Mr. Big

Mr. Big (Mr. ビッグ, Misutā Biggu) is a boss character from the Art of Fighting series, who was later added to the The King of Fighters series.

Story
Mr. Big's real name is never fully revealed, though John Crawley's bio in the manual for the first Art of Fighting makes reference to his combat buddy "James", who saved him after being shot. The manual for the Super NES version confirms that it was indeed Mr. Big who rescued John Crawley and that his first name starts with a J.

Art of Fighting
Mr. Big has been involved with the mob for as long as he can remember. A former kingpin of South Town, he was eventually overthrown by Geese Howard's organization. Nonetheless, Geese recruited Mr. Big, and he quickly rose through the ranks to become Geese's right-hand man.

While Geese was out of town on business, he left Mr. Big in charge. Under Geese's orders, Mr. Big has Takuma's daughter kidnapped as an added incentive to keep the unwilling father working for the organization. Unfortunately, the plan backfired when Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia fought their way through South Town to rescue her and find Takuma, leaving Mr. Big defeated. Geese has soon returned to South Town, but luckily for Big, the former was far more concerned about dealing with the potential threat of his long-time rival Jeff Bogard, who had sought to expose Geese's criminal activities to the public, so Big wisely kept his mouth shut.

In the second game when Geese hosts the first "King of Fighters" tournament, Mr. Big enters as a contestant to prove his power to those who once defeated him while also hoping to defeat Geese and reclaim his status as South Town's undisputed kingpin.

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
His story in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum serves as a (non-canon) prelude for his entry in the King of Fighters tournament. Mr. Big enters the coliseum and defeats WAREZ in a coup to drive them out of Southtown and increase the power of his own syndicate. As he celebrates his victory, he muses that he will enter the upcoming tournament to manage some way to take advantage of his future team members.

The King of Fighters
In 1996, Geese recruited Mr. Big and Wolfgang Krauser to form a team and enter the tournament. Mr. Big accepted the invitation on the grounds of possibly expanding the influence of his organization. During the tournament's conclusion, it is revealed that Geese had used his fellow teammates to gauge the strength of the Orochi power. Enraged, Mr. Big tries to use a sniper on Geese, but is thwarted by Billy. He then leaves, warning Geese that he will one day return the favor again.

In The King of Fighters XIV, in the South Town team ending, Mr. Big, referred to as James by Geese Howard, orchestrates an assault on their car, with Hein and Billy confronting the gunmen while allowing the crime boss to escape. The assault is likely the fulfillment of the threat he made back at KOF '96.

Personality
Excessively self-confident, cocky and ambitious, Mr. Big will use any methods he deems necessary to get what he wants, and has no qualms about marking for death (or even killing personally) anyone who dares to defy him. He enjoys the feeling of complete control and the glory that comes with it. He hates being told what to do by others. Mr. Big also seems to enjoy being surrounded by women, often seen with a woman on each arm.

Powers

 * Electric Stick: Mr. Big can release an electric ray from his sticks, either straight forward, or creating a wave along the floor.
 * Burst of Flight: Mr. Big can fly forward completely horizontal for a short duration to attack a foe.
 * Projectile Defense: While spinning rapidly with his sticks outward, Mr. Big can defend against (or even deflect back) other character's energy or physical projectile attacks without taking damage.

Fighting Style
Big fights using traditional Eskrima, a Filipino Martial Art under the Arnis system, and shows great mastery of the art (maybe this is due to his military background years prior) despite being a gangster rather than a professional fighter or teacher — though he is consistently portrayed as no match for the Sakazaki family's Kyokugenryu Karate.

His weapon set (commonly dark-brown or black) can also rapidly extend/retract and combine/separate for several of his techniques, as well as being capable of spawning energy projectiles and even electricity. It is made of rattan, a Southeast-Asian vine commonly used in arnis sticks, and is well-known for durability in combat.

His uppercut arc special attack, California Romance is highly reminiscent of a technique used by Samurai Shodown character Jubei Yagyu, covering the ground before going into an anti-air motion. Meanwhile his aerial spinning motion dive, Cross Diving, looks nearly identical to Street Fighter character M. Bison's iconic Psycho Crusher, sans the energy projection.

Music

 * Blue Moon Factory - Art of Fighting
 * Blue Moon Factory - Oh Oh Big Mix - - Art of Fighting 2
 * Dust Man - The King of Fighters '96
 * Mr. Big - Art of Fighting anime

Voice Actors

 * Masaru Naka - The King of Fighters '96, The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, The King of Fighters 2000, The King of Fighters: Kyo
 * Nobuyuki Yuki - The King of Fighters XI, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
 * Iemasa Kayumi - Art of Fighting anime
 * Cliff Lazenby - Art of Fighting anime (English voice)
 * Yūki Ono - King of Fighters movie (Japanese voice)
 * Yuki Arai - The King of Fighters: Destiny, The King of Fighters All Star

Live Action Actors

 * Sam Hargrave - King of Fighters movie

Game Appearances

 * Art of Fighting
 * Art of Fighting 2
 * The King of Fighters '96
 * The King of Fighters: Kyo
 * The King of Fighters 2000 - as a PS2 Maniac Striker for Takuma
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
 * The King of Fighters XI - unlockable on PS2
 * The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match
 * Quiz King of Fighters - as the kidnapper of Yuri
 * Ryuuko no Ken (Pachislot)

Mobile Appearances

 * Days of Memories (fifth title) - NPC
 * Athena On Stage - band member
 * Kimi wa Hero
 * The King of Fighters All Star

Cameo Appearances

 * The King of Fighters '98 - in the USA Wharf stage
 * The King of Fighters 2002 - in the Italy stage
 * The King of Fighters XIII - background cameo in the Southtown and the U.S.A. stages
 * The King of Fighters XIV - mentioned in the South Town Team ending as James; also mentioned by Hein as Mr. Big in his intro against King and in Geese's winquote against King
 * KOF: Maximum Impact - background cameo
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 - background cameo
 * The King of Fighters '94: Rebout - background cameo in the Art of Fighting Team and Kim Team stages
 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden (Neo Geo CD version only)
 * The King of Fighters (pachinko)
 * Moeyo! KOF Daiundokai
 * Nariyuki Quest
 * SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy - in Yuri's ending, also indirectly mentioned during Yuri and Love's prologue

Anime Appearances

 * Art of Fighting (anime)
 * The King of Fighters: Destiny - in Episode 20

Trivia

 * During his original appearance in the first Art of Fighting, Mr. Big was incapable of jumping or crouching; he had a special technique (a rolling stick thrust which is very similar to Street Fighter character Vega's Rolling Crystal Flash) whose command has never been found by players. The only way Mr. Big could avoid a ground projectile would be to time his Cross Diving special technique carefully, he is forced to block regular projectiles. He has gained the ability to jump since then.