Raiden (Mortal Kombat)
Raiden is a male video game character who features in Mortal Kombat.
Contents |
Biography
Original Timeline
Raiden (Japanese: 雷電) was an ancient deity who was known as the Thunder God where he had a brother named Fujin with the pair serving the Elder Gods for millennia. Long ago, he witnessed the betrayal of the Elder God Shinnok of Earthrealm who sought to gain dominion over all of existence. This caused him to turn against his brethren leading to Raiden intervening in the conflict. Raiden was faced with two options; either leave Earthrealm in Shinnok's hands or fight the fallen Elder God but risk devastating the realm. Ultimately, he chose the latter of the two paths and confronted the fallen deity alongside his comrades. Ultimately, they were successful in defeating Shinnok where they took from him his mystical Amulet that gave him great power. Stripped of the relic, he was banished into the infernal depths of the Netherrealm where he was intended to be trapped for eternity. Despite his defeat, the conflict had greatly harmed Earthrealm causing its native Saurians to face near extinction resulting in them fleeing to another realm for safety. With Shinnok defeat, Raiden was appointed as the new protector god of Earthrealm and it was decided to hide Shinnok's Amulet to prevent it from ever coming into his hands again. Thus, Raiden had it placed at the remote Temple of the Elements in the mountains of Nepal to be guarded by numerous elemental guardians including the wind god Fujin. Centuries ago, Raiden was involved in defeating a sect of necromancers called the Houan. Their order was vanquished with their members scattering to the winds leaving behind their ancient underground temple which remained abandoned as well as unused for ages. The stone walls contained enchantments etched on them allowing a user to revive the dead with chains used by the Houan to control the undead creatures raised by the ceremonies.
Years ago, he came into the Temple of the Elements only to discover that its guardians had been defeated by the Lin Kuei assassin Sub Zero, the Elder. Chastising the warrior, he gave him an ultimatum which was to journey into the Netherrealm and recover the stolen amulet that Quan Chi had taken with himm to his master. Reluctantly, Sub-Zero agreed and succeeded in his quest after which the Thunder God allowed him to depart. Some time later, Raiden was invited to participate in the Mortal Kombat Tournament by Shang Tsung. This was at a point when Outworlds champions were nearing victory in the tournament allowing them to inviade Earthrealm. Thus, seeing the threat posed on Earth's future, Raiden took on mortal form in order to compete. A year later, Raiden once again found himself entering the tournament when Shang Tsung offered an invitation to the Thunder god to enter Outworld itself. Knowing the treachery of Shang Tsung as well as the Emperor Shao Kahn's brutality, Raiden named the champions of the previous tournament as contestants for Mortal Kombat. He then went alone to Outworld in order to ensure that the forces of light won the battle. Though the threat of Shao Kahn was repelled, a new danger emerged from the depths of the Netherrealm when Shinnok had recovered his Amulet and stormed the realms. Posing are refugees, his forces invaded Outworld and Edenia after which he stormed the Heavens themselves where he slayed many of the Elder Gods. Teaming up with his comrade Fujin and the forces of light, Raiden managed to prevail against Shinnok's Army of Darkness with Liu Kang proving to be the victor against the fallen Elder God. As a reward for his faithful service, the Elder Gods escalated Raiden to the position of Elder God. Before he accomplished this, he named Fujin his successor as the protector of Earth and gave his lightning staff to Kai as a reward for his help in the battle.
A new crisis formed when the sorcerors Shang Tsung and Quan Chi joined forces and formed the Deadly Alliance and worked to resurrect the Dragon Kings dead army as a force to dominate the realms. Earthrealm Champion Liu Kang was killed and Raiden worked to rally the forces of good which included the yoounger Sub-Zero. However, the forces of good lost the battle against the Deadly Alliance leaving Raiden alone to deal with the powerful sorcerors. He fought against the sorcerors Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in mortal kombat but was defeated by the pair. However, his defeat meant that the two allies turned against one another in order to attain supreme power. It was then that they witnessed the return of the Dragon King Onaga. At first, Quan Chi attempted to defeat the massive dragon being but was later assisted by Shang Tsung and even Raiden. Despite their combined power, Onaga was not slowed in his approach. In desperation, Raiden combined his energies in order to let loose in essence in a suicide attempt in defeating the Dragon King. The explosion levelled the palace and seemingly killed Raiden, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung.
