Bayman

Bayman (バイマン, Baiman) is a former professional assassin, currently a mercenary and Sambo martial artist who debuted in the 1996 arcade edition of Dead or Alive. Although he was made an unlockable character for Dead or Alive 2 in 1999, he returned as a fighter for the main line-up in 2001 for Dead or Alive 3 and continues to do so.

Once a hired killer for Victor Donovan, Bayman is now after Donovan's blood after he left him without payment and tried to kill him instead. Bayman is also the murderer of Fame Douglas, the former leader of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee; the job Donovan hired him for.

Early Life
Little is known about Bayman's early years; even his real name is still a mystery. It was known that he was born and raised in Russia and, as a child, he witnessed the deaths of his parents, which were ordered under martial order.

Bayman aspired to join the military and became one of Russia's highly-trained commandos, serving as a special agent for many years until he was discharged.

After that, Bayman slipped through the cracks and took up the life of a professional assassin, putting his skills to good use in all manner of lethal assignments. He found particular pleasure in assassinations, especially challenging or high-profile assignments.

The First Tournament
Bayman finally finds his dream assignment from Victor Donovan: the assassination of the renowned Fame Douglas, chairman of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee. In order to do this, Bayman poses as an employee of DOATEC and works alongside Christie, another assassin hired by Donovan, until the time came for Fame's death.

Before the first Dead or Alive World Combat Championship tournament, Bayman and Christie are tasked with finding Kasumi to take her to the Freedom Survivor via helicopter, where the tournament will officially begin so the girl can find Raidou and avenge her brother Hayate. Bayman is not positive about Kasumi's abilities as a fighter due to her young age and small size, despite the fact that she is considered to be one of the top contenders but ended up challenging Kasumi in a fight after Christie playfully insults him. After being defeated, Bayman admits that Kasumi was a tough contender after all and seems surprised after Christie reveals that he had been fighting a shinobi.

During the night of the tournament's finals, Bayman finally kills Fame at long distance with a sniper rifle from on-land while Fame was on the ship. Despite his success, Bayman is left behind as Christie returns to Donovan at the headquarters and Bayman never receives payment for his work. At one point, Donovan tries to get rid of Bayman by sending a sniper after him but Bayman kills the sniper instead to silence him. Enraged by Donovan's actions, a need for revenge grows within Bayman.

The Third Tournament
During the events of the third tournament, Bayman is approached by Helena Douglas, Fame's daughter and the new leader of DOATEC so she can hire him to kill Donovan. She knows that Donovan is trying to take over DOATEC and that Donovan is trying to get Bayman killed, although she is unsure why. Seeming uninterested by the offer at first, Bayman tells Helena that it will take more than money to motivate him and challenges her to a fight so she could prove her strength to him. After Helena wins, Bayman becomes her assassin.

Later, Christie, who had been posing as Helena's assistant, reveals her real purpose is to kill Helena. Before she can, however, Bayman capturea her, calling her one of Donovan's lapdogs and explaina that this job is a personal one and that he has to protect Helena because she is "his sponsor."

Kasumi Alpha, a creation of Donovan's, overhears the conversation and becomes enraged that they are plotting to kill her "father." Christie ordera Alpha to attack Helena but she is quickly defeated. During the fight, it seems that Christie manages to escape from Bayman.

The Fourth Tournament
During the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan's attack on the DOATEC headquarters, Bayman manages to infiltrate and enter the building and he begins his search for Donovan. He doesn't go completely unnoticed though and he is challenged by Christie. The two battle but Bayman fails and is captured by DOATEC, drugged and interrogated.

However, during the chaos that erupted due to the shinobi attack, Bayman frees himself by stabbing his own hand with a pen, using the ink to overcome the drug used on him. While his interrogators flee, getting themselves killed in the process by running into the path of a fierce explosion, Bayman sneers as the doors close him inside the interrogation room. It is unknown what exactly happened to him afterwards but he somehow manages to survive the event.

The Fifth Tournament
After the events of the fourth tournament, Bayman redeemed himself and now he works as a mercenary and goes out to the Middle East on a mission with his team. Suddenly, the group is attacked by an unknown assaliant dressed with a black cloak, and Bayman is the only survivor, who is left with a scar. He later travels to the Freedom Survivor and meets with Helena, demanding an explanation regarding the attack. But she denies any involvement of DOATEC and herself, and Bayman leaves to find his answers.

