Street Fighter Unlimited #7 Review
Welcome back to Street Fighter Unlimited. Last time, the mysterious Gill, who may or may not be a God or at least a god-like being, has started a religious movement that has taken the world by storm. And of course, what better way is there to celebrate universal peace than to host a violent martial arts tournament. To that end, Gill has invited the most renowned martial artists from all over the world to compete, some of whom, like Guile, Chun-Li and Alex, have been investigating Gill’s organization to see if they’re up to no good. While at first it looked like the tournament was a trap, it turns out at the beginning of this comic that Gill’s henchman were only surrounding the fighters to help show them to their accommodations.
While most of the fighters drop their guards and accept Gill’s hospitality, Sodom and Rolento, two fighters who represent a street gang known as the Mad Gears, aren’t buying Gill’s God act and attack. Gill’s assistant quickly dispatches Sodom with a punch to the jaw but Rolento leaps into the air and lobs a couple grenades at Gill. Calmly, Gill raises his arm and encases the grenades in ice, causing them to shatter before they can detonate. Okay, I have two things to comment on. First, it’s a good thing that Gill has superpowers, otherwise he’d look like an idiot wearing nothing but a loin cloth and blue and red body paint. Second, Rolento is a corrupt soldier who regularly employs military tactics and weaponry as part of his fighting style, so why the hell is he not a featured character in Street Fighter X G.I. Joe when he’s such an obvious fit?
Anywho, Rolento gets dispatched, but there are still some who have issues with Gill, particularly, Alex, who believes that Gill killed his friend, Tom. However, much to Alex’s surprise, Tom is revealed to be alive and well and has actually been well treated on Gill’s island. Alex is naturally pissed that Tom never contacted him, but it turns out Gill forced him to keep quiet until the society revealed itself to the world. However, the interesting thing that Tom found during his stay was a portrait of an angel that closely resembles Alex in Gill’s mansion.
After a nice little montage of various lesser known Street Fighter characters getting to know each other and having a dance party before the big tournament, we see Gill being worshipped and doted upon by his followers while his younger brother and right hand man, Urien, watched from the shadows. As Urien walks away, he destroys a statue of Gill, showing that he may be jealous of his brother’s position.
Our comic ends with the fighters assembling in Gill’s arena and Gill declaring that the tournament has officially begun.
What Works: I liked Rolento’s defiance of Gill as well as the montage of other SF characters. Even though this comic has focused on the main players of Street Fighter such as Ryu, Guile, Chun-Li etc., it’s nice to see the others get a little exposure as well. Also, the idea of Alex being connected to Gill and Urien’s possible betrayal make for intriguing plot threads.
Finally, while I ordinarily don't comment on this sort of thing, I must say that variant cover that homages the Street Fighter movie is just awesome.
What Doesn’t: Nothing specific, this comic is decent. Overall:
4/5
This issue is primarily setup for the upcoming tournament, but it does a good job of it.