12 min read


Context

Guile is one of the core characters from the endless Street Fighter series of brawling video games. He has been around since Street Fighter II, in 1991.

Guile’s also the most likely person who took down Bison. So if you’re going to include SF characters then he’s pretty much a must.

American super soldiers like Guile are pretty common fare. But not so many of them are hell bent on revenge and willing to buck the system to see that justice is done.

Background

  • Real Name: Unrevealed.
  • Other Aliases: The quiet avenger, Vacuumous Blade.
  • Known Relatives: Julia (wife), Chris (daughter), Eliza Masters (sister-in-law), Ken Masters (brother-in-law, once removed).
  • Group Affiliation: US Air Force.
  • Base Of Operations: Ghost Valley, Nevada, but often mobile.
  • Height: 6’1” (1.85m). Weight: 189 lbs. (86 Kg.).
  • Eyes: Blue. Hair: Blond.

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Powers and Abilities

Guile is an ace pilot, a world class martial artist, and a seasoned soldier.

He is a lot more capable in various military applications, as well as the missions that has been sent on, than most Air Force  pilots. So it is highly likely (although not officially stated) that he was trained by the Air Force Special Operations division  . And/or received Phoenix Raven  security training.

High energy

He also has the ability to channel his chiA sort of universal life force/energy in Chinese-influenced cultures. into :

  • Creating sonic blasts.
  • Jumping to super human heights.
  • Combining the two in his signature “flash kick”.

There are hints Guile learned all of this in a special chi manipulation training program originally created by his comrade Charlie Nash.

Ever since Nash’s death, Guile’s the best that the Air Force, possibly even the entire United States Armed Forces, has to offer.

Guile (Street Fighters) ready to fight

In-game

Gameplay wise, Guile is the OG blue print for other charge-based characters. He has a measly two special moves – his Sonic Boom (projectile attack) and his Flash Kick (high priority anti air) and that’s it.

But to make up for this his regular attacks are some of the best in the game – and he has far more command moves  than anyone else in the game.

Most of these come out quick and have good reach. He also has a powerful air throw  .

Speed and power are both pretty good, as is combo ability. His offensive and defensive capabilities are quite nice – and skilled players are able to switch back and forth to capitalize on this.

With all these awesome advantages it — correctly — seems like Guile is a real powerhouse. But his main glaring weakness is that a lot of his moves leave him wide open for counter attacks. It’s relatively easy to bait him into an attack that will leave him wide open.

Soundtrack

The vintage SNES version of Guile’s famous musical theme, which you positively should listen to whilst reading this profile.

History

Guile joined the Air Force as soon as he was old enough. He became an ace pilot in short order.

He also befriended one of his superiors, Charlie Nash – a former American champion in the martial arts world. Guile was intrigued by Charlie’s unique fighting style. Seeing potential in the youth Nash took him under his wing and taught him.

Although Guile is a world class fighter in his own right he was never able to surpass his master. This is because he has a foul temper and isn’t quite as disciplined.

The two would form a strong bond that would last the rest of Charlie’s life. Whether it be in war time or peace.

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Charlie went missing while investigating the Shadaloo criminal empire. Guile was tasked with tracking him down.

During the course of his investigation he befriended Chun Li. They began working together against Shadaloo.

Guile found Nash, then fought the big bad ruler of Shadaloo M. Bison. While one of the fiercest fighters around, Bison was no match for their combined might. He was forced to flee after calling in an air strike to cover his escape.

Guile (Street Fighters) looking tough

Nash’s death

The pair were pinned down. The called in their own air strike as they now had the location of Shadaloo’s secret base. Chun Li came to their aid, but also informed them that their air strike had been called off. Likely due to Bison bribing key people in the Air Force.

Using Chun Li’s demolition charges, they prepared to blow the Shadaloo base up on their own. Being the most capable fighter Charlie stayed behind to fight the villain and to cover his teammates’ escape.

Both fighters were killed by the explosion. But Bison already had a backup body. He would therefore return to haunt future Street Fighter Tournaments.

Charlie’s death was a huge blow to both Guile and Chun Li. Guile kept Nash’s dog tags as a reminder of his fallen comrade, and swore vengeance. Chun Li also later admitted to developing romantic feelings for Charlie. She would regret not acting on them for the rest of her life.

