The Four Kings: The Boxer, the Claw, the Eyepatch, and the Dictator
The Four Kings of Street Fighter II are the first "boss squad" in fighting-game history. They guard the final stage, each tougher and more memorable than the last. This guide introduces all four at once.
The Boxer: Balrog
The hulking fighter in boxing gloves is the Boxer. In Japan he's named M. Bison (Balrog in the West), and he's an enforcer M. Bison pulled from the underground boxing circuit.
The Boxer's style is one word — raw power. No fancy projectiles, just heavy punch after heavy punch, with crushing close-range pressure. In lore, he's a mercenary who fights for whoever pays — a classic "hired gun".
The Claw: Vega
The Spanish ninja wielding a steel claw and a white mask is the Claw. In Japan he's Balrog (Vega in the West), a fighter who claims to battle "for beauty".
The Claw's style is flashy and strange: sweeping claw strikes, wall-jumping dives, spinning thrusts — all highly theatrical. In lore he's deeply narcissistic, unable to tolerate any ugliness, including getting scratched in a fight.
The Eyepatch: Sagat
The towering Muay Thai king Sagat is the most senior of the Four Kings, and the only one whose name was never swapped. The cross-scar on his chest was left by Ryu's Shoryuken in Street Fighter 1.
Sagat joined Shadaloo not for money or ambition, but to get revenge on Ryu. His Muay Thai kicks are fast and brutal, making him one of the acknowledged powerhouse characters of Street Fighter II.
The Dictator: M. Bison
The head of the Four Kings and the great villain of Street Fighter — the Dictator, M. Bison. He leads Shadaloo and dominates the world with "Psycho Power", serving as Street Fighter II's final boss.
Bison's power lies in that nearly-unstoppable purple Psycho Power: it can suppress, control, and even bring him back from the dead. That's why he's the shared number-one target of the heroes — Ryu, Chun-Li, and Guile.
A boss squad
The Boxer's brute force, the Claw's cunning, Sagat's grudge, Bison's dominance — four men, four styles, together forming Street Fighter II's most iconic gauntlet. It was this "Four Kings" that first taught countless players what a "fighting-game boss" truly meant. They are evil made flesh in Street Fighter.