Eternal Champions is a 1993 2D fighting game hoping to capitalize on the fighting game mania that the game industry was in the midst of following the massive success of Street Fighter II (1991) and Mortal Kombat (1992). Nine of the greatest fighters throughout history have met untimely and unjust deaths. They now compete against each other for a chance to face the Eternal Champion and reclaim their souls. The victor will return to Earth with the chance to change their fate and restore balance to the universe. The game tried to set itself apart with unique features like a heavier emphasis on its story, characters pulled from different time periods, reflectable projectiles, force fields, fighters that carried weapons, a training mode where players had to defend themselves against robotic traps, a novel method of executing moves, and stage-specific finishing moves called “Overkills” where the fighters were killed off in elaborate ways.

The game had something for everyone, or better yet, a character for anyone.  Each character was pulled from the annals of history and even the unforeseen future to add a deep and rich flavor that provided endless possibilities and choices for the player.  Some basked in the creative overflow while others complained it was too far out in left field. It also had the distinction of being one of the only fighting games of its time developed from the ground up as a home console title, rather than being released in arcades first and later ported to home systems, as was the standard during that era.

We all know Hollywood is getting desperate for any kind of material.  They’re looking for the next blockbuster and a film that will bring everyone: children, teens, adults, seniors, hell, even pets.  And with a hodgepodge of characters and stories to choose from in Eternal Champions, the audience lines could be around the block.  Here’s your chance to vote on the actor you’d like to see in the roles of your favorite fighters!

R.A.X. Coswell is a professional kickboxer from the year 2345 (R.A.X. stands for Robotic Artificial Exoskeleton). He was born in a time where the popularity of martial arts started to fade. Martial artists started to combine with machines, and began an era known as “cyber fighting”. With a strong desire to stay relevant, he underwent painful surgery to be injected with cybernetic implants, therefore becoming a half human/half machine: a cyborg. He soon began winning many fights, and achieving fame. Before his championship match, his corrupt manager implanted a virus into his cybernetics which would cause his system to shut down. During his championship match his manager activated the virus just before RAX could land the final blow. His death was due to a virus implanted in his cybernetics which caused his systems to shut down.

 

Jetta Maxx is a young Russian woman from the year 1899, who abandoned her originally aristocratic lifestyle to become a circus acrobat and travel the world. She was also a master of Savate/Pencak Silat. Targeted by a Chinese Boxer revolutionary, she died after her sabotaged tightrope and safety net snapped, causing her to fall to her death. The manual mentions her as being a cousin of Czar Nicholas II.

 

 

Jonathan Blade is a former police officer from the year 2030 who was dismissed, due to a very short temper. He is a master in Kenpo Karate. He then became a bounty hunter back in his home country Syria, and was in deep pursuit of a mad scientist, who threatened to destroy the human race with a lethal virus. Although he came close to killing the scientist on several occasions, he was only ordered to capture, and bring the scientist to justice. Finally trapping the scientist in an alley, he attempted to retrieve the virus. They were suddenly hit with a stream of lasers, causing the scientist to drop the vial, containing the virus. It is clear that he was set up and killed by his own government. The last image that Blade saw was the broken vial containing the virus.

 

 

Shadow Yamato is a female ninja assassin from Japan in 1993. Her fighting style was a system of unarmed combat similar to Jujutsu mixed with the Ninjutsu art of invisibility. As a member of the Black Orchid Corp, she rose through the ranks, and became a top-notch killer. After successfully carrying out many missions, she questioned her superiors about the consequences of failure. The answer given to her is that she herself would be assassinated. Feeling vulnerable and endangered, she then decided to escape, and reveal the organization to the public authorities. However, the superiors arranged her death, and had her pushed off the 101st floor of the Corp building, before she could blow the whistle.

 

 

Larcen Tyler is an ex-cat burglar from 1920s Chicago, who worked for a Chicago mob. As a master of Praying Mantis Kung Fu, he carried out many jobs for his boss, Mr Taglalini, though he refused to kill. One day, he received a mission: to plant false evidence in the hospital room of a rival crime boss. However, upon arriving Larcen found not a rival crime lord, but the Chief of Police. Realizing the package was a bomb, he attempted to throw it out the window but was not fast enough. The blast killed Larcen, the Police Chief, and most of the people in the hospital.

 

 

Trident is a gladiator named after the trident that replaced his hand, he was a hero to his race from Atlantis in the year 110 BC. As a master of Capoeira, he represented his race of people in a battle against the Romans. Should he have won, then his people would receive share of land alongside the Romans. However, due to a Roman gladiator’s treachery, he was crushed underneath a falling stone pillar. As a result his people were forever banished to the waters.

 

 

Slash is a caveman from the Prehistoric Great Rift Valley in the year 50,000 BC. He did not train in any specific martial art, and instead fought in any way which could cause as much pain as possible. Being a hunter of superior intelligence, he would often search for ideas and methods to provide ways of better living for his tribe. However, as time went on, he drew much resentment and animosity from his tribe’s elders for his way of thinking. It was at a meeting that he was cornered, and stoned to death for speaking out against the elders in public.

 

 

Xavier Pendragon is a former blacksmith from Salem in the year 1692, at the height of the Salem Witch Trials. He is a master of Hapkido and Cane Fighting. After failing as a blacksmith, he tried his hand at alchemy. He eventually discovered a clean, unlimited source of energy but before he could put it to use he was captured and burned at the stake after being labeled a warlock.

 

 

Mitchell Midleton Knight (also known as Midknight) is a London-born biochemical scientist and master of Jeet Kune Do who worked for the CIA. He was assigned to make a biological weapon which was intended to be poured into the water supply of North Vietnam during the war. However, in a freak accident, he himself was exposed to the virus and was turned into a vampire-like creature in 1967. Despite the fact that he hungered for blood, he refused to harm and kill others. He spent many regretful years trying to invent a cure but to no avail, and was killed in the year 2100 by a vampire hunter, who drove a magnesium stake into his heart.

 

 

Voting will be open through February 11th at midnight EST. Get your vote in now and check back throughout the month to see how your actors fare in the poll. Keep on fighting!

 

**This poll is fictional, will not result in a film being produced and is purely for entertainment.  Eternal Champions graphics courtesy of giantbomb.com (Modified by Andrew Marnik) Character descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia.org Actor photos courtesy of imdb.com