The King of Fighters 2001 / Characters

Characters in The King of Fighters debuting in The King of Fighters 2001.

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NESTS Team

Ángel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/character_angel.png

Knockout Free Spirit

"Is it a sin to be mighty? Then call me the devil!"

Origin: Mexico

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mexico_3939.png

Fighting style: Pro-wrestling (listed as 'perfunctory♥')

Voiced by: ^note

Playable in: ^note

An agent of NESTS who was allied with Kula, Foxy, and K9999. After K9999 wounded Foxy, she went after him and hasn't been seen since.

Sometime after 2001, she defected from NESTS and has been on the run from NESTS assassins trying to silence the traitor. Eventually, she got sick of running away and decided to enter the KOF tournament with both Ramón and King of Dinosaur to settle the score, especially after hearing that there will be a NESTS agent participating.

Animal Motifs: Not only does Team Mexico's story prologue identifies her as a cat, she has cat-like mannerisms and even interjects Nya in her sentences.
Author Appeal: Toshiyuki Kotani (alias "Styleos") has gone on record as saying he put everything he liked into Ángel's design.
Battle Intro: In XV:
"Wow! Talk about a threatening aura! You'll be just a toy when she gets her hands on you! Ángel!
Ángel: "Cat's gonna get your tongue!"
Bilingual Bonus: Her DLC costume in XIV is called "La Diabla", diabla being Spanish for "She-Devil".
The Bully: Towards her former NESTS colleagues, and especially Kula. When they end up on the same team in XV, they can't stop sniping at each other to the extent that Krohnen has to frequently step in and keep them in line.
The Bus Came Back: She went missing with K9999 at the end of the 2001 story-wise, was last playable in the 2002 game, and wasn't heard from at all through the Tales of Ash arc. KOF XIV sees her finally returning to the roster.
Cleavage Window: It even gets weaponized during her Climax Desperation Move!
Close-Range Combatant: She dominates at close range with her Unchained combos, and has ways of closing the distance. As a consequence, her normal moves tend to lack range, and is at a disadvantage against anyone that can keep her out.
Confusion Fu: Her Unchained combos work like this. The five Unchain Starter attacks can be linked into any of the six Unchain Circle, these, in turn, can be linked to each other in sequence as long you follow three rules: the same attack can't be used twice, a kick attack cannot be chained to another kick attack (or a punch attack to another Punch attack), you cannot chain into an attack with the same directional input. Furthermore, The Unchain Circle can be interrupted with any of the three feints commands (backward, forward, standing) these refreshes the Unchain Circle attacks, allowing you to extend your combo. Lastly, you can use any of the five Unchain Finisher to end your combo. A skilled Ángel player will be able to chain long strings of attacks together effectively, making it hard for the opponent to react to her combos. Sounds easy, right?
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
- Downplayed story-wise when it comes to her and Shermie. Both are promiscuous and flirty, a little ditzy, buxom (they're tied for 1st among the KOF ladies at 92cm), and far more dangerous than one would peg them at a first glance. The only big differences are their superiors (supernatural vs. science), their styles of wrestling (Japanese/puroresu vs. American), and while Ángel eventually defects from NESTS, Shermie remains loyal to Orochi. The two even made their debut at the climax of their respective sagas.
- Played straight from a gameplay perspective; Ángel is an in-your-face rushdown character with high mix-up potential, while Shermie is a more mobile grappler that can also go on the defensive if she needs to with her Anti-Air grab and long-reaching normals. Orochi Shermie, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of Ángel's playstyle; a midrange zoner that can potentially keep Ángel out and from performing at her best.
Counter-Attack: Blue Monday Counter, which has her put up a Flamingo stance before pinning the opponent. From XIV onwards, she also takes after The Rock and gives the opponent a taste of the People's Elbow. Beyond universal options like Guard Cancel Blowback or her Climax Super's invulnerability frames, this is also all she has for defense.
Cute Bruiser: She's in the same boat as many others; attractive babe with high physical prowess.
Cute, but Cacophonic: Not so bad in 2001, but her seiyuu changed for 2002 and she fell into this. Miki Ogura's take on her voice is better in this regard.
Dark Action Girl: You wouldn't know it from looking at her, though.
Defector from Decadence: Some time between 2001 and XIV, Ángel eventually defects from NESTS.
Flash Step: Red Sky, Unchain Step, and any time she cancels out of her Unchain specials.
Glass Cannon: From XIV onwards. On paper, she has far and away the best combo potential of any character in the franchise (the only other character that comes close is Ash Crimson and his Sans-culotte Install Super), and is incredible as a rushdown fighter with high mix-up. However, she's also let down by her mediocre, stubby normals and is effectively defenseless against equally aggressive opponents. Her only means of defense is locked away with meter, and her Counter-Attack super is unreliable due to its tight parry window.
