Tanya

''I have been called an enforcer of the Deadly Alliance. I prefer the term "ambassador.” -- Mortal Kombat: Deception'' Bio

Tanya is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. She made her debut in Mortal Kombat 4.

About Tanya
Tanya is a slender, gloomy female from Edenia. Originally introduced as relatively innocent, she quickly turned out to be corrupted by evil, as evidenced in her adherence to the worshipping of Shinnok and her later service to both the Deadly Alliance and Onaga. She seems to view herself as more of a survivor rather than anything else, justifying her choices as being the "right decisions". Tanya is one of the few lady henchmen from the Mortal Kombat series, and prides herself on her superior knowledge of magic and diplomacy. Because of her frequent betrayal of the Edenian cause, she has earned the rivalry and bitter hatred of Jade.



Storyline
It is unknown when Tanya fell to the lure of the dark side of existence. Possible explanations may have been her youth under the harsh regime of Shao Kahn, when Outworld and Edenia were still merged, or her attraction to the forbidden areas of magic, which led her to make contact with Shinnok. Her upbringing on Outworld may also explain her total lack of affinity with her native realm Edenia.

At any rate, Tanya first appeared on the stage during the events of Mortal Kombat 4. As the daughter of Edenia's ambassador to new realms, she invited a group of refugees fleeing their own world into the peaceful realm of Edenia. However, the refugees were in actuality a disguised Shinnok, along with Quan Chi, and their Netherealm forces. Thanks to Tanya's treachery, Shinnok was free to wage war against the gods. During this time, she attempted to lure Liu Kang into a trap, but the attempt did not succeed, and Shinnok's power base was soon destroyed. With her master gone, and herself a wanted traitor in Edenia (having earned in particular the wrath of Jade), Tanya fled to Outworld.

Years later, Tanya resurfaced in the Deadly Alliance's ranks as an enforcer (although she preferred the term "ambassador" and was not a playable character in the game). She imposed Shang Tsung and Quan Chi's will upon the denizens of Outworld. But when the Deadly Alliance crumbled, Tanya found herself alone once more, and desired to return to Edenia. She was found, however, by Baraka, who gave her the choice of serving the newly resurrected Onaga or dying. She joined the ranks of the Dragon King, who was searching for ancient incantations that would enable him to fuse the Kamidogu into one, and thus acquire incredible power. Believing that such information still existed in Edenia, Tanya brought Onaga to her native realm.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat 4: "As the daughter of Edenia's Ambassador to new realms, Tanya invites a group of refugees fleeing their own world into the safety of Edenia. But soon after Queen Sindel allows them through the portal, she learns that one of the warriors is none other than the banished Elder God, Shinnok. The portal leads into the pits of the Netherrealm itself, and the once free realm of Edenia is now at the mercy of Shinnok."


 * Deception: "I had been called an enforcer of the Deadly Alliance. I preferred the term "ambassador". It was my duty to impose the will of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung upon the denizens of Outworld. But the sorcerers' rule was short-lived and I found myself leaderless, longing to return to my birthplace in Edenia. When Baraka caught up with me, he gave me a choice: serve his new lord of Outworld -- or die. I have lived for thousands of years because I make the right decisions. I pledged my service to the Dragon King." Onaga was aware of Shao Kahn's invasion of Edenia so many years ago. Apparently the Dragon King had been watching Shao Kahn from beyond death. Whatever the late emperor had been attempting, Onaga was determined to complete it. He was looking for lost information, ancient spells that would fuse the Elder Gods' six Kamidogu into one and therefore make it possible for him to wield their combined might. I have brought him to Edenia, where I believed that information still existed."


 * Bio Card: "Given the choice of allegiance or death, Tanya has sworn to serve the Dragon King. She has helped the Outworld lord to locate important information needed to complete his konquest of the realms."

