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"In Shadaloo, only those who wield true strength shall survive. If you had lost that strength your death would have been certain...survival is that simple."
M. Bison, to F.A.N.G (Street Fighter V)
Shadaloo Logo

Shadaloo's insignia.

Shadaloo (シャドルー Shadorū?), originally called Shadowlaw (possibly the result of mispronunciation) is a very powerful and deadly criminal organization that is responsible for dealing biochemical drugs and arms within the Street Fighter universe.

Shadaloo is headed by M. Bison and his three highest-ranking minions, Balrog, Vega and Sagat (lowest to highest). They are known as the Four Heavenly Kings (四天王 (してんのう) Shitennō?). F.A.N.G is, as of Street Fighter V, second-in-command of Shadaloo, ranking below only M. Bison and replacing Sagat after his defection.

History[]

Street Fighter II[]

Initially listed as merely "a mysterious crime organization", the game's literature mentioned little more than listing some of Shadaloo's ranks, as well as the members in order of seniority. Led by M. Bison, Shadaloo's base in Thailand (appearing to be vaguely near Bangkok) played host to the second World Warrior tournament. The Four Heavenly Kings serve as the final bosses for all playable characters.

Initially, Shadaloo's goals and scope were ambiguous at best. They appeared to be smugglers, though of what is not explained. M. Bison is described as "ruling his empire with an iron fist", possibly indicating that he controlled some independent territory. Each of the bosses were motivated by their own self-centered desires, and accepted M. Bison's offer to join his rank based on wealth or opportunity. Balrog was hired as an enforcer to expand his wealth, whereas Vega was a well-paid assassin. Sagat was M. Bison's right-hand man and personal bodyguard, who was motivated by revenge against Ryu.

Some of the other characters (specifically Chun-Li and Guile, later joined by T. Hawk and Cammy along with her unit Delta Red) entered the tournament to defeat M. Bison and Shadaloo.

Super Street Fighter II[]

As more games in the series were produced, more bits of information regarding Shadaloo came to light. In Super Street Fighter II, it was divulged that Shadaloo was responsible for the massacre of T. Hawk's tribe, and that it smuggled biochemical drugs and/or weapons. In addition, a storyline skimping on details was introduced between Cammy and M. Bison, alluding to the fact that Cammy worked for M. Bison before her bout with amnesia.

Street Fighter Alpha series[]

Shadaloo's motives, capabilities, and scope were much further revealed. The crime organization appeared to be paramilitary, with very powerful capabilities. Shadaloo bases were identified in Thailand and Brazil that seemed to contain technology and weapons sufficiently advanced to rival a medium-sized nation. M. Bison had control of a very large VTOL (vertical take-off landing) jet and employed scientists to create cyborgs, clones, human experiments, mind-control rays, satellites, powerful weaponry, large-scale attack robots, and the Psycho Drive.

In Street Fighter Alpha 3, a series of plots showed the downfall of at least one of Shadaloo's bases in Thailand and the destruction of M. Bison's current body, greatly weakening him and the organization. Nonetheless, Shadaloo would continue to have a large presence until and during the second World Warrior tournament, which resulted in the death of M. Bison at Akuma's hand. Shadaloo was shown to be one of the enemies of the Kanzuki family in Karin's storyline.

Tidbits of storyline info shown during or after the games indicate that after M. Bison's death, Balrog sought to replace him as the head of Shadaloo. Due to him being horribly inadequate for the leadership of such a vast empire, Chun-Li was able to systematically shut down Shadaloo operations to the point of its total collapse, leaving Balrog in need of a job once more, as indicated by his intro in Street Fighter IV.

Street Fighter IV series[]

The remaining scientists and smugglers of Shadaloo were transferred over to S.I.N. under management of Seth to work behind the scenes on new weapons and the BLECE project. Unbeknownst to Seth, the scientists also worked on a new body for M. Bison.

