Hotaru

"There is an order to the universe — laws that all of nature must obey."

- Hotaru's Mortal Kombat: Deception Biography

Hotaru (ホタル) is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series, who made his debut in Mortal Kombat: Deception.

About Hotaru
The name is Japanese for "firefly." This is reflected in his outfit which has the appearance of an insect's exoskeleton. He even has red flags attached to the back of his armor, representing the wings of a firefly. His special attacks evoke a firefly's glow and power of flight. Hotaru is a general from the realm of Seido, the Realm of Order, and devotes himself to preserving law and order at any cost. So much so that he could be described as a zealot. Hotaru is more of a lawful-type of neutral because (equivalent to Havik, who spreads discord and chaos) he preserves law and order and harshly punishes those who dare break it, but he is not above preserving it to a higher authority (such as the Dragon King Onaga).

Appearance
Hotaru is a samurai look-alike. His hair is long and white, and he wears it in a bun in the back. He wears a full upper body suit of armor. The armor is black and gold and covers his entire upper torso. At the shoulder it points up protecting his neck. His arms and hands are also protected by this armor. Hotaru also wears unique flags on his back, similar to that of a real life samurai. These flags are actually called Sashimonos, and they were worn by said samurai to represent their clans. He fights with a red flap dangling in front of him; he wears black and gold boots.

For his alternate costume, Hotaru is still clad in gold and bluish black armor. He wears a helmet now though. His ponytail is sticking out the top and the top of his head is covered. He wears a metal gold mouth guard with two tassels sticking out the side. The rest of his body is clad in this gold metal armor. His shoulders have armor pads as do his wrists. He has a gold belt hanging in front of his legs. His upper thighs all the way down to his knees are covered in this armor. He wears gold and bluish black boots.

Powers and Abilities
Hotaru has the ability to project lava, as evidenced by his special attacks. He can also use this power as a means of ambushing his opponent, such as in Kenshi's Deception ending, where he used a burst of plasma to temporarily blind Sub-Zero, allowing Hotaru to move in for the kill. Hotaru's Hara-Kiri has him demonstrating a spine rip, similar to the original Sub-Zero's Fatality from the first Mortal Kombat, showcasing his impressive strength.

Signature Moves

 * Grasshopper: Very similar to Liu Kang's Bicycle Kick, he jumps in the air and repeatedly kicks the opponent sideways. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * Lava Burst: Hotaru throws a magma ball to the ground, ascending the opponent into the air, leaving them open for an attack. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * Fury Punch and Escape: Hotaru dashes forward with a straight punch with a streak of magma trailing from his feet, then slides back to his original position. (MK:A)
 * Quick Tricks: Hotaru does the same animation as the Fury Punch and Escape, only this time he slides past the opponent and appears behind them. (MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Triple Neck Snap: Hotaru kicks the opponent in the thigh, causing them to kneel down, as Hotaru takes his hands to the opponent and begins snapping their neck. He simply does not stop, as he tries two more times, the third one strong enough to make the corpse flinch from the intensity of it. (MK:D)
 * Body Slam: Hotaru takes his opponent's leg and begins slamming his opponent around, causing blood and guts to spill out. A third time, he slides the opponent's body and slams them, causing their entire body to explode. (MK:D)

Other Finishers

 * Hara-Kiri: Spine Rip: Hotaru takes a hand to his head and promptly rips it off along with his spine as he crumples to the floor. (MK:D)

Trivia

 * Much like Reiko's name, Hotaru is a feminine name in Japanese, despite him being a male character. This may have been an oversight on the part of Midway, though.
 * His name literally translates into "firefly" in Japanese.
 * His weapon, Naginata, is also usually used for female samurai.
 * Hotaru's Hara-Kiri in Deception shows him ripping his head and spine out, but an early video from the official website shows him kneeling down and cleanly snapping his neck, a Hara-Kiri that would be later given to Scorpion.
 * Hotaru was the only character in Mortal Kombat: Deception to have only 2 special moves. However, he was given 2 new special moves in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.
 * Even though Hotaru and the Realm of Seido prefer a neutral order, due to their will of spreading order throughout the realms Hotaru has chosen to unite with the Forces of Darkness. This can be explained because all characters from Darkness, with rare exceptions like Scorpion, seek to control all the realms on their own way.
 * Oddly, Hotaru's ending in Armageddon is a complete reversion of Havik's.
 * Hotaru's body can be seen at the beginning of Mortal Kombat (2011).
 * His early concept depicted him with black hair instead of white hair.