Sonya Blade - Biography

Lieutenant Sonya Blade is one of the main heroes of the MK series. She is a second-generation United States Special Forces officer who formerly served under her own father, Major Herman Blade (other family members include Sonya’s mother, Erica, and twin brother, Daniel). Later, she joined the Outer World Investigation Agency. Her impulsiveness is catalyzed by her superior and good friend Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs. Sonya represents an emancipated and headstrong woman, who despite stubbornness and pride cares about the lives of her friends and comrades. She has a long-standing enmity with the thug Kano, who stands for everything Sonya despises.

In the original Mortal Kombat, Sonya and her team were pursuing Kano, the leader of the Black Dragon international crime organization (according to Jeff Rovin’s novelization of the first game, Kano had killed her original partner officer, Cliff LoDolce). After he jumped onto a ship, they followed him to a remote island where Shang Tsung‘s Mortal Kombat tournament was underway. Upon arrival, they were ambushed by Tsung’s personal guard. To keep her team safe, she agreed to compete in the tournament. Shang Tsung, however, had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain and had her unit killed. After Shang Tsung was defeated by Liu Kang in the final battle, Sonya teamed up with Johnny Cage and Kano despite her hatred of the latter, to fight Goro on the bridge high above the pit. During the battle, the island started to crumble and she and Kano were taken prisoner to Outworld by Shang Tsung to appease the Outworld emperor, Shao Kahn. Sonya was able to send a signal to her superior Jax from Outworld and, during the events of Mortal Kombat II, he traveled there to find her. Jax made contact with the other Earthrealm warriors and together they learned of Kahn’s scheme to invade Earth. It is known that before being captured, Sonya and Kano were forced to put their differences aside and work together to survive in Outworld. She was later freed by Jax who arrested Kano, but as soon as they had passed through the portal to Earth Kano escaped and ran back into Outworld.

Sonya was one of a few selected Earthrealm warriors whose souls were not taken following Kahn’s invasion of Earth in Mortal Kombat 3. She encountered Kano on top of a skyscraper near his fortress and after a fight hurled him off the roof to his apparent death. In Mortal Kombat 4, after her journey into Outworld and Shao Kahn’s near destruction of Earth, Sonya became a member of Earth’s own Outworld Investigation Agency (OIA). The Black Dragon kept crossing her path, however, and its last known member (Jarek) had fled to Edenia while Sonya was chasing him. This led Sonya and Jax to team up with Raiden and Liu Kang to free that realm from the Fallen Elder God Shinnok‘s grasp and to prevent him from coming to Earth. After Shinnok’s defeat, in which Jarek had reluctantly participated to save himself, Jarek tried to kill Sonya but Jax interfered and dropped him off a cliff. After returning to Earthrealm Jax and Sonya found Cyrax malfunctioning in a desert. The two brought the cyborg back to the OIA headquarters where they were able to restore Cyrax’s humanity. Cyrax then joined the agency.

In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, while on an assignment in the East, Sonya received a distressing message from Jax that the OIA had been destroyed by an accomplice of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. She was then visited by the God of Thunder, Raiden, who asked for her aid against the Deadly Alliance and instructed her to meet with the other heroes on Shang Tsung’s abandoned island, where she developed a small rivalry with Frost. To earn the right to pass into Outworld, each warrior had to defeat a representation of his or her adversary – to her surprise, it was a stranger with an image of a red dragon on his back. Sonya was unable to find the two missing OIA agents, Cyrax and Kenshi and was killed along with Jax and Cage in battle with the Deadly Alliance’s Tarkatan forces. The Deadly Alliance’s victory was short-lived, as Onaga reclaimed Outworld, as well as the amulet. With his ability to raise the dead at will, he resurrected and enslaved Sonya and her fallen comrades. (As Sonya and her comrades appear normal in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, it is likely that Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang had freed them from Onaga’s control.) In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Sonya returns to Earth after Onaga’s defeat, with the intention of continuing her assault on both the Red and Black Dragon clans, only to be forced to focus on the newly-established threat. In her absence, the Tekunin had grown large enough to disrupt Earth civilization and had violated law by engaging in illegal inter-realm alliances with unknown parties. Sonya succeeds in downing the Tekunin’s flagship, helmed by their Grandmaster Sektor himself. She then sends a team led by her partner Jax in to hunt for survivors, but they mysteriously vanish and Sonya fears the possibility of Jax’s death. She tracks the signal of a homing beacon placed on Taven (escaped thanks to her intervention) and eventually confronts him in Arktika to get information out of him, but is beaten.^[1]

