| “ | I'm number one! | „ |
| ~ Paul Phoenix |
Paul Phoenix is a major character from the Tekken series. He is a hotheaded martial artist that is determined to reach the very top of winning every fighting tournament he's appeared in every subsequent. He is also a good friend of Marshall Law and his family.
He is voiced by Kanehira Yamamoto and Hochu Otsuka in the Japanese version, and by Eric Kelso, Jamieson Price voiced of Sojiro Sakura from Persona 5 and Mike McFarland in the English version.
Story[]
Tekken[]
Paul Phoenix is a tough American fighter whose battle-spirit was first kindled by his watching 'Bear Killer Willy Williams' as a child. Something of a drifter, Paul had no real career, instead making money by street fighting and taking occasional work as a bouncer while he pursued his real passion: proving himself to be the toughest fighter in the universe. Paul trained with Marshall Law, who would go on to become his good friend, and Lee Chaolan, and remained undefeated in battle until he fought Kazuya Mishima to a draw.
When Paul heard the announcement of The King of Iron Fist Tournament, he entered, seeing the opportunity to face his rival, Kazuya, and prove himself to be the best. During the tournament, Paul defeated a bear named Kuma, but was unable to defeat Kazuya when they fought.
Tekken 2[]
Two years passed before news reached Paul of a second tournament. Paul entered, and while he was again successful in defeating Kuma, he was still unable to prove himself to be stronger than Kazuya; traffic on the Japanese highways prevented him from reaching the venue in time, forcing him to forfeit.
Tekken 3[]
Paul had to wait almost twenty years for a third chance to prove himself, but when he received an invitation to another King of Iron Fist tournament, he accepted immediately. Paul also convinced his good friend Marshall Law's son, Forest, to enter, infuriating Marshall in the process. At the tournament, Paul defeated all who stood before him, including Kuma II and Ogre, the god of fighting himself. Returning home believing himself to be victorious, Paul was unaware that victory had once again eluded him; Ogre had not been defeated, and had morphed into his true monstrous form, only to be defeated by Jin Kazama.
Tekken 4[]
Feeling cheated of his win, Paul began telling everyone that he was the true victor of the third tournament. People soon grew tired of hearing this, and the dojo Paul had established went out of business due to a lack of students. When Paul learned of the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament, he entered, seeking his long-overdue victory. He was also keen to have another rematch with Kazuya. This time though, Paul lost a fight to Kuma. Humbled, Paul returned to his training with renewed determination.
Tekken 5[]
When the announcement of a fifth tournament reached Paul, he entered with renewed vigor. This time, Paul successfully defeated Kuma, but the fight took its toll on him and, exhausted, Paul was forced to forfeit the tournament again.
Tekken 6[]
Soon after, the sixth King of Iron Fist tournament was announced. Short of money, Paul entered - but, realizing that his mistake in the past had been in pursuing victory on his own, he teamed up with his old friend Marshall Law to try and win the prize money together. Law also brought Steve Fox into the team; however, the trio did not win the prize money.
Paul Phoenix's rematch with the bear called Kuma was fierce, and though victorious, he was utterly exhausted, leaving him unable to continue the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament. Unable to collect any prize money from the last tournament, Paul, who was already burdened by his mountain of debt, learns that a new King of Iron Fist Tournament will be held soon. Believing he that if he won the tournament, he could finally say goodbye to his loan troubles, Paul deeply though about ways to increase his chances of winning... participating on his own was out of the question. If he could assemble a team with someone, his chances of winning the prize money would greatly increase. And so he went over his plan with his best friend Marshall Law.
Tekken 7[]
Soon after, Marshall asked Paul if he knew anyone who could lead the Marshall Dojo while he dealt with some financial issues. Paul said he would run the dojo for Marshall, but Marshall politely declined (privately expecting that Paul's leadership would make the dojo go bust in days.
Paul went on enter the seventh King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Tekken 8[]
Following Kazuya's announcement of The King of Iron Fist Tournament, Paul participates in the qualifier rounds of North America Block A, where he eventually defeats Marshall. Despite this, Paul promises to split the tournament's prize money once again as he proceeds to the main tournament. During the opening rounds in Italy, Paul faces Kuma once again.
Regardless of the outcome, the tournament is suspended due to a raid by both the United Nations and Yggdrasil. With Kazuya himself managing to absorb Azazel to further his attempt at world domination, Paul is among the tournament participants that choose to join Lars's forces in defending Yakushima from G Corporation. To his surprise, he ends up fighting against Marshall, who believed that Paul reneged on their deal despite Paul claiming that there was no prize money to be split. Seeing the pair fight, Kuma attempts to attack Paul from behind, but accidentally saves him from a bazooka being fired by a soldier instead, much to Paul's surprise for the "selfless" deed.
In the good ending, Paul is seen with Steve, King, Marshall, Kuma, and Panda helping run a free soup kitchen.
Personality[]
He is a hotheaded, aggressive character, determined more than ever to win the tournament to prove he is the best fighter in the entire universe (he means this literally, according to his ending in Tekken 5). He is very hostile towards the Mishima family and everyone and anything associated with it (most notably the Mishima Zaibatsu and Kazuya Mishima) and never hesitates to show this hatred in matches.
Although he gets close so many times (especially in Tekken 3), Paul has never won a tournament. Yet he managed to defeat the powerful non-human Ogre in a fight. It was always discussed who was the true winner of the third tournament (even among the fandom), yet the majority of the people thought Jin Kazama the actual winner, since he destroyed Ogre after Paul left. For Heihachi Mishima, the winner was supposed to be the one who would capture Ogre for him, but neither Paul or Jin succeeded at that as Ogre's body vanished.
Paul always provided comic relief moments for the series, but lately his funny side has become his only point. In fact despite his initial setup in the first game to be a possible rival to Kazuya, as well as his serious standing in previous games, Paul has become something of a joke character (story-wise) more and more. This is quite obviously evidenced by the fact that he is rivals with another joke character, Kuma II. In the oldest Tekken games Kuma I was introduced as a serious smart evil bear who tried to prevent Paul, who was the strongest non-Mishima, winning the first tournaments. Paul also had a comic relief ending in Tekken 5. Nevertheless, he is among the most popular and well-loved Tekken characters.
Other Media[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as spirit on the Kazuya's spirit board, they are advanced-ranked primary attack-type one that increases the user's foot attacks. Their spirit battle are a stamina battle against Ken and Fox on the battlefield form of New Donk City Hall.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Along with Heihachi Mishima, Nina Williams, and Yoshimitsu, Paul Phoenix has appeared in every single Tekken game to date.
- According to current canon, Kazuya Mishima and Kuma are the only two characters to have ever defeated Paul in a tournament. It is very possible that Paul could be regarded as one of the most powerful or "toughest" fighter in the Tekken universe, somewhat ironic considering Paul has become more of a comedy gag character in recent installments. Obviously Paul is comically oblivious to this feat however.
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