Character Analysis: Sabrewulf(Feat Lousy)

 Backstory

Height: 5’11

Weight: 415 lbs

Born as Konrad Von Sabrewulf, Sabrewulf’s life as an aristocrat took an unexpected turn one day after suffering a wolf bite that inflicted him with Lycanthropy. Like most werewolf stories, this turned him into an outcast among human civilization, forcing him into exile in an isolated tower in the forest. This did little to help with his mental state as his condition worsened and worsened until he couldn’t revert back to his human self.

Just as all of his attempts to find a cure failed and he seemed without hope, a message from Ultratech arrived, promising him a cure to his condition. On the condition that he compete in their Killer Instinct Tournament and win. While wary of Ultratech’s true motives, Sabrewulf accepted the deal, seeing it as his last chance for a cure. 

Canonically, Sabrewulf’s unwillingness to embrace his beast side becomes his undoing, forcing him out of the tournament, and losing the use of his two arms at the hands of Glacius. To make matters worse, a lynch mob had arrived and brutally beat him to the point of near death. Now back in the hands of Ultratech, he received new cybernetic arms and was ready to carry out his revenge on the one who injured him. Depending on whether or not he spares Glacius, he either returns to his own time again in hopes of finding a cure, or succumbs even further into his madness before finally embracing his beast side in its entirety.

-Sabrewulf’s backstory in KI2...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTNtf2YqhUg 

In the original Killer Instinct series at least.

In the reboot Konrad’s story is much the same, though instead of suffering a wolf bite, he stumbles upon a hidden family archive, and accidentally cuts himself on a trophy: The mounted claw of one of the werewolves that his family had hunted for generations. Using the remains of his family’s archives, he desperately attempted to find a cure, but only ended up making himself addicted to opiates. 

Ultratech once again offered him a cure, and Sabrewulf took the offer. And they once again implanted Sabrewulf with cybernetics, and unbeknownst to Sabrewulf, attempted to extend his cycle of lycanthropy until he was almost always a beast. Konrad naturally didn’t like this, and broke free during an early Killer Instinct tournament, ripping out his cybernetics and regenerating new organic arms with his knowledge of potions and the arcane.

For a brief time he had regained control of his sanity. But his addictions would ultimately lead him back to his beast side, and into the Killer Instinct tournament. His fate here also varies, but virtual all lead to him fully embracing what he always knew himself to be: A wolf with the heart of a man.

Experience

Original Timeline

-Fought in the original Killer Instinct tournament, but is stated to have canonically lost fairly early on. He still does get the chance to do battle with Glacius, however.

-During the events of Killer Instinct 2, he’s established to have fought Glacius again for revenge.

Reboot Timeline

-Fought Fulgore and Thunder.

-Survived an encounter with Mira in the Novella.

https://www.ultra-combo.com/ki-novella-chapter-4-conflux/  

Comics Timeline

-Is established to have had a 17-0 win streak.

https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Killer-Instinct/Issue-2?id=121140#10 

-Fought with Jago

Arsenal

Cybernetic Arms: After being defeated by Glacius, Ultratech upgraded Sabrewulf’s arms to be cybernetic. Though during the reboot he ends up ripping these out, and relying on his own strength.

Abilities

Beyond Superhuman Strength, Speed, & Durability, Sabrewulf has…

Pyrokinesis: Sabrewulf seems to be able to create, or at least summon, flaming bats. In the original, they appear to be made of some sort of green energy. 

Strength Buffs: Sabrewulf can temporarily increase his strength both through Howl, and while activating Instinct Mode.

Lycanthropy Claws: In the Killer Instinct comics, Sabrewulf’s claws had a chance of spreading lycanthropy onto whoever they come in contact with. This was how Jago got infected with the disease.

https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Killer-Instinct/Issue-4?id=121142#6 

Moves

Flaming Bat: Sabrewulf fires a flaming bat that moves towards the opponent as a projectile.

https://youtu.be/FOxn_qBcS_M?t=51 

Sabre Spin: A series of spinning slashes.

Sabre Roll: Sabrewulf rolls forward, slashing with his claws during his final strike.

Sabre Flip: Sabrewulf flips his legs into the air in a swiping motion.

https://youtu.be/UOSQtitUppA?t=19 

Sabre Pounce: Sabrewulf leaps forward, clawing at his opponent when landing.

Howl: Sabrewulf temporarily buffs his strength.

Hamstring: Sabrewulf slides across the ground, aiming for his opponent’s legs. The move can be used to move under projectiles.

Eclipse: Sabrewulf performs an overhead slash that forms a crescent-shaped arc.

Overpower: Sabrewulf reels back before striking with both claws.

Feral Rage: Sabrewulf’s Instinct Mode. Boosts his attack power and speed, and the range of his attacks considerably.

