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World Heroes
Hanzou Hattori
Based on: Hattori Hanzō
Origin: Ashikaga Shogunate, 1542 (present-day Japan)
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Of Street Fighter's Ryu.
- Anime Hair: His hairstyle is identical to Joe Higashi's, with both having high spiky brown hair.
- Celibate Hero: While he's aware of Jeanne's feelings for him, he only regards her as a friend and a rival.
- Criss-Cross Attack: Hanzou has a move like this in Perfect called "Slice The Shimmering Light" in which he dives at his opponent from the wall, then teleports around while slicing repeatedly. This move also returns in his appearance in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.
- Double Jump: A skill that only he and Fuuma can perform.
- Energy Ball: Rekku Dan is his standard projectile, resulting in a single large glowing shuriken being thrown across screen. A double quarter circle results in throwing three of them at once. However, if Double Rekku Dan is blocked, it causes them to ricochet and possibly injure Hanzuo instead.
- Flash Step: He gains the ability as his forward dash and backdash animation, starting in WH2: Jet.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: A blue ninja dogi is hardly ideal for stealth, but it isn't like Hanzou concerns himself with stealth to begin with.
- Hurricane Kick: Iga Cutter is his variant, later games in the series allow him and Fuuma to perform it in midair, the same as Ryu and Ken's mid-air Hurricane Kick.
- Martial Arts Headband: A long white one.
- Megaton Punch: In World Heroes 2: Jet, Hanzou gained Shin Koryuha which is the Deathblow variant of his standard Koryuha. It's faster and inflicts an insane amount of damage if he connects with it.
- Ninja: Obviously - complete with being able to spam shuriken.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Based on legendary ninja Hattori Hanzō.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: And they're even Color-Coded for Your Convenience, with Hanzou being the calm reserved one, dressed in blue.
- Series Mascot
- Shotoclone: Hanzou's basic moveset and DM's are the same as Ryu's.
- Shoryuken: Koryuha is his "go-to" anti-air attack, in which Hanzou's body is enveloped in a dragon shaped wave of energy. While it has invincibility frames on start-up, it's still possible to counter it.
- Spin Attack: Both his Iga Cutter and Koryuha involve spinning.
- Spirited Competitor: In each game, he travels the world seeking to test himself against strong opponents. Which is reflected in his win quotes and character endings.Hanzou: "To reach the top, I seek the strongest. You don't even rank in the wimpy category."
- The Stoic: Hanzou is often known quite very well for having a stoic and serious personality when it comes to his ninja lifestyle.
- Wandering the Earth: Used as his character ending for each game, though the original has him fly away on a ninja kite instead.
Kotaro Fuuma
Based on: Fuuma Kotaro
Origin: Tokugawa Shogunate, 1603 (present-day Japan)
- Alternate Company Equivalent: ADK's version of Ken.
- Always Second Best: If Hanzou's win quote is any indication, Fuuma has yet to defeat him:Hanzou: "Once again, I emerge victorious. Keep trying, Fuuma."
- Anime Hair: Fuuma's hair is flame red, complete with Hot-Blooded Sideburns and looks much like a lion's mane.
- Butt-Monkey: He is considerated this on the series, but not much as Shura (the Trope Namer of the series), mostly because he Took a Level in Badass.
- Continuity Cameo: Ryu Eagle, one of the protagonists of Ninja Commando (another ADK game, also starred by Ninjas), is the 23th descendant of Kotaro Fuuma.
- Divergent Character Evolution: He was originally a pallet swap of Hanzou, but began to gain unique specials of his own in WH2. World Heroes 2: Jet and Perfect continued the trend by giving him is own Crazy Deathblows to further distinguish him from Hanzou, as well as Ken.
- Double Jump: It's unique to him and Hanzou, though the others can triangle jump from the edges of the screen.
- Energy Ball: The double version of Retsu Dan is safe if blocked, since his shuriken don't ricochet like Hanzou's.
- Flechette Storm: In World Heroes 2: Jet, he gained a Crazy Deathblow that's almost identical to Ibuki's Kasumi-Suzaku, except his was two years ahead of hers!note
- Full-Body Disguise: When not being a ninja, he transforms himself into a blonde salaryman with glasses.