Heel–Face Turn: In XIV, though, given the retconning of the events of 2001's NESTS team ending, it's unknown just how much of a heel she even officially was. Since her interactions have her being a pretty nice girl to her teammates, King of Dinosaurs and Ramón but an utter bitch to everyone else, it seems she was just a Jerkass in the post Retcon story.
Hunter of His Own Kind: She was initially introduced as the one in charge of tracking down and eliminating NESTS traitors, Kula and K' specifically, and eventually turned traitor herself.
Idiot Hair: Only in her 2001 and 2002 UM artwork, however.
Irony: Introduced as an assassin in charge of hunting down NESTS traitors, XIV reveals she defected from NESTS herself and has spent years running from NESTS assassins.
Leitmotif: 2002 UM gives her the rather industrial and fast-paced "QT★@ngel" as her personal theme.
Kick the Dog: Her interaction with Kula in XIV also serves as a Mythology Gag to 2001 and pretty much the closest thing to K9999 being mentioned before his reintroduction as Krohnen.
Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: She serves as the Dark to Isolde's Light; both are white-haired women associated with NESTS and with a close relationship with a 9999th clone (Ángel with K9999 and Isolde with Nameless, respectively). But while Ángel is a provocative and ill-tempered bruiser who lives a carefree life by her own whims, Isolde was a modest and innocent waif devoted to Nameless's wellbeing even after she died as a result of her experimentation.
Lightning Bruiser: Her body's physiology was augmented to be far stronger and more resilient than that of a normal human (and even the other KOF competitors), and she can Flash Step on top of it.
Marshmallow Hell: She gives her opponent a face full of her chest as part of her Climax Super Move starting from XIV.
Ms. Fanservice: One comparable to Mai. Ironically, Mai is very snarky towards Ángel, even going as far as to criticize her choice of clothing.
Mystical White Hair: Of the scientific variety. She's certainly not your average female fighter, having been enhanced by NESTS (see Lightning Bruiser above) to hunt down any dissenters before eventually becoming one herself.
Reformed, but Not Tamed: She eventually defects from NESTS and makes it a personal mission to wipe out every remnant of the evil organization for good, but is still a bit of a jerkass to her opponents.
Retcon: There's no mention of Ángel's friendship with K9999 for her XIV bio, nor a recap about the last time she was canonically seen. When her Team Story was revealed, it turned out that for some reason, Ángel left NESTS and ended up getting chased by assassins. This stopped being a problem when K9999 finally returned under a new guise as Krohnen.
Sexy Coat Flashing: Her strip tease win pose. Toplessness from the Back depending on which variant it is.
Spell My Name With An S: In XV, her name is now as Ángel, the grammatically correct spelling for a Mexican name.
Statuesque Stunner: Although she's only 168cm, the average height for women in Mexico is around 155cm (5'1") and she's 1cm taller than the average Mexican male, so she is at least this for the average Mexican. What's also amusing about this is that she's the same height as her cohort, K9999/Krohnen.
Stripperiffic: Ángel isn't particularly modest. But in a few of her win poses, she strips down even more.
Tattooed Crook: As evidenced by her 2002 artwork.
The Tease: Quite possibly the most flirtatious character in the series (surpassing even Mai in this regard and going toe to toe with XIV newcomer Luong), which is not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. Whether or not she pushes into Sugary Malice territory is up to interpretation.
Token Evil Teammate: At first, she might not look like one as she's also accompanied by the Heel wrestler King of Dinosaurs, leaving Ramón the sole 'Face' of Team Mexico. However, King of Dinosaurs is actually the good guy Tizoc who's just in Heel gimmick from a business standpoint, making Ángel the sole pure 'Heel' of the team. Ultimately subverted since Ángel has genuinely turned on a new leaf and her whole motivation to enter the XIV tournament is to track down the remnants of NESTS and shut them down for good. However, she's still pretty condescending to others.
Trademark Favorite Food: Tequila and cactus slices.
Transhuman: She's officially considered an Enhanced Human (localized as Cyborg) after all the experimentation she went through under NESTS and thus explaining her extreme physical prowess.
Underwear of Power: She leaves very little to the imagination and is bar none of the stronger girls in the series.
Verbal Tic: Ángel has the habit of ending her sentences with "nya" like a meowing cat.
Weight Woe: Possibly. Her profile doesn't list her weight, but instead says "Write it down and you die!"
Wham Line: She pretty much drops the pretenses with Krohnen's former identity in her XV Team Ending... Not that it was well-hidden to begin with.
Angel: Ahaha! You've changed, K9999... Not quite so immature anymore, are you?
White Hair, Black Heart: Downplayed. The worst that comes out of her is being an outright Jerkass to just about anyone she meets that isn't her own teammates and she was involved with NESTS, hunting down any dissenters to the organization. K', Kula, Foxy, and (presumably) Diana included.
Wrestler in All of Us: Several of Ángel's moves are directly inspired by The Rock.

Foxy

"If you want to sustain your bloated ego, then get some ability!"

