* If Mariko can kill the hero in [[OneHitKill one hit]], why can't she just escape herself?
** Because she doesn't kill the hero due to her overwhelming martial arts ability, she kills the hero because he doesn't expect the attack - the same reason any enemy can OneHitKill the hero if he's not in fighting stance. Presumably her guards would be much less trusting.
** Also, the hero is short enough such that Mariko could kick him in his OneHitKill spot, whereas the BigBad is too tall for that to work.
** Who says she didn't try it? Maybe Akuma had BallsOfSteel.
** In the NES version, she doesn't kill the hero even if he approaches her in fighting stance. Apparently, this is a compensation from NES for making the gate trap in this version much harder to pass than in any other versions.