Paul Phoenix

Paul Phoenix (ポール・フェニックス Pōru Fenikkusu) appeared in every Tekken game so far in the series, becoming one of only four characters to do so, sharing the title with Heihachi Mishima, Yoshimitsu, and Nina Williams. A hotheaded and agressive man, Paul is determined to prove that he is the absolute best fighter the world has seen, and this dream expanded into literally trying to prove to the universe that he was the best (something that would jokingly be shown in Tekken 5 where he challenges aliens in his ending). Unable to accept failures in winning, Paul sees Kazuya Mishima as his only true rival in being the best, mainly due to Kazuya being the first one who had fought Paul to a draw. As among one of the most active tournament participants, Paul is quite well-known in all the tournaments he participated in, mainly due to the fact that in all five tournaments that he participated in, he has faced bears. His rivalry with the first Kuma ended with Paul's final victory in the second tournament, while in following tournaments, he faced the second Kuma with the older bear's rivalry, inherited by his son. Training with both Lee Chaolan and Marshall Law prior to the first Tekken, Lee would learn a few moves belonging to Paul such as having his own version of Paul's "Double lift kicks"

A good friend of the Law family, Paul is considered as a close family friend and often accompanies the men of the family in things like excursions or business. He also understands their financial situation, as he himself is also financially challenged in later games. He and Marshall Law are known to commit antics together, something that many characters, reference when encountering Paul at the Scenario Campaign. He is however, in a similar case to Heihachi, is a self-made man, often honing his own talents and enduring the hardships of being poor.

Often regarded as an oaf, Paul can be incredibly barbaric at times, preferring to settle things with his fists rather than thinking things through. This surprisingly gives him the courage to take on opponents such as the bears, and to the point where he even calls Azazel in the Scenario Campaign, a "big lizard". He is also quite determined to win money to the point where he would even resort to underhanded means in order to win fights sometimes. Despite being these flaws, Paul is still known not only for his trademark Phoenix Smasher, but also because of the humor and gags that he provides to Tekken.