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Karnov (He/Him)
Video Game Origin
Data East
Tags
bald
barechested
eponymous
eyes_closed
facial_hair
final_boss
fire_control
keffiyeh
non-fighting_origin
overweight
pointed_shoes
red_outfit
russian
scarred
swelling
Data East Fighters

Games
Karnov's first appearance was in Karnov (1987), a side-scrolling arcade platformer. A circus strongman famous for spitting fireballs, he hunts for the Treasure of Babylon and matches wits with the likes of Yoda in a Nest and Dancing Green Fish Guy With a Bag and a Hand Down His Pants, to name only two. The "Ladder" in his bio is likely a reference back to this game as one of the first special items you find is a ladder that can be retained and used through the adventure.

Karnov's second appearance was in 1988, in the popular arcade beat 'em up Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja. For reasons unknown he's a bad guy now. He appears as the boss of stage 1 and again in a boss rush at the end of the game, sporting green skin (possibly inspired by Abobo's pigment change at the end of Double Dragon).

Other references include a Karnov logo sign in the first stage of Bad Dudes and a Karnov poster in Sly Spy.
In 2006, G-Mode and SNK Playmore released a mobile phone game called Garou Densetsu vs. Fighter's History Dynamite. The game - a beat-'em-up as opposed to a versus fighter - starred Terry Bogard, Mai Shiranui, and Makoto Mizoguchi as playable characters. Many of the generic enemies came from the two series represented, and Geese Howard and Karnov were placed as boss characters.
Geese Howard
Mai Shiranui
Mizoguchi
Terry Bogard
When dizzied in Fighter's History Dynamite, each character's head is encircled by unique things.

Dizzy Karnov sees tiny visions of Chelnov.
Fighter's History Dynamite
Chelnov
Towards the end of Joe & Mac Returns (a Bubble Bobble-style platform action game from Data East), you face a level full of SD Mizoguchis and another full of SD Karnovs. They attack with their moves from Fighter's History Dynamite complete with appropriately squeaky voice samples.

The score items dropped by defeated Karnovs are tiny Chelnovs. As a side note, Chelnov appears as an enemy near the end of Tumble Pop, a similar Data East game.
Chelnov
Mizoguchi