I know that duh I was just saying what didf you mean before

You mean with the picture?
Well, if you have read through the entire thread, namely the first page, you would know.

I would like to note, poison and roxy weren't in final fight 2, there were some two other women who also got replaced with men in the U.S version. Though none of the enemies in ff2 were memorable imo.

Ono is pretty much trolling about hugo cody and guy, hugo is obviously poison's partner and the way guy and cody were represented it would be stupid not to include them in the game, I could understand if they actually had some relevance to the trailer but come on.

Haggar most likely won't be in he was never in a sf game aside from non-canon cameos, Poison slips by because she was by Hugo side the entirety of his SF3 appearance. Not to mention he's already in mvc3, I hope I'm proven wrong because if I am that means yet another ff character will be his tag partner.

and no I'm not saying this because I just absolutely know but it just seems too obvious to me that Ono is trying to keep them secret or create extra unnecessary hype.

If Rolento makes it most likely Sodom will be there and I will be a very happy Final Fight fan boy.

Galador, you are awesome for breaking that down.

I sure hope Cody is in. I love using him in SSF4. And other than that, he's hot for a fictional video-game character. ^^

Ono is known for fucking trolling,but this time i really hope he's not joking like always,the neon sign "New Challenger" to me is indicating,obviously,that they could be potentially new characters along the just revealed Poison,i really hope so,really hope....make it real freaking Ono!!!!

It occurs to me that most game creators are trolls...

It occurs to me that if the phrase ever held any mean, it's long since lost it.

Well, Ono is considered one... and Boon is considered one... That's two, at least. Are there other game creators acting like trolls?

Yeah the people responsible for MvC3 and most of capcom in general.

Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument

Ono isn't a troll. He's an assclown. lrn2expandinterwebzvocabulary

Well,it's partially true,but you dont know Capcom's development history,in the past they have made many of the most fucking incredible games both in Arcade and home consoles,they had top developers and producers who knew their shit,but most of them are gone,and its undeniable,but now Capcom it's not the same company as always....but i have faith..faith..

I think you're gay if your not attracted to Poison.

Poison's background made a huge contribution to character diversity in video games, as well as a step forward towards LGBT acceptance in video games.

I've known who she was for years without even knowing what game she was originally from, simply due to her background.

To deny her true background is not only a slap in the character's face, and the faces of those who highly admire her, but a slap in your own for claiming to be a Poison fan.

Eagle was the first gay SF/fighting game character and he's the god damned man, ergo, he should be in this game.

Made a new sig for the sake of this thread.

All hail Transgender!

Just because I like playing devil's advocate...

While I agree that Poison's unique "background" makes her a progressive and welcome step forward for diversity in gaming, her "true background" isn't exactly set in stone, nor even consistent between countries (or amongst her very own creators).

In my opinion, Poison is not a good character BECAUSE of her sexual dimorphism, but she's a good character REGARDLESS of her gender or sexual background. And that's the important thing; she's judged as an individual, on her own merits, regardless of whatever her gender may be.

I may even bet my boxers that Poison's "parallel" in Tekken will be Leo, a character of such gender ambiguity that nobody to this day knows for sure what gender Leo is. And the Tekken people said "good. That means you judge Leo exclusively by Leo's gameplay, Leo's story, and Leo's actions." You can't judge Leo for Leo's gender because you don't have that information to make a valid prejudice against Leo based on it.

Poison is the same way. Strip her of her gender issues, of her complicated and contradictory background, of her ever-changing girl parts/boy parts, of her region-specific gender, of her progression for LGBT representation, of EVERYTHING that one might judge her for based on that info...

... and Poison remains a good character. It doesn't matter if you believe she's a woman, a man, a transvestite, a hermaphrodite, an alien, a zebra, or a robot. As a character, defined by gameplay, story, and enjoyment, she looks to excel.

And THAT is what it means to be a Poison fan. To be a Poison fan because you're tickled by the idea that she had some boy parts at some point (or still does) is the truly shallow fan, just as shallow as those that dismiss her based on that very information. Poison isn't defined by her sexual history; in every instance, regardless of what the creators or the companies say for various times or various regions, Poison is A-OK with who or what she is and doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks, either in disgust or approval.

That's the most commendable thing of all.

In keeping with the devil's advocate theme -- let's keep in mind that homosexuals and transvestites are considered utterly hilarious to a lot of Japanese people, and the whole transsexual situation was probably intended as a big fat "LOL" when it was first conceived.

I'm not sure that can be considered a great step forward for the acceptance and celebration of different types of people, even if it is diversity by any other name. Unless of course you read in to the fact that the character wasn't featured in US versions, but now is.

Poison's gender IS set in stone. In Japan he is a man who crossdresses, and in the US s/he is a post-op. Simple as that, no doubts.

