NOTICE: This is a Recap page, so all spoilers will be left unmarked, per wiki policy. Read ahead only with caution! You Have Been Warned.
Two fighting game icons, arcade rivals since The '90s, now facing off for the true superiority.
Ryu, the wandering World Warrior. And Scorpion, the ninja from Hell.
Thirteenth episode of the second season pits two of the best known characters in the fighting game history against each other. All their weapons, armor and skills will be put to the test as Wiz and Boomstick try to find which warrior would truimph in a death battle.
First, we take a look at Ryu, a Japanese martial artist endlessly walking the Earth to improve his skills. After his parents abandoned him, he was found and adopted by mysterious man named Gouken, who trained him and his best friend, Ken Masters, in the Ansatsuken fighting style. However, despite its name meaning "Assassin's Fist" and being initially designed to murder, Gouken's style is instead a mix of karate, kenpo and judo - unlike the style of his brother, Akuma, who ultimately killed him a duel.(Or so it seemed.) Still, Ansatsuken isn't an ordinary martial art and uses several unique techniques - like Shoryuken, or "Rising Dragon Fist", an uppercut powerful enough to send its victim flying; Hadouken, "Wave Motion Fist" - actually a blast of energy(not fire) created from the user's willpower; and Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku, "Tornado Whirlwind Leg", which allows the fighter to ignore gravity and float in the air kicking everything in range. Ryu is also using the powerful stepkick named Joudan Sokutogeri, "High-Level Blade Kick"... or, to Boomstick's amusement, "Diarrhea Joke Foot".
At the age of 23, Ryu has entered the first World Warrior tournament, defeated nine powerful opponents and faced the champion Sagat in the final round. While Sagat was about to win the battle, he decided to help Ryu get back on his feet, but instead of accepting the help, Ryu hit him with an uppercut that ripped his chest open and nearly killed him. That was Ryu's first encounter with the evil power within him - Satsui no Hadou, or "Surge of Murderous Intent"; a form of chi based around its user's evil nature. It gives Ryu incredible power, but overusing it may cause him to lose his humanity and become Evil Ryu, gaining near unlimited power and access to Ansatsuken's forbidden art - Shun Goku Satsu, also known as "Instant Hell Murder" or, more commonly, "Raging Demon". This attack turns the sins of his opponent against them, destroying their souls. Akuma used this technique to(seemingly) kill Gouken, and since then he's been haunting Ryu, tempting him to give in to Satsui no Hado. However, Gouken's teachings still live within Ryu, allowing him to resist the temptation and attain even greater power by entering the State of Nothingness, where Ryu detaches himself from all emotions and enters the alternate state of consciousness, boosting his strength, speed and abilities. Thanks to this power, its user may survive even the dreaded Shun Goku Satsu - and Gouken did exactly that.
Ryu's strong enough to fight numerous armed thugs at once, survive being impaled, defeat the genetically created superhuman Seth, and his speed allows him to dodge point-blank gunfire - unless he turns into Evil Ryu, who can simply walk through them. Despite being the icon of Street Fighter, he's lost suprisingly large portion of his matches - however, it was mainly due to his struggle to control Satsui no Hado. Once he unleashes his full potential, almost nobody can stop him.
- Ryu: My name is Ryu, and the ultimate power has awakened within me!
Now we can move on to Scorpion, whose real name was Hanzo Hazashi. He was born into Shirai Ryu clan, the defectors and greatest opponents of the ruthless Lin Kuei clan. His father, to save him from the life of regret and murder, forbade him from joining to clan. However, to support his wife and children, Hanzo broke his promise and began a life as a ninja-assassin. He's skilled in ninjutsu, pi gua, hapkido and other Chinese martial arts, but he earned his nickname, Scorpion, thanks to his weapon - a kunai on a rope, which was sometimes depicted as a snake-like creature living in his palm. He can use it to impale his opponent and pull him to himself, leaving him vulnerable to attacks. He's been also using longswords, twin katanas, and axes. His abilities were put to the ultimate test by the legendary warrior from Lin Kuei, Bi-Hon - also know as Sub-Zero. He lost the duel and ended up in the Netherrealm - or, to put it simply, in Hell. Believing that Sub-Zero has also killed his loved ones, Scorpion swore his loyalty to the sorcerer Quan Chi and was resurrected as wraith, the phantom of vengeance.
