Bruce Irvin (ブルース・アーヴィン Burūsu Āvin?) is a character in the Tekken series of fighting games. Bruce first appeared in Tekken 2, and he has returned for Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, as well as the spin-off titles Tekken Tag Tournament and its sequel, Tekken 3D and Tekken Mobile.
Bruce is an American Muay Thai champion turned mercenary soldier, who works for Kazuya Mishima throughout the Tekken series. He has a tough outlook and grey morality, though has a soft spot for helping underdogs, especially children being bullied as he was.
Biography
Bruce Irvin was born and raised in a rough neighborhood, one troubled by criminals and gangsters. At a young age, Bruce was left with no family when his parents and older brother were attacked and killed by gangsters. With no one else to turn to, Bruce was forced to survive, alone, on the streets. This did not break him, however, and knowing that he had to be strong to survive, Bruce trained in the art of Muay Thai kickboxing. Forced to fight on a daily basis to survive on the mean streets, Bruce turned this to his advantage by competing in the underground fighting scene to earn money, where he soon developed a fearsome reputation due to his vicious temperament and uncompromising technique. This led Bruce to compete in professional tournaments, where he soon became the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Just as Bruce's fortunes seemed to have changed, his life took a drastic change of course when he entered a Muay Thai tournament in Thailand. A bookmaker, keen to turn a profit, offered Bruce a sum of money to rig a fight and lose. When his turn came to fight, Bruce's pride would not allow him to lose, and he ended up beating his opponent to death. Enraged by the loss of revenue, the bookmaker hired a killer to take Bruce's life, while the police sought Bruce for murder. Forced to flee, Bruce took a plane out of the country, only to find that a detective and his hired killer were also on the plane. A fight soon escalated, resulting in the crashing of the plane. Whereas the detective and killer were killed, Bruce survived, albeit with amnesia. Wandering alone in a foreign wilderness, Bruce was found by the forces of Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya, seeing Bruce's potential, hired him as a mercenary, and the two grew to be friends. When Kazuya arranged the second King of Iron Fist Tournament, Bruce entered, keen to test his abilities, but he was defeated by Heihachi Mishima.[4] Lei Wulong, a police officer from Hong Kong and partner of the detective killed in the plane crash, hunted Bruce during the tournament, Bruce turned to Kazuya for help, and Kazuya helped him fake his death and flee the country.[5] After the tournament's conclusion, and Kazuya's defeat at the hands of his father, Heihachi, Bruce believed his former employer to be dead. He travelled the globe working as a mercenary before ending up working at a survival school. He kept a low profile during these years, apparently fearing retribution from Heihachi as a loyalist of Kazuya.[6]
Around twenty-one years later, Bruce heard that Kazuya, his former employer thought to be dead, had entered the fourth King of Iron Fist tournament. Intrigued, Bruce wanted to learn more. When a fifth tournament was announced, he entered, seeking both information and some fun testing his abilities against the forces of the Mishima Zaibatsu. As the fifth tournament progressed, Bruce reunited with Kazuya and joined him in his plot to seek revenge and take over the G Corporation. While Bruce's participation in the tournament was minor, the plot to seize the G Corporation was successful. Kazuya ran G Corporation from the shadows and tasked Bruce with training and recruiting a private army from scratch. Bruce was known for being a particularly ruthless drill instructor.[7] He headed G Corp's army in their war against the Mishima Zaibatsu, travelling the globe and eliminating Mishima Zaibatsu operatives.
As the war continued, a time came when Kazuya set his sights on Jin Kazama, his son as well as the Zaibatsu's leader. To lure Jin into the open, a bounty was put on his head. Jin, in response to G Corporation's attempt on his life, arranged the sixth King of Iron Fist Tournament, as if he had been waiting for the G Corporation to make the first move. Bruce, seeing the reward for the capture of Jin, entered the tournament with his eyes on the prize, despite the risks to his own safety, due to his association and loyalty with the G Corporation. Bruce was unsuccessful in capturing Jin, and, if canonical, his Tekken 6 ending suggests that Bruce returned to continue serving in Kazuya's army.
Personality
Bruce is a brooding, cynical individual with a threatening personality, always merciless against his opponents. However, he despises bullying and constantly looks out for those more vulnerable than him, having a soft spot for children. This is most likely due to his own troubled past and rough background. He also holds gangsters in contempt due to the killing of his own family by them, though he himself will happily beat up whoever stands in his way. Bruce lives to fight, and is very confident of his own ability while showing little respect for his competitors and no fear in the face of danger. In his Tekken 6 ending, also reveals that he is also a natural leader - during the war, Bruce's G Corporation army unit took out a much better positioned Zaibatsu unit with ease.
