The Syndicate are a shadowy criminal organization in the Tekken series. Little is known about them except that they are a Mafia organization. They have access to a large information network, hire assassins to take out their enemies, and are known to engage in high-stakes match-fixing.

Story[]

Before the events of Tekken 4, the Syndicate had been the target of Lei Wulong’s international police operation, and he intended to try and bring them to justice. The Syndicate were infiltrated by an undercover Interpol agent who worked secretly to bring them down for two years. During the sting, one of the Syndicate’s agents with close ties to the Syndicate’s boss, managed to evade Lei Wulong’s capture, causing the whole police operation to be botched. This botched job was used against Lei by his fellow police officers, who were jealous of his reputation, and he was subsequently suspended from duty. His failure in this mission was reported by his peers to have been due to "allowing personal affairs to affect his job performance", as Lei had been suffering from depression after his girlfriend left him.^[1]

Steve Fox, the middleweight boxing world champion, was approached by the Syndicate, who ask him to throw a high-stakes fight. Steve refused and won the fight, and the Syndicate began hunting him. The Syndicate put a price on Steve’s head and tracked him from the UK to the United States, forcing him to lead a life on the run. Eventually, Steve came to believe that, no matter how far he ran, the Syndicate would always catch up with him, so he decided to hide in plain sight by entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4.

The Syndicate regularly hired Nina Williams as an assassin, who at this time had lost most of her memories due to a cold-sleep program she had been in. Prior to Tekken 4, the Syndicate gave Nina a new contract to kill Steve Fox. Nina entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament when she discovered Steve was a participant in it, intending to carry out her assignment by infiltrating the tournament.^[2]

During his one-month’s suspension, Lei Wulong continued to work a case against the Syndicate, and discovered their plot to assassinate Steve Fox. Lei believed he could learn valuable information about the Syndicate from Steve, so set out to help him. He also wished to capture the assassin, and establish a connection between her and the Syndicate that would indite them. Lei believed that if he could crack this case, it would restore his lost honor.^[3]

Nina followed Steve to his hotel in order to assassinate him. Whilst she was preparing for the hit, additional information from the Syndicate revealed that she was Steve’s biological mother. Steve had been created through in-vitro fertilization without her knowledge, whilst she was in cold-sleep at the Mishima Zaibatsu. Nina felt nothing at this news, although on noticing that the Mishima Zaibatsu were also trying to kill Steve, she shot at their agents, saving Steve’s life. Lei then burst into the hotel room, forcing Nina to flee. Lei tried to capture Nina, but Steve aided her escape.^[4]

Lei Wulong successfully arrested several members of the Syndicate at the end of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, making headlines in the process.^[5]

Members[]

• Boss – An unnamed boss.
• An unnamed agent – Close to the boss and evaded capture by Lei Wulong.
• Several unnamed members – Arrested by Lei Wulong
• Nina Williams – Contract assassin. Hired to kill Steve Fox.

Relationships[]

• Mishima Zaibatsu – The Syndicate have access to many of the Mishima Zaibatsu's secret research files. The Zaibatsu tried to use the Syndicate's assassination attempt of Steve to cover up their history of human experimentation.^[6]
• Steve Fox – Steve was ordered to throw a fight by the Syndicate. He became their target when he refused.
• Lei Wulong – Lei Wulong was the detective in charge of bringing a case against them. He arrested many of their members at the end of Tekken 4.

Trivia[]

• In Lei Wulong’s non-canonical Tekken 4 ending, he goes to the Mishima Zaibatsu data center to dig up information on the Syndicate’s hired assassin.
• It is possible that the Syndicate were involved in the assassination contract Nina took up in Tekken 7, as she was a freelance assassin again, and the hit was against a rival mafia organization.
• It is revealed in Tekken 7 that Nina knows a substantial amount about Steve’s background, suggesting that the Syndicate had access to many highly secret Mishima Zaibatsu files, since they are the ones who provided Nina with information on Steve.

Gallery[]

References[]