Raven (レイヴン Reivun) is a fictional character in the Tekken fighting game series. Raven was introduced in Tekken 5 as one of the three new characters (the other two being Asuka Kazama and Feng Wei) and has returned for all subsequent games except Tekken 7, where he was replaced by his superior, Master Raven.
Story
Tekken 5
An international intelligence agent considered highly skilled and iron-hearted, codename Raven. Apart from a scar in the shape of an "X" on his face, his details, including age and nationality, are unknown. Raven entered the fifth tournament to find out who or what was behind the event.
Raven makes his first appearance in the opening movie for Tekken 5, as he witnesses the attack on Hon-Maru by the Jack-4s while on a mission to look into the Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation, as well as the subsequent explosion. It seems that he is the first one to report of Heihachi Mishima's supposed death.
Tekken 6
After The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Raven encounters Heihachi Mishima, who was presumed to be dead... They began to fight.
Before a winner could be decided, Raven received orders to return to headquarters, and he had to withdraw from battle.
After that encounter, the battle between both the Mishima Zaibatsu and G-Corporation intensified. In order to prevent any further losses, Raven is sent to investigate the Mishima Zaibatsu once again via The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6.
Tekken 6 Raven Ending
T6 ending
Ending Description: Dragunov and his men are seen carrying Azazel's body out of the tomb. Suddenly, Raven arrives riding a jet harrier plane. He forms his hand signs, (Rin, Pyoh, Toh, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen), jumps from the plane and throws a kunai, slicing the temple's walls. He lands on top of Azazel's body and takes the orb from Azazel's chest. Dragunov then attempts to shoot him along with his men firing rapid gunshots but Raven manages to avoid them and jumps on the harrier plane which departs soon after, leaving Dragunov with an empty look on his face.
Scenario Campaign
In the Scenario Campaign story, Raven follows Lars throughout the game. He then single-handedly defeats NANCY-MI847J, telling Lars that he has a greater purpose. After Lars is betrayed by Alisa, Raven replaces her as the AI partner in the game. Later, he and Lars defeat Azazel, then defeat Alisa and finally, beat Jin and learn of his reasons for starting the world war. Azazel then appears in his golden form and Jin kills Azazel for good, seemingly dying in the process. While leaving the desert in a jeep and taking Alisa’s body to be repaired by Lee in Violet Systems, Raven tells Lars how he wonders if Jin really wanted it to end this way. At Violet Systems, before Raven leaves Lars, it is revealed that he was given a Tekken Force badge by Lars’ late friend Tougou, so that he could give it to Lars in case of Tougou's death.
In the post-ending credits scene, Raven and his colleagues have found Jin's body lying in a heap of sand. The devil tattoo was still present on Jin's arm, suggesting that he is still alive and that killing Azazel didn't save Jin from his devil gene curse.
Tekken 7
He appears briefly in a flashback where he and his men are carrying a comatose body of Jin in a helicopter, but Jin’s devil power suddenly goes haywire, causing him to blow up the helicopter with Raven inside.
Later, while Jin is escaping in the desert, he is chased by Raven's men, but it is unknown whether Raven is alive or not. Later, however, in Master Raven's Character Episode, she mentions how Raven needs to be "retrained", suggesting that Raven survived the helicopter crash.
Other Appearances
Tekken (2010 Film)
Raven appeared in the 2010 live action movie. He is portrayed by Darrin Dewitt Henson.
Street Fighter X Tekken
Raven appeared as a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken. His tag partner is Yoshimitsu.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Raven appeared as a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - 'Raven Ending' TRUE-HD QUALITY
Ending Description: Raven comes in front of Yoshimitsu, who is riding on a horse. Yoshimitsu then jumps off and prepares for battle as Raven comes at him with his blades. Yoshimitsu successfully dodges the attacks and flips backwards to distance himself. Raven immediately wastes no time in attacking him relentlessly. Yoshimitsu still manages to dodge them. His blades go up against his sword. Yoshimitsu distracts him by slashing a tree branch then starts flying above him using his sword. He comes back to assault him but Raven blocks it. He tries to counter his block with a slash, but Yoshimitsu vanishes and appears behind him.
He then makes sharp slashes in the air and darts branch-like arrows at Raven, which he evades. There are two coming at his face when Raven disappears as soon as they hit the ground. Yoshimitsu lands on the ground ready to slice through him, when Raven suddenly appears behind him. He duplicates himself as he stands there, he actually heavily assaults Yoshimitsu, creating an illusion. Yoshimitsu, now weakened, turns around only to be struck by Raven. With Yoshimitsu defeated, he returns to his mission. He then darts through the forest with the screen ending with black feathers.
