Nina Williams

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Context

Tekken (鉄拳, “Iron Fist”) is one of the major long-running series of brawling video games. The first game was released in 1994.

Nina Williams is an OG Tekken fighter – she has been in every single game since the beginning. Ms. Williams further was the only Tekken character to receive her own stand-alone action-adventure game.

If none of the above is your cup of tea, then keep in mind that she’s a cold blooded and highly competent assassin. There’s always room for those in almost any campaign.

Bonus points for her complicated relationship with her sister being… interesting…

Background

Powers and Abilities

Nina is one of the best assassins in her world. And she’s a world class martial artist to boot.

Her key assets as a killer are:

Her fighting style is a deadly mix of Aikido for defensive purposes and Koppojutsu for offense.

In-game

Gameplay-wise Nina became an instant favorite with fans. She has decent power, but her core assets are:

Her main drawbacks are:

Video

Here’s the trailer for the one Tekken-related game that starred Nina.

However it’s Playstation 2-era graphics, in a 240p-at-most video encoding. So it’s best to watch it at a small size. Say, on this page.

History (part 1)

Nina and her younger sister Anna are the daughters of a former IRA assassin. He quit after becoming disillusioned with the movement, and married a British Aikido champion.

Nina learned koppojutsu and weapons operation from her father for offensive purposes – and aikido from her mother for defensive purposes.

Death by Degrees – context notes

This game was going to be Namco’s big debut into the action-adventure genre, using popular characters from the Tekken series. But sales and reviews were poor. This killed the projected series after the first game.

The publisher still flirts with the occasional action-adventure game, but as side ventures to their console releases of Tekken games. These have also received mixed reviews.

Namco declared Death by Degrees non canon in attempt to distance itself from this failure.

That said, the game doesn’t really conflict with the flagship Tekken series storyline, so feel free to include this in her character bio if you’d like her origin to be more fleshed out than the few scant paragraphs that most of the other fighters get.

And it does offer insight into Nina and Anna’s complicated past. As well as her modus operandi whilst in the field.

Death by Degrees – flashback

Richard Williams and his two young daughters Nina and Anna were being arrested in a snowy clearing by armed guards.

Richard resisted, and called out to his oldest daughter Nina to pick up a pistol that he had dropped and use it to defend them. Instead Nina froze, which allowed the guards to overpower her father and shoot him.

Richard Williams seemingly died. But he actually made a full recovery after a lengthy hospital stay.

Nina can be seen a few moments later surveying the scene while her younger sister Anna tries to comfort her. It has been theorized that their dysfunctional relationship can be traced back to this event.

Fast forward to years later and both Nina and Anna have become elite assassins for hire, with a bitter rivalry and disdain for one another.

Interlude

Nina, perhaps to compensate for her role with her father Richard getting shot, was a devoted and unquestioning trainee. Her younger sister Anna was given the same training. But her heart wasn’t in it. Deep down she yearned to live a normal life.

Richard had always favored Nina, worsening the rift and rivalry between the sisters. Thus Anna ended up training on her own.

At an unclear point in their teens, an unclear organization further trained Nina. They also gave her drugs that dulled her emotions, with the goal being to make her into the ultimate cold-blooded assassin.

Nina Williams is later seen working with the CIA and MI5. so either of these could have been said mysterious organization.

Death by Degrees – main story

By now a world-renowned assassin, Nina Williams was hired by a joint CIA/MI5 taskforce to take down the Komate criminal organization.

Her cover was simple. As a highly skilled martial artist she was to enter the illegal fighting tournament held on their boat, the Amphritite.

She would act as the team’s “sweeper”. That is, she had to maintain her cover as a competitor, and only seek to complete the mission if the other two “sneaker” agents failed.

Her handlers were worried that the Komate had obtained some sort of weapon of mass destruction after the fall of the Soviet Union. This was based on footage of a Komate ship mysteriously exploding somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle.

Sweeping in

The mission failed. Sneaker agent “John Doe” was killed by a Komate executive named Edgar Grant. Nina’s cover was blown, and she was captured.

Nina escaped and fought her way through a bunch of baddies, video game style. This culminated with a showdown with Lana Lei, one of the top executive’s lovers and bodyguards (who would become a reoccurring villain in the game).

Ms. Williams obtained and transferred photographic evidence of wrongdoing by the organization’s directors.

In the chaos the cruise ship she was on sank. Nina barely managed to escape to a remote island. There she encountered one of the syndicate’s scientists. He had been forced to work on Komate’s Salacia project against his will.

She thus learned that the weapon was actually a satellite. It could remotely heat up dormant methane on the sea floor, which could blow up almost any size of a ship. The implication on naval superiority would obviously be huge.

Nina obtained the case containing the electronics to control the satellites. But Lana snatched it during a fight. She then escaped to another Komate luxury cruiser, and killed the remaining agent on Nina’s team. Ms. Williams had little choice but to pursue Ms. Lei.

