Heihachi Mishima

Heihachi Mishima
Heihachi as he appears in Tekken 7
Alternate names	The King of Iron Fist
Universe	Tekken
Debut	Tekken (1994)
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Tekken 8 (2024, cameo in base game, and DLC)
Appears in
Console of origin	Arcade
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Black (younger) Gray (older)
Eye color	Brown
Homeworld	Japan
Created by	Seiichi Ishii
Designed by	Aya Takemura Takuji Kawano
Japanese voice actor	Unsho Iishizuka (voice archive)

Heihachi Mishima (三島 平八) is one of the playable fighters and the main antagonist of Bandai Namco's Tekken franchise.

A Mii Fighter Costume modeled after his gi and hair was made available as DLC for both Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He also makes a cameo on the Mishima Dojo stage, which is a part of Fighters Pass Volume 2.

Character Description

Heihachi Mishima is an elderly but well-muscled man and the villainous instigator of many of the events that occur in the Tekken series. He is the son of Jinpachi Mishima, widowed husband to Kazumi Hachijō, birth father of secondary antagonist Kazuya Mishima and secondary protagonist Lars Alexandersson, adoptive father of Lee Chaolan, and grandfather of series protagonist Jin Kazama. He is the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu (except in a few entries where family members usurp control from him), inaugural commander of the Tekken Force Unit, and the host and benefactor of The 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 7th King of Iron Fist Tournaments. He has also competed in Tournaments not run by him, in which he battles with his signature Mishima Style Fighting Karate.

Tekken and Tekken 2

Heihachi in promotional art for Tekken 2, alongside Kazuya

In the first Tekken, Heihachi is the final contender of The 1st King of Iron Fist Tournament and is defeated by his son Kazuya, resulting in his loss of control over the Mishima Zaibatsu. Humiliated, he spends his newfound free time to train in the mountains with his friend Kuma. Two years later, after hearing of Kazuya running the second tournament, he descends to enter and reclaim the company. He eventually defeats his son, knocks him unconscious, and throws him into a volcano. As Heihachi escapes in a helicopter, he witnesses the volcano erupt, seemingly killing Kazuya. After regaining his position as CEO, he creates the Tekken Force Unit, the Zaibatsu's private military force, in order to ensure the company's dominating force around the world and inexplicably creating world peace.

Tekken 3

Heihachi as he appears in Tekken 3

15 years later, the Tekken Force encounters a legendary creature known as the Ancient Ogre, who begins to dispatch various martial arts masters from around the world. One of the unfortunate victims is Jun, Kazuya's wife, who instructs his 15-year-old son Jin Kazama to flee towards Heihachi before her demise. Driven by vengeance, Jin divulges everything to his grandfather and begs him to be trained in the Mishima Style, to which Heihachi accepts. Four years later, Heihachi announces The 3rd King of Iron Fist Tournament to use Jin and the other competitors as bait to attract the Ogre's attention. It eventually ends with Jin battling and defeating the creature; the Ogre dissolves and the Tekken Force arrive to gun down Jin under Heihachi's orders. However, Jin is revived by the Devil Gene within him, transforms into Devil Jin, and attacks his grandfather before flying off into the night, leaving Heihachi stunned.

Tekken 4

Heihachi as he appears in the opening movie to Tekken 4

Two years later, in his search to find Jin, Heihachi uncovers a photograph of a burnt corpse with deformed wing-like limbs protruding from its back. He diverts his attention and begins to search for the body, believing it to be Kazuya. His investigations eventually lead him to the G Corporation, a company specializing in biogenetics; Heihachi learns that they have acquired the body to analyze the data to create a new life form. After several raids on their facilities conducted by the Tekken Force, Heihachi eventually discovers that his son has been resurrected and fully harnessing his Devil Gene abilities, hell bent on exacting revenge on Heihachi. In an effort to lure him out, Heihachi announces a 4th tournament with control of the Zaibatsu as its ultimate prize. Not only does Kazuya enter, knowing full well its a trap, but Jin re-emerges with an intense grudge against his father and grandfather and plans to end the family bloodline. After meeting during the semi-finals, Kazuya and Jin's confrontation eventually spills into the final round against Heihachi at Hon-Maru Temple, resulting in a three-way battle with the Mishima men. It ends with Jin incapacitating both Kazuya and Heihachi; although he nearly kills both, he stops after the guidance of Jun's spirit and then flies off into the night.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection

