Paul Phoenix is a tough American fighter. Something of a drifter, Paul has no real career, instead making money by streetfighting and taking occasional work as a bouncer while he pursues his real passion – to prove himself to be the toughest fighter in the universe. Paul trains with Marshall Law, who would go on to become his good friend, and Lee Chaolan, and remains undefeated in battle, with the exception of a young fighter named Kazuya, who held him to a draw. When Paul hears the announcement of a King of Iron Fist Tournament, he enters, seeing the opportunity to face his old rival and prove himself to be the best. While Paul does indeed come face to face with Kazuya, he is unable to defeat him. In the process, Paul acquires a new rival – a bear named Kuma. Two years passed before news reached Paul of a second tournament; while he was again successful in defeating Kuma, he still was not able to prove himself to be stronger than Kazuya; this time, Paul had earned the right to face Kazuya, but traffic on the Japanese highways prevented him from reaching the venue in time, forcing him to forfeit.
Paul had to wait another twenty years for a third attempt to prove himself, but when he received an invitation to another King of Iron Fist tournament, he accepted immediately. This time, Paul defeated all who stood before him, including Kuma II, the son of his old rival, and Ogre, the god of fighting himself. Returning home believing himself to be victorious, Paul was unaware that victory had once again eluded him; Ogre had not been defeated, and had morphed into his true monstrous form, only to be defeated by Jin Kazama. Feeling cheated of his win, Paul enters the fourth tournament, seeking his long-overdue victory. This time though, Paul was too cocky and underestimated his opponent, who was once again Kuma, and lost the fight. Humbled, Paul returned to his training with renewed determination. When the announcement of a fifth tournament reached Paul, he entered with renewed vigor. This time, Paul successfully defeats Kuma, but the fight took its toll on him and, exhausted, Paul was forced to forfeit once again.
Soon after, the sixth King of Iron Fist tournament was announced. Short of money, Paul enters and, realizing he cannot succeed on his own, teams up with his old friend Marshall Law to see if they can win the prize money together. While they did well in the tournament, they were unable to claim the top prize. Undaunted, Paul continues to pursue victory in the King of Iron Fist Tournament and enters the newly announced seventh tournament.
Paul em Tekken 1: Paul is a hot-blooded American fighter who understands and loves to practice the martial arts.
Paul views Kazuya as his rival, as a previous fight with him ended in a draw; their rivalry is one-sided, however. Believing his true self exists in a heated battle, Paul partakes in this tournament looking for a stronger opponent.
He is a hot-blooded American hand-to-hand fighter who likes training and knows martial arts. He previously fought Kazuya to a draw and unilaterally considers him to be his rival. He considers his true self to be there all the more when he is fighting and he is taking part in this tournament to look for stronger opponents.
Driven to be the best of the best, Paul travels the world in search of the perfect opponent. He is a judo expert but he is also skilled in many forms of the martial arts. There is only one fighter in this tournament who is ranked on an equal level to Paul. His name was Kazuya Mishima, whom he had once fought to a draw with. His goal is to eliminate any comparisons.
An aggressive and hot blooded American, Paul lives by his wits working as a bodyguard and street fighter. He previously fought Kazuya to a draw and has entered the tournament to settle the score.
Paul is in his training room. He breaks a stack of 3 glass blocks with his fist, kicks two glass blocks into the air, and finally punches through a brick wall that has a drawing of Kazuya’s face on it, destroying it. It ends with a close-up of Paul.
Paul em Tekken 2: When Paul Phoenix was a young boy, he idolized Willy “Bear Killer” Williams, and now that he has grown up, he has become a prominent world warrior. Despite his success over the ferocious Kuma in the previous tournament, Paul didn’t have the strength needed to capture the championship. One day, while devoting himself to his training with his eternal sparring partner and friend, Marshall Law, information about a new tournament being held arrived. With his sights set on becoming the world’s best, no, the universe’s, Paul decides to take part in the tournament.
Fascinated as a child by ‘Bear Killer Willy Williams’, Paul grew up to be one of the world’s renowned fighters. He lost the final round of the last tournament and enters once again with extreme desires to be the champion.
Paul has apparently no allegiances to either law enforcement agencies nor any known criminal cartels, and has been classed as a low-security risk. However his hot-headed nature could yet cause problems.
Paul performed well in the first King of Iron Fist Tournament, and although he was the only competitor insane enough to challenge a fully-grown brown bear and win, he was defeated by Kazuya in a furious battle that lasted for hours. Shaking his head in disbelief, Paul left the Mishima estate and returned to New York. He found work in the south Bronx as a bouncer, where his ego and arrogance led him into numerous confrontations with unsavory characters, all of whom came off second best to his Judo techniques. After months of punishing streetfighting throughout the USA, Paul emerges ready for the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 with overwhelming confidence, believing himself to be the strongest fighter in the world. This time, the Tournament belongs to Paul Phoenix!
