The Story Of K' - The King of Fighters

K' was introduced to the King of Fighters series as the main protagonist of the Nests saga. SNK was so confident about his eventual popularity among the fans that they initially intended to remove both Kyo and Iori. Although I'm glad they didn't, no one can deny how popular K' had become throughout the installments especially in a roaster crowded with charismatic characters. So it's my pleasure today to share with you everything I know about SNK's dark hero. From the origins of his creation to his story in every entry of the franchise to his relationships with Bruce Lee!

No one knows K''s real name, but we do know that he had a normal childhood with his older sister Seirah. Yet his peaceful days didn't last long, as they were both kidnapped by Nests A secret syndicate that controlled all kinds of criminal activities throughout the world. Nests had a high-technological arsenal of weapons and machines at their disposal, which allowed them to research many fields of science, especially bio-engineering. 

For the sake of world domination, they captured young kids and forced them to train to become human weapons later, and this was the fate of K'. Just before he was separated from his sister, Seirah encouraged her brother to stay strong until they meet again. 

A promise she would never be able to keep. She was taken into a secret lab and submitted to all kinds of experiments meant to perfect their cloning technology. Unfortunately, Seirah did not survive and died during one of their tests. But even after her death, Nests continued to work with her corpse until they finally succeeded to produce the first perfect copy from her DNA. They named the newborn clone Seirah as well.

The King of Fighters '97

In 97, Nests took advantage of Kyo Kusanagi's unconsciousness after his battle with Orochi and captured him. With their new mastery of the cloning technology, they started their plan of creating an army by producing thousands of clones from Kyo's DNA. for who other than the man who defeated the mythical being Orochi was better placed to be the model for their super soldiers. Nests went further with their genetic experiments. In 98, they submitted K' to the Kusanagi cloning program. He was infused with Kyo's DNA and as a result, he gained the ability to control fire. He who surpasses K, in other world K', was born. Although the experiment was a success, it had some flaws. Unlike Kyo, K' could create flames only from his right hand and he didn't have total control over it. That's why he was forced to wear a special glove to protect him from getting burned accidentally by his own fire. With the intention of perfecting their creations, Nests launched a new project. This time they had the idea to create a clone directly from K' and infused him with the precious Kyo's DNA. The result of this experiment was the ultimate Kyo Kusanagi clone. An extremely powerful being with top-notch fighting abilities. They named him Krizalid.

As a side effect of being K's clone, Krizalid inherited some of his memories as well. That's why when he saw Seirah, he truly believed she was his sister. She befriended him under the assumption that they were siblings but when she discovered that this man was not her brother, she escaped. Seirah then joined the Ikari mercenaries under the nickname Whip. Her true goal was to find her real missing brother K'.

The King of Fighters '99 

1999, Nests were ready to set their plans in motion. They ordered Krizalid to organize the King of Fighters tournament in order to use the battle data from the competitors to activate the army of clones who were dispatched all around the world. He was given a special battle suit for this purpose. Next, they altered K's memory by erasing his past and everything related to his identity including his real name. And to further ensure his obedience, he was made to believe that he was Krizalid's clone and not the other way around. And finally, they tasked him to enter the competition with another modified soldier of theirs, the cyborg Maxima. Their orders were to vanquish any team that tries to reach the finals. 

Confident of their success, Nests sent the invitations for KOF 99. But despite all their preparations, they were not aware of all the wild cards that threatened to compromise their plans. Cards from outside, and more importantly, from within. 

K' and Maxima were set in a team with Benimaru and Shingo who had no idea about Nests schemes and participated in KOF only to know what happened to their friend Kyo. They made it to the finals by defeating all the other teams, Just like what the evil cartel had hoped. After that, they were sent to the Host's hideout and finally met Krizalid. 

It was then when he informed them about Nests plans How they used Kyo to create an army of clones, how they intended to use them for the sake of taking over the world, and how KOF was just a means to gather battle data to activate the said clones. Krizalid also told K' about his origins, How his memories were fake as he was a product of Nests technology. Krizalid truly believed that K' was his clone, made for the sole purpose to fight against the other participants in KOF in order to gather the said battle data. 

Now that his mission was complete, He and his team had to provide the last bit of data for Krizalid to collect. However, K' chose to be a thorn in his heel and step against the completion of his plan. With the help of his teammates, he challenged Krizalid and against all odds defeated him. 

Unhappy with this turn of events, a superior agent of Nests, who would turn out later to be Zero, chose to eliminate Krizalid and activated the self-destruct system of the base ending the clones project now that they collected all the data they needed. 

With the collapse of the base, K' and Maxima were separated from Benimaru and Shingo. They were ambushed by the Ikari soldiers who followed them to Krizalid's hideout and were observing their actions all the time. They couldn't arrest them though, as the 2 genetically enhanced men weren't ready to give up their freedom just yet and managed to slip through the Ikaris fingers. 