Heihachi as he appears in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection

In the aftermath of the tournament, several Jack-4 robots are sent by the G Corporation into the temple. Both Heihachi and Kazuya attack them, but Kazuya quickly betrays his father and escapes, leaving Heihachi to seemingly die when the robots self-destruct. Soon after, a fifth tournament is announced, though its host and benefactor are unknown. Eventually, Jin and Kazuya slowly find out that the host is Heihachi's father Jinpachi, the founder of the Zaibatsu; once a respected martial arts master, Jinpachi lost control of the company after Heihachi stole it from him. Believing that his son will take the organization into a dark path, Jinpachi tried to take back the Zaibatsu by staging a coup d'état, but ultimately failed and was imprisoned by Heihachi beneath the Hon-Maru Temple to die. However, his body was possessed by a supernatural entity, granting him immortality; he forms the new King of Iron Fist Tournament in the hopes that he dies once and for all to prevent this entity from completely corrupting him. In the end it is Jin who faces off against Jinpachi, who ultimately defeats him and becomes the new CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion

Heihachi as he appears in Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion

Following the 5th tournament, Jin throws the world into chaos by leading the Zaibatsu into a war against all nations. Kazuya, having usurped control over the G Corporation, places a bounty on his son; in response, Jin announces a 6th tournament in an effort to battle Kazuya and crush the G Corporation. At the same time, a solider in the Tekken Force named Lars Alexandersson has incited a coup d'état within the Zaibatsu by creating the rebel army known as Yggdrasil, alongside an android calling herself Alisa Bosconovitch. Heihachi is also revealed to be alive, hiding in solitude but plotting to retake the company from his grandson. Lars meets with Heihachi in his hideout, where he reveals that he has been tracking Lars down for some time. Impressed by Lars' skills, Heihachi challenges the two into a duel, to which he is swiftly defeated. Afterwards, they have a tense conversation where he plans to have Lars join him to battle Jin; it is then revealed that Lars is Heihachi's illegitimate son and that both knew of the truth. After a brief battle with Heihachi's guards, Yggdrasil leaves the site but not before Lars attempts to shoot Heihachi; he however catches the bullet in his teeth, declaring that a "peashooter" cannot kill him. Lars, in response, vows that his face will be the last face his father sees, as Lars already mockingly suggested Heihachi to retire and join a circus instead. Nevertheless, Heihachi decides to use Lars from behind on disposing Jin, and for an opportunity to reclaim Zaibatsu when the time comes. Heihachi is not seen or referenced for the rest of the game's story.

Tekken 7: Fated Retribution

Heihachi as he appears in Tekken 7

After the events of Tekken 6, Jin has disappeared after seemingly defeating the demon Azazel, while the Zaibatsu and G Corporation are still interlocked in a war. With his grandson gone, Heihachi uses this opportunity to regain control of the Zaibatsu. He and Tekken Force commander Nina Williams then strike a deal with Claudio Serafino, the leader of a secret group of exorcists known as the Archers of Sirius, in the hopes of exposing Kazuya being the devil in order to turn public opinion against G Corporation. Sometime later, Heihachi is ambushed in his dojo by Akuma from Street Fighter, claiming to have been sent on behalf of Heihachi's late wife Kazumi, who ordered him to kill her husband and son. After briefly teaming up to ward off an invasion of Jack-6 robots, one of which is used by Kazuya to eavesdrop on their conversation, Akuma defeats Heihachi, who escapes and uses the opportunity to declare himself dead to the public. Akuma then heads to G Corporation to kill Kazuya, where he reveals that Kazumi saved his life and owes a debt to her; as the two clash, Heihachi secretly records their battle, during which Kazuya transforms into Devil Kazuya. In the heat of the battle, Heihachi orders the Zaibatsu's Orbital Laser Satellite to destroy G Corporation's building, seemingly killing both Kazuya and Akuma. The footage of Devil Kazuya begins to spread, though it is revealed that he survived the destruction and retaliates by destroying the satellite; this inadvertently sparks rumors of the Zaibatsu losing control of the satellite leading to mass scale devastation and thus having public opinion be against the Zaibatsu yet again.

