Street Fighter: Who Is Chun-Li? (2024)

Chun-Li is one of the single most important characters in fighting games, making her debut in Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior in 1991 as the first playable female character in a fighting game ever. From that point onward, Chun-Li would be a mainstay and one of the most popular characters in the series, spawning tons of cosplays and fan art, even making her way into Fortnite.

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Not only is Chun-Li one of the most iconic and recognizable characters in fighting games, but she's also one of the most popular characters in games, period. There's no denying the enormous and positive impact she's made on the industry, kickstarting the conversation and rise of having playable female characters in gaming.

Kicking Into Gear

Before Chun-Li was spinning through the air upside down, delivering her devastating Spinning Bird Kick or unleashing a fury of lightning-fast kicks known as her famous Hyakuretsukyaku, she was just an ordinary five-year-old girl experiencing her first ever Peking Opera and Bruce Lee film, kickstarting her interest and pursuit of martial arts.

She first started off learning Tai Chi before being taught Hong Quan by her father, Dorai, where she began using her legs more in combat. Dorai was known as "legendary legs" and was an officer for the Hong Kong Police Department, so it didn't take Chun-Li long to become more proficient and confident with her kicks. From here, Chun-Li would mix in blends of Taekwondo and Capoeira into her Chinese Martial Arts training, forming the unique fighting style you know and love today.

However, some years later, Dorai vanished while on a mission to investigate and uncover the drug-trafficking arm of the criminal organization known as Shadaloo. In an attempt to track down and find her missing father, Chun-Li became an investigator when she turned eighteen, later joining the International Criminal Police Organization (I.C.P.O.), simplified as Interpol, as their narcotics investigator, picking up where her father left off.

Hunting Shadaloo

As Chun-Li started investigating Shadaloo and its drug trafficking arm, she began searching for signs of her father, looking for any clue of where he went and if he was still alive. This eventually led her to take up a friendly sparring session with her former teacher, Gen, who was a near and dear friend of Dorai. During this sparring session, Gen informs her that the organization's leader, M. Bison, may be the culprit behind her father's disappearance.

After searching and fighting tirelessly, Chun-Li eventually meets M. Bison and commands him to tell her what happened to her father. However, M. Bison responds by delivering a vicious Psycho Punisher to her stomach, making her crumple to the ground before retreating to his jet. But, before parting ways, he informs Chun-Li that he murdered her father and will do the same to her. From this point onward, Chun-Li is on a vengeance-fueled path and won't stop until she takes Bison down and avenges her father's death.

In an attempt to shut down Shadaloo and eliminate Bison, Chun-Li joined forces with Charlie Nash, a First Lieutenant of the United States Air Force. Their plan was simple, bomb the main base of Shadaloo in Thailand and bring them to their knees. But, another member of the United States Airforce shows up with orders to get Charlie and get out. This member is the one and only Guile, who was also a Lieutenant of the Air Force at the time.

Guile had received information that had him and the rest of the United States Air Force called off the bombing of the Shadaloo base, which is why he was sent to retrieve Charlie. However, Chun-Li later finds out that the information was a false flag sent by M. Bison, leaving them only one option, manually blow the base up themselves. This required them to infiltrate the headquarters, plant bombs, and destroy the Psycho Drive, a machine created to develop the perfect body for Bison.

During the infiltration, Chun-Li was sent to place bombs around the base while Guile and Charlie headed to the Psycho Drive to destroy it. However, Charlie sensed something was up and ordered Guile to find Chun-Li and get out. After they successfully escape, the base explodes, marking the elimination of M. Bison and Shadaloo. Unfortunately, sometime after the explosion, Guile reveals to Chun-Li that Charlie did not escape the base and is ruled K.I.A.

The Second World Warrior Tournament

Sometime after the events of bombing the main Shadaloo base in Thailand, Chun-Li receives an invitation to the Second World Warrior Tournament and learns that M. Bison and Shadaloo are still alive and functioning. Her decision was swift and decisive. She would join the tournament to end M. Bison and Shadaloo once and for all and avenge her father. Something she thought she had already done.

