“ | After the fall of Mr. X, Axel retired from the police force and moved out of the city. Desperate to find true strength beyond his fists, he went on to live in the wilderness. He spent his days training, meditating and studying. However, despite his love for a simpler life, a call from Blaze was all it took for him to return to the city once more. | „ |
~ Axel's bio describing his life preceding the events of Streets of Rage 4 |
“ | GRAND UPPER! | „ |
~ Axel's signature move |
Summary
Axel Stone is one of the main protagonists in Sega's beat 'em up series Streets of Rage (also known as Bare Knuckle in Japan).
A police officer before the events of the first game, he quits the force as the gangster Mr. X's corruption spreads across Wood Oak City, choosing to fight his Syndicate on his own terms when the police reveals itself to be far too corrupt to interfere, with the help of fellow ex-cops Blaze Fielding and Adam Hunter.
In Streets of Rage 2, one year later, Axel, who has left the police to run a martial arts dojo, discovers that Adam has been kidnapped by a returning Mr. X, and finds himself forced to fight against the Syndicate once again, with the help of Blaze, as well as his friend pro wrestler Max Thunder and Adam's kid brother Skate.
In Streets of Rage 3, following a terrorist attack by an insane Mr. X who now seeks to plunge Earth into a world war, Axel, now reinstated as a police officer, sides with Blaze, Skate and Syndicate abdicate Dr. Zan to defeat him once and for all, the stakes higher than ever.
After the final death of Mr. X, Axel left Wood Oak City, deciding to live a simple life in isolation and spend his days training and studying in the search of true strength beyond his fists. However, he immediately returns to the city when Blaze calls for his help to take down the new Syndicate founded by Mr. X's children, Mr. and Ms. Y, joining forces with her, Adam's daughter Cherry Hunter and Gilbert Zan's apprentice, Floyd Iraia in Streets of Rage 4.
Powers and Stats
Tier: 9-B | At least 9-B | At least 9-B, possibly 9-A | 8-C
Key: Streets of Rage | Streets of Rage 2 | Streets of Rage 3 | Streets of Rage 4
Name: Axel Stone
Origin: Streets of Rage
Gender: Male
Age: 22 in SoR1, 23 in SoR2 (Takes place one year after the first game), Unknown in SoR3, at least 33 in SoR4 (Takes place a decade after the third game)
Classification: Human, Ex-Cop, Vigilante
Powers and Abilities:
Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Martial Arts (An extremely skilled fighter capable of defeating hordes of criminals and policemen alike and fight ninjas, samurai[1] or other martial artists, even incredibly skilled ones such as his rival Shiva, as well as combat machines[2], Axel is capable of performing a wide variety of kung-fu moves and "combo" enemies in various ways using many advanced techniques[3]), Weapon Mastery (Capable of using many kinds of weaponry picked off the ground with significant skill, including unusual ones like shuriken or kunai, and can perform special moves with baseball bats, planks, lead pipes and katanas. Should have training in firearm usage due to being an ex-cop), Acrobatics (Can easily vault over enemies while grappling them[4], suffer no damage while being thrown, instantly landing on his feet with an air recovery[4] and perform dodge rolls[5]), Social Influencing (Convinced Doctor Zan to speak about Mr. X' plan, which he was reluctant to, by appealing to his moral sense[1]), possibly Healing (Can restore green health consumed by specials by hitting enemies again[3]. Green health is also caused by certain kinds of damage suffered, as seen when hurt by explosions[6], plane crashes[7] or dangerous chemicals[8]. However, this may be a gameplay mechanic that simply represents the characters regaining stamina in combat), Summoning (With Police Call), Weapon Creation (Can create and throw seven lead pipes in rapid succession with Pipe Rage[9])
All previous plus Fire Manipulation (Many of Axel's moves surround his limbs with flames[10]), Energy Projection (With Soul Striker)
All previous plus Energy Projection and Energy Manipulation (Can create an energy katana and use it to fire a blade beam with Spirit Blade[9]), Regeneration (Low. Can recover some health between fights[5]), Resistance to Poison Manipulation (Can withstand poison gas[11] and dangerous chemicals[8] longer than the average man)
All previous abilities plus enhanced Fire Manipulation (Axel's flames are now powerful enough to set the ground ablaze and he is capable of manipulating the flames into the shape of a dragon to attack[12]), Vibration Manipulation (Can hit the ground hard enough to harm nearby foes with Dragon Crush[9]), Air Manipulation (Can create a tornado of fire with Dragon Burst)