Though believed to have been killed, the energy's that Raiden had unleashed reformed back into his form. However, his time in near death had corrupted him turning him into a more cruel deity that wished to protect Earthrealm no matter the cost. To that end, he took the dead body of Earthrealm Champion Liu Kang and took it to the abandoned Houn temple. Once there, he reanimated the dead body of the Shaolin warrior and used it to fight against his enemies. He kept his activities hidden but the dark energies used did not remain unnoticed and the fallen Elder God Shinnok appeared before him. The lord of the Netherrealm offered an alliance as part of an undisclosed plot which would help in securing Earthrealm's protection. Raiden accepted but planned to only use Shinnok to serve his own ends. During the quest by the god Argus, Raiden managed to form a deal with Emperor Shao Kahn. If the God of Thunder prevented Taven from reaching the Pyramid of Argus then the Emperor would spare Earthrealm once he succeeded in gaining its power. Despite his efforts, Raiden was beaten in combat against Taven who continued on his quest.
Reboot Timeline
During the Armageddon, Shao Kahn ultimately proved to be the victor causing the destruction of all of existence. In his final moments, Raiden sent his memories back in time to his past self around the time of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. These appeared as scattered visions that the younger Raiden experienced in the hope of averting this dark future and thus causing a change in the timeline. Raiden of the past receives the first fragments of the message in a series of disjointed images, at the opening ceremony of the first Mortal Kombat tournament on Shang Tsung's Island. He attempts to use these memory flashes to influence events and prevent Armageddon, although his interventions prove to have unexpected and nearly disastrous consequences. Examples of this include provoking Kung Lao to participate in the tournament much earlier than originally, resulting in his defeat at the hands of Scorpion; saving the Lin Kuei ninja Smoke from capture and automation, only for the younger Sub-Zero to instead suffer the same fate; persuading Kitana to rebel against Shao Kahn, resulting in her being captured and nearly executed; encouraging Kung Lao to fight and defeat Shao Kahn's generals at the end of the second tournament in Outworld, only for Shao Kahn to kill Kung Lao in cold blood; and killing Motaro to save Johnny Cage, only for Shao Kahn to imbue Sindel with Shang Tsung's souls, giving her the power to attack and kill Kabal, Stryker, Cyber Sub-Zero, Jax, Smoke, Jade, and Kitana before Nightwolf finally sacrifices himself to destroy her. When the Elder Gods refuse to stop Shao Kahn's invasion, Raiden travels to the Netherrealm to bargain with Quan Chi for help. He offers Quan Chi the souls of Earthrealm warriors who fall in battle as well as his own soul in the event that he himself is killed. Quan Chi gloatingly reveals that the souls of Earthrealm's fallen already belong to him as part of Shao Kahn's agreement for the Netherrealm's assistance. Raiden is forced to fight off undead versions of his former comrades in order to escape the Netherrealm.
In the aftermath, Raiden took the defeated Shinnok back to his temple where he began to endlessly torture his foe. The fallen Elder God took amusement at seeing his enemy become more ruthless with the thunder god deciding to use his captive as an example. Unable to kill Shinnok, he severed his head from his body and then delivered it to the Netherrealm to serve as a warning to the undead Liu Kang and Empress Kitana. Raiden warned them to never approach Earthrealm again or that they would experience his wrath. Despite his threat, the growing threat of the Netherrealm continued with Raiden approaching the Special Forces for their aid in destroying the Revenant's source of power which was the Cathedral of Shinnok. Raiden teleported a strike team there where he engaged the demonic forces in battle as a distraction allowing the Special Forces group to infiltrate their target. They were eventually discovered leading to the demons falling back to defend the Cathedral. In the resultant fight, General Sonya Blade was killed when she was trapped under rubble and forced to detonate explosives that brought down their target. Raiden then took the survivors back to Earthrealm but afterwards a disturbance happened across the entire realms as reality itself was being rewritten. This saw Raiden vanish from the timeline but the change resulted in his younger self appearing in Outworld along with a number of deceased warriors. A a younger, uncorrupted Raiden appears at the Koliseum. Kotal Kahn is surprised to see fallen champions, and Raiden tells him that they were participating in the tournament when they were taken. Shao Kahn accuses him of powering a delusion, but Raiden states that if it was, then they were all sharing it. Shao Kahn then attempts to usurp the throne from Kotal, and Raiden suggests that they help Kotal as he has heard that he is a man of honor, which the younger Jade confirms. Shao Kahn is forced to retreat, and in the aftermath, Raiden heads back to Earthrealm with Liu Kang and Kung Lao to see if any anomalies have occurred there. Upon arriving in Earthrealm, Raiden consults the Elder Gods, with Cetrion telling him what to do. He returns and sends Liu Kang and Kung Lao to secure the Jinsei before Kronika claims it, but the two fail as Kronika intervenes herself. Raiden tells the two what he have learned, and promises not to lead them to their deaths as Dark Raiden did. The Thunder God discovers that the Heavens are left in shambles by Cetrion. Who reveals that she betrayed the Elder Gods to aid Kronika in her plans.
