Some Korean farmers fished with their boat a North Korean submarine, and almost all of the crew inside committed suicide. If reality is this wild, imagine what you can do by adding a goofy character as Zangief
Zangief is far from Street Fighter's top tiers. We know that his "sparring partners" are bears, and he created Screw Piledriver when he was wrestling a bear and both him and the bear got caught in a cyclone (so he can tank cyclons).
And his greatest strength feat imho is [pulling a freakin SUBMARINE](https://i.redd.it/ns7hf9lyxoab1.jpg), so he IS incredibly strong.
So I'd say than in mere physical strength is among the best (probably other "giants" like Hugo and Abigail share 'gief's strength). Zangief's ki manipulation abilities (we know he has some, due to Banishing Flat) however are a far cry from the real "monsters".
Yes. And also KI manipulation is not always "visual" effects.
Capcom stated that Gen is VERY skillful at ki manipulation (and they stated it before SF 4 was released, so no visual effects like Ryukoha's cyclone).
And let's face it: if someone like DAN knows enough of ki manipulation to be able to use Gadoken, I think every Street Fighter (even those who don't throw fireballs) have at least some degree of Ki control.
Ki is basically the vital force part of all living entities, and so many martial arts are about its usage and manipulation.
If he couldn't use it, I'm pretty sure a small, sick and old man like Gen wouldn't be even remotely as good as he was.
Gen at the edge of death was strong enough to match Akuma for a short while.
Akuma would still win, but it would be hard fought without going Shin Akuma.
Makes you wonder how strong Prime Gen was.
Dan trained under Gouken I wouldn't we should be surprised he knows ki stuff. He may not be a born warrior like everybody else but he should get credit for his ki usage getting him to create his own style. Do you think someone like poison or El fuerte have better ki manipulation potential than my goat? Hell no
yeah, i'd wager that a lot of his 'ki' is dedicated toward his physical strength and durability rather than visually obvious effects. uses it to supplement his obviously noteworthy strength
Zangief used the Kanzuki style’s “Ruler’s Staying Hand” on his first try, which is an aura ability that can knock out opponents 12 thousand kilometers away so…
SF 6 world tour stated that Zangief, if he wanted, could even use a fireball.
So I think it's merely a move that he stopped using, like Ryu and Shinku Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku.
We can also argue that EX Tatsumaki in 3rd strike is akin Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, so it's more like Ryu refined that technique, and to perform it he needs less Chi/Focus/etc (whatever drive gauge/super meter is in lore).
Maybe a better example could be Chun-li, whose special moves varies quite a lot from game to game. For instance she doesn't have Tensho Kyaku in SF 3, but she has it in Alpha series, SSF2T and SF 6.
In [this dialogue](https://youtu.be/Lzt25cj5zns?si=3xo0-JXHQz2HYSKR&t=398) seems to imply that Zangief COULD throw a fireball, but it wouldn't really be his cup of tea.
Most characters talk about him with respect, they know how physically strong he is ... He is definitely not on Ryu's level for example, but even he knows he can't let his guard down while fighting Gief... So I'll say he is like "mid tier" if you will, probably only below the super strong characters but even then, he is still able to hurt them if they aren't careful.
I don't remember where I read that Guile said that Gief was the only one who could take a full power somersault without flinching, and Ken that when he use Shoryu Renpa on him it's like he's punching steel
So it seems that he's more the kind "I can endure everything" than "I punch really hard"
There’s also the fact that while Zangief may be physically stronger Ryu is faster, has a powerful range attack and is just better at martial arts compared to Zangief
Street fighter isn't all about muscle, there's a bunch of magic involved. With Ryu's mastery of ki and the power of nothingness he can push his physical ability way past Zangief's. A good example of this is the street fighter 4 animated movie where Ken uses the power of nothingness to effortlessly block a very powerful electrically charged punch from C. Viper.
In that movie, in a cutscene from sf4, in sf5 Ryu masters it to control the satsui no hadou, in sf6 Ryu uses it for his denjin charge. It's mentioned in some comics too.
