Sindel



"That was fun!"

-- Sindel's friendship finisher

Sindel is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. She made her debut in Mortal Kombat 3.

About Sindel
Sindel is an exceptional character in the Mortal Kombat series (and in fighting games in general) in more than one way. She is a distinctly older and mature character, with flowing grey hair and a regal attitude befitting of her role as Queen of Edenia. Another factor that contributes to her uniqueness is the fact that at one point in the series, she was actually undead. In spite of her gloomy, gothic appearance, Sindel is benevolent in nature. She rules the realm of Edenia alongside her daughter, Princess Kitana. Sindel's power appears to be more one of an inner, ethereal nature and she has a natural affinity with aerial magic, as evidenced by her ability to levitate and manipulate sonic waves. In Mortal Kombat: Deception creator Ed Boon describes Sindel as a challenging character in more ways than one. Although Sindel is not one of the main characters in the series, she was involved in a big part of the game many had to do with the fact that her ruling over Edenia, and how it was a target to many rulers like Shao Kahn, Shinnok, and Onaga. Sindel was one of the few evil characters to turn good in the series.

Storyline
Sindel's storyline begins tragically 10,000 years ago, when her kingdom was invaded by Shao Kahn, and she was forced to watch as her husband, King Jerrod was killed, her people enslaved, and then-infant Kitana adopted by Kahn as his daughter. This proved too much for her as a mother, wife, and queen, and soon after the invasion, she committed suicide.

However, this would not be the end of her. Gaining aid from the Elder God Shinnok, Shao Kahn would conspire to bring her back to life, but not in Outworld. Instead, her resurrection would take place on Earth, which would allow Shao Kahn to step through the borders separating the realms and claim her for himself, thus forcing a merger between Earth and Outworld. She would also be revived in a brainwashed state, with no knowledge of her past and having complete loyalty to Kahn. After the sorcerer Shang Tsung failed to secure Earth via the Mortal Kombat tournament, Kahn implemented this plan, and was partially successful; Sindel was reborn just as was planned, and Kahn was able to garner a partial merger of the realms by her revival before Earth's warriors defeated him. However, Kahn didn't just lose Earth in his defeat; Kitana - realizing that her mother was alive - succeeded in procuring an audience with her and convincing her of her true past, thus turning Sindel against the emperor. As Kahn's defeat also succeeded in separating it from their homerealm of Edenia, Sindel took up her rightful place on its throne, and vowed not only to rebuild their home, but to also bring down Shao Kahn for his many crimes.

However, those plans had to wait, as one of Sindel's people, the daughter of an Edenian ambassador to the realms named Tanya, betrayed her homeland and allowed the Netherrealm forces of the fallen Elder God Shinnok to invade the palace. Though Kitana got away, Sindel herself was captured and held in her own dungeon until Shinnok's forces were defeated. Enraged at this latest invasion on her kingdom, Sindel sent Kitana to form an alliance with the Shokan armies and lead them into battle against a weakened Shao Kahn while she continued to help restore Edenia to its former beauty.

Unfortunately, Sindel plans on restoring Edenia would once again have to wait. The formantion of the Deadly Alliance, it brought conflict between Kitana and her alliance, they were slain in battle only to be later resurrected by Onaga the Dragon King as mindless warriors under his control. Edenia eventually fell to Onaga, and Sindel was locked away in one of his dungeons with the brainwashed Kitana serving as her guard. With the aid of the traitor, Tanya, he would begin to scour the kingdom for the missing Kamidogu, the sources of his true power. Luckily, Jade managed to defeat Kitana, free Sindel and escape with her to Outworld. There they tracked down Dragon King's tomb, where Onaga's original body was interred. Sindel prepared the ancient spell which would draw his soul back to his prison. But, the Dragon King was well aware of their plot and had sent Kitana to eliminate them. As Jade fended off the Princess, Sindel thrust her Kwan Dao into the corpse and screamed the spell that returned Onaga to his tomb, defeating him at last. With the tyrant gone, his hold over Kitana's mind was broken and she was finally reunited with her mother. Peace had been restored to Edenia, once again.

