Raphael is one of the five Ninja Turtles in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter continuity. He is one of the four main "hero" characters of the story, along with Chun-Li, Guile, and Michelangelo.
History[]
This version of Raphael and the Turtles went through an alternative version of the events of the existence of Mutant Town and The Armageddon Game, although they differed from mainstream IDW contunity - most prominently, they never allied with their version of The Shredder.
Following these events and the exposure to the world at large about the existance of mutants, Raph learned of a fighting tournament taking place in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where only the best of the best were supposed to be taking part. Seeing this as an opportunity to prove that he and the others still had "it", he convinced them to go to Jersey. The five of them spent two hours hanging on the back of a semi truck to get there.
Unbeknownst to the fighters, the tournament was a secret ploy by Baxter Stockman and M. Bison to draw out powerful fighters to harvest their "Psycho Power" to fuel their Psycho Bomb. Stockman was angry to find that the Turtles had come, as he knew their reputation for foiling villains' plans, but despite his objections, Bison took special interest in Raphael, who he felt held a lot of latent Psycho Power.
Of the Turtles, Raph had the first bout, facing against Guile. When Bison decides that he's seen enough of Raph's power, he orders the referee to stop the fight. The ref pretends that Raph is disqualified due to applying a "throat punch" to Guile, a move that angers both fighters. At the nearby Eastlaird Casino, Raph takes his anger out at the parlor games, earning him a dressing-down from the security foreman. His admonishment is interrupted by a man who is convinced that the security foreman is not doing everything within his power to help find his missing sister, one of the fighters. Leonardo takes interest in the development of missing fighters.
After Mikey's match with Chun-Li, both sets of fighters walk the streets of Atlantic City. Raph spots Guile's group and he attacks him. TMNT vs. Street Fighter #1
Raph accuses Guile of paying off the referee, which Guile of course, denies. As they continue to argue and fight, Stockman overloads his observing drone's amplifier and electrocutes all 9 fighters, knocking them out. Raph woke up under the boardwalk with a regular sea turtle staring at him. Later in their respective locker rooms, both Raph and Ken Masters think the other camp is responsible. During Donatello and Ken's match, Raph gets irate that the Street Fighter crew is accusing them of being villains. He gets into another quarrel with Guile, and Leo tries in vain to break it up. Jennika suddenly picks up Ryu and throws him into the ring, knocking him into Donnie. This causes the two sides to launch into an all-out brawl, spilling out into the casino. Bison has an extraction team of his troopers swoop in to kidnap Raph, and the Turtles and Street Fighter crew call a temporary truce to fight off the Troops. Unfortunately, they do manage to make off with Raph, and when she tries to stop them from taking him, Chun-Li as well. TMNT vs. Street Fighter #2
Raph and Chun-Li are taken to the Halo Soda Bottling Company, where they are faced with their captors. Stockman, of course, is mad that Bison deliberately ignored his instructions, to which the dictator responds with a backhand. Raph tries to attack Bison while the villains are distracted, but he is met with a rebuff. After Raph and Chun-Li prod them for information about their scheme, the latter leaps into action with her Spinning Bird Kick. Raph joins in, with Bison beating the Turtle down and Stockman outwitting the Interpol agent. They eventually just run, chased down the service tunnels by Bison Troopers. As they gain on the pair, Raph offers to hold them off while Chun-Li goes for help. TMNT vs. Street Fighter #3
Raph is eventually overwhelmed, recaptured, and brought before Bison again. He taunts Raph and then shoves him into a holding tank. Chun-Li manages to rejoin the others, and they all head to the bottling plant to rescue Raph and stop the villains, only to find The Shredder standing over a heap of unconscious Bison Troopers. While Leo, Jenny, and Ryu attempt to fight off Shredder, the others work on freeing the captive fighters, with Guile finding and releasing Raph. TMNT vs. Street Fighter #4
After Ken demolished the controls to the Psycho Bomb, Donatello tries to fix it, although Baxter insists it's useless and suggests they formulate an alternative plan. Raph decides that he's going to try to absorb all of the Psycho Power stored in the the bomb into himself, rendering it inert. Don tries to talk him out of it, while Stockman eggs him on. Raph knocks Don away and proceeds to absorb the Psycho Power, which greatly enhanches his musculature and turns his skin purple. He hears Bison and Shredder fighting on the roof, and leaps through the skylight to confront them. He easily beats both villains and sends them into the bay with a blast of psycho energy, then releases all the energy from himself, reverting back to normal and dropping like a stone. Jenny claims she doesn't feel a heartbeat and worries that he's sacrificed his life, but Raph suddenly wakes up and teases her about not knowing how to check for a pulse, but he is ignored and embraced by a relieved Jenny and Leo.
The Turtles prepare to head back to New York City in the back of a truck, but when Guile says he'd like a rematch, the rest of the Turtles hop inside while Guile and Raph fight on the roof of the trailer. TMNT vs. Street Fighter #5
Notes and trivia[]
- This character is an adaptation of Raphael, first created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. This version was developed by Paul Allor and Ariel Medel for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter.
See also[]
- Character gallery: Raphael
- Appearances of Raphael