Baraka



"What!??? I am Baraka! Leader of the Tarkata. I fear no one - least of all the human."

- Baraka to Shujinko

Baraka is a Tarkatan warrior and a villain from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

Info
Baraka led the attack on the Shaolin Temple in Earth, which caused Liu Kang to seek vengeance and journey into Outworld, all according to Shao Kahn's plan. He teamed up with Mileena in an attempt to take down Shao Kahn, but they failed in the attempt. Baraka was sent to the lowlands of Outworld, but escaped after Shao was defeated during the events of Mortal Kombat 3, left to wander the planets.

Quan Chi found Baraka wandering through Edenia and offered him a chance to rule the planets at his side, if he fought for Shinnok. The Tarkatan agreed due to his need for combat, but planned to betray his masters yet again. However, Shinnok was defeated before he got the chance to.

Baraka found a new master, this time the resurrected Onaga, whom he had great faith in. The Tarkatan freed Mileena and recruited her to the Dragon King's side to pose as Kitana so as to misdirect Edenia's forces against Baraka's raiding forces, keeping them away from Onaga. But when Mileena gave Bo' Rai Cho control of Edenia's army, many of the Tarkatans were defeated, angering Baraka. When the two set up a meeting in Beetle's Land, the Tarkatan sent another one of his race in his place, since he had grown suspicious of her. This proved to be an excellent decision since Mileena killed the Tarkatan in an attempt to get rid of Baraka.

In the final battle of Armageddon, Baraka joined the Forces of Darkness to fight against Kung Lao once again.

In his ending, Baraka defeated Blaze and gained godlike power. The Tarkatan then decided to be his own master and ordered Shao Kahn and Onaga to bow before him or die. They responded by attacking him, only to be impaled on Baraka's armblades, which grew to twice their normal size. Now ruler of Outworld, the Tarkatan made Mileena an offer to be his queen. She chose wisely, implying that she agreed.

Alternative Timeline
Baraka took part in Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament and fought Johnny Cage, but was defeated by the actor, who thought his fangs and blades were just special effects. Later on, the Tarkatan listened to Cyrax talking to Raiden and reported this to Shang Tsung, who sent Baraka and Sheeva to kill the Lin Kuei, thinking he'd turn against him. However, Cyrax beat the two of them. After the tournament was over, Baraka led his fellow Tarkatans in attacking the Wu Shi Academy, capturing Sonya Blade in the process. Once Raiden and the other Earth warriors arrived in Outworld, Jax faced off against Baraka, but the Tarkatan lost yet again. After Kitana found out the truth about her past, Baraka was commanded to guard the Evil Tower where she was imprisoned and as he was doing so, he also sorted the weapons that Shang had gotten from the Black Dragon Clan with another Tarkatan. He told the others not to mess around with the weapons and sent them elsewhere, when Jade arrived.

Baraka told her she was not allowed in and then she taunted him, calling him a bad guard dog, and ordered him to heel. A fight ensued and the Tarkatan was beaten, saying Edenians had no loyalty, which made Jade knock him out. Baraka later watched Shao Kahn face off against Liu Kang and be defeated, then presuming he was dead, met with the other generals to discuss who would take over. The Tarkatan argued Mileena should take Kahn's place since she was his sole heir, but Shao revealed that he was still alive and Baraka and the others bowed to him. He presumably later led the other Tarkatans in Kahn's invasion of Earth.

In his MK9 ending, all of Shao Kahn's minions were enraged when Baraka apparently killed their master, just as Earth seemed in their grasp. However, it turned out that the Tarkatan had killed Shang Tsung, who'd been posing as Shao, though this had not fooled Baraka, who smelled the sorcerer's scent. His loyalty was rewarded and the Tarkatan became Shao's favoured race.

After the merger began, Baraka attacked Sonya at the Shaolin Temple, but was defeated. He then appeared as one of Quan Chi's allies, along with Shang Tsung after Scorpion managed to track down Kitana. The Demon sorcerer sent Baraka, Scorpion, and Shang to take out Captain Marvel, but they were defeated. Afterwards he and the other two appeared at Raiden's Sky Temple as Quan Chi freed Kitana from the rage. Baraka then joined forces with the other Mortal Kombat fighters so as to defeat Dark Kahn. Upon arriving, Baraka was surprised by what Outworld has become, since it had fused with Apokolips.

In his ending, the rage dissipated in all the inhabitants of the planets, except for the Tarkatans. The rage brought them to a whole new level of bloodlust and they stormed through the planets, dominating all and marking their foreheads with the blood of their enemies.

Baraka makes an appearance in Mortal Kombat X. After the death of Shao Kahn, Baraka became a loyal servant to Mileena. When Mileena ambushed Kotal Kahn and his servants, Baraka was with her. D'Vorah, one of Kotal's enforcers, attacked Baraka. After an intense battle, D'Vorah managed to defeat Baraka. After Kotal gave judgement to Baraka, D'Vorah performed a fatality on Baraka, by ripping out his heart and brain, killing him.

Powers and abilities
Baraka has great strength and stamina, along with an incredible healing factor, since he survived Kung Lao slicing him in half with his hat, though he needed to have metal staples attached to his body to keep the halves together. Baraka's main source of attack are his armblades, which he can sprout from his lower arms. He can also fire an energy spark attack by scraping his blades together.

Journal Entry
Baraka's Tarkatan race is a mutated hybrid of Never Never Land and Outworld species. A loyal warrior, Baraka faithfully serves his masters, as it is in Tarkatan's blood to serve a powerful master. For many thousands of years that master has been Shao Kahn.

Trivia

 * Baraka and Mileena seem to have a romantic relationship that was settled in Baraka's Armageddon ending.
 * Along with Nightwolf, Sonya, Kabal, and Quan Chi, Baraka never appears in Mortal Kombat 9s Story Mode in his alternate costume (with the exception of the intro).
 * Baraka's MK 9 arcade ending is the only one in which Shao Kahn is not physically killed.

Gallery
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