Street Fighter V[]

By the time Street Fighter V takes place, Shadaloo is still active; M. Bison has developed a new plan involving Black Moons to conquer the world. A Shadow Falls depicts the attempts of Ryu, Chun-Li and various others to stop Bison and his Black Moons; despite a few casualties and various setbacks, they ultimately succeed in vanquishing Bison, freeing the Dolls and stopping the Black Moons.

Ed later founded his own organization as the antithesis of Bison's atrocity, helping those Bison and Shadaloo had wronged.

Street Fighter III series[]

After the events in Street Fighter V, Shadaloo has fallen (as noted by Urien in his pre-fight quote against Chun-Li) by the time Street Fighter III takes place.

Street Fighter 6[]

JP made moves in his attempt to revive Shadaloo, by manipulating Ed and Neo Shadaloo. It didn't take long before the Psycho Boxer soon finds out the plot and opposes it. However, he expressed openness in its revival as long as he and his goals aligned with Neo Shadaloo are followed.

After M. Bison made his return, he reunited with the Shadaloo remnants who were still loyal to him. Although Bison is quick to get back to his plans of world domination, he chose not to revive Shadaloo, as he considered his leadership role to be "constricting" his freedom to do what he wanted, and would rather build up his followers from scratch instead.

Members of Shadaloo[]

Grand Masters/Four Kings[]

Original shadaloo
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Shadaloo base with statues of Balrog, M. Bison, Vega and F.A.N.G

The "Four Kings" are the top-ranking members of Shadaloo, and effectively the head members. The name is based in the Buddhist context of the Four Heavenly Kings (or Shitennou), which is widely used in Japan, including but not limited to the inner circle of Shadaloo. Capcom USA localized the name as "Grand Masters" when originally releasing Street Fighter II.

  • M. Bison (founder/leader/CEO)
  • F.A.N.G (second-in-command, head of research and development)
  • Sagat (former bodyguard, pre-Street Fighter Alpha 3)
  • Vega (assassin)
  • Balrog (enforcer)

Divisions[]

The Dolls[]

Other Members[]

Experiments[]

Live-action Members[]

Live Action shadaloo

From left to right: Dee Jay, M. Bison and Zangief.

Street Fighter II V-only Members[]

Alpha Anime-only Members[]

Cartoon-only Members[]

Manga Members[]

  • Adon
  • Cammy as Killer Bee (pit-fighter)
  • Gen (top assassin)
  • Guy (former, undercover disguised as henchman)
  • Eagle (pit-fighter)
  • Sodom (pit-fighter)

UDON Comics Members[]

UDON Shadaloo

M. Bison, his Shadaloo scientists and a familiar face observing a brainwashed T. Hawk.

Street Fighter EX Members[]

Street Fighter: Duel Members[]

Estimation of total general members, personnel, and utilities at its peak in the Alpha series[]

  • 4000 members, 2000 of which who are trained martial artists
  • 50 bases located throughout the globe
  • 150 fighter jets
  • 200 armored tanks
  • 5 submarines
  • 1 fully functional satellite (Beelzebub)
  • 5 battleships
  • 2 major command centers, located in both Thailand and Brazil
  • 1 major science division, S.I.N.
  • 1 VTOL command warship
  • Billions of illegally exported black marketed drugs and weapons
  • 200 helicopters (either military or civilian versions)
  • 1000 missiles defense systems
  • 50 radar stations
  • 50 mobile artillery placements
  • 1000 utility vehicles (either military or civilian version)
  • 5000 well experienced scientist and doctors, some are trained in martial arts

Opposition and negative outreach[]