Feats

Strength & Destructive Power

-Tore through a steel door. (Killer Instinct, Issue 4, Page 16)

-Sabrewulf, like every Killer Instinct character can knock around Fulgore and Aganos. (500 lbs)

Speed & Agility

-No particularly notable speed feats, though he should scale to several other characters’ speed feats.

Durability & Survivability

-Survived an extended fight with Jago (Killer Instinct, Issue 2, Page 12-14).

Scaling

-Survived crashing through a stone wall (Killer Instinct, Issue 4, Page 13-14).

-Survived having his arms cut off by Glacius in the original Killer Instinct.

Scaling

Note: Because the power of characters varies from their original and reboot counterparts, I will specify which I’m scaling Sabrewulf to.

Who does Sabrewulf scale to?

Original

Sabrewulf directly fights Glacius in his story mode in the original Killer Instinct, and in Killer Instinct 2, killing him in one of his possible endings. As such, he should reasonably scale to both him and Cinder, who Glacius defeated. He should also scale to Tusk as least somewhat, as nothing implies Tusk is greatly above him.

Reboot

Sabrewulf fights with Thunder and Fulgore in his mode, and survives an encounter with Mira. He should reasonably scale to most of the mid-tier characters, including Fulgore, Glacius, and Aria.

Cinder (Original)

-Flew into a volcano at high speeds.

Glacius (Reboot)

-Blitzed Aria multiple times, who can perceive things down to the nanosecond.

Tusk (Original)

-Can summon a large meteor

Weaknesses

While fairly strong, Sabrewulf is far from Killer Instinct’s top fighter. He ultimately lost to Glacius during their bout, and has seen similar losses in the comics. In the new reboot, he also has a really bad addiction to substances of all kinds: Alcohol, drugs, ETC. Though even in the original timeline he has never quite managed to control his werewolf side.

Character Analysis: Jon Talbain(Feat DJTIKI)

 

Jon Talbain

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1. For Darkstalkers, it’s clear to know that with its, unfortunately, limited amount of media, that there is a clear throughline of logic when discussing its characters. Darkstalkers have been handled by many different companies over the years. Not all of them are made equal. They are certainly not made equal.

• Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, and Darkstalkers 3 (known in Japan as Vampire Savior) are the mainline games and will be the primary source of information.

• The UDON rendition of Darkstalkers is a western comic that is based on the first game in the series. As such it will be primary supplementary evidence. This also includes the Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge OVA which largely does the same thing in retelling the story according to the games. Due to the nature of the series being a fighting game, what is and isn’t canon can seem loose and difficult to interpret. This research document will take into account what characters should be feasibly able to do. 

• Vampire Savior: Tamashii no Mayoigo is a manga series that follows the events of Lilith running away from Jedah. It features an original main character (and is really bad). Despite the… quality, the likeness of the characters are close enough as to be corroborating secondary evidence. 

• Darkstalkers: The Animated Series is absolutely noncanon. Though it is funny. 

2. There are two links to the UDON Comic for Darkstalkers (1 2). This is where you can find the OVA. If you want to torture yourself, this will direct you to the manga series. Finally, given that this is a fighting game, most of the story beats are told through arcade mode endings. A playlist for all the endings can be found here (1 2). 

Background

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Jon Talbain was born to a British mother and a Werewolf father of the Kreutz family. While his father was known for his heroics, Jon never knew much about his father. When he was young, his mother was killed by a supernatural entity sent by Jedah. 

He grew up resented by humans for being a half-breed Darkstalker, often shot at or hunted. It was hard for him to control his feral side so naturally there would be times where he would lash out and kill humans. One such encounter led him to a wise master who owned a dojo, who defeated him promptly. Instead of killing Jon, the master took him under his wing where Jon would continue to grow and learn how to fight. This was because his master, like him, was a half-breed Darkstalker.  Word would get out about his master, and he was eventually murdered by a group of bandits. Jon would continue to resent the humans who had animosity towards him, developing antisocial behavior. 

But it wouldn’t be long until he met Felicia, yet another Darkstalker (she was a cat), whose charismatic and optimistic outlook on humans and life would slowly melt the shell he was hiding under. He would then follow his inner voice, train hard, and work tirelessly to fight off his killer instinct, hoping to have full mastery of it. And one day, after defeating his inner darkness (literally), he would have full control over his werewolf side. Though he decides to live as a werewolf like his father, his humanity would forever be intact.

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• Name: Jon Talbain

• Gender: Male

• Age: 1940

• Race: Werewolf

• Height: 6'1" (186 cm)

• Weight: 154 lbs (70 kg)

• Descendant of the Kreutz Family

• Based off The Wolf Man

• Likes: Felicia, turkey legs, being sarcastic

• Dislikes: Humans, bad smells, his werewolf side

Moveset

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Beast Cannon - his most infamous move, he can charge himself with energy and use it to dash into opponents for damage. It’s also used to enhance the speed of his dashes and height of his jumps. It has rising and diving variants. He can change direction mid-attack.

