History Characters / DeadOrAlive1

%%* HotBlooded

%%* LargeHam

%%* MightyGlacier
* MinorMajorCharacter: Like Jann Lee, Bass also have links to Rig, who is revealed as the all-new villain, the BigBad's son no less. He's also present in every DOA tournament and even though he never won, the relationship with Rig could bring the Armstrong family (him and Tina) into the main spotlight.

* WearingAFlagOnYourHead

->In the 5th game, Kasumi becomes Helena's 'ally'/'messenger' in order to hunt down the remaining Alpha-152, in a slightly reckless degree. [[spoiler:This is because this Kasumi is actually a perfect Alpha clone that acts perfectly like the original. Hayate caught wind of this and along with Ayane, killed this clone. When Hayate gets into trouble, Hayabusa summons the real Kasumi [[note]]who is not clear if at this point she has been accepted back to her home village or is taking refuge in Hayabusa's village, as Muramasa from VideoGame/NinjaGaiden is seen there[[/note]] to come and help. Once she rescued Hayate and destroyed the clones, Kasumi swore to take down and defeat Donovan.]]

* ActuallyADoombot: Partway through [[spoiler:[=DOA5=]'s story mode, Kasumi is killed by Ayane and Hayate. However, that Kasumi is later revealed to be another Alpha clone. The real Kasumi then turns up near the end of the story mode.]]

* AmbiguousSituation: In [=DOA5=], [[spoiler:by the final chapter it's clear that Hayate and Ayane don't pursue Kasumi any more, but it's not clear whether she's been accepted back in the Mugen Tenshin Clan or she's still on the run and taking refuge in the Hayabusa village]]. There are hints that indicate both scenarios.
** [[spoiler: [=DOA6=] seems to indicate that it's the latter.]]

* CainAndAbel: The Abel to Ayane's Cain. They were [[WeUsedToBeFriends best friends as children]], especially given Ayane's [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer status as a village pariah]]. When they discover that they are [[LukeIAmYourFather half-sisters]] and Ayane is the [[ChildByRape product of rape]], Ayane turned on Kasumi out of jealousy that the former was raised in luxury and beloved by everyone while she was scorned and hated by the same people, and is currently the one tasked with assassinating Kasumi after she left the village to pursue Raidou. Unlike most examples, however, Ayane isn't evil, just [[AntiHero Anti-Heroic]], and the antagonism was mostly on Ayane's side. As of the ending of [[spoiler: ''Dead or Alive 5'']], they seem to have reconciled.

* LettingHerHairDown: At the end of ''5'''s story mode, she, after wearing her hair in a ponytail for most of the game, [[ShakingHerHairLoose dramatically]] undoes her ribbon and lets her hair loose; it's done to give a sense of finality to her story now that [[spoiler: she has killed her clone and made some sort of amends with some of the other members of her clan]].

* ShesBack: [[spoiler:As it was revealed that the Kasumi we saw earlier was a clone, the real Kasumi is currently resided in Hayabusa's village under Muramasa's care.]]
* OutOfFocus : Played with in [=DOA5=]. Kasumi is indeed the main character for most of the story however [[spoiler: she is actually a clone. The real Kasumi doesn't show up until the near end of the story]].

* SiblingTeam: With Ayane and Hayate in ''6''. [[spoiler: They put aside all their differences to deal with Raidou and destroy him together.]]

* WarriorPrincess: Or rather Badass Clan Leader Successor. She defeated Raidou, who Ayane and Hayate couldn't beat even when working together, and [[spoiler: took out Alpha-152, one of Donovan's most powerful bioweapons]].

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Until in ''Dimensions''' end where it's implied that Kasumi could come back. [[spoiler:The final chapter of ''5'' is pretty ambiguous on this. Hayate and Ayane definitely don't pursue her anymore (she even seems to have make amends with Ayane), but it's not clear whether she's back in the Mugen Tenshin Clan or she has become a refugee/resident of the Hayabusa village.]]

* BerserkButton: Kasumi herself, [[spoiler: until recently]]. Also, don't even try to harm Hayate or an iris petal will be the last thing you'll ever see.

* BigBrotherAttraction: Suffice to say, she's ''really'' attached to her brother, Hayate. Enough that being slapped by him [[HeartbrokenBadass hurt her so deeply]], she [[spoiler: nearly committed ritualistic suicide over it]].

* BrokenBird: Ayane exhibits signs of emotional scarring, despite her outward reticent demeanor. The most telling incident being when she [[spoiler: attempted to take her own life via ritual suicide]], simply because she believed Hayate hated her for openly criticising Kasumi in front of him[[note]]it caused Hayate to slap Ayane in a rare moment of anger[[/note]].

