- "Don't spoil all my fun."
- —Rig in Dead or Alive 5
Rig is an oil platform worker and taekwondo practitioner made his debut in the 2012 title Dead or Alive 5, along with Mila.
A man who has worked on an oil platform since a young age, Rig does not know his real name or where he comes from.
History
Childhood
So far, nothing is known about Rig's childhood. He supposedly lived on an oil rig for most of his life and it was here where he learned the martial art of taekwondo, and even considered the oil platform as his home.
The Fifth Tournament and MIST
At the start of Dead or Alive 5, Rig is working on a DOATEC-owned oil rig alongside Bass, whom he often gets into fights with, but nevertheless is on good terms with. He is then confronted by Christie, who visits the rig and seems to know about his past. At Taylor's Bar, Rig gets into fights with Jann Lee and Eliot after the former causes commotion with Brad Wong. Rig is victorious in both battles. Afterwards, Rig finds Kasumi's clone roaming around the oil rig trying to find Alpha-152. He tries to stop her, but is presumably defeated.
It is revealed in the very last chapters that he is working with MIST. As Hayate and Ayane infiltrate the lab on the oil rig, Rig engages the former in battle. Although he is defeated, he manages to capture Hayate and reactivate Project Epsilon. When the real Kasumi appears and finds Hayate, Rig challenges her to a fight but loses to her. Afterwards, he walks back towards the edge of the stage and allows himself to fall.
After the credits, it is revealed that Rig is apparently Donovan's son. Rig tells his father that the results were better than they expected and that Phase 4 is ready to begin. Everything is going according to their plan.
The Sixth Tournament
Rig used to work as the supervisor and chief engineer on the oil platform owned by DOATEC that was burned during the 5th Tournament. He had lived on that platform since he was a child, and after the accident, not knowing anything about his own origins, and having nowhere else to go, he moved to New York to live with Bass. Thrown into this new life without the only work he knew, Rig was faced with too much free time and boredom he was not used to.
When Zack comes to town to scout for fighters to enter the next tournament, Rig decides to work off some stress by getting involved in an underground street fighting ring. He even indirectly recruits Diego from the ring, accusing him of being a coward and getting in a fight with him.
While in the middle of cheering the grand opening of the sixth tournament, Christie activates a trigger that awakens the "Donovan Jr." personality within Rig. He then proceeds to lure the ninjas out of hiding in order to move M.I.S.T. plans forward. He does not participate in the tournament after that.
Character
Appearance
- See also: Rig's costumes
Rig appears to be a tall Caucasian man in his mid-to-late twenties with a lean muscular build and a square jaw as well as a handsome yet chiseled face. He is a brunette and his hair has been styled into a buzz cut with a couple of visible lines shaved out at the front hairline. He also has many tattoos along his arms and a couple on his torso, none of which have been colored. He also has brown eyes with what appears to be a cut above his right eye on his eyebrow, which as a result makes his eyes looks slightly somewhat asymmetric at certain points or angles. His default outfit is a black, sleeveless hoodie which exposes the front of his torso and baggy stone-washed jeans complete with wristbands and a belt with a pouch on his right hip. His secondary is outfit is his work attire at the rig that is similar to Bass as it has some tools and gear on the pants but he ties his shirt to the waist showing his somewhat stained brown tank top, and he wears black work shoes and gloves and his safety hat is worn on the back of his tank top.
Regarding other gear he wears, he dresses relatively stylishly, donning a casual shirt and khaki shorts and a fedora cap in his Casual DLC, as well as dressing as a prisoner with his shirt worn tied to the waist with a tied bandanna head cover, as well as even dressing as a cop in the Police DLC. He seems to dress somewhat more revealing like Ein, wearing outfits that often feature him shirtless or show his chest and abdomen, and he even wears skimpy trunks in his Valentine's Day DLC, but overall his outfits always seem to have a cool, stylish, rebellious "bad boy" type vibe with them as well as close to modern tastes.
As shown in the Dead or Alive 6 trailer that reveals him as well as newcomer Diego being added to the cast, his appearance remains largely unaltered from Dead or Alive 5; he still dons the same default attire he wore before, but with different coloured trousers and his buzzcut appears to have grown out somewhat. His hood will now come off when he's struck with a strong enough attack as well. Dead or Alive 6 briefly shows him with glowing red eyes as a result being brainwashed by MIST.
Personality
Rig seems to be a laid-back, fun-loving kind of guy. After his fight with Bass Armstrong (which was started by Bass reacting badly to Rig's casual comment of how pointless it was for the man to bring out his motorcycle to the middle of the ocean), Rig just calls it a work-out and invites Bass to have a drink, showing he had no hard feelings. He even laughs lightly as Bass, still a little annoyed with him, tries to shrug him off his arm. He was also shown to be loyal to his fellow workers, as he risked his life to save them when DIG was being destroyed. Also, upon learning that Diego turned down Zack's invitation to the Dead or Alive tournament and caused the latter to be depressed as a result, he attempted to get him to change his mind, although he was somewhat harsh on Diego in the process.
However, despite this laid-back personality, he has a hidden dark side, being willing to take part in MIST's unethical experiments on human beings. He appears to be fully loyal to Donovan and his nefarious schemes, playing a significant role in capturing Hayate to restart Project Epsilon, as well as apparently having involvement in the Phase 4 project as well.