Origin: Unknown

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/10c06342_71a7_425a_a1f4_b6d32940b6f7.png

Fighting style: Fencing

Voiced by: ^note

Playable in: ^note

Kula's other caretaker. Also skilled with a rapier and is playable in 2001 and 2002 Unlimited Match. It was originally thought that she was killed by K9999 on NESTS' orders, but she was only wounded slightly. The incident, however, did traumatize poor Kula.

Animal Motifs: The bee. Though generally implied in previous games, the motif first appeared in Kula's Neo MAX in XIII. Fittingly, her hair is also striped like that of a bee, albeit white and blue as opposed to black and yellow. She also went on to own a honey factory long since NESTS' demise.
Anime Hair: Long white hair that perfectly tapers at the end. Her hair isn't stripped, however; the dark blue is actually a flag that keeps her hair's shape together.
Attack Reflector: Her slashes can redirect projectiles.
Badass Longcoat: Quite the stylish one if her animation sprites are any indication.
Combat Stilettos: It's more evident in the artwork than the sprites.
Cool Big Sis: To Kula, although she also sometimes has the air of an Onee-sama.
Cool Sword: It's an elegant-looking rapier that also only causes blunt trauma, not evisceration.
Death or Glory Attack: Honey Bee, her Desperation Attack, will either kill you and your opponent or just you if you happen to be misfortunate enough that you miss it. When Foxy debuted in KOF 2001, this move was actually so broken that it caused Foxy to be soft banned in Tournament Play.
Defector from Decadence: In the sense that she defected from NESTS after their destruction at the end of 2001. She's currently Kula's Parental Substitute alongside Diana and the proud owner of her own honey factory.
Disapproving Look: During her cameo in the Krohnen Team ending of XV, she gives a very disapproving look to Krohnen and Ángel, if the lowered brow and faint frown in any indication. Considering that the two had essentially kidnapped Kula and that as K9999, Krohnen attempted to murder her, she's completely justified in reacting how she did.
Early-Bird Cameo: Depending on your score upon reaching Clone Zero, at the end of KOF 2000, Kula will be seen deactivating the Zero Cannon. When it happens, she and Diana will show up next to Clone Zero, chastising him for his betrayal. She's also one of Kula's selectable strikers in that game, too.
Flash Step: Her Evasive Roll, 12th Key throw, and her Atmospheric Adoration special.
Flechette Storm: Using paralyzing darts.
Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Under the overcoat, particularly with Hiroaki's drawings in 2002UM.
Hair Color Dissonance: Strangely, the manhua by Andy Seto has Foxy as a blonde as opposed to the white locks she sports in canon. None of the other white-haired characters share this artistic liberty.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Diana.
Instant Costume Change: As a win pose, Foxy changes into more casual attire in a flash of light.
Irony: Her official bio states that she dislikes Elite executives, yet she used to be a part of an elite organization as an elite member if being tasked to eliminate Clone Zero at the end of 2000 is any indication.
Lady of War: Fights using a rapier, has a badass long coat, serves (or used to serve) NESTS, and is very elegant and poised in her fighting style? Yeah, it just about checks out.
Leitmotif: "Falling of the Nightingale" in 2002 UM. which starts off rather somber before picking up in intensity to highlight her near-death and recovery.
Long Hair Is Feminine: Very, very graceful in combat, and has quite the long hair to match.
Motherly Scientist: Enough to eventually become one of Kula's parental substitutes alongside Diana.
Not Quite Dead: Supposedly killed off in her first appearance. She still hasn't appeared as a playable character in other games, though. Played endlessly with her supers Honey Bee and Schroedinger's Cat, as seen below.
- She makes a cameo with Diana during Kula's special intro vs. K' in XI.
- And again during Kula's Neo MAX in XIII. She also randomly takes Diana's place in Kula's win pose and during the regular version of Freeze Execution.
- Also, the guy who supposedly killed her may or may not have been Ret Goned. As of XV, apparently not, but in two of its endings, all that happens between them is that he and Angel simply return Kula to her and Diana, who then arrange for Team K' to pick her up.
Parental Substitute: Shares this role with Diana in regards to Kula.
Punny Name: "Foxy" is slang for an attractive woman.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: In 2001. Her appearance at the end of 2000 gave her brown eyes, and her eye color seems to switch between the two ever since.
Self-Made Man: After NESTS' destruction, she goes on to own a honey factory.
Statuesque Stunner: Stands at an impressive 181cm (5'11") tall, amongst the tallest female fighters in the series.
Stripperiffic: A few of her alternate artworks feature Foxy without a shirt under her overcoat. This has yet to transition to any of her playable appearances, though, so she remains one of the Token Wholesomes among the female cast.
Sword Beam: Does this during her Honey Bee HSDM.
Sword Plant: One of her win poses.
Taking You with Me: Her Honey Bee super move, where she rushes towards the opponent with her rapier and it explodes, killing her instantly along with her opponent. In 2001, this was nearly useless. In 2002 Unlimited Match, the Honey Bee is now her MAX2, meaning it can be used as her desperation move.
Team Mom: Towards Kula, but not quite to the same extent as Diana. Notably, she did act as Kula's caretaker in 2001 while leading the NESTS Team and keeping an eye on K9999 and Ángel.
Wearing a Flag on Your Head: The dark blue stripes in her hair are actually part of the NESTS flag that Foxy uses to keep her hair's shape together. 2002UM gave her a super in which she wraps it around the opponent before slashing at them.
- Ironically, the super is named Schrödinger's Cat.