In the non-canonical crossover game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Sonya appears as one of the warriors representing the Mortal Kombat Universe. In the story mode, Sonya is investigating the dimensional imbalance. After defeating Catwoman, Baraka and Captain Marvel and Green Lantern, Sonya and Jax return to their base to use their own teleportation machine to try to get to the other dimension, freeing the captive Sub-Zero along the way. When she finds Jax at the hands of Green Lantern, Sonya once again challenged him but is defeated and imprisoned, but then both of them manage to escape together. When the Earthrealm’s heroes and Outworld’s villains join forces against the invaders from the other universe, Sonya reluctantly teams up with Kano to track a foreign energy signal, but they confronted and defeated by the Joker and Deathstroke. When both sides finally decide to meet for one last battle, Sonya once again fights Catwoman. In the end, she is knocked unconscious while Raiden and Superman proceed to fight Dark Kahn. After Dark Kahn’s defeat and the separation of the universes, Sonya stands alongside her allies and enemies to see a powerless Darkseid left behind in Shao Kahn’s palace.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), Sonya is one of only two survivors from the Defenders of Earthrealm (the other being Johnny Cage).

Sonya Blade - Biography

Shang Tsung - Biography

There are several different origin stories for Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung’s bio in the Mortal Kombat II comic book Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition states his origin as “Earthrealm/Outworld”. According to Midway’s defunct Mortal Kombat Mythologies website, Shang Tsung was originally from Earth. However, his Armageddon bio makes reference to Tsung binding his soul to Shao Kahn, which could provide a loophole allowing him to represent Outworld in the tournament despite not being a native of that realm.

According to the first Mortal Kombat comic, Shang Tsung was cursed by “his gods” not only to kill his enemies, but to take their souls as well. Only in this way would he hold off a grim fate to age rapidly and die prematurely. As a side effect of his consuming the souls of others, he also absorbed their memories and knowledge, an ability which would greatly benefit him years later. At some point, he entered the Mortal Kombat tournament and then overcame all competition and became Grand Champion. How long he retained the title is unclear; however, the overconfident Shang Tsung would eventually be defeated by the legendary Shaolin warrior monk, the Great Kung Lao. He returned years later, much older in appearance, after the “mysterious” death of one of the tournament’s three Grandmasters, with his greatest student: the Shokan Prince Goro. He had been ordered by the ruler of Outworld, Shao Kahn, to finally bring about the winning streak in Mortal Kombat necessary to unbalance the Furies and weaken the dimensional gates, thus allowing the Outworld Emperor to conquer Earth. The Great Kung Lao was defeated by Goro and killed and the Outworld’s domination of the Mortal Kombat tournament began. Shang Tsung came into contact with another sorcerer, Quan Chi, who was seeking a mystical item, Shinnok‘s amulet. The amulet’s location was known only to the Shaolin Monks; as a result of consuming the Great Kung Lao’s soul, Shang Tsung knew where it was. In exchange for Quan Chi’s and Shinnok’s aid in completing a task for the Emperor Shao Kahn, he revealed the location of the Map of the Elements – but neglected to inform Quan Chi that no sorcerer could enter the Temple where it was stored. Over the next 500 years, as Goro remained undefeated, the tournament fell further into Shang Tsung’s depraved hands. He became the sole Grandmaster, and the tournament came to be held on his private island – in reality, a zone in between Earth and the Outworld. Near the end of this time period, he learned of the swordsman Kenshi, disguised himself as an old man named Song and tricked him into releasing his warrior king ancestors, blinding Kenshi in the process. Shang Tsung revealed his true self, consumed the souls and left Kenshi to die, not knowing the swordsman would survive to become his bitter enemy. He also sparred with Shujinko to determine whether or not he would allow him to enter the tournament, ending in a draw with him granting Shujinko permission to enter.

