Abel in Street Fighter IV

Abel first appears in Street Fighter IV as a mixed martial artist. Originally he was meant to be a small male character who looked effeminate and might be mistaken for a young girl. He became an ex-mercenary character with memory loss somewhere in the design process.

It is claimed by some (see here and here) that in his prologe scene he hints at wanting to settle down with a fellow French mercenary, but in the video of the scene we found it is a puppy he intends to come home to.

LGBTQ  references in this game series:

Street Fighter (1987):  Eagle

Street Fighter II (1991): The World Warrior: Zangief

Street Fighter IV (2008): Poison (originally from Final Fight); Abel; Juri Han

Citations:

  1. Abel. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Abel
  2. Grey, J. (2009, October 13). The original concept for Abel was…different. http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2009/oct/13/original-concept-abel-was-different/
  3. LGBT Themes in video games. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/lgbt_themes_in_video_games
  4. MoviesNGames007uk. (2011, March 12). Super Street Fighter IV: Abel’s Prologue and Ending. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk7GVLKC-NY
  5. Royce, E. (2012, June 21). LGBT’s influence in video games. Retrieved from http://www.thegameraccess.com/articles/multiplatform/lgbts-influence-in-video-games
  6. Street Fighter IV. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Street_Fighter_IV