K9999 (Unmarked Spoilers)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/k9999alt_8222.jpg

"How does it feel to be defeated by the new ruler of the universe?"

Origin: Unknown

Fighting style: Personal style

Voiced by: ^note

Playable in: ^note

The 9,999th clone of Kyo, assigned to kill any traitors to NESTS alongside Ángel. His powers are very different, more resembling that of Tetsuo Shima's from AKIRA (complete with the same voice actor from the movie). In 2002 Unlimited Match, he was replaced with another character, Nameless. In XV, he eventually recieved another successor in the form of his new identity, Krohnen.

For tropes pertaining to his new identity, click here.

Anime Hair: That changes style and color.
Arm Cannon: One of his desperation moves has him transform his right hand into a shotgun. The American version censored it so it looks like he is shooting from his fist.
Badass Back: Same as K', only with less "apathy" and added "arrogance."
Badass Biker: Presumably. His "cherished motorcycle" is listed as one of his likes, and given his source material...
Badass Cape: Complete with Dramatic Wind. Seems Nameless learned a thing or two...
Big Bad Wannabe: He considers himself to be akin to the new Krizalid and some kind of ultimate weapon for NESTS. Unfortunately, he is completely disposable to Igniz, and Igniz had entrusted the far more dangerous and loyal Zero in his plans. He makes an effort to wounds Foxy before the final boss, but then is driven off by K' and Kula.
Bright Is Not Good: He has the brightest color scheme of the NESTS team, and is by far the closest they have to a genuine villain. And in comparison to the Dark Is Not Evil Nameless, K9999 has virtually none of his successor's sympathetic qualities.
Captain Ersatz: A carbon copy of Tetsuo Shima with a slightly different face and a different color scheme. Unlike Tetsuo, though, K9999 had very few sympathetic qualities and his villainy was not played for tragedy. Unfortunately, SNK appears to find him legally dangerous and had him Put on a Bus to Hell. In XV, he put himself under self-applied witness protection as Krohnen.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: A pretty extreme case, he was erased from existence once that the franchise returned to SNK's hands. SNK has gone so far as to remove him digitally from every piece of artwork included in the anniversary gallery of The King of Fighters XIV. It would take a major redesign and a new name before he could return to the series.
Clone Degeneration: He's the 9999th clone of Kyo, and it's clear that Kyo's DNA being spliced so many times has left him unstable both physically and mentally.
Combat Tentacles: Made of his own flesh. Keep in mind, however, that Ángel does use them for a bit of Fanservice in the credits of 2002.
Dramatic Wind: During one of his win poses; he dons a cape for extra flair.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: K9999 has been surgically excised from canon and, following a Cosmic Retcon in games following his own, from the backstories of all related characters, despite his apparently large Japanese and Korean fanbase. After their official return in 2016, reports from those who have visited SNK have confirmed that K9999 isn't coming back. Ever. After 20 years of dormancy, K9999 was heavily redesigned and became Krohnen as a result.
Evil Laugh: As one of his win poses. The homage wouldn't be complete without it.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Choleric contrasting the more brooding K', the more sweethearted Kula and the more empathetic Nameless, having nothing nice to say about anybody except himself and willing to outright try and kill his own teammate at the drop of a hat.
In the Back: Once he gets tired of Foxy attempting to keep him under control, he stabs her in the back just because. Even years later, she still implicitly holds it against him.
Jerkass: And you thought Iori was the biggest one... at least he and Ash have their reasons. K9999 on the other hand? That's all him.
Leitmotif: He (and by extension, his team) tends to get rather dark and oppressive tracks; "Ruler of the Dark" in 2001, and "Napolitan Trance" in 2002.
The Napoleon: One of the shortest of the NESTS team (albeit by a very slim margin - he's the same height as Ángel and only half an inch shorter than Kula), at a mere 168cm in height, and probably the most malevolently violent of them all. Not even mellowing out into Krohnen was enough to fully rein in his jerkish behavior.
The One Guy: He's the sole male member of 2001's NESTS Team - all the other 3 members are girls.
Playing with Fire: At a very rudimentary level. Only two of his three moves have him spitting out flames.
Power Limiter: His blue glove, which was made with the same intentions as the red one K' wears. He's still rocking it in XV; it's one of the many traits that gives Krohnen away.
Primary-Color Champion: Inverted. Blue hair and glove, yellow shirt, red scarf, but he's a massive asshole.
Put on a Bus to Hell: The last we see of him, he's betrayed his teammates just for the sake of being a prick and then fled, with his only reappearance afterward being in the sequel, which was a dream match game. Once Eolith was out of the picture and SNK reemerged under Playmore, he was retconned out of existence completely.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Fills this role for both his in-universe partner and out-universe replacement:
- In-universe, he's the red to Ángel's blue - being far more volatile and caustic than she is and tearing through enemies with sheer brute force rather than any specialized wrestling techniques.
- Out-universe, he's still the red, this time to Nameless's blue - unlike the latter, who defers to NESTS for Isolde's sake, K9999 has no respect for authority whatsoever and treats everyone he comes across with contempt.
Shoo Out the New Guy: Debuted with quite a lot of fanfare in 2001, but for reasons often speculated on, K9999 was effectively written out and MIA for a good 20 years. Even then, as Krohnen, he's not coming back in his original design.
Small Role, Big Impact: Only appeared in one, technically two installments, yet he has nobody but himself to blame for causing Kula's Heel–Face Turn, and by extension the fall of NESTS.
Sphere of Destruction: His "Tsuki.../Moon..." desperation move, obviously taken from AKIRA.
Team Killer: He ended up stabbing Foxy in the back at the end of 2001, and was said to have killed her... before both it and he was retconned away.
This Is a Drill: This pops up in a few of his moves, in those, he transforms his arm into a drill.
Un-person: His ultimate fate in a meta sense. He has been removed completely from canon events, replaced with Nameless, a completely new character, and to seal the deal had his original timeline wiped completely so he can never return in any way. Reports from those who have visited SNK post-revival have also confirmed there exists an unspoken rule at the company that mentioning the character by name or even alluding to the fact that he existed at one point is strictly banned. Upon the reveal of Krohnen, this was later revealed to essentially be an elaborate troll from SNK themselves, who were simply redesigning K9999 to their liking in order to get around the potential copyright issues.
@TeamPowerGeyser: About "the one replaced by Nameless", you can't talk about him at SNK at all, even if anyone wishes, for legal reasons. He^noteSNK community manager Krispy Kaiser claims it is safe to say that from now on, in any SNK game, he will never return.
Unskilled, but Strong: Backs up his overall lack of training and weak fire powers with his polymorphic arm and (as per his inspiration) rather destructive psionics.
Unstoppable Rage: Ángel is the only person considered to be his friend and is probably the only one who can calm him down.
Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about both Kula's Heel–Face Turn in 2001 and Krohnen's very existence in XV without mentioning K9999: the former due to his involvement by attempting to murder Foxy, and the latter by the fact that they are one and the same.
What Happened to the Mouse?: K9999 ran off at the end of 2001, only appeared in 2002's vanilla version, and was never heard of again. Then along came a rather familiar face named Krohnen...

