Sodom (Final Fight)
The character stands in an underground ring wearing a samurai kabuto helmet with a mask. On the front of his outfit, Sodom has attempted to scrawl the Japanese kanji shi meaning death. However he has not written the kanji properly and thus its meaning is lost. He wears tabi socks and geta sandals alongside blue jeans and body armor. This visual combination creates a strange mix of American and Japanese elements that defines his appearance. He is never seen fighting without a pair of jitte or katana swords making him one of the few characters to appear in the Street Fighter series to use weaponry.
Sodom originally appeared in the 1989 beat-em-up game Final Fight as the boss of the Subway stage. An underground wrestling promoter dressed in a samurai-style helmet and gear fights the player in an underground ring. The setting takes place within Metro City's subway system where he wields two katana swords against intruders. In 1993's Mighty Final Fight three Sodoms known as the Three Katana Brothers appear together. These enemies challenge players in the same underground arena but with increased numbers. The original encounter establishes him as a formidable foe wielding traditional Japanese blades despite his American background.
After being defeated by Guy in Final Fight Sodom recognizes his wrong perception of Japan and travels there to re-educate himself. He develops a new fighting style based on Japanese and Western martial arts and trades his swords for a pair of jitte. In the first Alpha game he uses a pair of jitte as weapons instead of his katana blades from Final Fight. However in Street Fighter Alpha 3 if the player plays as Sodom in X-ism mode then Sodom will use his katana blades from Final Fight instead of the jitte. This shift reflects his ongoing struggle between his adopted culture and his original identity.
Sodom appears in Street Fighter TV series episodes titled The Medium Is The Message Cammy and the Bachelor and Final Fight. In The Medium Is The Message he is seen as a fighter competing in the tournament in India. In Cammy and the Bachelor he works for M. Bison and Shadaloo alongside Birdie. In Final Fight he is a member of Mad Gear like in the games and is defeated by Ryu and Ken. Sodom makes a cameo appearance in the 1999 anime film Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as a fighter who travels with Ryu Ken Chun-Li and some other fighters to Dr. Sadler's laboratory. His comments hint that he is only doing it to prove he is not a coward.
Sodom's first appearance in the Street Fighter series was in the original Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams on 1995. According to Tatsuya Minami senior manager of Capcom's Product Planning and Design section Capcom included Sodom in the game because he was popular and easy to translate to the one-on-one fighting genre. He is characterized as an American Japanophile who is greatly fascinated by Japanese culture but misunderstands it. In his ending from 1996's Street Fighter Alpha 2 Sodom goes to a sumo ring in Japan to seek new members for the reformed Mad Gear and ends up being challenged by E. Honda. In 1998's Street Fighter Alpha 3 he seeks a new hideout for his gang and goes to claim Shadaloo's new underground base as his own when he learns about it from his former ally Rolento.
Since his debut Sodom has received mixed reception particularly for his Street Fighter Alpha portrayals. Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek stated that he was a bit torn on the character describing him as the epitome of badass for how he was introduced and designed in the original Final Fight. Meanwhile Koji Kai of Impress Watch described Sodom as a memorable character as well as having a unique design that combines Japanese and Western elements and a powerful setting. Suriel Vazquez and Eric Van Allen of Paste described him as Capcom's take on otaku culture though they felt the character was interesting stating that he served more as a footnote than a comical and fun addition from Final Fight.
Video game journalist Drew Mackie examined Sodom for his website Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games particularly in regards to the reasoning behind the character's name. On the surface he felt it may have been intended as a reference to German heavy metal band Sodom as many of the characters in Final Fight had similarly themed names amongst Mad Gear despite having no direct visual similarities to said bands. He further suggested that the biblical connotations of the name in relation to sodomy may have been something the Japanese developers were unaware at the time of Final Fights release. But as the character evolved his use of Sodom as a name played well into his misunderstanding of language with Mackie suggesting that Sodom himself was possibly unaware of the connotation.
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Common questions
Who is Sodom in the Final Fight game series?
Sodom is an underground wrestling promoter and boss of the Subway stage who originally appeared in the 1989 beat-em-up game Final Fight. He wears a samurai kabuto helmet with a mask, tabi socks, geta sandals, blue jeans, and body armor while wielding either katana swords or jitte weapons.
When did Sodom first appear in the Street Fighter series?
Sodom made his first appearance in the Street Fighter series in the original Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams on 1995. Capcom included him because he was popular and easy to translate into the one-on-one fighting genre according to Tatsuya Minami senior manager of Capcom's Product Planning and Design section.
What weapons does Sodom use in different games?
In the 1989 game Final Fight Sodom wields two katana swords against intruders but later trades them for a pair of jitte after being defeated by Guy. In Street Fighter Alpha 3 X-ism mode players can choose to have Sodom use his katana blades from Final Fight instead of the jitte.
Why is Sodom considered an American Japanophile character?
Sodom is characterized as an American Japanophile who is greatly fascinated by Japanese culture but misunderstands it including writing the kanji shi meaning death incorrectly on his outfit. He travels to Japan to re-educate himself and develops a new fighting style based on Japanese and Western martial arts.
Where does Sodom fight in the Street Fighter TV series episodes?
Sodom appears in Street Fighter TV series episodes titled The Medium Is The Message Cammy and the Bachelor and Final Fight where he competes in tournaments or works for M. Bison and Shadaloo alongside Birdie. He also makes a cameo appearance in the 1999 anime film Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation traveling with Ryu Ken Chun-Li and other fighters to Dr. Sadler's laboratory.