Rock Howard

Rock Howard (ロック・ハワード, Rokku Hawādo) is a video game character who was introduced in SNK Playmore's fighting game Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the last chapter in the Fatal Fury series. He was voted as the number one favorite character at the time of his debut.

Rock is voiced by Eiji Takemoto and Mike Lane.

History
Rock is the son of the most noteworthy crime lord--and most feared fighter--in all of Southtown, Geese Howard. Since Geese never acknowledged him, Rock was raised solely by his mother, Marie Heinlein. When Rock was barely eight and a half years old, Marie contracted a fatal disease, and died while in Rock's care. When Geese is defeated by Terry Bogard on top of Geese Tower, he refuses Terry's help and falls to a presumed death. Rock having lost both his parents, Terry adopts Rock and takes him under his wing (it is known that this is Terry's own volition and not Geese's wish).

As the years go by, Rock becomes a formidable fighter, due in no small part to having been trained by Terry. Approximately ten years after Geese's death, Second Southtown was established. During this time, a new King of Fighters tournament arose dubbed Maximum Mayhem, which Rock and Terry both decide to join.

By the end of the tournament, Rock finds his final opponent is Kain R. Heinlein, who reveals himself to be both the host and Rock's uncle. Upon winning, Rock discovered that the tournament was orchestrated by Kain to bring Rock to him. Kain, aware that Geese Howard's will held presumably valuable secrets but unable to discover them without assistance, won Rock's aid in working through the document by offering information regarding Rock's mother—whom Kain claimed was still alive. Terry accepts Rock's decision to become Kain's new partner, with Rock promising to return.

In the online novel for Mark of the Wolves, Rock is quickly made the president of his father's company due to Kain's insistence. He tries to investigate the whereabouts of his mother as well as the history behind his father, though he is halted by Kain or Grant every time he learns something. Once Kain states that he has become like his father, Rock challenges Kain to fight him in the next KOF tournament and hopes to take what the crime lord knows by force.

In the finals, he suffers serious injuries from Yamazaki and is possessed by an evil entity that slept in the Jin scrolls known as Wanraoh. It previously devoured the spirit of his mother. He enters a dream-like sequence and encounters the spirits of his parents, Krauser, and Jeff and witnesses them fight against the entity. Once he sees Geese struggle, Rock finally calls him "Father" and helps them defeat the beast. He reconciles with his parents and awakens to a concerned Terry. As promised, Rock returns with Terry and they celebrate at Pao Pao Cafe.

Personality
Rock is a shy young man with an inner struggle. Every day, Rock fights off his evil side and tries to get out of the shadow of his father. He isn't proud of his heritage and refuses to refer to Geese as his father, stating him to be "that man" or "that person". He's the middle term between Geese's excessive evil and Terry's excessive festive personality. Rock is also a very compassionate man, offering to help those in need (he offered to help Hotaru Futaba find her brother). Because he has been raised by men most of his life, he is nervous when talking with women and has a hard time dealing with them.

Powers

 * Gather Chi: Rock can gather chi energy from Gaia, the mother-earth.


 * Sense: Rock can sense the presence of people nearby.


 * Energy Projectile: Rock can fire a projectile of energy called Repuuken, just like his father's. He can even use the Double Repuuken.


 * Energy Attack: Rock can use chi energy to increase the damage of his normal attacks (punches, kicks,...). He uses this power in a similar fashion Terry does and sometimes, the energy takes the form of wings.


 * Energy Geyser: By touching the ground with his hands, Rock can make a geyser of energy come from below the ground. He called this attack Raging Storm. Rock's Raging Storm differs from Geese because Rock's version is weaker.

Skills

 * Acrobatics: Taught by Terry, Rock is proficient in acrobatics. His move Rising Tackle is an example of this.


 * Musical Instrument: Rock is a very skillful bass player.


 * Motorcycle Driving: Rock likes to drive around Second Southtown with his Honda.

Fighting Style
Much of Rock's fighting style came from Terry and Geese. Terry taught him the arts of Boxing, Kung Fu, Kickboxing and Street Fighting; while he instinctively uses Kobujutsu moves derived from Geese Howard. Even so, Rock uses a unique fighting style.

Music

 * Spread the Wings: Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Game Appearances



 * Garou: Mark of the Wolves, playable character


 * Capcom vs SNK 2, playable character


 * The King of Fighters Maximum Impact, playable character


 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, playable character


 * The King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, playable character


 * The King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A, playable character


 * Days of Memories (fourth, eighth, and ninth title), non-playable

Anime Appearances

 * The King of Fighters: Another Day
 * Garou Densetsu ~ Memories of Stray Wolves

Trivia

 * Rock's face looks similar to Kaede from The Last Blade, featuring nearly identical hair color, style and eyes. Possibly to take a jab at this similarity, SNK Playmore included Kaede's outfit as an extra uniform for both KOF: Maximum Impact games.
 * The kid in Terry's endings for Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout Fatal Fury, and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 is Rock. "All About SNK" has also confirmed this. He -or someone who looks like him- also makes an appearance in the Fatal Fury team's ending in The King of Fighters 2003.