During the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, the final victory that would enable Shao Kahn to conquer Earth, Liu Kang defeated Goro, breaking the streak. Liu Kang then challenged Shang Tsung to restore the honour of the once-sacred tournament; Liu Kang prevailed, and Shang Tsung fled to Outworld. Dragged before Shao Kahn, he begged for his life and said that if they challenged Earthrealm to Mortal Kombat in Outworld, they would have to accept or forfeit. The emperor agreed to this plan and restored Shang Tsung’s youth. While the tournament served as a diversion, Shao Kahn could continue with his own scheme, 10,000 years in the making: the restoration to life of his former queen, Sindel. During the Outworld tournament, despite having his youth restored and after a long brutal fight, Shang Tsung lost again to Liu Kang, this time in front of his master. After Shang Tsung’s defeat at the hands of Liu Kang, Shao Kahn finished the process of Sindel’s resurrection with the aid of his cult of Shadow Priests. Thanks to the help of Quan Chi and Shinnok, her soul would indeed be resurrected – but in Earthrealm, and tainted by evil. When Queen Sindel was revived in Earthrealm, Shao Kahn could reach across the realms and reclaim her, forcefully merging Earthrealm with Outworld. Shang Tsung led one of Shao Kahn’s extermination squads to hunt down the fighters that Lord Raiden had protected. Despite being granted more power than ever before, Shang Tsung still lost to Liu Kang for a third time. Upon Shao Kahn’s defeat, Shang Tsung retreated with him back to Outworld, when the merger was reversed. He would then be imprisoned and tortured for his failure to help his master merge Earthrealm into Outworld. He was periodically released to do Shao Kahn’s bidding before being finally released for good after.

A few years later, Quan Chi gave Shang Tsung an offer: if Shang Tsung helped him revive the lost army of the Dragon King Onaga by means of his ability to transplant souls, he would open a “Soulnado” to the Heavens, giving him an endless supply of souls. Shang Tsung accepted, and together they formed the Deadly Alliance and attacked and apparently killed Shao Kahn (however, Shao Kahn appears in the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception, and reveals that they merely killed a clone). After accepting Kano‘s offer to serve them, they travelled through a portal, known only to sorcerers and deities, to Earthrealm and headed to the Wu Shi Academy where Shang Tsung disguised himself as Kung Lao and ambushed Liu Kang; although Liu Kang had the upper hand, Quan Chi struck from behind, giving Shang Tsung the opportunity to finally take his revenge on Liu Kang by breaking his neck and taking his soul. However, Shang Tsung did not fully trust Quan Chi. Upon returning to Outworld, he gave the Oni Drahmin and Moloch, who had escaped from the Netherealm, an offer: after Shang Tsung performed his part in the plan, Quan Chi, who the two despised for abandoning them in the infernal pits after promising to free them, would be theirs to do with as they wished. The Deadly Alliance soon commanded Kano’s troops to enforce construction of a new palace around the tomb to house the Soulnado. When one of the slaves, Li Mei, attacked Kano, they offered to free her village if she could win a tournament they would hold. About the same time, they approached Mavado, offering him a deal as well; he could earn the right to fight and kill Kano in exchange for eliminating Kenshi, who had been spying on Shang Tsung; Mavado accomplished his mission, and the Alliance granted him his wish. Li Mei, having won the local tournament, demanded her reward, but instead Shang Tsung started transferring her soul to a mummified soldier of Onaga’s army. It was at this time that the forces of Earthrealm, led by Raiden, attacked. Li Mei was rescued by Bo’ Rai Cho, who escaped with her, but the remainder of the warriors assaulted the Alliance. The two defeated Earthrealm’s champions (with Shang Tsung victorious in a one on one battle against an improved Kung Lao) and finally Raiden. Then, Shang’s lust for power and Quan Chi’s suspicion finally came to light. The two fought, and Quan Chi emerged the victor. But immediately after defeating Shang Tsung, he was confronted by the powerful reborn Onaga. Shang Tsung regained consciousness, and recognizing the Dragon King to be a more serious threat, assisted Quan Chi in attacking him, soon joined by Raiden as well, but their combined efforts could not stop the former Outworld ruler. In Raiden’s ensuing last-ditch attempt at victory through a self-sacrificial blast, Shang Tsung was caught in the blast, killing him.

