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| “ | 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. | „ |
| ~ Dark Raiden presents Shinnok's head to Revenant Liu Kang and Kitana, Mortal Kombat X. |
Dark Raiden is a corrupted version of the Thunder God Raiden, as well as a major antagonist from the Mortal Kombat franchise.
While retaining his goal of protecting Earthrealm, this darker Raiden is far more extreme, taking actions that Raiden would normally never do, including hostility to other realms. As well as this, Dark Raiden is seen as a servant of Titan Shang Tsung in his New Era.
He is voiced by Richard Epcar (who also voiced the Joker in the same franchise, Yhwach in Bleach, Akuma in Street Fighter V, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Terra-Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts and Skywarp in Transformers: War for Cybertron) in Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, and by Travis Willingham (who also voiced Kugo Ginjo in Bleach, Zetsu in Naruto, Two-Face in Batman: The Telltale Series, Kingpin in Marvel's Spider-Man and Onslaught in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron) in Mortal Kombat 1.
History[]
Original timeline[]
Backstory[]
Raiden was the protector of Earthrealm, defending it alongside his champions, especially Liu Kang. After Liu Kang was killed by the Deadly Alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, Raiden, and his allies tried to defeat them, but he ended up as the only one standing against the Deadly Alliance. When the resurrected Dragon King Onaga arrived to claim his army, Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi were forced to stand against him, and Raiden sacrificed himself by unleashing his godly essence in a last-ditch attempt to stop him. He was killed, along with Shang Tsung and the palace.
Mortal Kombat: Deception[]
The thunder god’s essence gathered in Earthrealm, but it had been corrupted presumably by Onaga, and now Raiden was furious with the way that the people of the realm had treated it. His rage increased when he found out that Shujinko had allowed the Dragon King to return by gathering the kamidogu throughout the Realms. His patience now gone, Raiden decided that he would punish all who attempted to harm Earthrealm himself. The thunder god attempted to brutally finish off Shujinko for what he had done, but he survived the attack.
However, Raiden’s attention shifted to Liu Kang’s dead body, which he dug up and brought to a temple belonging to the Houan, an ancient sect of necromancers that he had defeated centuries before. Raiden bound Liu Kang’s corpse in enchanted shackles that the necromancers had used to control their undead. The thunder god spoke the enchantments on the walls, reviving his ally as a zombie and infusing it with a bolt of lightning. Raiden then sent out his new enforcer to destroy those that he thought were threats to Earthrealm.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon[]
Raiden's actions caught the attention of Shinnok, who appeared before Raiden and offered him an alliance, claiming that he would ensure the safety of Earthrealm in return. Raiden was well aware of Shinnok's deceptive nature, but he accepted the offer in an attempt to secretly uncover Shinnok's plans. Fujin had become aware of his change of attitude and outlook and had decided to do something about it. Teaming up with Liu Kang's former ally, Kung Lao, he intended to defeat Raiden and Liu Kang and try to restore them, aware that they may have to destroy them if unsuccessful. As seen in Konquest mode, Raiden encountered Taven on his quest to save the Realms, just after the alliance of Shao Kahn, Onaga, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi headed for Edenia. He revealed that he had struck a deal with Kahn, agreeing to let the Emperor of Outworld conquer the other realms, so long as Earthrealm was left alone. In return, Raiden agreed to hunt and eliminate Taven for Kahn, so that he could claim Blaze's godlike power for himself. He is unsuccessful, however, as he is defeated by Taven and left unconscious on the ground. Taven, while still in shock and disbelief at Raiden's actions, leaves and follows the villains through the portal.
During the battle of Armageddon, while still dark, Raiden seemed to have regained some of his sanity, fighting alongside the forces of Light, with him taking on Shinnok. In his non-canon ending, where he defeated Blaze and enhanced his power with its own. The empowered Raiden proceeded to destroy all Realms aside from Earthrealm to ensure its protection. In the main version of events, however, as seen in the opening of Mortal Kombat 9, Raiden and Shao Kahn were left as the last ones standing, and Shao was the victor, destroying his amulet in the process. The somewhat more sane Raiden realized the battle was lost and gathered the pieces of his amulet and used it to send a message to his younger self to prevent this future, with his eyes returning to their natural blue aura just as Shao dealt the finishing blow.