Paul is riding down a mountainside highway on his motorcycle when a rockslide tumbles down the mountainside and onto the road, blocking his path. Startled, Paul hits the brakes, stopping his motorcycle. Paul dismounts his motorcycle, steels himself, and slams his fist into the rock, breaking it with a single punch.
Paul em Tekken 3: Paul Phoenix is a fighter who is admired by young kids worldwide. He let victory escape him in the last Tournament, but has since renewed his training with vigor – he won’t let victory slip away this time! Even at the age of 46, Paul has no weak spots!
WAITING FOR THE BIG ONE. In the last tournament, Paul earned the right to fight Kazuya, but a multi-car accident on the expressway prevented Paul from getting to the match on time. He was forced to forfeit.
Despite Paul’s enviable career, he has yet to win the one tournament that would mark him as being one of the true greats.
Last spring, he received an unexpected invitation to the ‘3rd King of the Iron Fist Tournament’. With training still a part of his daily regiment, he is still in peak condition and feels he still has what it takes to win the big one. Now thought to be 46 years old, he still has the eyes of an eagle with the strength and reflexes of a tiger!
Paul speeds along a freeway, cutting in front of an oil-tanker. A police officer spots him and pulls him over. After much arguing, the officer gives Paul a ticket for speeding. Paul gets angry and comically kicks the dust, raising a hand to his forehead in disbelief.
Paul em Tekken 4: Paul foi o campeão do The King of Iron Fist 3. Ele derrotou Ogre, mas ele já estava celebrando sua vitória em casa enquanto Ogre estava se transformando em True Ogre (sua verdadeira forma). Insatisfeito por não ter derrotado Ogre por completo, ele entre no torneio para provar que ainda é o mais forte.
Paul went undefeated through the entirety of the third King of Iron Fist Tournament and was even victorious against Ogre. Swelling with pride, Paul returned home. However, Paul’s happy ending was short-lived. Unknown to Paul, Ogre morphed into his second form – True Ogre – and the tournament continued after he had departed from it.
Although Paul asserted that he was the true champion of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, few believed him, and even those that did eventually grew tired of his attitude. Friends and admirers slowly disappeared, and his dojo eventually went out of business from the lack of students.
One day, Paul came across a newspaper flyer announcing The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4. Burning with the desire to win this Tournament, he decides to give it his all once again to prove that he is the one true champion, once and for all. He had to win!
Paul is walking with a woman after a night of partying. He tells her that they will take a cab home. Paul then turns to the glass window behind him to fix his hair. The lights come on in the Marshall Dojo, and students enter begin training. As they train, Paul sees a picture of himself from his ‘fighting days’ on the wall. The woman, who has found a cab, calls out to Paul but is ignored. The screen turns white. Paul is then shown on his motorcycle. He takes off the red-tinted glasses he is wearing and tosses them aside, saying: “Ain’t my style.” Paul then drives out, his fighting spirit renewed.
Paul em Tekken 5: Paul recognized his overconfidence when he was dealt a severe blow and lost the last tournament. He had forgotten some important lessons and strayed from the path to becoming a great fighter. He wanted to rediscover what he had lost. Two months later, he entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
Self-proclaimed ‘toughest fighter in the universe’. Paul Phoenix.
“This time I’ll show them. I’m going to win this tournament!” Paul thought as he tried to contain his excitement about facing off with Kazuya Mishima, a rival he hadn’t fought in over twenty years.
However, Kuma stood in his way, as always. Paul started out well against Kuma, but soon began to feel desperate because of Kuma’s tenacity. Paul realized he had been overconfident when he was dealt a severe blow by Kuma and lost the match.
Reflecting on his loss to Kuma, Paul realized that he had forgotten some important lessons and had strayed from the path to becoming a great fighter. He decided to start over again in order to discover that which he had lost.
Two months later, Paul entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. “I’ll win this tournament and prove to everyone that I’m the greatest fighter in the universe!”.
Paul Phoenix tried to contain his excitement about facing off with Kazuya Mishima, a rival he hadn’t fought in over 20 years.
However, Kuma stood in his way, as always. Paul started out well against Kuma, but soon began to feel desperate because of Kuma’s tenacity. Paul realized he had been overconfident when he was dealt a severe blow by Kuma and lost the match.
Reflecting on his loss to Kuma, Paul realized he had forgotten some important lessons and had strayed from the path to becoming a great fighter. He decided to start over again in order to discover that which he had lost.
Two months later, Paul entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
“I’ll win this tournament and prove to everyone that I’m the greatest fighter in the universe!”
A space colony is shown, which Paul is using to broadcast to the aliens so that he can challenge them. Then, some buildings are shown. Paul is shown throwing a kick. The camera zooms in on a shack that is between the other buildings. Paul is inside this shack, and is shown throwing a punch. The camera zooms in on the sign on the top of the shack, which says, “Bring it on ya aliens!” Paul is then shown throwing a punch and a kick. A drawing of an alien is taped to a gray brick wall. Paul prepares to punch through the gray brick wall. He successfully does this, and all of the bricks fall to the ground. Paul raises a fist and says, “Yeah! Any time! Any place! Bring it on, ya aliens!” The scene changes to show the space colony. A large number of UFOs approach the space colony.
