| Raiden | |
|---|---|
| |
| Series | Mortal Kombat |
| Age | Immortal |
| Birthday | Eternal |
| Sex | Male |
| Species | God |
| Height | 6'4" / 1.93 m |
| Weight | 250 lbs / 113.4 kg |
| Alignment | Lawful Good (Lord Raiden) Lawful Neutral (Dark Raiden) |
| “ | I am of truth and light. I protect Earthrealm. | „ |
| ~ Raiden in Mortal Kombat X |
Raiden (雷電) is one of the main characters in the first Mortal Kombat game, and in addition, is one of the few characters to have appeared in every generation of Mortal Kombat games as a playable character.
Background[]
Raiden is the God Of Thunder, protector of the Earthrealm. He is also one of the strongest characters in the Mortal Kombat universe. His status was one step below the Elder Gods and he managed to defeat the fallen Elder God Shinnok with the help of other Elder Gods. But he faced another threat which is the emperor of Outworld,Shao Kahn, and he reached the Elder Gods. He demanded a chance for Earthrealm to defend themselves. Knowing the consequences of merging the realms, they agreed to his demand and created the Mortal Kombat tournament. He created his own team that includes Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Bi-Han, Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Liu Kang managed to defeat the Shao Kahn's servant, Shang Tsung.
However, his old nemesis Shinnok managed to return the Earthrealm by the help of his loyal servant, Quan Chi and the unintential help of Bi-Han. But he managed to defeat him,once again with the help of his warriors. After that victory, his status got updated as an Elder God by the Elder Gods and he choosed Fujin as his replacer. But, due to the threat of Deadly Alliance, he returned back to Earthrealm and became the protector of Earthrealm and demised from his role as the Elder God. He managed to put up a good fight against the Deadly Alliance but at the end, he was defeated. However, due to Onaga's shocking presence, he allied himself with Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in order to stop Onaga. He self-destructed himself in order to stop Onaga but due to his overpowered status that provided by Kamidogu's, that self destruction had a little effect on Raiden. At least, Onaga's army was destroyed and Shang Tsung died. Quan Chi escaped before Raiden self-exploded.
His assence gathered again in the Earthrealm but his corruption made him much darker. He became even more furious when he learned that Shujinko unintentionally released Onaga and attempted to murder him but Shujinko managed to survive and escape.
He even allied himself with Shinnok and later on with Shao Kahn to ensure Earthrealm's safety, even though he was aware of their chaotic personalities. As a part of agreement, he attempted to kill Taven but he was defeated by him. Taven was also shocked and could not understand the sudden change in Raiden's personality.
Fujin also allied himself with Kung Lao to stop Raiden because of his agreement with Shao Kahn. But, because of the appearance of Armageddon, that attempt never completed.
Due to the battle between Forces of The Light and the Forces of The Darkness, his corruption partly reversed and he joined the Forces of The Light. He managed to survive in the battle but he could not stop Shao Kahn and he gained godly powers by killing Blaze. Finally, his corruption mostly reversed because of his lost against Shao Kahn and he send a message to his past version of himself. The message was "He must win!" which points to his loss in the MK tournament. He knew that all of the events started with Shao Kahn's defeat in MK so he realized that only way to stop these events was letting him win so Elder Gods can interfere and stop him.
However, his past version couldn't solve the message until Sindel murdered almost every Earthrealm warrior until Nightwolf sacrificed himself in order to stop her. He finally understand what he must do and let Shao Kahn do his wish. As predicted, Elder Gods interfered and killed him. He managed to rebuild the Earthrealm with Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. But, after 2 years, Shinnok returned and started an invasion in the Earthrealm. With the help of Fujin, Kenshi, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade; Raiden managed to imprisoned Shinnok once again. But after 20 years, Shinnok released once again by Quan Chi. With the help of Cassie Cage and Kung Jin, Shinnok was defeated but due to the damage that he caused in Earthrealm; he needed to cleanse the Jinsei(lifeforce of Earthrealm) and he managed to do it but this ended up corrupting him due to Shinnok's dark energy. He warned Liu Kang and Kitana, that are the new rulers of Netherrealm due to them being servants to Shinnok after their deaths in MK 2011, if they would attempt to do any harm to the Earthrealm, Raiden will seek out them and destroy them. He, then, leaves Shinnok's decapitated head to them and teleports himself back to the Earthrealm.
Powers & Abilities[]
- Electrokinesis: Because of being a God of Thunder, he is able to control electricity and lightning. He is able to shoot lightning bolts, envelop his limbs in lightning to increase their power, and call down lightning strikes.
- Electricity Construct Creation: Raiden's able to create a force-field or a blade from his electricity.
- Electric Orb Projection: Raiden can fire an electric orb that can be used as a trap.
