Miss Muriel Spencer

Murial Spencer (usually referred to as simply "Miss Spencer") is a playable character in both the original Rumble Roses in 2004 and sequel Rumble Roses XX in 2006. She fights under the moniker of "The Taskmaster". Her Japanese voice actress is Satsuki Yukino. She was dubbed by Rachel Walzer in the first game, with Karen Strassman voicing her in the sequel.
==Background==
Miss Spencer is a history teacher who's come to the Rumble Roses tournament in order to find her wayward pupil Rebecca Welsh (aka Candy Cane) and make her return to school.
Miss Spencer was captain of her wrestling team when she was at school, so she's well-equipped to enter the ring if necessary- either to help her erring pupil or to exert a little discipline on the other contestants. Despite her rather prim and proper attitude, displays of what she considers 'unruly' behavior can rouse her to take strong action against what she see's as 'naughty' miscreants.
She is a fan of the pop singer Aisha, but after meeting her during the tournament, she quickly criticizes her for being a 'bad role model'. Spencer is also shocked to find that some of the younger contestants, like Aigle and Makoto are out of school (despite the nomad having never even been to school!)
As for Anesthesia, Spencer makes clear that does not like "the cut of that woman's jib." She becomes certain that she has nothing but ill-intent for Candy after the nurse makes some 'inappropriate' comments.
Whether Miss Spencer's own apparently very affectionate attitude towards Candy Cane is also 'inappropriate' is uncertain, but she is more than ready to defend her favorite pupil from all threats.
==Personality==
As a teacher, Spencer could be viewed as "old-fashioned", due to her strong belief in discipline, as well the importance of good behavior and the value of studying.
However, she's not nearly as stiff and straight-laced as some might see her (specifically Candy Cane ). In fact, she has a number of hobbies- including writing poetry. She also seems to know how to play the guitar... During her and Candy Cane's tag-team intro, she surprises Candy by replacing one of the guitarists (without her having realized it).
Spencer appears to be one of the few contestants in the tournament with no self-serving ambitions. Her sole motive for entering is to find Candy Cane (who she calls "Miss Welsh"). She's essentially a kind and caring person, and refuses to simply dismiss "Rebecca" as a hopeless case. Instead, she sees her as a sort of 'rough diamond', believing that she has the potential to be a good student and that she can achieve this with her guidance. While her reasons for caring so much are a matter for speculation , she has gone to great lengths in an effort to put her on 'the right path'. She's also protective of Candy , becoming upset when she climbs onto ring post (after they've won a tag match), since her underwear is revealed to the audience in the process.
Spencer may also be somewhat self-conscious about being older than most of the other competitors in the tournament (in some cases, as much as a decade). This may be suggested by her stated weight of 106 lbs being highly improbable - given both her body type and that Candy Cane's stated weight is 119 lbs!
==Appearance==
Spencer is tall and fair-skinned, with bright green eyes and shoulder-length blond hair. She's also fairly busty, with ample hips. Notably, she has a small 'beauty-mark' to the left of her lips, as well as somewhat pronounced cheekbones.
Her hair is a bright yellow color in the first game, while it's a somewhat darker shade of blond in the sequel. Its pulled into a loose bun at the back and parted over her right eye, letting the rest fall in a long wave to the left.
She's often depicted (in promotional art/images and cut-scenes) as wearing a pair of red oval reading glasses. She also wears fairly subdued makeup: including dark eye-liner and eye-shadow, along with pale pink lipstick and blusher.
Spencer's normal ring costume includes an off-white ruffled dress shirt with the sleeves folded up past her elbows and the collar upturned. The front of the dress is open about midway down her cleavage- which she keeps covered with a bright red ascot around her neck. She wears thin black pads over both elbows and red and black fingerless grappling gloves. Around her waist is a red leather belt with metal hoops in it, and both the belt and the back of her gloves feature the golden emblem of (presumably) a company called Aphrodite Paris. She has a short reddish-brown skirt, that's split in the front over both thighs, with a pair of of black underwear underneath. She wears dark stockings and red and black knee pads (also with the same logo), and high-heeled wrestling boots that come up to her knees. When Miss Spencer wins enough matches and her popularity with the crowd gets high enough (+80% popularity), she achieves Super Star status and unlocks a flashy new outfit.
