Cody (Final Fight)
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is a fictional character who debuted as the lead character of
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's 1989 beat-em-up ''
Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Capcom, which began with the arcade release of ''Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, the games focus on a group of heroic vigilantes who fights against the control and ...
''. He went on to appear as a playable character in several ''
Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' titles, beginning with ''
Street Fighter Alpha 3 ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D fighting game originally released by Capcom for the arcade in 1998. It is the third and final installment in the '' Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, ...
''. He has also appeared in ''Final Fight''-related spin-offs. Cody is an American street brawler and
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
who specializes in
knife fight A knife fight is a violent physical confrontation between two or more combatants in which one or more participants is armed with a knife.MacYoung, Marc, ''Winning A Street Knife Fight'', (Digital format, 70 min.), Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, (J ...
ing. Cody’s full name was first given in '' Final Fight: Streetwise'', which is later acknowledged in the ''Street Fighter'' mainline games as of ''
Street Fighter V ''Street Fighter V'' is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, Windows in 2016. An Arcade game, arcade version exclusive to Japan was released by Taito in 2019. Similar to th ...
''. The character's reception has been mostly positive.


Appearances


In video games

Cody first appears as the lead character of the 1989 beat-em-up ''
Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Capcom, which began with the arcade release of ''Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, the games focus on a group of heroic vigilantes who fights against the control and ...
'', where he is one of the three playable characters in the game, with Cody being the well-balanced character of the trio. In the game, he is a martial artist whose girlfriend Jessica has been kidnapped by the Mad Gear Gang. He teams up with his friend and rival Guy, and Jessica's father Haggar, to defeat the gang. In the game, he wears hand wraps, a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. After the events of ''Final Fight'', Cody is mentioned in the
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
sequel, ''
Final Fight 2 is a 1993 side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (known as the Super Famicom in Japan). It is the direct sequel to the 1989 coin-operated arcade game ''Final Fight'', which was pr ...
'', where he is shown in the opening flashback to be the one delivering the finishing blow to the Mad Gear gang's leader, Belger, from within the first game, but Cody himself does not appear within the second game at all. His absence from the second game was given an in-story explanation that he was taking a vacation with Jessica during the time of ''Final Fight 2''. Cody makes a cameo appearance in Guy's ''Final Fight''-themed home stage in ''
Street Fighter Alpha 2 ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'', known as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 in video gaming, 1996 fighting game originally released for the CP System II, CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is a Video game remake, remake to ...
'', where he is being cuddled by his girlfriend Jessica at the left corner of the stage; if a female character is in front of Cody, he will draw his attention away from Jessica and towards the female fighter for a moment until an envious Jessica slaps Cody in the face and regains his attention. The couple makes a similar cameo appearance in '' Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter'', in which they're among the spectators watching the fight at the background of the "Mall Madness" stage. His next major appearance was in 1998's ''
Street Fighter Alpha 3 ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D fighting game originally released by Capcom for the arcade in 1998. It is the third and final installment in the '' Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, ...
'', being the fourth ''Final Fight'' character to appear in the ''Alpha'' sub-series. In this game, Cody had ended his relationship with Jessica (who has since left Metro City to study abroad in Europe) and became a convicted felon, having been thrown into jail after becoming a vigilante. Bored with his peaceful life, Cody had wandered the streets looking for any riffraff he could find, and subsequently beat them into submission until he was finally caught and jailed. Instead of his jeans and white T-shirt from ''Final Fight'', Cody's wardrobe now consists of a blue-and-white striped prison uniform with handcuffs on his wrists (which he is actually able to remove when he taunts his opponent, but fights wearing them anyway) and stubble on his face. His fighting style in the game is modeled after his abilities from ''Final Fight''. During his single-player storyline, Cody is challenged by Birdie and ends up joining forces with his friend and former ally Guy in his fight against M. Bison. Cody would appear in two subsequent ''Final Fight'' games following his appearance in ''Alpha 3''. ''
Final Fight Revenge is a 1999 3D fighting game released by Capcom. ''Revenge'' is the only one-on-one fighting game in the ''Final Fight'' series of games. The cast of playable characters includes series mainstays Mike Haggar, Cody and Guy, along with various memb ...
'', an American-developed 3D fighting game based on ''Final Fight'' also released in 1998, features Cody from within his depiction in the original ''Final Fight''. In his character's ending, he gets arrested by police officer Edi E. after being framed by the surviving members of Mad Gear and he is shown in
Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
's ending wearing the same jailbird outfit he wears in ''Street Fighter Alpha 3''. A second American-produced ''Final Fight'' spinoff, 2006's '' Final Fight: Streetwise'', features Cody Travers as the elder brother and mentor of the new main character, Kyle Travers. Cody wears his classic original outfit, but with an orange prison shirt over the T-shirt. Prior to the events of the game, Cody was willingly incarcerated for an unspecified crime committed by Guy, causing a fallout between the two former friends. Upon getting out of prison, Cody's constant fighting had taken its toll upon his own knees, in which he had developed
arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
from within them and that Cody himself was forced to retire from mainstream fighting, becoming a cornerman for Kyle during his run from within Metro City's underground pit fighting circuit. During the events of ''Final Fight Streetwise'', Kyle learns that Cody had been taking a new street drug known as "GLOW", which is said to give the user immense strength and power, but turns them violent and dangerous at the same time. Eventually, Cody is kidnapped by Father Bella (who is later revealed to be the younger brother of Belger) and is used as a brainwashed guinea pig by Bella, who seeks revenge against him for the death of his brother. In the end, Cody regains his senses and helps Kyle defeat Bella. Few days later, the effect of the GLOW cures Cody from arthritis when returning to his former human-self. Cody returned as one of the new characters in ''
Super Street Fighter IV is a 2010 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is an updated version of ''Street Fighter IV'' and has been said to mark the definitive end of the ''Street Fighter IV'' series. Having been deemed too large an update to be deployed as Downloadable ...
'', breaking out of prison to try to cure his boredom. His rival is Guy, who tries to convince him to team with him to fight Seth. In his ending after he defeats Seth, Cody runs into Guy once again and after deflecting Guy's praise, leaves to return to his cell where he claims he belongs. Cody is also featured as a playable character via DLC in ''
Street Fighter X Tekken (pronounced "Street Fighter Cross Tekken") is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom and released in March 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in May for Microsoft Windows and in October for the PlayStation Vita. The game feature ...
'', with Guy as his official tag partner. Cody returned as a playable character in ''
Street Fighter V ''Street Fighter V'' is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, Windows in 2016. An Arcade game, arcade version exclusive to Japan was released by Taito in 2019. Similar to th ...
'' as part of its third season of downloadable content. Now free from prison and no longer forced to wear the uniform and handcuffs, Cody succeeds Mike Haggar as the new Mayor of Metro City. Though he is bored with the bureaucracy of the position and misses fighting the city's gangs, he secretly enjoys his new life.