- Guest Fighter: In Aggressors of Dark Kombat, where also has his own tropes for that game.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: You think Naruto's bad? Fuuma has bright red hair, wears a matching red dogi, and shouts his atacks. Fat chance of him sneaking up on anybody.
- Hopeless Suitor: He nurses a one-sided crush on Jeanne, but she only has eyes for Hanzou (WH1) J. Carn in part 2, and in Perfect she can't decide between them. But she beat the hell outta Fuuma when he tried hitting on her.
- Hot-Blooded: Fuuma tends to shout his attack names, to convey his more boisterous attitude.
- Ninja: From the rival Fuuma Clan.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Loosely based on Fuuma Kotaro.
- Hurricane Kick: Fuuma Cutter is lower to the ground than Iga Cutter, making it impossible to duck. The downside is, it makes it easy to counter using overheads.
- Playing with Fire: Beginning in WH2, his Enryuu Ha sets the opponent on fire when it connects and in World Heroes: Jet, he gains two flame Deathblows. The first has him create a giant spool of flame that travels along the ground, the other has him leap and shower his opponent with a barrage of flaming shuriken.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the hotblooded one with the flame red hair and dogi, to contrast with Hanzou's reserved demeanor.
- The Rival: He's determined to defeat Hanzou and has special win quotes for when he succeeds, but Hanzou's win quotes imply Fuuma never has.
- Salaryman: His source of income outside of his ninja exploits. Unfortunately, his conflicting jobs constantly get him in trouble with his boss.
- Shotoclone: Obviously the Ken to Hanzou's Ryu, all his standard specials are the same as Hanzou's except faster and colored red:
- Shoryuken: EnRyuuHa has a slightly arced trajectory, making it easier to connect with. And from WH2 onwards, he gains the ability to perform it in midair.
Jeanne D'Arc
Based on: Joan of Arc
Origin: Kingdom of France, 1412
- Action Girl: She's a whip-sword wielding knight, who battles other warriors across different time periods in search of "Mr. Right".
- Adaptational Jerkass: Most depictions of Joan of Arc that doesn't involve Historical Villain Upgrade usually had her as at least virtuous and polite. Jeanne here? She's a cocky, arrogant, vain girl who are looking for a worthy mate to be her mate for life.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: Jeanne's main goal is to get married and settle down, but she will NEVER settle for a man who isn't at least as strong as she is. She seems to quite... admire J. Carn if his ending is to be believed, and is annoyed to find Ryoko fawning over Hanzou in Perfect. However, she flatly (and violently) turns Fuuma down when he hits on her.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Of Samurai Shodown's Charlotte, many years before SNK bought ADK and both girls became part of the same Shared Universe.
- Animal Motifs: The phoenix/firebird. Her Aura Bird projectile takes the form of a fiery avian, and her Firebird special/super move sees her charge at the opponent engulfed in a bird-shaped aura.
- Circus Brat: In this game she was raised in a circus and acts as its guardian.
- Cool Big Sis: Acts like this towards Ryoko.
- Girly Girl And Tomboy: Between Jeanne and Ryoko, Jeanne is the girly girl.
- Guest Fighter: Shows up as a Downloadable Content character in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy.
- Jeanne d'Archétype: She’s obviously inspired by Joan of Arc.
- Lady of War: Much like her inspiration, Jeanne tends to have a noble and valiant spirit when it comes to fighting.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Has long hair and is the Girly Girl to Ryoko's tomboy.
- Noble Womans Laugh: Her notorious laugh is her trademark since the first game to Perfect.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Inspired by Joan of Arc.
- Playing with Fire: During the aforementioned Aura Bird and Firebird moves.
- Shapeshifter Weapon: Her sword can transform into a bow and arrow.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her aim for most of the series is to find a suitable husband, assuming they meet her standards that is. She's briefly torn between Hanzou and J. Karn, before finally settling on the latter.
- The Smurfette Principle: Jeanne was the only woman in the first game until the arrival of Ryoko in World Heroes 2.
- Spell My Name With An S: Her name was originally spelled as "Janne" in her home series. However, for SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, SNK has corrected this to "Jeanne".
- Whip Sword: Preceding Ivy's by six years.