Bruce seems to easily become listless and bored, and frequently states that he does things just for fun and to kill time. Despite this, he shows a clear loyalty to Kazuya and sought him out to work for him as soon as he knew he was alive. There seems to be some camraderie between Bruce and Kazuya, and a radio conversation likely between the two in Tekken 6 depicts some playful banter and a more light-hearted side to Bruce.
Appearance
Bruce is a tall, muscular African-American man with brown eyes and black hair, styled into a Mohawk, and a small goatee beard. Upon his return in Tekken 5, Bruce had more facial hair; short, neatly-groomed stubble that ran along his full jawline, as well as arching over his top lip. He also has a small ponytail, secured with a white hairband. Bruce also has three distinctive tattoos - two tribal designs on his chest, one on each side, and a large abstract piece on his back, which seems to show a phoenix or dragon-like design. In earlier titles in the series, he had another two tribal designs on his back, similar to his chest tattoos.
Outfits
- Main article: Bruce Irvin/Outfits
As a Muay Thai kickboxer, the majority of Bruce's outfits have consisted simply of shorts, as worn by practitioners of the sport. These shorts are typically a shade of blue, but pink has also been used, and bear fire-like patterns. He has also worn white and red shorts with his name on the front. Bruce usually wears hand wraps, and wrapping on his lower legs and ankles when wearing his boxing shorts. He sometimes also wears leg protectors and boxing gloves.
Bruce also has a casual outfit consisting of a tank top and jeans, decorated with flame patterning, with brown shoes, and a black tracksuit. In Tekken 6 he gains a G Corporation military outfit, consisting of a pale green shirt and pants, a bulletproof vest, combat boots, and knee pads.
Story
Tekken 2
Official Website Profile (Japanese)
Bruce Irving: Invincible fighter.
Bruce, who had lost both his parents and elder brother in his infancy, grew up living a life plagued by hunger and much violence. Disliking the cards fate had dealt him, Bruce yearned to live the good life, and his resolve made him a very strong fighter.
As he was a kickboxing practitioner, Bruce went to Thailand to compete in a Muay Thai Kickboxing tournament, and his performance destroyed the former popular champion's hopes of ever returning, and as a result, a Muay Thai gambling organization put out a contract on Bruce's life.
While onboard a returning flight home, the contract killer attempted to take Bruce's life, but an investigator of Hong Kong's International Police force, who was also on the flight, thwarted his efforts. A fight ensued and when it was over the plane went down.
A unit from Kazuya's facilities later rescued Bruce, who had been surviving off of human remains for several months.[1]
Version 2
In the kickboxing circle, Bruce has carved a niche for himself. He became the undisputed heavyweight champion five years before The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. His ferocity and uncompromising technique dominated all the competition. It is thought that the reason for his temper and nature is due to the fact that, at an early age, his parents and brother were killed, which left Bruce on the streets having to fight on a daily basis just to survive.
He learned to inflict great pain on his victims. He accumulated a small amount of money competing in pit fights and brawls. He lives for the fight! He entered a Muay Thai tournament in Thailand, where he was paid to rig a fight and lose. Bruce decided otherwise and beat his opponent to death. The bookie of the Muay Thai gym, enraged at his loss of revenue, sent a hired killer after Bruce. He fled the country by plane, only to meet a Hong Kong detective and the hired killer. Within minutes, the three confronted each other. It developed into a full-blown battle, which caused the plane to crash.
The detective (Lei Wulong's partner) and the killer were killed on impact, but Bruce was thrown free. Wandering in a remote region, Kazuya Mishima's men picked him up, and he was given a new job as Kazuya's combat champion.[citation needed]
Ending Description
A boy watches as Bruce practices. Noticing this, Bruce smiles and strikes a couple blows to the punching bag, finishing with a powerful kick that breaks the bag off its chains. Shocked, the boy falls to the ground. Bruce opens the window and gives the boy a thumbs up.
Tekken 3
Bruce does not appear in the third game, but he is mentioned in Lei's backstory, where it is stated that Lei drove Bruce to the brink of utter defeat in the previous tournament, but Bruce still managed to escape. After the tournament, Bruce's flight home was reported to have crashed once again, seemingly by Kazuya's men as a way of silencing Bruce, but Lei personally believes that it was a staged accident and Bruce still lives. Despite these suspicions, Lei was never able to find the truth regarding Bruce and devoted his time to solving numerous other crimes for the next 20 years instead.
