Ken Masters

The name or term "Ken" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Ken (disambiguation).

Ken Masters is a human from Street Fighter.

"I need a better workout than this! Where's Eliza?!"

Ken Masters (ケン・マスターズ) is a Japanese-American martial artist and Ryu's best friend. Having trained at the same dojo, Ken and Ryu share many of the same fighting techniques, including the Hadōken, Shōryūken, and Tatsumaki Senpūkyaku, though Ken favors mobility and speed over Ryu's slower, more powerful attacks.

Fiction

Street Fighter II x Transformers toy bios

Ken, Ryu, and Chun-Li were in the midst of a battle with M. Bison in Thailand. When they were about to defeat him, a dimensional gate was open and Megatron emerged. The three were caught off guard, allowing Bison enough time to share his power with Megatron before the two escaped. Optimus Prime, Hot Rod, and Arcee also emerged from the gate and asked for the three fighters' help in stopping Megatron. They agreed, and Hot Rod scanned Ken to learn his fighting techniques. Hot Rod learned to enhance what he had learned from Ken by adapting his own transformation into Ken's Ansatsuken fighting style, such as performing a Shōryūken during a transformation to robot mode. The two of them formed a bond, with Ken and his girlfriend treating Hot Rod much like a younger brother. Hot Rodimus [Ken] packaging bio

Toys

Street Fighter II × Transformers

Flowchart not included.

• Hot Rodimus [Ken] vs Arcee [Chun-Li] (Two-pack, 2018)

• Release date: May 26, 2018
• Accessories: Left & right rifles, Headmaster

Available as part of the exclusive Street Fighter II × Transformers toyline, Hot Rodimus is a redeco of Legends Targetmaster Hot Rodimus (itself a retool of Titans Return Deluxe Class Hot Rod) in Ken's traditional colors, luxurious eyebrows and flesh tones and all. He transforms from a robot to a Cybertronian sports car and back. The Street Fighter II logo is printed on the car's spoiler, and the Headmaster's robot mode is also painted to resemble Ken.

Like all Deluxe-sized Titans Return toys, Hot Rodimus's cockpit can be opened to reveal a seat that allows any Titan Master/Headmaster figure to man it in both modes. His two rifles can be clipped together to form a larger gun with a Headmaster seat; separately they can be pegged behind Hot Rodimus's front wheels or one can be pegged into his engine.

Hot Rodimus was only available in a two-pack with Arcee [Chun-Li]. This set was available for pre-order on TakaraTomy Mall from November 22 to 27, with orders fulfilled in late May 2018. A pre-order goal was also set: the first 3000 pre-ordered units would include a free clear display stand.

This two-pack was later brought to the West in 2022 as part of the Transformers Collaborative line, released as a Target and Hasbro Pulse exclusive in the United States. These releases are functionally identical to the Takara versions; the Hasbro versions have new manufacturing tampographs, but are otherwise the same. They even have all of the Takara packaging inside the new Hasbro outer packaging!

Notes

• In its original packaging, the Hot Rodimus [Ken] toy is posed performing a Shōryūken.
• Ken has been played by a handful of Transformers alumni. Scott McNeil and Steve Blum both voiced Ken in English, while in Japanese, he has been voiced by Tetsuya Iwanaga, Monster Maezuka, Toshihiko Seki, Keiji Fujiwara, Nobuyuki Hiyama, and currently, Yūji Kishi.
• The final issue of Last Bot Standing features an empowered Rodimus throwing an uppercut deliberately based off Ken's flaming shōryūken attack.

External links

• Ken Masters at Wikipedia
• Ken Masters at the Street Fighter Wiki