Leon

Leon (レオン, Reon) is an Italian mercenary soldier and a Command Sambo martial artist from the Dead or Alive seires. He first debuted in Dead or Alive 2, and shares many simularities and a history with Bayman. In Dead or Alive 4, Leon can be unlocked by completing Zack's Story Mode.

Dead or Alive 2
Leon is a lonely soldier, wandering this world while building his strength. His heart is still torn from the loss of Rolande. Dying in the arms of Leon, she said her last words, "The man I love, is the strongest man in the world." In order to fulfill the last words of his lost love, he aspires to be the strongest man on Earth, and intended to prove this by winning the Dead or Alive Tournament in her name. However, Leon lost respect for the tournament after fighting the likes of Zack, Bass and the Tengu. Bewildered and frustrated by the strangeness and frailty of his competition, Leon returned back to his home in the desert, declaring his love for Rolande, as he proved his strength by marching directly into a harsh sandstorm without fear or hesitation.

Dead or Alive 3
Leon set out to develop his strength further during the events of the Dead or Alive 3 tournament, during which he was constantly haunted by remorse for losing Rolande to the desert. While on a mountain climbing expedition in South America, Jann Lee caught up to him to challenge his strength. The two fought to a draw, effectively eliminating each other from the competition. After the fight, Leon returned to the oasis where he had buried Rolande, and was greeted by a hallucination of his lover. It is implied that although Rolande's spirit will always watch over her soldier, it was time for Leon to move on with his life and let his regret go.

Dead or Alive 4
It is also assumed that during the events of Dead or Alive 4, Leon has returned to the mercenary business, and is not concerned with the happenings of the tournament for now. Despite that, he is only a guest character in the game.

Bayman
Bayman and Leon's rivalries are hinted at through banter at the beginning and end of matches between them. Leon expressing disbelief that Bayman is still alive and encouraging him to return to the desert seem to imply that Leon is a military deserter.

While no specific relation is stated, Leon is closely associated with Bayman, largely due to their similar body types and the fact that they both use forms of the Russian martial art Sambo to fight.

Zack
Leon also appears to have connections to Zack, claiming he recognizes him at the start of their fight. Zack claims, however, to not know Leon and is confused by what he means.

Personality
Leon is a driven individual which makes him appear cruel in both combat style (due to the amount of reversals) and in his personality, as he always say to his opponents like "Do you want to die!" or "Insolent Whelp". However, one thing drives Leon: a need to fulfill his promise to Rolande. The death of his lover, her last words and his commitment to her are just about all he thinks about. In addition, Leon is merciless. He has some small measure of honor, but does not allow it to interfere with his desire to crush all opponents. While Leon does seem to have a sense of humor, he is a veteran soldier and is not unwilling to speak down to his opponents, especially those younger than him. In Dead or Alive 4, Leon often chides young competitors such as Ayane, Eliot and Kokoro with remarks such as "Come back once you've learned to wipe your ass," meaning that they are too young and childlike to seriously challenge him. This was mistranslated in the English version as "Come back once you've wiped your ass," wrongly implying that Leon's attacks were so devastating, his opponent had a bowel movement. Because of his name and his enjoyment of potted plants, it's possible he was based on the film character Leon.

Gameplay
In reference to their fighting styles, Leon is very similar to Bayman, save for Leon's slight advantage in power and Bayman's small edge in speed. Also, Leon incorporates an air grapple in his movelist, as well as a few different combos. His fighting style is very straight-forward compared to most characters, relying on a few high damage attacks instead of a long string of moves to form a chain combo.

Musical Themes

 * Ultimate Weapon - Dead or Alive 2
 * Red Moon - Dead or Alive 3
 * Sorrow - Dead or Alive 4

DOA: Dead or Alive
Leon is portrayed by Silvio Simac in the non-canonical movie. He appears as a tournament fighter. Donovan tells Kasumi that Leon killed her brother, Hayate. Kasumi and Leon fight in the first round of the tournament with Kasumi emerging victorious. After this Kasumi states that if Leon couldn't defeat her, he couldn't have killed Hayate. His costume is based on his first costume in Dead or Alive Ultimate. Simac's portrayal has been praised by fans of the games who stated that he portrayed Leon exactly as they wanted.

Trivia

 * "Leon" takes his name from the protagonist in the film "Léon", as both characters share similar backgrounds and personalities. One of his comments during a battle is also a reference to the film, as he states "I am a professional". This is an in joke to the fact that the move title "Léon" was changed to "The Professional" in some countries.
 * Leon's main tag partners are Zack (DOA2) and Bayman (DOA3).
 * He also has tag moves with Bass, Gen Fu, Jann Lee, Ryu and Tina.
 * Leon is the only character incapable of back-facing his opponent on his own.
 * While Leon started out with an enhanced copy of Bayman's move set from the original Dead or Alive game, his appearances in the more recent games have drifted further and further away from Bayman's Russian martial arts style. Some fans speculate that the next time we see Leon in a Dead or Alive game, his fighting style will be a departure from the Sambo move set, and he'll finally be truly distinct from Bayman.
 * Leon appears as a secret character in Dead or Alive 4. He is obtained by completing the story mode once with Zack. He is not playable in story mode. Dead or Alive 4 is also the last game in which Leon is voiced by Koji Totani before his death in February 2006.