With his new fugitive status, K' was determined to regain his past and destroy those who made him lose it. Before the complete destruction of the base, Whip who was separated from her team found Krizalid in his dying breath. After she coldly informs him that he was not her brother, that K' was the original, and that he was the clone, she left him to die under the rubles and rejoined her squad. Despite her cold and uncaring attitude, seeing the man that she thought was her brother for a while dying had more impact on her than she thought it would.

The King of Fighters 2000

Failing to capture K' and Maxima, The commander of the Ikari warriors Heidern and his old friend commander Ling, ad the Idea to organize KOF 2000 in order to lure the 2 fugitives into participating so they can finally capture and interrogate them which would allow them to know more about Nests main base. 

To assure the success of this plan, Heidern hired the mercenaries Vanessa and Ramon and ordered them to find and convince K' and Maxima to participate in KOF with the intention to observe and arrest them at the end of the competition. K' and his new teammates advanced through the tournament. But after winning the 3rd match, something unexpected happened. The stage froze suddenly, and a mysterious girl appeared. With the intention to punish their traitors, Nests sent their newest creation, Kula Diamond. The Anti-K weapon with the appearance of an innocent young girl. 

The fight started, and Kula turned out to be a formidable foe especially for K'. After all, she was designed to be his exterminator with her Cryokinesis abilities. However, after a merciless battle between the 2 literal incarnations of fire and Ice, K' emerged victoriously. 

He was invited with his team to a mysterious mansion at the tournament's conclusion. There they met General Ling who revealed himself to be Zero. a high ranked agent of Nests who went rogue. He had the intention to take over the world on his own. And to do so, he stole a powerful weapon located in space from his cartel. Then he fooled Heidern by impersonating the commander Ling thanks to his shapeshifting ability and convinced him to organize the 2000 edition of KOF. 

His reason behind organizing KOF was to empower the zero canons with the fighter's energy. And now that the competition reached its conclusion, the weapon was ready. And so, to demonstrate his power, Zero launched one shot which was enough to destroy South Town. 

In an attempt to stop Zero, K' and his teammates attacked him unaware that their fight was fueling a second shot for the zero canons. After they successfully defeated him, Zero tried to use his weapon to kill them all. 

However, he had no idea that Kula and her overseers high jacked the canon and destroyed it but not before firing the second shot at zero himself. Due to the violent explosion, the 2 mercenaries could no longer arrest K' and Maxima as they were separated from them. 

Later on, Whip managed to find Zero lying on the ground and mortally wounded. It was then when she learned from him the truth about her origins more specifically, the fact that she is not the original Seirah and that she is just another product of the Nests cloning program. 

Enraged by this revelation, Whip ended Zero's life. Taking matters on a personal level, she abandoned her duties with the Ikari squad and joined her brother with his war against Nests.

The King of Fighters 2001 

Together, they spent the following year destroying Nests many bases but couldn't find their main Headquarters. On their side, the syndicate grew tired of all the betrayals they suffered recently and decided to retaliate. They organized KOF 2001 for the sole purpose to gather all their enemies and destroy them once and for all. They sent their official team to participate. In addition of their deadliest agents, Nests added a fourth member. Their latest creation and ultimate weapon; the clone known as K9999. 

Upon hearing about KOF 2001, K' and his friends entered the competition and fought their way to the finals. They have officially declared the champions of this edition and were invited to board a blimp to receive their reward. 

They didn't wait long before a man showed up. He presented himself as the original Zero implying that the Zero they beat last year was just his clone. He informed that the blimp, which turned out to be a space ship, is headed toward Nest HQ. 

Then he challenged them into a fight to kill time. He was defeated by K' while Maxima took care of his pet black lion. Meanwhile, Whip was forced to execute a revived Krizalid. After the battle, the ship crashed into a satellite, Zero encouraged them to continue forward if they wanted to meet the leader of Nests. 

Once inside, they came face to face with the CEO of the cartel. He invited the rogue agents to surrender and come back to serve the interests of Nests. But in an expected turn of events, his right-hand man and son, Igniz, destroyed his body revealing that he was dead all this time and it was actually Igniz who was pulling the strings all along. He started unveiling his true intentions of becoming a new god of mankind and that all the genetically engineered agents were made for the sole purpose of his own entertainment. 

Without warning attacked K' and his team and easily defeated them. However, unexpected reinforcements in the form of Kyo and Iori who managed to sneak into the ship came to the rescue. After hearing the intentions of Igniz and the purpose of her creation, Kula decided to join them. The second round for Igniz proved to be a much tougher fight as the combined forces of these unlikely allies put an end to his crazy ambitions. 

