The next pair of character profiles we’ll be spotlighting from the Shadaloo Activity Report will take us to a very interesting and beloved period in Capcom’s fighting game history, the Vs. Series! Specifically: 1997’s Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and 1998’s Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.
As the World Warriors, the X-Men, and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are busy dealing with the universe-threatening machinations of Apocalypse, Cyber Akuma, and Onslaught respectively, the tyrannical dictator M. Bison is inadvertently left to his own darkly devious devices. In Nash’s ending in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, he is captured by Bison and experimented on by Shadaloo, undergoing brainwashing and cyberization. Though Nash would remain absent from the default roster, a secret character known as Shadow could be unlocked who resembled a palate-swapped version of Nash, with his entire body nearly blacked-out–his only distinguishing feature being the color of his pants, in addition to having a white gleam from behind his glasses. His attacks were augmented with the visual effect of Psycho Power flames engulfing his opponent upon contact. He returned in MvC as an Assist character, and has also made a few appearances in the UDON Comics continuity, showing up in both Street Fighter – Round One: Fight! and most recently in The Life and Death(s) of Charlie Nash, which recounts the Air Force Soldier’s unfortunate brushes with the Grim Reaper in preparation for his proper reintroduction to the series in Street Fighter V. Shadaloo’s Private Nakagawa explains:
Private Nakagawa: This is a warrior that has been remodeled by our Shadaloo. He resembles someone. Who could he be? He fights with Psycho Power and mechanical power.
Basic Info:
Name: Shadow
Height: 186cm
Weight: 150kg
Blood type: Unknown
Birthday: Unknown
Home Country: Made in Shadaloo
Likes: Justice
Dislikes: Evil, Running out of Battery Power
Private Nakagawa: A warrior remodeled by our Shadaloo. He brings down his formidable opponents using Lord Bison’s Psycho Power and the latest state-of-the-art technology. By continuing to fight, memories of his past started to resurface, little by little, and he renounced Shadaloo, defecting from us. He’s burdened with carrying a Psycho Battery, which gives him 48 hours of operation with continuous autonomy. His Special Moves are:
Shadow Boom, the compressed Psycho Power projectile;
Shadow Shell, an anti-air with Psycho Power emmiting from his feet;
Shadow Assault, which absorbs the opponent’s energy. [Shadow never had this Move in MSHvSF, so since this is the SFV version of the character, perhaps it’s his “equivalent” to Nash’s Tragedy Assault?]
Just who the hell is he?
This brings us to Shadow Lady, a hidden character who appeared in Marvel vs. Capcom as an alternate version of Chun-Li who suffered a similar fate to Shadow at the hands of M. Bison and Shadaloo. In her own ending, it’s revealed that a similar fate befell Cyberbots protagonist Jin Saotome following an encounter with the Mighty One. She can most recently be seen in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, as Chun-Li’s alternate color #6.
Private Nakagawa: This is the second warrior remodeled by our Shadaloo. She fights with the weapons inserted into her mechanized body. She had no objection to having that increased mobility and impeccable fighting strength, but she escaped from Shadaloo anyway…
Basic Info:
Name: Shadow Lady
Height: 169cm
Weight: Secret
Blood type: Unknown
Birthday: Unknown
Home Country: Made in Shadaloo
Likes: Justice
Dislikes: Lord Bison, Running out of Battery Power
Private Nakagawa: A warrior remodeled by our Shadaloo. Unlike Shadow, she was only mechanized. (Hasn’t she received Psycho Power?) She has mini-Vernier thrusters in the soles of her feet, and can jump straight up to the 3rd floor with her 3-step jump. As soon as her remodeling surgery was completed, she regained her memories and broke away from Shadaloo, renouncing us. She united with Shadow and fights to defeat evil day and night. Her Special Moves are:
Miracle Drill, in which she charges forward with a drill made of an alloy of Light Ceratanium; [The CFN Portal site is referencing Mega Man. It’s “Light Ceramical Titanium” in the original Japanese game.]
Plasma Barrier, that releases electricity from her body;
Big Bang Laser, a super BIG, ultra-thick, laser!
Just who the hell is she?
That wraps up the Shadaloo Activity Report’s coverage of Shadow and Shadow Lady, but we’ve decided to include the various endings involving these characters, so you can see their story unfold for yourselves, as well as a few gameplay videos to remind players of what these two were capable of back in the day!
Do you have any memories of unlocking these characters back in the day, or encountering them for the first time? Did this article inspire you to dust off your old copies of these games? Feel free to share in the Comments!
Source: CFN Portal; videos from 265358804, Smirades Cabrera, Arcadia, acslayer, Cibernauta and AdmiralMcFish – Bosses and Hidden Characters