Vega, known as Balrog in Japan and neutrally referred to as Claw to avoid inter-regional confusion, is one of the bosses of the Street Fighter series.
He has been in the Street Fighter series ever since his debut as a boss character in Street Fighter II. He is a memorable character, not only infamous for his girl-like ponytail and battle cries, but also for the Claw he wields, with his unique fighting style. Vega uses his own fighting style of which is a blend of Spanish Ninjutsu and Bullfighting.
Vega was born to a noble family in Barcelona, Spain. As he matured, Vega studied Bullfighting, a cultural tradition amongst the nobles. Afterward, he went to Japan and learned Ninjutsu, a style he believed meshed well with his natural grace and agility. Returning home, Vega combined Bullfighting with Ninjutsu and went into an underground cage fighting circuit where quickly became one of the best. Tragedy struck one day when Vega witnessed the murder of his beautiful mother at the hands of his unattractive stepfather. Her murder was punishment for disrespecting him as his stepfather believed. Witnessing this tragic event warped Vega's mind and from then on he lived a double life; a suave nobleman by day and a narcissistic killer by night who enjoys mutilating ugly people to death using a three-pronged wrist-mounted razor-sharp claw. His very first victim was his stepfather.
Vega's brutal fighting skills and remorseless nature impressed the criminal leader known as M. Bison so much that he came to him personally with an offer to join Shadaloo. Vega accepted M. Bison's offer purely to improve his own aesthetic senses.