With a rejuvenated, confident, and motivated Chun-Li and her allies, they went to the tournament and fought their way to M. Bison, launching into an all-out brawl in a nearby forest. Chun-Li and company overwhelmed him, ending with Chun-Li delivering her signature Kikosho, demolishing a part of the forest in the process. M. Bison, nearly dead at this stage, is asked to surrender by Guile. However, Bison refuses and, instead, concentrates his Psycho Powers and commits suicide, blowing himself up and launching Chun-Li and her allies backward.

Despite getting caught in the explosion, Chun-Li and her allies managed to walk away alive and in good health. Now that Bison is confirmed dead and all other Shadaloo bases are being searched, Chun-Li returns to her father's grave and prays to him that she has avenged him. However, unbeknownst to her, this case is far from closed.

Hunting S.I.N.

Following the Second World Warrior Tournament events, Chun-Li, Guile, and Cammy receive information that a member of the Shadaloo Intimidation Network (Shadaloo's weapons division, simplified as S.I.N.) is going on a rampage at a theme park. This would turn out to be Juri, who had just gotten the Feng Shui Engine installed into her left eye, which was missing due to an attack carried out by Shadaloo when she was fifteen. Juri was dispatched to the theme park to eliminate rogue S.I.N. operators, which she did with no caution, injuring and killing civilians in the area during her chaotic spree.

When Chun-Li, Guile, and Cammy arrive at the theme park, Guile and Cammy immediately rush to save any civilians trapped, while Chun-Li moves on ahead in search of more civilians that may be trapped or caught in Juri's rampage. In Chun-Li's hunt, she stumbles into Juri just as she dispatches one of the rogue S.I.N. operators she was ordered to eliminate. Chun-Li, with no hesitation, attempts to fight and detain Juri. Unfortunately, Juri blocks almost everything thrown at her, then delivers a devastating kick to Chun-Li's midsection, causing her to crumple to the floor.

Juri then goes for the finishing blow to eliminate Chun-Li, but Guile and Cammy rush in to protect her. Fortunately, Juri's Feng Shui Engine in her left eye also malfunctions, causing her to flee the scene. Guile and Cammy see the state Chun-Li is in and get her to a hospital, where she is treated for several injuries left by Juri. From here, Chun-Li further investigates S.I.N. and what Juri is to them from the safety of her hospital bed on a laptop while Guile and Cammy actively search for any trace of Juri and S.I.N.

The Third World Warrior Tournament

Fully recovered, Chun-Li rejoins Interpol and teams up once more with Guile and Cammy to investigate, track down, and eliminate S.I.N. With the creeping suspicion that M. Bison may not actually be dead, Chun-Li is determined to get to the bottom of this. Chun-Li and crew join the Third World Warrior Tournament to get closer to S.I.N. and potentially meet Juri again. This has Abel, one of Bison's failed body replacements, approach Chun-Li for information on Shadaloo. Additionally, during the tournament, Chun-Li faces off against Gen and tries to get more information out of him about Shadaloo, S.I.N., and her father. Gen doesn't open up about anything, and Chun-Li cannot force his hand, even after beating him.

From here, Chun-Li pursues C. Viper, a member of S.I.N., or so she thought. C. Viper is actually part of the CIA and joined S.I.N. as an Undercover Agent for the CIA under the name Maya. Due to Chun-Li almost blowing her mission, they face off against each other but ultimately let each other be and go their separate ways. Chun-Li hunts down and fights Juri, while C. Viper infiltrates the base of S.I.N. in search of information on their bio-weapon known as the Boiling Liquid Expanding Cell Explosion (A.K.A: BLECE) and to confirm that S.I.N. is indeed a part of Shadaloo.

The rematch between Chun-Li and Juri goes in Chun-Li's favor, but she is, unfortunately, unable to detain her, having Juri escape and flee from the scene yet again. Chun-Li, Guile, and Cammy then infiltrate the S.I.N. headquarters, where C. Viper currently is. Here, C. Viper is successfully in the base but is identified by one of Seth's many "brethren," who is wounded. C. Viper eliminates him, then attempts to copy the data of the BLECE machine but cannot do so as Cammy destroys it. However, Chun-Li was able to obtain crucial information that confirmed S.I.N. is, in fact, part of Shadaloo.

