Q

​Q (Kyuu) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. He is a mysterious individual of unknown origin whose face is concealed by an expressionless metallic mask.

Biography
Not much is known about Q, except that he appears at different places around the world, and may be linked to various disasters. Being arguably the most mysterious character in the Street Fighter universe, Q's true identity has been a subject of constant speculation ever since his debut.

While Q can be chosen as a playable character, he is also a "hidden" computer-controlled sub-boss in Arcade Mode that can only be battled after meeting specific requirements: the player must win the first eight matches without losing a round, and remain above D rank.

Of note is that Q is the only character in 3rd Strike that does not have his own stage. However, starting a two-player game with both players selecting Q will take them directly to Dudley's stage (London), while his own theme plays in the background.

Concept
The design for Q draws a clear influence from characters such as Shotaro Ishinomori's Robotto Keiji K (Robot Detective K) and Iron Mask from Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Babel II manga. The trench-coat, fedora and gloves are articles of clothing worn by H.G. Wells' "Invisible Man".

Appearance
Q sports a hat and trench coat, along with white gloves, black pants and dress shoes. Under his coat is a typical white button-up shirt and red tie; this type of clothing is a trademark of archetypal spies and detectives (e.g. Rorschach, The Question, Mr. A). His head is engulfed in a metallic blue shell-like mask which surrounds his entire head. The mask has yellow eyes of varying brightness.

It is unknown if Q is a human or at least-part machine; when Q is shocked in-game, instead of showing the skull and skeleton, it shows his muscular system and an indistinct head. Also, Q's neck is the only portion of his body that is visibly made of flesh and skin, though some of his legs are visible during certain animations. Q's identity has frequently been the subject of speculation by fans; one of the most frequently cited candidates is Dorai, Chun-Li's father, due to the amount of detective motifs and the location of his stage, though there is little (if anything) in the way of concrete evidence to tie them together.

Personality
Q is generally the quiet type, as he only speaks (or rather, grunts) when being hit, and he also mumbles an unintelligible line of dialogue after defeating his opponent. His win quotes consist of ellipses and short, vague phrases (e.g. "I... am abomination."); the latter are shown in parenthesis, perhaps indicating his thoughts or translating mumbling.

Q's mannerisms tend to straddle the line between man and machine. His movements are simple and robotic, and verge on stilted and awkward at times; he even "shuts" down when he is beaten by chip damage. Despite many of his simple, robotic movements, some of his other mannerisms and features could be considered human; for example, after parrying a move, he will brush off his trench coat. Much of his moveset seems to support this theory.

It is not known how Q handles human contact; in his intro animations, people are often seen running in fear from him, followed by him simply walking onto the stage, or else performing a dashing punch. However, one artwork depicts him apparently being interviewed by a woman, while a man removes his coat, with no apparent discomfort on Q's part. Q also shows similarly contradictory acts of self-restraint and cruelty; when he defeats his opponent, he will either simply look over them, shed a tear and walk away, or else start crushing their face underneath his shoe.

The requirements to fight Q as a CPU opponent may indicate that Q may be after the world's most dangerous or powerful fighters, also similar to Akuma.