At the start of her altered introduction, she's still wearing her old costume. However, she quickly changes clothes - along with her title which becomes "The Ex-Teacher."
She appears to have two thin gold chains wrapped multiple times around her neck, with a single gold locket attached to one and three attached to the other. The centerpiece of this new outfit is a butterfly-shaped top. It's made of a shiny blue material (possibly leather) with the edges lined with rhinestones. The 'cups' of the top (which are tied together behind her neck) form the upper halfs of the "wings", with the lower segments coming down over her abs and tied behind her lower back.
In addition Spencer wears a pair of thin blue elbow pads and partial gloves (with frilly lace on the edge) which match the texture and the studded design of the top. She also has on a pair of shiny blue bell-bottoms, with splits on the sides (below knee-level) and fancy ruffles, along with a pair of high-heeled boots.
In the first game, when fighting in Mad Mud Matches, Spencer wears a high-cut white tank top (over a black bikini top), a pair of cut-off denim short-shorts (with a black bikini underneath) and sandals. Despite promotional images of her wearing her glasses while in this outfit, she doesn't actually fight in them (in either game).
In the second game, when taking part in Queen's Matches on the beach, Miss Spencer now sports a rather fancy one-piece swimsuit. The majority of it is composed of a semi-transparent material (that conforms to her figure almost like silk), with segments around the top and bottom being made of a dull gray-purple material.
There are four rows of jeweled strands running between the two 'top' segments. The 'bottom' segment is designed to look like it's made of randomly shaped pieces, with the shiny material making them resemble bits of stained-glass. She also wears a pair of sandals as well.
==Fighting Style==
Having wrestled back in high school, Miss Spencer is now able to make use of this experience when fighting in the ring. Because of this, she's skilled in both grappling and performing suplexes, making her quite adept at performing a variety of humiliation-building moves. It's advised that the player learn these moves quickly. With her stats built up high enough, she can become quite a force to contend with in the ring.
Conversely, Spencer is quite weak when it comes to conventional striking attacks. And this limitation often becomes a liability in matches where dealing damage (aka, wearing down the fighter) is essential, so she's at serious disadvantage when it comes to Street Fights. Though this can be somewhat alleviated by building up her striking stats. While her strikes don't do much damage, they are likely to put her enemy off balance- thus allowing her to get them into a hold. Keep in mind that Spencer is not built for taking damage over a lengthy period of time, as it puts her at risk of succumbing to the attacks of her opponents as a match drags on.
Spencer's ideal match types are singles- especially Pure Humiliation Matches. It's best to use caution against heavy hitters, like Dixie Clemets or Aisha, especially during Street Fights. Despite the hostility between them, she does best in Tag-Matches when paired with Candy Cane.
==Trivia==
*Miss Spencer's theme "I'm Too Virtuous" is one of two songs that was composed, arranged, and performed by acclaimed composer Akira Yamaoka. The theme returned in the sequel in 2006. Yamaoka is best know for his work in the games in the Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Castlevania game series.
*It has been rumored that Miss Spencer's theme was originally going to be the song "Hot For Teacher" by Van Halen. This is certainly possible, given that David Lee Roth's "Yankee Rose" was used.
*Spencer's first name 'Muriel' is never mentioned in either of the games but has become widely accepted in the Rumble Roses community. Its origins appear shrouded in mystery.
*With a stated age of 28 years old, Spencer is the oldest competitor in the Rumble Roses games (not counting the cyborg Lady X). Apart from Dixie (26) and Aisha (24), all the others with stated ages are under 21. Anesthesia could perhaps be older than Spencer but her age is unknown. Benikage and Evil Rose also have no stated age but are probably younger.
*She's the only rose to wear glasses.
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Fighters
Category:Officials
Category:Wrestlers
Category:Female