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In her first appearances, Ayane had quite a few villainous character traits, to the point that ''[=DOA2=]'' [[spoiler:heavily implied in a cutscene that she may have killed Helena's mother, and Ayane seems even ''proud'' of it. It was revealed that the killer was in fact, Christie.]] However, starting in [=DOA3=], Team Ninja started to portray her as an AntiHero, and then a more regular heroic character. So much than when the aforementioned scene from ''[=DOA2=]'' shows up again in ''Dimensions'', it looks like a complete OutOfCharacterMoment... until you remember that "Bitch" is her default setting, due to all she's been through.

* HappilyAdopted: Genra really was a great man to welcome Ayane as his own daughter [[spoiler: at first]], Shiden didn't deny her a place or right to live, and Ayame didn't blame her for what Raidou did, with this Ayane loves both Genra and Ayame with a passion.

* SiblingTeam: With Hayate [[spoiler: and later on Kasumi as well in the climax of [=DOA 6=].]]

->He observes the events of ''[=DOA5=]'' from afar, assisting Hayate and Ayane's endeavors against the DOATEC[[spoiler:, including witnessing the death of the clone-Kasumi, but was eventually cornered when Hayate got captured, in which Hayabusa summons the real Kasumi to assist them.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:In Helena's ''[=DOA4=]'' ending.]]

->[[spoiler:Jann Lee wins the fifth Dead or Alive tournament. However, previously before the tournament begins, he was beaten by Rig in a bar brawl, and participated in the tournament to avenge his defeat, thinking that Rig is a participant. However, Rig did not appear and Jann Lee swore to defeat Rig for his loss.]]

* MinorMajorCharacter: [[spoiler:The few things Jann's character could boast was that he participated in all Dead or Alive Tournaments and that he defeated a T-Rex with his bare hands, and not much else; come [=DOA5=] and Jann develops a grudge with the newcomer Rig, who happens to be the BigBad's son, and he actually wins this Dead or Alive Tournament, these additions definitely made Jann's importance in the greater plot considerably greater, much more so]].

* NowWhat: After winning the fifth DOA tournament, he becomes depressed as he feels there's no more hurdles to climb. His battle [[spoiler:and apparent draw]] with Diego snaps him out of it.

* PyrrhicVictory: Jann Lee [[spoiler:won the DOA tournament, but didn't even get his rematch against Rig. He's not pleased, thus he didn't even attend the championship ceremony.]]

* TheRival: To Ryu and Hitomi [[spoiler:As well as Rig]]

* WouldHitAGirl: Despite shrugging Lei Fang as a martial artist that can't catch up with him, he does accept every challenge of hers, beating her down everytime, up till ''[=DOA4=]'' where she finally won. Then he paid back the favor in ''[=DOA5=]''.
** In the fifth game, [[spoiler:he won the fifth Dead or Alive tournament. His last opponent was [[CuteBruiser Hitomi]].]]

->A professional wrestler with dreams of fame, Tina joins the Dead or Alive Tournament in the hopes of getting noticed by the right people. So far she's been (aside from a wrestler) a top model, a Hollywood action movie star, and a rock star[[spoiler:, and as of current, aims to be the governor of Texas]]. She's best friends with Lisa Hamilton, fends off Zack whenever he tries to hit on her, and has a rocky relationship with her dad Bass, who Tina tries to avoid as much as possible.

* DumbBlonde: Zigzagged. She behaves like a BookDumb MsFanservice, but she also has very clear goals and always finds a way to get them. Not to mention that she has outsmarted other characters. Case in point, in [=DOA5=] [[spoiler:after her match against her father, who has been fighting behind a mask, she tricks him into revealing his identity by announcing publicly that she intends to run for ''governor''.]]

* ColdSniper: How he kills [[spoiler:Fame Douglas]].

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Bayman has a new scar across his face as of ''5'', which was caused by [[spoiler: Phase-4]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Donovan attempted this on him after completing his assignment to kill [[spoiler:Fame Douglas]].

->While working on his oil platform, he saw the announcement of the next DOA and Tina has returned to the wrestling ring. After reigniting his fighting spirit by fighting Rig, Bass returns to the wrestling ring, disguising himself as 'Mr. Strong'... which fails to fool anyone, but he still decided to embrace his old fans' cheering. He was unfortunately defeated by Jann Lee in the actual DOA tournament, and sometime later, the oil platform he worked on is destroyed... but not after Bass and Rig evacuated every worker there. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten ahold the information that Rig is actually Victor Donovan's son playing amnesiac...]]

