Streets Ahead: Community + Street Fighter Mashup Art

Streets Ahead by Ben Deguzman

Clockwise, starting from the center:

Abed/Ryu – I mean really was there any question? Particularly when the show goes into genre-mode, Abed is undoubtedly the architect or the focal point. So why isn’t Abed Dhalsim? Yeah, I realize Danny Pudi is actually of Indian heritage. But really, there was zero intention of breaking up the Abed/Troy bromance.. particularly if it perfectly mirrors the Ryu/Ken friendship. Additionally, ALL the characters in this piece, with the exception of Jeff, are playing the part of a character that is not their race or ethnicity.

Troy/Ken – Was the first one I drew. I figured if I couldn’t represent him properly, then I should not bother with the entire drawing. Luckily I was really happy with it. Why isn’t Troy Balrog or Dee-Jay? Same answer as above. Troy plays the perfect easier-going, happy Ken that plays off of the more stoic Abed/Ryu…

Pierce/Zangief – I found he was just the funniest thing on the page. I wish I found a clever way for him to do his gay gesture again. But alas, it never came to me. Why isn’t Pierce Blanka? Him turning into a green, raging monster was dealt with in the very awesome Community/Avengers mash-up.

Britta/Cammy – Admittedly, her personality doesn’t exactly line up with Cammy’s. But aesthetically, Britta is just a shoe-in for her (moreso than any of the other cast to their respective characters)

Changka – I’m going to jump right into the inevitable questions. Why isn’t Chang Fei-Long? I thought about this… but how boring would it be if I just made him shirtless and threw on some black pants. I felt it really wouldn’t graze anyone’s funny bones. Why isn’t Chang E-Honda? Because as a Filipino-American, I get slightly annoyed at how Asians are just interchangably used for other Asian ethnicities. And the idea of making a Korean man playing a Chinese man play a Japanese man really just irritated me. And in the spirit of the show, it would mean I was as insane as the Dean. Hello? Why didn’t you make him CHANGIEF!? Yeah, this might be my only regret because it sounds so dope. But really, when I drew Pierce as Zangief, I didn’t want to reverse my initial decision. Besides, Changka sounds almost as cool.

Annie/Chun-Li – Really, I felt Annie embodies Sakura more. Especially since Abed is Ryu. But I quickly realized depriving the internet world of dressing Alison Brie as Chun-Li would be a complete disservice. So… you’re welcome.

Dean-Li – Before the gag gets really old, I had to have him steal Annie’s thunder this time. (Previously had him steal Shirley’s Catwoman thunder. Then Britta’s Poison Ivy thunder.) Why isn’t Dean [Some other Street Fighter character that’s a woman]? I didn’t want to go past Street Fighter 2 Turbo Edition. So really, there were only two options.

Jeff/Guile – I felt this was kind of a no-brainer. Jeff, like Guile, is seemingly obsessed with his hair whenever there is downtime. Jeff’s pretty vain… why isn’t he Vega? With the exception of Shirley, this is more of a hero piece than a villain piece. Maybe if I was a glutton for punishment, I’ll do a Dark Timeline version of this. But don’t hold your breath for that.

Shirley/Akuma – This is actually my favorite in the whole drawing. I really really wanted to play off the ‘Big Cheddar’ persona that was introduced in the foosball episode. And what better character displays such an inherent evil than Akuma? Also, I had to pat myself on the back for the large beads leading into a big purse. I neglected that aspect of Shirley previously.