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Characters / Mortal Kombat: Desperation

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The following characters are seen in Mortal Kombat: Desperation:

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     Earthrealm 

Fujin

Johnny Cage

  • Action Dad: Parenthood hasn't lessened his asskicking skills.
  • Badass Family: With Cassie and Sonya.
  • Battle Couple: With Sonya, albeit a divorced one that still works together.
  • Cool Shades: His awesome shades as usual.
  • The Champion: Was Raiden's champion before he went nuts.
  • Morality Pet: Is this to Sonya, keeping her from going insane until their daughter is rescued.

Sonya Blade

  • Action Girl: She's the first ever female Mortal Kombat character, so this goes without saying.
  • Action Mom: Is the mother to Cassie and remains as badass as ever.
  • Badass Family: With Cassie and Johnny.
  • Battle Couple: With Johnny, albeit a divorced one that still works together.
  • Berserk Button: Kano and anyone else who threatens her loved ones.
  • Cry into Chest: Does this with Johnny in Chapter 17.
  • Colonel Badass: Is this to a T.
  • Good Counterpart: To Kano.
  • Iron Lady: Her plan to conquer the Sky Temple certainly proves this, as does her quick thinking in bringing Orin to help repel an attack from Raiden.
  • Mama Bear: Anyone who threatens or hurts her daughter (in this case Raiden and Kano) will learn that this is a bad decision.
  • Married to the Job: What caused her and Johnny to split, as well as causing some issues with her relationship with her father.
  • My Greatest Failure: Sacrificed her marriage to Johnny and her relationship with Cassie for her career.
  • Stress Vomit: Experiences this after dreaming of Cassie's torture.
  • Working with the Ex: While she and Johnny are divorced, Sonya fights alongside him in Earthrealm's defense.
    • Amicable Exes: She also still trusts and respects him a great deal, which helps her stay sane during Cassie's captivity.

Cassie Cage

  • Action Girl: Is definitely her mother and father's daughter.
  • Badass Family: With Sonya and Johnny.
  • Defeat Means Respect: Kitana feels this way toward Cassie.
  • Defiant to the End: No matter how hard Raiden and Kano try to break her, she continues to curse them out and taunt them about what her mom will do when she finds out what they did to her. The only time she actually begs Raiden to stop is when he tries to kill Kevin and even that was immediately after she had given him a "Reason You Suck" Speech that included her declaring that he couldn't break her.
  • Badass in Distress: Kidnapped by Kano and Raiden to keep her parents and S-F from interfering in Raiden's plans. She still manages to put up a decent fight before Raiden electrocutes her, and is anything but a compliant captive despite being tortured for days.
  • Made of Iron: Endured over 2 days of torture from Kano and Raiden, including Kano's eye laser and Raiden's Electric Torture.
  • Mommy Issues: She and Sonya don't have the best relationship due to Sonya's obsession with her job, but they are getting better.
  • Promoted to Love Interest: Kevin's love interest.

Kenshi

Takeda

Jax

  • Action Dad: He's not half as rusty as he thinks.
  • Artificial Limbs: Has artificial arms.
  • The Atoner: Is still haunted by his past as a revenant.
  • Back from the Dead: is a former revenant.
  • Badass Family: With Jacqui.
  • Interrupted Suicide: Attempted to kill himself once but Vera stopped him.
  • Papa Wolf: Do not threaten his daughter unless you're tired of living. Jax was visibly enraged when Raiden told that he'll let Kano torture her just as he did with Cassie, as well do worse than that.

