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Learn about the character of Raiden in Mortal Kombat and the lore he has accumulated over the years as part of the franchise.
Raiden is one of the strongest characters on the side of good in the Mortal Kombat series. He has served as a mentor to most of Earthrealm’s warriors, especially to the main protagonist of the series, Liu Kang. However, being a god and a mentor has not prevented this deity from fighting in the Mortal Kombat tournament when needed. So, let’s learn about the lore surrounding the thunder god Raiden.
Raiden’s History in Mortal Kombat
Raiden in the Original Timeline
Raiden made his debut in the first Mortal Kombat game. He was invited to take part in the tournament by Shang Tsung and took on a human form to do so. In the sequel, he takes part in the Outworld tournament despite being aware of the treacherous nature of the hosts. While he could not participate in the defense of Earthrealm against Shao Kahn’s invasion in Mortal Kombat 3, he protected their souls at the cost of his godhood. Once Shao was defeated, he regained his status as protector of Earthrealm and thunder god.
In Mortal Kombat 4, Raiden led the warriors of Earthrealm against the former Elder God Shinnok. As a reward for his victory, Raiden was granted the status of an Elder God and passed on the role of Earthrealm’s protector to his brother Fujin. However, he rejected his new Elder God status after Shang Tsung and Quan Chi murdered Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. He then led Earthrealm’s warriors in battle against the sorcerers’ deadly alliance. However, all of his allies were slain, and he was defeated as well.
Raiden formed a temporary alliance with the sorcerers against Dragon King Onaga at the start of Mortal Kombat: Deception. In a desperate last-ditch effort, he released his godly essence, destroying everything around him. However, Onaga remained unharmed. While Raiden re-formed on Earthrealm, Onaga’s presence corrupted him. Now bitter toward Earthrealm, he unleashed the corpse of Liu Kang as an undead zombie to menace its inhabitants.
Dark Raiden further descended into madness by making alliances with Shinnok and Shao Kahn in the name of protecting Earthrealm. He regained some of his sanity in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon as he fought alongside the heroes against the Forces of Darkness.
Raiden in Mortal Kombat (2011)
In Mortal Kombat (2011), Raiden’s visions are the main driving force behind the plot. The Raiden from the previous timeline provided this one with the warning, “He must win.” However, as a result of misinterpreting the meaning behind these visions, several of Earthrealm’s heroes were killed. This included Liu Kang, who died at Raiden’s hand in self-defense after the god suggested that Shao Kahn had to “win.” This allowed the Elder Gods to intervene and save Earthrealm from Shao Kahn.
Mortal Kombat X sees Shinnok invade Earthrealm with an army of undead warriors. Raiden led the defense of the realm, with Johnny Cage being the one to finally defeat the former Elder God. Years later, when Shinnok attacked again and was defeated this time by Cassie Cage, Johnny’s daughter, Raiden became corrupted after purging the Elder God’s essence. This led him to decapitate Shinnok and leave his head as a warning in the NetherRealm.
In Mortal Kombat 11, the main antagonist Kronika altered the timeline to remove the current version of Raiden from existence. However, this caused a past version of Raiden, one not yet corrupted, to appear and help the heroes. He clashed with the past version of Liu Kang but realized this was by Kronika’s design. To circumvent this, he merged himself with both the past and present Liu Kang. This led to the rise of Fire God Liu Kang, who defeated Kronika.
Raiden in Mortal Kombat 1
Mortal Kombat 1 sees a reversal of roles between Raiden and Liu Kang. To prevent his former mentor from succumbing to darkness like before, Kang made Raiden a mortal and acted as his mentor. Raiden won the right to represent Earthrealm in a Mortal Kombat tournament against Outworld.
He defeats all the opponents he faces, and wins the tournament by defeating Princess Kitana and later Shao Kahn. This Raiden joined the final fight against Titan Shang Tsung’s forces and helped Fire God Liu Kang defeat him.
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