We got to see the initial concept art for M. Bison as he would eventually appear in Street Fighter 6 earlier in June but now that the evil dictator has officially hit the character select screen Capcom has also shared out some of the designs they were considering for him earlier on.
What we ultimately got is top-notch as the franchise’s most iconic big boss looks as powerful and ruthless as ever, but developers initially had some very different ideas. The majority of these were actually modeled after bosses from SNK’s King of Fighters franchise, and one was a full on gender swap.
In total we have nine different designs for Bison, many of which are references to the following characters from across King of Fighters boss figures: Goenitz, Krizalid, Ignis, Omega Rugal, Saiki, Nightmare Geese, Magak, Rugal, and Orochi.
Those who have been paying attention to Street Fighter 6 news shouldn’t be too surprised to see Capcom acknowledging its competitor in this way as we learned last month that, for the first time in franchise history, Street Fighter would be welcoming non-Capcom guests to its playable roster in the form of Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui.
One of these designs is not like the others, however, and that’s the prominent female take on Bison. This version looks like it might be the result of Bison’s soul being ported over into one of his many test or clone bodies, (think Falke or Ed) and would have been a massive departure from how we’ve always known the character.
Even this design is a reference, apparently, as it appears to call back to Omega, the boss from Arcana Heart 3 Love Max Six Stars. Lady Bison seems to have somewhat casually thrown on his iconic red hat and coat, but interestingly has what look like high tech shackles around her ankles.
You can view the concept art designs by clicking the thumbnail image below. The second offers a visual comparison for the aforementioned KOF bosses, organized and shared by Furious on X.
Click images for larger versions