Cruise control

Once again Nina fought her way through waves of baddies, but this time they were killer robots. After making her way to the end she was ambushed by Edgar. But he shot Lana – his goal was to escape with the tech while eliminating loose ends.

Unexpectedly, Lana managed to shoot Edgar dead then escape. In a fit of insanity she triggered several methane pockets along the US coast.

But Nina was able to get to and execute her before things got really out of hand.

The ship started to capsize. Nina was desperately searching for a way out when she spotted a helicopter headed her way. Nina was just about to board it when she was attacked from behind by none other than her sister.

The two squared off before being forced to grudgingly work together to escape the rapidly sinking ship. Anna managed to grab the helicopter’s rope first and shouted to her sister that they were now even – as she left her behind.

Nina was able to jump to safety as the ship went down, and stayed afloat as rescue boats approached. In Nina’s mind their feud was far from over…

History (part 2)

(With this section, the events in the main Tekken series start.)

Tekken

When the very first Tekken Tournament was announced, Nina was hired by an unrevealed party to assassinate Heihachi Mishima. She entered as a competitor, looking for a chance to get close to Heihachi and complete her contract.

Unfortunately for her, her sister thought it would be fun to meddle in her affairs – and crashed the party. The two spent most of the tournament trying to kill each other.

Both were disqualified when they failed to show up for a match. Their blood feud had distracted them.

Tekken 2

Things kept escalating when Nina attached a bomb to her sister’s car. Anna survived and turned Nina’s entire apartment into Swiss cheese with some automatic rifles.

This constant clashing showed no signs of slowing down. It would only likely end with one of them dead at the other’s hand.

Their father Richard was by then on his deathbed, which gave him a bit of clarity. He realized that it was his own behavior that had caused such a sibling rivalry. He contacted Nina and begged her to try and reconcile things with her sister.

The second Tekken Tournament was announced, and Nina was once again given a contract to terminate the host, one Kazuya Mishima.

However, Anna once again crashed the party, Nina neglected her contract to try and kill her sister, and they were both disqualified.

Until we sleep

While Anna was able to make a clean getaway, Nina was captured by Tekken Forces. Heihachi, now the reigning champion after reclaiming leadership of the Mishima ZaibatsuA large, well-integrated Japanese megacorporation, used her as a test subject for cryogenic sleep.

Anna later found out what had happened to her sister. That Nina was temporarily out of the game, but could return at any moment left her without purpose. Worse, Nina might be frozen for so long that Anna might be too old to continue their vendetta.

Anna Williams therefore turned herself in as well and successfully begged to be frozen too. Their sibling rivalry had gotten so insane that she was ready to risk her life on a prototype experimental procedure just so they could continue to play their psychotic game of cat and mouse.

Tekken 3

And so, both sisters slept for about 20 years.

Meanwhile, Heihachi’s Tekken Forces discovered an ancient tomb in Central America. Disturbing it awoke an ancient evil, called Ogre. This had dire and long-lasting effects across the entire world.

It also woke up both sisters, but they left for vastly different paths.

Nina failed to kill Jin due to her sister’s interference. She resumed her career as a successful assassin, as she needed money to build up security against all the enemies she’d made over the years.

Tekken 4

Nina took a hit contract from a mafia family. They wanted lightweight champion Steve Fox killed. Fox had refused to throw his title fight, which had cost them a pretty penny.

Ms. Williams determined that Mr. Fox would participate in the upcoming Tekken Tournament. She once again entered to get close to and assassinate her target.

Neither were able to advance to the finals. Since they didn’t have a match together, Nina simply tailed him once the tournament ended.

Fox hunt

She set up a sniper’s nest across the street. But just as she was lining up the shot one of the investigators that she had hired to help gather additional info on her target contacted her with a shocking revelation.

They explained that Steve was born of one her eggs that had been harvested while she was in cryogenic sleep. He was thus, biologically speaking, her son.

As Ms. Williams hesitated, Lei Wulong, Hong Kong Super Policeman™ and Tekken Tournament contender burst in to arrest her. Nina jumped out the window to both evade Lei and to get closer to her target. When she reached Steve, they just kind of awkwardly stared at one another.

Lei was still in pursuit and fired two shots at Nina that would’ve hit. But Steve pushed her out of the way in time.

Nina decided to make her escape with Lei still in pursuit. Steve just kind of stood there unsure of what to do next.

Tekken 5 – Dark Resurrection

Lei Wulong took down the criminal syndicate that had hired Nina. This nullified the contract on Steve.

The quasi-robotic Williams still felt little, even after discovering that she had a son of sorts. Being between contracts, she lacked a purpose. As a result, she contacted and met up with her sister.