Korea Team

May Lee Jinju

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/loqw1585632861453.png

"As I live and breathe, evil will not prosper."

Origin: South Korea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/southkorean_flag_1622.png

Fighting style: Taekwondo

Voiced by: ^note

Playable in: ^note

An adoring fan and disciple of Kim Kaphwan, and a firm believer in justice. She ends up joining his team in 2001, but has not been seen since.

Ascended Fangirl: Of Kim Kaphwan.
The Cameo: She shows up in Kim's ending in the non-canonical SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
Chest Insignia: One that somehow can change expression depending on her mood.
Cute Bruiser: As cute as a button, and easily capable of kicking your ass.
Difficult, but Awesome: Her best attacks are locked behind her Hero Mode. The kicker with activating it is that she's unable to block and getting hit knocks her out of it.
Diving Kick: In 2001, she can perform one while in Hero Mode.
Dub Name Change: While 'May Lee Jinju' is her canonical full name, all games where she is present shorten it to 'May Lee', except in the Korean version of 2002, where it is changed to 'Lee Jinju'.
Expressive Mask: The expression of the frog in her T-shirt changes depending on her fighting mode, at least in the win portraits.
Goggles Do Nothing: She never puts on the shades she wears on her head.
Justice Will Prevail: Pretty much a staple of anybody (who isn't called Chang or Choi, at least) in Team Korea.
Kick Chick: Well, duh, considering that she practices Taekwondo just like her idol.
Lag Cancel: In both of her stances, most attacks can be canceled into her stance switch command. Since the animation is relatively quick, this allows her to follow up moves from one stance with moves from the other, and is incorporated into most of her combos.
Put on a Bus: Has not made a canonical appearance since 2001, though she does show up in 2002 UM, though. And unlike Hinako and Xiangfei, her pals from the Pretty Girls Team, May Lee usually doesn't even get cameo appearances either.
Scarf of Asskicking: Signifies her transition to Hero Mode and inexplicable use of fire and lightning attacks.
Stance System: Her entire gameplan is balanced around her two stances, one that she starts in, which has good mobility, and Hero Mode, activated through a super move, where she relies on massive counter and juggle potential at the cost of being unable to block.
This Is Unforgivable!: Pretty similar to Kim, only with the inclusion of a Kamen Rider-ish pose.
Unblockable Attack: In Hero Mode, her blowback attack is unblockable

Bosses

Original Zero

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_89.png

"Before the fangs of the black lion, you're prey!"