Jacqui Briggs

Kung Jin

Scorpion

  • Action Dad: Due to having raised and trained him after Kenshi left the boy in his care for several years, Hanzo is basically Takeda's adoptive father and is referred to as such by other characters as well.
  • Ambiguously Evil: Being an anti-villain makes you out to be this.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: This is what Raiden did to Scorpion - the former revenant contemplated suicide to atone for his rashness in Shinnok's revival, but Raiden talks him out of it and subtly manipulates Scorpion into becoming his right-hand man.
  • Anti-Hero: He still uses ruthless methods to get what he wants, but still cares for his clan and Takeda.
  • The Atoner: Is haunted by his past as a revenant as well the things he did for Raiden.
  • Broken Pedestal/Rebuilt Pedestal: Is the former but struggling to become the latter now that he has defected from Raiden.
  • Defector from Decadence: Raiden threatening Takeda and torturing his hostages one time too many finally makes Scorpion sick of him, and he defects.
  • The Dragon: Shares this role with Kano until his defection and subsequent replacement by Hotaru.
  • Easily Forgiven: Thanks to Cassie vouching for him after she and Kevin were rescued.
  • Expy: Scorpion shares some traits of Regime Flash from Injustice: Gods Among Us an Captain Phoebus from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as they defect from their bosses after seeing them cross the line too many times.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kenshi.
  • Interrupted Suicide: Remorseful for the role he inadvertently played in Shinnok's near-konquest of Earthrealm, Scorpion offers to commit hara-kiri. Raiden, however, had other plans: he makes Scorpion his pawn by manipulating his emotions.
  • Papa Wolf: His reaction to Raiden threatening Takeda confirms this.
  • Parental Substitute: To Takeda.
  • Pet the Dog: Tends to Cassie's injuries following her torture.
  • Token Good Teammate: Starts as this on Raiden's side until his defection.
  • Unwitting Pawn: To Raiden until his Heel Realization in Chapter 22 and subsequent defection in Chapter 24.

Sub-Zero

Frost

  • Action Girl: Was a very deadly fighter even before she became Sub-Zero's apprentice.
  • Adaptational Heroism: In the original timeline of the games, Frost is a villain, becoming obsessed with obtaining the Dragon Medallion from Sub-Zero to the point of attempted murder. This version does suffer from overconfidence and selfishness, but recognizes her flaws and ultimately stays loyal to Sub-Zero when Raiden offers to give her the Dragon Medallion if she joins him. She also genuinely regrets and is ashamed of her actions and attitude during her time at the death match fight club.
  • Anti-Hero: Just like her teacher. She is ruthless yet fights for a good purpose.
  • The Atoner: Regrets her actions in the deathmatch fight club and truly wants to become better.
  • The Apprentice: To Sub-Zero.
  • Defiant to the End: Refused to betray Sub-Zero and join Raiden in exchange for the Dragon Medallion. Even when Raiden is committing Electric Torture on her.
  • It's Personal: Seems to resent Tasia for killing two fellow Lin Kuei whom she was close to.

Kira

  • Action Girl: For the most part due to her Heel–Face Turn.
  • Adaptational Heroism: In the original timeline of the games, Kira was a villain. This version has long since retired from her days as a criminal and genuinely regrets her crimes and is struggling to find her place in the world.
  • Abusive Parents: Her parents were extremely abusive and even sold her into sexual slavery when she was nine.
  • Anti-Hero: Like most on this list she is ruthless yet fights to find a purpose in life.
  • The Atoner: Regrets her actions as a Black Dragon member and her treatment of Kabal when he left. She even tells him that she should have gone with him when he left the clan.
  • Dark Action Girl: Formerly, though she still looks the part.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Not only were her parents abusive, but they also sold her into sexual slavery when she was nine. She later got revenge by brutally murdering both her slaver and her parents. Then there's obviously her past as a Black Dragon.
  • Defector from Decadence: Left the Black Dragon Clan after growing tired of being Shao Kahn's lackeys as well as snapping when Kano kidnapped and raped Kabal's widow.
  • Femme Fatale: Not as much so as others, such as Tasia, but still counts.
  • Guile Hero: Often uses deception to get what she wants.
  • It's Personal: Tasia wants revenge on Kira chopping off her hands.
  • Lady in Red: Mostly due to her blood red hair.
  • Like a Daughter to Me: To Kabal.
  • The Rival: To Tasia.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Killed both of her parents for selling her into sexual slavery.
  • Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Has blood red hair and green eyes.
  • "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: That's one way of putting it, considering how bad her parents were. They abused her from the moment she was born, maybe even conceived, and sold her into sexual slavery when she was nine.

