Bass Armstrong

Bass Armstrong (バース・アームストロング, Bāsu Āmusutorongu), also known in Dead or Alive 5 as Mr. Strong (ミスター・ストロング, Misutā Sutorongu), is a retired professional wrestler from the Dead or Alive series. He made his first debut in the version of Dead or Alive as a playable character.

He is the over-protective father of Tina Armstrong. Throughout the series, Bass has consistently tried to stop Tina from dropping her title as a pro-wrestler to become a Hollywood sensation.

Early Life
Bass is an undefeated pro-wrestler and undisputed world champion. Somewhere along the line in his career, he met and married Alicia and the two of them had a daughter, Tina.

When Tina was six, Alicia died of a disease, leaving Bass to care for his daughter by himself. Bass, driven by his own dream of having his child follow in his footsteps, began to push Tina through a rigorous training regimen. By the time Tina reached high school, she was an expert wrestler. She then went on to become one of the world's most feared pro-wrestling competitors.



The First Tournament
When Tina begins to tire of her life as a wrestler, and starts to think about entering more glamorous professions, Bass convinces her to rekindle her competitive spirit and enter the Dead or Alive Tournament. Bass believes that Tina is in it for the glory of winning the tournament, but her real aim is to make herself known so she can be discovered by Hollywood.

The Second Tournament
Bass enters the second Dead or Alive tournament to stop his daughter's lofty ambitions once again. However, Tina succeeds in defeating Bass in the finals of the tournament and becomes a catwalk model like she planned.

The Third Tournament
Bass is extremely upset hearing Tina now wanted to be an actress. So, Bass enters once again to stop Tina's fame seeking only to fail once again as Tina later goes on to star in an action-war film.

The Fourth Tournament
One morning, Bass sees Tina on TV after she has just won another wrestling tournament. He's pleased as she announced she will partake in the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, but flies into a fury when Tina mentions that after winning the tournament, she wants to become a rock star. Enraged, Bass goes on a rampage and picks a fight with Brad Wong. After losing at a casino he goes on another rampage where he is confronted by Leifang.

Before his fight with Tina it's revealed that, like his daughter, Bass also has a dream beyond pro-wrestling: to race in the Hyper Battle Grand Prix, a motorbike race. Tina basically calls Bass a hypocrite and the two began to fight. He later enters the race that he wanted, but when racing around the city he sees Tina on one of the many big screens, in what he thinks is an "adult" film. In his shock, he loses control of his bike and crashes into a big screen, ironically into Tina's fist.

The Fifth Tournament
After the fourth tournament, Bass announces his retirement and starts working on a DOATEC offshore plant with Rig. However, he sees Tina on TV, announcing her plans on joining the fifth tournament. This prompts Bass into joining as well, disguising himself as "Mr. Strong". He earns his spot in the tournament by defeating Zack.

At the quarterfinals, Bass faces off against Tina, who sees clearly through his disguise. Bass wins the fight, but Tina convinces him to join her in a father-daughter team. When she announces her plans to run for state governor, Bass is a bit dismayed.

Bass later loses to Jann Lee in the semifinals and heads back to the oil platform, where he has a friendly chat with Helena before Christie shows up.

Appearance
Also see: Bass' Outfit Catalogues

Bass is a tall man with a large, wide frame. His overall appearance is based on the American wrestler Hulk Hogan, and like him Bass has blond, shoulder-length hair styled into a mullet, and a beard which covers the whole of his lower face, but is trimmed close to the skin. In the first game, the beard was blond to match the rest of the hair on his head, but it was later darkened to a brunet shade. This could mean that Bass dyes his hair blond, or that the beard just changed color with age. Bass also has lightly tanned skin and small eyes that are the same shade as Tina's.

In Dead or Alive 5, it appears that Bass has lost a substantial amount of weight.

Most of his outfits are wrestling costumes with either a biker or American theme. Recurring elements to his costumes include leather, patterns that resemble the US flag, and some form of sunglasses, which can usually be hit off in a fight. One of his recurring outfits include a tanned and brown-colored cowboy outfit, complete with hat.

Personality
Bass is the strongest man in the Dead or Alive series and he knows it. He also wants others to know it, and will not hesitate to prove his superiority in or out of the ring. He is not so arrogant that he cannot accept others as equals, and will easily befriend anyone who can live up to his personal standards of strength and might. He does bear a more caring side for his daughter, Tina, and is very protective over her.

