Simpsons Characters Get Turned Into Their Street Fighter 2 Counterparts In Art

Summary

• Springfield residents transform into Street Fighter characters in THUMBS’ latest pixel art crossover creations on Instagram.
• The Simpsons and Street Fighter rarely reference each other in their long histories, but fun crossovers have appeared in expanded media.
• THUMBS’ artwork merges iconic characters from both franchises, showcasing a perfect combination of modern pop culture icons.

Recognizable faces from across Springfield become fearsome fighters from across the globe, as members of The Simpsons cast crossover with iconic characters from the Street Fighter franchise. The long-running animated sitcom telling the misadventures of the titular family and other residents across the town of Springfield is currently in season 35. Meanwhile, Capcom’s iconic fighting game franchise released its latest installment in 2023 with Street Fighter 6, reuniting players with fighters including Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy, and Ken.

As The Simpsons season 35 returns to television, artist THUMBS has reimagined various figures from across Springfield as some of Street Fighter‘s most recognizable faces in his latest piece of pixel art.

In THUMBS’ Instagram post above, the artist has taken various figures from across Springfield and taken iconic costumes inspired by characters including Zangeif, Ken, and Ryu to create crossover variants. Alongside perfect combinations, including infamous residents Mr. Burns (Harry Shearer) taking on the terrifying powers of M. Bison, and Snake (Hank Azaria) becoming Vega, the artwork also features backgrounds resembling classic stages from older video games in the franchise.

Has Street Fighter Ever Been Referenced In The Simpsons?

Despite both The Simpsons and Street Fighter being staples of pop culture for 35 and 37 years respectively, the two franchises have rarely featured nods to one another in the television series itself. In the 1993 season 4 episode “Brother from the Same Planet”, Homer (Dan Castellaneta) and Bigger Brother Agency model Tom’s (Phil Hartman) fight over Bart’s (Nancy Cartwright) admiration features nods to the opening of Street Fighter 2. However, The Simpsons has been able to reference Street Fighter through its expanded media, creating fun crossovers between the two series.

On the cover of The Simpsons‘ comic book compilation, Bart Simpson: Suckerpunch, the titular character takes on the role of Ryu, while his other friends dress as a selection of other characters to watch him take on Kearney, who has taken on the role of M. Bison. Jimbo (Tress MacNeille), Nelson, Lisa (Yeardley Smith), and Milhouse take on the roles of Dhalism, Blanka, Cammy, and Guile, while Ralph Wiggum, in an in-character manner, has misunderstood the assignment and dressed as Goro of Mortal Kombat. As such, the cover is a fitting tribute to both franchises.

With over three decades of pop culture significance, The Simpsons and Street Fighter have had an incredible impact on generations of fans. Both the popular sitcom family and the combatants from across the globe are some of the most recognizable characters in modern pop culture. As such, THUMB’s artwork is a perfect combination of the two franchises, with careful consideration into which Springfieldian matched with which character from Street Fighter‘s iconic roster.

The Simpsons

season 35 is currently airing on Fox.

Source: @thumbs1 / Instagram