Origin: Unknown

Fighting style: Personal style

Voiced by: ^note

Playable in: ^note

Boss character in: ^note

Unlike his traitorous clone, the Original Zero is completely devoted to NESTS's goals. He is a respectable and honorable fighter. In 2001 he fought K' and his comrades aboard a spaceship disguised as a blimp. To even the odds, he fought alongside a clone of Krizalid (yes, a clone of a clone), Ron, and his own personal pet — an enormous, genetically engineered, black mountain lion who he named Glaugan. All of them lost, and Zero beckoned the team forward to the true base of NESTS. The blimp then began to careen downward into the atmosphere, and Zero's fate has been left ambiguous since then. He would have most likely fought against his comrade Igniz if he knew of his betrayal.

Affably Evil: More so affable than evil.
Ambiguously Brown: His sprite and some official art depict him as very dark-skinned.
Animal Motifs: The lion. See the above quote and his choice of an animal companion.
Anti-Villain (The Noble Variety): Perhaps not the first original character to exhibit these traits, but one of the more prominent ones, especially in this arc. A Worthy Opponent, through and through. See Noble Demon below.
Attack Reflector: Courtesy of his suit.
Badass Cape: Aside from the fact that the cape can kick your ass, it juts out from the back of his suit and briefly forms wings. Wings.
Blind Obedience: Original Zero is one of the noblest soldiers in NESTS, but he is just a tool for Igniz only to be discarded after he outlived his usefulness.
Cape Wings: One of his win poses has him use some hidden mechanism that drapes a cape on his back with this effect, with animation frames that do a good job at tricking the eye.
Clear My Name: A variant; let's just say that he didn't enjoy hearing about his clone's actions from the previous tournament and was quick to volunteer in that year's plans to prove his loyalty.
Clothing Combat: Like his clone. Strikers aside, Zero sets himself apart from his clone with some unique moves, quotes, and mannerisms.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Due to cloning shenanigans, Zero serves as one to what is essentially himself — the real Zero uses his own face, with its more striking features, in combat, as opposed to his clone using the plain-looking one of Ling. More importantly, Original Zero is far more of a honest and noble man than his clone: his loyalty to NESTS (to the extent that he is the Pre-Final Boss of 2001, as opposed to being the Final Boss of 2000 like his clone), his efforts to help as many of the youths tortured by his own organization as he feasibly can, and being a good sport when it comes to defeat is a far cry from Clone Zero's betrayal of the cartel, willingness to destroy Southtown even though he had no real reason to target it just to demonstrate his power, and attempting to murder those who defeat him via the Zero Cannon.
Deflector Shield: Can erect a circular barrier in front of his body (essentially a larger, singular version of Igniz's).
Depending on the Artist: His skin tone and hairstyle have both gone through varying degrees of this, never remaining consistent between official depictions. His original artwworks from 2001 give him a haircut more similar to that of his clone but with a notable forelock, but his sprites are rendered as him having longer hair that's swept to the sides, and his skin being extremely dark almost to the point of resembling Wesley Snipes. For his return in 2002UM, his artwork makes his skin tone a bit lighter but also gives him Anime Hair to some extent. His appearances in the mobile games like All-Star restore his original hairstyle, but at the same time make his skin tone even lighter to the point where he looks even more like his clone.
The Dragon: To Igniz in 2001. But since Igniz killed his father Nests long before the events of the game and used a puppet of him during the game's events, is not clear if Zero was aware of who was calling the shots.
Even Evil Has Standards: Needless to say, he's absolutely livid upon finding out about Clone Zero going behind his back, blowing up South Town with the Zero Cannon, and attempting to betray NESTS.
Face Death with Dignity: He admirably goes down with the blimp and tells you to go on.
Gravity Sucks/Gravity Master: Same as his clone, only he's doing it via a white hole. Contrary to what you'd expect, Zero's DM pulls in the matter (but not the player) toward the center of its vortex instead of expelling it at his opponent.
Identical Twin ID Tag: You can easily tell him apart from his clone through the fact that the real one lacks a mustache and is white-haired.
Improbable Weapon User: Again, the cape.
Kicked Across The Room: His Heavy kick is powerful enough to bounce an opponent off of the wall for a juggle if their attack was interrupted. His clone uses this move as well, but as an auto-combo once he's immobilized his foe and lacking in the punt distance.
Load-Bearing Boss: His defeat causes the blimp you fight in on the way to NESTS HQ to self-destruct. Zero beseeches you to go ahead before it's too late.
Moveset Clone: Oddly enough, of his own clone, since Clone Zero predated him in the series. He has nearly the same moves as Clone Zero, although some are given different animations. The real thing that separates him from Clone Zero is his ability to call in Assist Characters — Ron, Krizalid, and his pet lion Glaugan.
My Hero, Zero: His clone practically makes him look like this by comparison.
Noble Demon: He is a high-ranking executive of a Nebulous Evil Organization that pretty much is a vast congregation of high-tech terrorists and assassins. They kidnap children, employ cloning, bionic implantation, and genetic engineering (usually against the host's will), had scores of advanced technology (including the Kill Sat that Clone Zero tried to utilize), and attempted to Take Over the World. Yet, Zero still finds time to raise children and is the noblest member of the cartel outside of its defectors (K', Maxima, Whip, Kula, Foxy, and Diana). He wants nothing more than a fair fight with whoever manages to reach him. When K' and co. defeat Zero, he honorably allows them to proceed. It's implied that Zero would have faced Igniz had he learned of his betrayal.
No Fair Cheating: Despite that, the Boss Battle is 4 to 1, like the SNK Boss he is, he uses 3 strikers: Krizalid, Ron, and his pet lion Glaugan. If you use the one fighter-three strikers configuration yourself (2001 only), he still can use his strikers freely, while you must gather power stocks for exactly the same purpose.
Palette Swap: Justified, between him and Clone Zero.
Power Floats: Same as his clone, Badass Arm-Fold included.
Right-Hand Cat: Glaugan, his genetically-engineered lion.
Shoulders of Doom: Even more so in Nona's 2001 artwork; Hiroaki's art for 2002UM makes him more in line with his in-game visual.
SNK Boss: Has access to most of his clone's moves except for the ones involving his shadow, but is augmented with far superior AI that makes him much more effective in combat. He also has an invisible super meter that is infinite. Add in his three Strikers (Ron, Krizalid, and Glaugan) and he's far stronger than his clone.
Vocal Evolution: In 2001, Zero had a low, menacing voice, complete with a sly Evil Laugh. In 2002: Unlimited Match, Arai gives him a far more youthful voice, perhaps to play up the sympathetic and venerable angle of Zero's character, as well as differentiate Zero from his clone and Rugal.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After his defeat, he decides to die onboard his blimp, because his job was already done.