In Tekken 5, it was revealed that Bruce truly did survive, but the alleged plane crash is not mentioned once, so it seems that he successfully faked his death with the help of Kazuya's men to escape the authorities twenty years ago.
Tekken 5
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Manual, PAL
Bored of working as a mercenary, Bruce decided to enter King of Iron Fist Tournament.[8]
Official Strategy Guide
Bruce Irvin is famous within the personal guard of Kazuya Mishima.
21 years ago, Kazuya's father defeated him, and Bruce decided to leave Kazuya's group of mercenaries. Bruce traveled the globe working as a mercenary for various organizations.
One day, Bruce learned that Kazuya, who he thought to be dead, had fought in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4. He also learned that the Mishima Zaibatsu, without Heihachi, was scheduled to hold The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
Bruce, who had survived countless conflicts on battlefields across the globe, sensed something sinister about the Tournament, but at the same time felt a rush of excitement. He had grown bored in recent times, and it looked as though the Mishima Zaibatsu was about to provide some entertainment.[9]
Prologue
Bruce Irvin, once a mercenary for Kazuya. Bruce left Kazuya's militia 21 years ago and wound up in a survival school. A few years later, he heard Kazuya died.
Then one day he heard Kazuya had fought in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4. He also learned that the Zaibatsu would soon hold The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
The seasoned veteran sensed something was going on behind the scenes. He wondered who or what it could be. "I need some action. Maybe I'll go have some fun with the Mishima Zaibatsu." says Bruce.[10]
Ending Description
A young boy in an alley is practicing his boxing on a punching bag, when three gangsters come and harass him. The gangsters beat the boy up, cut open the punching bag, and steal his boxing gloves. Bruce appears out of nowhere and beats up the three gangsters, eventually returning the gloves to the boy, encouraging him to keep on practicing.
Tekken 6
Official Strategy Guide
During The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Bruce reunited with Kazuya Mishima and aided him in his plot to take over the G Corporation. The G Corporation, controlled by Kazuya behind the scenes, began a war with the Mishima Zaibatsu. As the leader of a private force reporting to Kazuya, Bruce traveled the globe, eliminating Mishima Zaibatsu operatives.
When Kazuya's plan to destroy the Mishima Zaibatsu began, the G Corporation put a bounty on Jin Kazama's head. Then, just as expected, the Mishima Zaibatsu made its move and announced The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6. In spite of the obvious ambush that awaited him, Bruce entered the tournament for a chance to capture Jin and the reward.[11]
Prologue
During the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Bruce reunited with Kazuya Mishima and succeeded in overturning the G Corporation as part of Kazuya's plan. The G Corporation, controlled by Kazuya behind the scenes, began a war with the Mishima Zaibatsu. As the leader of a private force reporting directly to Kazuya. Bruce traveled the globe, eliminating Mishima Zaibatsu forces. In continuing their plan to destroy the Mishima Zaibatsu, the G Corporation placed a bounty on Jin Kazama's head. As expected, the Mishima Zaibatsu made their move and announced The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6. Bruce enters the tournament in order to capture Jin.[12]
Version 3
After becoming reacquainted with Kazuya Mishima at the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Bruce decided to assist Kazuya with his scheme to take over G Corporation, and after they had succeeded, he (Kazuya) started controlling the corporation from behind the scenes. G Corporation waged war with the Mishima Financial Group (MFG), and Bruce, as Kazuya’s captain, led his private corps into battle, fighting the MFG the world over. Soon afterwards, G Corporation made preparations to annihilate the MFG by placing an enormous bounty on Jin Kazama and, as anticipated, the MFG made their move: The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 is announced. Bruce Irvin enters the tournament to capture Jin.[citation needed]
Ending Description
Bruce is seen leading a group of soldiers from G Corporation against the Mishima Zaibatsu. His men cover for him as he takes out several enemies and machine guns. Eventually, all of the enemy forces are captured. Bruce then calls HQ, telling the person on the other side of the line that he has won a bet between them. The receiver tells him to clean up, and Bruce replies that he does not need to be told twice. He then rallies up his troops.
Other Appearances
Tekken: The Motion Picture
Bruce Irvin was featured in Tekken: The Motion Picture as Lee Chaolan's bodyguard. Bruce was ordered to fight Jack-2 and broke his fist against Jack-2's steel alloy. Jack-2 then knocked him into the water. Bruce is not seen again after this scene.