Kevin

  • Brooklyn Rage: His background, as he was born in Brooklyn.
  • Child by Rape: His mother was kidnapped and raped by Kano.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Loses his mother to a drunk driver, ran away from foster homes, tried to kill himself several times (either by overdosing himself or suicide by cop) before being found by Kano, who proceeds to torture him and try to make a mini-Me of himself.
  • Death Seeker: Has been suicidal for several years. Luckily, Cassie snaps him out of it by convincing him to get revenge against his father for torturing him.
  • Defiant to the End: Despite being tortured for days by his own father and nearly killed by Raiden, he remains defiant.
  • Interrupted Suicide: Tried to kill himself several times by overdosing or suicide by cop in the past.
  • Like a Son to Me: To Kabal and to lesser extent to Stryker. He even tells Kabal that he wishes he were his father instead of Kano.
  • Like Father, Unlike Son: While Kano is a criminal psychopath, Kevin is simply a troubled young man traumatized by the loss of his mother as a child and recovering from depression and suicidal thoughts.
  • Made of Iron: Endures several days of torture from Kano as well as Raiden's attempt on his life.
  • Promoted to Love Interest: Cassie's love interest.

Kai

Khameleon

Chameleon

Shujinko

Vera Briggs

Mokap

  • Innocent Bystander: Despite not even being in contact with Johnny Cage anymore and just being a humble dojo owner/former motion capture artist, Raiden still thinks he could be a threat and tries to kill him.

Nell

  • Damsel in Distress: Is kidnapped, raped, tortured, and held in captivity for days by Kano.
  • Morality Pet: To Kira, as witnessing her traumatic experience sparked memories of her own Dark and Troubled Past and eventually resulted in her helping Nell escape.
  • Posthumous Character: Died years before the events of the story. Her POV chapter is a flashback that is revealed to be Kira's recollection of the events.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Although Kano didn't just rape her, he did intend to make her a sex slave and unknowingly impregnated her with Kevin in the process.

     Outworld 

Kotal Kahn

Ermac/Jerrod

Erron Black

  • Bounty Hunter: He hunts and kills professionally, and sees killing as nothing personal to him, just business.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Pretty much speaks in deadpan.
  • Hitman with a Heart: He starts to become loyal to Kotal Kahn and forms a bond with Li Mei.

Reptile

Ferra/Torr

Rain

  • Ambiguously Evil: His motives, like Scorpions', are unclear but are carried out with ruthlessness.
  • Anti-Hero: He is the Token Evil Teammate on the good guys side and fights with great ruthlessness.
  • Berserk Button: Punches Taven for calling his mother a whore. Twice.
  • Cain and Abel and Seth: The Seth to Taven and Daegon.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Punches Taven twice for calling his mother a whore. He also greatly respects his adoptive father.
  • Guile Hero: Uses deception through wordplay, and he's heroic enough to qualify.
  • Hopeless Suitor: Is in love with Kitana, but is sensible enough to understand that she loves Liu Kang and will never return his feelings. Is very shocked to say the least when she reveals that she knows of his feelings for her.
  • Oblivious Adoption: Was unaware that the man who raised him was not his true father until Raiden told him he was actually the son of Argus.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Is this on Kotal Kahn's side.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: To Argus, but not as much so as Daegon. As far as he’s concerned, his adoptive father is his real father.

Ruby

Jade/Delia

  • Action Mom: Delia qualifies as this.
  • Back from the Dead: Twice for Jade after being killed by Sindel, resurrected by Quan Chi as a revenant then killed by him before Delia helped resurrect her. Once for Delia who was killed by Daegon and is now Sharing a Body with Jade.
  • Childhood Friends: Jade is this with Kitana and Ruby.
  • Defiant to the End: Quan Chi killed Jade because she refused to submit to his brainwashing and encouraged the other revenants to rebel as well.
  • Faking the Dead: Jade/Delia stayed in hiding for several years to rebuild their strength and finally resurfaced to help prevent Armageddon.
  • Femme Fatale: Delia and Jade both qualify as this.
  • Good Counterpart: Jade is this to Tanya. Delia is this to Shang Tsung.
  • Half the Woman She Used to Be: Quan Chi kills Jade in a flashback via his Mind Game Fatality.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Jade is this with Kitana and Ruby. It can be argued that Jade and Delia are this to each other.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Daegon kills Delia in a flashback by driving his sword into her heart.
  • It's Personal: Delia is gunning for Raiden's head after he used mind games and Break Them by Talking speeches on Daegon. Jade also has a rivalry with Tanya due to Jade being very loyal while Tanya has always been a traitor.
  • It's Personal with the Dragon: Delia is awaiting a rematch with Shang Tsung, having defeated him in the past.
  • Iron Lady: Delia and Jade both qualify as this.
  • Lady of War: Delia and Jade both qualify as this.
  • Mama Bear: Delia is very protective of her children Taven and Daegon and still loves Daegon despite everything he's done. She also shows some protectiveness toward her stepson Rain.
  • Morality Pet: Delia is this Daegon. Jade seems to have been this to Kitana and the other revenants, as her death for rebelling against Quan Chi’s control deeply affected all of them to the point that they stopped fighting and don’t like thinking about her.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Delia is the wife of Argus, Protector God of Edenia and takes a very active role in trying to save the world.
  • Sharing a Body: They both share control of Jade's body.
  • Where Did We Go Wrong?: Delia blames herself for what Daegon has become.