Gameplay
Raven is one of the trickiest and hard to use characters in the series. Most of his attacks are really unsafe, so he's best used as a defensive/runaway character: he has an incredible ability to reverse and parry attacks, and also has the ability to backflip out of the situation. To compliment his capability to set the pace of a match, Raven has some good poke and pressure options. As with other tricky characters, gaining familiarity to his moveset is the key to use him effectively.
Fighting Style
Raven fights using Ninjutsu.
Character Relationships
- Master Raven - His superior.
- Sergei Dragunov - His enemy in both Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, it is implied that there is a history between the two.
- Yoshimitsu - Raven faced him in Tekken 5. Raven thinks that him being a ninja is laughable. When the two are seen interacting, Raven can often be seen visibly irritated. Yoshimitsu hires his help in Street Fighter X Tekken (non-canon).
- Heihachi Mishima - His opponent after he was discovered to still be alive after Tekken 5. Raven did not finish the fight and pulled out on orders from HQ.
- Lars Alexandersson - Raven is first seen following him and Alisa in the Scenario Campaign. Raven later replaces Alisa as Lars's partner when Jin takes control of her.
- Jin Kazama - One of his targets in Tekken 6. Raven was ordered to investigate him as part of the UN's investigation into the MFG after their war with G Corporation intensified. He finds Jin unconscious in a desert after the story of Tekken 6. Raven and his men then try to transport Jin in a helicopter but Jin manages to escape. His friend and protege in the 2010 film (non-canon).
- Zafina - They are implied to share a history together, with both having helped each other numerous times in the past. Raven and Lars also help her defeat a group of Tekken Force soldiers in the Scenario Campaign.
- Tougou - They were in some sort of contact before his death. Tougou entrusted Raven with his tag so that Raven could give it to Lars in case he died.
- Alisa Bosconovitch - On the same side at first, she became his enemy after she was forced to defend Jin.
- NANCY-MI847J - Destroyed by Raven in the Scenario Campaign story.
- Kazuya Mishima - Part of his objective in Tekken 6 and enemy in the Scenario Campaign.
- Azazel - Raven and Lars defeated him after they were briefed about his existence by Zafina in the Scenario Campaign.
- Eddy Gordo - Defeated him in the 2010 film (non-canon).
- Kunimitsu - His partner in the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 opening (non-canon).
- Asuka Kazama - His opponent in the Tekken 5 demo (non-canon).
Trivia
General:
- Apart from an X-shaped scar on his face, not much about Raven is known.
- It was stated in the European site that Raven is from Canada. However, in later versions of the site, his nationality is stated as unknown.
- The hand signs that Raven performs are part of the Kuji-in, a Japanese Buddhist Tantric technique said to be also practiced by ninjas.
- In his story modes, Raven will occasionally get orders from his commanding officer.
- Raven's appearance is a direct look-a-like of the famous K-1 Champion and Muay Thai Champion Michael McDonald of Canada also known as the "Black Sniper".
- Raven also resembles famous Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes and specifically two of his characters, Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man (blonde hair) and more obviously, the Marvel Comics character Blade from the Blade film series in terms of shades, personality, tattoo and costume. The "I'll see you in hell" win pose is a reference to Blade's "catch you later" point and walk.
- When Namco was asked about the similarities being intentional, they stated that they simply wanted a true ninjutsu practitioner and a "cool black guy" for a character, and that the similarities were purely coincidental.
- Raven has also been compared to Ryu Hayabusa from the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series due to the fact that they both wear mostly black, and are both serious and stoic ninjas who carries out their mission to the end.
- Raven was voiced by Jack Merluzzi in Tekken 5 but in Tekken 6 however, his voice actor changed to DC Douglas. The reason of the change has not been stated.
- Raven is the only character who has a customization item that is incompatible with the default item. His "Ninja Mask" item is not compatible with his default 2P hood.
- Raven bears a few resemblances to Killer B from the Naruto manga series; both are ninjas, have blonde hair and wear sunglasses.
- Raven bears a striking resemblance to Bob Makihara when his dreads get cut off.
- In this game, he tells Nina that he is known as the Dark Talon of Death.
- In Yoshimitsu's story mode, he claims there is no way Yoshimitsu could be a ninja, as Yoshimitsu replies "This... coming from a wannabe ninja". Commenting that it is not part of his objective, Raven states that he won't lose this fight. Afterwards, Raven is seen trying to teach Yoshimitsu the Kuji-in signs, the latter failing to do so, only to Raven's frustration.[1]
- Raven can be customized as Morpheus from The Matrix series and Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe and Marvel Comics character Blade.
- When he is Raven's partner, Yoshimitsu needs to be at a much lower point in life than other characters before Raven gets Rage.[1]
- His ending takes place in the same forest as Kunimitsu's ending. Oddly enough, Yoshimitsu is riding on a horse in both endings.
Other:
- On the official Street Fighter X Tekken website, he is referred to as "Shadow Dancing Raven". Rolento's Swap Costume is also based on Raven's outfit.