Status Effect Inducement (Can stun people by tossing pepper shakers at them, forcing a sneezing fit)
Explosion Manipulation (With grenades)
Same as SoR2/3 plus Electricity Manipulation (With taser), Poison Manipulation (Toxic Bottles releases large puddles of green goo that rapidly damage anyone standing within them), Fire Manipulation (Can set the ground on fire by throwing Fire Bottles), Immersion (Can enter arcade machines by zapping them with a taser)
Pseudo-Flight (Capable of gaining one or even multiple extra air jumps with Air Master), Empowerment, Damage Boost and Damage Reduction (Can gain less damage or inflict more when under half health with Survival Instinct and Last Hurrah, while Full of Yourself boosts power while at full health). The Heat of the Battle drastically decreases damage, but causes it to increase as combo is gained), Electricity, Fire and Poison Manipulation (Various boons can apply elemental effects to Blitz, Specials, Weapon, Heavy and Super attacks: Electricity propagates attacks to nearby enemies, Fire creates a flaming aura around enemies when they land and Toxic slows them down as well as inflicting damage over time), Summoning (Hey Buddy summons a random allied low level enemy at the start of every fight, with the enemy becoming stronger if the perk is obtained again), Absorption (Vampiric Instinct causes all attacks to restore health), Statistics Amplification and Reduction (With Glass Cannon, Ground Level and various other perks), Explosion Manipulation and Homing Attack (Tactical Support causes rockets to be summoned when performing a super move)
Electricity Manipulation (With Lightning Swords and electric eels), Poison Manipulation (Poison Swords and Pufferfish poison who they cut), Fire Manipulation (With Fire Swords), minor Weapon Control (Energy Blades come back when thrown), Status Effect Inducement (Can stun people by tossing Stun Grenades at them)
Attack Potency: Wall level+ (Capable of fighting and defeating bosses who can survive blasts from the police's rocket launchers. Can destroy telephone booths[13], large metal barrels[14], small barricades[15], metal chimneys, large crates[16], metal serving tables[17] and large doors[17]) | At least Wall level+ (Likely stronger than before and can inflict much more damage with his new special moves. Can destroy post boxes[18], tables, chairs[18], trash cans[18], including large, metallic ones[2], thin metal walls[19], metal boxes[19], arcade machines[20] and huge pots[21]) | At least Wall level+ (Stronger than before. Can destroy gold statues with a single punch[22], as well as concrete walls[1], though with multiple hits, stone statues[1] and large doors[1]), possibly Small Building level (Possibly destroyed a large metal wall in a rush to find and defuse Rakushin Bombs, though this is unclear[23]) | Building level (Comparable to his durability, as he is capable of harming those who can physically harm him)
Speed: Subsonic (Can dodge Mr. X's tommy gun fire[17]) | Subsonic | Subsonic (Can move at speeds comparable to bullets as well as dodge them[11]) | Subsonic+ (Comparable to Cherry, who can fight at speeds somewhat comparable to her own sonic attacks[12])
Lifting Strength: Class K (Can throw weapons or enemies with this much force) | Class K | Class M (Can throw weapons or enemies with this much force) | Class M
Striking Strength: Wall level+ | At least Wall level+ | At least Wall level+, possibly Small Building level | Building level
Durability: Wall level+ | At least Wall level+ | At least Wall level+, possibly Small Building level | Building level (Withstood a blast from Mr. Y's rocket launcher[6], and can do so again multiple times while fighting him[7])
Stamina: Likely Superhuman. Axel can wage wars against entire crime syndicates, fighting through hundreds of their troops without rest, while potentially suffering injuries from knives, guns and various blunt weapons as well as still fighting though hordes of enemies after being hurt by large explosions[6], plane crashes[7] or while being exposed to poison gas[11] or dangerous chemicals[8].
Range: Standard Melee Range, extended melee range with weaponry and fire manipulation, Several Meters with Ultimate Dragon Wing, tens of meters with thrown weaponry.
Standard Equipment: None notable beyond his gloves.
- Optional Equipment:
Many weapons found during the course of Axel's adventures. Note that all weapons from older games are available in future installments with the exception of the pepper shaker.
