Duke (デューク, Dyūku?) is a fictional character from the SNK Playmore's fighting game series KOF: Maximum Impact, part of The King of Fighters series. He is the main boss in the first game but enters as a playable character in KOF: Maximum Impact 2.
Duke was conceptualized to be the very definition of a gang boss who wore "gorgeous clothing" and "has been through a lot". Falcoon originally designed a younger man in his twenties with a Japanese sword, similar in appearance to Last Blade's Shinnosuke Kagami or Garou: Mark of the Wolves Kain R. Heinlein. Like other characters of the game, he underwent a number of retakes until the development team firmly requested for a "strong bodied and serious man in his thirties". He was specifically made to seem as though he's suppressing himself from his true potential. Concerning his involvement with the Meira brothers and their mentor Fate, the brothers only saw a figure of Duke's stature during the time of the incident and initially mistaken Seth for Fate's murder. This concept, however, was rewritten upon the sequel's release.
He was the King of Southtown and the leader of the Mephistopheles gang, a sub-syndicate of the underworld organization Addes. He answers to Jivatma, who he used to work for before he became Mephistopheles' leader. He apparently underwent a surgical modification early on after his parents vanished (he has a scar across his neck from this, which he rubs frequently). He underwent the surgery so that Addes would cure his sister, who died for an unknown reason. Because of their surgical enhancements, Jivatma refers to him as Type "D" (although he hates this name) and his underling, Nagase, as Type "N". During KOF: Maximum Impact, he had had a "D" on the back of his shirt; this was changed to a more tribal design afterwards.
Duke enters the second tournament to "redeem" himself after being defeated by Alba, thereby losing his position as the King of Southtown. Currently, Duke is seen as a traitor to Addes, although he is a member of The Children of Kovakiel (a group of Addes' top authorities). He is connected to Lien Neville in that he is responsible for her parents' death but spared her life (In Lien's MI2 story mode it is stated that Duke spared Lien and raised her because he lost his sister). Duke is also responsible for the death of Fate, Alba and Soiree's mentor, as he was defended by Lien. Duke was last seen placing flowers over the grave of his sister in the credits of KOF: Maximum Impact 2.
Read more about this topic: List Of KOF: Maximum Impact Characters
Famous quotes containing the word duke:
“When the Prince of Wales [later King George IV] and the Duke of York went to visit their brother Prince William [later William IV] at Plymouth, and all three being very loose in their manners, and coarse in their language, Prince William said to his ship’s crew, “now I hope you see that I am not the greatest blackguard of my family.””
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“For the man who should loose me is dead,
Fighting with the Duke in Flanders,
In a pattern called a war.
Christ! What are patterns for?”
—Amy Lowell (1874–1925)
“It seemed a long way from 143rd Street. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Dancing with the Duke of Devonshire was a long way from not being allowed to bowl in Jefferson City, Missouri, because the white customers complained about it.”
—Althea Gibson (b. 1927)