Tekken Tag Tournament
Bruce appeared as a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament.
Ending Description: The camera approaches Bruce, whose back is facing the screen. Bruce turns around and throws many punches and a couple of kicks. Afterwards, it is revealed that Bruce beat up many Tekken Force soldiers, Heihachi Mishima, and Kazuya. This ending takes place at Heihachi's stage.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Bruce returns as a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Profile
Leader of Kazuya Mishima's personal army at G Corporation. He can defeat anyone who crosses paths with him in battle. He tends to be kind to children due to his upbringing. He was raised in the slums at a young age and knew nothing but violence and crime during all his childhood years.[13]
Ending Description
Bruce is seen running past people with urgency. He manages to reach his destination - the middle of a road - where he startles a driver. Before the car can hit Bruce, he manages to flip the car by smashing the bonnet with his elbow. He then picks up a baby chick that had been in the middle of the road, saving it from the traffic. "You're safe now," he says as the car he attacked crashes to the ground and explodes behind him.
Gameplay
Bruce is often regarded as one of the better characters in the series, and for good reason. He is a counter-hit heavy character, meaning that many of his moves have special properties on counter hit, and his punishers deal a lot of damage. He also uses fast, ranged pokes and flurries of knee and elbow strikes to chip away at his opponent's health. So, he can be played both offensively and defensively.
A great side effect of many of Bruce's attacks being knees and elbows is that he cannot be defended against with reversals and most parries.
Fighting style
Bruce fights using Muay Thai, a combat sport renowned for its additional usage of knees and elbows for striking alongside punches and kicks. Unlike other styles, Muay Thai also holds an emphasis on clinching in order to control the fight and expose the opponent to knee or elbow strikes. It also, in regards to kicks, focuses almost solely on striking opponents using the shins and not the feet.
Moves
- Bruce Irvin/Tekken 2 Movelist
- Bruce Irvin/Tekken Tag Tournament Movelist
- Bruce Irvin/Tekken 5 Movelist
- Bruce Irvin/Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Movelist
- Bruce Irvin/Tekken 6 Movelist
- Bruce Irvin/Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Movelist
Character Relationships
- Kazuya Mishima - His boss and comrade. Bruce is Kazuya's mercenary and head of security in both Tekken 2 and Tekken 6. Kazuya helped him fake his death during Tekken 2, allowing him to avoid capture by Interpol. In his Tekken 5 profile, Bruce deliberately seeks Kazuya out again and works to help him take power before Tekken 6. Assuming that the first half of his Tekken 5 interlude with Kazuya is canon, the two have a distant personal relationship.
- Lei Wulong - His rival in Tekken 2. Bruce was involved in the death of Lei's partner, when a fight caused a plane crash. Lei hunted him down, eventually forcing Bruce to fake his death and flee.
- Heihachi Mishima- Heihachi defeated Bruce in the second tournament. As a loyalist of Kazuya, Bruce fled when Heihachi took over the Mishima Zaibatsu and did not return to the Iron Fist Arena until Heihachi's apparent death at the start of Tekken 5. Heihachi is his boss in the Tekken: The Motion Picture (non-canon).
- Jin Kazama - Bruce was ordered by Kazuya to capture Jin in Tekken 6. Bruce has been leading G Corp's security forces in a war against Jin's Zaibatsu.
- Anna Williams - His colleague in the Mishima Zaibatsu in Tekken 2 and later also at G-Corporation in Tekken 6.
- Lee Chaolan - His colleague in the Mishima Zaibatsu in Tekken 2. Lee's bodyguard in Tekken: The Motion Picture (non-canon).
- Ganryu - His colleague in the Mishima Zaibatsu in Tekken 2.
- Steve Fox - They fought one another in the Fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament, where Bruce was unimpressed with Steve's disrespectful tone.
- Jack-2 - Bruce was defeated and possibly killed by it in Tekken: The Motion Picture (non-canon).
Quotes
Trivia
General:
- Bruce is shown to be ruthless and violent except when it comes to helping the vulnerable, and particularly when it comes to bullied children. He has a hatred of gangsters, and yet is unfazed by working for Kazuya Mishima and the more criminal direction he takes the Mishima Zaibatsu. It is thus possible that some of Bruce's empathy for Kazuya may come from their shared rough upbringings.