- Streets of Rage Weapons
- Beer Bottle, Lead Pipe, Knife, Baseball Bat, Pepper Shaker (Can be tossed at people's faces to stun them)
- Streets of Rage 2 Weapons
- Kunai, Katana, Grenade
- Streets of Rage 3 Weapons
- Wooden Plank
- Streets of Rage 4 Weapons
- Taser, Tonfa, Pool Cue, 8-Ball, Toxic Bottle (Releases a large puddle of green goo that rapidly damages anyone standing within it), Fire Bottles (A bottle filled with incendiary chemicals that sets anything it hits on fire), Lightning Bottle (A bottle filled with chemicals that stun and zap anything they hit), Motor Bike, Boomerang, Sai, No Entry Sign, Cleaver, Naginata, Golden Chicken (A piece of modern art. Inflicts great damage but breaks after hitting anything), Broom, Nail Bat, Hammer, Mace, Brick, Morning Star Mace, Shuriken
- Mr. X Nightmare Weapons
- Golf Club, Electric Eel (Deals electric damage), Energy Saber (An energy blade, comes back when thrown), Umbrella, Pugil Stick, Hockey Stick, Trident, Durian, Black Sword (An incredibly oversized sword), Fire Sword, Poison Sword, Thunder Sword, Bowling Ball, Pufferfish (Poisons enemies), Chilli Pepper, Tuna, Swordfish, Combat Knife, Axe, Chinese Sword, Stun Grenade (Stuns enemies caught within its blast for roughly three seconds), Landmine, Golden Knife (Incredibly powerful version of the knife), Golden Pipe (Incredibly powerful version of the metal pipe), Golden Boomerang (Incredibly powerful version of the boomerang), Golden Naginata (Incredibly powerful version of the naginata)
Perks gathered in the Mr. X Nightmare mode.
- Air Master: Adds one double jump, with one more being added upon more of the perk being obtained.
- A little closer to the stars: Increases score earned by 40% (increasing with multiple instances of the perk).
- Electric/Fire/Toxic Blitz/Heavy Attacks/Special/Weapon: Applies a certain elemental bonus to a certain type of attack.
- Golden Halberd/Knife/Pipe/Naginata/Boomerang: Spawns an incredibly powerful and durable variation of a weapon.
- Elemental Star Move: All other elemental bonuses are applied to star moves, but its power is reduced by 50%
- Hey Buddy: Spawns a random ally at the beginning of every level. Strength of ally increases with multiple pickups of the perk.
- Sharpen Tool: Increases weapon durability by 20% (increasing with multiple instances of the perk).
- Blood Thirst: Hitting enemies heals by 8% of the damage (increasing with multiple instances of the perk), but healing items no longer work.
- Damage Up: Damage inflicted 10% (increasing with multiple instances of the perk).
- Speed Up: Walk speed up +15% (increasing with multiple instances of the perk).
- Defense Up: Damage taken -10% (increasing with multiple instances of the perk).
- The Heat of the Battle: Decreases damage by 90%, gain bonus damage as long as the combo counter is active (interrupted by not landing hits for enough time or being damaged), +2% damage increase per hit combo.
- Ground Level: Damage dealt +15%, Damage taken -15%, Walking speed +15%, but attempts at jumping will result in a pathetically low hop.
- Glass Cannon: Damage dealt +100%, Damage taken +100%.
- Survival Instinct: Decreases damage taken by 12% (increasing with multiple instances of the perk) when health is below 50%.
- Last Hurrah: Increases damage inflicted by 15% when health is below 50%.
- Full of Yourself: Increases damage inflicted by 20% when at full health.
- Old School Rules: Special moves cost less health, but the health they cost can no longer be regained by hitting enemies.
- 3 Stars: Spawns 3 Stars (Likely does nothing outside of gameplay mechanics).
- Tactical Support: The Star move summons 4 rockets(increasing with multiple instances of the perk).