Igniz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chara_img_95_1.png

"Praise me... For I am a god! Look upon my new world!"

Origin: Unknown

Fighting style: Personal style

Voiced by: ^note

Playable in: ^note

Boss character in: ^note

The Final Boss of 2001, the CEO of the NESTS Cartel and the main antagonist of the NESTS Saga. Igniz spearheaded the Kyo Clone, Anti-K', and Zhe Projects, and masterminded all of the events leading up to 2001. He was originally the 2nd-in-command to his father, the true leader of the syndicate, but Igniz enacted a surprise betrayal and murdered him in cold blood before the eyes of the tournament victors. He explains that all of the experiments and the tournaments were just a ruse to fuel his true ambitions of becoming a god. He is defeated by K's team, causing him to suffer a Villainous Breakdown, saying that if the world will not accept him as its god, then he will settle for being seen as a demon instead. Igniz uses all his remaining energy in order to initiate a Colony Drop out of spite. Unfortunately, Ron foils his plan by landing the space station safely into the ocean, and the weakened Igniz dies. However in XIV it’s implied that he is one of the many souls that were inside Verse, when Verse was destroyed, Igniz is resurrected.

Achilles' Heel: Though infamous for his cheapness, his AI has a couple of holes that make defeating him rather easy with every character in 2001. Players have recorded multiple examples for your convenience.
A God Am I: Tourrette's variant; Igniz doesn't have a lot of screen time from when he first appears to when he starts kicking your ass, but he refers to his apotheosis no less than five times in the space of 30 seconds.
Arch-Enemy: He becomes one to both K’ and Maxima after learning about his goal, and his pleasures of seeing NESTS soldiers like them as mere playthings for his entertainment.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Was originally second-in-command of NESTS, and then killed his father to become the CEO. Regardless...
Ax-Crazy: Igniz is very unstable by the time the winning team reaches him, more or less ranting like a lunatic about his godhood and how NESTS and humanity is worthless to him now.
Back from the Dead: XIV reveals that he is one of the many souls inside Verse who gets released after being defeated. He speaks to Sylvie in Verse's win quote to her.
Badass Cape: His cloak can do wonders, being used for multiple attacks, and moving like Combat Tentacles.
Big Bad: Of the NESTS Saga, as he was manipulating the events of the saga and saw most of the NESTS agents as nothing more than guinea pigs for his entertainment.
Clothing Combat: For instance, his coattails stab you multiple times during Brutal God Project. Another one is his Chain Blade specials, where he uses the Combat Tentacles on his wrist to slice you to bits, which is also a part of Brutal God Project.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
- To Orochi. They are both leaders of their respective groups and are immensely powerful fighters. But while Orochi is an actual Physical God created by the planet itself, Igniz seeks to become one by gathering data on the fighters during the tournament.
- To Clone Zero from the previous game. Clone Zero's devil motif is contrasted against Igniz's God motif. Igniz uses light themed powers while Clone Zero used the powers of darkness. Igniz is fought in a space station (that looks somewhat heavenly in 2002 UM) and Clone Zero is fought in an underground Temple of Doom (with cult-like imagery). Clone Zero wants to remain on earth and use his Kill Sat from space to kill anyone who resists him, while Igniz's grand plan is to land his space station on earth and rule as a god with his new powers.
Cycle of Hurting: The strong variant of his Sagittarius Blade special launches the opponent upwards, but unlike other moves with similar properties, it never stops being able to do so, no matter how many times it hits the opponent, allowing for relatively easy infinites.
Deflector Shields: His suit has four of them built-in, which he uses in his guard animation. This makes him one of a few boss-characters who has a block that looks like it covers both high and low attacks .
Dragon with an Agenda: To his boss (and father), Nests.
Evil Sounds Deep: He has a voice that booms. It's pretty much a requirement for a Wakamoto-voiced character, to be fair.