Poison and sexual dimorphism doesn't come together. Sexual dymoprhism means differences between the genders> the female spider being alot more larger than the male. THAT is sexual dimorphism, transsexuality isn't.

This whole "Poison Gender" thing is ridiculous. A contrived gender swap executed by Capcom in order to avoid expected North American controversy says two things:

A. Capcom could've given a shit about designing a progressive lgbt transexual and did so purely for political reasons and convenience. That's pretty much the opposite of designing a character with consideration to depth and characterization. So why Poison is championed as this revolutionary character is beyond me when it was clearly Capcom trying to cover their own ass.

B. Poison is a fictional character and thus isn't bound to "realistic" portrayals of a true transgendered character. If anything, Poison seems to be an example of Futanari niche Japanese fetishism to appeal to a Japanese fanbase only to have her "Chick with a dick" aspect toned down as much as possible for North American audiences for similar reasons. It's an example of Capcom pandering bullshit.

That's according to the statements from ONE man (Yoshinora Ono), and as I've stated on the first page, other creators of her and the Final Fight franchise have different opinions. His word is not indicative of the entire staff of Capcom, up to and including the directors and leads of the original Final Fight (and certainly not of the even zanier FF: Streetwise, but that's a different story).


I know... and the differences between the genders has been the subject of discussion concerning Poison for a very long time, up to and including the fact that Poison has almost zero "masculine" traits. She has a woman's body in every sense, from thin ankles to small stature to tiny hands to large, natural breasts (Japan confirmed she was born with them and they're not implants), to many other physical differences... beyond the glaring one between her legs.


I agree with you there. People tend to forget that Japan is not America, nor do they share the same political or moral stick-ups that we do. In Japan, transgender and homosexuality are not so condemned, but they are seen as quirky, funny, and amusing. Even one of the best portrayals of a transsexual hero in Japan, arguable the protagonist, was presented as goofy, and the humor of his crossdressing nearly the focus for half the movie's gags.

The ONLY reason Poison is what she is is because Nintendo actually didn't have the balls (heh) to let Capcom have men punch out women.


Thank you. Poison as a futa-girl or a newhalf is ACTUALLY what she is commonly accepted as being in Japan. She is not a man. She is not a woman. She is "in between" (and that's from Capcom's press kit statement), and that's how she was born. In America, we view things very black and white - male, female, post-op, pre-op, cross-dresser, etc. In Japan, Poison resides in the gray zone - she is all woman, with all woman parts - she could bear children if she wanted to - but she's a futa girl, with additional parts from the opposite gender - which would make her male TOO.

That is, of course, if you believe what most Japanese fans of her believe.

Again, Ono has "set the record straight", but that means just as much as him claiming "Phoenix Wright could never work in MvC3" and "Super Street Fighter IV is the FINAL update... pinky swear", Shinji Mikami promising RE4 was only going to be on Gamecube (on pain of death), or that Nathan Spencer's bionic arm is his stupid wife, and Keiji Inafune "setting the record straight" on any of his projects (and he probably left because Capcom didn't like him being so honest...)

Poison's history HAS changed. It very well may change again. Other Street Fighter's have had lots of changes and retcons over the years, especially with the introduction of Alpha, the merger with the Final Fight universe, the backpedaling from Street Fighter III's universe, the iffy status of the EX series, the myriad of crossovers, and much more (In various versions, Cammy has been Bison's lover, Bison's clone, a hired Catholic assassin, Guile's subordinate and girlfriend, a lifelong British MI6 spy, a kidnapped and brainwashed little girl...)

You can be 100% sure of Poison's manhood, lack of manhood, or mutual gender status, but that perception is not accurate, nor is it correct. Poison's gender has been, and remains, a toss up, with fans, developers, and countries differing on what to make of her, and Capcom, as a whole, coyly knows this and has never, ever, ever confirmed Poison's gender in any of the media she has appeared in. And they're wise for doing so, because, as mentioned in a prior post, Poison must be judged on her actions and merits as a viable character, not upon the prejudices her background and gender might entail.

So Mojo6 is probably the most correct - she's not so black and white or so easily labeled, and that's the beauty of ambiguity.

Thanks for clearing things up, guys.

Regardless of what she may be (though I prefer to view her as Transexual), one thing is certain:



By the way, I've never heard of a girl named Leo.

On Poison: agreed.

On Leo: They say it could be short for Leona (like Leona Lewis).

Point taken.

There are very few genderless characters within the fighting genre. Even many of those who are genderless bare dominant traits of a particular sex, like the Jacks, Alpha-152, and JIgglypuff.

In the case of Leo, I see more dominant male qualities of the fighting world than female. For examples:

- Choice of attire
- Leo's name
- Boyish facial features
- The slight husk in Leo's voice

Overall, I see Leo as a young boy who so happens to have feminine attributes. To say, though, I think Namco should have gone with a more ambiguous name, like Jamie.

Relevant.