Fighting games are games that will likely be a solid niche within the gaming industry for the entirety of their existence. It's hard to get into them for most gamers, as there is so much that one needs to learn beforehand, or else they are just going to be dominated by other players.
One of the things that players need to know going into different fighting games is the tier list and just which characters are the strongest. It's important to keep track of as, sometimes, a character that players wouldn't think would be strong might just be the strongest.
10 Cyclops - Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
If someone were to be asked about who their favorite member of the X-Men was, that person would be unlikely to answer Cyclops. It's not even really his fault, Cyclops just comes off as boring by comparison to other famous X-Men like Wolverine and Nightcrawler. While this might be the case for his TV, comic book and movie interpretations, this is not how Cyclops was in video games, especially Marvel VS CAPCOM 2 where Cyclops was a surprising top tier character.
9 Ivy Valentine - Soul Calibur
When players first got a look at Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur, they could instantly tell that the character was made with a design in mind first and then a fighting style and novelist was put on top of that.
For the most part, when this happens in fighting games, the character generates a fairly dedicated fanbase but the competitive leagues they usually don't make it that far. This was not the case with Ivy Valentine who actually manages to be fairly good in each iteration of Soul Calibur.
8 Pikachu - Super Smash Brothers Ultimate
Pikachu has always been a popular character, being the mascot of the massive Pokémon series is definitely a plus to that. That's why it's a no brainer that Pikachu makes his way into each entry into the Smash Brothers franchise. What is surprising is just how powerful the electric-mouse Pokémon has been in the more recent entries, especially in SSBU where Pikachu is an absolute monster. Pikachu dominates at both long-range and short-range and with all of the mobility to get into either at them in a split second.
7 Bob - Tekken 6
When Bob was first announced as one of the new characters making their debut in Tekken 6, it appeared that Tekken had another joke character on their hands.
Bob, as all the fans could see, is a fairly rotund man but instead of being a slow lumbering brute like his build implies, he is actually a speed based character who uses tricking as a fighting style. This joke actually turned to one of the strongest recent Tekken characters.
6 Pet Shop - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage For The Future
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is all about strange match-ups that someone would never think that they would ever see. This is made possible through the idea of Stands that was introduced later in the series and has quickly become its mainstay. When the franchise released its own fighting game known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage For The Future based on the later part of the series with Stands, one character, Pet Shop was able to dominate. This is because Pet Shop is a bird and is able to fly out of the range of any attacks.
5 Noob Saibot - Mortal Kombat 3
Noob Saibot is a character whose name would not imply that he is very strong, it literally has Noob in it. This is because Noob Saibot is named after the co-creators of Mortal Kombat, with their last names spelled backwards. Either way, most players wouldn't think that this character would be any good to use, especially during their first entry but this was not the case for Mortal Kombat 3 and Noob Saibot's debut. Noob was a secret character, but he could do some damage to the unlucky few who found out about him.
4 Jade - Mortal Kombat 3
Speaking of Mortal Kombat 3, Noob Saibot wasn't the only character in that game that would end the arcade runs of many a player. Jade in many ways was worse than Noob Saibot, worse in that she was more dangerous because she wasn't a secret character that the player would rarely encounter, Jade was a regular part of the roster and would regularly be in arcade towers for the player to face off against. Jade would rush down any player that she faced and there wasn't much the player could do except put in another quarter.
3 Hilde - Soul Calibur 4
Hildegard von Krone, also known as Hilde for short, was introduced in the Soul Calibur 4 and its safe to say that she made an impression on fans. Hilde is supposedly based on Joan of Arc and it really shows not only in her design but also in the way that she plays. It's normal to have the debut of a character in the franchise have them look good, but Hilde's debut had her look amazing, easily becoming one of, if not the top tier character in Soul Caliber 4
2 Dante - Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite
It's unfortunate to say that Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite was very disappointing to most fans of the series. There were several reasons for this, including the strange graphics, strange character models, lack of any X-Men and big changes from the original Marvel vs Capcom formula among many others. Aside from that, the gameplay itself was actually well-liked by many and Dante from Devil May Cry quickly rose to the top as one of the game's highest tier characters.
1 Bayonetta - Super Smash Brothers Ultimate
Bayonetta was a surprise hit when it was first released and fans were hungry for a sequel. When it was announced that Nintendo was funding Bayonetta 2 and would receive exclusive rights to the game for the Switch, fans correctly assumed that Bayonetta would make her way into the Super Smash Brothers franchise. Bayonetta is a strong character, even in her own series but no one could have expected that she would be so insanely strong when she made her way into the biggest crossover game series ever.