On the verge of becoming Dark Raiden, Liu Kang unwillingly prepared to battle his corrupted mentor who he believed he might be forced to kill the thunder god. It was then that Raiden came to see the corruption taking hold of him and had visions of his fall into this state in the prior timelines. He then realised his mistakes and tossed aside Shinnok's amulet where he then healed the younger Scorpion whilst apologising to Liu Kang. Lord Raiden then said that in every timeline that Kronika had pitted him against Liu Kang who often died on each occasion. This realisation made him determined to no longer fall under Kronika's manipulations and instead change his destiny. Kronika then halts time and privately converses with Raiden, commending him for noticing the pattern. However, he states that he does not understand the purpose, to which she states that both his and Liu Kang's powers combined threaten her vision. Raiden is still intent on opposing her, but she then takes Liu Kang away. As time returns to normal, the others wonder where Liu Kang has gone, and he tells them that Kronika has taken him and that they must launch their assault immediately, taking the younger Scoprion's word that Kharon will assist them. As Kharon leads the strike force to Kronika's Keep, she sends Frost, the older Jax, Geras and the Cyber Lin Kuei. He orders the group to protect Kharon at all costs, just as the elder Jax challenges him to battle. Jax states that he is doing what is right, but Raiden defeats him in kombat and tells him that Kronika intends to revive Shinnok, who was responsible for his revenant enslavement. Geras then appears and challenges him in kombat, but Raiden defeats him. When Geras proclaims that he cannot die, Raiden notices an anchor and binds Geras in it before moving it off ship, as he will be unable to escape the bottomless Sea of Blood. Frost then battles him, who reveals that she is in command of the Cyber Lin Kuei. Upon defeating Frost, the revenant Liu Kang then attacks Raiden who defeats him in a lengthy battle but rather than kill the evil counterpart, Raiden merges himself and past Liu Kang's deceased body with the revenant Kang, transforming them into Fire God Liu Kang, with past Liu Kang's consciousness prevailing, having also absorbed his revenant counterpart's memories. Kronika, who witnessed the younger Liu Kang leave her Keep, expresses surprise that Raiden would try something innovative.
New Era
Overview
Personality and skills
In appearance, Raiden was a fully-grown man who wore predominately white robes and a blue vest with his face usually shadowed by a straw hat.
Raiden was a benevolent god who worked diligently in the protection of his realm. He had said that he was of truth and light where he protected Earthrealm. Though he was bound by the rules, he often made secret attempts at defeating the forces of evil so that good would ultimately win in the end. As a Protector of the realm, he sought to give special care to the mortals of Earth with Raiden feeling that they were a great people but had the ability to be self-destructive. As such, he believed that one needed to be patient with them whilst offering wisdom and guidance to the people of Earthrealm. This meant he provided advice and guidance to mortals in their attempts at defeating evil. He was selfless in the sense that he was willing to sacrifice his own life in order to destroy a threat to the realms. He stated that both Liu Kang and Kung Lao were like sons to him.
After his corruption and becoming Dark Raiden, the God of Thunder became more cruel and unforgiving in his approach. He decided to protect the realm no matter the cost after witnessing Humans such as Shujinko endanger the realm due to their ignorant ways. He stated to Shujinko once that he was not the Thunder God they once knew signifying the change. Furthermore, he was willing to consort with forces of evil in order to further his goals of protecting Earthrealm and was even willing to destroy good kombatants as well as other realms to secure Earth's protection.
Being a god, Raiden thought in terms of eternity and an endless life rather then that of a mortal human life. This meant that he thought in terms of the larger picture and often neglected smaller views.
Powers and abilities
As an immortal, he was noted as being outside the normal flow of time. Being a god, Raiden was the God of Thunder and had the power to control electricity. He was capable of unleashing powers bolts of lightning at his enemies or using his powers to shock a person to death. He concetrated this power through martial arts moves with electricity generating through his fingers allowing him to direct them at his enemies. In one case, he was known to shape the electric energy into weapons such as a blade that protruded from his arm that he could use to sever a person's head from their body. His most powerful attack was storing in powers and essence which he generated it into a ball of barely controlled energy which he unleashed at an enemy. This was a very dangerous move as it would destroy Raiden and those around him. In addition to this, he was capable of teleporting between two points in a burst of lightning allowing him to travel great distances or ambush enemies. He was capable of using this power to transport individuals from such locations as well allowing him to rescue captives.
