Overview
Originally designed by Akira Yasuda, Poison first appears in the second level of Capcom's Final Fight as one of the standard enemies encountered as beat'em-up fodder. Roxy, a palette-swapped version of Poison, is often paired with her. Her first playable appearance came in Final Fight Revenge, a fighting game featuring a roster comprised of characters from the original Final Fight.
Like other Final Fight characters such as Cody, Rolento, Sodom and Guy, Poison has also made appearances in the Street Fighter series. She first appeared in the Street Fighter III games, in which she serves as the NPC manager of Hugo Andore. She was also intended to be a playable character in Capcom Fighting All-Stars prior to the game's cancellation. Most recently, she was made a member of the fighting rosters of Street Fighter X Tekken and Ultra Street Fighter IV.
Appearance
Poison's appearance is based on a highly feminine but fit physique. She has long, pink hair and wears a biker's cap, choker, a white cut-off tank top that leaves her abdomen exposed, and cut-off denim shorts with the fly unfastened. She also wears a pair of pumps, and a chain that hangs off her hips with a pair of handcuffs dangling from it.
Final Fight
Poison's original appearance in Final Fight was less as an individual character and more as a standard form of enemy type encountered frequently throughout the game. She and Roxy both make their first appearance in the second stage and commonly attack the player with a flip kick. Both characters were edited out of the SNES version of the game and replaced with male counterparts. More details on this and other aspects of changes made to Poison's Final Fight appearance can be read later in this article.
Poison also appears in Mighty Final Fight; a more cartoonish, comedic take on the original game in which all of the characters are redrawn in the super-deformed style.
Final Fight Revenge
In Poison's first playable appearance, she uses a whip as a weapon for some attacks, as well as the special attack Poison Kiss, a projectile that will leave opponents stunned if it connects. During the attack, several pictures of Poison in suggestive poses are displayed.
Ending
Poison's ending first states that she and her friends hatch a plan to frame Cody Travers for their crimes in order to avoid jail time. The game then shows an image of her visiting Cody in prison with flowers, but downcast at the knowledge that he'll never love anyone other than Jessica Haggar.
Street Fighter X Tekken
In Street Fighter X Tekken, her first playable appearance since Final Fight Revenge, Poison fights using an agile, self-taught style and wields a riding crop as a weapon. Her arcade mode story in the game partners her with her Street Fighter III ally, Hugo Andore.
Story & Ending
In Poison's story, she learns of all of the media attention being focused around the South Pole and decides that it would be the perfect opportunity for her and Hugo to gain notoriety. In the end, the pair make it to Antarctica and defeat Ogre, only to find that the media had long since disappeared. Disappointed, she turns to leave when Hugo points out that they haven't examined Pandora's Box yet, but Poison states she has no interest in the box and they leave. Unclaimed, the box vanishes.
Poison and Hugo go on to form their own wrestling federation. However, their method of recruiting fighters involves crashing rival wrestling promotions and defeating their fighters to force them into joining. It's unclear whether the new organization will succeed, but the venture is dependent on Poison's efforts.
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Poison was added to the Street Fighter IV roster in Ultra Street Fighter IV alongside Elena, Hugo, Rolento, and Decapre. Poison's model and fighting style are based on her appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken.
Story & Ending
Poison's story begins with her running a ragtag wrestling promotion lacking in talent and appeal. After sending two of her wrestlers to the hospital, she elects to enter the Street Fighter tournament for fame and fortune. In her ending, it becomes apparent that she succeeds in building her promotion back up, having somehow recruited, Hugo, Cody, Guy, Ryu, and Ken. Additionally, the members of Poison's wrestling team double as a rock and roll band with her front and center as the lead singer.
Voices
- Atsuko Tanaka: Street Fighter X Tekken (Japanese), Ultra Street Fighter IV (Japanese), Street Fighter III: Third Strike
- Masae Yumi: SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
- Lani Minella: Final Fight Revenge
- Karen Strassman: Street Fighter X Tekken (English), Ultra Street Fighter IV (English)
Gender Controversy
Poison was officially a woman in the first released version of Final Fight. When Capcom prepared to release the game in regions outside of Japan, however, Poison's involvement was met with protest from people within Capcom USA that objected against the idea of a game featuring men beating women. Poison's creator Yasuda responded to the objections by claiming that Poison and Roxy were crossdressing men, with the manual referring to them as "new-halves", Japanese slang for transvestites. In the Sega CD version, Poison and Roxy are given slightly less revealing clothing, while in the SNES version, they were removed entirely and replaced with a pair of male characters named Billy and Sid. The original, unedited version of Poison appears in the downloadable release of Final Fight: Double Impact, which is based on the original arcade ROM.
Since the original Final Fight was released, the Roxy character, who was a palette swap of Poison, has officially been deemed female, although the official stance on Poison remains unclear depending on who is asked. Officially, Capcom USA considers her a post-op transsexual. In Poison's most recent appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken, the debate about the character's gender is ignored entirely, and she is referred to as female by the other characters. This is a change from prerelease builds of the game that received criticism due to character win quotes that made fun of her status.