Kim Dragon
Based on: Bruce Lee
Origin: People's Republic of China, 1967 (later retconned to South Korea)
- Adaptational Nationality: In the first game, Dragon's nationality is Chinese, but in the sequels, he's retconned into being a Korean, even gaining the surname Kim.
- Animal Motifs: As his name suggests, the dragon. His Dragon Kick has him delivering a Bruce Lee-esque flying kick while surrounded by an aura that resembles a dragon's head.
- Bruce Lee Clone: One of if not the first in fighting games, predating Liu Kang, Fei Long and the Laws from Tekken.
- Funny Bruce Lee Noises: If you've ever seen any of Bruce's movies, you'll already know what this guy sounds like.
- Rapidfire Fisticuffs: Much like the man himself, complete with kiais for effect.
- Shout-Out: His Rapidfire Fisticuffs special move resembles a lot of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Kim's attire only consists of a pair of black wrist bands and slippers, along with a baggy brown pants.
Muscle Power
Based on: Hulk Hogan
Origin: United States of America, 1955
- All-American Face: Mostly evident in his Perfect ending: "America! A great body from that great land!". And in addition of being an Expy of one of the most famous example of the trope, he's also a Friend to All Children.
- Atrocious Alias: "Muscle Power" is up there with Fight Fever's "Magic Dunker".
- Bicep-Polishing Gesture: Seen in various win poses and endings.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He's brimming with boisterousness as befitting of his big stature, muscle and exercise obsession as well as the joy he felt when he fights (and wins). In latter games, he has a slightly goofy smile when he wins or flexes his muscles, but that just puts emphasis on how much of a fun-loving fighter he is.
- Catchphrase: "NUMBER ONE!" (Based on Hulk Hogan's Catchphrase when he wrestled in Japan, "Ichiban!", which translated to "Number One!") Also, at least 90% of his dialogue revolves around muscles and exercise.
- Eagleland: Type 1. An All-American Face who's also boisterous in a positive way, and in the face of Neo Dio promising that he'll be back, Muscle's heroic comeback is "I'll always be ready for you!!"
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the first game; he shaved his moustache because it was unpopular with kids.
- Friend to All Children: His profile states that he has a soft spot for children.
- Hoax Hogan: One of the most famous Hulk Hogan expies of video games, having his mustache (in the first game only), ripping his t-shirt off and Giving Someone the Pointer Finger.
- Lightning Bruiser: His walking speed is slow, but his lariat and drop kick attacks give him decent mobility, and god help you if he ever lands a grab on you. His only problem is that he lacks a command move that can destroy projectiles, and so is forced to navigate around these instead.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is Hulk Hogan, complete with Axe Bomber Lariat, Leg Drop, big boot kick, "listen-for-applause" taunt and shirt-tearing/arm-flexing intro poses. This is probably the real reason his moustache was nixed after the first game.
- No Need for Names: Muscle Power is obviously his wrestling persona. His real name, never mentioned in-game, is Chris Hangar.
- Pro Wrestling Is Real: In a game full of characters with different fighting styles, he represents wrestling (and his country, of course).
- Underwear of Power: Quite unsurprising since he is a pro wrestler.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: His standing block animation has him sticking his chest out to absorb everything from sword slashes to killer sharks.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Or rather wearing a flag as your wrist-bands, elbow-bands, boots and speedo. He's an All-American Face, it comes with the package.
Brocken
Based on: Those Wacky Nazis
Origin: German Empire, 1891
- Action Bomb: One of his specials involves blowing his ENTIRE UPPER BODY UP. Like Stroheim, that does not keep him down for long.
- Cyborg: Brocken can extend his limbs due to the scientific experiments conducted on him in his capacity as a "Nazi super-soldier".
- Expy:
- Of Brocken Jr. from Kinnikuman and Stroheim from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. His ending in Perfect even has him boasting loudly about German technology ("Best in the world! Number one on the planet! Jahahahahaha!")
- Because of his stretching limbs, has been compared to be the Dhalsim of the series.
- Heel–Face Turn: Originally made to fight for Hitler, after the war was reprogrammed by Dr. Brown to be a force of good.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Brocken was created by Dr. Brown for the Nazi to win the WWII, getting the nazi attire, blonde hair included. After the defeat, Dr. Brown reprogrammed Brocken to help him with his Army of The Ages.
