G is NOT The Fool!

“No matter how many times I attempt to read the future, the answer is always the same. Only the Fool Card can stand up to him. It is the Card of Freedom and Beginnings… The Card of Reckless Heroism. I may be able to stop him temporarily, but I simply cannot destroy him, for I hold the same power inside me that Bison has. The fate of this card lies in the hands of one man. But he cannot act, until the stars align to herald his coming. I can only protect him, guide him, offer aid in his quest to destroy Bison. This will be my last mission.” – Rose’s intro, Ultra Street Fighter IV

I have written several G theories up to this point: G is controlling Q; G is from New Orleans and is a Baron Samedi type; G is out to destroy Shadaloo, as well as everything else in his path to unify the Earth; G can’t control Elena because she is one with nature (this was a mini-theory that’s on Twitter; take a look at this one: https://twitter.com/StevenManeVox/status/1130903989212655616). However, I keep finding more things in Street Fighter relating to G; tiny details that are easily missed and yet hold gigantic hints pointing towards him, knowing what little we actually know about him.

One of the things I keep hearing over and over, no matter what theory I create, is that Capcom can’t possibly write stories this detailed. Cinematic Story Mode in SFV was a mess, yes. But don’t forget just how deep the lore goes. It’s not just the stuff on-screen you need to concern yourselves with – you need to look into the stuff off-screen as well. There’s a REASON there are supplementals – there’s just too much to put in the game! Capcom knows their own lore – they wrote it!!! Do you know why Cinematic Story Mode was the way it was? Two reasons: 1) They needed to put everyone in. If they didn’t, they’d get complaints (“Why wasn’t X put in the story mode? There was no point to putting this character in the game!”). 2) The REAL story was in the CINEMATOGRAPHY AND DIALOGUE. Remember my Necalli theory? Of course you don’t. Here it is again. https://manestreet.home.blog/2019/02/20/necallis-true-purpose/

In it, I pointed out the meaning of the butterflies that were seen in Cinematic Story Mode and pointed to how everything tied together to reveal Necalli’s true purpose. And I’m going to do the same thing here, revealing two things that you’d never expect at the same time: the creator of Q’s mask and The Fool that Rose is predicting. Big hint: G is a red herring, an intentional misdirect planted by a trolling creator. Everything you see on G is too direct, too open. We will certainly find out if G is Q, or if G is controlling Q. However, even though Yoshinori Ono isn’t technically in charge of the project, he’s still there, and he wants revenge for having his Laura troll brutally ripped away from him. https://twitter.com/Yoshi_OnoChin/status/649824783031402496

So let’s start from the top. Q is the biggest mystery of Street Fighter, and not much has been revealed about him. However, his most distinct feature is what we’ll be looking at here: his mask. There are several prominent mask wearers in the series, including Ibuki, Zeku, and Vega. But there is only one person who isn’t wearing the mask. Rather, the mask wears her: Decapre.

Decapre was the only person whose mind control seemed to be based in her mask. There’s proof of this in the Cinematic Story Mode and, fortunately, I didn’t have to go through the entire story mode to find every scene that mattered. I found a video that only features the Shadaloo Dolls which makes things a LOT easier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Aoj8rsq7iQ (Thanks, PJA)!

While it isn’t stated outright that Decapre’s mask is what binds her, we can safely assume it is, as there’s a sequence of events that determines this. This is the sequence:

1) Juri kicks off Decapre’s mask. https://youtu.be/6Aoj8rsq7iQ?t=478

2) Decapre, maskless, but who is shown to still be under the influence of Psycho Power, attacks Cammy. It isn’t until Cammy knocks her out again that she is fully freed from Bison’s control. https://youtu.be/6Aoj8rsq7iQ?t=510

3) F.A.N.G., angry at the Dolls’ incompetence, manually increases the effect of the Psycho Power on the Dolls: https://youtu.be/6Aoj8rsq7iQ?t=1017

4) Decapre saves Cammy from Vega, but she is completely unaffected by the increase in Psycho Power: https://youtu.be/6Aoj8rsq7iQ?t=1132

Ed and Falke can fully utilize Psycho Power even outside of Bison’s control. Abel is shown to still be under the influence of Psycho Power as, even as a mole, he’s taken over by it. In fact, every single Psycho-Powered character except Decapre is vulnerable to it. Her mask holds the power, but once it’s taken off, the power that is already absorbed into her body gradually fades away. This explains why, when F.A.N.G. increased the levels of Psycho Power in the Dolls, Decapre was not affected – no mask, no control.

