Spinal (Classic)

<tabber>
|-|Killer Instinct=
|-|Killer Instinct 2=
</tabber>
==Summary==
Spinal is a playable character in the Killer Instinct series. 2000 years ago he was a legendary and fierce warrior and now he has been brought back to life in modern times through cell regeneration technology developed by the megacorporation Ultratech. Lacking memory and purpose, Spinal is forced to obey and fight for his new masters, while being tormented by fragmented flashbacks of his past. He was entered in the last year Killer Instinct Tournament, Ultratech testing ground for new weapons and experiments, where he killed Black Eagle, Chief Thunder's brother. Spinal's glory was short lived, as now new creations, such as Fulgore and Riptor, are going to replace him. Filled with resentment, he enters the new tournament to prove his worth. 
However, this time Spinal meets his doom by the hands of Chief Thunder, and finally returns to death. Still, Spinal still exists in the past, and he is resurrected by the demon Gargos, of whom Spinal was a loyal soldier in life, and once again turned into a slave and put against new opponents, including some coming from the very future where he lived. The only thing Spinal wants is returning to his well-earned rest, and so he sets on a journey to destroy the relic used to chain him to this world, and in order to do so, he will have to go against his former master and the heroine Kim Wu.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: , via No Mercy III
Name: Spinal
Origin: Killer Instinct
Gender: Male
Age: 2650 (KI), 650 (KI2)
Classification: Human Skeleton, Undead Warrior
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Partial Inorganic Physiology (Bones are mostly inorganic), Immortality (Type 7), Expert Swordsman, Martial Arts (Employs a variety of kicks in combat), Fire Manipulation (Via Soul Sword, Flame Sword, Searing Skull and Soul Drain), Teleportation (Via Skeleport), Absorption (Via Power Devour and Soul Drain), Bone Creation (Via Power Devour), Weapon Control (Via Shield Stab), Electricity Manipulation (Via No Mercy III), Summoning and BFR (Via Skeleton Grab and No Mercy IV), Telekinesis (Via No Mercy V), limited Transformation and Power Mimicry (Can copy the appearance, powers and abilities of his opponent during a combo), possibly Broadway Force (Via Humiliation), possibly Non-Physical Interaction (Able to harm Jago's ghost form, which might be incorporeal), Damage Boost (Can perform Shadow Moves and Super Moves, which are enhanced versions of his Special Moves), Status Effect Inducement (By hitting the opponent repeatedly, without them being able to recover, he can cause them to enter the , which leaves them unable to react. He can cause this status with a "Parry Move" and with Stunning Skull)
Attack Potency: Wall level+ (Able to destroy a large wall in Sabrewulf's castle. Chief Thunder and had the capability of killing Gargos and Kim Wu), Small Building level via No Mercy III (Can reduce his opponents to ash, which requires at least these levels of energy)
Speed: Superhuman Travel Speed (Comparable to the likes of Sabrewulf), Supersonic reactions and combat speed (Fast enough to react to and dodge Cinder's Trailblazer, which allows him to fly at supersonic speed)
Lifting Strength: Class 1 (Able to grapple and throw around opponents as heavy as Fulgore and Riptor)
Striking Strength: Wall level+ 
Durability: Wall level+ (Can endure hits from opponents comparable to him. Those in his league are able to withstand being thrown through a large wall and into explosive barrels)
Stamina: Athletic (A competent warrior who can go through deadly battles)
Range: Standard Melee Range to Extended Melee Range with weapons and physical attacks, Several Meters with projectiles and summons
Standard Equipment: Cutlass and shield
Intelligence: Average, Above Average in combat (In modern times, Spinal lacks memory and purpose, and the only thing he can do is fighting. Back when he was alive, Spinal was considered a legendary warrior, and he retained his skill even after being resurrected. He is an excellent swordfighter and possesses several supernatural abilities to make his style even deadlier. He won the first Killer Instinct tournament and entered the second, where he lost. Even as Gargos' henchman in the ancient era, Spinal remains a formidable warrior, having the potential to defeat his own master and Kim Wu. Apparently he was a pirate in life, and his KI2 version should have some knowledge related to his profession)
Weaknesses: None notable 
Note: Broadway Force comes from a technique which is supposed to be a gag, and thus it can be restricted in versus matches.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
<tabber>
|-|Special Moves=
SoulSword1.gif|Soul Sword
SpinalSlide.gif|Sliding Kick
BoneShaker.gif|Bone Shaker
Skeleport1.gif|Skeleport (KI)
Skeleport2.gif|Skeleport (KI2)
PowerDevour.gif|Power Devour
PowerDevour2.gif|Power Devour (Projectiles)
PowerDevour3.gif|Power Devour (Physicals)
SearingSkull.gif|Searing Skull
FlameBlade.gif|Flame Blade
SkeleSkewer.gif|SkeleSkewer
SkullScrape.gif|Skull Scrape
SpinalDiveKick.gif|Dive Kick
SoulDrainSpinal.gif|Soul Drain
SpinalGrimReaper.gif|Grim Reaper
StunningSkull.gif|Stunning Skull
*Soul Sword: Spinal swings his cutlass imbued with fire. With the Shadow version, he performs the move twice in a row.
*Sliding Kick: Spinal slides and kicks the opponent.
*Bone Shaker: Spinal rushes forward to bash the opponent with his shield.
