Nothing makes for a better catalyst for growth than a good rival. Rivals are the red oni to the hero's blue, burning with a fiery passion that challenges the hero to be the strongest he can be and overcome every new limit that stands in his way. As they test their strength against each other, it is often the case that the hero and his rival will build up a respect for one another that develops into a true friendship. For the second annual celebration of Brogust, I'm going to show off two hot-blooded warriors that fit the archetype of the rival to a T: Caesar Zeppeli, the suave master of Ripple and the rival of Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Ken Masters, the fire-breathing street fighter and the rival of Ryu from Street Fighter! Who is DEADLIEST?
Caesar Zeppeli[]
| “ | A man as magnificent and as fleeting as his bubbles...
— Wamuu
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” |
The grandson of Will A. Zeppeli, Caesar Zeppeli was abandoned by his father, Mario, when he was just a child. A bitter Caesar grew into a feared criminal until he reencountered Mario by chance. Intending to kill him, Caesar followed Mario to a passageway where the Pillar Men, ancient Mesoamerican superhumans, were lying dormant. Caesar activated a trap from the Pillar Men and was barely saved by his father who sacrificed himself. Honoring Mario's dying request, Caesar sought out Lisa Lisa to learn to wield Ripple, the energy of the Sun. Meeting Joseph Joestar years later, Caesar initially disliked Joseph, but Joseph's courage earned Caesar's respect and friendship. Hoping to avenge his father, Caesar recklessly attacked the Pillar Men's hideout. Caesar battled and nearly defeated one of them, but was fatally wounded. Caesar created a bubble with the last of his Ripple for Joseph to find. Caesar was then crushed to death by a piece of the roof.
- Soap Gloves: Caesar's gloves are loaded with a soapy substance. This allows him to create soap bubbles via his hand movements for use in his Ripple techniques.
- Ripple/Sendo: Caesar has been trained in Sendo, the ancient martial art of manipulating Ripple, the energy of the Sun. Ripple is generated through careful control of one's breathing and, once generated, has a wide variety of uses. It can be used to attract, to repel, to enhance one's strikes, and to harden objects for use as weapons. Attacking directly with Ripple is extremely effective against undead, but less so against ordinary humans. Humans exposed to Ripple energy will experience tingling, numbness, and eventually fainting - similar to symptoms experienced after prolonged exposure to the Sun. Caesar uniquely has mastered Ripple techniques based around the use of soap bubbles. His most notable techniques are listed below.
- Bubble Launcher: Caesar creates a slew of bubbles from his gloves and infuses them with Ripple, which hardens them into painful projectiles. He then hurls the barrage of bubbles at his opponent in an attack powerful enough to send a grown man flying upon impact. The bubbles created for this technique can also be used as a shield.
- Bubble Barrier: Caesar creates a single gigantic Ripple-infused bubble capable of absorbing and trapping its target. This technique is sometimes used in conjunction with Bubble Launcher, with the initial barrage of bubbles transforming into a single bubble after the intial attack.
- Bubble Cutter: Caesar creates a number of bubbles and makes them spin rapidly with centrifugal force. This causes the bubbles to turn into saucer-like shapes with razor-sharp blades that can be quickly launched in any direction. An alternate form of this technique, Bubble Cutter Gliding, sacrifices the quantity of bubbles in exchange for accuracy, making the bubbles home in on their target.
- Ripple Hypnosis: With a touch, Caesar can flood a person's body with Ripple and make them bend to his will. The affected person will obey Caesar's demands and will have their physicality enhanced. Caesar once used it to turn an ordinary young woman into someone that could easily overpower Joseph Joestar, a man built like a tank.
- Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Although he primarily fights from a distance, Caesar possesses a decent knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. He seems to have an inherent talent for unarmed combat, as he is seen naturally assuming martial arts stances when he needs to fight.
- Enhanced Physicality: Caesar's training in Sendo has enhanced his body past human limits. He is strong enough to perform the famous Zeppeli sitting jump, in which he leaps several meters into the air from a sitting position. He is highly agile and dexterous, caple of leaping around to dodge attacks from all directions and intercepting an attack from Joseph with only a piece of tortiglioni. He's survived being smashed into stone and even survived a direct hit from Wamuu's Divine Sandstorm, which can bore through stone and shred human bodies, holding on long enough to perform one last technique.
Ken Masters[]
| “ | Come on! Let's turn up the heat!
— Ken Masters
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” |
The son of a wealthy hotel tycoon, Ken Masters was sent as a child to train under the karate master Gouken. Ken and Gouken's adopted son, Ryu, became best friends and rivals, each man pushing the other to succeed. Ken moved to America where he became a martial arts champion and met his future wife, Eliza. Ken would become America's greatest fighter while Ryu traveled the globe, always looking to become stronger. Ken would reencounter Ryu several times and become embroiled in conflicts against numerous villains that sought world domination or worse, including M. Bison, Shadaloo, S.I.N., the Illuminati, and the mysterious Akuma. However, unlike Ryu, Ken eventually settled down and fathered a child with Eliza, choosing to prioritize his family over martial artistry. Although their differing lifestyles often kept them apart, Ken and Ryu maintained their friendship. Ken would later pass on his knowledge to his student, Sean Matsuda, and his son, Mel.
- Ki Manipulation: Ken's training helped him to learn the use of ki or life energy. Ken has a unique red-hot flaming ki that he can channel to utilize more intense versions of his standard techniques that release blasts of energy or set his enemy ablaze.
- Master Martial Artist: Ken's primary style of martial arts is the Ansatsuken style of his master, Gouken, which is loosely based on kenpo and karate. Meaning "assassin's fist," Ansatsuken was originally created to murder one's opponents, but Gouken's version is much less violent. During his experiences in America, Ken incorporated other styles such as judo into his repertoire. Ken is one of the best martial artists in the world, being the undisputed champion of hand-to-hand fighting in the United States. Ken has mastered numerous techniques, but his most iconic ones are detailed below.