It is later revealed that these two personalities are the result of brainwashing, with the fun-loving aspect being his default personality, while his darker personality is programmed to be released by Christie acting as a trigger.
Etymology
"Rig" is actually a nickname given to the man by his fellow workers due to the long amount of time he has been working on the oil rig.
Relationships
Christie
Although it is unclear right now, Rig may have known Christie previously. She remarks on how much he has grown, hinting that she may have known him when he was younger. Christie approaches Rig while he is busy at work and he forcefully shooed her away, citing the danger of the work environment. However, Rig doesn't seem to have any memory of meeting her before and, when Rig points this out, Christie neither confirms nor denies ever meeting him. They appeared later on to have a work-related relationship, both working under Donovan's orders. As seen in the final moments of Dead or Alive 5, they both fight against Kasumi in order to prevent her from destroying Alpha-152.
In Dead or Alive 6, it is revealed that Christie effectively acts as Rig's handler, and that she acts as the trigger for Rig's darker personality to come out.
Bass Armstrong
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 Bass' quick temper and Rig's playful humor - they also appear to get along very well. During the story, the oil platform catches fire which Rig and Bass work together to escort other workers to safety and prevent the fire. They share a full alliance that shares two tag team-ups in tag battle.
During Dead or Alive 6, after his “home”, DIG was destroyed due to his involvement with M.I.S.T. and where the organization had been hiding in the first place, Bass let Rig stay in his home. When Bass and Tina were having a wrestling match, he rooted for Bass, and later watched as Tina invited Honoka up for a round. Unfortunately, their friendship did not last long when Rig was triggered into a brainwashed state by Christie while he was in the middle of cheering the opening of the sixth tournament.
Victor Donovan
Rig is Donovan's possible son, although not much is shown about their relationship. "Donovan Jr." is revealed to be his programmed identity when brainwashed, making it ambiguous as to whether he is actually related to Donovan. As Victor Donovan Jr., he is shown to be loyal to Donovan's schemes and willing to carry out his dirty work, but with this being due to mind control it seems likely that Donovan merely views Rig as yet another pawn to exploit in order to achieve his goals.
Jann Lee
Rig stopped Jann Lee from fighting Brad in Taylor's Bar at the DIG oil platform. Jann Lee saw him as a real fighter, and challenged him to a match, from which Rig emerged the winner. Jann Lee seems to hold a grudge for his loss, and hopes to fight Rig again to see who is the strongest.
Although they meet again in Dead or Alive 6 and Jann Lee defeats him, Jann Lee finds that Rig isn’t himself due to being brainwashed secretly by Christie.
Diego
Rig heard about Diego’s current status from Zack and Mila, regarding the street fighter’s ill mother. He subsequently confronts Diego at a street fighting match, and eventually manages to convince him to join the Dead or Alive 6 tournament.
Gameplay
See also: Rig's command lists
His martial art, taekwondo, emphasizes kicking techniques, and as of his debut Rig is a pressure type character. Although a bit average in speed, Rig has quick kick techniques that he can use to pressure defensive opponents, as well as a few but effective lunch strikes to further mix up and put his opponent on the offensive. He has a bend stance that not only grants him scary options and combo potential as well as a "reset" throw that puts him at advantage, but also helps his combo and pressure game making him difficult to stop once he gains momentum. His main weaknesses is that his throws and holds while useful are relatively mediocre and aren't very spectacular aside from just throw punishment and holding when needed. He also somewhat lacks range and even though he has moves to move in on opponents, he's more suited for up close pressure and may struggle against keep out or zoning type characters.
Overall he's a fairly solid character but isn't really suited for beginners due to his stances and style that may intimidate players attempting to pick him up. When mastered however he can quickly become one of the most dangerous combatants in the game thanks to his pressure.
Stats
The following are Rig's official stats as listed in the games.
| Game | Strike | Throw | Hold | Power | Speed | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead or Alive 5 (5+) | 5/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Dead or Alive 5 Last Round |
5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 |
Appearances
Dead or Alive series
- Dead or Alive 5 (5+) (playable, 2012-13)
- Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate (playable, 2013)
- Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade (playable, 2013)
- Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (playable, 2015)
- Dead or Alive 6 (playable, 2019)
Fighting quotes
Music themes
The following are the music themes used for Rig throughout the series.
| Theme | Game appearances |
|---|---|
| "Machinations" | Dead or Alive 5+ Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate (default theme) Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (default theme) |
Gallery
- See: Rig gallery
Trivia
- Rig was the first Canadian character in the Dead or Alive series and the first one to use taekwondo as their martial art. It also seems that he was the first character to have permanent tattoos; although in the past some characters have had costumes that gave them body markings, those were never "real."
- Rig, or at the very least his Victor Donovan Jr. persona, is one of two evil living/non-clone fighters in the Dead or Alive series, the other is Christie (unless you count the revived Raidou as well).
- Rig has a tattoo of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, a formula used in quantum mechanics, on his right arm.
- Although his fighting style is Taekwondo, some of his holds resemble Muay Thai moves choreographed by martial artists Tony Jaa (Ong Bak) and Scott Adkins (Undisputed 2, 3 and Boyka: Undisputed).