Street Fighter is probably the most popular fighting game franchise of all time. With characters like Ryu, Ken, Akuma, and of course M. Bison, the series is made up of some truly fantastic fighters with even better (or worse) skins. But, the two focused on today are the most popular villains of the franchise, Akuma and M. Bison.
Of course, there are others like Seth, Gill, Urien, Fang, or even Kolin. But, among all of them, Akuma and M. Bison have been around the longest and are the most recognizable, so, which one is the better grand slam villain?
10 M. Bison: He Actually Has A Plan
M. Bison is surprisingly one of the more mysterious characters in the whole of the franchise. There is little known about his past other than the fact that he was a disciple of the only man who was able to successfully control the evil energy of “Psycho Power” and that Bison himself killed said Master. Now, Bison simply wants to become the be-all-end-all strongest martial artist on the planet and if he can take over the world while he’s at it, that’ll work for him.
9 Akuma: Is An Image Of Ryu Giving In To The Satsui No Hado
There’s something so oddly satisfying about duality when it comes to story-making. Two characters who are of equal skill, background, or personality just make for great enemies/rivals. And that’s what Akuma is to Ryu. While Akuma might be evil, obsessed, and filled with hate, Ryu is not. Ryu is good, lets go of his material connections and trains in the art of “emptiness.” They may be different in a few key ways, but at their core, these two share a lot of traits.
8 M. Bison: The Exact Opposite Of Ryu In Every Way
While Akuma is a fantastic villain primarily because of how similar he is to Ryu, Bison is great because he’s so different. Bison is a man off the deep end who is full of Greed.
He likes material goods, he uses supernatural abilities over mastery of martial arts, and he’s incredibly evil. Everything Ryu isn’t, Bison is, which is why they contrast each other equally as well as Ryu compliments Akuma.
7 Akuma: Isn’t After Something As Cartoonish As World Domination
While Bison is beloved by the fans because of how over the top he is, Akuma is well-received because he is so driven towards one serious goal, power. Akuma doesn’t have some wacky goal like world domination, he just wants to fight at his peak and be the best martial artist in the world. While Bison says that he has a similar goal, most of the time the guy is caught up in experiments, plans for world domination, or making a moon base. Akuma is dedicated to training and fighting at all times.
6 M. Bison: Plans To Control Ryu Through The Satsui No Hado
A lot of the “lore” of Street Fighter revolves around Ryu’s fight against this power he has called the Satsui No Hado. It’s the power that fuels Akuma but it is also the same power that makes him evil.
Gamers have seen it go out of control at times with Evil Ryu and M. Bison seems to think the Hado power is similar to his own Psycho Power. So, he wants to control Ryu. Whether that means making Ryu into a minion of his or taking over his body, the idea alone is fantastic for a villain.
5 Akuma: Wants To Control Him As Well
Oddly enough, Akuma also has attempted to control Ryu and his usage of the Satsui No Hado before. Basically, Akuma has always tempted Ryu to succumb to it so that they may have the ultimate fight to the death. But, thanks to recent developments when Akuma released as a character in SFV, it seems that now the mad martial artist respects Ryu’s choice not to use it. Could Akuma fight against Ryu in future games, each using their own style of Hado? Only time will tell.
4 M. Bison: Is Essentially Immortal Due To The Dolls
What’s scarier than a superpowered leader of an evil organization who is bent on world domination? A superpowered leader of an evil organization who is bent on world domination and can’t actually die. That’s right, Bison is by some definitions immortal! There are the Dolls like Cammy (who never stops being cosplayed), Juri, and Decapre that he can transfer his soul into. There are normal buff corpses that he has transferred into once or twice, and then there are failed or potential candidates like Seth, Ryu, or Abel. Basically, Bison can take over most anyone, and that means he never “truly” dies.
3 Akuma: Might Actually Be Immortal?
On the other side of things, Akuma might also similarly be immortal like Bison. There’s no confirmation, but Akuma and Gouken are brothers so they should be of relatively similar age.
Yet Gouken looks like an old man and Akuma looks like a buff guy in his late thirties. Plus there’s the whole confusing lore Tekken 7 added into the mix that makes it even more unclear how Akuma always seems to look the same age. In any case, apparently the Satsui No Hado does wonders for your skin.
2 M. Bison: Has An Actual Kill-Count That Includes Nash
You would think that the guy with red eyes and a thirst for fights to the death would have a high kill count, but Akuma shockingly doesn’t. The only time he outright killed anyone was his master Goutestsu and even in his “deathmatch” against Gouken, the dude only pretended to be dead. Meanwhile, Bison has taken over villages, killed multiple failed experiments, taken over and destroyed numerous puppets, and straight-up murdered Charlie Nash. Akuma’s a good Chaotic Neutral character, but M. Bison’s kill-count makes him the ultimate evil in the franchise.
1 Akuma: Thought He “Murdered” His Own Brother
And finally, that deathmatch with Gouken. So, Gouken is actually Akuma’s brother and is also Ryu and Ken’s Martial Arts master. The guy has connections to some of the biggest players in the series, namely Ryu. And, Ryu himself saw the flash of light from Akuma performing the “Raging Demon” on Gouken, which everyone thought killed him. This murder of his master at the hands of his own family was fantastic fuel for the hatred between Ryu and Akuma and made their connection bound by violence even stronger.