Second timeline[]
Mortal Kombat X[]
Raiden and his allies combatted Shinnok's forces, including Revenant versions of his former champions, but Shinnok began corrupting Earthrealm's Jinsei. After he was defeated by Cassie Cage, Raiden urged her to let him heal the Jinsei, purging it by the former Elder God's influence. However, as seen in the epilogue, this ended up corrupting Raiden, leading him to take a more ruthless stance in defending Earthrealm. He appears before the new rulers of the Netherrealm, Liu Kang and Kitana, and threatens them by stating that he will no longer stand by and watch Earthrealm on the defensive. He would, from now on, seek and destroy all who threaten Earthrealm with no mercy or remorse. He then leaves the severed yet still-living head of Shinnok on the ground to underline this point and disappears in a flash of lightning, leaving Liu Kang and Kitana to ponder in thought.
Kotal Kahn mentions Dark Raiden as having attacked Outworld because he saw it as a possible threat to Earthrealm. Indeed, according to his ending, his old friend Bo' Rai Cho had to turn against him and train Outworld warriors against Raiden's invasion, with the darker Thunder God ironically becoming much like his former enemy Shao Kahn.
Mortal Kombat 11[]
As seen in the opening scene, set before the epilogue of MKX, Raiden tortures Shinnok with electricity, who gleefully notes that their battle has changed him "for the better". After being mocked for donning his amulet and embracing his "truth," Raiden responds the truth he embraces is to not indulge in mercy to Earthream's enemies and will preemptively destroy them, beginning with Shinnok himself. When Shinnok reminds Raiden that not even he can kill an Elder God, the Thunder God darkly responds that "there are fates worse than death", and proceeds to decapitate Shinnok with an electrical blade construct. Raiden states that Shinnok will he delivered to his minions, now condemned to an eternity of being a decapitated head, and leaves the Jinsei chamber, unaware that Shinnok's mother Kronika has noticed these events, and thus begins her plan to erase Raiden from the timelines.
Two years later, Raiden visits the Special Forces to draw up a strategy to defeat the Revenants, electing to act as a distraction for the demon army while the Special Forces blow up the Bone Temple. When Johnny notes his grimmer attitude seems to blind him to the possible personal cost Raiden insists he understands loss. Leading them into battle, Raiden confronts the demonic army, empowered by Shinnok's amulet. After the temple is destroyed, Raien transports everyone back to Earthrealm, but after finding that Sonya perished in the battle, he attempts to comfort Cassie by telling her her mother died a warrior's death, which does not help. When Kronika enacted her Timequake, merging the past and future together, Raiden was shocked when he faded away, leaving behind the amulet, and was replaced by his uncorrupted self.
While Dark Raiden ceased to exist due to the presence of his younger self, his impact still influenced events, not least the earlier Raiden, who was horrified at having become a tyrant, and vowed to restore time without condemning himself to his dark fate. However, Shinnok's amulet began attempting to corrupt him with its influence. When the younger Scorpion revealed he had decided to turn against Kronika and aid the heroes, Raiden was skeptical, and the amulet's darkness magnified his feelings into paranoia, and Raiden began using the amulet to torture Scorpion into telling the truth. When the human Liu Kang urged Raiden to hear him out and that the amulet was affecting him, the increasingly unstable Raiden fought him and insisted he would do what was necessary to save Earthrealm. Liu Kang realized Raiden could not be reasoned with, and Raiden demanded obedience over trust, his eyes turning red. When Liu Kang noted he might have to kill Raiden, the Thunder God realized that scenario had played out before, seeing visions of other timelines where he and Liu Kang had fought one another throughout the timelines. Realizing that Kronika was manipulating events to turn them against each other, Raiden firmly discarded Shinnok’s amulet.