In Sindel's Armageddon ending, she defeats Blaze, and with the power of a god coursing through her, Sindel chose to undo the murder of her husband,

Jerrod, at the hands of Shao Kahn. Reaching into the Heavens, she pulled his soul back to Edenia and made him flesh once more. The reunited Jerrod, Sindel and Kitana formed the Triad of the Just to protect the realms from tyrants like Shao Kahn.

Powers and abilities
Being an Edenian, Sindel possesses an array of mystical abilities. One of her trademark abilities is her ultrasonic scream. The strength and its properties seem to differ on the focus. This ranges from sonic blasts to a fierce soundwave that can outright blast an opponent's skin clean off. She can tone this down to a degree to paralyze the unwary. Another of her mystical powers is her prehensile hair which can be used as both a throw and a finisher in Mortal Kombat 3, where it would grow to extremely long lengths and be able to wrap itself around the opponent. Another of Sindel's distinguishing characteristics is her ability to levitate. Apart from serving as her win pose, she can use this to evade enemy attacks and deal damage simultaneously.

Signature moves

 * Banshee Scream: One of her most familiar signature moves. She screams at super high volume, and it stuns the opponent, giving her a free hit. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A)
 * Levitate: Sindel uses her flying abilities to float in mid-air. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Star Screamer: Sindel fires a purple powerball at the opponent. She could do this while floating in the air as well in Mortal Kombat 3. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D)
 * Double Star Screamer: Sindel could fire two powerballs from her mouth. (MKT)
 * Sliding Foot Grab: Sindel slides towards the opponent. If she connects, she grabs onto the opponent's feet, causing them to wobble, then brings her own feet over to kick the opponent in the head. (MK:D, MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Scream of Death: Sindel screams with such force that her opponent's skin rips off of its body and a skeleton covered in flesh remains. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Death Spin: Sindel wraps her opponent in her hair, then pulls it back quickly. The victim spins at an impossible speed, until bones and blood splurt out, leaving nothing behind. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Kwan Dao Spin: Sindel tosses her opponent in the air above her, then pulls out her Kwan Do and begins twirling it in the air. As the opponent falls onto it, they are chopped into pieces. (MK:D)
 * Super Screamer: Sindel screams with such force that her opponent's body is torn to pieces. (MK:D)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: She kicks a field goal and says "That was fun". (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Animality: Sindel turns into a neon purple wasp. She buzzes over to her opponent and repeatedly stings him/her in the neck until both disappear off the side of the screen. She then reappears in her human form. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Hara-Kiri: Sindel gracefully leaps into the air and backflips, only to land (less gracefully) on her head, snapping her own neck, drawing blood. (MK:D)

Movie appearance
Sindel appeared in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and is eventually turned to the Forces of Light by Kitana. According to legend, she is first believed to be the key to closing Shao Kahn's portals to Earth, then her daughter is believed to be the key. On her initial capture and reunion with Kitana, this legend is, confusingly, revealed to be "a lie" and Sindel escapes from the Earthrealm warriors, before later facing Kitana in final battle. She only has a limited role in the movie, and is noted for her cheesy lines of dialogue. A dialogue between Kitana an Shao Kahn revels that Kahn drove Sindel to commit suicide, another aspect from the games that the directors got correct. When Sindel is brought back to life after Kahn's defeat, her change in alliances occurs, and she wears a symbolic white dress (rather than her purple and black outfit) to denote this. She is portrayed by South African actress Musetta Vander.

Trivia

 * Sindel was one of several MK3 characters who were not officially named until the game neared completion. During production, she was nicknamed "Muchacha" and "The Bride" by the programmers.
 * Sindel's Star Scream fatality was translated as a fatality for Fujin, only Fujin uses the power of strong winds to rip apart the flesh of his opponent.
 * Her "that was fun" quote from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was used in the second movie.
 * Sindel is said to have been inspired by Marvel Comics' Banshee character, who appears in the X-Men series as the two characters use the power of high sonics to attack their enemies and fly.
 * She is the first character in the Mortal Kombat series who used the power of flight as both a move used in combat and as a win pose.
 * Sindel was the first (and only, so far) dead female character to be revived back to life.