Due to this, Vega sets off the base's fire alarm, which activates a noncombustible toxic spray to kill the intruders and activates the self-destruct systems as well, having the base explode in a matter of minutes. Fortunately, Gen was there and managed to protect Chun-Li from the collapsing base. Moments later, Guile and Able would retrieve Chun-Li, who still has the crucial information on S.I.N. and Shadaloo. In other parts of the story, it is revealed that M. Bison's soul has been transplanted into another body and is alive, though a bit weaker than his former self. But, with the new information, Chun-Li and the others can conjure up a plan to finally put an end to him.

Black Moons Over New York

Having the information they needed on M. Bison, Shadaloo, and S.I.N., Chun-Li accompanies Guile on his investigation of a recent blackout in New York. When they arrive, Guile and Chun-Li are met with M. Bison, Balrog, Vega, and F.A.N.G., who are considered the Four Heavenly Kings. They learn that these blackouts are caused by Black Moons, which are several doomsday weapons made by Shadaloo that will drastically increase Bison's Psycho Powers and disable electronics when detonated. Black Moons were placed over the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, France, and India.

Fortunately, the programmer on the Black Moon project, that was forced to work on it by Shadaloo, created seven keys that would deactivate the Black Moons and sent them to trusted people to help stop Shadaloo's plans. These pieces can activate or deactivate the Black Moons and are all different shapes. Learning that they can deactivate the Black Moons, F.A.N.G. takes Rashid's piece and activates the Black Moon over New York. The pieces and their corresponding recipient can be found below.

• Sun Piece: Rashid
• Moon Piece: Guile
• Star Piece: Chun-Li
• Crown Piece: Alex
• Sword Piece: Karin
• Horse Piece: Zangief
• Jar Piece: Laura

Fuelled by hatred, Chun-Li carelessly charges them and is met by a super-powered M. Bison, who delivers a Psycho Blast, launching her into the streets. But before Bison can finish her off, Cammy dives in and saves her, ultimately resolving with her and Guile escorting Chun-Li to safety and retreating from the area. Moments later, Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, Rashid, and Azim are recovering after the encounter with the Four Heavenly Kings, going over the possibility that the kidnapped hackers are somehow involved with Shadaloo and the Black Moons.

Still in extreme pain after getting hit by Bison's Psycho Blast, Chun-Li can hardly stand, let alone fight. It is here when Cammy delivers the Star piece to her, and the presumed dead Charlie Nash appears at the door, catching Chun-Li, Guile, and Cammy all by surprise. Guile wastes no time to get up and speak with Nash after many years apart, leaving an injured Chun-Li and Cammy alone. Rashid ambushes Chun-Li for her Star piece, ultimately snagging it from her due to her severe injuries, and flees the area.

Putting Together The Pieces

Ensuing another recovery of Chun-Li, she is contacted and recruited by the Head of the Kanzuki Zaibatsu, Karin, to research the pieces and find out if they can actually be used to deactivate the remaining Black Moons. From here, Ken Masters and Cammy join their party and head to Brazil to find Laura and learn about her piece. When they arrive, Ken has an encounter with F.A.N.G. and chases him off, while Chun-Li questions Laura's brother, Sean Matsuda, about the Jar piece, which he explains that Laura has it.

Ken has a friendly bout with Laura and takes her Jar piece, then a wounded and barely conscious Decapre stumbles near the team before collapsing. Moments later, cops arrive to detain Decapre, but Chun-Li and Ken try to talk them down from it but to no avail. This has Cammy attack the officers before Juri arrives on a motorcycle, which Cammy escapes on with Decapre, marking all three of them as fugitives. Due to the commotion, Shadaloo officers arrive at the scene, having Ken and Laura take them on as Chun-Li pushes ahead and infiltrates their base.

Upon entering the base, Chun-Li gets closed in on by a group of Shadaloo soldiers, but Dhalsim quickly teleports in and makes quick work of them before handing over one of the pieces to stop the Black Moon to Chun-Li. She pushes further into the base and runs into Li-Fen, a little girl and hacker who was kidnapped by Shadaloo and forced to work on the Black Moon project. Despite her efforts, Chun-Li cannot convince Li-Fen to leave with her, and Li-Fen runs off.

