Raiden (Mortal Kombat)
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- Rayden redirects here. For other meanings of the name Raiden, see Raiden (disambiguation).
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Raiden (also Rayden), is a video game character who appears in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. His creation was inspired by Raiden, the Japanese god of thunder and lightning.
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About RaidenRaiden is the eternal God of Thunder and former protector of Earthrealm. 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 as such he has a radically different outlook on life.StorylineWhen Earthrealm was young, Raiden was its protector. He fought the rogue Elder God Shinnok, who wished to rule it, in a war that threatened to destroy Earthrealm itself. One of the casualties of the war was the Saurian civilization (of which Reptile was a member), forcing the remaining survivors to emigrate to another world, which they named Zaterra.With the aid of the Elder gods, Raiden managed to defeat Shinnok. Stripping him of the amulet, he banished the evil Elder to the Netherealm, and placed his powerful amulet in a secret location- a Temple of the Elements he constructed in the mountains of Nepal. He assigned four gods to guard the amulet- the gods of Wind (Fujin), Fire, Earth and Water. When the elder Sub-Zero stole Shinnok's amulet for Quan Chi millions of years later, Raiden appeared before the Lin Kuei warrior, and told him to enter the Netherealm and steal it back, lest Shinnok use it to free himself. Raiden was unable to do it himself, as he would lose all of his powers in the Netherealm. Sub-Zero did as requested, for the time being, removing Shinnok as a threat. Some time later, Shang Tsung invited many of earthrealm warriors to participate in Mortal Kombat on his island. Aware of the threat posed by this tournament to the future of Earth, Raiden took the form of a human to compete in it as well. One year later, Raiden found that he had no choice but to accept Shang Tsung's offer of Mortal Kombat in Outworld. Knowing full well the treachery of Shang Tsung and brutality of Shao Kahn, he warned the surviving members of the Shaolin tournament and disappeared alone to the Outworld. After the Earthrealm warriors' victory, Raiden had to scramble to protect his warriors' souls when Shao Kahn reached across the realms and reclaimed his resurrected Queen Sindel. With the safety of his champions ensured, Raiden wished to fight alongside them, but was unable to due to the merger between Earth and Outworld. The Outworld menace now ruled the Earth, and Raiden had no choice but to give up his godhood in order to fight. Following Liu Kang's defeat of Shao Kahn, he reclaimed his status as both a god and Earth's protector.
 Raiden and his warriors again entered battle when Shinnok escaped the Netherealm to once more wage war against the gods. Shinnok's attack caught the Elders off-guard and killed many of the gods of Earth. However, this time the war would also be fought by mortals; with Liu Kang uniting Earth's warriors under the banner of the troubled Thunder god, Raiden's Forces of Light emerged successful. Now granted the status of Elder God, he turned over his position as Earthrealm's protector to Fujin. As an Elder God, Raiden could not interfere when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi killed Liu Kang many years later. Disgusted at the his peers for their refusal to intervene, he renounced his position as an Elder, gathering his warriors to stop the Deadly Alliance. This time, disaster struck the heroes. The Earthrealm warriors were all slain in battle with the Tarkatan horde and in a desperate measure, he confronted Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in front of the Soulnado, but was defeated. He returned to his feet when Onaga, the Dragon King, entered the chamber, and stood beside Tsung and Quan Chi as they attacked Onaga. When he saw that their attacks barely slowed Onaga down, Raiden released his godly essence, the effect of which was a single, massive explosion. It obliterated the Dragon King's tomb, snuffed out the Soulnado, apparently destroyed the Deadly Alliance and Raiden himself, but did not harm Onaga. Raiden's essence soon gathered again in the Earthrealm, where he had now became furious with the way Earthrealm's inhabitants had treated their own realm. He became even more enraged when he learned that Shujinko had foolishly unleashed the Dragon King by attaining the Kamidogu of various realms for him. With that, his patience exhausted, Raiden then decided he was going to punish those who placed Earthrealm in harm's way. His angry mood is shown within appearance. He now wears black and red clothes, pale skin, red eyes, and a frown on his face. 
 Possible futureRaiden's shift in attitude comes to a head in his Deception game ending. He is seen brutally slaying Shujinko for his error. Whether this event becomes part of Mortal Kombat canon will be determined in the upcoming , where both Raiden and Shujinko are confirmed to return.AlignmentGood, although recently, he has been depicted as an angry and vengeful god who, in his game ending, killed Shujinko for endangering Earthrealm (in others words he's tired of humans putting the world in frequent danger, and he wants Earthrealm to stay safe or it could be negative reinforcement due to his corrupted essence). Interestingly, his MK1 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 although he's more like a father figure to Liu Kang).It's worth noting that in production art unlockable in the "Krypt" in , 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 "dark" Raiden offers to train him and warns him that he's "not the Thunder God you once knew." Dark Raiden is not as merciful as Raiden and The unlockable Raiden is possibly "Dark Raiden" althought he is called "Raiden". This is a possible reason why Raiden shocks Shujinko brutally. It is believed the "Dark" look of Raiden is not well liked among fans, since they all want to see and play as the regular Raiden they all know and love. Trademarks
Memorable moves
Fatalities
Other finishers
Movie storyline
 In the first Mortal Kombat movie, Raiden remains the guiding god of thunder, bent on doing all within his power to help the warriors of earth gain victory. According to the movie, Raiden is forbidden from directly interfering in the tournament of Mortal Kombat. Raiden also possesses a sense of humor which the other characters seems not to share, often prompting him to apologize after making dry remarks. In the critically-panned 1997 sequel, , Raiden is revealed to be low in the hierarchy of the gods, as he must seek their guidance when the emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn, begins his invasion of Earthrealm. Raiden had a tattoo of a dragon on his right shoulder blade that was given to those who carried his family's bloodline. (It also allowed its bearers to travel between realms.) Shao Kahn also carried this same tattoo, and was revealed to be Raiden's brother while Shinnok was Raiden's father. (This is a non-canon event created specifically for the film that was likely a failed attempt by the screenwriters to shock viewers.) Mileena and Cyrax sported temporary versions that flew off when they were defeated. Many fans dismissed this as just another example of how far-fetched Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was from the games. Raiden does not have his movie tattoo in either Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance or Mortal Kombat: Deception; this can be seen on his alternative outfits as both have one of his shoulders bare, and in the games, his status among the Elder Gods varies so much it could be said he had attained the power to traverse realms at some point and never needed such a mystical tool. Raiden is portrayed by Christopher Lambert in the first movie and by James Remar in the second. Clancy Brown provided Raiden's voice in the 1996 animated series '. Jeffrey Meek played Raiden in the live-action series '. Lambert will reprise the role of Raiden in the upcoming second sequel . Trivia
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