Michael "Mike" Haggar (マイク・ハガー Maiku Hagā) is the deuteragonist of the Final Fight series of beat 'em up games and an playable character in the Slam Masters series of wrestling games. He is the former mayor of Metro City, the father of Jessica and the ally of Guy, Cody, Maki, Carlos, Dean and Lucia.
Though Haggar hasn't made a playable appearance in the Street Fighter series to date, he still plays a role in the back-stories of Cody and Guy, as well as being a major enemy to the Mad Gear Gang characters such as Hugo, Sodom, Poison and Rolento. He has many cameo appearances in Street Fighter stages and in several characters intros and endings.
Haggar made his debut in the original Final Fight, originally released for the arcades in 1989. He is described as a former "Street Fighter" and pro wrestler turned mayor of Metro City.
Biography[]
Appearance[]
Haggar is a tall and muscular man in every appearance, sporting brown hair and a brown mustache. His general look consists of a brown bandolier, green pants and black boots. Shadaloo C.R.I profile artwork of Haggar shows him wearing this as well, but also wears glasses, a white shirt underneath and a watch.
In artwork of the original Final Fight, a young Mike Haggar sports this with a tan shirt, yellow arm bands and no mustache.
In Final Fight 2, he wears a slightly changed bandolier, blue jeans, blue gloves and orange boots.
In Final Fight 3, Haggar has longer hair in the form of a male ponytail. Changes to the attire are blue green gloves, shorts, brown boots along with sliver knee guards and green shin guards.
In Final Fight: Streetwise, a older Haggar seems closer to his usual appearance with his original hair. He wears a gray tank top, brown bandolier, brown pants, black gloves and boots.
In Saturday Night Slam Masters, Haggar wears a wrestling outfit involving a blue bandolier, black arm bands, blue tights sporting red stripes on the sides. The tights also have red knee guards matching black boots with yellow lining.
Personality[]
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Concept[]
Among several different inspirations, Mike Haggar was influenced by Jean Valjean,[3] the lead character of Les Misérables who becomes a city major in the latter half of the story, and the protagonist in the 1985 manga Mad Bull 34.[3]
Haggar seems to have been loosely modeled after the late real-life wrestler Randy Savage in the game; his ring name in Slam Masters is Mike "Macho" Haggar, and the games even feature a winning pose in which he lifts his daughter Jessica onto his shoulder, a possible nod to Randy Savage and his late valet, Miss Elizabeth. Also, Haggar switches his career from wrestler to politician sometime between Slam Masters II and Final Fight. Coincidentally, Jesse Ventura would go on to be the Governor of Minnesota from 1999 through 2003, years after retiring from wrestling.
Additionally, Haggar may have been modeled after real-life former wrestler Don Frye, who in turn would years later portray Haggar in The Broken Gear: A Final Fight film, the fan-made film prequel to the original Final Fight.
Haggar's full name "Michael Haggar" is a nod to Van Halen members Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar, the respective bassist and vocalist of the band during the development time of Final Fight.
While perhaps unintentional on behalf of the creators, Haggar bears a strong resemblance to Paul Pons, the first world champion in Greco-Roman Wrestling, including his short hair, mustache and the belt worn across his chest.
Story[]
Slam Masters[]
Haggar's early career was as a pro wrestler, although it's suggested that before this, he was a "champion street fighter". Whatever the case, Haggar gained enough fame and respect that he began serving as a mentor for up-and-comers like Biff Slamkovich and Gunloc. They eventually signed for the CWA. There, Haggar formed a tag team with Alexander The Grater, calling themselves the "Knuckle Busters".
Final Fight games[]
Final Fight[]
The plot of Final Fight centers around the Mad Gear Gang's attempt to manipulate the newly-elected Haggar by kidnapping his young daughter, Jessica. Instead of submitting to the gang's demands, Haggar enlists the help of Jessica's boyfriend, Cody and his friend Guy, to combat the gang and defeat their leader Belger.
Final Fight 2[]
In Final Fight 2, Haggar sets out to defeat the newly revived Mad Gear Gang led by Retu in order to rescue Guy's girlfriend and master. In this game Haggar is joined by Maki, Guy's future sister-in-law and Bushin-style fighter, and Carlos, a South American swordsman friend of Haggar staying with him at the time. Haggar's appearance did not change much between the two games, other than a slight change in his outfit. However, he did gain the Spinning Piledriver, replacing his regular Piledriver, as a special move.