Thanks to his wraith powers, Scorpion can teleport, summon fire and create portal from and to Netherrealm, which now serves as the source of his powers and increases them whenever he appears there. He can perform at least thirteen Fatalities, which include: ripping off a person's head and spine, showing his true face and burning his opponent alive, and transforming into - suprise! - a giant scorpion. Or a penguin laying explosive eggs. While he's not the most powerful Kombatant, he's defeated countless warriors in multiple realms and managed to avenge his family by killing Sub-Zero... who turned out to be innocent. The true culprit was Quan Chi - the same man Scorpion swore his loyalty to. As a penance, Scorpion dedicated his (un)life to protect Sub-Zero's younger brother - who took the name of Sub-Zero after him. Scorpion still found time for guest appearances in multiple games, and even hosted his own cooking show. Really.
Aside from his weakness for the culinary arts, Scorpion's win-loss record is much less impressive than you may think - but it's not suprising when you consider the enormous range of opponents he fought. Anyway you look at it, you can't be more badass than a firebreathing ninja skeleton from Hell.
- Scorpion: I am Scorpion... vengeance will be mine!
The fighters are ready and all that's left is an invitation to the lottery where viewers could win a script for this battle signed by Wiz and Boomstick. With this out of the way, it's time for a Death Battle!!!
Ryu is shown standing alone on the top of the mountain when he suddenly hears a scream "GET OVER HERE!" followed by a kunai flying towards him... but he effortlessly catches it and pulls its owner to him, entering fighting stance. Scorpion quickly jumps in and prepares himself.
FIGHT!
Scorpion begins with an all-out assault, but Ryu blocks everything and launches a counterattack. Yellow-clad ninja teleports out of his way and tries his luck with kunai once again, only to have it deflected by Hadouken. He teleports and hits Ryu, then summons a sword and resumes the attack, but Japanese fighter dodges it and counters with Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku and Shoryuken before sending him flying from the mountain with Joudan Sokutogeri. Ryu follows him and decides to come closer to end the battle quickly, but Scorpion blocks the attack, grabs Ryu and drags him to the Netherrealm.
Shortly after entering other world, Scorpion tries to blast Ryu with fire, but Ryu again blocks attack with a Hadouken. Meanwhile, Scorpion teleports behind Ryu and unleashes a vicious beatdown with fists, kicks and sword slashes. Ryu collapses, saying that neither of them has reached their full potential, but Scorpion decides it doesn't matter and summons fire to burn his opponent alive... but at this point, Ryu taps into Satsui no Hado and turns into Evil Ryu! Scorpion dodges his fireballs and tries to attack with sword once again, but the blade breaks on Ryu's hand, allowing him to perform a powerful combo ending with extremely powerful Shoryuken. Scorpion gets knocked down and Ryu uses the opening to perform Shun Goku Satsu, but Scorpion teleports out of his way and resumes combat. After a brief clash, Ryu misses the Shoryuken and gets hit, while Scorpion pulls his kunai, impales and kicks his opponent multiple times, and finally blasts him with a mighty fireball. Badly wounded Ryu reverts back to his normal form, but after a brief period of concentration, enters the State of Nothingness and gets back on his feet. Scorpion carefully walks towards him, but Ryu decides to use his ultimate technique - Shinkuu Hadouken, which blasts Scorpion and turns him into skeleton. Exhausted, but victorious Ryu collapses and can finally rest... but as it turns out, Scorpion's skeleton still lives and summons a giant stream of fire! Ryu helplessly watched as he gets turned into a pile of ash.
K.O.!
While Scorpion turns into a penguin and lays an egg in Ryu's ashes, Wiz and Boomstick discuss the results. Ryu's Satsui no Hado and Power of Nothingness were very powerful, but they weren't enough to destroy already dead Scorpion. His soul-killing Raging Demon would've been able to permamently put Scorpion down, but he's inexperienced in using this move, and Scorpion's agility and teleportation gave him a way to easily dodge it. However, the main reason for Scorpion's victory was his presence in the Netherrealm, where his strength constantly increases without any known limit. Once the fighters entered the Netherrealm, Scorpion's victory was just a matter of time - and he could have easily ended fight at any moment simply by teleporting Ryu into a lava pit.
- Boomstick: Scorpion was just too hot to handle.Wiz: The winner is Scorpion.
Ryu vs. Scorpion contains examples of:
- Dragged Off to Hell: While initially taking place on the surface, Scorpion took the fight to Netherrealm
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Ryu uses up all his energy with a Shinkuu Hadouken, which costs him a victory as Scorpion survives.
- "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: The hosts did mention that yes, Scorpion did have a cooking show as an in-game joke.
- Victory by Endurance: This is how Scorpion ultimately wins over Ryu. While Ryu was stronger and tougher than Scorpion in his base form and had the means to permanently kill him with the Raging Demon, Scorpion becomes progressively more powerful whilst in the Netherrealm (and he can teleport himself and anyone with him there), and he's also faster. This lets Scorpion last long enough to close the power gap and for Ryu to expend his all of resources before delivering the finishing blow.