Gameplay

In ''
Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Capcom, which began with the arcade release of ''Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, the games focus on a group of heroic vigilantes who fights against the control and ...
'', Cody is a balanced character with both moderate strength and speed; being the only player capable of stabbing when armed with a knife within the game. By the time of his appearance in ''
Street Fighter Alpha 3 ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D fighting game originally released by Capcom for the arcade in 1998. It is the third and final installment in the '' Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, ...
'', Cody has gained new special moves and super combos. His trademark attacks are the "Bad Stone", in which he throws a normal rock with the force of other fighter's projectiles; the "Criminal Upper", in which he throws an uppercut that releases a multi-hitting tornado that blocks projectiles; the "Ruffian Kick", a charging kick attack that varies on attack level depending on which button is used; and the ability to use a knife lying in the middle of the stage in all of his fights, which Cody can pick up and use.''All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game 1987-2000'', page 310. '' Final Fight: Streetwise'' sees an alternate version of Cody, dubbed "Death", as he was chosen by a Metro City priest, Father Bella, to be a living incarnation of one of the
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...
. This version of Cody has a more demonic look to him due to the fact that Cody is drugged with a mysterious substance that is dubbed "The GLOW" (in reference to how the eyes of the user looked after taking the drug) and has a version of the "Criminal Upper" that emits a greenish glow. In addition, he gains the ability to throw waves of green energy that travel along the ground like many projectiles in
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fighting games, as well as the ability to rain green energy down around himself. In the ''
Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' series, Cody's attack speed has been reduced. Similar to
Makoto is a unisex Japanese name although it is more commonly used by males. As a noun, Makoto means "sincerity" (誠) or "truth" (真, 眞). People Given name * Makoto (musician) (born 1977), drum and bass artist *Makoto (Sharan Q) ( まこと), ...
, he relies on hard-hitting strikes from multiple directions to keep the opponent guessing. As a callback to ''Final Fight'', Cody can use a knife to augment his attacks. In ''
Super Street Fighter IV is a 2010 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is an updated version of ''Street Fighter IV'' and has been said to mark the definitive end of the ''Street Fighter IV'' series. Having been deemed too large an update to be deployed as Downloadable ...
'', he also uses a pipe and wrench during certain attacks which can be accessed in stages exclusively. In ''
Street Fighter V ''Street Fighter V'' is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, Windows in 2016. An Arcade game, arcade version exclusive to Japan was released by Taito in 2019. Similar to th ...
'', Cody returns as a balanced character including drastic changes to his moves, thanks to being appointed Mayor of ''Metro City'' in the time between ''Super Street Fighter IV'' and ''Street Fighter V.'' For instance, his trademark knife and pipe are accessible via either of his V-Trigger boosts, whereas his hand-to-hand attacks take heavy inspiration from his previous appearances in the past ''Final Fight'' games.


