Strider Hiryu

I've made some Megaman and Street Fighter related fanart in the past. And needless to say I've done plenty of other fanart works as well. So I figured I'd give some attention to this guy right here. Strider Hiryu made his debut in 1988 with the release of his own self-titled manga series created by Moto Kikaku. I've seen some issues of the manga. But they are extremely rare and hard to come by even today. Strider Hiryu made his debut in video games with the release of the 1989 arcade game that was made by Capcom, the same company that gave us Megaman, Street Fighter, Dark Stalkers, and Resident Evil. There was even a game released on the NES which came out in the same year. And that was how I was first introduced to Strider. So what makes this guy so special might you ask? Well, Strider Hiryu is just badass. He's basically a futuristic ninja who is apart of an elite group of top notch soldiers called the "Striders", hence why he is called "Strider Hiryu". The name Hiryu (飛竜) literally means "Flying Dragon". And as a ninja-like warrior, he operates in the shadows, and specializes in espionage, sabotage, and assassinations. And believe me, this guy is the perfect assassin for hire. No job is too big for this superhuman ninja. Strider Hiryu's attire is pretty old-school. But that's cool though. Because it shows that he carries on the ancient ninja tradition in a futuristic setting. So he's basically old-school, but he has his own style.

In his earlier appearances, his face was completely exposed. And he sports the same hairdo as Koji Kabuto from Mazinger Z, and Megaman. But in his more recent appearances, Hiryu often wears a red scarf that covers half his face. His weapon is a technologically enchanced sword which is referred to in the manga and in the games as the "cypher". However, Hiryu's cypher is not just any kind of sword; the blade is equip with a plasma cutting generator that enables his sword to be able to slice through anything. Yes that's right; anything. Even the strongest metal on Earth can't withstand the cutting power of Hiryu's cypher. It's kind of like a light saber in that sense. But like a tonfa or a nightstick, the sword has two handles. But Hiryu often holds it by the left handle. And he also has three "Options" support robots that he can call in for assistance ("Option A" is a satellite drone, "Option B" is a robotic panther, and "Option C" is a robotic hawk), as well as tools such as the all-terrain climbing instrument "a sickle which he uses for climbing on walls and ceilings". In fighting games, several of Hiryu's moves are named after various legendary weapons of various lore, including Ame no Murakumo, Excalibur, Gram, Ouroboros and Vajra. Since his debut, Strider Hiryu has appeared in various video games by Capcom. That includes the Marvel vs. Capcom series, and a remake of Strider II, which didn't come out until many years after the original Strider. Several publications and polls have regarded him as one of the most popular Capcom characters, one of the top ninja characters in video games, right next to Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden.

Speaking of which, Ryu Hayabusa and Strider Hiryu were pitted against each other in an episode of Death Battles which I saw on YouTube. And apparently, Strider came out on top. Though to be fair, I think the match could have ended either way. While I respect that Strider won the battle, I think Ryu Hayabusa might have had a chance to win since they were both evenly matched. As far as I'm concerned, Strider Hiryu has been treated MUCH better than some other Capcom characters I know of, who Capcom obviously couldn't care less for.

Strider Hiryu belongs to Capcom.