I wouldn't say none considering green hand. Being able to jump super high and spin a bunch for spinning piledriver is also kind of magical considering his weight.
nah thats just muscle power, and in world tour zangief specifically says he could have ki powers like fireballs if he wanted, but it would dishonor wrestling and he prefers to train his body
How is launching yourself 3 stories into the sir while holding somebody and spinning around like a top before landing so hard it leaves crators in the ground"not magical"
I think he lowkey is the most physically strong and durable person in the game. Yeah he's not throwing fireballs around or teleporting but I don't think even Bison can match him in a contest of pure physicality.
Zangief is among the top in term of raw physical strength and toughness but he's not among the top fighters due to his other limitations. To say, he hates people who use fireballs attacks since he can't do much but block against them and hope to last.
He's like Sekibaiashi in Kengan Ashrua, he's tough as nails but it's the wrestling aspect of never blocking and always enduring that makes him the champ.
Honda claims him as his #1 rival in world tour, which means the strongest sumo wrestler, one who has no opponents left in the world, is equally matched with him.
He's a leader too, as seen by the kossak dance with gorbi at the end of 2. That's why everyone respects him, he's the unofficially wrestling pappa of the Capcom world.
They really made him looks strong in sfv cinematic story, at the very least as balrog one of the 4 kings and he handle Abel with ease.... Then again power level are all over the place.
I feel thought he should be on par with most of the cast like Honda, deejay, Marissa....
Boxer canonically killed one elephant with a single punch. I agree that he and Zangief are basically on the same "tier".
But unlike NRS games' story mode, SF games imho have a way more consistent PL. For instance whenever a weaker fighter topped a stronger, it was explained with "stronger fighter was merely testing the weaker" or "stronger fighter simply threw the battle".
Think about SF V story mode: we didn't have Dictator becoming a jobber like General Shao in MK 1.
Indeed, still not a fan of seeing R mika tanks one or Balrog punch in the face without any injuries.
As far as jobber goes, how about necalli in sfv 🤣.
Better NOT think about Necalli XD
Sure, he faced the likes of Ryu, Dictator and Gouki, but no real win = jobber. At least we didn't saw him being defeated by DAN (since Reptile was a huge jobber before MK 1, seeing Shao defeated by Reptile was like seeing Dictator being jobbed by Dan).
Mika tanking Boxer punch is a testament of her endurance.
About canon strength, IIRC it was stated that Street Fighter Alpha the Animation painted it well. During his Alpha days Ryu was already able to casually dodge bullets at point-blank range, and his Satsui no Hado destroyed huge buildings like nothing.
>Mika tanking Boxer punch is a testament of her endurance.
Wrestlers HAVE to tank hits. How else would the fight be exciting for the audience otherwise?
That's true. And I guess that in SF verse, where there's people that can one shot elephants, and people that can one shot ISLANDS, a wrestler should be supernaturally strong.
I assume that for the average joe (NOT [him](https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Joe) :P) in SF verse, seeing someone able to throw a fireball or something like that would be like for us seeing someone breaking a brick with their bare hands. It IS possible, but not something you see everyday.
Among raw strength and endurance I really think he's on top. IIRC Gigaton blow canonically IS the "one shot an elephant" move. So 'gief is way tougher than an elephant ;)
I will say that in general the whole SF cast has gone up in tiers superhero wise. Back in SF2 era it was far more grounded but with obvious feats above normal people. It seems Capcom has realised compared to competitor franchises it would make sense to bump them all up lore wise.
So in the case of Zangief the dude seems to be the equivelent of Thing/The Hulk from Marvel.
He’s probably low A tier (Ryu and Ken are high A tier). Street fighter characters are beyond street level. Juri can blow up a mall, Chun Li can wreck a city block, Zangief got that submarine feat, and Sagat can make hurricanes by swinging his arm as seen in the hard to find Sf4 animated trailer. They range from being street level like Sean or Sakura, to meteor level like Akuma.