- Telekinesis: Raiden can hold people in the air with his electricity.
- Weather Manipulation: Raiden can form massive thunderstorms and tornadoes.
- Healing: Raiden has healed Jax Briggs, Johnny Cage, and Scorpion.
- Puppetry: Raiden can use electricity to control the movements of other people.
- Immense Speed: It has been directly said that Raiden has the speed of lightning.
- Superhuman Strength: Raiden's strength is greater than that of humans.
- Superhuman Durability: Raiden can survive injuries greater than humans can survive.
- Portal Creation: Raiden uses portals to travel across the realms.
- Light Projection: Raiden can create a large flash of light from his eyes.
- Image Projection: Raiden has created an ethereal image of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade.
- Necromancy: Raiden has brought Johnny Cage and Liu Kang back from the dead, on separate occasions.
- Flight: He is able to fly, as shown in MK 2011 when he saved Stryker first by stunning Mileena then he flew to Johnny Cage and killed Motaro in order to save Johnny Cage.
- Summoning: Raiden can summon ships like in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, and even summon his staff from electricity.
- Petrification: Raiden can use his electricity to turn anyone into stone.
- Precognition: Raiden has foreseen the events of Armageddon during MK 2011, even in his dreams. Raiden's precognition can also be enhanced with the Kamidogu daggers.
- Enhanced Senses: Raiden is able to detect energy signatures.
- Temporal Immunity: Raiden has showcased being immune to Kronika's time manipulation.
- Expert Martial Artist: He possesses knowledge from hundreds of fighting styles. Most notable ones are Nan Chuan, Judo, Jujitsu and Taekwondo.
- Teleportation: He is able to teleport without a problem. Also, as shown in MKX, he is able to teleport objects. He teleported the memento of Kung Lao from Kung Jin's hand to his.
- Immortality: Due to being eternal, Raiden is unaging.
Equipment[]
- Staff: Raiden's most common weapon in the Mortal Kombat series is a staff, which can also conduct electricity.
- Hammer: Raiden has wielded a hammer in the events of Mortal Kombat 4, and its Dreamcast release, Mortal Kombat Gold.
- Amulet of Raiden: In MK 2011, Raiden's amulet notified him that he had to kill Shao Kahn to prevent Armageddon.
- Amulet of Shinnok: Raiden wielded Shinnok's amulet while Raiden was corrupted. The amulet can shoot energy blasts, reduce people to dust, launch fireballs, seal people within it, generate force-fields, open portals, and absorb souls and energy.
Alternate Forms[]
Dark Raiden (Original Timeline)[]
After Raiden returned from the dead after attempting, but failing to destroy Onaga with a self-destruct explosion, Raiden's appearance and mind were corrupted by Onaga's magic, and Raiden has become enraged from how much mortals have endangered Earthrealm.
Dark Raiden (Reboot Timeline)[]
After Raiden absorbed the corruption that Shinnok dealt to the Jinsei at the end of Mortal Kombat X, Raiden remained dormant until he awoke, corrupted in appearance, power, and mind. Raiden also wields Shinnok's amulet, which has evil power. But even though Dark Raiden's still immortal, when Kronika merged the past and present together, Dark Raiden was erased from existence. But however, Raiden's pure past self was still alive.
Raiden (New Era Timeline)[]
Due to Liu Kang having become the God of Fire, Raiden is instead human, but he retains his electric powers.
Feats[]
Strength[]
- Saved a plane full of people by lifting it in the air. (Mortal Kombat comics)
- Can smash through a concrete bridge.
- Caused an explosion the size of a large temple with a suicide attack. (Mortal Kombat: Deception intro)
- Held off limitless power Kano
- Managed to interfere the war between Sonya and Kotal Kahn by shocking everyone in the war.
- He can zip anyone through the clouds, from the surface.
- With the aid of Elder Gods, he beat Shao Kahn. (Mortal Kombat (2011))
Speed[]
- Leagues above Reptile, who can casually dodge bullets.
- He can teleport and re-appear in one second.
Durability[]
- Was the last man standing against the Deadly Alliance.
- Managed to survive against Revenant Kung Lao, Smoke, Liu Kang and Sindel.
- Can survive getting shot by Erron Black. (Mortal Kombat comics)
Skills[]
- Has mastered 750 varieties of Jujitsu.
- Defeated the Houan.
- Can channel electricity through wood.
- He can reset the timelines with the true spell.
- He has cleansed the Jinsei from the dark energy. Although it corrupted him and made him more ruthless.
- He can travel through universes.
- He can reverse Netherrealm's dark magic, even though he is not a sorcerer.
Faults[]
Fun Facts[]
- Raiden appeared in season one of the popular web series DEATH BATTLE! where he fought against Thor and lost.