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King is the name of two characters in the Tekken fighting game series. The character was inspired by both legendary Japanese pro wrestler Tiger Mask (who also had his own cartoon and comics), as well as Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta, who just happened to be a Catholic priest who became a masked wrestler in order to support an orphanage.

History

King I

Tekken

King is a famous luchador from Mexico. There are actually two Kings in the series, both of whom wore a jaguar mask in matches. The first used to be a ruthless street brawling orphan with no care in the world except fighting. In one of his fights, King was grievously wounded and collapsed in front of a monastery. The Marquez priests saved him from death. After recovering, King realized the error of his ways and resolved to start a new life. He became a Catholic priest and renounced his old fighting ways. He then became a man with a mission; he dreamt of building an orphanage for street children, hoping to save them from becoming the kind of person he used to be. King has one problem, however. He lacks the necessary funds to achieve his dream. King discovers The King of Iron Fist Tournament and hopes to win the prize money. King enters the tournament and manages to get third place, winning enough prize money for the orphanage. He also met his rival, Armor King.

Tekken 2

King won enough money and had his orphanage, which became very successful. After a child dies in his care, King became depressed and, giving up his jaguar mask, returned to the street. He became a raging alcoholic. He would have perished had he not been convinced by his old friend, Armor King, to again wear the jaguar mask and join The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. King trained intensely and recovered from his alcoholicism. He battled Armor King at the tournament and lost. After the tournament, King participated in both pro-wrestling and martial arts tournaments to win money for his orphanage. He also taught his fighting skills to the children under his care as a means of self-defense.

Sometime later on, Ogre, the God Of Fighting, was awakened from an ancient ruin in Mexico by Heihachi Mishima's Tekken Force. Ogre attacked several martial artists around the world, including King, who was supposedly killed afterwards.

King II

Tekken 3

A young man took up both the mantle and the mask shortly after the first King was killed by Ogre, and went on to participate in Tekken 3, effectively becoming King II. Now 28, he received further training from Armor King and became a formidable fighter.

Tekken 4

King discovered that his master, Armor King, had been killed in a bar fight. The perpetrator, Craig Marduk, had been arrested in Arizona and was sent to prison. Upon Marduk's release (thanks to bribes paid by King himself), King sent a letter challenging Marduk to the tournament in Tekken 4.

He defeated Marduk in Tekken 4, sending him to the hospital, where King followed him to deliver a deadly blow. However, he stopped after seeing a portrait of Marduk and his elderly parents. King let him live, realizing how foolish he had become.

Tekken 5

King is later enraged to find out that Marduk has been defeating opponents in a black jaguar mask (identical to Armor King's), and he has issued a televised challenge to King for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Seeing Marduk disgrace his master, King steps into the ring once again to settle the score once and for all.

Endings

Tekken (Canon)

Players are shown a church, focusing on its clock and bells. King appears, looking at the church as some kids come out and surround King, cheering happily. Finally, King raises his arms in the air victoriously as he has won enough money for his orphanage.

Tekken 2 (Canon)

Looking down-trodden, King shows up outside of his snow-covered orphanage where the children are celebrating Christmas. Having lost the tournament, he feels ashamed and leaves his presents at the front door and starts to walk away. Suddenly, some kids appear and surround him (similar to his Tekken ending). This makes him happy again.

Tekken 3 (Canon)

King enters a wrestling match under the watchful eye of Armor King. Easily dispatching his opponent, King looks to the side and realizes that Armor King has left his ringside. Rushing to the locker room, King sees that his mentor is sitting alone with his mask off.

Tekken Tag Tournament (Partially-Canon)

Under Armor King's watch, King practices one of Armor King's combination throw techniques on a wooden dummy.

Note: Tekken Tag Tournament is a non-canonical game, but King actually DOES have this combo throw, titled the Mexican Magma Drive., in his move set in Tekken 5. Therefore King actually WAS taught the move, but it's doubtful it occurred where and how it does within this ending.