Taven

Sheeva

Bo' Rai Cho

Li Mei

  • A Mother to Her Men: She's been protecting her people for years and sees them as her family. Naturally, she's heartbroken when Hotaru burns down her village under the orders of Raiden.
  • Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Refuses to listen to reason and is consumed by revenge after Hotaru burns down her village, which results her brutal defeat and near death at his hands. She seems to be on the road to recovery now, though, thanks to some help from Erron Black.
  • Femme Fatale: Fits most of the tropes.
  • It's Personal with the Dragon: Wants to kill Hotaru for burning down her village.
  • Last of Her Kind: After Hotaru burns down her village.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Vows to go on this after Hotaru burns down her village.

Orin

Caro

     Netherrealm 

Liu Kang

Kitana

Kung Lao

Smoke

Sindel

Nightwolf

  • Anti-Hero: A hero turned anti-hero who now works to get rid of Raiden using whatever method at his disposal.
  • The Atoner: Is overwhelmed with guilt for what he did as a revenant.
  • Back from the Dead: Freed from Quan Chi's spell by Jade/Delia.

Stryker

Kabal

Sareena

Ashrah

Quan Chi

     Seido/Orderrealm 

Darrius

Dairou

  • Ambiguously Evil: He’s a hitman who would kill nearly anyone this comes off as this. That said, he has standards, such as not harming children, and disapproves of Hotaru's obsession with order.
  • Anti-Villain: He's a mercenary who claims to only care about money, but is against harming children and does not support Hotaru's obsession with order.
  • Guile Hero: A mercenary with standards.
  • Hates Small Talk: This is hinted at in Chapter 49.
  • Hitman with a Heart: As his interactions with Viviana and refusal to harm children shows. He later tells Havik there is more to his reasons for allying with Darrius and Fujin than money.
  • My Greatest Failure: Blames himself for his family's, particularly his daughter, murders.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: He makes this perfectly clear to Darrius in Chapter 49.
  • Only in It for the Money: Or so he says at first. He later tells Havik there is more to his reasons for allying with Darrius and Fujin than money, as he is very disturbed by Hotaru's obsession with order and alliance with Raiden.
  • Professional Killer: He's killed his fair share of people as a mercenary.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Is this on Kotal Kahn's side.
  • Took a Level in Cynic: After his family was murdered.
  • We Used to Be Friends: With Hotaru.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Dairou feels that there is a line that he would never cross while working as a mercenary - hitting or killing a child. This is because his family was murdered and he is justifiably cynical as a result.

Viviana

  • Morality Pet: Seems to be this to Dairou, as she reminds him of his deceased daughter.