But upon seeing Anna, all of Nina’s memories came flooding back. The two got into a fierce gun battle. But after several days of stalemate, they called a truce. They would settle their differences in a fair fight during the next Tekken Tournament.

The sisters finally did get their showdown and it was Nina who prevailed. Curiously she chose not to kill Anna.

Jin, who went on to become the champion and head of the Mishima Zaibatsu was impressed by her skills. He recruited Nina to be his bodyguard and second in command.

Tekken 6 – Bloodline Rebellion

Jin turned out to be a tyrant. He plunged the rest of the world into chaos as he greedily gobbled up global resources. His organization had grown so powerful that world governments were powerless to stop him.

He was eventually opposed by the G Corporation headed by his father, Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya-san was initially hailed as the new hero that the world had been praying for.

This installment was less of a tournament and more a series of events. Nina acted as Jin’s righthand woman and assisted him in his various schemes. But she was twice defeated by Lars Alexandersson, Jin’s long-lost uncle, and the game’s brand-new lead character.

Chase the devil

It was later revealed that Jin had purposely sent the world into chaos to awaken Azazel, the source of the cursed Devil Gene that he carried. Nina had always known about his plan and went along with it, although she had her doubts.

Eventually Azazel awoke and Jin faced him in climactic battle. Both seemingly perished once the temple they had been fighting in collapsed.

Nina then assumed temporary control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, having been the second in command.

Tekken 7 – Fated Retribution

Ms. Williams ran the corporation until Heihachi came knocking at her door. As Tekken law commanded, the two engaged in fisticuffs for the right to rule the company.

Nina lost badly, but Heihachi, ever the schemer, recognized her talent. He proposed to spare her life should she work with him.

Her first mission was to track down Jin. She infiltrated the facility holding him, but she was opposed by Lee Chaolin and Alisa Bosconovitch. When her Tekken forces and Lee’s private army clashed it led to a prolonged gun battle, giving Lee and Alisa enough time to escape.

Lee then detonated explosives to cover their tracks. Nina survived, but she was left with more questions than answers. Why would Heihachi’s adopted son help secure his demon-possessed grandson who had nearly triggered Armageddon?

Leaving Mishima

Heihachi warned Nina that he would have no further use for her if she failed again. On thin ice and with the world in a precarious position, Ms. Williams left the zaibatsu. She took a private contract that would pay enough for her to secure her freedom and safety.

Nina was tasked with disrupting a Mafia wedding by posing as the bride (!?). She would soon learn that the wedding was for her own younger sister.

Nina stole Anna’s wedding dress and then got into a shootout with the Mafia. Among the made men she killed was Anna’s soon-to-be husband.

In a moment of clarity, Anna had decided to leave her blood feud and her career as an assassin behind her. Her plan had been to marry a well-off mobster and retire in luxury. Obviously, her sister’s action put an end to that, and reignited the feud.

Nina would actually wear the stolen wedding dress during their subsequent clashes, to taunt her sister.

While escaping from the wedding shoot-out Nina ran into Steve Fox. At which point the scene abruptly ended. Fans will have to wait for the next installment to find out what happens next.

Description

Nina is an attractive blonde with piercing blue eyes.

Her signature color is purple, and she has had at least one purple outfit in every game installment.

In the more recent games she’s taken to wearing a leather cat suit that are all the rage with femme fatale killer spy types these days. Colors and patterns differ, but she typically has a bit removed from the sides (particularly around her hips) to show skin.

Her newest (and overly fetishized) is her sister’s wedding dress. The sides are ripped high up and show off quite a bit of her long legs. She also has a sexy garter belt with some throwing knives strapped to her upper thigh.

Personality

Cold and detached. Nothing but ice flows through her veins.

Personality wise she’s the perfect assassin. She’s in it for survival first and a paycheck second. While she usually somehow ends up on the right side of history, she’s still very much a cold-blooded killer with no remorse.

The only time we ever see any real emotion from her is when she’s humiliating her sister, which she takes great pleasure in that, and is pretty sadistic about it.

Her confusion about her “son” Steve was left unexplored ever since Tekken 4.

Quotes

“Time to die !”

“C’mon baby ! Show me what you’ve got !”

“What a nuisance.”

“Finished already ? Please.”

“It was nothing. Goodbye…”

“You must be joking.”

“I don’t play with amateurs.”

“Isn’t it past your bedtime ?”

“You’ve got a date with death.”

DC Universe Adaptation

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

Honestly, Nina could be dropped in as is. She could be a Batman villain, but she’d likely be outclassed.

She could just as easily fight Green Arrow or any other nonpowered more realistically ground martial arts character.

Heroes expecting a normal hitman could be flatfooted by Nina Williams’ martial skills.

(Holly Robinson might come after Nina to recover her stolen costume, since we assume finding that kind of leathers in petite size ain’t easy – ed.).

Mid-1990s Nina character model, in the first Tekken game.

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