Bruce Irvin

Bruce Irvin (ブルース・アーヴィン Burūsu Āvin?) is a character in the Tekken series of fighting games. Bruce first appeared in Tekken 2, and he has returned for Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, as well as the spin-off titles Tekken Tag Tournament and its sequel, Tekken 3D and Tekken Mobile.

Bruce is an American Muay Thai champion turned mercenary soldier, who works for Kazuya Mishima throughout the Tekken series. He has a tough outlook and grey morality, though has a soft spot for helping underdogs, especially children being bullied as he was.

Appearance

Bruce is a tall, muscular African-American man with brown eyes and black hair, styled into a Mohawk, and a small goatee beard. Upon his return in Tekken 5, Bruce had more facial hair; short, neatly-groomed stubble that ran along his full jawline, as well as arching over his top lip. He also has a small ponytail, secured with a white hairband. Bruce also has three distinctive tattoos - two tribal designs on his chest, one on each side, and a large abstract piece on his back, which seems to show a phoenix or dragon-like design. In earlier titles in the series, he had another two tribal designs on his back, similar to his chest tattoos.

Personality

Bruce is a brooding, cynical individual with a threatening persona, always merciless against his opponents. However, he despises bullying and constantly looks out for those more vulnerable than him, having a soft spot for children. This is most likely due to his own troubled past and rough background. He also holds gangsters in contempt due to the killing of his own family by them, though he himself will happily beat up whoever stands in his way. Bruce lives to fight, and is very confident of his own ability while showing little respect for his competitors and no fear in the face of danger. In his Tekken 6 also reveals that he is also a natural leader during a war with his G Corporation army team against one of Jin’s Zaibatsu army team. Bruce seems to easily become listless and bored, and frequently states that he does things just for fun and to kill time. Despite this, he shows a clear loyalty to Kazuya and sought him out to work for him as soon as he knew he was alive. There seems to be some camraderie between Bruce and Kazuya, and a radio conversation likely between the two in Tekken 6 depicts some playful banter and a more light-hearted side to Bruce.

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