     Raiden's Forces 

Raiden

  • Ambition Is Evil: After he Came Back Wrong, Raiden intends to merge all the realms in order to "protect" Earthrealm.
  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Raiden becomes a selfish, taunting vengeful Jerkass God following his corruption and Face–Heel Turn.
  • Arch-Enemy: To all of his ex-allies, especially Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Fujin, Scorpion, Bo' Rai Cho and Kotal Kahn.
  • Ax-Crazy: He's a deranged Mad God with sociopathic tendencies whom you don't want to cross.
  • Bad Boss: He certainly doesn't discriminate when he treats someone awfully, even if they are his underlings/allies. It's clear that those who join him- even if it is just to satisfy their own sadistic urges- only obey him out of sheer terror.
  • Became Their Own Antithesis: Many of Raiden's former allies now see Raiden as a tyrant no better than Shinnok or Shao Kahn, who's using the same brutal methods of merging the realms.
  • Big Bad: The one who pulls all the strings to the plot and is the main antagonist.
  • Berserk Button: Woe to anybody who compares him to Shao Kahn and/or Shinnok - he zaps them to near-death.
  • Blackmail: This is how he strong-armed Nitara into serving him, threatening to kill off her people if she said no.
  • Broken Pedestal: Was once Earthrealm's God of Thunder and its protector, and as well as mentor to Liu Kang and Kung Lao.
  • The Conqueror: Intends to conquer and merge Outworld and Netherrealm with Earthrealm.
  • Dark Is Evil: Is this to a T.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Given that he attempts to merge realms and essentially cause Armageddon just because the other realms dared touch Earthrealm.
    • Is also horribly fond of electrocuting on anyone who dares compare him to Shao Kahn or Shinnok, or even question him.
  • The Dreaded: Nobody, no matter on whose side they are, wants to get on his nerves.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Didn't expect Sonya and Kira to rescue Cassie when he and Kano kidnapped Cassie to ensure that her parents and allies wouldn't interfere. Also, threatening to torture Takeda would lead to Scorpion changing sides.
  • Electric Torture: A favorite torture method of his.
  • Evil Gloating: When Raiden announces his plans to invade Outworld, Fujin, Team S-F and the Lin Kuei are absolutely horrified at this. Later on, when Scorpion objects to Cassie's torture, not only does Kano tell-tale on him, but Raiden threatens to kill Takeda if Scorpion dares to defect. And when Cassie mocks him for what he did to her, he instead tortures Kevin, forcing her to grovel before him.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Raiden becomes enraged when Fujin calls him out for his atrocities in chapter 24.
  • Expy: The corrupted thunder god shares many of the traits of Regime Superman from Injustice: Gods Among Us. Also shares some traits with Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Franz Oberhauser/Ernst Stavro Blofeld from Spectre, Judge Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, King Candy/Turbo from Wreck-It Ralph and King Boo from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.
  • Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He has a sick and twisted sense of humor when it comes to physically and psychologically abusing and torturing his ex-allies.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Fujin, Kotal Kahn, Liu Kang, and many of his ex-allies.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Raiden becomes a violent and cold-blooded killer god following his corruption.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Polite, charming, composed — as a Smug Snake to his former allies. When the mask slips due to pride or rage, on the other hand, he proves himself to truly be cruel, sadistic and Ax-Crazy.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Was once the mentor to many of his champions and the defender of Earthrealm, but after he Came Back Wrong, he's now the biggest threat to all realms and by extension, the Elder Gods as he's close to triggering a Class Z Apocalypse How.
  • Forced into Evil: What drove Raiden to a path of villainy? After his Heroic Sacrifice at the end of Mortal Kombat X, Raiden Came Back Wrong as an Evil Overlord with a mix of the Omnicidal Maniac and He Who Fights Monsters personalities, and will not stop at creating an Utopia Justifies the Means empire (by merging Outworld and the Netherrealm) in order to "protect" Earthrealm, no matter the body count that may result from the ensuing violence.
  • God Is Evil: Pretty much a self-centered god at this point, having been corrupted to the core.
  • Hanging Judge: How he sees himself and how he acts to his enemies.
