Capcom has drawn upon many sources in creation of the series’ characters
While mostly well known for its pop culture references, the Street Fighter franchise has also drawn upon many sources for its characters through the years, with Christianity’s Jesus and Judas Iscariot being a basis for Gill and Urien, respectively, the two brothers in the Illuminati/Secret Society.
Gill made his debut in Street Fighter 3 in 1997 as the game’s boss character, while Urien would follow later that year, being added with the 2nd Impact.
Both characters have backstories which not only point to Christian references, but also other religions and cult like organizations, specifically with the Secret Society’s logo closely resembling that of Eye of Providence, which is often associated with Freemasonry and The Illuminati, and is featured on the U.S. $1 dollar bill.
Urien’s official nickname when he was released for Street Fighter 5 is ‘The Treacherous Disciple’, which is a reference to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was one of the Twelve Apostles or Disciples in The Bible.
In Urien’s 2nd Impact ending, he beats Gill and is recognized as the new president of the Secret Society, however he’s introduced to the emperor of the organization, which turns out to be Gill.
During Urien’s ending, Gill mentions the coming of the Lord’s century, like Jesus, he refers to the Lord. Also, Gill is shown trying to create a new paradise on Earth, or utopia, and Kolin speaks of her leader’s divinity, drawing more parallels to Jesus.
Urien is known to have a domineering tyrant personality and is setup as a truly evil bad guy in the Street Fighter franchise, where a lot of “evil” characters fall into more of an anti-hero role, or their plans are a little less conniving, Urien throws all of that out the window, and will seemingly stop at nothing to overthrow Gill and take his place as the ruler of The Illuminati. Judas is often considered in the Christian Bible to be one of the most evil people portrayed inside of it.
More Biblical allusions happen with Gill’s moveset, as one of the most notorious aspects of the character is his ability to resurrect himself after suffering a defeat as the boss character in Street Fighter 3. As long as his super meter is full, Gill will resurrect himself back up to full health, if you allow him to do so.
The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most well known events from the Bible, and considering Gill’s other statements and overall design, it’s an easy parallel to draw.
Also, Gill has a super move called Seraphic Wing, with the word Seraph meaning a celestial and heavenly being. In some circles Gill’s nickname is The Dark Messiah, and he’s continually shown to have ties to divinity and is referred to as having “angelic” qualities in Capcom’s official description for when he was added to Street Fighter 5.
We discuss a number of these subjects and more in our analysis of why Street Fighter 3’s cast could be Season 3 DLC for Street Fighter 6. You can also find a video breakdown of some of these details in the clip embedded above during the Urien discussion. The Urien portion of things starts at the 26:03 timestamp.
The video includes footage of Urien’s endings from Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact and Street Fighter 3: Third Strike in 4K quality, along with a breakdown of other aspects of the character, and why he could be a good fit for the current game, Street Fighter 6.