  • Ryu - Considered a very high profile martial artist in the eyes of Shadaloo for his strength and standing as a fighter throughout the world. Bison hopes to gain his body to prolong his limited lifespan and push his current power to higher, untapped limits. Ryu, in turn, despises M. Bison for his crimes against humanity and sees him as one of his greatest enemies.
  • Ken Masters - While of little priority to Shadaloo, Ken is evidence of the negative reception to Shadaloo's presence by the public and the martial arts world, at having one point mistaken a surprise holiday get together as a home invasion by M. Bison. In some installments and iterations of the series, Ken had also been a target for forceful induction through brainwashing him to be a high-ranking member and merciless fighter for the organization.
  • Chun-Li - Is driven by vengeance against the crime syndicate as her father Dorai was supposedly killed by Bison himself. Has joined the ICPO (Interpol), joined forces with the US Military, and even the UN to take down the syndicate, and is one of their leading agents on the case. She also shares a mutual hatred with both Vega and Balrog.
  • Charlie - Upon the interrogation of drug pushing by his fellow officers and discovering internal corruption amongst his superiors in the service, has taken it upon himself to undergo a lone vigilante mission to completely dismantle Shadaloo. After a surprise attack in Thailand on a crucial base holding the Psycho Drive with his war buddy and close friend Guile, he went missing shortly afterwards, only to surface again long after Guile presumed him dead. His quest to destroy Bison has become a personal vendetta.
  • Cammy - Originally one of Shadaloo's top assassins and a possible replacement body for Bison, after she was freed by Dhalsim, she seeks to destroy Shadaloo in vengeance. She also despises Vega.
  • Guy - After being warned of a great evil by his master Zeku, Guy realizes that his master was referring to Shadaloo, and the ninja sets out to destroy the organization as it is a threat to the natural order of the world.
  • Rose - She considers it her personal responsibility to stop Shadaloo, as their leader M. Bison has corrupted the pure energy she uses known as Soul Power into a sinister, negative form called Psycho Power. She also possesses the light half of Bison's soul.
  • Sagat - Originally serving as both a member of Shadaloo's Four Kings and Bison's personal bodyguard, he has since defected from Shadaloo after Bison's unexpected and unwanted involvement in Sagat's rivalry against Ryu and that Sagat himself had personally vowed to atone for his past actions in Shadaloo while also being quite very resolved and determined in having to stop and prevent Bison from succeeding with his evil plans of world domination.
  • Akuma - Akuma is a high-priority target for Shadoloo, as they seeks to capture him in order to use his Satsui no Hado and to take vengeance for his attempt to kill Bison. Akuma tries to kill Bison because he dislikes on how the Shadaloo leader constantly depends on his Psycho Power, as well as believing Bison to be a bigger threat to humanity than himself.
  • Guile - Believed Charlie's affirmations and joined him on his mission to dismantle Shadaloo. After the events of Alpha 3, Guile took it upon himself to finish Charlie's goals and avenge him.
  • Zangief - Is not amused by Shadaloo's activities and crimes that reach his homeland of Soviet Russia. Not his highest priority, but he hopes to tackle them down for the glory of his nation and Gorbachev. Recently, he aided in foiling the Dark Moon plan.
  • Abel - Abel is one of Bison's potential replacement body, who escaped during the S.I.N incident and has opposed Shadaloo ever since.
  • Dhalsim - Shadaloo is said to engage in a great deal of smuggling a large portion of the spice trade in his home region of India, which is the reason why the region is greatly impoverished, and is why Dhalsim fights for the money to save his people. Dhalsim is the one who freed Cammy from her mind control and is one of the organization's greatest threats because of this.
  • T. Hawk - As a child, he had witnessed and experienced first hand the atrocities Shadaloo commits in its agenda for world domination, as his tribe was forced off of their homelands to make way for a new base; he also witnessed firsthand of his father being executed by Bison during the struggle. In his later years, Shadaloo then kidnapped many of their tribe for their own purposes, including his lover Juli and brainwashed her into a member of Bison's personal female bodyguard team, The Dolls.
  • Urien and Kolin - The two of them consider Shadaloo as a potential threat to their own organization, the Secret Society which results in the former bribing Balrog for information and the latter resurrecting Charlie in an attempt to take them down.
  • E. Honda - While not a target priority, he is currently housing former Dolls.
  • Dudley - Dudley serves as a rival to Balrog and serves as an occasional enemy to Shadaloo itself.
  • Juri - Seeks to kill Bison in order to avenge both her murdered parents and the loss of her left eye.
  • Seth - Seth is a rogue replacement body for Bison, who took over S.I.N and tried to destroy Bison in an attempt to take over Shadaloo for himself.
  • Birdie - Birdie had once gained entry to and served as a member of Shadaloo, but he eventually leaves the organization around the time of Street Fighter V due to the fact that Birdie didn't want to oblige to F.A.N.G's Shadaloo dress code. Birdie is then later on employed by Karin and helps her and the other fighters out in sabotaging the Dark Moon plan.
  • Gen - Although he had walked a very gray and toned line of work as an veteran underworld assassin, his friendship with Dorai implies that even Shadaloo was not a client he was willing to work for. Along with Chun-Li, Gen seeks out Shadaloo into his elder years not just for the sake of the thrill of a deathly battle, but to avenge Dorai and ensure its destruction.
  • Rolento - Rolento seeks to fight and destroy Shadaloo so that they don't get in the way of his personal ambition in having to create and establish his own military Utopian nation. Moreover, he sees their Psycho Drive as a threat for all.
  • Karin - Since Shadaloo's founding days, the Kanzuki Zaibatsu had long since been some of the major targets of instigated attempts of blackmail, sabotage, and extortion to the conglomerate to ensure its loyalty to the syndicate, but to no avail. In response to Shadaloo's latest attempt at world domination using the black moons, Karin gathered a team of fighters including Ken, R. Mika, and Ibuki in order to stop their plans.
  • Rashid - A close friend of his was kidnapped by Shadaloo, thus he seeks out the organization to rescue her. However, near the end of A Shadow Falls, Rashid's close friend was revealed to have been killed by F.A.N.G, causing Rashid to fight F.A.N.G in a revenge-fueled outrage.
  • Delta Red - A military unit that regularly fights and battles against Shadaloo. Cammy now works for this organization after her bout of confusion from being freed from her shackles from Shadaloo, figuratively and literally.
  • Necalli - Necalli desires to eat Bison's soul. He has also attempted to eat Balrog's soul.
  • Gill - The sinister leader of the Secret Society, who manipulated the organization from the shadows and planned Bison's death from the very beginning.
  • Garuda - Seeks to achieve and attain Bison's Psycho Power for his own evil needs.
  • Skullomania - Fights and opposes Shadaloo because of its own evil actions against the world.

