Origins
When Guile was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, he became friends with his Superior officer Charlie Nash. He also asked Charlie to teach him in his form of fighting, and Charlie agreed to do this. Guile learned the style of fighting, but his tantrums caused him to be not as good in the moves as Charlie was (shown in how Charlie can shoot sonic booms with just one hand while Guile needs both).
Guile was not introduced to the series until the appearance of Street Fighter Alpha 3. He was sent by the U. S. Air Force to look for his teammate and close friend Charlie, who went missing during a secret investigation that was happening at the time. Guile’s search led him to the Interpol investigator Chun-Li, who too was investigating Shadaloo, a secret evil organization lead by M. Bison. The two eventually found the Shadaloo base in Japan along with his missing friend Charlie. The notorious and powerful M.Bison showed up and attacked the two, daring them to follow him inside his Shadaloo base.
As Chun-Li searched another area, Charlie and Guile began to set explosives around their mission objective, Bison’s source of power, The Psycho Drive. However, Bison surprised them, and a fight was started. Charlie convinced Guile to leave while he held Bison off by fighting him, so Guile took Chun-Li and escaped. They made it a moment before the base exploded, with Charlie and Bison trapped in the blast. Standing on the peak of a mountain, Guile says he will always believe in Charlie’s memory.
Bison some how survived the explosion at Shadaloo base. Guile Holding Bison responsible for the death of his friend, he dedicated his whole life to trying to avenge his friend Charlie on Bison. Bison set up the second World Warrior Tournament as a trap.
Creation
Guile was created by Takashi Nishiyama and Keiji Inafune. Guile was created specifically to appeal to the American audience.
Character Evolution
Guile officially first appeared in Street Fighter II as a man bent on revenge against M. Bison. His origins and personality would later be expanded in the later video games and other media such as the comics and animated movies.
In the army, he became friends with his commanding superior, Charlie, and was taught his form of fighting. Sometime afterward, Charlie was declared missing in action after gone missing during a mission. Thanks to the help of Chun-Li, Guile found Charlie, along with a secret organization called Shadaloo, led by M.Bison. When Charlie was apparently killed due to the destruction of the secret Shadaloo base, Guile swore revenge upon Bison. Thanks to his family, he was able to put aside his revenge, but he was still convinced that Charlie was still alive.
Major Story Arcs
In the Udon Comics, his story is slightly changed. Sometime after the first World Tournament, Guile is still investigating the disappearance of his friend, Charlie along with Shadaloo. After receiving a report that Shadaloo agents were spotted in Chinatown, he set out to investigate. He later encounters one of Shadaloo’s members, Birdie and his gang collecting money from a local Chinese restaurant. After taking down Birdie, one of the members ran away, and as Guile ran to chase after him, he ran into Interpol agent, Chun-Li, who apprehended the man. Along with Guile, she was also investigating Shadaloo and was supposed to meet with Charlie. Guile told her what happened to Charlie, and the two decided to work together.
The following day, Chun-Li told Guile her reasons for going after Shadaloo, due to her father’s disappearance. While talking, the two learned that Bison was targeting a fighter named Ryu. Guile soon realized that Ryu was at the Chinese restaurant that he was at the night before, and later found that he was headed back to Japan. The two then took a first flight to Japan to locate Ryu.
When Guile and Chun-Li arrived in Japan, the two found an inn to stay close to where Ryu trained. Guile then noticed someone was following them in the shadows, and ran after him in the ally. Chun-Li followed as well, but then a sudden blast knocked her off her feet. When she looked up, she saw Charlie, now going by Shadow, holding an unconscious Guile. When Guile came to, he threw Charlie’s dog tags at him to get him to remember who he was. In pain, Charlie quickly fired a sonic boom to distract the two and escaped. Guile and Chun-Li later went to the hospital to treat their injuries, when he ran into Eliza, his wife’s sister. He then learned about the whereabouts of Ryu from her, and the two quickly rushed off.
As the two drove to the dojo of where Ryu was, they were stopped by a helicopter piloted by Charlie, who had regained his memories. He then told them what happened during his mission, also revealing to Chun-Li of her father’s death by the hands of Killer Bee (Cammy brainwashed by M. Bison). Before the three could plan their next step, another helicopter arrived and started shooting at them. Charlie dove in front of Guile and Chun-Li, and was wounded by the shots. As the chopper landed, M.Bison appeared before them. Guile and Chun-Li rushed to attack Bison, but was easily overwhelmed by his Psycho powers.
As Bison was about to give the final blow, Charlie fired a sonic boom behind him, stunning him. Despite being wounded, Charlie decided to sacrifice his life to save his friends by knocking Bison off the cliff using his somersault justice. Both Charlie and Bison fell in the ocean, as both Guile and Chun-Li watched. Chun-Li wondered if they both were dead, but as Guile saw that Charlie left his dog tags behind, he wasn’t so sure.
Characteristics
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 189 lbs
Powers and Abilities
Thanks to his training with his friend, Charlie, Guile develop to become a strong fighter. Some of his techniques consists of:
Sonic Boom: a crescent shaped, projectile based attack. Guile was taught this by Charlie, but unlike Charlie who can use this with one arm, Guile has to use both arms to perform it.
Flash Kick (or Somersault Kick): a backflip that leaves a flash at the arc of the kick.
Double Flash (Originally called Somersault Justice): A series of multiple flash kicks.
Flash Explosion: Similar to the Double Flash, the one difference is that the second backflip is done in the same way as Charlie does his backflips.
Sonic Hurricane: A larger Sonic Boom that hits multiple times if caught in between.
Other Media
Film and Animation
Guile appeared in the live action movie of Street Fighter as the main character. He was portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme. His full name in the movie is Willam F. Guile.
Guile also appeared in Street Fighter II: The animated movie. He was investigating the organization Shadaloo, and was teamed up with Chun-Li.
Guile also appeared in Street Fighter II V and Street Fighter – The Animated series (inspired in live-action movie).
Guile also appeared in Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind.
Video Game appearances
- Street Fighter II
- Street Fighter II Champion Edition
- Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting
- Super Street Fighter II
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo
- Super Street Fighter II Revival
- Street Fighter Alpha 3
- Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper
- Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max
- Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
- Street Fighter EX
- Street Fighter EX Alpha
- Street Fighter EX 2
- Street Fighter EX 2
- Street Fighter EX 3
- Marvel vs Capcom 2
- Capcom vs SNK
- Capcom vs SNK Pro
- Capcom vs SNK 2
- SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium
- SNK vs Capcom: Chaos
- Capcom Fighting Evolution
- Street Fighter IV
- Super Street Fighter IV
- Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
- X-Men vs Street Fighter
- Street Fighter X Tekken