In order to find Donovan, whom he believes is responsible for the attack, Bayman follows the Kasumi Alpha clone, who is searching for Alpha-152. He returns to the Middle East, where his group was attacked, and runs into Hayate. Learning that he is searching for his sister's clone, Bayman challenges Hayate to a fight, saying that he needs to study his ninjutsu to face Kasumi's clone, and that only one of them can find her. However, Zack interrupts their fight, saying that Helena has something important to talk about with them. While Hayate agrees to go with Zack, Bayman refuses. He knows that Zack is a fine pilot, but is also an overly energetic man. Insulted, Zack challenges him to a fight, but Bayman soundly defeats him and orders him to tell Helena that he has other places to go to, which is after Christie and Donovan.

Later, Bayman infiltrates the oil rig and confronts Christie. Knowing that his suspicions about the place are correct because of her presence, Bayman fights and defeats Christie. He then runs into Hayate and Ayane, and he tells them that they won't find Donovan and Kasumi's clone is his. But after Hayate defeats him, he helps the ninja with finding the clone and they kill her. Then Bayman helps them infiltrate the lab, but once they reach inside, he takes his leave, telling them that is as far as he goes and the rest is up to them. It is unknown what happens to him, but he presumbly escapes the rig before it is destroyed.

Appearance
Also see: Bayman's Outfit Catalogues

Bayman is a tall man with a wide, muscular build, a slightly tanned complexion, dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a square-shaped face with a strong jawline. For his original design, he was given thin, sharp facial featured, a low brow, and short hair neatly slicked back.

For Dead or Alive 5, his overall design was greatly changed. Although he is still tall and muscular, his hair has been changed so he has buzzed back and sides with longer hair on top of his crown. His face also looks more aged, worn, and beaten-up, as if he has faced a lot of combat, with a rounder chin. He now also bears a thin scar that runs over his face from above the left eye brow to the right cheek. Bayman recieved the scar during the beginning of the story mode in Dead or Alive 5 while he and his team were attacked in the Middle East.

For all of Bayman's costumes, he wears army uniforms and combat equipment. Recurring elements include dog-tags, camouflage pants, army boots, gloves, and berets. One recurring, slightly comical costume is his scuba gear, which includes a full-body wetsuit, oxygen tanks, goggles, an oxygen mask, and flippers.

Personality
Before Dead or Alive 5, Bayman was ruthless and cold with a quick, proficient way of carrying out his tasks. Although he made a good living as an assassin, he has made it clear that he is not in it for the money. Instead, he seems to enjoy the kills themselves for unclear reasons. He took pride in his work and seemed to see himself as above an assassin like Christie, who he doesn't consider a professional. However, by the time of Dead or Alive 5, Bayman sought out for redemption and he became a mercenary. Bayman now is a honored and determined soldier who wants to avenge the deaths of his comrades who were killed by the mysterious wooded figure, as of late, his mind filled with nothing but thoughts of revenge, which is the only thing that keeps him going.

Before a fight, Bayman often tells his opponent to prepare themselves, emphasizing his confidence and strength. He has also shown a willingness to never back down and the ability to overcome many difficult tasks, such as stabbing himself with a pen and risking his life as part of his job.

Etymology
Bayman is actually a codename, likely used to keep his true identity a secret and make him hard to track down. His real name has never been revealed.

The name Bayman can be used as a surname, possibly coming from the trade of a bayman (someone who lives and works on a bay). However, its origins are very vague and there is no conclusive meaning to it; this is fitting for Bayman as his origins and past are also very vague.

Victor Donovan
There is plenty of bad blood between Bayman and Donovan. Once united between a professional relationship, after Bayman carried out Fame's assassination under Donovan's word, he was left without payment and had a sniper sent after him to silence him. As a result, Bayman wants to kill Donovan in return, hungry for revenge. He feels nothing but hostility for him and has tried his best to take Donovan down while trying to avoid being killed in return. Most of Bayman's actions in the series have been fuelled by his sense of anger he has toward Donovan.