Julius Carn
Based on: Genghis Khan
Origin: Mongolian Khaganate, 1162
- Allergic to Routine: J. Carn joined the World Heroes tournament to fight Geegus out of boredom.
- Beard of Evil: Subverted as J. Carn isn't truly evil but rather a Boisterous Bruiser who often enjoys a good fight against tough and worthy opponents.
- Blood Knight: A loud person who likes to eat, fight and conquer other civilizations.
- The Dragon: Of the real Genghis Khan, as one of his top officers, and his personal bodyguard.
- I Have Many Names: Mostly known just as J.Carn.
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: In one of his endings he accidentally ends up attracting the attention of Jeanne D'arc, and is visibly scared of her and tries to run away as she has heart eyes.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Based on Genghis Khan.
- The Rival: Ryofu.
- Shout-Out: His Mouko Hakkyoku Do shoulder tackle is based on Uighur's from Fist of the North Star.
- Spikes of Villainy: He has one spiked shoulder-guard. Expect him to use it for tackling.
- Virtuous Character Copy: He's one towards Uighur from Fist of the North Star, as instead of being a cruel, sadistic, smug, psychopath, he's simply a Blood Knight who loves the glory of war, on top of having a humorous fear of strong, attractive women.
Rasputin
Based on: Grigori Rasputin
Origin: Russian Empire, 1864
- Badass Preacher: Rasputin believes in the full power of true love and peace and will not hesitate to fight and battle for his own personal beliefs.
- Campy Combat: Rasputin has some very swishy movement patterns and attacks by twirling his robe. He also pulls a pouting Marilyn Maneuver for one of his win-poses. For his super, he drags the opponent (male or female) into a bed of roses whilst a heart bubble with his face on it floats suggestively out of the flowers; if the opponent tries to escape, he yanks them back in again, apparently resulting in death by sex.
- Fire, Ice, Lightning: His Fire Ball is a standard projectile that can be fired from the air as well as the ground, his Thunder Ball is slow but damaging and his Ice Ball freezes the opponent on hit.
- Giant Hands of Doom: Uses his magic to make his hands and feet much bigger for more power and greater reach.
- Love Freak: Which can be demonstrated with winquotes like this one◊, or the fact that he literally.... loves his opponent to death for his hilarious super.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: A truly hilariously and frightening take on the "Mad Monk" Grigori Rasputin.
- Technical Pacifist: He fights to spread his message of unconditional love and demonstrate the futility of fighting.
- That Russian Squat Dance: Deploys this stance for many of his kick attacks.
(Neo) Geegus
Based on: T-1000
Origin: “Laboratory of Damned”
- Action Bomb: The SNES World Heroes 2 (wherein he and Dio may be unlocked) gives him his only special move in the series, an explosive attack. He comes back together right after.
- Blob Monster: A liquid metal variety.
- Breakout Villain: As Geo Geegus thanks to SNK revival of the franchise. First as Neo Dio's Assist Character in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum and later as the Big Bad of Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting.
- Demoted to Dragon: From being the Big Bad of the first game to being The Dragon of the second one.
- Ditto Fighter: Randomly transforms into another fighters, but has next to no moves of his own. An interesting note is that in the second game he only transforms into the new characters from World Heroes 2.
- Expy: Of Terminator 2: Judgment Day's T-1000.
- Final Boss: Of World Heroes as Geegus.
- I'm Melting!: Sometimes after blowing apart following a defeat in World Heroes 2, the remaining head will melt away.
- Punny Name: "Neo" in World Heroes 2 and later "Geo" in other SNK games after SNK had bought and acquired ADK's own intellectual properties.
- SNK Boss: Being a boss in the series, this is obvious. Especially in the first game.
- Sub-Boss: Of World Heroes 2 as Neo Geegus.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Probably one of the first characters in fighting games to shapeshift into other characters. Many people thinks he's an Expy of Shang Tsung, but this is subverted since the first World Heroes was released in July 1992 and Mortal Kombat (1992) was released in October 1992.
World Heroes 2
Ryoko Izumo
Based on: Ryoko Tani
Origin: Japan, 1976
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Of Fighter's History's Ryoko Kano, being both based on the same judoka (see No Celebrities Were Harmed).