The thousands of souls he had consumed over the years were released, including the souls of Liu Kang and the Great Kung Lao. Shang Tsung’s own soul was magically drawn to Outworld, where he was delivered to Shao Kahn. Shang Tsung had pledged his soul to the emperor ages before and this agreement was binding, even beyond death. Shao Kahn provided Shang Tsung with a new body and then allied with him in taking his kingdom from Mileena, Kitana‘s clone once created by Shang Tsung for him. Although Shang Tsung was bound to serve Shao Kahn, an opportunity to free himself arose when he discovered that Quan Chi was alive. Quan Chi brought word from Shinnok of a plan to take a great power, and Shang Tsung realized if he were to take the power for himself, he could sever his bond with Shao Kahn. Until his opportunity arose, Shang Tsung continued to feign loyalty to the emperor while redirecting suspicion to other members of the his alliance. In the ensuing battle of the Armaggeddon, Shang Tsung manages to hold off several warriors, including Kahn himself, and nearly reaches Blaze, but is stopped when Liu Kang’s corpse holds him back with his chains; this causes Shang Tsung to age rapidly and perish.

Shang Tsung appears in the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe representing the Mortal Kombat Universe against the DC Universe. Despite an apparent alliance between himself and all of the Mortal Kombat warriors involved in the event, he still has aspirations of supreme power and is as devious a villain as ever. In his ending, Shang Tsung, being impressed by Captain Marvel‘s fighting ability, but angered at his own defeat by the hero, he seeks to create a new creature which would have Captain Marvel’s abilities but be a perversion of them. Using his sorcery, he merged blood from a torn piece of Captain Marvel’s cape, and the flesh of a Tarkatan corpse. The result of this experiment being a “Super Tarkatan”, an abomination the likes of which had never been seen before. Knowing that he would be unstoppable with more of such creatures, Shang Tsung quickly began preparations to create an army of them.

He is featured as a playable character in Mortal Kombat (2011). As the game is a reboot of the first three titles in the series, his role is mostly consistent with these; however, he is killed when Shao Kahn steals his soul to power up the resurrected Sindel.

Shang Tsung - Biography

Scorpion - Biography

“Scorpion” is the code name of the ninja named Hanzo Hasashi, formerly one of the finest warriors of the Japanese ninja clan Shirai Ryu.^[5] After he was originally killed by Sub-Zero of the rival Chinese clan Lin Kuei, Scorpion became a hellspawned revenant residing in the Netherrealm underworld and seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his family. Although essentially neutral in allegiance, Scorpion will ally with anyone who can assist his plans of revenge. He was once manipulated by Quan Chi, whom he promised his life in exchange for his impressive combat abilities in order to defeat Sub-Zero.^[1]

Scorpion is introduced in the first Mortal Kombat game as a dead warrior who enters into the Mortal Kombat tournament seeking vengeance against Sub-Zero, the man who killed him. Scorpion manages to kill his target, but later learns that Sub-Zero plans to compete in the second tournament. Enraged at the idea that his nemesis has somehow returned, Scorpion tracks him down during the tournament. He realizes that this Sub-Zero was actually his killer’s younger brother, who was sent to complete his brother’s failed mission of assassinating the tournament’s host Shang Tsung. As a result, Scorpion vows to serve as the new Sub-Zero’s guardian in atonement for killing his older brother. He also appears as a boss character in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (set during the events of Mortal Kombat II), as he tries to kill the protagonists Liu Kang and Kung Lao. He appears in both masked and unmasked forms (the latter being named “Inferno Scorpion”). Scorpion returns to the series in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 when Shao Kahn tries to conquer the Netherealm after his invasion of Earth and enlisted the ninja in his forces. Scorpion’s allegiance to Kahn quickly dissolved when he discovered that Sub-Zero was one of Earth’s chosen warriors, with whom he then sided in their final showdown with Kahn.^[1]

In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Scorpion is only a boss character, appearing twice through the game. Scorpion is enlisted by Quan Chi to find a map hidden in a Shaolin temple, a task also given to Sub-Zero. After Scorpion is killed by Sub-Zero, he again attempts to kill Sub-Zero in the Netherrealm. In Mortal Kombat 4 he is tricked by Quan Chi to believe that the younger Sub-Zero was actually involved in the deaths of his family and clan and joins Quan Chi. Scorpion emerges victorious against the new Sub-Zero, but when Quan Chi reveals afterward the truth, Scorpion grabs the sorcerer to send him to the Netherealm. In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Scorpion is attacked by the Oni Drahmin and Moloch, who free the sorcerer from the Netherealm. Scorpion continues hunting Quan Chi and eventually meets the Elder Gods, who give him a new mission to seek and destroy Onaga before he would unmake the realms during the events of Mortal Kombat: Deception. In the Konquest mode of Armageddon, Scorpion makes a deal with the Elder Gods to serve them in exchange for the resurrection of the Shirai Ryu clan, along with the resurrection of his wife and son.^[1] However, the Elder Gods resurrect them as undead beings. Enraged, Scorpion seeks to destroy the Elder Gods’ chance of preventing Armageddon by taking Blaze’s power that was meant for Taven or Daegon, but Taven defeats him and Scorpion is later killed by Sub-Zero in battle.