A wedding photo of Heihachi and Kazumi

While the game's events unfold, an unnamed journalist has been gathering information on the Mishima family to craft an èxpose, and has been with Lars' team who have since discovered Jin's whereabouts and are trying to chase him down. To the journalist's surprise, Heihachi requests a private interview with him, to which he finally divulges on his full history. Decades prior to the first Tekken, Heihachi met Kazumi in Jinpachi's dojo; though initially rivals at first, they began a romance and Kazumi soon after gave birth to Kazuya. One day, Kazumi fell ill and gradually turned violet, with her symptoms going back and forth from severe to fine. She eventually confronts Heihachi, telling him he will inflict chaos and war upon the world in the future. The two then clash, with Kazumi transforming into Devil Kazumi during the fight; it ends when Heihachi reluctantly kills his wife in self-defense. He then proceeds to defeat a 5-year-old Kazuya, who witnessed the fight, and throws him off a cliff, suspecting that he might've also inherited devil powers; this action would inadvertently set off the chain of events in the entire Tekken series. Heihachi tells the journalist that all of the destruction his family has caused is his fault and he regrets not killing Kazuya sooner. The Tekken Force then knock out the journalist and have him rescued by Lars hours later, where Heihachi finally confronts his son at a volcano.

Heihachi during the climax of the story mode for Fated Retribution

The two have a long and grueling fight, eventually tiring each other out. As Kazuya is beaten into the ground, he suddenly has a flashback to the fateful day, seeing his mother die (though not realizing she planned to kill him as well) and being thrown off the cliff. Kazuya becomes enraged and punches Heihachi with such force that it stops his father's heart, finally killing him. Kazuya then throws his lifeless body into the lava while echoing Heihachi's mantra: "A fight is about who is left standing. Nothing else". Akuma, who also survived the G Corporation's destruction, then arrives to ambush Kazuya, leaving the outcome of their fight unknown. However, unbeknownst to Kazuya and even his enemies, a certain masked monk immediately catches Heihachi's corpse and take him elsewhere before Akuma and Kazuya's battle occur. In the aftermath, Jin, Lars, Alisa, and Lee lament on the state of the world, with G Corporation not ending the war despite the Zaibatsu's downfall and Heihachi's apparent death. Lars then tells Jin that he is the only one left that can kill Kazuya and end the war once and for all, to which he agrees.

Tekken 8

In the game's base story, The Dark Awakens, despite being dead, Heihachi being referred by the characters and appearing in flashbacks. It is revealed that Heihachi also has an illegitimate child besides Lars, a daughter named Reina. It is unknown whether Heihachi knew Reina's presence and origin, due to Reina herself secretly also a Devil Gene carrier like Kazuya and Jin. Additionally, his ancestors, along with the Kazama clan which Jin, his mother Jun and his cousin Asuka hails from are in fact to have histories with the Devil Gene progenitor Azazel, whose power bestowed to Kazuya, Jin and Kazumi's ancestors. It also reveals that Heihachi's ancestors had ill fated history against the Devil Gene progenitor Azazel, in which Jin, Kazuya, Kazumi, and Reina descended from one of the destroyer monster's servants.

Heihachi returns in DLC Expansion storyline within Season 1 Pass dubbed Unforgotten Echoes, where he will be completely resurrected from the dead, and the monk who rescued him from having his body touched the lava pool, Seiryu is a member of Tekken Monks, a branch of Mishima clan who wish to retain the style's former glory and purity that has been tainted by the corruption and affair within Jinpachi's main family, that first begin during Kazumi's attack on Heihachi, and Kazuya and Jin inherited the Devil Gene. Based at Genmaji Temple, the monks recently comes into surface during G Corporation's rise. Reina, who is currently looking for her father's whereabout only knows a bit about the monks. Upon being revived by the monks, the monks had to seal his ambitious villainous traits and begin to train the monks in arts of the ultimate Mishima Style Karate, in hopes to rehabilitate him, with the help from Lidia Sobieska. Unfortunately, as his villainous side starting to progressively comeback to him, using his headbutt on a falling meteor from a result of Angel Jin and True Devil Kazuya's clash in space, results Heihachi to return to his villainous self return to his body and goes on rampage.

