Dead or Alive's Zack and Bass are... Dennis Rodman and Hulk Hogan
While it's one thing for real-life martial-arts stars to be unwittingly co-opted and turned into fighting-game characters, Dennis Rodman is probably the only basketball pro that's ever happened to. From the very first Dead or Alive game, Zack has clearly been based on Dennis Rodman - his face, his ever-present sunglasses, his freakish demeanor and his neon-colored hair are all obviously inspired by the flamboyant baller. Also, Zack is an especially rare case among celebrity lookalikes, having gone from unofficial to official when Dennis Rodman provided his voice for the infamous bounceploitation-fest DoA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball in 2003.
It might seem weird to use a basketball freak as the basis for a martial-arts fighter, but Rodman has more than enough experience in the squared circle to qualify. From 1997 to 1999, hestepped intothe World Championship Wrestling ring several times, fighting alongside no less a personage than Hulk Hogan - who, less weirdly, also unofficially became a Dead or Alive fighter, beginning with the PSone version of the first game.
When he first started out, Bass looked like an unusually happy version of Hogan, sporting the wrestler's huge trademark mustache and a pink bandanna. Later versions closely mirrored the late-'90s "Hollywood" Hogan look, with a black bandanna, a grumpy outlook, mirrorshades and a whole lot of thick five o'clock shadow where the 'stache used to be. The resemblance didn't end with the facial hair, though, and it didn't stop when Bass started developing a gut that even an aging grappler like Hogan would frown on. Bass' roster of moves has also been strangely similar to the Hulkster's, right down to the ass-slapping taunts he levels at his opponents. Now, if Dead or Alive 5 could just feature a reality-show minigame where Bass has to put up with the antics of his daughter Tina and her never-before-seen little brother, the character might actually seem relevant again.