- Bryan Fury replaced Bruce in Tekken 3. As such, they share many similarities, such as moves, a single win animation (which Bryan performs in Tekken 3), their nationality, and an involvement with and hatred of Lei Wulong. Despite these facts, there is no confirmed relationship between the two in the storyline.
- Josie Rizal replaced Bruce in Tekken 7 and has some of his moves as well as a fighting style similar to his. Josie's fighting style is an Eskrima-based Kickboxing based also on Yaw-Yan, meaning that Bruce has been replaced two different times by two different characters, making him the only character to hold this distinction.
- Additionally, in season 3 of Tekken 7, Fahkumram directly inherited Bruce's Muay Thai fighting style, meaning that Bruce can now be considered to have been replaced a total of three times by three different characters.
- In Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, one of Bruce's victory animations directly imitates Tony Jaa's series of movements from "Ong-Bak The Muay Thai Warrior". The film helped popularize Muay Thai globally.
- Bruce's name is shared with number #51 Bruce Irvin of the Oakland Raiders in the NFL.
- Bruce is Lei's sub-boss and is unlocked once the game is beaten with him.
- Lei is his stage 8 sub-boss.
- Bruce is unlocked by beating story mode four times with different characters.
- Bruce's sub-bosses are Steve Fox and Kazuya Mishima.
- Bruce is Christie Monteiro's stage 4 sub-boss.
- In Bruce's Tekken 6 ending, he speaks with someone from "G Corporation HQ" who speaks English with him over the receiver. He has a light-hearted relationship with this person, and seems to be reporting to them. In Bruce's Tekken 6 prologue, it is stated that he reports directly to Kazuya. It is possible that it is Kazuya he is speaking to in this ending.
- In the Scenario Campaign mode, Bruce is encountered at G Security Service, Operations Headquarters as the stage's boss. Occasionally, Bruce will also appear in West District, Chinatown (Marshall Law's stage) as a sub-boss.
- One of Bruce’s Item Moves is a mohawk that gives him the ability to summon baby chicks out of nowhere. This seems to be a reference to obscure Fatal Fury character Duck King, who owns several chicks.
- In his TTT2 ending, his connection with chicks was further reinforced, as he is seen rescuing a baby chick from getting run over by a car, seemingly not caring if the passengers of the car get injured or killed in the process.
- According to Bruce's Tekken Supporters response in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, however, he does seem to intend to pay for the damage done to the car.
- In Bruce's ending, the real Jaycee and her friend are briefly seen when Bruce runs in between them.
- Bruce's item move has him order a chicken to charge at the opponent, a reference to his ending in which he saves a chick.
- This ending continues on a tradition of Bruce caring for the vulnerable and those unable to defend themselves.
Other:
- In Tekken: The Motion Picture, he is renamed Bruce Arvin.
- In Tekken: Blood Vengeance, Bruce's dossier is briefly seen when Anna Williams opens a file containing dossiers of various persons of interest.
- Strangely, this should not have occurred, due to the fact that Bruce had actually joined G Corporation and had also assisted in Kazuya's takeover.
Gallery
- Main article: Bruce Irvin/Gallery
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Tekken 2 Official Japanese Website Profile. English Translation: Tekken Zaibatsu "Tekken & Tekken 2 Character Profiles".
- ^ https://nordic.ign.com/xbox-one-gaming-hardware/2362/feature/your-tekken-7-questions-have-been-answered
- ^ Katsuhiro Harada @Harada_TEKKEN, Twitter, 4:21 PM Jun 13, 2024. Note that information is not stated in-game and only comes from a database of information provided by series developer Katsuhiro Harada.
- ^ See Bruce's Tekken 5 profiles.
- ^ See Lei Wulong's Tekken 3 profiles
- ^ Bruce's Tekken 5 profile states that as well as hearing of Kazuya's survival, he was interested in the fifth tournament especially because Heihachi wasn't present. This suggests he was keen to avoid meeting Heihachi who had previously also defeated him during the second tournament.
- ^ Jin Kazama states to Bruce that "People know about the G Corporation's drill instructor from hell. I've heard all about how you train the soldiers here." See Jin Kazama/Scenario Campaign Dialogues#Bruce Irvin.
- ^ Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection PlayStation PAL Manual, p.7.
- ^ Tekken 5 Official Strategy Guide,Brady Games (2004), p.32.
- ^ Tekken 5 In-Game Prologue.
- ^ Tekken 6 Official Strategy Guide, Brady Games (2009), p.76; transcribed on Tekken Zaibatsu.
- ^ Tekken 6 In-Game Prologue.
- ^ Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U profile.