Due to his status as Thunder God of Earthrealm, Raiden's powers were strongest in his home realm while he was near powerless in others such as Outworld or the Netherrealm. Despite this being the case, it did not stop Raiden from appearing in such realms in order to meet with his enemies or provide advice to his allies. When weakened, Raiden was able to merge his lifeforce with that of the Jinsei that served as the heart of Earthrealm. Its power was able to restore him to full power and he was equally able to cleanse the Jinsei of corruption though risked taking that darkness into himself. He was able to sacrifice himself by charging his energy that detonated into a powerful explosion that levelled a landscape. Though killed, his energies were actually dispersed and able to reform in Earthrealm. This led to him being reborn with no memories of the past thus becoming in essence a new god of thunder that was neither good nor evil. However, he was vulnerable to corruption at this point causing him to develop more darker personality traits.
He knew two different forms of martial arts which included Nan Chuan and Jujutsu. It was shown that he had mastered more than 750 documented varieties of jujutsu.
He typically made use of his Lightning Staff which had the power of lightning and held the secret to immortality. Lord Raiden was capable of throwing the staff at a location where it served as a lightning rod for him to channel his power at a certain position. He also made use of a War Hammer that resided in his Sky Temple. Raiden carried an amulet that was forged by the Elder Gods.
His home was known as the Sky Temple which was surrounded by a constant storm and served as a place of meditation. It was not capable of being reached directly as it resides in a different quantum state making it difficult to access. Within the temple, there was the Jinsei Chamber that was linked to the life force of the realm. If weakened, Raiden was capable of entering the Jinsei and being restored by it. Alternatively, he could use his own power to cleanse the Jinsei in order to purge it of any corruption.
Notes
- Raiden was created by Ed Boon and John Tobias where he featured in the setting of the Mortal Kombat universe.
- The character was based on Japanese thunder god Raijin.
- As noted, Tobias took inspiration from the character Lightning from the film Big Trouble in Little China, a lackey with the ability to ride and control lightning and wore a conical hat.
In other media
Television
- In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Raiden appeared in the 1996 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Clancy Brown.
- In Mortal Kombat: Konquest, Raiden appeared in the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Jeffrey Meek.
Films
- In Mortal Kombat, Raiden appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Christopher Lambert.
- In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Raiden appeared in the live-action sequel where he was portrayed by actor James Remar.
- In Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, Raiden appeared in the setting of the 2020 animated film where he was voiced by actor David B. Mitchell.
- In Mortal Kombat, Raiden appeared in the setting of the 2021 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Tadanobu Asano. He was shown as the thunder god and protector of Earthrealm where during the 17th century he appeared in Japan in the wake of the Shirai Ryu massacre at the hands of the Lin Kuei. This saw the death of Hanzo Hasashi and his kin but in a secret compartment he found the ninja's infant daughter who Raiden took to safety. He placed the child in the care of the Order of Light where the monks care for her and over the years she had children who continued the Shirai Ryu bloodline in secret. Afterwards, Lord Raiden oversaw the efforts of the Mortal Kombat tournament where he managed Earthrealm's defence in the fights against Outworld.
Video games
- In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Raiden appeared in the setting of the crossover fighting video game where he was voice by actor Richard Epcar. Raiden was shown to had fought Shao Kahn until the former sends him into a portal that causes the latter to fuse with Darkseid and turn them into Dark Kahn, which in turn fuses the Mortal Kombat and DC Universes. Despite clashes with members of the Justice League, Raiden works with Superman to defeat Dark Kahn and undo the fusions; later imprisoning Darkseid in the Netherrealm. In his arcade ending, Raiden returns to his realm to find that exposure to his world's sun has weakened him greatly. Quan Chi offers him a jade amulet of unknown origin that can restore his powers.
Comic Books
- In Mortal Kombat: Rayden & Kano v1 (1995), Rayden appeared in the setting of the non-canon comic books published by Malibu Comics. This incarnation was shown to have a pair of female servants named Wynd and Rayne who were capable warriors that protected Raiden's sanctum.
Appearances
- Mortal Kombat: (1992)
- Mortal Kombat:
- Mortal Kombat X:
- Mortal Kombat 11:
External Link
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