In Shaolin Monks, however, he is not only a boss but also a playable character for both versus and story modes (Scorpion’s movesets in this game are largely identical to Liu Kang’s with some original techniques).^[6]Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice, which would star Scorpion and Sub-Zero in co-operative gameplay, was cancelled when Paradox Development (Midway Studios – Los Angeles), creators of Shaolin Monks, “couldn’t do it in time and under budget.”^[7]

In the 2011 Mortal Kombat title, Scorpion reprises his role from the first tournaments. He serves Quan Chi, unaware that the sorcerer is the mastermind behind the Lin Kuei’s murderer of his family and clan. Scorpion gets his rematch with Sub-Zero whom he defeats in the Outerworld, and although Raiden had earlier (before the fight) offered to help revive Scorpion’s family/clan if he spared his nemesis, Quan Chi appears at the critical moment and persuades Scorpion to satisfy his revenge. Scorpion (as what happened in his original MK ending) loses his only chance to restore his family, and the damnation of Sub-Zero’s soul after his death by Scorpion turns him into the evil wraith Noob Saibot. Later in the game, the younger Sub-Zero seeks revenge for his brother’s death by facing Scorpion, and Quan Chi grants the request. Scorpion immediately recognizes that this is not the original Sub-Zero that he killed; the younger Sub-Zero defeats Scorpion but before he can be finished off, Sub-Zero is apprehended by his clan.

Scorpion also appears in the crossover game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, participating in the war between the two titular series.In his ending the essence of Dark Kahn finds a host in the body of Scorpion making him the most powerful creature in the universe. In addition to the MK series, Scorpion has made appearances in four other Midway games: NBA Jam Tournament Edition,^{[citation needed]}MLB Slugfest: Loaded,^{[citation needed]}Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy^[8] and The Grid.^[9]

Scorpion - Biography

Reptile - Biography

In the original Mortal Kombat, Reptile is a mystrious hidden enemy character, unplayable and with no biography.^[14][5] Hints regarding the conditions of how to unlock the fight against him are conveyed by Reptile randomly appearing prior to other matches.^[6]

In Mortal Kombat II, Reptile returns as a playable character and a member of a reptilian race called Raptors,^[15] who were pulled into Outworld and enslaved by Shao Kahn. Promised the revival of his people in turn for his loyalty, Reptile serves Kahn as Shang Tsung‘s bodyguard.^[16] Ordered to kill Kitana during the events of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3,^[17] he is defeated and exiled, but reappears in Mortal Kombat 4 as Shinnok‘s minion.^[10] By Deadly Alliance, Reptile returns to Kahn’s service. He overhears Shang Tsung plotting to kill Kahn, but en route to warn his master, he meets a female vampire who offers knowledge of his race.^[9] Reptile pledges his loyalties to her, though eventually realizes she is merely using him and sets out to kill her. Instead of the vampire he finds Onaga’s dragon egg instead,^[18] which transforms Reptile into Onaga’s avatar, leading to the events of Deception^[11] and ending with his defeat at the game’s conclusion.^[19] Separated from Onaga as a result, Reptile returns in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. In Konquest mode in Armageddon, he appears in the Red Dragon lair commanding Daegon’s dragon Caro to close the portal but refused. Taven battles Reptile in combat and emerges victorious.