Signature moves

 * Human Cannon Drill: Tanya lunges forward, spinning in a cork-screw manner with her flaming feet leading towards her opponent. (MK4, MKG, MKD, MKA)
 * Surging Blast: Tanya sends a blast of fire from her hand at her opponent. (MK4, MKG, MKD, MKA)
 * Air Fire Blast: Tanya jumps into the air and sends a blast of fire at a 45 degree angle towards her opponent. (MK4, MKG, MKD, MKA)
 * Split Flip Kick: Tanya Summersaults forwards with a flaming kick directed at her opponent. (MK4, MKG, MKD, MKA)
 * Find Me: Tanya surrounds herself with a flaming haze and becomes invisible. (MKD, MKA)

Fatalities

 * Kiss of Deceit: Tanya gives her enemy a kiss on the cheek, which makes their limbs, torso and head twist and contort into impossible angles, before they explode. (MK4, MKG)
 * Neck Snap: Tanya mounts her enemy's shoulders and spins around three times, breaking their neck repeatedly. (MK4, MKG)
 * Torture Rack: Using her Kobu Jutsu, Tanya slices her enemy's torso, slits their throat, and then stabs them in their abdomen, allowing them to bleed to death as they sink to their knees. (MKD)
 * Kneebone Knife: Tanya rips out the opponent's thigh bone and stabs them in the neck with it. (MKD)

Other finishers
Hara-Kiri: Tanya rips out both of her thigh bones and stabs herself in the head through her eye sockets. (MKD)

Endings

 * Mortal Kombat 4: (Non-Canonical) Tanya is seen with Liu Kang inside an underground passage. She mentions about Kitana and him, but Liu Kang worries about Raiden and the others and whether they will survive from Shinnok. But when a trap door closes, Tanya reveals it is a trap. Shinnok and Quan Chi appear from the shadows. Shinnok reveals that Liu Kang's allies are dead. Liu Kang tries to attack Shinnok, but he kills Liu Kang with a blast of energy.


 * Deception: (Non-Canonical) "In Edenia, Tanya had located the ancient texts that described the process by which to fuse the Kamidogu into one. With this information, Onaga was able to create the One Kamidogu - a tool of unspeakable power. As the Dragon King was distracted, reveling in his victory, Tanya seized the opportunity to snatch the Kamidogu from him, thereby obtaining god-like power. She destroyed the Dragon King and became Ultimate Overlord of the realms."


 * Armageddon: (Non-Canonical) "The fire of Blaze transformed Tanya into a being known as a Dragon Caller. With a mere thought, she was able to summon dragon spirits from the ether into corporeal form. With an army of dragons at her command, she conquered the universe realm by realm. Soon Shao Kahn himself would call her 'master'."

Trivia

 * Tanya's name comes from Ed Boon's sister, Tania.
 * Her alignment as "evil" was hard to distinguish when she first debuted in Mortal Kombat 4, especially when she was innocent looking and had an innocent profile. Her ending in MK4 (which never occurred) demonstrates her alignment of evil.
 * She could be considered to be the single most untrustworthy character in the series. She has betrayed both Kitana and Queen Sindel, her own homeworld of Edenia, her MK4 ending depicts her as betraying Liu Kang, following this she betrays Quan Chi and Shinnok (evidenced by her being with Onaga in Deception), and her Deception ending depicts her as betraying Onaga.
 * Tanya was for a time mistaken to be a "clone" of Jade, just like Mileena is a clone of Tarkatan and Kitana. In the development stage of MK4, the development team did intend Kitana to be a playable character, but the decision was made to add a new face instead (Kitana would, however, be accessible through third-party devices, and officially reappear in Mortal Kombat Gold).
 * Tanya is one of few characters who uses the invisibility move in the Mortal Kombat series. Others include Reptile, Smoke, Chameleon (when in Reptile's form) and Noob Saibot.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode, Tanya is one of two characters (the other being Kabal) who will attack Shujinko if she is bumped into. Normally, the aggressive characters must be punched by Shujinko before they react by assaulting him back.
 * Tanya is the only character introduced in MK4 that is playable in MK Deception.

Character Relationships

 * Daughter of an ambassador.
 * Arch nemesis of Jade.
 * Joined Shinnok and Quan Chi's forces.
 * Attempted to lure Liu Kang into a trap, but did not succeed.
 * Became an enforcer for Quan Chi and Shang Tsung in Deadly Alliance.
 * Defeated by Shujinko in Deception's Konquest mode.
 * Forced to serve Onaga by Baraka's tarkatan hordes.
 * Joined the Forces of Darkness in the last battle in Armageddon.