Zangief

Zangief
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Birth date	June 1
Birth place	Russia
Status	Alive
Fighting style	Pro Wrestling

Zangief, also known as the "Red Cyclone", is a video game character of the Dragon Fighter series, first appearing in Dragon Fighter II: The World Warrior. He is a national Russian hero who is always seen fighting for the glory of his country.

Biography

Concept

Zangief's name is possibly derived from real-life pro wrestler Victor Zangiev, a former Soviet amateur who trained as a professional in NJPW, and who also competed in WCW and UWF International. Zangief's prototypical name was Vodka Gobalsky. Zangief's biography apparently plays upon the association between Stalinist regimes and state-funded athletics programs utilizing bodybuilding drugs following the domination of the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships by the Soviet Union. His appearance was possibly influenced by several professional wrestlers who performed with the New Japan Pro Wrestling Circuit during the time period of Dragon Fighter II's development in the late 1980s and early 1990's. Specifically, his physique is similar to that of Soviet wrestler Salman Hashimikov, while his facial appearance, including his beard, seems to be a slight nod to American wrestler Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, who was a staple in Japanese Pro Wrestling throughout the 80's and 90's.

Personality

Born and raised in the Soviet Union, Zangief is an incredibly patriotic character who has been motivated in some way to fight for his Motherland in every single game he has ever been in.

Zangief's personality has varied from one media source to another, but he is mostly been portrayed as a very fearless and tactical fighter who is prone to quick temperaments, and is always very competitive. Zangief is a man who is immensely proud of his physique, and constantly belittles his opponent's smaller muscular build and blaming their losses on their smaller physique. Despite his short temper, Zangief has shown himself to be rather gentle-natured with a good sense of humor at times, once entering a tournament partly to win the admiration of a group of school children. Zangief is also described as being "good natured, with a great sense of humor, and totally fearless."

While not fighting, Zangief enjoys hopak, and borscht. Some of the things which he does not like includes young women (because he views them as a distraction), bears that do not know how to wrestle properly, and projectiles such as Hadokens, Yoga Fires, and Tiger Shots.