  • Hated by All: Raiden is feared and hated by all of his ex-allies as well as most of his current allies.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Starts off in this territory, slowly descends into full-blown villainy.
  • Hypocrite: All his talk about doing everything in the name of protecting Earthrealm comes off as him being this, given how he's now a mad, sadistic, selfish sociopath whose only goal now is to merge all the realms.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Pre-Corruption With Fujin
  • I Control My Minions Through...: Manipulation, Corruption, and Fear. This is especially the case with Scorpion, Nitara, and Daegon.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: When Fujin berates Raiden for all the things he did so far in Chapter 24, the thunder god retorts that he's protecting Earthrealm at all costs, even if the methods are extreme.
  • Ignored Epiphany: In chapter 18, Raiden has moments reflecting that he's gone over the edge and starts doubting his actions, especially once he realizes that Armageddon has not been averted, but it doesn't stick and he immediately starts blaming his problems on the Elder Gods.
  • It's Personal: Raiden himself is one big target for his allies because of his list of crimes so far: invading Outworld, kidnapping and torturing Cassie, allowing Kano to torture his own son Kevin, psychologically and physically abusing his ex-allies, mass-zapping the Lin Kuei or Team S-F, attacking the Edenian Resistance, threatening to torture Takeda or Jacqui, berating his own minions, tricking and strong-arming Scorpion, Daegon and Nitara into serving him and ordering the destruction of Li Mei's village.
  • Karma Houdini: He has, so far, gotten away with everything in this fic.
  • Kick the Dog: Does this several times: Mass-shocking Team S-F and the Lin Kuei, kidnapping and torturing Cassie and Kevin, blackmailing and manipulating Scorpion and Nitara and Daegon, threatening Jacqui and Takeda, ordering the destruction of Li Mei's village, etc.
  • Kneel Before Zod: When Cassie objects to Kevin's torture by Raiden, the Thunder God forces Cassie to grovel before him in chapter 22. This, along with Raiden's threat to kill Takeda, becomes the breaking point for Scorpion to pull a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Knight of Cerebus: Mortal Kombat would be bad enough on its own, but Raiden takes it up a notch in this fanfic. You do not want to cross a blood-thirsty and deranged Mad God.
  • Lack of Empathy: Raiden takes bone-chilling and sadistic glee when torturing Cassie and mass-zapping the Lin Kuei or Team S-F, and shows no remorse even when crossing the Moral Event Horizon by ordering the destruction of Li Mei's village.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Raiden preys on Scorpion's guilt for his role in freeing Shinnok by manipulating the former revenant into serving him. Scorpion realizes how far gone Raiden has become over time and switches sides after the deity threatens Takeda and Jacqui.
    • Raiden preys on Daegon's feelings about being The Unfavorite son of Argus and uses him as a pawn against Delia and Taven, who unsuccessfully try to convince Daegon to pull a Heel–Face Turn.
    • Raiden blackmails Nitara into serving him by using her devotion to protecting her people to his advantage. Nitara herself is well aware of the Thunder God's status as a master manipulator, but is terrified of what will happen if she betrays him, especially considering what he did to Li Mei's people.
  • Mask of Sanity: Raiden will put off a charming and suave persona even when zapping his enemies, but beneath that mask lies a cold-blooded, deranged megalomaniac and insane sociopath who is not only a Mad God, but is willing to incite Armageddon just for his own selfish gains to "protect" Earthrealm at all costs, even if it meant eliminating and torturing anybody who crosses him, and is slowly breaking down.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Nice going, Raiden. Invading Outworld, kidnapping and torturing Cassandra Cage and how you plan to incite Armageddon has forced a big coalition of Ragtag Bunch of Misfits to emerge and take you down.
    • He also threatens Hanzo that he'll do the same thing to Takeda as he did to Cassie, causing the former revenant to pull off a Heel–Face Turn.
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: It cannot be stressed enough that he did not pull a Face–Heel Turn of his own volition. He purified the Jinsei after Shinnok corrupted it in order to save Earthrealm, but had to take the corrupted essence into himself in order to do so—an unquestionably selfless and heroic act. Becoming a tyrannical overlord bent on conquest was neither anticipated nor desired.
  • Nightmare Face: While he most likely does not possess this by default, this is the effect that he conveys- nobody wants to look directly for too long at a sadistic Mad God bent on conquest and bloodshed.
  • Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Raiden claims that he wants to "protect" Earthrealm from external threats. However, his real motive seems to be genocide against all those realms that he considers as a threat to Earthrealm, especially Outworld.
  • The Paranoiac: He fits this personality type quite well, as years of war, the loss of many of his allies, feeling betrayed by your superiors and a big guilt slowly changed him, and after he Came Back Wrong, he became a ruthless madman bent on destroying all realms at all costs, not caring who gets killed in the ensuing violence.
  • Physical God: Raiden takes it to a nightmarish extreme. He is clearly more powerful than everyone, and now he has no problem showcasing his superiority and arrogance. Jacqui even calls him thick-headed and arrogant for this reason.
  • Sadist: Raiden takes bone-chilling and sadistic glee in torturing anybody who opposes him, whether it's mass-zapping Team S-F for stopping him from kidnapping Cassie, electrocuting Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei to near-death (and placing the Lin Kuei grandmaster in a comatose state), or torturing Cassie and Kevin just for amusement.
  • Principles Zealot: One of the reasons why he is so insane he won’t let let go of his ideals so he refuses to compromise even slightly.
  • The Sociopath: Manipulative, cold-blooded, sadistic, remorseless, ruthless, selfish, pompous, arrogant, evil... yes, he's clearly one to a T.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! and I Make Them: Raiden, whose actions make many of his former allies enemies.
  • Tragic Villain: Kung Jin sees him this way: evil as he may be, he did not choose to become like this. He was merely being selfless when he purified the Jinsei from corruption and now he's an irredeemably evil Mad God, all because he wanted to do good. Kung Jin even states that if this is what his sacrifice was rewarded with, Raiden should have died instead.
  • Tranquil Fury: When he's not actually angry enough to show it, he'll gleefully torture you by zapping; this all goes away when Cassie pisses him off enough.
  • The Unfettered: Raiden has no qualms about invading other realms following his Face–Heel Turn, and using the same tactics to silence his enemies.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: What Raiden plans to do after merging Outworld and the Netherrealm, though Sheeva (in chapter 7) thinks that the thunder god would actually create a Dystopia Justifies the Means empire, after explaining to Ferra what could happen if Kotal Kahn loses the Mortal Kombat tournament.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Though it's slowly emerging, Raiden is beginning to show signs of a breakdown.
  • Villainous Friendship: With Hotaru.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: After absorbing Shinnok's powers unto himself during his Heroic Sacrifice at the end of Mortal Kombat X, Raiden Came Back Wrong as an insane Omnicidal Maniac just so he can "protect" Earthrealm from outside threats. Just ask him how he kickstarted the story.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Kotal Kahn, Team S-F, the Lin Kuei, Liu Kang and Cassie Cage call out Raiden when he plans to merge Outworld and the Netherrealm with Earthrealm. Unsurprisingly, Raiden electrocutes them all, resulting in Cassie being kidnapped and tortured, many of Kotal Kahn's warriors being injured, while Sub-Zero and Torr are now in a comatose state - though Sub-Zero awakens from his coma in chapter 27, while Torr does the same thing in chapter 28. Cassie also manages to escape from Kano's clutches thanks to Sonya and Kira coming to the rescue.
    • Fujin also gives one in chapter 24. It also counts as a Kirk Summation
  • Would Hurt a Child: In chapter 16, when forcefully interrogating an Edenian named Ruby on Rain's whereabouts, Raiden threatens to kill all the Edenian refugees in the camp, particularly women and children.
    • Many of the Lin Kuei he either killed or maimed after crossing the Moral Event Horizon were in their early teens.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Raiden and Kano kidnap and torture Cassie Cage to ensure Johnny or Sonya won't interfere in their plans.
  • White Hair, Black Heart: White hair and a massive sociopath.
  • You're Insane!: Many of his now-former allies call Raiden out, but Raiden just ignores them by mass-electrocuting his former allies.
  • You Monster!: Raiden, once he mass-zaps the Lin Kuei (and is therefore responsible for Sub-Zero's comatose state until Chapter 27). Cassie Cage even calls him an outright villain, referencing the Harvey Dent quote about paragon figures like Raiden turning rogue.

