| “ | Without heart, strength means nothing. | „ |
| ~ Leroy to Jin. |
Leroy Smith is a supporting character in the Tekken series who debuted in Tekken 7. He is an American martial artist introduced as part of the third season pass.
He is voiced by Beau Billingslea, who also voiced Barret Wallace in Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
Appearance
Leroy has white dreadlocks, some of which are adorned with gold jewelry. Additionally, Leroy is an African-American who is quite muscular and fit despite his advanced age. He has a mustache and beard, a dragon tattoo on his right arm, and tattoos of rings on his thumbs. Leroy appears to be blind in his right eye, though he is mostly seen with his eyes obscured by a pair of black sunglasses.
Personality
Leroy is a disciplined and seasoned martial artist, who has dedicated himself to perfecting Wing Chun for decades. The hanzi on his back 戒 (temperance) refers to his choice to he keep himself in check. Leroy is motivated by justice, and his heart was set first on liberating the populace of New York from gang violence, and then on taking down the Mishima Zaibatsu when he learned that they are orchestrators of war both in the past and present.
As well as justice however, Leroy is also motivated by revenge. His desire to liberate his home city was also one born of anger at his family's death and the brutality of the violence and pain he was personally subject to. His vendetta against Heihachi, as Zaibatsu leader then and now, is a personal one.
Abilities
Leroy fights using Wing Chun, a fighting style developed around defensive counters to opponents' advances. Wing Chun is characterized by its defensive stance and use of parries and evasion to provide opportunities to land fierce debilitating strikes to opponents vital areas and weak spots.
Like Kazumi Mishima and Devil Kazumi, who can summon their pet tiger or white tiger respectively, Leroy can summon his pet in battle, a dog named Sugar. Sugar is less obedient than Kazumi's Tiger, however, and may not attack Leroy's opponent depending on whether she decides to follow her master's orders or not.
Additionally, Leroy has a special move wherein he uses his cane as a weapon to beat down his opponents. This move can only be used once per match.
Story
Tekken 7
50 years ago, Leroy was involved in a gang war that resulted in his family's death and his home's destruction. In the ensuing chaos, Leroy was shot in the eye and fell into a river, being presumed as yet another casualty. Miraculously, he survived the critical injury and was rescued by a merchant's vessel. Leaving America behind, his travels took him to Hong Kong, where he decided to stay and eventually master the art of Wing Chun. After five decades, he had become a master of the art. One day, he heard that the gangs from his old life, though now weakened, were still controlling New York after what became known as the Big Apple War. Leroy decided that it was time to exact revenge.
Returning to America, he tore through gang after gang, crippling their forces immensely. His efforts eventually gained him notoriety as a hometown hero in New York. One day, he managed to corner a gang leader familiar with the incident 50 years ago. The leader claimed that the Mishima Zaibatsu incited the incident and took his home and family from him. Seeking answers, Leroy and his trusty dog Sugar enter the seventh King of Iron Fist Tournament. The sudden death of Heihachi Mishima and the tournament's cancellation, however, robbed Leroy of any leads in his investigation. That is until Kazuya Mishima appeared and overtook his hometown of New York with his G Corporation forces. Knowing that Kazuya is the son of the man who orchestrated the gang wars that plagued New York all those years ago, Leroy sets out to put a stop to Kazuya's warmongering and defend his hometown once more.
Tekken 8
Leroy wins the tournament in New York in order to participate in the eighth King of Iron Fist Tournament. His opponent is Jin Kazama (whom Leroy wanted to thank for standing against Kazuya in New York). Leroy loses to Jin and tells him to believe in himself. He joined the Lars' Rebel army to fight against the G Corporation. He fought and defeated Feng Wei. Leroy is last seen drinking the Azucena Morning Blend with Azucena following Kazuya's defeat at the hands of Jin.
Other Appearances
Tekken: Bloodline
Leroy appears in the animated series Tekken: Bloodline, where his story closely follows his Tekken 7 backstory. He is seeking revenge for the deaths of his family, who died due to the actions of Heihachi Mishima and the Mishima Zaibatsu.
Leroy is a competitor at the third King of Iron Fist Tournament. Aware that Jin Kazama has been trained under Heihachi, Leroy attempts to instigate a fight with Jin before the tournament has started. Jin walks away from Leroy after a brief clash. Upon seeing this, Heihachi intentionally slates Leroy as Jin's first opponent.
Their fight has Leroy taking quick advantage of his footwork against Jin, but Jin taps into his own anger and eventually overwhelms Leroy. Despite being outmatched, Leroy is determined to meet Heihachi and continuously refuses Jin's calls to concede, instead attempting to continue the fight. In response, Jin breaks Leroy's leg, forcing him to stay down.
Rather than rest in the medical bay, Leroy sits outside, where he is found by Jin. He finds Jin's concern surprising for a student of Heihachi Mishima, and confides in him his family's background and demise, and Heihachi's habit of manipulating others for personal gain. The discussion is broken up by Heihachi, who is displeased by Jin's concern for Leroy's well-being.
Trivia
- Leroy is the very first Wing Chun fighter to be featured in a Japanese-made fighting game.
- Leroy's style is heavily inspired by Ip Man, a Wing Chun master.
- The character at the back of Leroy's default outfit (戒) can mean "temperance" in Chinese (or "admonish" in Japanese). According to the developers, this was to represent how he keeps himself in check. They considered others too, such as 'harmony' and 'mirror', but ultimately settled on '戒'.
- The hanzi 戒 can also refer to Buddhist monastic discipline.
- Several of Leroy's attacks were motion-captured from a Japanese Wing Chun master who was taught by one of Ip Man's nephews.
- The way Leroy uses his cane is based off a Wing Chun form that uses the Dragon Pole (Luk Dim Boon Kwan).
- In Tekken: Bloodline, he is the only character who debuted after Tekken 3 who has a speaking role.
- Leroy's backstory takes place "about half a century ago". Heihachi took over the Mishima corporation and renamed it the Mishima Zaibatsu 44 years before Tekken 7, and is the one Leroy holds responsible for the "Big Apple War". This means the war either took place after Heihachi took over and consolidated the Zaibatsu and was one of the first things he did as CEO, or that Heihachi spearheaded the violence that was done under Jinpachi Mishima's tenure as head of the corporation.
- Singer, rapper, DJ, and producer T-Pain cosplayed as Leroy.
- Chicago born rapper Lupe Fiasco, who also studies martial arts, compared himself to Leroy Smith; notably their similar hairstyles and facial hair alongside both he and Leroy's practice of martial arts. This comparison was also noted by Harada himself.
 Heroes
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Kazama Family Yggdrasil United Nations Others Non-Tekken/Guest Heroes | ||