Etymology
While not a proper first name, Bass is both a English and Scottish surname. It is likely from the French word basse, meaning somebody who was both broad and thickset. This word itself is a development of the Latin bassus, meaning wide, as opposed to tall. It fits Bass perfectly, as he is a man who is of a wide, broad build.

His surname "Armstrong" is of Scottish origin, and meanings "strong in the arm" which is fitting for a family of pro-wrestlers.

His name is a combination of the names of two of the three astronauts of Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin and the late Neil Armstrong. The Japanese Katakana for his name are pronounced "Bāsu" like Buzz in English. Due to the phonetic transcription it became Bass in Romaji (western script). It is a common mistake for non-Japanese people to pronounce his name "Base".

Tina Armstrong
Bass is very protective of his daughter and, like most fathers, dislikes her using her sex appeal. He doesn't hesitate to meddle in her affairs, but only out of love and tries to keep an eye on her at all times.

Zack
Bass had a strong dislike for Zack when he used to fancy Tina, mostly because he didn't want his daughter to be taken away from him by another man in her life, seeing him as a threat to Tina's love for him. (Although Tina has shown no interest in Zack at all.) Now that Zack is with Niki, it's unknown how Bass feels about him, but it's very likely that he doesn't hate him as much as he used to.

Rig
It seems that Rig and Bass work together on the same oil platform located offshore. Although they seem to get into fights - mostly due to Rig's unfunny talks - they also appear to get along very well.

Gameplay
Bass is a power/grappler character, as is reflected by his large size and execution timeframe. His throw attacks are combo based and they can result in over 60% damage, but are easily escaped from by experienced players. However, thanks to his strength, Bass's counters can inflict massive damage (i.e. his "Manhattan Driver Combo" throw). His "Tiger Knee" is quite competent as well, with attacks such as the Rising Palm and One Hand Hammer.

Bass's slow speed results in him having to play aggressively and take advantage of missed counters and blocking. In Dead or Alive 3, his grappling prowess was increased due to the implemetantion of air throws ( + ) and ground "lifts" to open up offensive opportunities (i.e. "Lift Up").

Bass in one of the heaviest characters in the Dead or Alive series; even heavier than Bayman and Leon. Because of this, he is the hardest character to perform juggles.

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive (1998)
 * Dead or Alive 2 (1999 - 2000)
 * Dead or Alive 3 (2001 - 2002)
 * Dead or Alive Ultimate (2004 - 2005)
 * Dead or Alive 4 (2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (Mentioned, 2006)
 * Dead or Alive Paradise (Mentioned, 2010)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)
 * Dead or Alive 5 (2012)

DOA: Dead or Alive
Bass appears in the 2006 feature film DOA: Dead or Alive, played by real-life wrestler Kevin Nash. In the movie, Bass is much less overbearing, simply wanting Tina to stay as a pro-wrestler. Bass enters the tournament and loses his first fight against Tina. After his loss, he is shown cheering for his daughter throughout.

A running gag with Bass in the film was him thinking that Tina is a lesbian: he first storms into Tina's room for their fight and finds her sharing her bed with Christie (since Christie's room was trashed by the round between Kasumi and Leon, Tina offered her a place to sleep for the night). Bass automatically thinks the girls are in a relationship, much to Tina's annoyance, and Christie plays along with Bass's mistake. Later, when Kasumi is giving Tina benifical acupunture, Bass finds them and asks if Christie knows about the two of them, believing that Tina is in a relationship with Kasumi too.

Musical Themes

 * Superstar - Dead or Alive (1998)
 * YES or YES - Dead or Alive 2 and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Power Shovel - Dead or Alive 3
 * Route X and Sunny Side - Dead or Alive 3 Ending Themes
 * Steel Horse Rider - Dead or Alive 4
 * Nasty Girl - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme

Trivia

 * It's heavily implied that Bass is from the southern states of America - most likely Texas - due to his cowboy-themed costumes and recognizably southern accent in Dead or Alive: Hardcore.
 * Bass is heavily influenced by the wrestler, both in his look and moves. One of his win pose in Dead or Alive 2, Bass holds his hand up to his ear, just like Hogan does. In another win pose, Bass slaps his rear end like Hogan has in the past. They both have daughters as well.
 * Hogan's former fellow WCW/nwo wrestler, Kevin Nash does the role as Bass in live action
 * Fans were talking about whether Bass Armstong (along with Jann Lee) would be in the main storyline if Dead or Alive 6 comes out since he and Rig were best friends ever since his first time working on the DOATEC offshore plant. Unknown to Bass, Rig is actually Victor Donovan's son.
 * His theme Superstar can be heard in the Dead or Alive 5 story when you fight as him against Zack.