* MinorMajorCharacter: [[spoiler:Like Jann Lee, Bass also have links to Rig, who is revealed as the all-new villain, the BigBad's son no less. He's also present in every DOA tournament and even though he never won, the relationship with Rig could bring the Armstrong family (him and Tina) into the main spotlight]]

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler: As soon as he is resurrected in ''6'', he is swiftly killed again by Hayate, Ayane or Kasumi. This time for good, as his entire body disintegrates.]]

* DeaderThanDead: [[spoiler: When he dies again at the end of ''6'', his body is completely destroyed, leaving nothing left.]]
* DisappearedDad: Not that Ayane minded his absence at all and probably would've preferred him to stay gone forever, preferably dead. But ''6'' raises another question on why this was the case with [[spoiler: his other daughter, Honoka, who probably knew nothing about him]].

* FinalBoss: In the first game [[spoiler: as well as the sixth]].

* KarmicDeath: He cripples Hayate with the Torn Sky Blast in the ''Ultimate'' intro. In ''Dimensions'', he's killed by the same technique courtesy of Kasumi[[note]]with help from Hayabusa[[/note]]. Hayate was sent into a tree, Raidou was sent into explosive canisters. [[spoiler: In ''6'', you get to select who has the honor of killing him again. Since they missed their chance before, this means that Ayane can get revenge for him raping her mother, or Hayate can return the favor of being put out of commission. Or you can have Kasumi finish the job again.]]

* LukeIAmYourFather: ''[=DOA6=]'' reveals that [[spoiler:he is Honoka's father.]]

* BellyDancer: One of her new costumes in ''Dead or Alive 5: Last Round''.

* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Subverted? Her abilities didn't seem to really show up until she was threatened with clan leadership, which she ran away from.

* PlotArmor: Teaming up with ConservationOfNinjutsu to keep her clan from killing her over the course of 3 tournaments. Considering that she defeats Raidou, someone who even both Ayane & Hayate couldn't beat together, says something. Subverted, Dimensions shows that when Hayate and Ayane fought Raidou they were acting irrationally. This is evident when Ayane told Hayate not to use Torn Sky Blast against Raidou because of his copy abilities. Despite the warning Hayate did it anyway and as a result it back fired badly. Likewise, later on when Ayane tried to attack him, Kasumi shouted for Ayane to stop, but she didn’t listen and was easily knocked away. While she overpowered Raidou at first, she ended up pushing him to reveal the enchanted powers he gained from being experimented on and when they clashed their Torn Sky Blasts, Kasumi actually seemed to be pushed back, but Hayabusa provided an opening for Kasumi to take advantage of. That being said Kasumi has consistently been shown to be an incredibly skilled ninja throughout the series. In order for her to even be allowed to face Raidou, she had to defeat all the combatants of the Dead or Alive tournament. When Kasumi reigned victorious over Raidou, Victor Donovan became obsessed with her, and ended up cloning her to make super soldiers from her DNA. While Kasumi has been defeated by Hayate before, she has been shown many times to have comparable or even greater skill than him. Likewise Kasumi has defeated Ayane multiple times throughout the series when the latter tried to kill her. In DOA 4 Hayabusa trusts that Kasumi is capable of handling the incredibly dangerous Alpha 152 alone. The result is they end up fighting to a standstill, prompting the clone to retreat. In DOA 5 a Kasumi clone was shown to be capable of holding her own against both Hayate and Ayane at the same time. Since the clone believed she was the real Kasumi she only used non-lethal attacks against them. Likewise, Ayane and Hayate knew the clone wasn’t the real Kasumi and they both had killer intent. It was ultimately a joint effort that resulted in the clone’s death. In the game’s climax the real Kasumi is responsible for destroying Alpha 152.

* BullyingADragon: [[ZigzaggingTrope Zigzagged]] concerning her grudge against her half-sister, Kasumi.
** Kasumi's fighting ability is clearly superior to Ayane's (and their brother), given she was able to defeat Raidou and Alpha-152 single-handedly. Whereas Ayane fell easily to Raidou, nor could she defeat Alpha despite having assistance from Hayate. Yet, Ayane still continued to antagonize Kasumi, despite suffering repeated losses to her nearly every time they fought.
** Eventually {{subverted}} during the original events of [=DOA3=]. In which, Ayane outright defeated both Hayate and Kasumi, each in single combat. It was said that it was [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself the strength of Ayane's resolve to face Genra]] that enabled her to overcome both her siblings and, eventually, her adoptive father. This was retconned years later, by ''DOA Dimensions''.