- Badass Adorable: Look at her character select animation @ 0:06!
- Cute Bruiser: Ryoko is quite The Cutie and as an expert judoka, her Judo skills are indeed quite very remarkable and extraordinary.
- Flexing Those Non-Biceps: One of her win poses from Jet onwards features this.
- Genki Girl: Ryoko is an energetic girl, which focuses her energy in Judo (and even she's able to make a Energy Ball).
- Girly Girl And Tomboy: The tomboy to Jeanne's Girly Girl.
- Hero-Worshipper: Ryoko admires Jeanne and Hanzou, the last one in a more romantic way.
- Honor Before Reason: Her Kubikiri Nage (Decapitation Throw) is a running grab... preceded by Ryoko bowing to her opponent and thus significantly increasing the move's start-up time.
- Ki Manipulation: The Bosatsusho, a sphere of energy that is just as fearsome as her throws.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: She's an expy of real life judoka Ryoko Tani.
- Plucky Girl: No matter on who she faces from within a fight, Ryoko holds quite a strong and courageous fighting spirit.
- Say It with Hearts: Nearly ubiquitous in her dialogue in the Japanese versions.
Captain Kidd
Based on: Captain William Kidd
Origin: Kingdom of Scotland, 1544 (fights under the banner of piracy)
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is certainly no gentleman but he has a good heart.
- Making a Splash: Has two projectiles that have water taking the form of a Ghost Ship and a Shark.
- Mascot: Kidd has a vulture/condor as mascot, that appears in his intro and winposes.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Based on the real Captain Kidd.
- No Shirt, Long Jacket: Kidd wers a long blue jacket with golden parts and nothing else.
- Pirate: The main theme of his character.
- The Stateless: Unlike his fellow World Heroes, he doesn't fight under a national flag, as like many pirates throughout history, he considers himself stateless and fights under the Jolly Roger banner of piracy. Technically, as he's based on real-life pirate William Kidd, he's Scottish by birth.
- Victory Is Boring: After robbing all the treasures he could find, Kidd just enters the tournament to avoid boredom.
Johnny Maximum
Based on: Joe Montana
Origin: United States of America, 1962
- Embarrassing First Name: His son's name is... Cock.
- The Faceless: His face is never seen under his helmet until his ending, when he takes off his helmet.
- I Know Madden Kombat: His move-list includes throwing/kicking footballs, tackling and sliding, as well as a throw during which he simulates a jumping touchdown with the opponent in place of the ball.
- Lightning Bruiser: Despite his huge appearance, Johnny is surprisingly very fast, which shouldn't be much of a surprise given his personal occupation as an American Football player.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Seems to be based on Joe Montana; note the initials, the uniform colors, and the fact his occupation is quarterback.
- Parental Hypocrisy: Calls himself a "Killer Machine" but is quite upset when his son wants to follow in his footsteps.
- Precision F-Strike: His K.O. quote is "SHIIIIIIIT!"
- The Quarterback: His listed occupation on the fighter selection screen from World Heroes 2.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Johnny's eyes glow red whenever he's wearing his helmet.
Mudman
Based on: N/A
Origin: Papua New Guinea (year unknown)
- Badass Native: He's a masked warrior from Papua New Guinea in Oceania.
- Body Paint: Mudman has ritual body paint with white and green colors.
- Breakout Character: As one of the characters from the series that appears in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum as long with Hanzou and Fuuma as playable characters.
- Expressive Mask: As seen in his defeated portrait.
- Expy: If well he was based on Papua New Guinea's natives, also could be based on Daijiro Moroboshi's Mud Men manga series, which had the same inspiration.
- The Faceless: He always has his mask on. The only point you can see his face (half of it, anyway) is in his character select slot in Perfect... And he doesn't look bad behind the mask.
- Improbable Weapon User: Mudman sometimes uses his own mask to attack the enemy.
- Religious Bruiser: Battles on the orders of the Earth spirit Fafa(r).
- Summon Magic: Non-RPG example where he summons spirits to attack.
- Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, he ends most of his sentences with "-samasu."
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Almost naked indeed, only wears a waistcloth and his mask.
