Bayman

Bayman (バイマン, Baiman) is a professional assassin and Sambo martial artist who debuted in the 1996 arcade edition of Dead or Alive. Although he was made a 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 death of his parents, which was 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 for "one fatal mistake" involving a daughter of the Kremlin.

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 found 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 posed as a employee of DOATEC and worked 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 were tasked with finding Kasumi to take her to the Freedom Survivor via helicopter, where the tournament would officially begin, so the girl could find Raidou and avenge her brother Hayate. Bayman was not positive about Kasumi's abilities as a fighter due to her young age and small size, despite the fact that she was considered to be one of the top contenders, but ended up challenging Kasumi in a fight after Christie playfully insulted him. After being defeated, Bayman admitted that Kasumi was a tough contender after all, and seemed surprised after Christie revealed that he had been fighting a shinobi.

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

The Third Tournament
During the events of the third tournament, Bayman was approached by Helena Douglas, Fame's daughter and the new leader of DOATEC, so she could hire him to kill Donovan. She knew Donovan was trying to take over DOATEC, and that Donovan was trying to get Bayman killed, although she was unsure why. Seeming uninterested by the offer at first, Bayman told Helena that it took more then money to motivate him, and challenged her to a fight, so she could prove her strength to him. Helena won, and Bayman was hired.

Later Christie, who had been posing as Helena's assistant, revealed her real purpose was to kill Helena. Before she could, however, Bayman captured her, calling her one of Donovan's lapdogs, and explained that this job was personal, and that he had to protect Helena because she was "his sponsor".

Kasumi Alpha, a creation of Donovan's, overheard the conversation and became enraged that they were plotting to kill her "father". Christie ordered Alpha to attack Helena, but she was quickly defeated. During the fight, it seemed that Christie managed to escape from Bayman.

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

However, during the chaos that erupts due to the shinobi attack, Bayman freed himself, stabbing his hand with a pen, using the ink to overcome the drug used on him. While his interrogators fled, getting themselves killed in the process by running into the path of a fierce explosion, Bayman sneered as the doors closed him inside the interrogation room. It is unknown of what happens to him afterwards, but he did survive the event.

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. The origin of the scar will be revealed during the story mode in Dead or Alive 5.

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

Personality
Bayman is a cold and ruthless assassin, with a quick, proficient way of carrying out his tasks. Although he makes a good living as an assassin, he has made clear that he is not in it for the money. Instead, he seems to enjoy to kills themselves for unclear reasons. He takes pride in his work, and seems to see himself being above an assassin like Christie, who he doesn't consider as a professional. However, 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, emphasising 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 silent 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 action in the series has been fuelled by his sense of anger he was towards 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 take to heart. The rest of their relationship is based on around their own relationships with Donovan; as Christie still works for Donovan, Bayman sees the woman as a enemy. It is hinted that the both of them may express slight enmity to each other.

Helena Douglas
While no means friends, Bayman and Helena show no hostility towards each other, and both share a strong hatred towards Donovan. It was his hate that lead to Helena to try and hire Bayman to kill Donovan. They have managed to maintain a stable 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 a event which lead Leon believed that Bayman had died.

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" timeframe. 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 did not 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
On April 26th, 2012, Bayman and Christie were confirmed as returning playable characters for the up-coming title, Dead or Alive 5, in Famitsu magazine. Dead or Alive 5 will be released September 2012, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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 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 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 and Dead or Alive 1 Ultimate
 * Megadeath - Dead or Alive (PlayStation)
 * 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

 * Bayman is closely associated with Leon because they have extremely similar fighting styles, movement, and body designs. They also use the Sambo fighting style. However, Bayman is a lot different from Leon in Dead or Alive 4, making him a unique character; he is best known for his defensive skills.