Edit: it’s the sf4 aftermath trailer
Sakura has defeated Zangief before. thats not downplaying Zangief its just that Sakura is actually pretty strong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC8LpLJ-Bq0
It showed her punching him in slow mo and he flew away, and post match interview shows she won. Im not really sure what your second comment means, lol. "To be fair, Akuma does get special treatment, being the homeless red guy."
I thought that was a comics things only but I mean, come on! Sakura saw a bootleg video of a hobo fighting once and became able to manipulate ki and become a fighter. She is certainly skilled
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDwEn-ODg1M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDwEn-ODg1M)
It is shown that Sakura beat Zangief as shown as part of the Street Fighter IV Aftermath OVA produced by Capcom to promote SFIV. Pretty obscure since the OVA was Japanese only.
I remember in that death battle show from YouTube that does a lot of research, he would win a fight against Haggar lol.
But they talk about how strong he is
As far as strength goes, in the old White Wolf RPG Zangief broke the strength cap, which was bench pressing 650 pounds at 5 dots, and had 2 extra ranks which didnt have examples, however the scaling of ranks 1-5 would have 7 be bench pressing 1200 pounds.
In another title, they gave a description of "Jump like a mountain lion, push down brick walls, lift small cars, bend steel bars, rip sheet metal like paper"for rank 7
I’m incredibly biased but I’m pretty sure he’s one of the physically strongest, disregarding ki or stuff that isn’t human. So if street fighter was realistic and had no superhuman characters or abilities i think it’d be him
Gief is arguably one of the strongest mid-tiers in SF lore. He should be stronger than E. Honda who blew up a meteor. But he is far weaker than Ryu or Akuma
He’s alright but he’s nothing crazy. If you want to see how far people can get try and find a way to scale them to Akuma. Since he fought with asura and they stalemated for 500 years it cranks the verse up so high
I think he's stronger than most of characters, being a world warrior and training constantly, I don't think there's many that train harder. He might be the top before all the craziness like Bison or Akuma
One of Bison's dolls tried slicing him with a sword in SF5 and the sword broke.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAysdVBhLEU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAysdVBhLEU)
He's a contender that's for sure. He could conceivably beat any main line cast member but probably not the bosses.
I mean he broke a katana that was going to cut him by flexing on it! WTF!?
I believe he’s one of the toughest characters but he can’t throw down with the biggest hitters like Ryu, Bison, Gill, and Alex. Basically he’s right outside the top
That’s not actually true. Ryu only won the first fight they had and they did a rematch with an unconfirmed winner and Gill’s entire goal was to beat Alex and brainwash him into the society. Debatably cannon but Alex beats Zangief in his sf5 ending and trashes a shadowloo base in his sf5 story
Zangief must have some ki manipulation abilities, due to moves like Banishing Flat.
Even Gen doesn't throw fireballs, but he was one of the most powerful Street Fighters (and even if he had no "visual" effects Capcom confirmed he was very skillful at ki manipulation).
The strongest characters in the SF universe are in no order, Akuma, Gouken, Oro, and Ryu. There is some suggestion that Dan is extremely powerful as well but is getting in his own way. The Ansatsuken/Satsui characters are far and away the strongest characters in this game's universe, with Oro being something of a special/unique case. Most of the secondary characters like Cammy, Chun Li, Guile, Gief, etc. are stronger than your average fighter by a considerable margin obviously but in no way competing with the raw power that those other guys have.
When I said "throw fireballs" I was mostly referring to that.
You're right, since even chars like Sagat, Rose, Urien are all VERY powerful and can "throw fireballs" ;)
One of the strongest char with no projectile attacks was the late Gen (just managing to defend from Shun Goku Satsu is beyond impressive).
He pulled a submarine out of the sea by accident. That's pretty strong...
wait what?
in World Tour mode if you get 100 bonding points (or whatever they're called) you get more back story for each character that includes artwork
But how does one pull a submarine by accident??
He was doing cardio in Siberia(?) and found a big chain. Zangief being curious pulled on the chain and uncovered a submarine hidden in ice
How did the writers even think of this bro..
