Billy Kane

Billy Kane (ビリー・カーン, Birī Kān) is a video game character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series. He hails from England, he loves punk rock and plays the guitar very well. He fights with a three sectional staff that he somehow can ignite with fire and can be split into three parts connected with a chain. He always tries to look out for his little sister Lilly Kane. In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Billy was voted as the staff's fourth favorite character.

Fatal Fury
When he was a young teenager, both Billy and his sister were orphans in London. Life was hard for them with Billy having to steal food to feed Lilly. They were spotted by Geese Howard, who was on business trip in Europe. Seeing himself in the two orphans, he takes them in after he sees Billy's skill with his bo.

Years later, Billy became the crimelord's righthand man. Geese would hold The King of Fighters tournament every year with Billy as his champion. Billy was the undefeated champion of the tournament, until he was defeated by Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury), who moved on to defeat Geese. Billy came to Geese's aid at the end of the fight and took him to the hospital. Billy swore revenge against "The Lone Wolves" Terry, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi.

Geese's final plan was to use The Scrolls of Immortality to become a god (Fatal Fury 3). The Lone Wolves and their friends tried to stop Geese and Billy was there to stop them. He had a showdown with Joe Higashi, and while he did win, it turned out Joe was merely a distraction. While they were fighting, The Bogard Brothers fought Geese for the last time and killed him.

According to the online novel for Mark of the Wolves, Kain informs Rock about him after the end of the game's tournament. Both he and Yamazaki are assigned to become Rock's bodyguards once he takes Geese's place in Howard Connection. Billy is frustrated with Rock's childhood with Terry but he wants to free the boy from Kain's control. His embittered feelings eventually leads to a fight with Grant which he tragically loses, ending his employment. In his thoughts, he apologizes to Rock, Terry, and Geese for failing to protect the family's legacy.

The King of Fighters
In The King of Fighters series, Billy's biography is identical, except it appears Geese's death has been retconned. When the new King of Fighters tournament began (The King of Fighters '95) under the control of a man named Rugal, Billy was ordered by Geese to go in his boss' place because Geese was still healing. Billy hoped he would get to challenge The Lone Wolves and get revenge. He joined with a ninja named Eiji Kisaragi and a mysterious man named Iori Yagami. They all had their own reasons for entering the tournament, and their lack of teamwork meant they didn't do well. Billy's team didn't win, and at the end of the tournament, Iori went crazy and beat up Billy and Eiji. Billy swore revenge against Iori.



When the next tournament (The King of Fighters '96) came around, Geese accepted the invitation and Billy stayed home. When Geese was betrayed by his teammate Mr. Big, Billy saved Geese's life once again. The next year, (The King of Fighters '97) Geese sent Billy to investigate the mysterious Orochi power in Iori. Geese hired a sadistic outlaw named Ryuji Yamazaki and tricked a good freelance agent named Blue Mary to help as well. Billy tried to kill Iori, but Iori entered a rage called The Riot of Blood through his Orochi power and Billy was forced to retreat. After the tournament ended, Yamazaki demanded his pay from Geese. Geese and Billy fought Yamazaki and while the fight is not seen within the game, Yamazaki is seen walking away with his payment.

In the The King of Fighters 2003, Geese orders the team of Billy Kane, Ryuji Yamazaki, and Gato to infiltrate the tournament in another attempt to take over Southtown.

The King of Fighters Maximum Impact
In KOF: Maximum Impact 2, it is revealed Billy has moved to the countryside of the UK with his young sister, and has decided to return to South Town once again, willing to show the Meira twins: Alba and Soiree the town should be embarked by no one.

In Terry Bogard's story in Maximum Impact 2 he wonders what would happen if Billy met Rock, his boss' son. It does happen in the second episode of the anime spin-off mini-series The King of Fighters: Another Day, when Rock stops Billy from killing Lien Neville who was carrying out a hit on him. Billy tried to convince Rock to help him, because as he carries Geese's heritage (seen by Rock as a burden to himself), Lien would try to take him out too. Instead, Rock decides to save Lien's life and fights Billy, who almost manages to kill him as well for shaming Geese's legacy, but is blown away by a beam fired over Geese Tower. Billy does not die of this attack, as it is shown in the end of the fourth episode that he is alive and well.

Personality
While Billy cannot be considered a 'good guy' he is not an evil man, his criminal career is motivated more by a desire to make easy money and his respect for Geese Howard than actual malice. His softer side is often shown when he's with his sister Lilly or friend Blue Mary, even his hatred for Terry Bogard has softened to be much more of a rivalry. Billy is violently anti-smoking and hates cigarettes and will assault anyone who blows cigarette smoke in his face (this is the explanation for the 'no smoking' sign on the back of his jacket) and while his hatred of Terry Bogard may have softened, Billy has a deep hatred for Iori Yagami; Iori beat both Billy and Eiji Kisaragi to near death then abandoned them (The King of Fighters '95). Billy is also bitter towards Joe Higashi, who took a liking to his sister, of whom he is quite protective.

