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Q (キュ Kyu?) is a character in the Street Fighter series. He first appeared in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and was voiced by Len Carlson. While Q can be chosen as a playable character, he is also a "hidden" computer-controlled sub-boss in Arcade Mode that can only be battled after meeting specific requirements: the player must win the first eight matches without losing a round, and remain above D rank.

Biography

Not much is known about Q, except that he appears at different places around the world, and may be linked to various disasters. Being arguably the most mysterious character in the Street Fighter universe, Q's true identity has been in countless speculations ever since his debut.

Of note is that Q is the only character in 3rd Strike that does not have his own stage. However, starting a two-player game with both players selecting Q will take them directly to Dudley's stage (London), while his own theme plays in the background.

Concept

The design for Q draws a clear influence from characters such as Shotaro Ishinomori's Robotto Keiji K (Robot Detective K) and Iron Mask from Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Babel II manga. The trench-coat, fedora and gloves are articles of clothing worn by H.G. Wells' "Invisible Man".

Appearance

Q sports a hat and trench coat, along with white gloves, black pants and dress shoes. under his coat is a typical white button-up shirt and red tie; this type of clothing is a trademark of archetypical spies and detectives (e.g. Rorschach, The Question, Mr. A). His head is engulfed in a metallic blue shell-like mask which surrounds his entire head. The mask has yellow eyes of varying brightness.

It is unknown if Q is a human or at least-part machine; when Q is shocked in-game, instead of showing the skull and skeleton, it shows his muscular system and an indistinct head. Also, Q's neck is the only portion of his body that is visibly made of flesh and skin, though some of his legs are visible during certain animations. Q's identity has frequently been the subject of speculation by fans; one of the most frequently cited candidates is Dorai, Chun-li's father, due to the amount of detective motifs and the location of his stage, though there is little (if anything) in the way of concrete evidence to tie them together.

Personality

Q is generally the quiet type, as he only speaks (or rather, grunts) when being hit, and he also mumbles an unintelligible line of dialogue after defeating his opponent. His win quotes consist of ellipses and short, vague phrases (e.g. "I... am abomination."); the latter are shown in parenthesis, perhaps indicating his thoughts or translating mumbling.

Q's mannerisms tend to straddle the line between man and machine. His movements are simple and robotic, and verge on stilted and awkward at times; he even "shuts" down when he is beaten by chip damage. Despite many of his simple, robotic movements, some of his other mannerisms and features could be considered human; for example, after parrying a move, he will brush off his trench-coat. Much of his moveset seems to support this theory.

It is not known how Q handles human contact; in his intro animations, people are often seen running in fear from him, followed by him simply walking onto the stage, or else performing a dashing punch. However, one artwork depicts him apparently being interviewed by a woman, while a man removes his coat, with no apparent discomfort on Q's part. Q also shows similarly contradictory acts of self-restraint and cruelty; when he defeats his opponent, he will either simply look over them, shed a tear and walk away, or else start crushing their face underneath his shoe.

The requirements to fight Q as a CPU opponent may indicate that Q may be after the world's most dangerous or powerful fighters, also similar to Akuma.

Story

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

Q has been sighted in crime scene photographs of unsolved murders all over the world, partially hidden each time. The context of the pictures are shrouded in mystery: his appearance in them may make him the murderer, or perhaps he could be investigating it, as hinted by his stereotypical detective attire, though nothing regarding a potential role in the killings or the nature of the victims has been revealed.

In his ending, Julianna and David, along with other CIA agents, discuss Q's appearances at case sites worldwide over the last 10 days, believing him to be the common link between the cases (though they are unsure if it is the same person). While they cannot identify him, they at least manage to decipher his appearance based on the photos they have. As they set out to begin the investigation on him, a familiar silhouette can be seen on the projector screen, apparently leaving the room as well.

Cameos and other appearances

Street Fighter II

It was rumored that Q (or someone resembling him) can be seen in Ken's stage background in the original Street Fighter II series. However, the man was removed from the redrawn and redesigned stage in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

Card Fighters Clash

Q has also appeared as a card in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash games.

Capcom Fighting Evolution

Q made a cameo appearance in Capcom Fighting Evolution, he can be seen on the rooftop in the New York stage.