Logos[]

Despite minor changes and reformulations through every game, film, TV series and specials launched, the Shadaloo insignia essentially remains the same: a metallic or silvery skull with a menacing visual, adorned with eagle-like wings on the sides and a lightning bolt shaped as a single Nazi-esque sig rune on its forehead, the same rune regularly depicted adorning M. Bison's belt buckle.


Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • According to a chart (stated as having been created by F.A.N.G) posted by Street Fighter V director Takayuki Nakayama on Twitter, Shadaloo's employees are paid in Zenny.[1]
    • Nakayama also posted a subsequent tweet revealing Shadaloo has an employee cafeteria known as Shashoku (シャ食?) that uses Zenny as payment.[2]
  • According to Street Fighter II Complete File, Shadaloo has created special undergarments called Hexagonal Briefs (六角ブリーフ Rokkaku Burīfu?) designed for survival. By wearing them on one side for three days and then on the other side for three more days, the wearer can wear them for up to six days.
  • In Brazilian comics, scripted by Alexandre Nagado and Rodrigo de Góes, Shadow Law is an organization created by Sagat, Vega and Balrog after M. Bison was presumed dead.
  • Shadaloo's initial incarnation in South America during the Alpha series and the Naziesque themes the organization bears may be in reference to evidence of Nazi Party cohesion with pro-fascist South American nations and sentiments, specifically with Chilean dictator Miguel Serrano and Columbian drug lord Carlos Ledher. Miguel Serrano held close relations and even supernatural beliefs with the Nazis, believing Hilter was the coming of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, while Carlos Ledher was half-German by his father, who was a Nazi sympathizer who emigrated to Columbia, and along with expressing two faced derisive sentiment against the United States by claiming it a cesspool of degeneracy and impure peoples, founded the National Latin Movement, which fronted Neo Nazi ideals. Of some significance, cocaine was successfully chemically isolated by German scientist Friedrich Gaedcke in the 19th Century in 1855.

References[]

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