In other media

An episode of the American ''
Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' animated series titled "Final Fight" adapts the plot of the original 1989 beat-em-up game, with Cody portrayed as a slow-witted, short-tempered character with a southern accent. In the episode, Cody and Guy, after learning that Cody's girlfriend and Haggar's daughter Jessica is kidnapped by the Mad Gear gang, go off to fight them on their own accord, while Ryu and
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are hired by Haggar to infiltrate the gang in order to help find and save his daughter. Cody knocks Belger from the top window of his penthouse (although Belger is not killed), and rescues Jessica. He also appears in some of the ''
Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' comics by
UDON Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
. In ''
Resident Evil Zero ''Resident Evil Zero'' (or ''Resident Evil 0'') is a survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube in 2002. It is a prequel to ''Resident Evil'' (1996), covering the ordeals experienced in the Arklay Mountains by spec ...
'', Billy Coen can have Cody's prison outfit as an extra costume as a DLC. Professional wrestler
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...
portrayed Cody for a live action ''
Street Fighter V ''Street Fighter V'' is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, Windows in 2016. An Arcade game, arcade version exclusive to Japan was released by Taito in 2019. Similar to th ...
'' trailer.


Reception

Cody's reception has been mostly positive. Cody was one of the seven characters that
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
wished most to see in ''Street Fighter IV'', while WhatCulture included him among the ten characters they wished to see appear in ''
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom in collaboration with Eighting. It is an updated version of '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. The game features characters from both Capcom's video game franchises and comic book se ...
''. In the official survey by
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
, Cody is the 16th most requested character to be added to the roster of ''
Tekken X Street Fighter (pronounced "Tekken Cross Street Fighter") is a crossover fighting game that was being developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was supposed to cross the universes of Namco's ''Tekken'' and Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' into one game, creating ...
'' on the ''Street Fighter'' side. He was ranked the 45th top ''Street Fighter'' character by
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. Ryan Woo of ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' included Cody from the early ''Final Fight'' games on 2011 list of 25 most stylish video game characters. That same year, ''Complex'' also ranked him as the 38th "most dominant" fighting game character, as "a shining example" of "a fallen hero becomes a kickass crook when being the good guy gets boring", adding, "Who else you know can manage to fight with handcuffs on the whole time?" Actor
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
named his son Cody Williams after a video game character, which is believed to be Cody from ''Final Fight''. In a 2018 worldwide poll by Capcom, Cody was voted fifth most popular ''Street Fighter'' character.


References

{{Street Fighter series Capcom protagonists Characters designed by Akira Yasuda Fictional American people in video games Fictional criminals in video games Fictional European-American people Fictional knife-fighters Fictional mayors Fictional prisoners and detainees in the United States Final Fight characters Male characters in video games Politician characters in video games Street Fighter characters Video game characters introduced in 1989 Video game characters with air or wind abilities Vigilante characters in video games