Final Fight 3[]
In Final Fight 3, Haggar is rejoined by Guy and the two team up with Lucia, a female cop, and another ex-Street Fighter named Dean to battle the Skull Cross Gang, a new criminal organization that has taken over Mad Gear's position by becoming the new dominant gang of Metro City. Haggar's design is changed drastically from the previous Final Fight games, with the character being given a pony tail and shorts. Haggar was also given a new super combo called the Final Hammer, which is actually a series of various wrestling moves.
Final Fight Revenge[]
Haggar did not appear as a playable character again until 1999's Final Fight Revenge, an American-developed competitive fighting game set immediately after the events of the original Final Fight. Haggar's story in Final Fight Revenge revolves once again around the disappearance of his daughter, who has vanished following a series of riots in Metro City. Jessica's disappearance is not resolved in Haggar's ending, which is instead a recreation of Rolento's ending in Street Fighter Alpha 2, which depicts Rolento's attempt to take over the city. The Street Fighter Zero 3 Secret File Book would later establish that Haggar was able to rescue and save his daughter Jessica and that Jessica herself had eventually left Metro City around the time of Street Fighter Alpha 3, being estranged with Cody after he couldn't give up his destructive addiction to fighting while also being subsequently arrested for aggravated assault and that Jessica had decided to study abroad in France.
Street Fighter games[]
Street Fighter Alpha series[]
Mike Haggar appears in the background of Guy's stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2, where he is seen putting J into a headlock. He is seen in the background of Guy's Street Fighter Alpha 3 stage as well.
Street Fighter IV games[]
In Super Street Fighter IV, Haggar makes five cameo appearances. First, a statue of Haggar can be seen in the background of the Skyscraper Under Construction stage. Second, the bonus car stage has a billboard of Haggar which can also be seen in the background. The third cameo is seen during Cody's prologue, which shows a picture of him, Guy, and Haggar on a poster (with the caption "THE HEROES SAVED OUR CITY", a reference to the aftermath of Final Fight). The fourth is when he suddenly pops out of a false platform in the Mad Gear Hideout stage. Finally, one of Zangief's alternate costumes is based on Haggar's outfit in a reference to their rivalry and similarities.
Other appearances[]
Slam Masters[]
In addition to the Final Fight games, Haggar also appeared in pro wrestling games developed by Capcom: Saturday Night Slam Masters in 1993, which was followed by an updated version titled Muscle Bomber Duo and a sequel titled Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2 in 1994. According to the original Japanese plot, the games are set before Final Fight and depict Haggar's professional wrestling career prior to being elected mayor. However, the English localization of the series removes all references of the games being set in the past and even erroneously describes Haggar as the "former mayor of Metro City".
Capcom Fighting All-Stars[]
Mike Haggar was planned to be a playable character in Capcom Fighting All-Stars but the game was canceled. If this game came out, it would have been the first time Haggar was playable in a fighting game that also featured characters from the Street Fighter series; instead, he makes that appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Capcom Fighting Evolution[]
Haggar makes a cameo appearance in Alex's CFE ending where he is seen wrestling him.
Final Fight: Streetwise[]
In Final Fight: Streetwise, Haggar is no longer the Mayor of Metro City and now runs a gym, "Mike's Mat and Muscle" as well as a dock, "Mike's Maritime Maintenance". He has isolated himself from most of Metro City and bemoans how many of its residents have forgotten him. He aids Kyle by teaching him grappling techniques and advises Kyle to find Guy if he wants information on finding his missing brother Cody.
Namco × Capcom[]
Haggar makes an appearance in Namco x Capcom as an ally character where he is voiced by Tesshō Genda.
Marvel vs. Capcom series[]
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Ultimate[]
Mike Haggar is one of the many playable characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and its update; his attacks consist of moves using a steel pipe (his main weapon from Final Fight), his normal wrestling moves from Final Fight, and some of Zangief's moves. In his ending, his political career skyrockets after he defeated Galactus, eventually making him the President of the United States of America with Tony Stark (Iron Man) as his Vice President, being supported by Captain America and Chris Redfield.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite[]
Haggar returns as a playable fighter in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. In the story mode, Haggar is the mayor of New Metro City (a fusion of New York City and Metro City). He also became a sworn ally of Marvel's Spider-Man while protecting the city from the villains such as Ultron Sigma and A.I.M.Brella (a terrorist organization merged of Resident Evil's Umbrella and the Marvel Universe's A.I.M.).
