Poison (Final Fight)

is a fictional character in the ''Final Fight'' and ''Street Fighter'' series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Poison first appeared in the original ''Final Fight'' alongside a similar character, Roxy, later appearing in Capcom-produced games, media and merchandise related to the ''Street Fighter'' franchise. She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka since the ''Street Fighter III'' series and Masae Yumi in '' SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos''.

Originally conceived as a female thug in ''Final Fight'' and part of the game's antagonist group, Mad Gear, concerns during the game's development about reactions from North American audiences to fighting women led to the character being re-imagined as a " newhalf". However, that was not considered satisfactory and both Poison and her palette swap Roxy were replaced by the male characters "Billy" and "Sid" and have been for every subsequent North American port of the title on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. After the ''Final Fight'' series, she later appeared alongside wrestler Hugo, acting as his manager, with her schemes revolving around finding a tag team partner for him or developing their own wrestling organization. Poison first appeared as a playable character in ''Final Fight Revenge''. She was also to appear in both '' Capcom Fighting All-Stars'' and '' Final Fight: Streetwise''; however, the former was canceled and she was omitted from the latter as development progressed. Following those aborted attempts, she ended up appearing as a playable character on ''Street Fighter X Tekken''. She was also added as a playable character to ''Ultra Street Fighter IV''.

The character's potential status as a trans woman, consciously left ambiguous by the developers, has remained a topic of frequent debate by both fans and media alike.

Design history

Poison's first appearance in ''Final Fight'' featured her and a palette swap character named Roxy as recurring minor enemies for the player to fight. Named after the band by an unnamed female employee at Capcom, she was designed by Akira Yasuda to contrast against the bigger characters in the game and move about randomly and described as a "cool and rebellious woman". Yasuda referenced western fashion magazines for Poison and Roxy's designs, specifically Jeanne Basone's appearance as "Hollywood" in professional wrestling magazine '' G.L.O.W.'' #1. Poison is shown to be a woman with long, rugged, pink hair. She wears a black cap, a choker, cutoff, blue jean-shorts, red high-heels, and a tanktop cut just below her breasts. In ''Final Fight Revenge'' and some artworks, her hair is shown to be purple instead. She wears several armbands around her right arm and has chains and a pair of handcuffs suspended off her shorts. ''Final Fight Revenge'' features her also possessing a whip used in attacks, though the character has not been shown with one in other titles or artwork (other than ''Street Fighter X Tekken'' and ''Ultra Street Fighter IV''). Poison stands about 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) tall and has bust/waist/hip measurements of 35-25-35" (88-66-89 cm).

Poison was given a secondary outfit for '' Capcom Fighting All-Stars'' alongside her primary classic attire. Made of shiny, silvery material it consisted of boots that extended halfway up her thighs and a combined sleeveless shirt/short skirt with a plunging neckline. Gloves and a small hairband were also added, as well as a belt, with the handcuffs hanging off of it. Her arm straps were removed, though the strap around her neck remained.

The concept art section of the promotional comic for '' Final Fight: Streetwise'' showcases an unused Poison redesign by Trent Kaniuga for the game. The design features red hair, a red micro skirt showing a hint of underwear, a jacket, a button-up white shirt showing some of her abdomen, black high-heeled boots, a gold belt, and a wool cap. In August 2006, Kaniuga revealed three additional alternate designs on ConceptArt.org's internet forum; one being the classic look; another being a white button-up shirt with red pants, high-heels, and short hair; and the third keeping the high-heels and pants, but adding shades, returning her hair to full length and swapping the shirt for a jacket with deep cleavage. All four designs use the same color scheme, belt, and handcuffs.

Gender

According to the book ''All About Capcom Head to Head Fighting Games'' and ''Final Fight'' director Akira Nishitani, the characters were originally planned to be cisgender women, but were changed to " newhalfs" (a Japanese slang term for trans women) after the game's release, due to the suggestion that "hitting women was considered rude" in America and the concern that feminist groups would sue. However, concept artwork included in the 2005 compilation ''Capcom Classics Collection'' of the pair specifically uses the kana for 'newhalf' (ニューハーフ), contradicting the statement the change occurred post-release. In 2007 Nishitani stated that he supposed the character "could be male", but added it was up to the viewer to decide. He later clarified in a discussion on Twitter that in his personal view Poison was a woman. Yasuda himself commented that as far as her gender, he considers her transgender in North American localizations, but cis in Japan.

A later appearance by Poison as a playable character in ''Final Fight Revenge'', an American-produced 3D fighting game spinoff of ''Final Fight'', portrayed the character in a highly feminine manner and had her romantically interested in ''Final Fight'' hero Cody. Commentary about her ending in the game in ''All About Capcom'' suggested that the character may have received sex reassignment surgery. The ''Final Fight''-related character profiles featured in ''Capcom Classics Collection'' instead allude to her being a cross-dresser, while addressing Roxy as a "she" who dislikes Poison's cross-dressing.

''Street Fighter IV''s producer Yoshinori Ono, when asked in an interview about Poison's gender, stated: "Let's set the record straight: In North America, Poison is officially a post-op transsexual woman. But in Japan, she simply tucks her business away to look female." He later emphasized it again when asked about what female characters could be included in the game ''Street Fighter IV'', stating that it would be too confusing to include her due to the region-specific gender. However, in a 2011 interview with ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' at the Tokyo Game Show, he stated that Capcom "doesn't have a stance technically", and while they wouldn't give an official answer, felt it was up to the viewer to decide. He added that his intent was to please all fans and that the mystery behind her gender was the core of the character. During the same interview, a Capcom representative further added that they worked closely with GLAAD, an organization concerned with the portrayal of LGBT people in media, to ensure "anything that might be offensive has been very tailored to not be" for Poison's portrayal in ''Street Fighter X Tekken''.

In video games

Introduced in the original ''Final Fight'', Poison is an orphan from Los Angeles. She enjoys fighting and uses it as a means to stay in shape, making use of her ties with the original Mad Gear Gang to keep herself out of prison. In ''Final Fight Revenge'', her behavior was represented as womanly and sultry