Shura Nai Khanomtom
Based on: Nai Khanom Tom
Origin: Kingdom of Siam, 1742 (present-day Thailand)
- Butt-Monkey: His family treats him like a nuisance, and several characters' Perfect win quotes (including his own mirror match quote!) touch on his perceived status as dull and unpopular.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Deeming his Kuuchuu Nidan Mawashi Geri (Twirl Kick) from WH2 too lethal to use, he sealed it away for Jet. It made its return as the finisher of his MAX Crazy Death Blow in Perfect. The joke here is that it was neither particularly effective nor very spectacular.
- Expy: His mode of dress closely mirrors Sagat and the haircut is similar to Adon, too.
- Hero-Worshipper: To his older brother, as well as Dragon (who reminds him of the former).
- I Have Many Names: Often just known as Shura in the games.
- I Will Find You: His older brother disappeared and may have been killed, so he sets out to find him. Subverted: said brother was looking for him instead and dragged Shura back home while scolding him for going off and worrying their family.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He is based on the Muay Thai legend Nai Khanom Tom.
- Red Boxing Gloves: Unlike other Muay Thai practitioners, Shura uses red gloves to fight, similar to boxing gloves (if not are these ones).
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Wearing no other clothes than yellow Muay Thai shorts and red boxing gloves.
- Vocal Evolution: Shura gets a new voice actor for Perfect.
Erick
Based on: Eric the Red
Origin: Kingdom of Norway, 953
- An Ice Person: Can freeze opponents solid with his Blizzard Breath, or summon a whale to swallow them and blast them out of its blow-hole.
- Big Fun: Despite his somewhat intimidating appearance, Erick is actually quite a Nice Guy to those who know him very well.
- Horny Vikings: Silly as they may look, those horns are used to good effect in his Long Horn tackle and Hurricane Drop command throw. How would you like 400 pounds of Viking landing horns-first on your belly?
- Making a Splash: Apart of Captain Kidd, Erick also made water projectiles, in this case just with the form of an ocean wave.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Somewhere between Eric the Red and Leif Erickson.
- Shock and Awe: In the form of a giant mallet.
- Stout Strength: Big arms, bigger belly.
(Neo) Dio
Based on: N/A
Origin: “Laboratory of Damned”
- Big Bad: In World Heroes 2 as Dio and in World Heroes Perfect as Neo Dio.
- Body Horror: Several of his shapeshifting forms aren't pleasant to look at.
- Expy: Of Baoh (In terms of appearance) and Dio (The name, the use of "Muda Muda" and "Wry!").
- Final Boss: Of World Heroes 2 and World Heroes Perfect (as Neo Dio). He pulls a Bait-and-Switch Boss in the latter, interrupting the fight with Zeus.
- For the Evulz: His special victory quote against Nakoruru in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum states that he wastes natural resources "for kicks".
- Power-Up Full Color Change: As Dio, he's grey and purple. But as Neo Dio, he's yellow with orange. However, his appearance in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is as Dio but with the name of Neo Dio.
- Shapeshifter Weapon: (Neo) Dio can change his body into weapons to protect himself as well to damage the enemy.
- SNK Boss: Probably the toughest boss in all the series.
World Heroes 2 Jet
Jack
Based on: Jack the Ripper
Origin: United Kingdom, 1880
- Ax-Crazy: Jack likes to hunt down, attack, and kill people in order to satisfy his own personal bloodlust.
- Blood Knight: In quite a literal sense: he desires to drink the blood of the world's strongest, and often refers to this in his quotes. His idle animation in Perfect even has him spraying excess blood from his mouth!
- Flung Clothing: Shreds his black cloak and top hat in his intro.
- Mook: Of Zeus in Jet, along with Ryofu.
- The Quincy Punk: Part of his motif: mohawk hairstyle, heart-shaped tattoo, a penchant for sticking out his tongue farther than the norm....
- Spin Attack: Most of his attacks involves spinning and make damage with his claws.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: The real Jack the Ripper left victims in an unspeakable state but for his adaptation into World Heroes Jack is a rather clowny guy with some goofy moves (such as one attack where he dives under the ground and tries to sneak up on his opponent with only his claw extended above the surface) and exaggerated expressions.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: One of his win poses sees him donning a cloak with a Union Jack flag motive.