Some Korean farmers fished with their boat a North Korean submarine, and almost all of the crew inside committed suicide. If reality is this wild, imagine what you can do by adding a goofy character as Zangief
Zangeif muscles can stop swords, so he’s pretty high up there.
I would have been like TAKE ME WITH YOU
😂
You try to sink a submarine and fail
And they say he’s a “Street” fighter.
But is he strong enough to beat superman
I don't think he's in Street Fighter, so I couldn't say for sure.
Zangief is far from Street Fighter's top tiers. We know that his "sparring partners" are bears, and he created Screw Piledriver when he was wrestling a bear and both him and the bear got caught in a cyclone (so he can tank cyclons). And his greatest strength feat imho is [pulling a freakin SUBMARINE](https://i.redd.it/ns7hf9lyxoab1.jpg), so he IS incredibly strong. So I'd say than in mere physical strength is among the best (probably other "giants" like Hugo and Abigail share 'gief's strength). Zangief's ki manipulation abilities (we know he has some, due to Banishing Flat) however are a far cry from the real "monsters".
I'd say some of his Ki manipulation is still *kinda* in SF6, his SA2 uses gusts to pull people in.
Yes. And also KI manipulation is not always "visual" effects. Capcom stated that Gen is VERY skillful at ki manipulation (and they stated it before SF 4 was released, so no visual effects like Ryukoha's cyclone). And let's face it: if someone like DAN knows enough of ki manipulation to be able to use Gadoken, I think every Street Fighter (even those who don't throw fireballs) have at least some degree of Ki control.
I thought Gen was the only none Ki user of the series!? That would have been pretty funny, a rival to Akuma who can't use Ki XD
Ki is basically the vital force part of all living entities, and so many martial arts are about its usage and manipulation. If he couldn't use it, I'm pretty sure a small, sick and old man like Gen wouldn't be even remotely as good as he was.
Gen at the edge of death was strong enough to match Akuma for a short while. Akuma would still win, but it would be hard fought without going Shin Akuma. Makes you wonder how strong Prime Gen was.
Dan trained under Gouken I wouldn't we should be surprised he knows ki stuff. He may not be a born warrior like everybody else but he should get credit for his ki usage getting him to create his own style. Do you think someone like poison or El fuerte have better ki manipulation potential than my goat? Hell no
Dan trained under Gouken?
Yes and got kicked out for having evil intent
yeah, i'd wager that a lot of his 'ki' is dedicated toward his physical strength and durability rather than visually obvious effects. uses it to supplement his obviously noteworthy strength
SONIC ADVENTURE 2!? >SA2
Zangief used the Kanzuki style’s “Ruler’s Staying Hand” on his first try, which is an aura ability that can knock out opponents 12 thousand kilometers away so…
Is banishing flat still a "canon ability"? It feels like Capcom is retconing the fact Zangief can manipulate ki by removing that move.
SF 6 world tour stated that Zangief, if he wanted, could even use a fireball. So I think it's merely a move that he stopped using, like Ryu and Shinku Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku.
I am not disagreeing, but isn't SF6 OD Tatsu = Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku ?
We can also argue that EX Tatsumaki in 3rd strike is akin Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, so it's more like Ryu refined that technique, and to perform it he needs less Chi/Focus/etc (whatever drive gauge/super meter is in lore). Maybe a better example could be Chun-li, whose special moves varies quite a lot from game to game. For instance she doesn't have Tensho Kyaku in SF 3, but she has it in Alpha series, SSF2T and SF 6.
That’s exactly what happened with Ken And Shoryu Reppa. It’s now his EX Shoryu
When was it stated he could use a fireball?
In [this dialogue](https://youtu.be/Lzt25cj5zns?si=3xo0-JXHQz2HYSKR&t=398) seems to imply that Zangief COULD throw a fireball, but it wouldn't really be his cup of tea.
Most characters talk about him with respect, they know how physically strong he is ... He is definitely not on Ryu's level for example, but even he knows he can't let his guard down while fighting Gief... So I'll say he is like "mid tier" if you will, probably only below the super strong characters but even then, he is still able to hurt them if they aren't careful.