Tekken 4 (Canon)

Having defeated Craig Marduk, King goes to the murderer's room in the hospital. For a few moments, King contemplates taking a final blow on Marduk and ending his life. However, spotting a picture of Marduk's family. King comes to his senses, realizing how foolish he had become, and walks away.

Tekken 5 (???)

King is being double-teamed by a tag team during a wrestling match. After suffering a back suplex and an elbow drop to the throat, King crawls to his corner and tags Craig Marduk. Having befriended Marduk after a second victory against him, King and Marduk easily win the competition, finishing it with Muscle Docking (a homage to Kinnikuman). Both win championship belts.

Fighting Style/Moves

King's wrestling style obviously provides him with many throw attacks aside from the five that each character is given. Some of his attacks can also end in throws (Convict Kick Counter, Front Kick - DDT), which provides an easy way to deal heavy damage. King has a good mixture of high and low attacks and a very simple pair of ten hit combos which are simply ten single-button presses.

As of Tekken 5, King seems to have drawn more wrestler-inspired moves into his repertoire, especially from superstars employed by the world-famous World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). For example, he has a Stunner often used by Stone Cold Steve Austin and an Elbow Drop and Rock Bottom popularized by The Rock. Additionally, King can perform the Tombstone Piledriver used by The Undertaker and Kane since Tekken 2. One of his victory poses has him side-stepping in a manner characteristic of the original Tiger Mask. King is also seen in the opening FMV performing a Tiger Feint after being thrown across the wrestling ring by Craig Marduk, in order to prevent a collision to the outside of the ring. The maneuver is currently a trademark move of Rey Mysterio, although the original Tiger Mask pioneered its use during matches with the Dynamite Kid in the early 80's.

Not surprisingly, King also shares moves with other fighting game wrestlers, such as the Giant Swing, the same throw technique used by Virtua Fighter character Wolf Hawkfield and Dead Or Alive character Tina Armstrong. Also, his Tekken 5 incarnation has a version of the Spinning Pile Driver (often abbreviated as SPD), the trademark command throw of Street Fighter character Zangief.

Moves List

• King - Tekken 5 - Moves List (U.S.)
• King I - Tekken 1 - Moves List (U.S.)

References Outside Tekken Series

Namco X Capcom

In this game, he is a friend of Felicia, possibly due to their mutual feline affinities (or possibly due to their affiliations to Catholic organizations). Felicia makes remarks alluding to King's supposed fangs and sense of smell, prompting him to remind Felicia that he is not half-cat, merely wearing a mask.

Soul Calibur 3

In this title, King's signature jaguar mask is an unlockable item for Character Creation mode.

Masked Persona

In the Tekken universe, King never seems to break kayfabe, and his wrestling persona appears to be his true personality.

King never audibly speaks. He is only heard making a growling noise that sounds unsurprisingly like a jaguar's growl. But sometimes, he also meant to speak (even though only growls come out), as seen during the scene after he defeats Julia Chang in his Story Mode in Tekken 5, as well as in Armor King's Tekken 5 ending, where King tries to get Armor King's attention. They also seems to understand what he's saying, despite the fact that he just speaks in growls. However, many Tekken 5 characters seem to understand each other despite the fact that they speak different languages.

King II has never revealed his face. (In fact, in his opening for Tekken 5, King is moving about in public fully-masked.) On the other hand, King I's face can be seen for a few seconds in the intro of the first Tekken while he slowly puts his jaguar mask on.

Trivia

• King's 'sub-bosses' include Armor King and Craig Marduk

• Everyone in King I's endings in Tekken and Tekken 2 (except for King I himself) were real people superimposed into the video. This is easier to see in his Tekken 2 ending.

See also

• Armor King
• Craig Marduk

• Tekken characters
• Fictional luchadores
• Mexican computer and video game characters