*Skeleport: Spinal touches the ground with the grip of his sword and teleports to another location, usually behind or right in front of the opponent. With an alternate version, he spins on himself, sinks through the ground and emerges in another location.
*Power Devour: Spinal rises his shield while it glows in energy. While active, the shield can absorb projectiles and physical blows. The absorbed attacks are then converted into skulls that start floating around Spinal, who can use them to perform stronger versions of his techniques. Spinal can also sacrifice some of his own energy (not health) to summon up to 5 skulls.
*Searing Skull: Spinal imbues one of his skulls with flames and shoots it at the opponent. With the Super version, Spinal shoots a stronger skull, marked by a long, fiery trail. With the Shadow version, he fires two skulls in a row.
*Flame Blade: Spinal delivers a rising slash with his cutlass imbued with fire. With the Super version, Spinal keeps swinging the sword several times with a rotatory motion. The combo ends with a Searing Skull that knocks the opponent down.
*SkeleSkewer: Spinal lunges forward with his cutlass.
*Skull Scrape: Spinal crouches and slides forward, targeting the opponent's legs with his flaming cutlass. With the Super version, he drives the sword against the opponent several times.
*Dive Kick: Spinal leaps in the air and falls on the opponent leg-first, delivering a diving kick.
*Soul Drain: Spinal shoots several rings of fire from his shield. These rings will deplete the opponent's energy and give it to Spinal. The amount of stolen energy depends on how many rings hit the opponent.
*Grim Reaper: A Super move. Spinal imbues his cutlass with fire and jumps towards the opponent, attacking them with a diving slash.
*Stunning Skull: A Super move. Spinal shoots out a blue skull that damages and stuns the opponent.
|-|Finishers=
*Shield Stab: Spinal delivers two frontal slashes with his cutlass, then brings his shield forward and extends the spike at its center, stabbing the opponent three times and killing them.
*Skeleton Grab: Spinal rises his cutlass and summons a skeleton that emerges below the opponent and drags them underground.
*No Mercy III: Spinal summons a lightning bolt that incinerates the opponent.
*No Mercy IV: Spinal conjures electricity from his shield, summoning a pair of demonic hands that restrain the opponent. A huge skull then falls from the sky, crushing the opponent.
*No Mercy V: Spinal uses his powers to lift the opponent without touching them. He then conjures electricity from his shield, causing the opponent to be drained of their blood, which splashes on the ground.
ShieldStab.gif|Shield Stab
SkeletonGrab.gif|Skeleton Grab
SpinalNM3.gif|No Mercy III
SpinalNM5.gif|No Mercy IV
SpinalNM4.gif|No Mercy V
*Humiliation: Spinal points his cutlass at the defeated opponent, who is then mysteriously forced to dance.
|-|Others:=
*Fighting Style: Spinal is first and foremost a swordfighter and his weapons of choice are a large cutlass and a small round shield. He wields them with great mastery, due to his past as a legendary and fierce warrior, and his balanced offense and defense are supported by a variety of supernatural abilities. Spinal mainly attacks using his sword, with technique ranging from wide slashes to straight thrusts, but he has a fondness for using his shield to bash the opponent, the hilt to hammer their head, grapples to throw them away and even his legs. About the latter, he employs several high and low kicks, knee strikes and occasionally flying dropkicks.
SpinalComboKI.gif|Ultra Combo (KI)
SpinalCombo2.gif|Ultra Combo (KI2)
SpinalHiltAttack.gif|Spinal attacking with the hilt
*Shapeshifting: Spinal possesses the unique ability transform into a black and white copy of his opponent when they are being hit by one of his combos. In this way, he gets access to to their physiology, weapons, powers and techniques for a brief moment and use them to end the combo.
SpinalMimicry.gif
SpinalMimicry2.gif
SpinalMimicry3.gif
*Throw: Spinal grabs the opponent and performs a Tomoe-Nage throw, falling backwards and tossing the opponent in the same direction.
*Parry Move: Spinal enters a special stance and blocks an incoming attack. If he follows up with a Special Move, the opponent will be stunned and left unable to react.
SpinalThrow.gif
</tabber>
==Gallery==
<tabber>
|-|Art=
|-|Music=
|-|Others=
</tabber>
==References==
*Killer Instinct (1994)
*Killer Instinct 2/Gold
*Spinal's Killer Instinct Profile on Rare's website (archived)
*Spinal's Killer Instinct 2/Gold Profile on Rare's website (archived)
*Killer Instinct 2/Gold "Story so far" page on Rare's website (archived)
==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
Category:Characters
Category:Killer Instinct
Category:Warriors
Category:Game Characters
Category:Playable Characters
Category:Video Game Characters
Category:Fighting Game Characters
Category:Evil Characters
Category:Soldiers
Category:Skeletons
Category:Undead
Category:Pirates
Category:Inorganic Beings
Category:Immortals
Category:Sword Users
Category:Shield Users
Category:Weapon Masters
Category:Absorption Users
Category:Power Mimicry Users
Category:Transformation Users
Category:Summoners
Category:BFR Users
Category:Electricity Users
Category:Fire Users
Category:Teleportation Users
Category:Bone Users
Category:Creation Users
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Telekinesis Users
Category:Broadway Force Users
Category:Damage Boost Users
Category:Status Effect Users
Category:Non-Physical Interaction Users
Category:Weapon Control Users
Category:Male Characters