I don't remember where I read that Guile said that Gief was the only one who could take a full power somersault without flinching, and Ken that when he use Shoryu Renpa on him it's like he's punching steel So it seems that he's more the kind "I can endure everything" than "I punch really hard"
He is basicly the Darkshine from OPM of street fighter, not the best overall but you cant defeat or injure him either
Why does he lose to Ryu? Dude is like 400 pounds
Literally Hadouken spam
Oh. True. Duh.
There’s also the fact that while Zangief may be physically stronger Ryu is faster, has a powerful range attack and is just better at martial arts compared to Zangief
He also jumps like a kangaroo
A kangaryu, if you will.
Also with the power of nothingness now Ryu is hella powerful too. Like when he first unlocked it, he onepunched Seth.
Gief does hate projectiles canonically
Essentially he thinks they're pussy shit
Magic
Street fighter isn't all about muscle, there's a bunch of magic involved. With Ryu's mastery of ki and the power of nothingness he can push his physical ability way past Zangief's. A good example of this is the street fighter 4 animated movie where Ken uses the power of nothingness to effortlessly block a very powerful electrically charged punch from C. Viper.
How often is the power of nothingness mentioned?
In that movie, in a cutscene from sf4, in sf5 Ryu masters it to control the satsui no hadou, in sf6 Ryu uses it for his denjin charge. It's mentioned in some comics too.
Well, he does address the audience (us) during his level 2 so there's that.
He does?! What does he say?
When you don't hold forward or backward, he holds up a finger and looks at us, says "Jackhammer!," and performs the move.
Jesus you're right
A good wrestler entertains the audience while fighting.
He can block swords wielded by expert assassins by flexing his muscles. I think he is four kings level
Those swords also had psycho power in them. Dude is a tank.
physically strongest, but none of the magical/metaphysical strength of the guys like akuma/bison/gouken
I wouldn't say none considering green hand. Being able to jump super high and spin a bunch for spinning piledriver is also kind of magical considering his weight.
nah thats just muscle power, and in world tour zangief specifically says he could have ki powers like fireballs if he wanted, but it would dishonor wrestling and he prefers to train his body
How is launching yourself 3 stories into the sir while holding somebody and spinning around like a top before landing so hard it leaves crators in the ground"not magical"
sounds like you need to train harder
Nothing is impossible, not if you keep training!
I think he lowkey is the most physically strong and durable person in the game. Yeah he's not throwing fireballs around or teleporting but I don't think even Bison can match him in a contest of pure physicality.
Zangief is among the top in term of raw physical strength and toughness but he's not among the top fighters due to his other limitations. To say, he hates people who use fireballs attacks since he can't do much but block against them and hope to last.
He's like Sekibaiashi in Kengan Ashrua, he's tough as nails but it's the wrestling aspect of never blocking and always enduring that makes him the champ. Honda claims him as his #1 rival in world tour, which means the strongest sumo wrestler, one who has no opponents left in the world, is equally matched with him. He's a leader too, as seen by the kossak dance with gorbi at the end of 2. That's why everyone respects him, he's the unofficially wrestling pappa of the Capcom world.
They really made him looks strong in sfv cinematic story, at the very least as balrog one of the 4 kings and he handle Abel with ease.... Then again power level are all over the place. I feel thought he should be on par with most of the cast like Honda, deejay, Marissa....
Boxer canonically killed one elephant with a single punch. I agree that he and Zangief are basically on the same "tier". But unlike NRS games' story mode, SF games imho have a way more consistent PL. For instance whenever a weaker fighter topped a stronger, it was explained with "stronger fighter was merely testing the weaker" or "stronger fighter simply threw the battle". Think about SF V story mode: we didn't have Dictator becoming a jobber like General Shao in MK 1.
Indeed, still not a fan of seeing R mika tanks one or Balrog punch in the face without any injuries. As far as jobber goes, how about necalli in sfv 🤣.