Street Fighter 2

Bison staged yet another World Warrior Tournament. His goal was to entrap all of his enemies – including Guile and Chun Li.

Guile, still fueled by revenge, abandoned his wife and child to go after the crime boss.

In the end he was able to defeat the villain in single combat. Guile was about to murder him in cold blood, but his wife and child suddenly appeared and pleaded with him not to. Guile came to his senses and sparred Bison. But this gave the villain the opportunity to escape.

Guile and Chun Li, along with several other fighters, tracked him down in a forest. Seriously outnumbered, the crime lord blew himself up.

Guile would later visit Charlie’s grave to let his fallen brother know that he had been avenged.

Street Fighter 4

Juri, a Shadaloo operative of the S.I.N. weapons division went on a rampage in a theme park. Guile, Chun Li, and Cammy were tasked with taking her down.

The group split up to cover more ground. Chun Li happened upon Juri first.  Juri savagely beat Chun Li and would have killed her had Guile and Cammy not arrived in time.

Juri’s cybernetic eye, the source of her power, then started to malfunction. She was forced to flee.

The trio then located Juri in a secret Shadaloo base that held the 12 dolls. Juri was able to beat all the dolls into submission by herself – as well as Guile and Cammy. She then made her escape and took the dolls with her.

A new tournament

Guile then started hearing rumors that Charlie was still alive. He pleaded with his superiors to look into this, but they refused.

He tendered his resignation and launched his own investigation. Guile once again partnered up with Chun Li. The two participated in the latest tournament to get to the bottom of things.

Guile’s search led him to Abel, a mysterious fighter with an unclear past. The newcomer refused to share information with a stranger, but Guile was able to beat it out of him. Abel’s info led them to a secret S.I.N. base, but Chun Li was taken hostage.

A Shadaloo cyborg then attacked Guile, but he was saved by Abel. He was unable to rescue Chun Li, but she was later saved by Gen. Guile and Abel later watched the base explode from a safe distance.

Guile then once again visited his friend’s grave and this time left him a bottle of beer.

Guile (Street Fighters) holding Nash's dog tags

Street Fighter 5

Guile managed to save Abel, who had gone undercover. He was later discovered by Shadaloo operative F.A.N.G., but escaped capture.

Guile and Abel then teamed up again, this time to search for missing hackers. This led them to yet another secret Shadaloo base where they encountered Juri. The villainess taunted them before escaping as the lab they were in started to crumble.

But they were able to grab a memory stick. It held key info on Operation C.H.A.I.N.S., Shadaloo’s next major plot.

The pair then went to China to investigate further. They got into a brief scuffle with Vega, but he managed to escape.

Street Fighter 5: A Shadow Falls

The Black Moon Bomb detonated in New York. This EMPAn electro-magnetic pulse/explosion that disables electronics device caused mass black outs and general chaos. Guile and Chun Li were tasked with finding hackers who had been kidnapped by Shadaloo. These had the skills to counter the damage.

The pair encountered Bison while investigating. Chun Li recklessly attacked him, but he easily knocked her out.

However, Cammy showed up in the nick of time. She also gave Guile a key used by the Black Moon project.

Charlie suddenly appeared. He took the device from his former best friend by force.

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Charlie is alive

Karen Kanzuki and her wealthy family then assisted in the investigation. They determined that Zangief once had another of the keys, but left it with a friend in India for safekeeping.

Our heroes tracked the device down. But they were ambushed by Balrog, Ed and some Shadaloo goons. These were defeated, but Ed grabbed the key and made his escape.

Guile then flew a helicopter back to the Kanzuki Estate and was reunited with Charlie. But both were then ambushed by Abel, who had been corrupted by Bison’s Psycho Power.

They managed to subdue him. And Charlie was able to absorb the Psycho Power energy out of Abel, which returned him to his senses.

Chun Li and Guile eventually tracked down Bison, but proved no match for the super-villain. Charlie intervened by expending all of his energy at once in a suicide attack while Guile looked on in horror.

Ryu would later beat the Shadaloo boss. And another Street Fighter named Rashid was able to shut down Operation C.H.A.I.N.S. on his own.

Where Is He Now

Guile’s back with his family and living a good normal life, probably…

Guile (Street Fighters) in mid-leap

Description

Guile is a tall muscular man and his very distinct “brush cut”.

