuses, and Guile tenders his resignation. Guile is surprised when his superior ignores the resignation, assigning Guile to the investigation of S.I.N., an organization with alleged ties to Shadaloo. Guile is at first incredulous that Shadaloo lives on without Bison, but soon takes to his new assignment with zeal. Recruiting Chun-Li to the investigation, the two enter a new tournament organized by S.I.N., in the hopes of infiltrating its headquarters.

Over the course of the tournament he encounters a mysterious French fighter named Abel, who seems to recognize Guile's Sonic Boom attack. Since only he and Charlie know this attack, Guile comes to the conclusion that Abel has information on Charlie's ultimate fate, and immediately starts pressing him for answers on where he saw the Sonic Boom before. Abel is completely unwilling to share such sensitive information with a stranger who could easily be a spy, and they exchange blows. It is currently unknown who won the fight.

Later, in the S.I.N. headquarters, Guile recovers important data while Chun-Li is trapped by Vega, with the base's self-destruction imminent. En route to rescuing Chun-Li, Guile is ambushed by one of Bison's cyborgs (in the same mold as Seth). Abel arrives and takes on the cyborg instead, telling Guile where Chun-Li is and telling him to hurry. Exactly how Chun-Li is then rescued is unclear - Gen seems to have protected her from a collapse and then broken free from the rubble, but is nowhere to be seen later as Guile and Abel watch the base explode, with an unconscious Chun-Li in Guile's arms.

After these events, Guile returns to Charlie's grave, placing a beer bottle on it as a way of buying his old friend a drink. He tells the grave that although S.I.N.'s plans have been foiled, he knows that he hasn't seen the last of Shadaloo just yet..

Street Fighter V
On October 2015, a datamining of Street Fighter V ' s PC beta test revealed fighter data and character meshes of Guile, Dhalsim, Juri, Urien, Alex, Ibuki and Balrog. Dhalsim was later confirmed as a returning character and it was reasonably believed that Guile and the rest would be the first six additional DLC characters. Guile and the rest of the characters were later confirmed at the PlayStation Experience on December 5th, 2015. In the trailer for the game's cinematic story mode, a revived Charlie is shown looking at a photograph of Guile.

Capcom vs. SNK series
Guile appeared as a playable character in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, Mark of the Millennium 2001/EO, SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.

Guile has a special introduction against Rugal Bernstein in the Capcom vs. SNK games where he cuts a statue of himself in half with a Sonic Boom before Rugal destroys the base with a Reppuuken. This is in reference to The King of Fighters '94 where Rugal had a statue the likeness of Guile among his various trophies (and given how he makes his "statues", this implies Rugal had fought Guile in their universe and used his body to create his statue).

Capcom Fighting Evolution
Guile also appeared playable in Capcom Fighting Evolution.

Street Fighter X Tekken
Guile is a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken, where he is paired with Abel. He is ordered to secure Pandora, and is called by Abel to get a ride to the South Pole in order to join him. Though Guile allows this, he orders Abel not to blow their cover - which he nearly does on several occasions.

During the cutscene before their rival battle against Heihachi and Kuma, Abel makes a "deal" with Heihachi, stating that they will take Kuma if they win - a proposition neither Guile nor Kuma particularly approve of. Guile is less than fond of bears, and is in no hurry to compromise his mission; Kuma and Heihachi, on the other hand, assumed Abel intended to eat the former (a running joke throughout the game), when in reality Abel simply wanted to pet him.

Once they defeat Ogre get to Pandora, Abel is mesmerized by Pandora's beauty, while Guile attempts to pull him back, saying they don't know whats inside Pandora, when the box opens and creates several "alien" copies of Kuma, which makes Abel come even closer, at which point Guile appears to give up on bringing back Abel and head back to the U.S.

Guile's ending after the credits shows he becomes world famous, and he appears to enjoy it all. However, due to Abel's actions during their journey to Pandora, Guile swears to never work with partners again - coincidentally, Abel's ending has him planning to call on Guile once more.

Street Fighter: World Warrior
Gulie will appear in Street Fighter: World Warrior, Joey Ansah has stated that he would like to have Scott Adkins as Guile.

Street Fighter (TV series)
Guile serves as the main protagonist of the Street Fighter animated series, and is depicted as the leader of an organization of Street Fighters consisting of himself, Chun-Li, Blanka, Ryu, Ken, T. Hawk, Cammy, Dee Jay, Fei Long and Dhalsim. M. Bison has survived his battle with Guile following the events of the film, and Guile's sole goal is to destroy Bison once and for all.