Intelligence: Gifted. Axel is an incredibly talented martial artist, having brought down entire crime syndicates to their knees with just the help of a few peers, and defeated many other masters of combat, even in disadvantageous situations. An extremely skilled fighter capable of defeating gangs of criminals and squads of policemen alike, Axel has fought and defeated every one of the many professional fighters trained specifically to defeat him by the Syndicate[24], including alien robots[20], pro boxers[25], a robotic doppelganger of himself[26], squads of ninjas, Yamato, a samurai capable of performing magical feats such as duplication or invisibility[1], teams of jetpack-wielding foes[11], various[2] combat[22] machines[27] or foes armed with hi-tech energy weaponry and forcefields[28] as well as many other skilled martial artists on his level such as his rival Shiva[29], who fights with not only his mastery of kenpo but his ability to create several ki clones, the acrobatic Krav-Maga-using and grenade-lobbing cop Estel Aguirre[30], his brainwashed friend Max, a hulking pro wrestler[31], or the children of his original nemesis, Mr. Y and Ms. Y[32], and has since honed his skills further in an incredibly advanced VR system based on Mr. X's own brain[33]. Axel is capable of performing a wide variety of kung-fu moves and "combo" enemies in various ways using many advanced techniques[3].
Weaknesses: Somewhat weak in the air in Streets of Rage 1, special moves consume some health when used too frequently.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
Axel's fighting style is a modified, superhumanly acrobatic and superpowered version of Kung-Fu that also incorporates various other combat styles such as karate, boxing and kickboxing, which he has refined for over a decade. Originally the all-rounder of the Streets of Rage 1 trio, with his only weakness being relatively poor air combat, Axel evolves through the series to become a powerhouse, gaining many fire-based moves which he can use to great effect as both crowd control and single-target damage. He is not afraid to fight dirty against crime, with his move-set including knee strikes, headbutts and the usage of any weapon he can find on the streets.
(Note that the moves tagged with the acronym of any game in the series are only accessible to Axel from that point in the series)
- Jab (Punch, Punch 2, Right Punch, Mid Kick, High Kick): Axel throws two jabs, one straight, a middle kick and finishes with a strong high kick.
- Charged Attack: Axel can perform the last hit of his jab combo at any time, as its own attack. Axel's charged attack is special in that its momentum can be harnessed to perform a sliding version of his special attacks[3].
- Grapple: Axel grabs the enemy and holds them close. All throws can be used to stun other nearby enemies.
- Flurry/Fury: Axel delivers a string of high knee bows, eventually letting the enemy fly away with one final knee strike or headbutt.
- Grab Neutral Attack: Axel headbutts the enemy, sending them flying forward.
- Grab Back Attack: Axel rapidly bends backwards enough to touch the ground with his back, throwing the enemy with all his momentum. Good for hitting other enemies.
- Vault: Axel flips above the enemy while still holding them, ending up behind them. He can also leap upwards and away from the enemy mid-vault with a vault jump.
- Backdrop: A throw that can only be executed from behind. Axel body slams the enemy behind him while jumping forward (SoR2), or performs a suplex.
- Back Attack: A quick backhand punch thrown at anything behind Axel.
- Air Attacks
- Neutral Jump Attack (Air Kick Neutral): Axel performs a high snap kick that can send enemies flying.
- Forward Jump Attack (Air Kick): Axel throws a long-lasting forward kick.
- Down Jump Attack (Air Knee): Axel lands on an enemy with both knees.
- Combo Jump Attack (Air Kick Juggle): Axel throws out a straight kick right after a downwards jump attack (SoR4).
- Weapon Catch: Axel can snatch weapons thrown at him by enemies out of the air, even bladed ones (SoR4).
- Weapon Throw
A variety of particularly noteworthy and powerful moves. All specials but Blitz and Star Moves consume some health, which in Streets of Rage 4 is visualizes as part of the health bar becoming green. If they are hurt by outside influences, the character will lose all green health alongside taking however much damage they would have. However if the character can land some attacks, their green health will be replenished as if they had not suffered that damage. Furthermore, cautious and occasional usage of specials does not consume health, as represented by an "OK" meter in Streets of Rage 3 filling up when a special can be used again safely. Blitz, Star and Defensive Specials have been noted to give at least some invincibility when used, though this may just be a gameplay mechanic.
- Blitz: A powerful forward special attack, comes with no cost of health (SoR2).
- Grand Upper: Also known as Ground Upper or Grand Hook, Axel's signature move. Axel runs forward, dragging his knuckles against the ground as fire surrounds them, culminating in a flame uppercut.
- Tiger Knee: A two-strike leaping knee attack[9].
- Scissor Kicks: A forward-leaping scissor kick. A second hit can be performed after the first (SoR3)[9].
- Dragon Roll: Axel performs a rolling attack while covered in flames. Very fast, and drags enemies with it (SoR4)[9].
- Defensive Special: A special that usually hits all around the user, great for knocking enemies away (SoR2).