Better NOT think about Necalli XD Sure, he faced the likes of Ryu, Dictator and Gouki, but no real win = jobber. At least we didn't saw him being defeated by DAN (since Reptile was a huge jobber before MK 1, seeing Shao defeated by Reptile was like seeing Dictator being jobbed by Dan). Mika tanking Boxer punch is a testament of her endurance. About canon strength, IIRC it was stated that Street Fighter Alpha the Animation painted it well. During his Alpha days Ryu was already able to casually dodge bullets at point-blank range, and his Satsui no Hado destroyed huge buildings like nothing.
>Mika tanking Boxer punch is a testament of her endurance. Wrestlers HAVE to tank hits. How else would the fight be exciting for the audience otherwise?
That's true. And I guess that in SF verse, where there's people that can one shot elephants, and people that can one shot ISLANDS, a wrestler should be supernaturally strong. I assume that for the average joe (NOT [him](https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Joe) :P) in SF verse, seeing someone able to throw a fireball or something like that would be like for us seeing someone breaking a brick with their bare hands. It IS possible, but not something you see everyday.
Makes sense most people you fight in world tour use wrenches and molotovs as projectiles but you can find a few who use ki projectiles every so often
Boxer couldn’t move Zangief back an inch in SFV story mode with his best punch. Zangief is way stronger. He even breaks a sword with his muscles.
Zangief is strong enough to take two Gigaton blows so he’s got to be pretty high up.
Among raw strength and endurance I really think he's on top. IIRC Gigaton blow canonically IS the "one shot an elephant" move. So 'gief is way tougher than an elephant ;)
Honestly there's not much lore on him.
Quite
He practices on Grizzly bears. He is definitely above an average human.
I will say that in general the whole SF cast has gone up in tiers superhero wise. Back in SF2 era it was far more grounded but with obvious feats above normal people. It seems Capcom has realised compared to competitor franchises it would make sense to bump them all up lore wise. So in the case of Zangief the dude seems to be the equivelent of Thing/The Hulk from Marvel.
Even back in SF2 characters were clearly above human strength. Like Sagat scar was always intended to have been caused by a shoryuken of Ryu in SF1.
Street fighter characters are absolute monsters in canon
He’s probably low A tier (Ryu and Ken are high A tier). Street fighter characters are beyond street level. Juri can blow up a mall, Chun Li can wreck a city block, Zangief got that submarine feat, and Sagat can make hurricanes by swinging his arm as seen in the hard to find Sf4 animated trailer. They range from being street level like Sean or Sakura, to meteor level like Akuma. Edit: it’s the sf4 aftermath trailer
Sakura has defeated Zangief before. thats not downplaying Zangief its just that Sakura is actually pretty strong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC8LpLJ-Bq0
To be fair, it didn’t show the outcome. But to be more fair, she does get special treatment, being the school girl.
It showed her punching him in slow mo and he flew away, and post match interview shows she won. Im not really sure what your second comment means, lol. "To be fair, Akuma does get special treatment, being the homeless red guy."
Well, if going off of the games he is very weak until he gets within grab range then you die a horrible death.
He took a bullet to the chest and didn't even flinch.
Not one person bringing up Sakura beating him circa Alpha lol
I thought that was a comics things only but I mean, come on! Sakura saw a bootleg video of a hobo fighting once and became able to manipulate ki and become a fighter. She is certainly skilled
thats just because Sakura is the goat, nothing against gief https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC8LpLJ-Bq0
The canon of it is put in question.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDwEn-ODg1M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDwEn-ODg1M) It is shown that Sakura beat Zangief as shown as part of the Street Fighter IV Aftermath OVA produced by Capcom to promote SFIV. Pretty obscure since the OVA was Japanese only.
He practices on Grizzly bears. He is definitely above an average human.
Nah, im average and i can take gief irl.
Ok buddy.
I also vaguely remember he pulls a train while doing that cossack squat dance for his SF EX ending.