Reptile also appears in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, appearing in the game’s opening sequence and later as a boss.^[20] During development, producer Shaun Himmerick noted that Reptile was included in the game because the character was one of Himmerick’s favorite in the series.^[12] Originally included in NBA Jam Tournament Edition alongside other Mortal Kombat characters as an unlockable player, he was eventually removed from later versions of the game at the request of the NBA.^[21]

Reptile reappears in the 2011 Mortal Kombat video game, retelling his role from the first tournaments. Not only as a playable character, but also includes a recreation of the original hidden battle at the bottom of the pit, in his original green ninja alternate outfit. In addition to this, he is seen in cyborg version during a match in the new “Challenge Tower”, as he puts on the cyborg costume of a “Unit 5″.

[edit] Gameplay

As a secret character in the first Mortal Kombat, Reptile features a hybrid of Sub-Zero’s and Scorpion’s attacks, such as the former’s freezing projectile and the latter’s harpoon.^[22] When made a playable character for later installments, his moves were changed completely. His “Forceball” attack creates an energy ball from his hands, while his “Acid Spit” attack produces a higher, faster projectile. Reptile can slide towards the opponent, or turn invisible for a brief period of time or until hit.^[23] Later titles in the series modify these moves, such as splitting the Forceball attack into slow and fast variants,^[8] or remove moves in favor of different attacks, only to return them in the next installment.^[24]

Reptile’s Fatalities in Mortal Kombat II consist of revealing his reptilian face in order to devour the opponent’s head, or turning invisible and severing the opponent’s torso.^[23] Later finishing moves expand upon the concept, ranging from regurgitating acid upon the opponent to leaping upon their body and gnawing the flesh from their skulls.^[8][24] In a series retrospective, the Mortal Kombat development team named Reptile’s finishers as some of their favorites from the series.^[25]

Reptile - Biography

Raiden - Biography

When Earthrealm was young, Raiden was its protector. He fought the rogue Elder God Shinnok, who wished to overthrow his fellow gods, in a war that threatened to destroy Earthrealm itself. One of the casualties of the war was the Saurian civilization (of which Reptile was a member), forcing the remaining survivors to emigrate to another world, which they named Zaterra. With the aid of the Elder Gods, Raiden managed to defeat Shinnok, then banished him to the Netherealm and secured Shinnok‘s amulet of power in a secret location – a Temple of the Elements tucked away in the highest mountains of Nepal. Raiden charged four gods with guarding the amulet – the gods of Wind (Fujin), Fire, Earth and Water. When the elder Sub-Zero stole Shinnok’s amulet from the temple for Quan Chi millions of years later, Raiden appeared before the Lin Kuei warrior and instructed him to enter the Netherealm and steal it back, lest Shinnok use it to free himself. Raiden could not retrieve it himself as his powers would dissipate in the Netherealm. Sub-Zero’s mission into the Netherealm was a success and Shinnok was, for a time, no longer a threat. Though it was later revealed that the sorcerer Quan Chi had given Sub Zero a false amulet, Raiden never realized the counterfeit and Quan Chi would remain in possession of the true amulet for years.

In the original Mortal Kombat, Raiden was invited to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament, by Shang Tsung himself. Raiden accepted the invitation and took human form to compete. He was able to keep his elemental power of lightning and Kitana helped Liu Kang find his element of fire. In Mortal Kombat II, watching events unfold from high above, Raiden realises the grim intentions of Shao Kahn. Raiden warns the last remaining members of the shaolin tournament Liu Kang and Kung Lao of Shao Kahn’s threat. Raiden then disappears and ventures to outworld alone. Despite Shao Kahn taking every soul on Earth as his own, Raiden was able to protect the souls of Liu Kang and other chosen warriors. At first unable to participate due to the merger of both realms, Raiden decided to sacrifice his own immortality in order to help his chances against Kahn after the Elder Gods refused to assist him in Mortal Kombat Trilogy. In the end, Kahn’s forces were defeated, repelling the invasion back into Outworld and restoring Earth to its rightful state.