Aftermath[]
In an alternate version of events, as well as Scorpion, Raiden also encounters Shang Tsung and Fujin, who tell them about their future, the Crown, and the plan to defeat Kronika. Raiden is skeptical of Shang Tsung's motives and begins using Shinnok's amulet to interrogate the sorcerer due to its influence. Liu Kang decides that they should hear him out, but Raiden refuses to listen, even turning on him. Fujin intervenes when he tries to kill Liu Kang and his lighting turns red. After fighting his younger brother, Raiden manages to recover his senses and decides to listen.
In Shang Tsung's New Era, Raiden is brought back as a version of his dark self who serves the now Titan Shang Tsung. As seen in the final scene, Dark Raiden and a similarly corrupted Fujin report to Titan Shang Tsung that Outworld, Earthrealm, and the Netherrealm have all been conquered and that Order and Chaosrealm are next.
New Era[]
Mortal Kombat 1[]
- Main article: Dark Raiden (Order of Darkness)
An alternate version of Dark Raiden features as the main antagonist of Invasions Mode Season 5: Storms.
Quotes[]
| “ | Raiden blames you for the return of the Dragon King! | „ |
| ~ When Shujinko meets Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Deception |
| “ | My patience for mortals has worn thin. If I am to protect Earthrealm I must punish those who would threaten it. The fool Shujinko had let himself be deceived into believing that he worked for a greater good. He was in fact an unknowing tool of a greater evil- one that had almost caused the destruction of Earthrealm. That Shujinko undid his mistake and destroyed the Dragon King is of no importance. Those who place Earthrealm in harm's way will pay with their lives. | „ |
| ~ Raiden's ending in Mortal Kombat Deception |
| “ | Reciting the unholy enchantments, I brought to life the body of my former ally and infused him with a thunderclap of lightning. The corpse of Liu Kang would be no mere zombie; it would serve as my ultimate enforcer. Satisfied, I then set this abomination to wreak havoc on those who have done harm to Earthrealm. | „ |
| ~ Raiden's biography |
| “ | No longer will I entrust the safety of Earthrealm to the free will of mankind. The time has come to take matters into my own hands. | „ |
| ~ Raiden's biography in Mortal Kombat Armageddon |
| “ | The thunder god, Raiden over powered Blaze and absorbed the energy instead to transform the sons of Argus his strength enhanced beyond that of the other gods, Raiden became a deity of unimaginable power releasing his fury upon the other realms, he destroyed them all. None would threaten Earthrealm again. | „ |
| ~ Dark Raiden's MKA ending |
| “ | Raiden: The truth I embrace, Shinnok, is that mercy is wasted on those who defile Earthrealm. I will destroy our enemies before they destroy us. Starting with you.
Shinnok: How, Raiden? Not even you can kill an Elder God. |
„ |
| “ | By the Elder Gods! | „ |
| ~ Dark Raiden's last words before being erased during the time merger |
| “ | Per your command, Chaosrealm and Orderrealm are next. All realms will soon yield to your influence. | „ |
| ~ Dark Raiden to Shang Tsung, Aftermath. |
| “ | Further resistance serves no purpose. This timeline will be destroyed. | „ |
| ~ Dark Raiden, Mortal Kombat 1. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Raiden's voice actor in Deception is unknown, as he is uncredited, as is his Armageddon voice actor, although he is presumably the same as Argus's voice actor.
- While he only appears in his Dark form at the beginning of Mortal Kombat 9, Dark Raiden is available as a skin for him.
- While the Midway version of Dark Raiden comes across as completely ruthless, the Netherrealm version is slightly more amicable, only being hostile to non-Earthrealmers, being willing to work with the Special Forces, and attempting to comfort Cassie after she loses her mother. That being said, the version of Dark Raiden that serves Titan Shang Tsung is the most evil iteration of the character since that version of him almost doesn't have any redeeming qualities.
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