Rain (Mortal Kombat)
Rain is a male video game character who features in Mortal Kombat.
Contents |
Biography
Original Timeline
Rain (Japanese: レイン) was the demigod child of the Elder God Argus who ruled the realm of Edenia. During his youth, he watched his realm invaded by the forces of Outworld who conquered it in the name of Shao Kahn. In the chaos, he was smuggled away at the behest of his adoptive father who was a general in the Edenian army who remained behind to continue his duty. Despite his efforts, the realm's forces fell before the invaders who were crushed and Rain's father was killed by Shao Kahn. Millennia later, he came to resurface during Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm where he was targeted by the Emperor's extermination squads. Rain was given a choice where he was to either to die or fight in the service of Shao Kahn. Ultimately, Rain came to decide to serve Kahn thus turning his back against Edenia until a fight with Earthrealm forces where Princess Kitana confronted him with the knowledge that the Outworld Emperor who had killed his father. This caused an enraged Rain to turn against Kahn where he embarked on a mission of revenge against the Emperor.
Several years later, Rain mysteriously returned during the invasion of Earthrealm. He aided Kahn in his plans for the conquest of Earthrealm. Trained in the art of kombat, Rain fought whole-heartedly to destroy Earth's warriors but his ending has Princess Kitana informing him about the true death of his adoptive father; that he was killed by Kahn's own hands. Because of this, he joins the Earthrealm warriors. After being absent during an extermination squad attack, he embarked on a suicide mission to destroy Shao Kahn in order to prove his questioned loyalty.
At one point, he encountered the Earthrealm warrior Shujinko to retrieve the enchanted daggers of the royal Shokan family. Rain stated that Shao Kahn had enlisted him to retrieve the dagger for his own purposes but in reality the Edenian planned on keeping it for himself.
Later on, Quan Chi who was an emissary of Shinnok came to reveal to him that he was entitled to great power and control of Edenia. In this time, he learnt of the true identity of his father who had hid his identity for fear it would complicate his plans for succession. Rain learnt that Argus had favored his sons Daegon and Taven who had been groomed to one day replace him as Protector of Edenia. This quest was tied to another one that involved saving the realms from the Armageddon. However, this left open an opportunity for Rain to seize the power that he believed rightfully belonged to him.
Reboot Timeline
During the Armageddon, Shao Kahn ultimately won where all of creation faced destruction but during the last moments of Raiden he managed to his past experiences back to his younger self. This created a change in the timeline as the younger Raiden was guided by the scattered visions of the future where he sought to avert this dark future. The young demigod bore witness to the invasion of his homeworld by Shao Kahn and in the chaos he was smuggled to away whilst his father remained behind to serve as General in the Edenian army. Despite their efforts, Edenia was brutally crushed by Outworld's invasion and Rain's father came to be killed by Shao Kahn himself. Thus, he came to be a refugee orphaned during Shao Kahn's conquest where he grew up under the protection of the Edenian Resistance where he rose up the ranks after demonstrating to be an exceptional fighter. In time, his arrogance grew alongside his reputation where he came to demand leadership over the Resistance. When they refused, Rain decided to rebel against them and betrayed his comrades to their sworn enemy. In payment for his treason, Rain was promised his own army by the Emperor Shao Kahn with this being part of his desire to attain power.
After Shao Kahn's death, the throne of Outworld fell to Mileena but she came to be deposed by the Osh-Tekk General Kotal Kahn. This saw Mileena fleeing into hiding where she led a faction seeking to depose him and take back the throne for herself. In this time, Rain came to side with her and advised her to use the amulet of Shinnok against Kotal though she was hesitant to do so as it would slowly kill her. Instead, she sought to prolong the civil war to further weaken Kotal and thus allow her a chance to steal back the throne of Outworld.
