Rain



"I am no friend of yours. I am Rain, a prince of Edenia."

- Rain to Taven in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Rain is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

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 attract mode who did not actually exist within the game itself. A recent interview reveals that the insert was made by Ed Boon himself to intentionally trick players. 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. The joke expands further when it is revealed that Rain is a "prince" himself. 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 and the chagrin of others. His popularity is mixed within the MK fanbase. He is a DLC character for Mortal Kombat (2011), with his debut gameplay trailer released on July 11, 2011, and the character itself released on July 19th.

Power and abilities
Being the half-god he is, Rain wields immense power. Rain can control two things that involve weather: water and lightning. His powers being related to such, he is able to pressurize jet streams of water to either propel himself or slice his opponents like a blade. Rain's control over water and lightning is so powerful he can create storm clouds to block out the sun from the sky. He is most noted for his ability to trap opponents in a spherical prison of water that gives him limited control over their body. In addition, he is able to conjure up lightning blasts from the sky to blast his opponents into the air. He also possesses the ability to liquefy himself, turning himself into water and reconstituting behind them in a swift manner akin to teleporting. Through mysterious means, he enchants the strength in his legs, distorting space to strike them so hard that they would reappear opposite to his direction.

Signature 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 brief time. In Mortal Kombat (2011), the move is now called Water Bubble and the opponent is encased within it. (MKT, MK 2011, MKX)
 * The enhanced version is called Hydro Bubble and it grants a meter drain while the opponent is encased in it.
 * Shocking Bolt: Rain raises his arm and summons a blue lightning bolt to strike his enemy. This attack was borrowed by Nightwolf in Deception. In Mortal Kombat (2011), it is called Lightning and the bolts are purple. (MKT, MK:A, MK 2011, MKX)
 * The enhanced version is called Thunder Storm and it allows him to fire off three bolts in succession.
 * Super Roundhouse: Rain reverse roundhouses his opponent clear to the other side of the screen. In Mortal Kombat (2011), it's called Super Kick and can be postponed. (MKT, MK 2011, MKX)
 * The enhanced version is called Power Kick, it can be postponed and increases in damage.
 * Water Blast: Rain shoots a high-pressure stream of water at his adversary, knocking the opponent down. In Mortal Kombat (2011), the move is named Aqua Splash. (MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Aqua Blast, allowing Rain to shoot streams of water from both hands.
 * Mystic Vapors: Rain submerges himself in a small pool of water and emerges behind his opponent. In Mortal Kombat (2011), the move is named Water-Port and can be done in the air. (MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Aqua-Port which adds a Geyser Kick after the teleport.
 * Windy Feet: Rain propels himself forward with a blast of water from behind, kicking his opponent in the chest with both feet. (MK:A)
 * Geyser Kick: Rain goes into a handstand position and propels himself into the air using a geyser kicking anyone who is near. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Thermal Spring, and increases in damage.
 * H2O Boost: Rain waves his arm above his head and gains a damage boost, but he is unable to block. He glows yellow while this is active. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called H2O Buff which has a longer effect and grants a larger damage increase, but he is still unable to block. He glows purple instead of yellow.
 * X-Ray Move - Rain Check: Rain conjures a geyser below the opponent, which lands them in front of him. He then snaps one of the opponent's arms from the elbow, and then delivers a brutal reverse roundhouse kick to the face, damaging the skull forcing the victim to fly to the other side of the screen just like the super roundhouse. (MK 2011)

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, MK Advance)


 * Bubble Burst: Rain summons a large ball of water around the victim's head, and then forces it down the opponent's throat, causing them to inflate and then explode. (MK 2011)


 * Does it Sting?: Rain conjures up a ball of water to snap the opponent's legs, breaking them off. He then manipulates the water around his arm and shapes it into a highly pressurized blade to cut off the upper half of their head. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: Rain makes it rain around his opponent causing a few flowers to grow at their feet. (MKT)