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Guile is assigned to work together with Chun-Li in order to take down Bison, whose organization Shadaloo (Shadowlaw in the English dub) has been kidnapping several martial artists and brainwashing them to do his evil bidding. Guile is at first far from happy to work with another person on the case, claiming loudly that "Bison's ass is mine", but a distinct friendship builds up between him and the Interpol agent.

The film follows Guile's plot from the video game in Guile tracking down Bison to avenge Charlie's death, and his vendetta is amplified when Chun-Li is severely beaten by Vega on Bison's orders. Near the end of the film, Guile manages to track Ryu down but is followed by Bison and a brainwashed Ken. Guile engages Bison in combat but is outmatched by the crime lord's overwhelming speed and only manages to damage his cape with a Sonic Boom. Bison then finishes the fight by blasting Guile down a chasm. Guile survives this, although exhausted and bloodied, and when Bison finds Guile, he decides to spare him as an insult, and leaves. Guile is rescued along with Balrog by E. Honda. In his final scene, Guile, fully recovered, is moved to tears when informed that Chun-Li survived Vega's attack.

Street Fighter II V
In this TV series, Guile is a Technical Sergeant (E-6) in the U.S. Air Force, who spends most of his time training physically and who has great pride in the Air Force. He faces Ryu in a bar fight after Ryu and Ken beat up some of his men (although it was Guile's men who started the fight in the first place when Ken stole one of their dates). Guile easily defeats Ryu, only to face Ken, who challenges him in an air force base to avenge Ryu. Despite a severe hangover, Guile is able to defeat Ken, which motivates the duo to start a training journey and improve their martial art skills by challenging opponents around the world.

While in India, Ryu fights an imaginary Guile during a training session, but stops the fight and acknowledges his respect for the Sergeant for showing them how arrogant they were and inspiring them to travel the world. Later in the series, Guile is recruited by Ken's father along with his friend Charlie (who retains his Japanese name, Nash, in the dub) when Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li are taken captive by Shadaloo. He faces Zangief while infiltrating Bison's base, while Nash confronts Bison himself. Guile knocks Zangief out, but is unable to save Nash from Bison, who pits a brainwashed Chun-Li against the enraged Sergeant. Outside, Guile fights Chun-Li until Bison's demise snaps her out of her brainwashing, and he is last seen showing admiration for Ryu and Ken when they emerge unharmed from the battlefield.

Udon Comics
Guile is given a central role alongside Chun-Li, particularly in the first arc but he also is a frequent cast member in later arcs. Similar to the official story, Guile is chasing after Shadaloo to discover the whereabouts of his Air Force buddy, Charlie Nash. Guile is first introduced to Charlie after his aircraft is shot down and Charlie commands a black-ops mission to rescue him. Like the official story, Charlie teaches Guile to fight. For the first arc of the comics, Guile spends his time looking for Ryu, believing to there to be a connection between him and Shadaloo. He traces him to the US and then back to Japan. While in Japan, he and Chun-Li engage a Shadaloo-controlled Charlie (codenamed "Agent Shadow") and fight him off. At the end of the first story arc, Charlie regains his senses and rejoins Chun-Li and Guile before they're attacked by M. Bison. Charlie unleashes his latent Psycho Power abilities and sacrifices himself to take out Bison (Charlie giving his own life to stop Bison echoes Guile's ending in Street Fighter Alpha 3), leaving Guile distraught and swearing vengeance against Shadaloo. Afterwards, Guile continues to assist Chun-Li in looking for Bison (whom they believe survived his encounter with Charlie) but all the while juggling his struggling relationship with his wife, Julia, and their daughter, Amy. Eventually the family reconciles at the end of the comic's second arc. Guile isn't heavily active during the second series of comics (Street Fighter II) but he is given an invitation to Bison's tournament, which he accepts as his final bid for vengeance. The final series (Street Fighter II Turbo) documents Guile's entry into M. Bison's fighting tournament. While on Shadaloo island, he is contacted by Cammy, who needs his help but cannot openly assist him as she is attempting to fool Bison into thinking she is under his control. Through a carefully woven set of scripted matches, Guile and Chun-Li get themselves eliminated from the tournament and successfully free the Delta Red squadron. Together they manage to locate and destroy Bison's Psycho Drive before evacuating the island as it sinks. The aftermath of the tournament show that Guile is satisfied with the results, believing he has successfully avenged Charlie, and is now comfortably living with his family.

