Raiden (Mortal Kombat)

"Thunder take you."

- Raiden's Battle Cry in Mortal Kombat (2011).

"Despite my efforts, my vision has come to pass. An unfortune end, he once defended Earthrealm from the Netherrealm armies of Shinnok and Quan Chi."

- Raiden, about the Elder Sub-Zero's death.

"You violate our will, Shao Kahn. You merge realms without victory in Mortal Kombat. Our penalty is clear."

- Raiden, as he speaks to Shao Kahn while being possessed by the Elder Gods.

"Too long have I allowed Earthrealm to endure the horrors of war. Time and again we've defeated our enemies. But we've exacted no retribution. Demanded no remuneration. What have we gained for our mercy? More intrigue. More senseless violence. As new rulers of the Netherrealm, heed me. No longer will I simply defend Earthrealm. I will seek out and destroy all who threaten it. No mercy will be shown. No quarter given. Shinnok was an Elder God. Impossible to kill. There are fates worse than death."

- Raiden, presenting Revenant Liu Kang and Kitana Shinnok's disembodied head.

Raiden is the God of thunder who takes his major role as one of Earthrealm’s protectors and a hero from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

Appearance
Although being formless and ethereal, Raiden often takes form on mortal planes. As such, he appears as a fully-grown man wearing predominately white robes and a blue vest, his face usually shadowed by a straw hat. The effect is enhanced by his glowing blue eyes that radiate with electricity and long white hair, befitting of his god-like status. In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, one of his outfits is finished by a flowing blue cape. Lastly, his power is so great that he constantly radiates with lightning energy, electricity constantly dancing and crackling around his being. In Deception and Armageddon, his visage is warped by Onaga's malevolent aura when he sacrifices himself, reforming as a dark warrior dressed in black robes and dark armor, his eyes changed from a soothing blue to a belligerent red. His cape was changed to a subdued red and appears tattered at the end. Due to the events of Mortal Kombat (2011), this change was rendered null. However, he seems to return to this form in the post-credits scene of Mortal Kombat X, though now he wears Shinnok's Amulet.

Powers and Abilities
Raiden is extremely powerful, being a god of thunder and can use lightning as his weapon, able to fire it as concentrated blasts or torrents. He can also fly and one of his attacks is to fly at his opponent and drive them into walls. Raiden can also become ethereal, allowing him to teleport and possesses a lightning staff that he can use to fight with. Despite being a god, he is not invincible and has his limits, though it does not seem as if he can ever be fully killed. Raiden, like all other gods, loses his powers when he enters a realm that is not native to him, but he will regain them when he leaves. He can also take on a mortal form so as to be allowed to take part in Mortal Kombat tournaments.

Trivia

 * Raiden’s ending in MK vs. DC is a reference to the fact that he is meant to be Superman’s counterpart. The way that he loses strength from the sun and gains strength from kryptonite is the opposite of the Man of Steel.


 * Raiden is modeled after the character, Lightning, from the 1986 movie, Big Trouble in Little China.


 * In the home versions of games from Mortal Kombat 4 onward and the arcade games, his name was spelled “Raiden.” In other home versions, his name was spelled “Rayden,” possibly to because of copyright, since there was a shoot’em up game called Raiden or to avoid confusion between him and Raiden from the Fatal Fury video game series.


 * Raiden’s fatality in the SNES port of the original Mortal Kombat, where he used lightning to blow up his opponents head was changed to the lightning turning them to ash, due to Nintendo’s no blood policy at the time.


 * Raiden was originally not going to be in Mortal Kombat Deception, but this was changed after fan complaint. Fujin, who was going to replace him, instead made a cameo in the Dark Prison stage.


 * Nightwolf’s Friendship in MK3 and UMK3 has him transform into Raiden and then an MK2 arcade game drops down with one of two quotes, “Yes But I Can Do a Raiden Transformation” or “I’ve Never Seen a Kano Transformation”. This was gotten rid of in MK Trilogy since Raiden was in it.


 * He was originally going to wield his staff in Mortal Kombat II, but this was scrapped due to memory constraints.


 * In the Super NES version of the original Mortal Kombat, if Raiden performs his fatality on the final opponent in the third endurance match, it will make Goro appear the same gray as the ashes of his opponent.


 * Raiden’s popularity as a “thunder god” and fan reaction to him lead to the creation of other god characters, such as Fujin. Despite this, he has remained the most popular god character.


 * Raiden appeared as a secret character in Unreal Tournament 2: The Liandri Conflict, NFL Blitz, and NBA Jam: Tournament edition.


 * He had two female servants named Wynd and Rayne in the non-canon Malibu Comics three issue miniseries, Rayden and Kano. In another three issue series, he did not take part in the tournament, claiming he was not allowed to.


 * Raiden has been portrayed in the 2D games by Carlos Pesina, but his versus screen image was portrayed by Sal Divita in Mortal Kombat Trilogy.


 * He is the first god to appear in a versus fighting game, as well as the first one to be playable.


 * In the Kombat Pavilion, Raiden has a set of comics, the weirdest of which is “How Dan Hibiki Became The Defender Of Earthrealm”.


 * His favorite food is “nuclear buffalo wings” according to his profile in Brady Games’ Official MK4 Fighters Companion strategy guide.
 * Raiden's fatality from Deception, where he blasted the opponent with lightning but blew himself at the same time, was voted number 5 on Screwattack's list of Top 10 Worst Mortal Kombat Fatalities.