** Finally averted with his downloadable "Legacy costume" which is his outfit from ''[=DOA2=]'', leaving his face completely uncovered.

** Averted in ''6'', as he and the other shinobi characters are now able to draw and use their weapons (although they [[SetSwordsToStun set them to stun]]).

* UncleTomFoolery:
** Averted. He's very clownish and certainly a designated comic relief character, but his wackiness and his ethnicity are quite mutually exclusive. Being an Expy of Dennis Rodman --who is himself wacky in a totally non-stereotypical way-- has a lot do with it.
** More recently, his more comedic antics and even television mannerisms are blatant copies of Japanese slapstick comedians, including some [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine rather old-fashioned]] ones, which may be deliberate on Team Ninja's part to avoid the tendency of fighting games to turn the first Black character on their roster into a stereotype.

* UnprovokedPervertPayback: In her ''4'' ending, she misreads a man for being a pervert after a sudden train break causes him to accidentally grab her breasts to break his fall, and kicks him out of a train window into a lake. Averted in ''5'', where the same scenario happens again in her story mode but Jann Lee steps in and gets groped instead.

* DemotedToExtra: Although he has been a minor character since the begining, Jann Lee gets even less exposition in ''Dimensions'' where his friendly rivalry with Ryu and remarkable enounters with Hitomi are not presented; there's only a single fight with Ryu and that's it. [[spoiler:Averted in ''[=DOA5=]'' where he wins the fifth tournament, and with his developing a grudge against Rig, who's revealed to be an all-new important villain, this hints on how Jann Lee might get promoted into a mainstay to the main storyline against DOATEC.]]

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Initially seems like an aversion, but then played straight. Raidou lost his memory when he was revived, but he was already a soulless {{Jerkass}} long before he became a cyborg. It is ''because'' he lost his memory that he became an even worse person than before, since the only thing left is a hideous incarnation of malice and cruelty. His bio for ''6'' states that while most of his memories were wiped, his desire to crush the Mugen Tenshin clan and those affiliated with it was left intact. The moment he's revived in the game's story mode, he actually states that his return was fated and appears to have some recognition of Hayate.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_kasumi.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Kasumi as she appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/japan_4602.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_ayane.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Ayane as she appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/japan_4602.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_hayabusa.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Hayabusa as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/japan_4602.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_zack.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Zack as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/usa_1961.png]]

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_leifang.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Lei Fang as she appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/china_292.png]]

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_jann.png]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Jann Lee as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/china_292.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_tina.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Tina as she appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/usa_1961.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_bayman.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Bayman as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/russia_8183.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-doa5_gen_fu_render1_7192.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Gen Fu as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 5'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/china_292.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_bass.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Bass as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/usa_1961.png]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2158.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Raidou as he appears in ''Dead or Alive 6'']]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/japan_4602.png]]

* BerserkButton: Don't try to harm her brother or you'll be dead before long.

* IconicOutfit: A short purple strapless dress with a butterfly on it and a red waist ribbon, plus matching pull-on sleeves, stockings, and heeled ankle boots. It's even available for her in Xtreme 3 despite it not being a beach outfit.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Ayane wasn't part of the original roster that debuted in 1996 with the Arcade release for the first ''Dead or Alive'', she debuted in 1998 on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation home release as a secret character. In the same year, ''Creator/{{Tecmo}}'' had already unveiled to the public that ''Dead or Alive 2'' was in the works with a scheduled release for the following year in 1999 on Arcades; Ayane was there to promote ''[=DOA2=]'' and it worked wonders. As the series went on, Ayane became an extremely popular character and one of the faces in the franchise, to the point one cannot imagine ''Dead or Alive'' without Ayane now.

*** ContinuityNod: As of ''[[VideoGame/DeadOrAlive DOA]]: [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS Dimensions]]'' Ryu seems to be the one who ventured through all his solo games again.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Kasumi is a sweet, kindhearted soul, and a MartialPacifist through and through who makes it clear she dislikes even the thought of hurting others, much less killing. She's still a trained ninja and assassin, and if you push her far enough or harm her loved ones and friends, you ''will'' know pain. Just ask [[EvilUncle Raidou]], who, in the past, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped her mother]], crippled her big brother Hayate, and is an affront to everything she believes in and lives for. Oh wait, you can't: Kasumi ''killed'' him.