- Heat Rush: Ken's Heat Rush gives him a brief boost of power from focusing his ki, causing his body to overflow with his fiery ki, giving all of his attacks (including ones that utilize ki) a flaming effect for added damage.
- Hadoken: The ever-famous Hadoken is a signature move of all who have learned Ansatsuken. It involves channeling one’s ki into a condensed ball which can then be launched from the hands or the feet. A standard Hadoken can knock a fighter off his feet. Ken’s Hadoken are described as feeling like a hard punch, causing pain that fades quickly. The Hadoken can be charged for a stronger effect.
- Shoryuken: The other signature move of the students of Ansatsuken is the Shoryuken, a spinning uppercut that sends opponents flying upward. The Shinryuken, a more prolonged version enhanced with Ken’s flaming ki, can be performed in conjunction with Heat Rush. The Shinryuken also produces a vacuum effect that pulls enemies closer.
- Tatsumaki Senpukyaku: Ken leaps into the air and rapidly spins his entire body, striking with his outstretched leg three times while briefly hovering. This technique can also be used to evade projectiles.
- Guren Enjinkyaku: Guren Enjinkyaku is one Ken's potent special attacks. It features a series of physics-defying jumping kicks that knock Ken's opponent further and further into the air until he finishes with an upward-aiming flaming Tatsumaki Senpukyaku to the opponent's face.
- Shippu Jinraikyaku: Ken attacks with a rapid barrage of varying kicks and knee attacks before performing a rising Tatsumaki Senpukyaku that carries him and his opponent upwards.
- Superhuman Physicality: As expected of anyone who does even the slightest bit of training in a Japanese work of fiction, Ken's physical abilities are in the realm of the superhuman. He's not quite as strong as Ryu, but still has the muscle to knock down trees and smash up stone. His more powerful techniques have been seen obliterating entire rooms. He is noted to be slightly faster than Ryu, who is known to dodge bullets in mid-flight and keep up with fighters who can move at supersonic speeds. He's shaken off beatings from muscle-bound warriors like Hugo, Zangief, and Balrog, the latter of which can punch hard enough to kill an elephant. During a battle against Vega, Ken barely won despite being grievously wounded by Vega's claws.
X-Factors[]
Experience
Prior to becoming a Ripple warrior, Caesar was a feared and violent criminal, constantly getting into fights. During and after his training under Lisa Lisa, Caesar's skills were been tested against the Ripple warriors Messina and Joseph Joestar. Most significantly, he twice battled against Wamuu, a Pillar Man, an ancient superhuman with unnatural powers, and nearly defeated him. Aside from that, little detail is known about Caesar's combat experience, but he is clearly seasoned enough to have developed his own unique methods of using Ripple.
Ken is a highly seasoned fighter. After finishing his training, he quickly fought his way to the title of the best fighter in America. He's participated in three World Warrior Tournaments, in which he saw and fought the most skilled and strangest fighters from across the globe, placing highly in each. Ken loves a good fight and is more than willing to accept challenges from anyone who crosses his path, and has found himself fighting and defeating all kinds of martial artists, ki-users, crime lords, assassins, and even people with straight-up superpowers. He and Ryu have had frequent matches to see how far they've come, although Ryu tends to win those.
Tactics
Caesar is a surprisingly crafty fighter. Since most of his arsenal is meant to be wielded at long ranges, he often uses his Ripple techniques to keep an opponent distracted while he lures them into a trap. The best example of this would be his second fight with Wamuu, during which he bombarded the Pillar Man with Bubble Cutter attacks until the still-floating bubbles formed reflective mirrors that redirected and focused sunlight (Wamuu's weakness) at Wamuu, nearly killing him. However, Caesar is very hot-headed and aggressive, which can cause him to overlook important details in the heat of the moment. Making such a mistake at a critical moment is what ultimately cost him his life.
Unlike Ryu, who sticks to the basics of his fighting style and mostly plays it safe, Ken favors high-risk, high-reward attacks that feature aggressive movements and a lot of style. He likes to keep himself unpredictable, often coming up with new combination attacks on the spot and attempting to quickly overwhelm opponents with his speed and variety. However, Ken is also cocky and quite the show-off. He's been known to drop his guard when he's winning in order to trade trash-talk with his opponent and will occasionally forgo a potential quick victory in favor of setting up a flashier finish.
Training
Caesar has been training in the art of Sendo under Lisa Lisa and her assistants for approximately four years. Lisa Lisa was a brutal teacher, frequently throwing her students into sink-or-swim scenarios that forced them to learn new techniques or improve their control over their breathing in order to survive. The most intense of these trials was the Hell Climb, in which Caesar and Joseph were forced to climb an oily pillar for nearly three straight days without rest. At the conclusion of his training, Caesar fought against Lisa Lisa's fellow Ripple master, Messina, and defeated him in battle. Messina admitted that Caesar had learned more in three weeks than he had in ten years.
Ken's been a martial artist since he was twelve years old. As a teenager, he learned from the master Gouken and sparred with his friend Ryu, becoming a master of the Ansatsuken style. After going professional in the United States, Ken, like any professional MMA fighter, kept up with a strict training regimen. He also learned new styles of martial arts on his own to complement his knowledge of Ansatsuken. However, since the birth of his son, Ken has neglected his training and allowed his development to plateau. Regardless, he possesses an incredible amount of natural talent and a few weeks of training can allow him to catch up to Ryu even after year-long breaks from fighting.
Notes[]
- The battle takes place in a crowded city square, similar to the area in which Caesar fought JoJo in Rome.
- Voting ends whenever.