Street Fighter X Tekken[]
Haggar briefly appears in a cinematic trailer for Street Fighter X Tekken. He is seen being suplexed by King II.
In the background of the Final Fight-themed stage, Mad Gear Hideout, Haggar is seen chasing Sodom from the end of Round 2 onwards.
Animations[]
Street Fighter cartoon[]
He appears in the episode titled "Final Fight", in which his daughter Jessica is kidnapped by the Mad Gear Gang. Haggar is warned by Belger to not interfere in Mad Gear's criminal activities or else risk having potential harm be inflicted upon Jessica by Mad Gear themselves and because of this, Haggar is unable to fight back against the Mad Gear Gang from within his own personal time. Despite this and still quite very resolved and determined to save his daughter from the current danger, Haggar has Ryu and Ken go undercover and join Mad Gear in order to find and rescue Jessica while also instructing Cody and Guy to help them out as well. At the very end of the episode, Haggar, deciding that he can't just sit back on the sidelines and let the events play out without his own assistance, surprisingly and unexpectedly kicks down the door to Belger's office and briefly helps out in rescuing and saving Jessica while Cody and Guy defeat Belger with the assistance of Ryu and Ken.
Comics[]
UDON comics[]
Haggar makes an appearance in a bonus comic that details his origin.
In UDON's Street Fighter comics, Haggar is depicted as getting tired of calling in favors to keep Cody out of jail. After one brawl too many, Haggar berates Cody and gives him a lecture, at which Cody is unimpressed. Haggar finally gives up and decides that he can't keep Cody out of jail forever.
Hagger also appears in UDON's Super Street Fighter comics.
Gameplay[]
Fighting style[]
Mike Haggar fights using wrestling. Haggar's moveset is most notable for being the basis for Zangief's moveset. In canon, Zangief having Haggar's moves was explained as Zangief seeing one of Haggar's fights and deciding to use the "Double Lariat" in his array of techniques. Due to this, Haggar responded by using the "Spinning Piledriver" as if it were his own. To reelect their similarity, one of Zangief's alternate outfits in Street Fighter IV is Haggar's attire from the first Final Fight.
Moveset[]
In Final Fight, of the three playable characters in the game, Haggar is the slowest but most powerful. He uses wrestling techniques such as a piledriver and the spinning clothesline. In addition, he also specializes in the use of a steel pipe (a pick-up weapon in the game), swinging it faster than the other characters. In Final Fight 2, he gained Zangief's spinning piledriver, replacing his regular piledriver, as a special move. In Final Fight 3, Haggar was also given a new super combo called the "Final Hammer", which is actually a series of various wrestling moves.
Trivia[]
- Haggar is the only Final Fight character who has been playable in every game in the series.
- As the original Japanese plot shows, the Slam Masters games are set before Final Fight and depicts Haggar's professional wrestling career prior to being elected mayor but the English localization of the series removes all references of the games being set in the past and even goes as far to describe Haggar as the "former mayor of Metro City".
- Haggar is of Scottish ancestry. He bears the Scottish flag in his gym in Final Fight: Streetwise.
- Mike Haggar is the only character from the Final Fight series to be playable in the Marvel vs. Capcom series (a case of irony, since he has yet to debut as a playable character in the Street Fighter series). By extension, he's also currently the only Slam Masters character to be playable in a crossover game.
- In Street Fighter X Tekken and Ultra Street Fighter IV, Haggar appears in the background of the Mad Gear Hideout stage, he is seen chasing Sodom from the end of Round 2 onwards.
- Haggar also appeared in the Japan-only release Capcom World 2.
- A bust in Haggar's likeness awards the player who comes across it 5000 points in Captain Commando, connecting the Metro City of the past with the Metro City of the future.
- In the French version of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, developped by Capcom, the mayor of Hyrule Town is called M. Haggard.
- Haggar, Cody, Rolento and Sodom were some of the available characters in the canceled RPG mobile Capcom Super League Online.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Capcom 30th Anniversary Character Encyclopedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/column-100868.html
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shadaloo Combat Research Institute: Final Fight Developer's Interview
Gallery[]
For more of this character, see their gallery.