* DemotedToExtra: She goes from being the main heroine in her own series, to a brief cameo in ''Sigma 2'', to simply being a playable extra in ''Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge''. Justified, though: That was Hayabusa's story, and he did serve as an extra/supporting character in Kasumi's game ''here''.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: The reason for running from the clan in the first place is to kill who harmed her brother...and raped her mother, incidentally.

-> '''Fighting style:''' Mugen Tenshin-style ninjutsu

* WorldsBestWarrior: She has possibly the highest claim to this title amongst the many characters of this series, being shown time and again to be an extraordinarily powerful and capable kunoichi, performing feats that easily put her ahead of Ayane, Hayate, and Hayabusa, such as single-handedly defeating Raidou after he easily overwhelmed Ayane and Hayate, forcing him to activate a more powerful state to gain the upper hand, with Kasumi still overpowering him in the end with some help from Hayabusa, fighting on par with and eventually defeating Alpha 152, a feat that those three working together couldn't pull off, along with being able to fight through scores of MIST and reach Hayate earlier than Ayane and Hayabusa working together did. The one time she lost to Hayate, it's due to her holding back a lot, as he ''was'' amnesiac and she most likely decided to just [[ILetYouWin let her brother win]].

* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Suffered an extreme example due to the retcons in ''DOA Dimensions'' which stripped her of nearly all her accomplishments in [=DOA3=], including her victories over Hayate, Kasumi, and Genra. Ayane bested each of them in single combat in the original canon and thereby became the champion of the third DOA Tournament. Years later, Koei Tecmo revised it so Ayane lost to Hayate, who (now) [[HopelessBossFight defeated her effortlessly]], lost ''[[CantCatchUp yet again]]'' to Kasumi, and now had to have help from Hayate ''and Hayabusa'' to defeat Genra. Her championship title was also [[YankTheDogsChain taken from her]], since in the revised canon, Ayane didn't participate in the third tournament.

* BullyingTheDragon: [[ZigzaggingTrope Zigzagged]] concerning her vendetta against her half-sister, Kasumi.
** Kasumi's fighting ability is clearly superior to Ayane's (and their brother), given she was able to defeat Raidou and Alpha single-handedly. Whereas Ayane fell easily to Raidou, nor could she defeat Alpha despite having assistance from Hayabusa. Yet, Ayane still continues to antagonize Kasumi and has lost to her nearly every time they've fought. It's implied that at least part of her anger towards Kasumi is that she realizes Kasumi has always been much stronger than her despite her best efforts, while Kasumi doesn't bother to finish her off as she is confident in her ability to put Ayane in her place whenever she tries to fight hier.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Subverted? Her abilities didn't seem to really show up until she was threatened with clan leadership, which she ran away from.

* BoobsOfSteel: Surprisingly enough (given she's one of the youngest characters in the roster), Ayane was only outclassed by Tina in this department until [=DOA5=] came along. She's considered a top tier fighter in both gameplay and canon, but it's more because of her speed than raw strength.

* BoobsOfSteel: She was the bustiest female character in the series until Honoka was introduced, and she might be the physically strongest of all the girls due to being a wrestler.
** Clearly demonstrated in the ''Xtreme'' spin-offs: her power serves and spikes can easily knock an opponent flat.
** And the rock the size of her body that she throws at Lei Fang in ''[=DOA2=]'' to try to intimidate her. Lei doesn't even flinch.

* DistressedDamsel: In-between ''1'' and ''2'', she was kidnapped by Donovan and his flunkies, who used her DNA in his [[SuperSoldier Project Alpha]]. She gets out a few months later thanks to Ryu and one of the Alpha clones.

* RatedMForManly

* TheStoic

* HotBlooded

* LargeHam

* MightyGlacier

* RatedMForManly: Bass is easily the most macho character in the whole franchise, being huge and aggressive, riding and maintaining motorbikes, and a wrestling superstar. It even leaks through into his tag teams, where he shares nearly identical macho interactions with Bayman, Leon, and Rig, and even makes it show up in Tina and Mila.

* ButNotTooBlack: Yet another victim of this, he went from being clearly black in the original games to having much lighter skin with clearly mixed traits in ''5''. In fairness, his skin tone does resemble Dennis Rodman's (Zack's inspiration) skin tone much more than it used to.

** More recently, his more comedic antics and even television mannerisms are blatant copies of Japanese slapstick comedians, including some [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine rather old-fashioned]] ones, which may be deliberate on Team Ninja's part to avoid the tendency of fighting games to turn the first Black character on their roster into a stereotype. By avoiding this trap, Zack instead falls more into the aforementioned ButNotTooBlack.
* WholeCostumeReference