Tekken has the most diverse fighting game cast in video game history. Featuring characters of various races and ethnicities, juking it out all with the best fighting styles to reign supreme.
In that same regard, Bandai Namco's iconic fighting game has introduced several memorable Black characters who have participated in the King of Iron Fist Tournament, since it's inception.
If you didn't know, the first notable Black Tekken fighter would appear as an unlockable secret character in Tekken 2, and others would soon follow suit as mainstay characters.
With that said, we rank all the afro characters who have been playable in the franchise, from worst to best in terms of their design, story and etc.
Tiger Jackson 
Looking like someone who walked straight outta of a time machine from the 1970s, Jackson who debuted in Tekken 3, is a breakdance fighter and disco lover who loves to get down and boogie.
As the palette swap of Eddy Gordo in Tekken 3 (who he shares an identical move-set with), at one point many fans assumed that Tiger was Eddy's alter ego. However this rumor was laid to rest in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, where he received his own character slot.
What's more, in the Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion artbook it revealed that Tiger Jackson was initially one of Eddy Gordo's unused concepts, before becoming his own character.
Armor King II
The masked professional wrestler is a friendly rival and dark counterpart to the Mexican luchador, King. In Tekken 5 he was reintroduced as the younger sibling and doppelganger of Armor King I, who was killed in a bar fight.
While Armor King's nationality and ethnicity has never been confirmed, his highly melanated skin has led fans to believe he is primarily of African descent. Funnily enough in Tekken 7, one of his outfits resembles the Marvel superhero, Black Panther.
Bruce Irvin .webp)
As an American kickboxing champion who became Kazuya Mishima's former bodyguard, close associate and enlisted in his private military, Bruce Irvin is a Tekken character with a lot of wasted potential.
Although he is all about business, the kickboxer also has a sentimental side as seen in his Tekken 5 ending where he saves a young boy from getting beat up by grown men. Also his Tekken 6 ending, when he rescues a yellow chick from being ran over.
The kickboxer was introduced in Tekken 2, however, throughout the series he has been replaced by new characters. He was replaced by Bryan Fury in Tekken 3 and Josie/Fahkumrum in Tekken 7. In an Harada interview, he claimed he didn't consider Bruce to be a true Muay Thai practitioner.
Craig Marduk 
As a character who caught a body in a bar fight and ripped apart wrestling ring ropes with his bare hands, calling the aboriginal Australian wrestler and mixed martial arts specialist a bad man would be an understatement.
Craig Marduk was first introduced as a minor villain in Tekken 4, and he was the man responsible for the death of Armor King I. As a big bully, his heel persona clearly wasn't an act and took on a life of it's own outside the squared circle.
Later on in the series, Marduk would become a redeemed villain, even forming a tag team with King. Unfortunately, this character development diminished his villainous bad boy aura. Marduk is also loosely inspired by former wrestlers Nathan Jones and Bill Goldberg.
Raven 
Often referred to as a Wesley Snipes lookalike, due to his resemblance to the actor's roles in Demolition Man and Marvel's Blade trilogy. Raven is a United Nations secret agent, meddling in Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation affairs.
In simpler terms, Raven is a futuristic ninja from God knows where, who made his debut in Tekken 5 as one of three new characters. However in Tekken 7, he would be replaced by a female counterpart and vanish.. Like a ninja!
As confirmed in an interview, Raven is not in Tekken 7 because Harada and his team wanted to introduce an African American female character in the series, while at the same time also introducing his superior.
Master Raven .webp)
Talk about a glow up! Master Raven was the replacement for Raven in Tekken 7, mind you, a character who is her subordinate. Like her male equivalent, she works for the United Nations and uses Ninjutsu as a fighting style.
Not much is known about Master Raven besides her affiliation to the United Nations and her relationship with Raven. Though one thing that's for certain is the fact that she's a woman on a mission, who takes her job very seriously.
Her true identity is classified and she uses the alias "Master Raven" in similar fashion to Raven before her, suggesting the name "Raven" is simply used as a codename for members of the United Nations secret agent division.
Leroy Smith 
This well dressed New York native was introduced in Tekken 7 as the franchise's first practitioner of Wing-Chun. Leroy's poetic story sees him taking back the streets of his city from street gangs, armed with nothing more than a cane and his bare fists.
Leroy would become a fan favourite, thought at the same time he was infamous among players for being an overpowered fighter, when he came onto the scene in 2019. Since then however, he has been heavily nerfed.
Eddy Gordo 
One of Tekken's most recognizable faces is a dreadlocked Brazilian capoeira fighter introduced in Tekken 3. Eddy's story takes him from enacting revenge on Kazuya, the devil responsible for his father's death, to finding a cure for his sick master.
Unfortunately in Tekken 7 he would become a joke, due his interaction with the nonsensical character Lucky Chloe in his Tekken 7 ending. Which many felt was a disservice to the fans invested in his story.
Nevertheless, with a hip design and iconic fighting style, there's no denying that Eddy Gordo, along with his female counterpart Christie Monteiro, helped to popularize the Brazilian martial arts to a new generation of gamers worldwide.