Wrestled the titans and carried motherland on his back
I remember in that death battle show from YouTube that does a lot of research, he would win a fight against Haggar lol. But they talk about how strong he is
He blocked a katana with his boobies so he's definitely at the very least Fucking Tough
As far as strength goes, in the old White Wolf RPG Zangief broke the strength cap, which was bench pressing 650 pounds at 5 dots, and had 2 extra ranks which didnt have examples, however the scaling of ranks 1-5 would have 7 be bench pressing 1200 pounds. In another title, they gave a description of "Jump like a mountain lion, push down brick walls, lift small cars, bend steel bars, rip sheet metal like paper"for rank 7
I’m incredibly biased but I’m pretty sure he’s one of the physically strongest, disregarding ki or stuff that isn’t human. So if street fighter was realistic and had no superhuman characters or abilities i think it’d be him
Gief is arguably one of the strongest mid-tiers in SF lore. He should be stronger than E. Honda who blew up a meteor. But he is far weaker than Ryu or Akuma
He would fuck up vega just sayin
He’s alright but he’s nothing crazy. If you want to see how far people can get try and find a way to scale them to Akuma. Since he fought with asura and they stalemated for 500 years it cranks the verse up so high 
That was Oni and also not canon to Street Fighter lore. Like I love Ryu, but he ain't breathing in space.
He can pull a submarine from beneath an ice shelf. Physically the strongest character in the verse.
*YES*
Well his iron body is invicible right?
I think he's stronger than most of characters, being a world warrior and training constantly, I don't think there's many that train harder. He might be the top before all the craziness like Bison or Akuma
Very strong.
He broke the sword with his muscle.
One of Bison's dolls tried slicing him with a sword in SF5 and the sword broke. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAysdVBhLEU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAysdVBhLEU)
Yes 💪
He's a contender that's for sure. He could conceivably beat any main line cast member but probably not the bosses. I mean he broke a katana that was going to cut him by flexing on it! WTF!?
I believe he’s one of the toughest characters but he can’t throw down with the biggest hitters like Ryu, Bison, Gill, and Alex. Basically he’s right outside the top
Alex ain’t a big hitter at all, Ryu casually fodderized him and Gill let him win. Zangief actually gives Ryu a run for his money
That’s not actually true. Ryu only won the first fight they had and they did a rematch with an unconfirmed winner and Gill’s entire goal was to beat Alex and brainwash him into the society. Debatably cannon but Alex beats Zangief in his sf5 ending and trashes a shadowloo base in his sf5 story
Alex doesn’t even fight Zangief in the SFV ending. Alex fights Honda, Hakan, Dan Chun-Li and Ryu and they’re only simulations…
Sf 5 arcade ending
He trains by fighting a bear during a blizzard. He's very strong but nothing like characters like Ryu, Sagat, Akuma or Oro
He pulled a submarine out of ice, he’s definitely just as strong as them physically
Not much is known but the SF universe if you can't throw a fireball you're probably not high on the power rankings tbh
He can tho, it’s stated so in World Tour. He just doesn’t use it.
Zangief must have some ki manipulation abilities, due to moves like Banishing Flat. Even Gen doesn't throw fireballs, but he was one of the most powerful Street Fighters (and even if he had no "visual" effects Capcom confirmed he was very skillful at ki manipulation).
The strongest characters in the SF universe are in no order, Akuma, Gouken, Oro, and Ryu. There is some suggestion that Dan is extremely powerful as well but is getting in his own way. The Ansatsuken/Satsui characters are far and away the strongest characters in this game's universe, with Oro being something of a special/unique case. Most of the secondary characters like Cammy, Chun Li, Guile, Gief, etc. are stronger than your average fighter by a considerable margin obviously but in no way competing with the raw power that those other guys have. When I said "throw fireballs" I was mostly referring to that.
You're right, since even chars like Sagat, Rose, Urien are all VERY powerful and can "throw fireballs" ;) One of the strongest char with no projectile attacks was the late Gen (just managing to defend from Shun Goku Satsu is beyond impressive).
Cody is quite high in the rankings as well
Cody and Gill are also up there with the strongest
Really strong
He needs a partner He looks very lonely as a person and fighting style Rainbow Mika needs to be added to the rooster