Comics

Udon

Issue ten of Udon's Street Fighter II Turbo features a short story centered around Q. The story shows Chun-Li's father Dorai in the background being experimented on and having Q's face being forcefully put onto him, implying that Q is actually Dorai enslaved by M. Bison.[citation needed]

Gameplay and fighting style

Q's techniques are those of a brute-force brawler, though one appearing physically contained, as opposed to a refined martial artist; one of his normal moves in particular has him kick at the opponent's head and fall over immediately after. Most of his special attack names are descriptions of his actions, rather than proper nouns referring to a move name. Q's most signature special moves include his Dashing Straight, a fast and useful attack that can easily be canceled into Super Arts, his Dashing Leg Attack, and the Capture & Deadly Blow, a command grab which sends the opponent into the air for a juggle.

His Super Arts include the Critical Combo Attack, a series of quick punches while he moves forward, as well as the Deadly Double Combination, a gut punch followed by an overhead blow with both arms. His third Super Art is Total Destruction: When activated, Q can choose to either punch or grab his opponent, depending on the situation, which emits a small explosion that damages the opponent; interestingly, a female robotic voice can be heard saying "Danger!" when the throw is activated.

Q is noted as a defensive character due to his large stamina and low speed. With three taunts, his stamina can be "increased" up to a maximum of over twice the stamina of Akuma, which is also the highest possible stamina of any character in 3rd Strike. However, because of his slow speed and the lack of high-priority moves, he is considered to be a low-tier character in competitive play.

Quotes

For a full list of quotes, see Q/Quotes.

Stage Theme

Trivia

  • He is one of only two characters lacking any mid-boss or final boss conversation dialogue (the other being Akuma).
  • One of the people who flee from Q in one of his introductions (seen below) is a boy wearing a cap similar to Yun's.
  • When asked by YouTuber Lovesmash on Twitter if Q could appear as DLC in Street Fighter V, Ono cryptically replied; "Ate you ready!? hahaha~".[2]
  • It is revealed in his Street Fighter V profile that he is in currently under investigation by C. Viper.

Gallery

Q/Gallery

Sprites

Q/Sprites

See also

References

Street Fighter series Playable Characters
Main Series
SF Logo Ken · Ryu
Street-fighter-ii-logo The World Warrior Blanka · Chun-Li · Dhalsim · E. Honda · Guile · Zangief
Champion Edition Balrog · M. Bison · Sagat · Vega
Super Cammy · Dee Jay · Fei Long · T. Hawk
Super Turbo Akuma · Ten Akuma
Ultra Violent Ken
SFAlogo Alpha Adon · Birdie · Charlie Nash · Dan · Guy · Rose · Sodom
Alpha 2 Evil Ryu · Gen · Rolento · Sakura · Shin Akuma
Alpha 3 Cody · Juli · Juni · Karin · R. Mika
Alpha 3 Upper Eagle · Maki
Alpha 3 MAX Ingrid
Street fighter iii logo New Generation Alex · Dudley · Elena · Ibuki
Necro · Oro · Sean · Yang · Yun
2nd Impact Gill · Hugo · Urien
3rd Strike Makoto · Q · Remy · Twelve
Street fighter iv logo IV Abel · C. Viper · El Fuerte · Gouken · Rufus · Seth
Super Hakan · Juri
Arcade Edition Oni
Ultra Decapre · Poison
SFV-Logo-R-3 V F.A.N.G · Laura · Necalli · Rashid
Season 2 Abigail · Ed · Kolin · Menat · Zeku
Season 3 Falke · G
Season 4 Kage · Lucia
Season 5 Akira · Eleven · Luke
Street fighter 6 logo 6 Jamie · JP · Kimberly · Lily · Manon · Marisa
Year 1 A.K.I.
Spin-offs
Street Fighter The Movie Logo Arkane · Blade · F7 · Khyber · Sawada
Street-fighter-ii--the-animated-movie Cyborg
Sfexlogo EX Allen · Blair · C. Jack · Darun · D. Dark
Hokuto · Kairi · Pullum · Skullomania
EX Plus Bloody Hokuto · Cycloid-β · Cycloid-γ · Garuda
EX2 Hayate · Nanase · Shadowgeist · Sharon
EX2 Plus Area · V. Rosso
EX3 Ace · Bison II
Marvel vs. Capcom Logo MSHvSF Cyber-Akuma · Dark Sakura · Mech-Zangief · Shadow
MvC Shadow Lady
SFO Shin
Street Fighter III Characters
New Generation Alex · Dudley · Elena · Ibuki · Ken · Necro · Oro · Ryu · Sean · Yang · Yun
2nd Impact Akuma · Gill · Hugo · Shin Akuma · Urien
3rd Strike Chun-Li · Makoto · Q · Remy · Twelve
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