The Mad Gear Gang (マッドギア Maddogia?) is a mostly dismantled Metro City street-gang, featured prominently in the first two Final Fight games as the antagonists. The Mad Gear Gang was named after an earlier unrelated Capcom game named Mad Gear, also known as LED Storm in the U.S.
Story
The Mad Gear, led by Belger, controlled virtually all of Metro City, from the slums to the transportation systems all the way to the uptown district, with at least one policeman in their pocket. Though he proclaimed the gang was an outlet for the frustrated, disadvantaged youth of Metro City and a safe haven from the worst aspects of urban life, Mad Gear nevertheless was a racketeering and underworld enterprise under his lavish management. This situation came to a head when Mike Haggar was elected mayor after a campaign promising to be tough on crime.
Final Fight
The gang attempted to control the new mayor by kidnapping his daughter Jessica and holding her hostage. Rather than capitulating or negotiating, however, Haggar called on Jessica's boyfriend Cody and Cody's friend Guy, and fought back. The trio assaulted every ringleader in the gang that they could lay their hands on until they located Jessica in Belger's penthouse apartment. In the ensuing fight, Cody sent Belger through a window, leaving the gang reeling and leaderless.
Final Fight 2
The gang members that remained regrouped under the leadership of Retu and went international. In retaliation for the defeat they had suffered, they kidnapped Guy's girlfriend Rena and his old master Genryusai. Guy, however, was away training with Zeku and was unaware of the situation, so Rena's sister Maki enlisted Haggar's help, as well as that of a swordsman named Carlos Miyamoto. The new trio smashed Mad Gear hideouts around the world until learning from a defeated Rolento that Rena and Genryusai were being held in the gang's main headquarters in Japan. There, they fought and defeated Retu, and the Mad Gear has not recovered nor been heard from since.
Final Fight 3
While the Gang makes no appearance whatsoever in this installment due to major blows in authority and influence in the past, it is stated that the more violent and renegade Skull Cross Gang found its origins as a subordinate gang of Mad Gear before its downsizing.
Street Fighter series
Several members of the gang are known to have struck out on their own since the destruction of the gang, choosing paths as disparate as professional wrestling, attempting to found a utopian nation, starting a legitimate and legal business, to continuing in law enforcement. What became of the rest of the gang, or even how many survived their wars against Haggar and his allies, is currently unknown. Hugo, Rolento, Poison, Sodom, and Abigail have made appearances as playable characters, while various other members have made cameos throughout the series.
List of cameos
The Mad Gear Gang appear in the following games:
- Some members appear in Sodom's ending in Street Fighter Alpha.
- Many members make cameo appearances in Guy's stages in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3.
- In the Alpha series, El Gado and Holly Wood assist Rolento, whereas Edi. E is seen chasing Cody in one of his win poses.
- The Mad Gear Gang can be seen in the background of the destroyed Metro City stage in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
- They also appear on the Mad Gear Hideout stage in Street Fighter X Tekken and Ultra Street Fighter IV.
- Roxy, Axl, and J appear as part of Abigail's story in Street Fighter V.
Members
Final Fight
Underlings
- The Andore Family (Andore, Andore Jr., F. Andore, U. Andore, and G. Andore)
- Poison - an agile transgender female thug who attacks with slaps and a variety of kicks.
- Roxy - a palette swap of Poison with orange hair.
- El Gado - a lanky thug who attacks with knives, stabbing and throwing them at the heroes or thrusting wildly at anyone underneath him as he takes flying leaps through the air.
- Holly Wood - El Gado's palette swap. He sported a goatee and a bandanna on his head and wore a beige suit. On some occasions, he came dressed in red and brandishing Molotov cocktails, which he threw at the heroes just before leaving. This version was much weaker than usual, and required only one hit to be killed off.
- Axl - a muscle-bound thug who was able to defend against oncoming attacks, unlike other opponents. He had shoulder-length blond hair and wore a headband.