It’s clear then that the mask holds a ton of power and wields total control over the user. As I’ve stated previously, G holds some kind of mind control power – he shakes people’s hands and they are instantly under his spell. However, the mask would serve another purpose: to keep them under the spell and give G full control.

However, there is no evidence that G has any sort of hands-on technical training outside of knowing how to upload Footube videos, which he likely has someone do for him anyway. Sure, he’s a speed reader, but he’s antiquated, if his costume is any indication. So the real question is, “Who’s helping G behind the scenes?”

Someone who is intimately familiar with Decapre’s mask, someone who likely had the knowledge to create it.

Someone who specializes in undercover investigations, information, and espionage.

Someone who is thought to be dead and unaccounted for at the end of A Shadow Falls.

It’s Marz. https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/März

She is the ONLY person in Street Fighter V who fits everything that G is looking for in a partner. She knows everything there is to know about technology and information, carrying her laptop at all times, and though it’s likely she did not create Decapre’s mask, she’s the only person left who would know how it functions. It also helps that Marz is shy, barely talking to anyone let alone her Doll sisters – perfect for keeping things secret. Lastly, the idea that she was alone as the Shadaloo base collapses appeals to G – there’s no one around to stop him from taking Marz as his next victim. F.A.N.G. surviving his fall shows that there’s a chance Marz did too. Her last statement before she falls with F.A.N.G. seems to counter this, but it remained unfinished, interrupted by F.A.N.G.’s screaming:

“I’m not… a doll. This is… my own… will! If I die, no one will ever…”

It cuts off there.

She wanted to make a heroic sacrifice, taking F.A.N.G. with her to prevent him from ever hurting anyone again. However, she failed. If Marz survived, though, it would be insult to injury. Not only would her body be severely hurt (as F.A.N.G. clearly showed after his fall, limping around the base), her spirit would be hurt too. Her sacrifice would be for nothing.

As the base exploded, magma spewed from the center of the Earth, incinerating the base. Marz was unable to escape. https://youtu.be/6Aoj8rsq7iQ?t=1452

Enter the magma man, the President of Hell, G.

As he walked out of the magma, he offered to help her, extending his hand, telling her that her sacrifice didn’t have to be in vain. She was left with no other option – she took G’s hand.

Now she belongs to G.

With her knowledge of Shadaloo’s experiments, she was able to replicate Decapre’s mask to an extent, but needing to produce more, the aesthetic design was simplified. She was able to produce hundreds.

The mask you see in G’s story costume isn’t him transforming into Q since he can still do all the things he does without the mask. This mask is different: he can communicate his will to all of the Qs he controls with it. The red eyes show his true intent: destroy the world on his command.

If this is true, G is not The Fool. So why would Rose draw The Fool card when she read his future? Why would her own tarot lie to her?

It didn’t. She read it wrong.

Dhalsim could not sense evil in G either. Here’s Dhalsim’s Street Fighter V quote to G: “I do not sense evil in you… To fight is to obey the great Agni’s will.”

G is completely immune to any sixth sense, since as Glasya-Labolas, he can make himself invisible even to supernatural abilities. So, if G is not The Fool, who is? The only person who could actually be associated with G at this stage in the game: Marz.

She is The Fool that Rose predicted. And there’s proof. Take a look again at what Rose says about The Fool card:

“It is the Card of Freedom and Beginnings… The Card of Reckless Heroism.”

Marz was freed from Bison’s Psycho Power. She was also the one who recklessly tackled F.A.N.G. with no regard for her own life.

“The fate of this card lies in the hands of one man. But he cannot act, until the stars align to herald his coming. I can only protect him, guide him, offer aid in his quest to destroy Bison. This will be my last mission.”

Here is where Rose failed her mission. She believed The Fool was Ryu, but she not only got the wrong person, she got the wrong gender too! She failed to protect the person she needed to protect: G got to Marz first. Her knowledge would have been instrumental in stopping Bison, and G, permanently. Instead, Rose doomed the world to yet another potential dictator.

However, there’s one more piece of proof that Marz is The Fool: F.A.N.G. He straight up calls her a fool before they plummet. https://youtu.be/6Aoj8rsq7iQ?t=1427

Suddenly, everything points to a giant misdirect. G isn’t The Fool: his newest puppet, Marz, is.

Finally, there’s one last thing to point out which, while not important in the long run, could make for a nice aesthetic:

They would be the team of Earth and Marz.