Refusing to accept defeat, Igniz chose to be remembered as a demon and set the satellite to crash on earth which would cause catastrophic results on its inhabitants. Luckily, the satellite landed safely on the ocean with its passengers safe. Kula was going to drown if it wasn't for K' who saved her. Seeing no need to remain enemies, they decided to make piece. Their past was ruined by Nests but now they are free and they have total control over their future. and so they decided to live the rest of their lives as allies.

The King of Fighters 2003

On the run for the next 2 years from Heidern and his soldiers, K' and Maxima received a surprising request from veteran KOF fighter, Chin. The old man asked for their help to investigate the evil forces surrounding the 2003 edition of KOF. As he and his disciples, with the exception of Athena, would not be able to participate that year. During one of the matches, K', Maxima and Whip were suddenly attacked by an enraged man who looked suspiciously like Kyo. After defeating him, they learned that the real host of the tournament was none other than the heir of the Yata household, Chizuru. In addition to being the one who sent the Kusanagi to fight them, she also created a copy of her dead twin sister Maki, and with her help, she challenged K''s team. Achieving victory against the Kagura sisters was no simple task, but they managed to do it nonetheless. 

However, they discovered that Chizuru was controlled by a mysterious woman named Botan who claimed to be a member of a clan called those from the past. She then introduced her partner, a massive hulking figure who goes by the name Mukai. who then proceeded to challenge K' and his friends in order to see if they were fit for the new age they were working to establish. Yet even after vanquishing him, Mukai didn't show any sign of weakness. He taunted K' the last time before disappearing, leaving the trio in the middle of a desert.

The King of Fighters 2011

Wanting to know more about this clan that seemingly came out of nowhere, K' and Maxima entered KOF 11. Meanwhile, Whip, who was forgiven by Heidern for abandoning her duties in the past, joined the Ikari squad once again but not before asking Kula to help her brother in his investigation. Although they didn't reach the finals that year, once the tournament ended, they were invited aboard one of the cruisers of Heidern's fleet.

The King of Fighters XIII

The commander of the Ikaris was going to exhibit the corpse of Magaki, the host of the previous tournament. When suddenly, one of the ships exploded and two mysterious individuals appeared. They retrieved the body of their fallen brother and before they could be subdued, they ran away but not before insulting Heidern by stealing his eye patch. Prior to the events of KOF 13, Kula becomes a cell phone friend with Chin. The old man promised to buy her a lot of ice cream if she entered the next KOF with her friends. With Whip asking her the same thing, Kula enlisted the team to the tournament which forced K' to participate against his will. During the competition, They received a special task from Heidern who wanted them to investigate a mysterious source of energy in Saudi Arabia. Maxima accepted the job for the money despite K' and Kula complaining about boredom and hot weather respectively. They found that the source of energy was an ancient temple built for those from the past. After gathering all the data they needed from this creepy place, they hastily left. This job's payment allowed them to take a vacation on a cruise. They were enjoying their time, except for K' who was bored as usual. However, his boredom didn't last long, as some mysterious agents who were seemingly there for the three Nests products, attacked them. Which was perfect for K' who was dying for some action.

The King of Fighters XIV

Just before KOF 14 started, Kula informed her two partners that former Nests agents were participating to the tournament. Curious about their motivations, they enlisted themselves as well. Witnessing the creation of Verse at the end of the competition led the team to be summoned by Heidern who asked them to share all that they learned about the entity. As their fugitive status was no longer valid, they had no reason to not cooperate with the Ikari warriors. Once in the helicopter, Maxima informed K' that he picked the signal of several bodies emerging from Verse's fragments and that some of them were related to previous KOF.

Fighting Style & Powers

Trained by Nests since his young age, K' masters the Jeet Kune Do. The same martial arts practiced by Bruce Lee. He even mimics some of the movie stars moves like the one-inch punch and Flying kicks. Mixing these techniques with his Pyrokinetic powers and his ability to trans-locate himself allowed K' to invent a unique fighting style known as pure violence. Much like Iori, he is a rude and nihilistic character. He hates getting involved with anything, especially with KOF. And when he does, his arrogant and impolite attitude shows instantly like when he taunts his adversary by claiming that he can take down the hole team just by himself. Despite all that, he does cherish Whip as a big sister, has absolute trust in his partner Maxima and considers Kula his little sister. 

With Kyo Kusanagi's DNA infused in his body, K' can create and manipulate flames like none other. However, he can only do so with his right hand. Because he is not a descendent of the Kusanagi clan, he is forced to wear a special glove that prevents him from burning his body accidentally. 

But even with that, sometimes he seems to struggle to maintain his fire under control. If there is something that K' hates above everything else It's to be compared with Kyo which often results of him being labeled as the inferior Kusanagi. 

Because of that, K' started to have some sort of rivalry with the hero of team Japan. Believing that his more than just a clone, K' is always looking for a way to escape his fate as the second Kusanagi flame. 

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