Powers



 * Hold up weapon: Billy Kane is stronger than he looks, capable of carrying very heavy weapons like his three-part staff.


 * Weapon of Fire: Billy can set his staff on fire to cause strong fire damage. He can spin his staff to create a powerful ring of fire and throw the ring within a small range.


 * Copy Weapon: Billy can create copies of his staff as seen in his super move.


 * Hide Weapon: Billy has another staff that he hides underneath his jacket as seen in his 2002 HSDM.

Skills

 * Pole Vaulting: Billy excels in pole vaulting. He even use the sport to help him in battle.


 * Musical Instrument: Billy plays the electric guitar very well and has a Punk Rock band back in the UK.


 * Doing Laundry: Billy loves to do laundry.


 * Administration: Billy was left in charge of Howard Conection after Geese died.

Fighting Style
Billy uses the art of Bojutsu as his primary art, but he may also know some Kung Fu moves in order to use his Three Section Staff.

Music

 * Hashi wo Arukeba, Bo ni Ataru (Walking on a Bridge, Striking with a Staff) - Fatal Fury


 * Arashi no Saxophone - The King of Fighters '95


 * London March - Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, The King of Fighters '97, and The King of Fighters '98


 * N.D.R. - Real Bout Fatal Fury


 * The Long Pole - Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition


 * Yuuwaki no Toki (The Alluring Time) - KOF '97 Team's theme in The King of Fighters 2002, shared with Ryuji Yamazaki and Blue Mary.


 * Villainous - Outlaw Team's theme in The King of Fighters 2003, shared with Yamazaki and Gato.

Voice Actors

 * Katsuhisa Namase - Fatal Fury II ~ Special, The King of Fighters '95
 * Keiichi Nanba - Fatal Fury 3, Fatal Fury Dengeki drama CD
 * Atsushi Yamanishi - Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series (Real Bout ~ Wild Ambition, KOF '97 ~ 2002, Maximum Impact series)
 * Seijirou - The King of Fighters 2003; The King of Fighters: Another Day
 * Marc Donovan - Maximum Impact series (English voice)
 * Daiki Nakamura - Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf
 * Tomohiro Nishimura - Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture
 * Paul Dobson - animated films (English voice)

Game Appearances



 * Fatal Fury, sub-boss character


 * Fatal Fury 2, sub-boss character


 * Fatal Fury Special, playable and sub-boss character


 * The King of Fighters 95, playable character


 * Real Bout: Fatal Fury, playable


 * Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special - Dominated Mind, playable character


 * Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special, playable character


 * The King of Fighters 97, playable character


 * Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, playable and boss character


 * The King of Fighters 98, playable character


 * Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, playable and boss character


 * Fatal Fury: First Contact, playable and boss character


 * The King of Fighters 99, Dreamcast only striker character


 * The King of Fighters 2000, striker character for Andy Bogard


 * The King of Fighters 2002, playable character


 * The King of Fighters Neowave, playable character


 * The King of Fighters 2003, playable character


 * The King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, playable character


 * Garou Densetsu The Legend of Wild Wolf, cameo

Anime Appearances

 * Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf
 * Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
 * Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture
 * The King of Fighters: Another Day - 2nd and 4th episodes

Similar Characters

 * EX Billy

Trivia

 * Billy is mostly pronounced the same (though with the Japanese dialect it would be like "Bi-ree"; "Bi" pronounced like the first syllable in the word "beam"), but Kane is not to be pronounced like the word "Cane" and more like "Kon" or "Kaan" (as in James Caan, an American actor), leaving the "e" silent. This is often seen as ironic for the fact Billy's staff could be considered a 'cane'.


 * Billy wears his Fatal Fury Wild Ambition outfit in KOF 2003.


 * His bodyguard outfit (a business suit), only worn in Fatal Fury artworks, is the second outfit in his 2 appearances in 3D games: Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2.


 * Though he has not been playable in all of them, Billy has appeared in all of the Fatal Fury games, including all of their spin-off titles, with the exception of one; he was left out of the Sega Genesis version of Fatal Fury due to memory constraints (he can still be seen among the crowd in Pao Pao Cafe, Richard Meyer's stage).


 * Billy appears in the London stage with his sister Lilly in Capcom vs. SNK 2 chatting with Karman Cole from Art of Fighting 3.


 * Billy can be heard to yell "Go to hell!" during his Great Whirlwind DM in his appearances in KOF games '97 and on.


 * Billy also is one of the few KoF characters to carry over a theme song to another game (i.e. Geese Howard). While his Fatal Fury theme was very different at the time, his Fatal Fury 2/Special theme, "London March" was carried over to some KoF games, such as KoF '97 & '98. The full version of the song can be heard on the Fatal Fury Special: Image Album.


 * In Fatal Fury, Billy can lose his staff by hurling it at the opponent after executing his Senpuu Kon. After he does this, he just stands shaking and cowering in fear before the player character, open for any attack, until he is thrown another staff by one of Geese's henchmen in the background (this maneuver can be prevented, though). This is the only game where it happens; in KOF95, he drops his staff only when knocked out. He enters the same stance in KOF2002 for his hidden desperation move.