Rain

Rain is a character in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games.

About Rain
Rain was originally meant to appear in Mortal Kombat 3, but didn't actually appear until Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Rain was originally a red herring inserted by the game developers; a character shown in the game's intro sequence who did not actually exist within the game itself. Many MK fans searched for him in vain, with the eventual realization of his status as a joke character (named after a Prince song, Purple Rain) dawning. He would however, soon make an actual appearance in the console versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy as a full-fledged character with his own history (that of a traitor to his realm) and move set, to the delight of many fans, as well as the chagrin of others. His popularity is mixed within the MK fanbase.

Storyline
Rain is from the ancient realm of Edenia. As a small child, he bore witness to the invasion of his home world at the hands of Shao Kahn. During the chaos that ensued, Rain was smuggled away while his father stayed behind to perform his duties as a general in the Edenian army. Edenia's armies were crushed in the Outworld invasion, and Rain's father was subsequently killed by Kahn.

Thousands of years later, Rain mysteriously returned during the invasion of Earthrealm and was attacked by Kahn's extermination squads. Given the choice to fight for Kahn or be killed, he knowingly turned his back on his homeworld, and he chose to side with Shao Kahn. Either out of fear, cowardice, or ulterior motives, he aided Kahn in his plans for the conquest of Earthrealm. Trained in the art of combat, Rain fought whole-heartedly to destroy Earth's warriors.

Possible future
As Rain has not appeared as a playable character in years, and Deadly Alliance offered no insights to his current whereabouts, details about Rain's fate remain unknown. His Mortal Kombat Trilogy ending stated that Kitana confronted Rain and was able to turn him against the Emperor by informing Rain of his father, an Edenian general's stand against Shao Kahn leading to his subsequent death. After learning this, Rain was furious, and embarked on a one-way suicide mission to stop Kahn.

Rain appears as a non-playable character in Mortal Kombat: Deception, in Konquest mode. He can be found in both Edenia and Outworld, and is involved in two separate sub-quests to be undertaken by Shujinko. In the second sub-quest, Rain is shown to have been slain by Jade. It is uncertain how many different events taking place in Konquest mode are canon.

As stated no word since then has surfaced, but an explanation is imminent, as Rain is confirmed to make his return in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (along with Reptile), with a complete redesign (pictured above). Rain's new more ornamented appearance is quite different from his palette swap ninja outfit from Ultimate Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, resembling someone of a somewhat royal status.



Memorable moves

 * Mind-Control Orb: Rain projects a light-blue sphere at his opponent, which shatters as it hits. A successful hit allows Rain to move his opponent's body in any direction for a split-second. (MKT)
 * Lightning: Rain raises his arm and summons a blue lightning bolt to strike his enemy. This attack is given to Nightwolf in MK:Deception. (MKT)
 * Super Roundhouse: Rain roundhouses his opponent clear to the other side of the screen. Connecting with a second Super Roundhouse immediately after the first will not send the opponent back across the screen, meaning an infinte Super Roundhouse combo is impossible, despite rumors to the contrary. (MKT)
 * Water Spray: Rain shoots a high-pressure stream of water at his adversary, knocking them down. (MK:A)
 * Teleport: Rain submerges himself in a small pool of water and emerges behind his opponent. (MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Upside Down Uppercut: Rain uppercuts his opponent into the air in several sections and they fall back down upside down. (MKT)
 * When Lightning Strikes: Rain sends a bolt of lightning that strikes the opponent over and over until they explode to pieces. (MKT)

Other finishers

 * Friendship Rain makes it rain (pun) around his opponent causing a few flowers to grow at their feet. (MKT)
 * Animality Rain turns into an elephant and blows his opponent's skin off their body by yelling out of its trunk. The elephent may be a baby or just smaller to fit the screen size. (MKT)
 * Brutality Rain goes brutal on his opponent using his Super Roundhouse as well before executing an uppercut to make his opponent explode. (MKT)

Movie appearance
Played by Tyrone Cortez Wiggins, Rain made a brief appearance in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. He was killed by Shao Kahn for not torturing Kabal and Kurtis Stryker. Stock footage of his demise is used for Baraka's death in a later scene.

TV appearance
Rain made an appearance during one episode of Mortal Kombat: Conquest where he was played by Percy Brown. Shao Kahn sends him to kill Kung Lao so as to eliminate Earth's Grand Champion before the next tournament. Rain does battle with the monk, whom he is able to damage greatly, but Rain also becomes injured during the fight. As Kung Lao's friends arrive, Rain escapes in his weakened state. He appears later in the episode after being trailed by Siro. While the two are in combat, Kitana intervenes, forcing Rain to flee once again. Kitana then reveals that she and Rain were once friends, but he had become seduced by the power offered by Shao Kahn and chose to betray his homeland of Edenia.

Rain also appeared in an episode of the animated Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm series. He was portrayed as Kitana's ex-fiance who was thought to have been killed in battle against Shao Kahn thousands of years ago, sparking jealousy in Liu Kang. He went unmasked throughout this episode.

Trivia

 * One of the codes in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 activated the message: "Rain can be found in the Graveyard."
 * When Jade defeats Rain in Konquest mode, she says "Purple? Rain chooses his wardrobe most curiously." This may be a play on Purple Rain, or a humorous reference to Prince's wardrobe.
 * Mortal Kombat Deception also has a "backwards speech" sample which states: "Rain is Purple, get it?"
 * Although Rain is considered a joke character by many (considering his pointless role in the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3) and has only appeared in a handful of games, he has a large fanbase.
 * His bio, before it was retconned, had him as an ex-member of the Lin Kuei who left to work for Shao Kahn. This bio was allegedly given to Tremor, a difference being that Tremor went to work for the Black Dragon instead of Shao Kahn.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Rain was once engaged to Kitana, causing Liu Kang to become jealous whenever he made an appearance. Rain's former relationship with Kitana was also included in Mortal Kombat: Conquest.  The relationship between them has never existed in the games.
 * In UMK3 and MK Trilogy, Rain's roundhouse kick sends the opponent flying off the screen and back on the other side. However, it only does about one-third as much damage as anyone else's roundhouse kick.