Gameplay and fighting style
Guile's overall style revolves around patiently anticipating the opponent's next move and attacking. He has a strong mix of solid offense and defense, combined with reliable agility and air grabs. However, if timed improperly, Guile himself could easily be baited into using his moves suddenly and be subject to sweeping and airborne attacks.

Guile's moveset has remained fairly consistent throughout his appearances compared to the rest of the cast - his only special moves are the Sonic Boom and Flash Kick. Both moves require a charge motion, thus, he requires a bit of skill and frequent use of certain situations such as jump-ins to make use of trying to integrate them into combos. Due to his more difficult standard offensive use, Guile is more known for trying to space his opponent more than trying to gain an offensive edge, so staying one step ahead and proper execution is vital.

Guile is known in particular for his various command normals and combo abilities, and is also one of the most notable characters in fighting games to have a double hitting sweep (though only one can hit unblocked).

Super/Ultra Combos
Guile's signature Super Combo has been the Double Flash, sometimes better known as the Somersault/Flash Kick Strike; he performs 2 or 3 consecutive Flash Kicks in a row. Starting in Street Fighter Alpha 3, he also has the Sonic Hurricane, a short-range 'cyclone' projectile that traps the opponents if it hits; some games give it a bit of a vacuum effect.

In the Street Fighter EX series, Guile can use the Opening Gambit, which features consecutive punches with a finishing sideways Flash Kick. His Meteor Combo in the EX series is called Sonic Boom Typhoon; he creates a giant Sonic Boom tornado that inflicts a heavy amount of damage. In Capcom vs. SNK he gains another Super Combo called Total Wipeout, which allows him to perform consecutive punches that end with a final backhand punch that knocks the opponent away.

His Ultra Combos in Super Street Fighter IV are the Sonic Hurricane and the Flash Explosion, a Double Flash followed by one more Flash Kick to strike the opponent as they fall out of the air.

Popular Culture
Guile/Pop Culture

Quotes
See: Guile/Quotes

Trivia

 * Guile shares many visual traits with Gunloc from Capcom's Slam Masters series.
 * In Blade's ending in the arcade version of Street Fighter: The Movie, he is revealed to be Gunloc, who in this continuity is Guile's brother.


 * Guile is the only character in the Street Fighter IV to have two air throws.


 * Guile's theme music in Street Fighter Alpha 3 bears a resemblance to A-ha's song "Take On Me".


 * Guile only listens to country music, according to his win quote against Dee Jay in Super Street Fighter IV.


 * Guile is apparently quite fond of chocolate, as learned by rival fighter C. Viper.


 * Guile is one of the six characters from Street Fighter IV (the others being Cammy, C. Viper, Chun-Li, Ryu and Seth) to have second rivals in Super SFIV. His second rival is M. Bison.


 * Guile's wife is called Jane in SFII series. Her name is later altered as Julia.




 * Early official artwork shows Guile having only one tattoo, though in-game, due to character sprites' left and right sights being mirrored, he has them on both sides. In later years after this was noticed, the artwork shows him with tattoos on both shoulders.
 * Ironically, this makes the tattoo correct and incorrect, as the U.S. soldiers sport a backwards American flag on their uniforms in the same location as Guile's tattoo (symbolic of the fact that a flag carried during a charge into battle would appear backwards as it flew behind its pole). This is contrary to the belief that the "correct" sprite is of Guile facing towards the left, which shows a forward-facing flag


 * Guile is referenced in Project X Zone. In a pre-battle dialogue with Vashyron, Ken and Ryu states that they know a soldier who can use the Sonic Boom.


 * Guile's ending in Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival seems to indicate that he was dreaming the entire time.


 * In Guile's ending in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, when M. Bison tells Guile to kill him, rather than being stopped by his wife, Guile replies, "No. I'm not a murderer like you." Afterwards, three days later, Guile visits Charlie's grave, and then encounters Julia, who tells Guile to come back.


 * Guile is the only character in the entire series to have only two special moves. Every other character has at least three.

Gallery
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Street Fighter II series
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Street Fighter: The Movie
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Street Fighter Alpha series
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Street Fighter EX series
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Street Fighter IV series
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Marvel vs. Capcom series
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Capcom vs. SNK series
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Namco's X series
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