Godhood Seeker: This is his entire motivation in The King of Fighters 2001, and he'll do anything to obtain it, up to and including manipulating everyone else in the NESTS organization including the CEO, his own father, and then killing said father to formally usurp his position as leader. He's so obsessed with it that nearly every single line of dialogue he has, mentions this in some form or another.
Flash Step: Employs one as his dodge roll.
Handsome Lech: Invoked. The designed state this was intentional. It worked, seeing as how Igniz has a lot of fangirls.
Instant Runes: His MAX2/HSDM makes them appear below his opponent.
In the Hood: Mostly outside of combat. Once it comes off, asses are getting kicked.
Klingon Promotion: Apparently it is the old man with the large sword that was the original CEO of NESTS (and Igniz's father). Igniz kills him in the pre-fight scene.
Large Ham: Not only are his voice clips prime examples of Norio Wakamoto at his hammiest, but his dialogue is also some of the most grandiloquent in the series.
"If these humans do not desire the advent of a new God... I shall become a demon! All shall return to nothing!"
Light Is Not Good: His intro and HSDM are accompanied by an Ethereal Choir.
Mr. Fanservice: There's no real denying it; Igniz is just straight-up gorgeous.
Older Than They Look: He is 56 years old, but lacks any visible signs of aging and could believably pass for someone in their late 20s.
Played for Laughs: His hobby is "UFO watching." In his team's ending in 2002UM, he spots the Mars People from Metal Slug (a female Martian, in fact) and has a hilarious reaction to the sighting.
- "BURAAAAAAAAAA!"
Red Eyes, Take Warning/Supernatural Gold Eyes: Depending on the Artist.
Rule of Cool: Has some of the most badass-looking specials and supers in SNK history. Especially his Brutal God Project and his new MAX2 in 2002UM, Disintegrational Universe.
SNK Boss: Considered to be one of the cheapest bastards of all time. He was even the poster boy of the trope for some time.
- In 2001, he has infinite super meter, which he uses to liberally use his supers if he sees an opening, sometimes as soon as the player inputs a command. His standard projectile takes priority against all others, and his standing Anti-Air is an extremely easy infinite that the AI will chain at least a couple times.
- To put it into perspective: he's one of the best picks if you want to go up against Omega Rugal in KOF 2002UM. If you're good enough with Igniz (which isn't that hard, considering even his MAX 2 is easy to pull off), you may win handily. Remember: against Omega goddamn Rugal.
- In fact, most tier lists place him in the banned tier, only behind Krizalid and Nightmare Geese. He outstrips the other "boss-tier" characters (Zero and his clone, Geese, Goenitz, and Omega Rugal) quite easily.
The Starscream: He wanted to overthrow his leader and father while pretending to be loyal...and it worked...for only one battle.
Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: If it's K''s team confronting him, he exhorts them to do so after revealing himself to be the one behind their creation (except for Lin, of course).
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Brutal God Project. You know that an SDM is too powerful when it includes a DM. His MAX2 in 2002UM, Disintegration Universe, also deserves special mention. He traps you in a curse seal, summons a black orb which he turns into a galaxy, and then explodes that galaxy.
Turned Against Their Masters: And it works... for all of one battle.
Unholy Matrimony: With Misty. Igniz promised his lover that they'd rule the world together and she immediately accepted his offer, but Igniz's death (and her running away with Ron) kind of put the kibosh on their romance.
Villainous Breakdown: When you're Norio Wakamoto with a god complex, what do you expect? Well, for one thing, it led to his failed Colony Drop.
Villainous Legacy: Remnants of NESTS and victims of Igniz become a subplot in the Shun'ei Saga, where each of them (like Angel, Sylvie, and Krohnen) still try to confront their past through former associates or move on with their lives, mostly because of what Igniz did to them. By the end of XV it looks like they all succeed.
Vocal Dissonance: His face is that of a Bishōnen and a Long-Haired Pretty Boy. His voice? One that comes from Norio Wakamoto, who usually fits more of a more muscular (or older) bombastic villains or Eldritch Abomination (although Wakamoto is no stranger to voicing pretty villains).

Characters / The King of Fighters 2001

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