Pushing further into the base, Chun-Li groups up with Karin and they blow open the door leading to the control panel. F.A.N.G. attempts to interfere, but Karin is able to pull him away from Chun-Li just long enough so she can disable the remaining Black Moons. Before fleeing the scene, F.A.N.G. announces that a backup plan called the "Descent Program" will have the remaining Black Moons crash into the earth for mass, cataclysmic destruction. He initiates this phase of the attack and runs away, which activates Abel's Psycho Powers in the process.

Karin and Chun-Li are able to escape the base, but Abel has gone mad due to the Descent Program and has lost control of his body. Thankfully, Zangief is nearby and delivers a devastating Spinning Piledriver onto Abel, knocking him out cold. This allows everyone to leave the base on a nearby helicopter and safely retreat to the Kanzuki Estate, where Nash removes the Psycho Powers from Abel, and the team plans their final raid on Shadaloo. After this, Ryu shows up to join the squad to end Shadaloo once and for all.

The Fall Of Shadaloo

Prepared for the final invasion on the Shadaloo base, Chun-Li and the rest of the team dive out of a helicopter and onto the base, where they are met with waves of Shadaloo soldiers and Shadaloo Dolls, which are super-powered thanks to the Black Moons. Karin and her forces are able to hold them off enough for Chun-Li, Guile, and Ryu to get into the base. Rashid successfully disables the Descent Program, and Chun-Li's team runs into M. Bison. However, Chun-Li notices Li-Fen, who is still being held captive to work on the program against her will and is clearly terrified.

Nash is the first one to charge in and battle Bison but quickly realizes that the Black Moons have made him exceptionally strong and nearly invincible. As a result, Nash absorbs an excessive amount of M. Bison's Psycho Powers in an attempt to weaken him, sacrificing himself by taking in way too much and ultimately self-destructing as a result. Chun-Li stops Guile from running in, and the two can only stand idly by and watch as Charlie carries out his sacrifice.

Shaken by Nash's noble efforts, Chun-Li and Guile can tell that M. Bison is much weaker than before, giving them hope that they can take him down. Then, F.A.N.G. shows up in a rage and attempts to poison Chun-Li with his Poison Hands, but Chun-Li is calm and concentrated at this moment, dodging and parrying everything thrown at her with ease before delivering a Hakkei to him, knocking him backward. It is here when F.A.N.G. decides to target Li-Fen instead and races over to her in an attempt to kill her with his Poison Hands.

F.A.N.G.'s attempts are stopped by Chun-Li, who consoles Li-Fen and commends her for being brave before hugging her to try and stop her trembling. She sees F.A.N.G. getting back up and tells Ryu and Guile to take care of M. Bison, and she focuses her attention on F.A.N.G. Due to being in a state of rage, F.A.N.G. loses rather swiftly and decisively, as Chun-Li knocks him out cold, allowing her to save Li-Fen. Ryu delivers the finishing blow on M. Bison as the base begins to collapse.

Stopping for a brief moment to look back at Bison's hat, Chun-Li lets out a sigh of relief as she has finally avenged her father's death after so many years of fighting. This short pause, however, caused the explosions to catch up to her and Li-Fen, forcing them to hustle even harder to escape. Thanks to a well-timed and placed Denjin Hadoken, everyone is able to escape safely, as the base completely caves in and is encased in a wave of lava. Marking the end of Shadaloo and its dictator, M. Bison.

Post-Shadaloo

Now that Shadaloo is gone and M. Bison is dead, Chun-Li has retired from Street Fighting and spends her days taking care of Li-Fen and teaching martial arts to orphans, all on top of her ongoing work for Interpol. However, it wouldn't be long until the Secret Society President, Urien, kidnaps Li-Fen to use as a guinea pig for his scientific research. This forces Chun-Li to jump back into action and search for them, ultimately ending with her finding him and defeating him, taking Li-Fen back into her custody.

Aside from the brief hiccup caused by Urien, Chun-Li has returned to China and resumed her duties in taking care of Li-Fen. She has also retired from the police force and now teaches kung-fu classes, becoming a prominent and beloved member of her community. Chun-Li is much calmer and more radiant than ever before and will occasionally spar with the other fighters to keep sharp.

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