Christie
Bayman and Christie are both assassins, once both working for Victor Donovan. To begin with, they seemed to be able to maintain a professional relationship between them. Nevertheless, after Donovan tried to get rid of Bayman, things became bad between them.

Bayman does not care for Christie, seeing her as a lesser assassin and even describing her as "one of Donovan's lap dogs," which she did not seem to take to heart. The rest of their relationship is based around their own relationships with Donovan; as Christie still works for Donovan, Bayman sees the woman as an enemy. It is hinted that the both of them may express slight enmity to each other.

Helena Douglas
At first Bayman and Helena did not go well with each other, however by the time of Dead or Alive 5, he and Helena became closer, like a bodyguard and client relationship. Helena and Bayman show no hostility toward each other and both share a strong bond of loyalty. Both Helena and Bayman are enemies of Donovan, and because this that led Helena to hire Bayman to track down Donovan and bring him to justice. They managed to maintain a closer and professional relationship between themselves. However, it's unknown if Helena is aware that Bayman is the one who killed her father.

Leon
Bayman's rivalry with Leon is hinted through banter at the beginning and end of matches between them. However, their history and feelings between them has never been explained. When they meet in Dead or Alive 3, Leon expresses disbelief that Bayman is still alive, implying that he might have tried to kill him before or maybe had witnessed, or heard of an event which led Leon to believe that Bayman had died.

Kasumi
At first Bayman pointed out to her that the Dead or Alive tournament was no place for a "little girl". Christie, however, said that she was one of the top contenders, prompting disbelief from Bayman. Christie questions his courage to find out himself, so Kasumi and Bayman battle, with Kasumi winning and Bayman admitting that she is tough after all. It is unclear what Kasumi thinks of Bayman.

Gameplay
Bayman relies on a high damage ratio "strike" strategy. By utilizing such single hitting attacks, such as the "Javelin Kick," he can effectively push back opponents while dealing hits of around 30-44 points of damage. His preferred distance in attacking, however, is mid to long range as to take advantage of his relatively slow tiger knees and "wind up" time-frame. His throws are powerful, with his "Swing Neck Hold" doing over 90 points of damage, and being able to execute ground holds prior to a foe's impact, (a feature wrestling characters like Bass and Tina Armstrong didn't receive until the third game).

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive (1996 - 1998)
 * Dead or Alive 2 (Unlockable character, 1999 - 2000)
 * Dead or Alive 3 (2001 - 2002)
 * Dead or Alive Ultimate (Ultimate 1; Ultimate 2 as Unlockable, 2004 - 2005)
 * Dead or Alive 4 (2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)
 * Dead or Alive 5 (2012)

DOA: Dead or Alive
In the 2006 feature film DOA: Dead or Alive, Bayman was portrayed by Fijian-Australian actor and professional strongman Derek Boyer.

In the film, Bayman enters the tournament unbeknownst to the other competitors as a grunt for Donovan and is known to have murdered Fame Douglas. He defeats Brad Wong and loses to Ryu Hayabusa. A small running gag with Bayman is that he always gets beat by Max, despite the fact that Max isn't even a professional fighter.

Later, he has a rematch with Ryu, which ends with him being knocked unconscious by Max and Weatherby. He is presumably killed when the island explodes.

While he is a lot like his video game self, there is a major change for Bayman in DOA: Dead or Alive- while in the game series, after he kills Fame, Donovan betrays him, leading Bayman to hate him, in the film he continues to work for him.

Musical Themes

 * Codename "Bayman" - Dead or Alive
 * Megadeath - Dead or Alive (1998)
 * Knifepoint - Dead or Alive 3, Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Killers - Dead or Alive 3 Ending Theme
 * Russian Roulette - Dead or Alive 4
 * Bad Trip - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme

Trivia

 * In Dead or Alive 5, Bayman possess two scars: one in his face and other on his torso.
 * While Bayman appears in the Dead or Alive movie, his personality and aligment differs from his game/canon version, Weatherby got his role from the game, he is in love with Helena in the movie while Bayman does have a close relationship with her in the game's true canon, Bayman also protected her in the game from Christie.
 * Bayman is closely associated with Leon because they have extremely similar fighting styles, movements, and body designs. They also use the Sambo fighting style. However, Bayman is very different from Leon in Dead or Alive 4, making him a unique character; he is best known for his defensive skills.