He has the bearing of a soldier and has the American flag tattooed on his right shoulder.

He usually wears military fatigues and generally dresses the part of a soldier whether he’s on or off duty.

Personality

Guile is a man with a burning sense of justice.

The death of his close comrade Nash haunted him for years. This pushed him to train harder for the next time he’d get a chance to take Bison down.

It of course took its toll on him since he obviously neglected his family in the process. But when it came down to it Guile finally remembered that his family was more important – and spared Bison’s life.

Guile (Street Fighters) doing his sonic flash kick

Quotes

“I swear on my comrade’s corpse that I will see Bison hang.”

“This is it, at last, my comrade’s foe has come out ! I’ll send him to Hell !”

(To Nash) “I’m not a hero like you, but I still can not tolerate injustice.”

“However, at this point, all at hand is the name known as Bison.”

(About Bison’s Psycho Power) “By getting everyone to listen by force, I cannot help but feel anything but resentment for you, which I cannot overcome.”

Guile (Street Fighter) painted portrait

DC Universe Adaptation

(This section proposes ways of using this character in DC Universe stories).

Sure – there’s always room for more super soldiers.

Guile’s penchantStrong or habitual liking for something, or tendency to do something for doing things his way and ignoring a corrupt system could easily have attracted some of the more shadowy black ops groups.

He may very well have been a handler for Checkmate at one point.

DC Heroes RPG

Guile

Dex: 08 Str: 05 Bod: 06
Int: 06 Wil: 05 Min: 06
Inf: 04 Aur: 04 Spi: 07
Init: 022 HP: 070

Powers:

Adrenaline Surge: 03, Jumping: 02, Sonic Beam: 04

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Adrenaline Surge only works with Jumping and Sonic Beam.
  • Sonic Beam does not have an Area of Effect, but it does have the Indirect Bonus. This is not about how the beam travels (it goes in a straight line), but the deceptiveness of its speed. In the originally SFII it could either be the slowest or fastest projectile in the game.
    To avoid this the person receive the attack may make a Perception test (generally equal to the APs of Sonic Beam {base of 4/4} or whatever it has been Pushed to). If the perception check result in any positive RAPs then there is no Blindside bonus. Once again the attack moves in a straight line so no bypassing Force Shield by trying to throw it at an arcing angle.

Skills:

Acrobatics (Athletics, Dodging): 04, Martial Artist: 10, Military Science: 06, Survival (Jungle): 03, Weaponry: 06, Vehicles (Land, air): 06

Advantages:

Iron Nerves, Lightning Reflexes, Military Credentials (Air Force, medium).

Connections:

Chun Li (High), Charlie Nash (High), Ken Masters (Low), Ryu (Low), Abel (High), Cammy (Low).

Drawbacks:

Enemy (Bison), Dependents (wife and children), Guilt (Nash’s death), SIH (Bison), Minor Rage.

Motivation:

Seeking Justice.

Occupation:

Air Force pilot.

Wealth:

006

Equipment:

Being a major in the air force Guile does have access to standard military equipment up to and including F-15 and F-16 fighter jets.


vs. Marvel version

Guile, like all the other SF cast, got a huge boost in the Marvel versus Capcom series to be able to compete with Marvel’s heavy hitters.

Dex: 09 Str: 06 Bod: 07
Int: 07 Wil: 06 Min: 07
Inf: 05 Aur: 05 Spi: 08
Init: 025 HP: 080

Powers:

Adrenaline Surge: 06, Gliding: 02, Jumping: 06, Sonic Beam: 07

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Adrenaline Surge only works with Gliding, Jumping, and Sonic Beam.
  • Sonic Beam does not have area effect, but it does have the indirect bonus as above.

Skills:

Acrobatics (Athletics, Dodging): 05, Martial Artist: 11, Military Science: 07, Survival (Jungle): 04, Weaponry: 07, Vehicles (Land, air): 07

Wealth:

008


EX Series

Guile was slightly more powerful in his EX appearance. Up Adrenaline Surge to 05 and Sonic Beam to 05. Adrenaline Surge is also usable with Martial Artist.

Writeups.org writer avatar Tom Eilers

By Tom Eilers.

Source of Character: Street Fighter.

Helper(s): Sean MacDonald (for his version), William Chamberlin, Eric Langendorff, Sébastien Andrivet, Doug, cassius335, Darci.