This Time for Africa

South African has a long tradition of brutal warfare, and the world of fiction often portrays the country as a haven for mercenaries and bloodthirsty soldiers. It’s especially common for Afrikaners to be painted in a negative light, and this is certainly true of Sergei Dekker. As a colonel in apartheid-era South Africa, Dekker launched a top secret program that secured seven nuclear weapons. The weapons were intended to be used as a form of deterrence against their regional neighbors, but Dekker used them as leverage against the United Nations instead. After the fall of apartheid, Dekker was forced into exile. The disgraced colonel believed that the fall of apartheid marked the end of South Africa, so he started his own terrorist group and vowed revenge against the UN. I don’t want to be judgmental, but this guy sounds like a real jerk!

At one point, Cyrax was a skilled Botswana warrior who relied solely on his natural abilities. He was a proud member of the Lin Kuei ninja clan, but he contemplated leaving when they started converting their members into cyborgs. Cyrax was reluctant to surrender his humanity, but he knew he couldn’t leave the clan without forfeiting his life. Although he was eventually turned into a soulless killing machine, he was able to regain his human form due to time-shifting shenanigans in Mortal Kombat 11. After he was turned into a cyborg (again), he decided to sacrifice himself and take out the entire cyborg production line in the process. Cyrax spends most of his time as a cyborg, so his ethnicity is underplayed. He cherishes his human memories, however, and it’s safe to assume that he prefers Botswana’s Kalahari Desert to the Wasteland of Outworld.

Hoyt Volker was born in Johannesburg in 1967. He grew up during the apartheid era, and he was frequently beaten by his father. This ultimately turned him into a sociopathic tyrant. After killing his father in an act of vengeance, Volker joined a pirate group and promptly murdered their leader too. Hoyt paints himself a legitimate businessman, but his ventures include murder, blackmail, kidnapping, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and torture. He also runs the largest slave trade in the South Pacific. Volker is referred to as a “demon” and the “source of evil,” and it’s easy to understand why. Whether he’s burning people alive or making inappropriate jokes, everything Volker does comes across as sadistic. The dude is violent, unpredictable, and mentally unstable. Sadly, many of the other people on this list are just as bad as he is.

As the ruthless leader of a paramilitary organization, Nadine Ross is a South African mercenary who is willing to take money from almost anyone. When she’s hired to find a lost pirate colony, she gladly accepts the contract and hopes to restore her company’s good fortunes. She has no intention on taking the treasure, however, and only wants reasonable pay. The treasure caused men to murder each other over greed, but Nadine is wise enough to realize that it’s not worth the sacrifice. She’s a level-headed woman who likes to plan her moves ahead of time, but she’s perfectly capable of dealing with dangerous situations if there’s no way to avoid them. As an accomplished martial artist who excels in hand-to-hand combat, Nadine is somehow able to overpower men in a fight! She’s not especially realistic, but she’s a total badass nonetheless.

Kuben Blisk is a South African mercenary who leads a freelance group of pilots known as the Apex Predators. He was one of the most ruthless figures of the Frontier War, and he didn’t care which side he fought for. As long as he was being paid, he’d get the job done. Although money is his primary motivation, he loves his toys almost as much as he loves his paycheck. Blisk is always eager to test out new weapons and hardware, and it would be an understatement to suggest that he’s comfortable on the battlefield. If anything, he enjoys warfare a little too much. He shoots down transport ships, massacres civilians, and is always looking for new ways to kill people. He continued to fight even after the war was over! Following the events of the Frontier War, he went on to create a bloodsport competition known as the Apex Games.

Akande Ogundimu was born into a wealthy Nigerian family, but his first love was martial arts. He trained in African fighting styles (like Dambe and Gidigbo) and demonstrated his abilities in tournaments around the globe. Unfortunately, he lost his right arm after a bunch of robots rebelled against their creators. Fortunately, his family sold cybernetic prosthetics that allowed him to recover from his injuries. The enhancements disqualified from martial arts competitions, but he had a chance to fight as a mercenary in the Talon organization. Ogundimu eventually overthrew his mentor, adopted the mantle of Doomfist, and took control of the group. Doomfist creates turmoil across the globe because he believes that humanity is made stronger through conflict. He’s kind of a jerk, but his charisma is undeniable.

While working on the 2019 version of Samurai Shodown, the developers at SNK realized that Africa had not been adequately represented in past games. As such, a strong-willed woman with African roots obviously stood out from the feudal Japanese fighters that defined the series. Darli Dagger is a shipwright that can build almost anything. Incidentally, she was raised by carpenters and pirates after washing up on the shores of Madagascar as a child. Her massive saw-blade sword is surprisingly versatile, and Darli can use the weapon as a veritable hammer or a makeshift surfboard! She also excels at hand-to-hand combat, but you probably could have guessed that from her muscular physique. Darli’s home stage was left on the cutting room floor, but she proudly wears her national colors as she travels the world in search of a mysterious masked man.

Africa is a recurring location in the Metal Gear series, and many of its characters call Africa home. Unfortunately, many of them grew up in turmoil. When we first meet Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2, he was depicted as an inexperienced agent who had only trained in virtual reality. It’s later revealed that he was a notorious child soldier who racked up countless kills during the First Liberian Civil War. His efficiency in battle earned him the nickname “Jack the Ripper,” and he was understandably ashamed of his past. Raiden was led to believe that his only purpose is on the battlefield, and a clandestine organization known as the Patriots manipulated him into thinking he had no free will. Raiden was a product of his environment, and his tragic story serves as a harrowing reminder that millions of Africans are born into war each year.

Sheva Alomar was orphaned as a child and almost died wandering the African savanna at the age of seven. After she was rescued by a group of anti-government guerrilla fighters, she learned that her parents had been killed in a bio-organic weapons test. After learning English in America, she made her way back home as an agent for the West African branch of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. Sheva is the embodiment of femininity and strength, and she represents the game’s themes of companionship and teamwork. She uses her combat experience to assist fellow agent Chris Redfield, and she primarily acts as his backup. Even though she tends to steals his items, her heart’s in the right place. She could have left Africa and never looked back, but she chooses to defend her homeland against terrorists and corporations.

There are over 100 monarchies in Africa with varying levels of sovereign governing power. In Elena’s case, she’s a warrior princess of an unspecified East African nation that has a cultural tradition of fighting. Her father is the patriarch of the tribe and a traditional healer, but Elena travels the world to learn more about other cultures. When she’s not making new friends, Elena is likely kicking people in the face. She practiced the art of capoeira from a young age and fights with the rhythm of nature. Her style is based around her powerful legs and alluring dance-like motions, and her impossibly fluid and graceful movements make her one of the most unique characters on the Street Fighter roster. She lacks the political clout that many princesses have, but she represents her people with pride.