Climb Chaser - an uppercut he performs with his feet.

Million Flicker - nunchuk attack!

Wild Circular - his command grab. After grabbing his opponents, he leaps into the air, somersaulting multiple times, then slams the opponent down.

Dragon Cannon - it’s a long-range projectile that’s imbued with fire. From the front, it looks like a dragon hurling towards you. (24:52)

Moment Silence - a devastating slash through the chest with Jon’s claws.

Mirage Body - his most powerful technique, he blitzes and overwhelms the opponent with his ferocity and seemingly a clone of himself. Given its name, it’s likely the clone isn’t real but rather an aftereffect of his moving fast.

Powers & Abilities

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Werewolf

• As a werewolf, he has everything a werewolf would have:

• Enhanced senses, specifically smell.

• Ferocious claws.

• Amped physical strength.

• Speed of a canine. 

• Superhuman durability.

• Ferocity tied to the moon. (Brighter / Harsher moonlight = more vicious ferocity)

• Ability to transform himself at will during the night.

Training

Not much is known about the specific training that Jon underwent with his teacher. But based on the stance he’s poised in, his story taking place in the UK, and the fact that Jon looks to be in his mid-20s (making this time about 1965ish), it’s likely he was practicing Shotokan Karate (which was brought to the UK in 1963). (Also they use nunchucks!) Shotokan Karate is focused on control and calmness through defensive measures in punches and low kicks. Fitting considering this is what Jon had trouble most with. Combined with his werewolf side, he becomes a deadly force to be reckoned with. 

Feats

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Strength & Attack Potency

• Jon’s claws can cut through (27:50) the steel of Huitzil units and train roofs. 

• Impaled Lilith.

• Comparable to the power of other Darkstalkers in the series. (See Scaling)

Speed & Reactions

• Has demonstrated multiple (24:32) instances of bullet-timing.

• Blitzed several Huitzil units before they were able to make proper defense measures. (27:50)

• Can dodge Morrigan’s soul-based attacks. (0:40) (?)

• Should be comparable to Felicia in terms of sprinting speed. (37:20)

• Jon claims he can reach lightspeed in one of his win-quotes.

Durability & Stamina

• Survived a beating from Felicia while he was feral.

• Tanked the entirety of B.B. Hood’s artillery, gunfire, and bombs.

• which also packs silver bullets.

• Being in his werewolf state gives him unimaginable stamina, similar to that of a canine.

Skill & Intelligence

• While feral, his domineering stature can easily overwhelm trained fighters.

• Able to keep pace with other Darkstalkers like Felicia, Huitzil (27:50), Morrigan (0:35), and B.B. Hood.

• Trained underneath a martial artist master.

• Eventually would control his werewolf side by defeating Dark Talbain, his inner self.

Scaling

• Jon is a B+-Rank Darkstalker, and therefore should be similar in power to those in the B+-Rank alongside him. The guidebook and game files stated that those not native to Makai with special powers are B+-Rank. Jon has fought those in B+-Rank and lower.

• Felicia (B+)

• Has shown consistently to match Jon’s might.

• Felicia has also destroyed multiple Huitzil units. (27:30)

• She survived a cannon explosion at its epicenter. (32:58) 

• Has dodged and intercepted shotgun fire as its shot.

• Can keep up with Lord Raptor when teaming up. (13:48)

• Survived a run-in with Q Bee.

• B.B. Hood (C)

• Briefly kept up with and fought Morrigan, though she lost.

• By virtue of her arsenal, she can keep up with bullets and missile fire.

• Managed to live through having her entire arsenal thrown back at her.

• Huitzil (B+)

• Flight can easily reach escape velocity in mere seconds.

• Can fly from Hellstorm (200 million light years away approximately) to Earth in under 24 hours.

• Their standard arsenal includes lasers that can cause massive explosions, able to destroy cities. (26:19)

• A unit that fought Anakaris caused an explosion larger than that of an Egyptian pyramid.

• Able to survive cannon explosions similar to their own firepower casually. (34:40)

• Anakaris (B+)

• Can fight with a Huitzil unit, though he was tired after the battle. (though he’s a bit lazy)

• Sunk his entire kingdom in Egypt to preserve it from human affairs.

• Q Bee (B+)

• Lifted her hive colony.

Weaknesses

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• Being a werewolf, he has a natural vulnerability to silver. Though B.B. Hood was packing silver in her arsenal and that was by no means an instant kill to someone like Jon.

• Jon has a hard time controlling himself during full moons. In the case of a blood moon, it’s borderline uncontrollable. 

• While he has since mastered his werewolf side, should he develop an insatiable hunger or be under a full moon, he’ll lose all sense of morality.