Hotaru

Shang Tsung:

Daegon

Mavado

  • Back from the Dead: Resurrected by Shang Tsung.
  • Enigmatic Minion: Seems like one to Daegon. That said, he's very loyal to the Red Dragon Clan and is always there for his comrades.
  • Evil Genius: He’s intelligent, disciplined, and cunning in his moves.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Daegon. In his own words, as long as Daegon is loyal to Raiden, so is Mavado.

Skarlet

Goro

  • ]It Amused Me: Laughed after killing Sheeva's champions.
  • It's Personal: Wants revenge on Kotal for amputating his arms and killing his father, and on Sheeva for taking his rightful place as ruler of the Shokan.

Kano

  • Arch-Enemy: To Sonya.
  • Abusive Dad: To Kevin.
  • Action Dad: Albeit not a very good father at all.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: Said to have laughed for half an hour upon finding out that Cassie groveled before Raiden.
  • A Father to His Men: Cares more for his Black Dragon comrades than his own son.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: Kano gets two; a general pardon for his past crimes? Good. Kidnap Cassie Cage? Even better.
  • Arms Dealer: Sells weapons to anyone willing to buy.
  • The Dragon: Initially shares this role with Scorpion until Cassie's rescue demotes him to Evil Genius and he is replaced by Shang Tsung.
  • Evil Genius: Demoted to this after Cassie is rescued by Sonya and Kira.
  • Evil Old Folks: At least in 60s and still a big threat.
  • It's Personal: Kano has one big target on his back. If Johnny and Sonya don't kill him for aiding Raiden in kidnapping and later, torturing Cassie, then Kabal will, as Kano not only masterminded his maiming at the hands of Kintaro, but also raped his widow, resulting in Kevin's conception. Kevin also wants revenge on Kano for torturing him.
  • Kick the Dog: Tortures and abuses Kevin.
  • Lack of Empathy: Shows no remorse for torturing Cassie and Kevin, masterminding Kabal's disfigurement at Kintaro's hands and raping his widow, or any of his crimes in general.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain; Snitching on Scorpion ultimately leads to the former specter to change sides.
  • The Reveal: Responsible for Kabal being disfigured and raping his widow. This results in Kevin's conception. Kevin is kidnapped and tortured by Kano alongside Cassie until Sonya and Kira rescue them.
  • The Rival: To Daegon.

Tasia

  • An Arm and a Leg: In this case, hands. Kira causes Tasia to amputate her own hands with her own weapons.
  • Artificial Limbs: Has her hands replaced with prosthetics after Kira causes Tasia to amputate her own hands with her own weapons.
  • The Baroness: Sexpot.
  • Berserk Button: Being called a whore by Kira.
  • Dark Action Girl: A sociopathic woman who takes glee in sadistic activities and proudly calls herself a psychopath.
  • Dark Mistress: To Kano. It's implied that she's also this to Jarek.
  • Femme Fatale: Uses her charms to get what she wants.
  • Hoist by Her Own Petard: Kira causes Tasia to amputate her own hands with her own weapons.
  • It's Personal: Wants revenge on Kira for chopping off her hands. Frost also seems to want revenge on Tasia for killing two Lin Kuei members she was close to.
  • Lack of Empathy: In her Evil Feels Good speech, she declares her pride in being a psychopath to Kira, claiming that she simply doesn't care about who suffers or dies because of her actions.
  • Sadist: Her Evil Feels Good speech to Kira confirms this.
  • The Rival: To Kira.

Jarek

  • The Brute: Primarily serves as the weapon for his teammates.

Tremor

  • The Brute: He's typically used for his power by the black dragons, but to his credit he’s a very formidable enough to beat Rain.

Kobra

D'Vorah

Tanya

Nitara

  • Ambiguously Evil: Probably the least ambiguously evil with her motives, but she did join with Raiden and doesn’t have too much problem dealing with former allies of his.
  • A Mother to Her Men: Is genuinely concerned about the future of her people and what will happen to them if she makes a horrible mistake with tragic consequences.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: Was strong-armed by Raiden into serving him, as it was either side with him in exchange for the chance to defeat Ashrah and keep her people safe or become the Thunder God's enemy and have her people suffer the same fate as his other enemies. Nitara herself is aware of the deity's status as a master manipulator, but is terrified of what will happen if she betrays him.
  • Anti-Villain: Shes joined Raidens side of lunatics, but only to protect her realm and protect her people.
  • The Baroness: Although she looks like a Sexpot, she's more of a Rosa Klebb.
  • Dark Action Girl: She's willing to become one to protect her people, but her involvement with Raiden is mainly the result of him exploiting this to make her serve him.
  • Femme Fatale: Although she prefers to use her brain over her looks.
  • Guile Hero: Is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her race.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: Namely Nitara's species are called Moroi belonging to the realm of Vaeternus, a world that was long conquered by Shao Kahn. They are only weakened by Earthrealm's sun, and apparently only wooden stakes and the holy sword Ashrah carries can kill them.
  • The Rival: To Ashrah.
  • The Power of Blood: She's a vampire. Enough said.
  • Token Good Teammate: Generally the most heroic of all her teammates.

Mileena

Baraka

Havik

Reiko

Triborg

  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: When Sonya tries to activate Triborg, he immediately goes rogue. It takes one hell of a struggle to put down the cyborg ninja.
  • All Your Powers Combined: Hosts the consciousness of Sektor, Cyrax, Smoke and Cyber Sub-Zero, though Sektor's consciousness is the dominant one in Triborg.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Activating an unstable robot led to disatrous consequences.
  • Spock Speak: Speaks robotically and maliciously.
  • Robotic Psychopath: Has picked up Sektor's bad habits.

Noob Saibot

Drahmin

Moloch

Kia

Jataaka

Shao Kahn

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