Paul em Tekken 6: Paul Phoenix’s rematch with the bear called “Kuma” was fierce, and though victorious, he was utterly exhausted, leaving him unable to continue the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
Unable to collect any prize money from the last tournament, Paul, who was already burdened by his mountain of debt, learns that a new King of Iron Fist Tournament will be held soon.
Believing that if he won the tournament, he could finally say goodbye to his loan troubles, Paul deeply thought about ways to increase his chances of winning — participating on his own was out of the question. If he could assemble a team with someone, his chances of winning the prize money would greatly increase. And so he went over his plan with his best friend Marshall Law.
Paul and Law stop at nothing to win the tournament prize money. Slowly but surely, the two made their way into the final round. They had set the stage carefully, with Law having to pull off a flying kick and Paul having to dodge it. In the ring, both are ready to fight each other, with Paul saying “Let’s get started”. Law replies “Leave it to me. Just as we planned”. The announcer rings the bell to give the signal to start fighting. Law and Paul accidentally hit each other’s vital places, Law kicking Paul in the face and Paul punching Law in the groin. Both fighters are knocked unconscious and the supporters boo them. Steve shakes his head and shrugs in disbelief at Paul and Law’s incompetence.
Paul em Tekken 7: When Paul Phoenix, the golden boy of the martial arts world, steps into the ring, the excitement of the crowd is palpable. But this time, when his opponent’s name rang over the arena’s loudspeakers, he could only scratch his head in disbelief. It was Kuma… again!
However, Kuma was nowhere to be seen. Word went round that the bear had dropped out of the tournament. The ring announcer informs the spectators of a last-minute change to the fight card. Relieved, Paul awaits the entrance of his long-anticipated human opponent… But, however, it wasn’t Kazuya as he hoped, it was a black and white bear, whose temper had hit boiling point due to Paul’s behavior.
He is also present to help Marshall Law find a better fighter to run the dojo, and Paul claims himself to be one, but Law declines as it would be a bad idea for Paul to run a dojo like the last time he did, after “winning” the third tournament. Instead, Law put the word out that if any strong fighters wanted to try out for the job, they should come and prove their skills in combat. Challenger after challenger appeared, but none of them was good enough for either Paul and Law.
Paul celebrates his victory against his opponent which was another bear named Panda. The audience, however, begins to boo Paul for defeating Panda. Paul is then forced to flee the arena after the crowd begin attacking him by throwing various objects at him, particularly when someone threw a sword at him.
In Law’s ending, Paul aids his best friend Marshall Law against Feng Wei in a handicap match after the latter is overpowered by his fighting style. Paul is able to defeat Feng by knocking him out with a powerful Burning Fist after Law assists him in the battle. Feng however, does not accept his defeat and unleashes his powerful aura. Knowing how dangerous he is, Paul and Law retreat in fear.
Personalidade: Paul is an extremely overconfident, muscle-brained individual who never doubts himself. This overconfidence tends to get the better of him as his ego spins out of control with the end result usually leaving Paul in difficult and awkward situations. Despite this, his arrogant attitude has never changed throughout the years and still he enters tournaments striving to prove himself to be the “best in the universe” (he means this literally, according to his ending in Tekken 5). Paul has always been portrayed as being short-tempered, albeit kind-hearted, slightly dim-witted, brash, loud and totally presumptuous. He considers Kazuya Mishima to be his rival, though Kazuya tends to see him as little more than a nuisance at best.
Paul shares a deep friendship with Marshall Law, despite the two’s constant squabbling. Law is usually seen as Paul’s mentor or advice giver, and the pair tend to end up in the most bizarre of circumstances alongside other characters. Paul is also friends with Forrest Law and Steve Fox. Paul’s laziness usually results in him being bankrupt and in desperate need of money, leading him either to find temporary work as a bouncer or enter a tournament just to win the prize money to keep himself going a little while longer.
Paul and Marshall’s antics and get-rich-quick schemes are all well-known among the cast in the Scenario Campaign, and many characters will call both of them out for their shameless behavior.
Aparência: Paul is a well-built American with blue eyes, bushy eyebrows and an iconic high flat top hairstyle. Paul also has a scorpion tattoo on his right arm and, in Tekken 2, he also had two earrings in his left ear; these earrings are seen exclusively in this game, as they were removed for all future installments. In Tekken 4 Paul is also shown with his hair down and tied in a ponytail.
Paul’s outfits have not differed greatly throughout the series, with the two most recognizable and frequently seen being his black motorcycling leathers and his red judo gi, which he was also seen wearing with the top removed and tied around his waist in Tekken 4; it was in this same game where he was seen wearing another outfit, a more casual outfit of jeans and a t-shirt bearing a flaming skull image. Some of his outfits have differed by having noticeable embellishments, such as flames and skull logos.