- Slash - Axl's palette swap. He had short, curly, dark hair.
- Two P and J - a pair of punks dressed in baggy pants and jackets. Two P sported an orange mohawk, wore shades, dressed in orange and blue and had a dragon symbol on his back, while J had his blond hair upright, dressed in yellow and dark blue and had an atomic biohazard symbol on his back. In the game, they tend to strike when the heroes have their backs turned on them.
- Bred - exemplified the look of a typical Mad Gear thug, replete with knives. It was his car that got trashed in the bonus round of Final Fight. He wore a light brown suit and had dirty blond hair.
- Dug - head swap of Bred dressed in red. He's bald and wears shades.
- Jake - a bearded thug who dresses similarly to Bred and Dug, only his outfit is blue and he wears a vest.
- Simons - a yellow-dressed head swap of Jake with a clean-shaven face and shades.
- Bill Bull, Graham Oriber and Wong Who - a group of bald, obese men wearing pants with suspenders. Their attacks consisted of a charging headbutt and a kick. G. Oriber sported a chinstrap, Bill Bull sported a beard, and Wong Who had a braided topknot with no facial hair.
- Billy and Sid - a pair of male punks similar to Poison and Roxy, that replace them in some versions of the game.
Ringleaders
- Damnd - boss encountered in the Slum stage. He is a cowardly fighter who prefers to let his allies do the dirty work for him. Known for appearing in the game's intro movie and kidnapping Jessica.
- Sodom - boss encountered in the Subway/Park stage. He is a Japanophile who prefers to fight with two swords.
- Edi. E - boss encountered in the West Side stage. He is a corrupt cop who makes frequent use of his nightstick and pistol.
- Rolento - boss encountered in the Industrial Area stage. He fights with a staff and a seemingly endless supply of grenades.
- Abigail - boss encountered in the Bay Area stage. He fights with punches and throws, and uses running body slams when he becomes angry.
- Belger - boss encountered in the Uptown stage. He fights with a bowgun and is surprisingly agile in spite of his age and the motorized chair he rides in.
Final Fight 2
Underlings
- Atlas and Jony - a pair of scarred musclemen with strong defense.
- Mic and Mark - are short and odd-looking thugs. They are fast, with punch attacks similar to Two P.
- Bull and Elijah - take over the job of Bred as being the most basic enemies. Having a kick attack, they are also very predictable and are very slow.
- Jack and Schot - are another form of basic thugs.
- Elick - a pudgy man who wields a pair of electrified fork terminals (which resemble tuning forks).
- Elias and Eliot - a pair of baton-wielding bad guys.
- Mary and Eliza - a pair of athletic female knife wielders who are named after Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst, also known as the Biddenden Maids.
- Andore returns, along with Andore Jr. and G. Andore.
- Leon and Robert - a pair of male knife wielders who replaced Mary and Eliza in some versions of the game.
Ringleaders
- Won Won - boss encountered in Hong Kong. A former Chinese chef who fights with a cleaver in the Japanese version of the game and his fists in the international version.
- Freddie - boss encountered in France. A former Navy SEAL whose fighting style is similar to Andore's.
- Bratken - boss encountered in Holland. A hulking man with the mentality of a child, he fights with a lunging punch, a throw, and a flying jump kick.
- Philippe - boss encountered in England. A nimble clown who fights with a cane and sliding kicks.
- Rolento - boss encountered in Italy. Returning from the previous game.
- Retu - boss encountered in Japan. A huge man who dresses in a kabuki costume and leaps around the room, attacking with punches and spinning kicks.
Mighty Final Fight
The following members only appear in the spin-off game Mighty Final Fight.
- Serge - a man wearing an orange beret and a green (or pink) outfit with black (or pink) gloves and boots, similar to Rolento. Like Axl and Slash, he can block incoming attacks.
- The Katana Brothers - Sodom's two brothers who wear near identical armor to him.
Gallery
