Poison (Final Fight)

Poison (Japanese: ポイズン) is a character in Capcom's Final Fight and Street Fighter series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Poison was originally conceived as a female thug in Final Fight alongside a similar character, Roxy, as part of the game's antagonist group Mad Gear, taking inspiration for her design from Jeanne Basone's appearance as "Hollywood" in professional wrestling magazine G.L.O.W. She later appeared in other Capcom-produced games, media and merchandise in particular those related to the Final Fight and Street Fighter franchises, with later appearances partnering her with fellow Final Fight character Hugo as his wrestling manager. Since her introduction several other designers have contributed to her designs and outfits, including Jun Ikawa, Trent Kaniuga, and Takayuki Nakayama. She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka since the Street Fighter III series and Masae Yumi in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.

Poison and Roxy were designed as fast, athletic characters for players to encounter. Due to concerns during Final Fight's development about reactions from North American audiences to fighting women, both Poison and Roxy were labeled as "newhalfs", a Japanese slang term for trans women. However, Nintendo of America did not consider this satisfactory and both Poison and Roxy were replaced by the male characters "Billy" and "Sid" and have been for every subsequent North American port of the title on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. Capcom and even some developers tied to the character would later give several conflicting statements, with Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono stating at one point she was definitively transgender, before later stating the company's stance was that her gender is open to viewer interpretation.

The character's sex appeal and status as an early example of a transgender game character has led to her being highly regarded, though often with acknowledgment of her ambiguous gender status. The early ambiguity regarding this subject has led to much discussion and debate amongst fans of the character.