New Era
In Liu Kang's New Era, he confiscated Rain's divine lineage in order to humble his new incarnation. Though his real name is Zeffeero, the Outworlder called Rain earned his much-preferred moniker due to his natural prowess in hydromancy. Recognized as a gifted mage from the Imperial Academy of Sorcery, Rain eventually reached the treasured status of High Mage, and was treated like a son by Empress Sindel herself. However, his ambition would be played upon by a superior sorcerer, Shang Tsung, who had infiltrated Sindel's court due to his provision of a Tarkat suppressant for Sindel's daughter Mileena. Realizing how much he still had to learn, Rain began conspiring with Shang Tsung and General Shao behind Sindel's back, in what Rain thought was a simple plot to overthrow the empress and prove himself even better. Rain is first seen at the tournament banquet when Liu Kang introduces Raiden to him. Later, he is seen alongside Tanya in Shang Tsung's false laboratory, observing Shang Tsung preparing a new serum for Mileena's Tarkat. Their meeting is interrupted by a group of spying Earthrealmers - Kenshi, Johnny Cage and Kung Lao - all of whom misread the situation and believe Shang Tsung's serum to be the cause of Mileena's Tarkat due to witnessing him extract Baraka's marrow earlier. In the skirmish, the vial of serum shatters on the floor, so Rain buys time for Shang Tsung to retrieve a new one by battling Kenshi and his group. However, he is defeated, and Mileena goes rabid, with Kenshi taking a strike to his eyes to save Johnny from her assault. The battle is brought to a halt by the arrival of General Shao, Goro and a group of Outworld soldiers. The Earthrealmers are sent to Shang Tsung's real laboratory to be killed, while Kitana orders Rain and Tanya to help the unconscious Mileena, who had received the serum.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Rain was originally a male Edenian dressed as a purple garbed ninja. After the revelation of his Edenian and divine heritage, he began to incorporate more regal themes into his overall appearance, mainly gold, jewelry, and even a cape. His mask in his later appearances also bears a gold crown or tiara like attachment, further reinforcing his self-proclaimed royal status.
He had a desire to attain power no matter the cost. This resulted in him betraying his comrades for the promise of greater power.
Powers and abilities
As a demigod, Rain was the child of the Edenian god Argus with his divine heritage initially not known to him. It was him being a direct descendant of a god that allowed him to control two aspects of the weather with this being water and lightning. With his powers, he was able to pressurize jet streams of water to either propel himself or slice his opponents like a blade. Rain's control over water and lightning was so powerful he could create massive storm clouds to block out the sun from the sky. He was most noted for his ability to trap opponents in a spherical prison of water that gives him limited control over their body. In addition, he was able to conjure up lightning blasts from the sky to blast his opponents into the air. He also possessed the ability to liquefy himself, turning himself into water and reconstituting behind them in a swift manner akin to teleporting. Through mysterious means, he enchants the strength in his legs, distorting space to strike them so hard that they would reappear opposite to his direction. This stemmed from his ability to open dimensional rifts into the previously unexplored water realm.
Another incarnation of him became a High Mage, born with an incredible aptitude for water magic which was further honed under both the Outworld Academy of Sorcery and the tutelage of General Shao. Wielding a scepter that lets him control water magic as a hydromancer, he can now create portals of water that he can pass through with ease, create whirlpools on the ground that can entrap foes, and, in his arcade ending, even create floods powerful enough to level the entirety of Seido's capital.
A skilled martial artist, he was trained in the Zi Ran Men fighting style.
His weapon of choice was the Storm Sword that was a single-edged curved sword made of bronze. He also wielded a jamadhar that was a katar consisting of three blades with the middle blade being hidden by two retracting blades.
Notes
- Rain was created by Ed Boon where he made his first appearance in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995).
- The character was inspired by the 1984 Prince song Purple Rain, along with MK co-creator Ed Boon, a longtime fan of the musician, also jokingly wondering what color palette had not yet been used for the series' ninja characters at the time Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was in production.
In other media
Television
- In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Rain appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Rino Romano. He was shown as being the ex-fiancé of Kitana who was thought to be long dead. Rain would later return sparking jealousy in Liu Kang where he informed the Earthrealm protectors that Shao Kahn was seeking a powerful scimitar hidden in a sacred temple. Earths warriors went to retrieve it only to discover that Rain was a traitor who kidnapped Kitana leading to a confrontation with Liu Kang at a castle. After being freed, Kitana decided to fight Rain herself in order to protect her honor. At the close of the battle, the castle started to fall apart with Rain attempted to flee but as the building collapsed entirely.
Films
- In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Rain briefly appeared in the setting of the 1997 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Tyrone Cortez Wiggins. He was a purple-clad ninja who serves Shao Kahn as a general. After letting two Earthrealm warriors live, Kahn punished Rain by killing him, slamming the ninja with his iconic stone hammer and knocking him into a fiery red pit.
Appearances
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: (1995)
- Mortal Kombat: Deception:
External Links
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