 * Friendship #2: Rain gets out an umbrella and starts flying straight up. (MK Advance)


 * Animality: Rain turns into a small elephant and blows his opponent's skin off their body by yelling out of its trunk. (MKT)


 * Babality: Rain creates a jet of water he propels upwards, creating a storm cloud above him. It precedes to rain on top of him, causing him to fall down and cry. (MK 2011)

Movie appearance
Played by Tyrone Cortez Wiggins, Rain made a brief appearance in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. He was killed by Shao Kahn at a relatively early stage in the film due to not forcing Kabal and Kurtis Stryker to beg for their lives and not killing them. Enraged, Shao Kahn knocks him into a fire pit using his Wrath Hammer. This abrupt end, before any display of Rain's fighting or magical abilities, was seen by fans as an example of the film's inability to deal properly with the large number of characters introduced within its running time. It is implied that Rain was the general of Shao Kahn's extermination squads, ranking higher than Motaro, Sheeva and Ermac, as all three contend to fill the role after Rain's death (a role eventually awarded to Sindel). This, however, contradicts Raiden's threat of killing all four of Kahn's "generals" at the start of the movie. Stock footage of Rain's 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 'close', but he had become seduced by the power offered by Shao Kahn and chose to betray his homeland of Edenia.

Rain has also appeared in an episode Skin Deep 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. However, Rain betrayed the heroes and kidnapped his former comrade, swearing allegiance to Shao Kahn as the emperor appreciated his talents. He went unmasked throughout this entire episode. It is also hinted that Rain was only engaged to Kitana simply because of her power as princess.

Trivia

 * 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 been hinted in the games.
 * Rain's stationary pose changes between console versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy. In the Nintendo 64 version, Rain uses the same "dragon claw" pose as Reptile, as he did in versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 where he was selectable. In every other version of MKT, however, Rain uses the "Scorpion Tail" pose used used by every other male ninja (minus Reptile) featured in the game.
 * One Kombat code activated the message: "Rain can be found in the graveyard."
 * 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 other kombatants' roundhouse kicks.
 * Mortal Kombat Advance was the only port of Ultimate MK3 that gave Rain his own unique fatality (though the fatality was borrowed from MK Trilogy).
 * His bio, before it was retconned, had him as an ex-member of the Lin Kuei who left to work for Shao Kahn, which was meant for Tremor before Rain replaced him.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Rain's Primary costume depicts him carrying a dagger on his waistline. This could be a reference to Mortal Kombat: Deception ' s Konquest mode, where Shujinko finds and delivers a ceremonial dagger to Rain.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode, he retains his UMK3 appearance.
 * In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Rain was placed at #7 of the worst characters in the Mortal Kombat series. This was however only stated to be because he was named after the Prince song "Purple Rain" and thus was purple, not because of his lack of fighting skills, which were admitted to be "pretty awesome".
 * Although the reference to "the artist formerly known as Prince" is widely more accepted, a lesser known inspiration for Rain's character happens to be Rain of the Three Storms, one of David Lo Pan's most fearsome enforcers from the film Big Trouble in Little China. The most notable shout out is from his move set in Mortal Kombat (2011). He even shares a special move with fellow Three Storms tribute character, Raiden, in the 2011 game: their style of teleportation.
 * Rain's Friendship in Mortal Kombat Advance may be a reference to Mary Poppins, as she can fly with an umbrella just as Rain did.
 * In early versions of MK:A, Karate was supposed to be his unarmed fighting style.
 * Further hints to Rain's concept designs that is based on the 80's pop song can be found in Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode after Jade succeeds in her ambush against Rain. When speaking to Jade, she will say "Purple? Rain chooses his wardrobe most curiously."
 * In the fighting game Skullgirls Encore, the character Fukua has a color palette that is based off of Rain's colors. This is one of her three color palettes referencing Mortal Kombat, the other two being Ermac and Reptile.