Tekken Tag Tournament series

Heihachi as he appears in Tekken Tag Tournament 2

While the Tag Tournament games are largely non-canon to the main series, they still retain character specific endings. In Heihachi's own ending in the first Tekken Tag Tournament, he happily flashes back to a previous beatdown he had subjected Kazuya and Jin to. In Tag Tournament 2, Heihachi uses a special serum to regain his youth, but his ending shows the serum's effects running out. He takes an untested upgrade of the serum only for it to turn him into a frustrated grizzly bear, angrily harassing the scientist who developed it.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Mii Fighter Costume

A costume for the Mii Brawler modeled after Heihachi Mishima's young appearance pre-Tekken 3 and in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was made available as a part of the Wave 2 batch of DLC costumes.

Fighter

According to Masahiro Sakurai, he briefly considered Heihachi to be a playable fighter at some point during 3DS/Wii U's development. The idea had to be scrapped however, as Sakurai felt that translating his moveset for Smash would be difficult.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Mii Fighter Costume

The Mii Brawler costume modeled after young Heihachi returns, this time as a part of the Round 6 batch of DLC costumes.

Aesthetic

Heihachi in his elderly appearance makes a cameo on the stage Mishima Dojo. He will sit and meditate in background, but will stand up and observe the fight after one of the stage's walls is broken and react to any KOs made. The stage is available in Challenger Pack 10, which is a part of Fighters Pass Volume 2. Due to the passing of his Japanese voice actor, Unsho Iishizuka, who posthumously voiced Incineroar before the game was released, Heihachi uses Iishizuka's voice archive from Tekken games.

An 8-bit sprite of Heihachi has a chance of appearing in Pac-Man's "Namco Roulette" taunt, accompanied by the Heavy Punch sound effect from Tekken. The sprite is taken from Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Heihachi in Mishima Dojo

Heihachi's sprite in "Namco Roulette"

Spirit

A DLC Spirit of Heihachi was added into the game as a part of the DLC Spirit Board in Kazuya's Challenger Pack. It is a Primary Attack Spirit under the Legendary class. His Spirit Battle uses Mii Brawler in a Stamina battle, who will have a sudden Final Smash when he is at low percent (a reference to Heihachi's own Rage Drive). The stage is Mishima Dojo, with his theme song "Heihachi Mishima, the King of Iron Fist" playing in the background. The Mii Brawler will normally wear the Dragon Helmet and the Fighter Uniform in black; however, he will instead wear the Heihachi Mii Fighter Costume if it has been purchased.

No.	Spirit	Artwork Origin	Type	Rating	Effect	Slots
1476		Tekken 7		★★★★	Fist & Foot Attack ↑	2

Trivia

• As Heihachi is a frequent guest in several other games, Smash marks:
  • The third time he and fellow Bandai Namco character Pac-Man have appeared together, following Pac-Man Fever and Street Fighter X Tekken.
  • The second time he and Link have appeared together, following SoulCalibur II (albeit they appeared in different system versions, with Link being on the GameCube version and Heihachi on the PlayStation 2 version).
  • The fourth time he, Ryu, and Ken have appeared together, following Namco x Capcom, Monolith Soft's Project X Zone series, and Street Fighter X Tekken.
  • The second time he and Mega Man have appeared together, following Street Fighter X Tekken.
  • The second time he, Chrom, and Lucina have appeared together, following Project X Zone 2.
  • The second time he and Terry Bogard have appeared together, following The King of Fighters: All Star.
  • The second time Bandai Namco, Capcom, SNK, and Square Enix have appeared together, as Street Fighter's Akuma, Fatal Fury's Geese Howard, and Final Fantasy XV's Noctis Lucis Caelum, are guest characters in Tekken 7.
• Heihachi's appearances in trailers make references to the Tekken series:
  • The costume's appearance in the end of Ryu's reveal trailer is a callback to their previous encounter in Street Fighter X Tekken.
  • In the "Mii Fighter Costumes - Round 6" trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate:
    • The scene where the Heihachi costume throws Wolf into Maka Wuhu on Wuhu Island mirrors the canon ending where he throws Kazuya into a volcano in Tekken 2.
    • One of the Heihachi costume's opponents during the trailer is Yoshi, a potential reference to either Yoshimitsu (often called "Yoshi" by fans), a recurring character in both Tekken and SoulCalibur, or to Alex, a reptilian fighter in Tekken.

Navigation

Tekken universe
Character	Kazuya Mishima (Ultimate)
Side Character	Heihachi Mishima
Stage	Mishima Dojo
Music	List of Music (Tekken series)
Spirits	List of spirits (Tekken series)