In Mortal Kombat 4, after the invasion was driven back into Outworld, Shinnok, with the aid of Quan Chi, again sought to rise from the Netherealm and conquer the realms. However, with Liu Kang again uniting Earth’s warriors, Raiden’s Forces of Light emerged successful. Now granted the status of Elder God, he turned over his position as Earthrealm’s protector to Fujin. As an Elder God, Raiden could not interfere when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi killed Liu Kang. Disgusted at the fellow Elder Gods for their refusal to intervene, Raiden relinquished his position and gathered his trusted warriors to stop the Deadly Alliance. However, the Earthrealm warriors Jax Briggs, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Kitana and Kung Lao were all soon slain. In a desperate measure, Raiden personally confronted Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in front of their Soulnado. When Onaga, the Dragon King, entered the chamber, Raiden momentarily putting his differences aside with Tsung and Quan Chi, and assisted them in their attempts to repel Onaga. When he saw that their attacks barely made an impact, Raiden released his godly essence, resulting in an enormous explosion that killed both members of the Deadly Alliance yet did little damage to Onaga. Raiden’s essence soon gathered again in the Earthrealm, but the essence came back corrupted and did not reform as an entirely new god, but a darker variant of himself. He had now become furious with the way Earthrealm’s inhabitants had treated their own realm and became even more enraged when he learned that Shujinko had foolishly unleashed the Dragon King. With his patience exhausted, Raiden decided he was going to take matters into his own hands. Removing Liu Kang’s body from its grave, Raiden took it to an underground temple that belonged to the Houan, an ancient sect of necromancers whom he had destroyed centuries earlier, where he revived his former ally. The corpse of Liu Kang was now the enforcer of Raiden’s will and he sent it on a mission to wreak havoc on those he believed did harm to Earthrealm. This caught the attention of Shinnok, who appeared before Raiden and offered him an alliance. Raiden was well aware of Shinnok’s deceptive nature, but he accepted the offer in an attempt to secretly uncover Shinnok’s plans.^[2] Raiden’s story is further expanded in the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, when Taven (the story mode’s main character) tells him that he had struck a deal with Shao Kahn, agreeing to let the Emperor conquer and rule all other realms, so long as Earthrealm was left alone. In return, Raiden agreed to hunt and eliminate Taven for Kahn, so that he could claim Blaze’s godlike power for himself. Raiden confronts Taven as Kahn, Onaga, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi escape into a portal leading to Edenia. He is unsuccessful however, as he is defeated by Taven and left unconscious on the ground. Raiden would later fight against Shao Kahn when the two became the last surviving warriors. Shao Kahn emerged victorious, but Raiden was able to send a message to his past self before Kahn could finish him off.

Raiden returns in the crossover fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. He plays a significant role in the story mode for the game, being in part responsible for creating Dark Kahn (alongside his DC counterpart Superman), which in turn causes the Mortal Kombat and DC Universes to merge. He also comes into contact with Batman when he rescues Liu Kang from him after Batman detains him for questioning regarding the merging of the worlds. Raiden attempts to electrocute Batman but finds it has no effect due to his insulated body armor. After a brief skirmish, Raiden is able to teleport himself away from the UN Orbital Space Station with Kang in tow. He later challenges Sub-Zero into a fight and later the enraged Captain Marvel, who tells him to leave. After the large battle between the Mortal Kombat warriors and the DC heroes and villains, he defeats Shang Tsung and Kang. Realizing his mistake, he teams up with Superman to defeat Dark Kahn, and later imprisons Darkseid in the Netherrealm. In his endings, Raiden returns to his realm to find that exposure to his world’s sun has weakened him greatly. The sorcerer Quan Chi offers him a large jade amulet with unknown origins that would restore his powers. Raiden is given a choice between a life of servitude to the sorcerer, or mortality.

Raiden is the pivotal character in the latest installment, titled Mortal Kombat. Taking place in the aftermath of the events of Armageddon, Raiden realizes that the world is in peril due to the course of events that began during the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament (the setting of the original Mortal Kombat). During a mortal battle with Shao Kahn, he transmits a message through time and space to himself at the time of the tournament. The Raiden of the past has been imbued with the knowledge of his future self and commits to using this information to alter the course of history to avert the disaster laid out in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Although, he succeeds in fulfilling his vision and defeats Shao Kahn,^[3] his decision resulted in the death of nearly all of the Earthrealm Defenders, including Liu Kang.