Ryofu / Lu Bu
Based on: Lü Bu
Origin: Han Empire, year unknown (present-day China)
- Blood Knight: As a seasoned warrior, Ryofu truly enjoys both the thrill and pleasure of a strong and tough fight against worthy opponents.
- Breath Weapon: He can take a big swig of alcohol from a bottle he keeps... and then immediately breathe fire at the opponent.
- The Comically Serious: In a game full of parodies and comical characters, Ryofu stays as one of the more serious characters from the series.
- Mook: Subverted. Zeus promises more adventures for him if he stays as The Brute by his side. However, after learning and knowing of Zeus' real plans, Ryofu initiates a Heel–Face Turn and now fights against Zeus.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: His name is the Japanese spelling of "Lu Bu". Yes, as in "Do not pursue Lu Bu!".
- The Rival: J. Carn.
- Sub-Boss: Of Jet along with Jack, another Zeus' Mook.
Zeus
Based on: N/A
Origin: Unknown
- Big Bad: Of Jet, being the one who organized the tournament in the game.
- Big Bad Wannabe: In Perfect, Zeus returns to get his revenge, but Neo Dio knocks him aside after the first round.
- Continuity Cameo: Apart of Dr. Brown, Zeus also appeared in Ninja Commando as the Big Bad codenamed as "Spider".
- Demoted to Dragon: Zeus was the Final Boss in Jet, but only served as Sub-Boss in Perfect.
- Expy: Based on Fist of the North Star's Raoh and Souther. Not to mention his name comes from the greek god Zeus.
- Final Boss: Of World Heroes 2 Jet.
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Happens to him in Perfect. Win or lose the first round against him, it's made completely irrelevant when Neo Dio shows up and spikes him before the second round can take place.
- Large and in Charge: Zeus was the one who organized the tournament in Jet.
- Mooks: Jack and Ryofu in Jet.
- SNK Boss: One of the toughest bastards that you'll ever face from within the series, especially if you want to get the good ending/staff credits roll of World Heroes 2 Jet.
World Heroes Perfect
Son Gokuu
Based on: The Monkey King
Origin: Han Empire, 100 (present-day China)
- Cane Fu: Son Gokuu mastered his Mind Stick and uses it not just to hit, but also can Playing with Fire with it.
- Flying on a Cloud: As the Monkey King himself, Son Gokuu also uses his magic cloud to move.
- Idiot Hair: Goes hand-in-hand with his own status as being the Idiot Hero of the cast.
- Me's a Crowd: Can make duplicates of himself.
- Monkey King Lite: One of the first in fighting games.
- Expy: Of the Monkey King himself from Journey to the West.
- Taken for Granite: Can turns himself into a statue to land on his enemy.
- Walking the Earth: Of Flying The Earth in this case, in his search for adventure.
Non-playable Characters
Dr. Sugar Brown
Based on: Doctor Emmett Brown
Origin: United States, 1920
- Army of The Ages: What Dr. Brown tried to ensemble to stop Geegus and the next ones (Dio and Zeus).
- The Chessmaster: He helped all characters in the game to stop evil forces thru time.
- Continuity Cameo: Dr. Brown not just appears in World Heroes, also appears in diverse games from ADK and later in SNK as integral part of SNK Universe. He helped the ninjas in Ninja Commando and Neo Geo heroes in Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting. Also, he appears in The King of Fighters XIII mentioning Art of Fighting Team story.
- Expy: Of another Dr. Brown. GREAT SCOTT!
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Dr. Brown also is based on Albert Einstein.
- Non-Action Guy: The most prominent character on the series is a NPC. In the endings of Perfect is the first time sprites of him appeared in the series, where Dr. Brown interacts with the character that defeated Neo Dio. Before that, only appeared in Cutscenes.
- Only One Name: Last name to be exact. Known just as Dr. Brown, subverted with Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting where is revealed his full name is Dr. Sugar Brown.
Damned
Based on: N/A
Origin: Unknown
- Greater-Scope Villain: He's never been mentioned and has never made an appearance in the games themselves. But supplemental materials state he's the creator of both Geegus and Dio (and both their "Neo" forms) and the one who sent them through time to interrupt the tournaments, thus he's this trope.