- Dragon Wing: Axel swings his fist in a great circular motion, with the range and power of the attack being greatly increased by the flames surrounding it. Great for getting rid of enemies surrounding Axel.
- Tornado Kick: Axel performs a hopping hurricane kick[9].
- Spinning Body Blow: Axel performs a low spinning flame punch: after two full spins he knocks them away with a more direct blow (SoR3)[9].
- Dragon Upper: Axel performs a rather familiar leaping flame uppercut (SoR4)[9].
- Offensive Special: A special aimed forward, usually more powerful and longer-ranged than a Defensive Special, but less useful for defense (SoR2).
- Dragon Smash: Axel performs a quick barrage of punches ending in a powerful uppercut. One of his most powerful moves if all or most of it connects.
- Dragon Dash Blow: A sliding low punch. Relatively weak, but quick and long-ranged[9].
- Dragon Punch: A rising dragon uppercut with strong forward momentum (SoR3)[9].
- Dragon Bite: Axel punches forward, shaping the flames around his fist into a dragon that bites enemies in front of him (SoR4)[9].
- Air Special: A special attack used in mid-air. Often useful to ensure a safe landing or continue a combo (SoR4).
- Dragon Dive: Axel surrounds himself in fire completely and rolls forward, falling down and dragging any enemies with him for the rest of the move, which he finishes with a lunging punch surrounded by flames.
- Dragon Crush: Surrounded in energy, Axel descends straight down, causing a shockwave that blows nearby enemies away[9].
- Star Move: A character's most powerful moves. Utilized by expending a star icon consumable in Streets of Rage 4, and though this is likely a gameplay mechanic not reflective of canon, it may indicate that they cannot be used too often.
- Police Call: Not an actual technique. Axel simply calls for support, and a police car drives by, helping Axel by blasting the battle ground with napalm.
- Pipe Rage: Axel rapidly creates seven metal pipes and throws them forward[9].
- Grand Dragon Wing: Axel performs two Dragon Wings, stringing them together into a Grand Upper (SoR2).
- Spinning Dragon Upper: Axel performs a high jumping uppercut, spinning rapidly as he does[9] (SoR2).
- Soul Striker: Axel launches a powerful ball of energy forwards [34](SoR2).
- Spinning Body Smash: A much more powerful version of Spinning Body Blow, where Axel spins faster and more times before finishing the combo with a Grand Upper (SoR3).
- Spirit Blade: Axel creates a katana made of energy and shoots a blade beam[9] (SoR3).
- Dragon Burst: Axel surrounds himself in an aura of flames before condensing all of it into a giant fire dragon tornado with which he uppercuts the enemy (SoR4).
- Ultimate Dragon Wing: Axel performs a much more powerful Dragon Wing with far greater range, capable of striking up to a few meters away from him[9] (SoR4).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Stage 4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Streets of Rage 2 (1993) - Stage 7
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Gameplay Mechanic
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Streets of Rage 1 (1992) - Gameplay Mechanic
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Gameplay Mechanic
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 7
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 11
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 5
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Alternate Movesets
- ↑ Streets of Rage 2 (1993)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Stage 6
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Streets of Rage 4 (2020)
- ↑ Streets of Rage 1 (1992) - Stage 1
- ↑ Streets of Rage 1 (1992) - Stage 2
- ↑ Streets of Rage 1 (1992) - Stage 3
- ↑ Streets of Rage 1 (1992) - Stage 4
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Streets of Rage 1 (1992) - Stage 7
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Streets of Rage 2 (1993) - Stage 1
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Streets of Rage 2 (1993) - Stage 2
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Streets of Rage 2 (1993) - Stage 3
- ↑ Streets of Rage 2 (1993) - Stage 8
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Stage 5
- ↑ Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Stage 1
- ↑ Streets of Rage 2 EU Manual
- ↑ Streets of Rage 2 (1993) - Stage 5
- ↑ Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Stage 3
- ↑ Streets of Rage 3 (1994) - Stage 7 (True Ending)
- ↑ Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 10
- ↑ Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 6
- ↑ Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 4
- ↑ Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 9
- ↑ Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Stage 12
- ↑ Streets of Rage 4 (2020) - Mr. X Nightmare DLC (2021)
- ↑ Streets of Rage 2 (Game Gear, 1992)
Others
Notable Victories:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches:
Discussions
Discussion threads involving Axel Stone |