Raiden also appears as a secret character in NBA Jam Tournament Edition,^[4]NFL Blitz,^[5] and Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict.^[6]

Raiden - Biography

Liu Kang - Biography

Introduced in the first Mortal Kombat game as a Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu fighting monk, Liu Kang enters the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament in order to protect Earthrealm from being destroyed for having lost several tournaments.^[5] During the tournament, Liu Kang defeats Grand Champion Goro and the host Shang Tsung, emerging as the new champion of Mortal Kombat. In the sequel, Mortal Kombat II, Liu Kang finds many of his Shaolin killed in a vicious attack by a horde of nomadic mutants under orders from Emperor Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung’s master. Enraged, Liu Kang decides to travel to Outworld, backed by his friend Kung Lao to seek revenge.^[7] At the tournament, Liu Kang fights Shao Kahn, eventually overpowering the emperor.^[8] In Mortal Kombat 3, Liu Kang and his friends fight against Shao Khan’s extermination squad which invaded Earthrealm.^[9] Liu Kang once again defeats Shao Kahn, causing him and his forces to retreat back to Outworld.^[10] By the time of Mortal Kombat 4 Liu Kang discovers that Kitana has been captured by the Elder God Shinnok‘s forces and begins gathering Earth’s warriors to defeat Shinnok.^[11] Eventually, Liu Kang confronts Shinnok and once again emerges victorious with Kitana and her people having survived to the attack. However, he is unable to commit himself to a relationship due to his duty while Kitana has to stay in Outworld as reigning princess.^[12]

In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi join forces to kill Liu Kang, who is unplayable in the game.^[13] By the time of Mortal Kombat: Deception, his mentor, Raiden, reanimates Liu Kang’s body and sends it on a rampage, causing his soul to attempt to control it.^[14] The undead Liu Kang appears as a secret character that can only be unlocked through the Konquest Mode.^[15] In the PlayStation Portable version of Deception, Mortal Kombat: Unchained, he is directly playable as the staff noted that it was very difficult to unlock him in Deception.^[16] From there, Liu Kang enlists with the ninja Ermac to try to save his friends from Onaga who has been controlling them. He accomplishes this task in Deception,^[17] but by Mortal Kombat: Armageddon he is still unable to fully control his body.^[18]

Along with Kung Lao, Liu Kang is the lead character in the spin-off action game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. The game is a retelling of the storyline of Mortal Kombat II and features the two Shaolin Monks traveling to Outworld to find and defeat Shang Tsung, later ending in a fight with Shao Khan.^[19] Liu Kang also stars in the crossover Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which features fights between characters from the Mortal Kombat and the DC Comics universe. In this game, Liu Kang appears as the protagonist of the first chapter of the Mortal Kombat story mode.^[20] Tobias said that the fight he expected to see in the game was between Liu Kang and Batman as he noted their back-stories to be very similar.^[21]

In the 2011 Mortal Kombat video game, Liu Kang reprises his role from the first two tournaments as Raiden who has visions from the future in which Shao Kahn remained as the last warrior believes him to be the warrior which his future self chose as the saviour. When Shao Kahn is preparing to invade Earthrealm, Raiden electrocutes Liu Kang before he could face him as he realized Shao Kahn had to win and merge the realms in order to avoid the events of the future.^[22]

Liu Kang - Biography

Johnny Cage Biography

Johnny Cage introduced as a playable character in the first Mortal Kombat game. He enters into the titular tournament to prove he does not use special effects in the films he stars in. In the sequel Mortal Kombat II, Cage goes to another tournament in the realm of Outworld after allying with the warriors who wish to protect Earth led by the thunder god Raiden.

He does not reappear in the series until Mortal Kombat Trilogy, where he was killed by Shao Kahn’s forces invading Earth. He is shortly revived to help his former comrades defeat Shao Kahn. In the next game, Mortal Kombat 4, Cage is allowed to continue his life after seeking Raiden’s help to revive and joins friends once again to defeat the forces from the former god Shinnok who plans to initiate a war between the realms.

By Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Cage once again joins Raiden’s group, in order to stop the menace from the alliance of sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. However, Cage is killed alongside most of his comrades and he is resurrected by the Dragon King Onaga to use him as a slave. He is freed from his mind control by the ninja Ermac and Liu Kang‘s ghost, and returns in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon as a playable character, participating in the new tournament Armageddon that will decide mankind’s fate. In the ensuing battle, Cage is decapitated by an unknown opponent.

He has also appeared in the spin off game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks that reprises the events from Mortal Kombat II. Besides being a supporting character through the main game, he is also playable in the versus mode.

In the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, Cage is a star of the martial arts film Ninja Mime who joins Raiden’s forces to save Earthrealm. He and Sonya Blade become the only Earthrealm warriors to survive the course of the game’s plot.

Johnny Cage Biography