Raiden



"May thunder take you."

- Raiden

Raiden (雷電), also spelled as Raven, is the main protagonist of the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is one of the few original characters, that appeared in the first Mortal Kombat game.

About Raiden


Raiden is the eternal God of Thunder, former protector of Earth, and argueably one of the most powerful characters in all of Mortal Kombat series. After the second defeat of Shinnok, he ascended to the status of Elder God. Being a god, he possesses many supernatural abilities, such as the ability to teleport, control lightning and fly. As a god, he is used to thinking in terms of eternity rather than normal human lifespans, and so he has a radically different outlook on life.

Alignment
He is good, although in Deception and Armageddon, he is been depicted as an angry and vengeful god who, in his game ending, kills Shujinko for endangering Earth (in other words, he is tired of humans putting the world in frequent danger, and he wants Earth to "stay safe"). This is mostly because of the corruption that happened to him after he sacrificed himself in the fight with Onaga. As of the Battle of Armageddon, he appears to have been restored to the side of good by Fujin and Kung Lao.

Interestingly, his MK ending also humorously depicted him inviting other gods to compete in Mortal Kombat, and it resulted in the destruction of Earth (however, this was before his role as a mentor to the heroes had been established and the ending is non-canon).

It is worth noting that in production art unlockable in the "Krypt" in Mortal Kombat Deception, the new Raiden design used after the revival of Onaga (black and generally darker in appearance than in previous games), is described as belonging to "Evil Raiden." Additionally, during an encounter with Shujinko in Konquest mode, the new "evil" Raiden offers to train him and warns him that he is "not the Thunder God you once knew."

In MK9, Raiden appears in his original form, although his "Evil Raiden" outfit is his alternate costume.

Signature moves

 * Electirc fly: Raiden grabs his opponent, electrocuting them, before throwing them to the ground below. (MKvsDCU)
 * Ele grab: Raiden punches his opponent several times before electrocuting them. He then blasts them backwards with a bolt of lightning, or he teleports behind them and knocks them to the ground with an electrical blast. (MK9)

Fatalities

 * Godly Essence: Raiden charges up a ball of energy similar to the intro of Mortal Kombat: Return of The Dragon King. He then fires it at his opponent thus blowing him to pieces. (MK:RoTDK)
 * Lightning Strike: Raiden calls down lightning until it strikes his hand and he fires lightning out of his other, shocking his opponent until his opponent explodes. (MK:RoTDK)
 * Just A Scratch: Raiden charges two bolts of lightning and fires them at the opponent's arms, blowing them off, causing the victim to look at their stumps in a dazed shock. Then he fires another two at his/her legs, blowing them off, causing the victim to fall to the ground still upright. He then grabs his opponent and slams his/her head onto the ground behind him, crushing it. (MK9)
 * Transplant: Raiden teleports behind the opponent and rips out the brains from the head. He then charges them and puts them back into place. The head begins to glow, and blows up, Then the torso explodes shortly afterwards. (MK9)
 * Electrocution: Raiden charges electricity into his hand and grabs his opponent, sending it through their body. The electric shock burns off all the opponent's flesh, leaving behind their burning skeleton. (MKvsDCU)
 * Electric Slam: Raiden grabs the opponent, zaps them for a while, then flies up in the air with them. A couple seconds later, the opponent falls back down and lands headfirst in the ground. (MKvsDCU)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: Raiden generates a miniature version of himself named Kidd Thunder. (MKII, MKIII)
 * Hara-Kiri: Self Electrocution: Raiden charges himself with electricity until he explodes. (MK:D)
 * Babality: Raiden lifts his hands up and lighting appears from it until a thunderbolt almost strikes him, making him curl into a ball and causing him to cry in fear. (MK9)

Mortal Kombat


In the first Mortal Kombat movie, Raiden is portrayed by Christopher Lambert and remains the guiding god of thunder, bent on doing all within his power to help the warriors of Earth gain victory in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Raiden also possesses a sense of humor which the other characters seem not to share, often prompting him to apologize after making dry remarks. According to the film, Raiden is forbidden from directly interfering in the tournament, an idea that was also used in the games.

Quotes

 * "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! So why don't you show me what you plan to do about?"
 * "I don't think so!"
 * "I think you'll find that this is the way out."
 * "The Planets are in constant flux. They shift and change like an endless dream. Shao Kahn's defeat should've marked our victory against a threatened merge of Earth and Outworld. Instead, it heralded a new struggle for independence."
 * "Your invasion in Earth violated the rules of Mortal Kombat, Shao Kahn. Your Tarkatan teams has been routed by the Forces of Light. Even now, your allies desert you."
 * "Earth will never succumb to the forces of darkness, Quan Chi. Now, you will face the judgement of the Elder Gods."
 * "But you are still Lin Kuei. Fight!"
 * "Fight!"
 * "Dark Kahn..."
 * "Superman! He's gone. Shao Kahn's throne room."
 * "The planets has been restored."
 * "If you are anything like Shao Kahn, you will find no refuge here, your fate will be decided by the Elder Gods."
 * "He must win!"
 * "You fought well."
 * "Your last opponent was Tarkatan. He was born with aids. (Shang Tsung in background yells: BARAKA!)"
 * "He represents Outworld, and had you lost, the Emperor, Shao Kahn, would come one step closer to physically absorbing our world into his ass."
 * "The Elder Gods created the Mortal Kombat tournament to give Earth a chance to defend itself. But if we lose this time, Shao Kahn will conquer all to his ass."
 * "He's nothing."
 * "No. You will not be the one to challenge Shang Tsung."
 * "You allowed them to escape. Fuck You."
 * "In my visions, Shao Kahn becomes a barry. He destroys all life in Maya Bi! We will all die to his ass."
 * "I know it is you, Kung Lao. The Shaolin monks chose Liu Kang to represent your order in this tournament."
 * "Spare Sub-Zero's life and I will request that the Elder Gods return the Shirai Ryu to the realm of mortals."
 * "Despite my efforts, my vision has come to pass. An unlucky end, he once defended Earth from the Noland armies of Shinnok and Quan Chi".

Trivia

 * He is the main protagonist of Mortal Kombat 9, and co-protagonist of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe.
 * In MK 9, if Raiden is using his "Evil Raiden" costume, his teleport will be red instead of white.
 * He is called "Gay-Den" by Baraka.
 * According to Baraka he dose not order food from Chick-Fill-A.
 * Raiden's nickname Raven is actuly a name of Tekken character Raven.
 * In the MK 9 Arcade Ladder, Raiden appears in eight endings, including his own. This is more than any other character in the game.