Blaze

For millennia I existed for one purpose...to monitor the strength of the world’s kombatants. -- Mortal Kombat: Unchained Bio

Blaze is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He first appeared as a background character in Mortal Kombat 2. He made his playable debut in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as a hidden character, and served as the boss of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

About Blaze
First introduced in the series as a non-playable character seen in a stage background, Blaze is depicted as an elemental being from Outworld shrouded in flames. As a playable character, he first appeared in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. He would later become the final boss of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. As his name and appearance suggest, he has control over fire. He is also the third tallest character in the Mortal Kombat universe, standing nearly 9' 6" tall.

Storyline
Blaze made his first chronological appearance in Mortal Kombat II, visible only as a burning figure in the Pit II background, fighting a character fans have since named Hornbuckle. Details behind his story were not known until he returned as a secret playable fighter in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, where his in-game biography screen reveals that he is an elemental that had been pursuing a quest until he had been attacked by an ancient sect. The group of holy men, described as still serving the dead Dragon King, capture Blaze using magic and bound him to the task of protecting the last Great Dragon egg. After the egg hatched (An event shown in Reptile's Deadly Alliance ending), Blaze was able to resume his past mission.

The purpose of this quest, which had previously been left unexplained, was finally divulged in the subsequent releases of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat: Unchained. It is said that Blaze had been created to oversee the strength of all of the fighters in the realms. His creator (shown to be Taven and Daegon's mother Delia in Armageddon's Konquest mode) had prophesized that there would be a time when the fighters' power would become a threat to all of existence itself. When this happened, it was thus Blaze's role to call out and awaken Taven and Daegon from their suspension. However, upon being freed from the egg incubation chamber, Blaze discovered that, in his absence, the power and numbers of these fighters had become too great and that Daegon had already been revived. He sounded the call to awaken Taven. He then enacted the plan to bring all the fighters together into one final battle, where the actions of the two brothers would end up determining their fates and prevent Armageddon. Sensing that something evil from the Netherealm was influencing Daegon, Blaze decided to travel there in order to find its source.

In Armageddon ' s Konquest mode, Blaze appears confronting both Taven and Daegon after the former had defeated Scorpion. He informs the two that the quest was not going as planned, and they were not following the guidelines as they were set by his creator. He transports them to Edenia, where the final battle is set to occur and where one of the brothers is destined to defeat Blaze. However, Taven first defeats Daegon, who had become corrupted due to his premature awakening. Blaze then informs Taven that the future of all the realms would then depend on the remaining brother, who needed to defeat him in Mortal Kombat to determine the fate of the rest of the fighters. The Pyramid of Argus then forms in the nearby crater with Blaze waiting atop it for Taven to destroy him. As Taven and Blaze battled, Taven had won but instead of either killing the kombatants or nullifying their power, they had become much stronger. Argus considered the quest a failure because it done nothing to prevent Armageddon. This might have happened for certain reasons: Blaze's corruption might have had effect or that the quest was not performed according to plan.

Biographies

 * Deadly Alliance: ''"The mysterious Outworld elemental known only as Blaze had been long on a quest throughout the realm. During his quest, he was ambushed on a bridge by an ancient sect of holy men still serving the long dead Dragon King. The holy men enslaved him through mystic incantations and forced him to protect the last known Great Dragon Egg. For many years he has remained submerged beneath the molten rock of the incubation chamber as 'Guardian Of The Egg'.


 * Unchained: ''"For millenia, I have existed for one purpose... to monitor the strength of the world's kombatants. My creator foresaw a time when warriors become too powerful and threaten all of existence. I was to sound the call to awaken her sons when the apex was drawing near. Their actions would determine the fate of these superior kombatants and ultimately prevent Armageddon. It seems, however, that one brother has been prematurely revived. During my quest, I was overpowered by holy men who served Onaga. For ages, I was bound by their sorcery andoblivious to the growing strength of Ki Chao warriors. Finally free, I have emerged to discover beings whose power and number exceed that which the realms can sustain. I have sounded the call. The sleeping brother will soon awaken.


 * Armageddon: "My initial quest was interrupted when I was forced to guard a dragon egg for many years. When I awoke from enslavement, I felt altered in some way. Though I understood the reason I was created, I sensed that something was fundamentally wrong. Casting my uncertainty aside, I returned to my given task. I searched the realms to find a concentration of warriors with the ability to tap into the forces that bind the realms. What I discovered alarmed me! The number of kombatants had grown since I last walked among them. I also learned that Onaga, the former ruler of Outworld, had somehow been resurrected. I could feel the strain upon the realms and concluded that the time had come: I would awaken the brothers and begin the second phase of the quest. In Earthrealm, atop the temple of Argus, I let loose a psychic scream, the signal to the dragons to awaken the sons of Edenia. Shortly thereafter I searched for the brothers to monitor their progress. It seems that Daegon was awakened centuries too early and is under the influence of some evil emanating from the Netherrealm. I must further assess this situation by traveling to that realm. It seems my task has been interrupted once again. I was not created to interfere, but the time may come when I will have to intercept the brothers to help insure my quest concludes as Argus and Delia planned."

Armageddon endings
With Blaze being the final boss in both Konquest and Arcade mode in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, all the endings centered around the godlike power that would be bestowed upon the victor as a result of his defeat. This includes Blaze himself, as if he was selected in Arcade mode after being unlocked, he would still be the final boss - thus in a sense pitting him against himself. This also includes your created character.

Blaze's Armageddon ending states that while he was enslaved by Onaga's men, he was corrupted by the spell that kept him bound to their wills. He then defeated Taven, Daegon, and all the kombatants, and from there, all of reality. Because of this, it was indeed Blaze that ironically caused the Armageddon which Delia predicted, rather than help prevent it. (Thus the player as Blaze "defeating himself" seems more appropriate, becoming in a sense symbolic of his corrupted power overcoming his original design.) Meanwhile, because Blaze is the final boss, in everyone else's ending they defeat him and obtain the power of a god, which brings about a scenario which culminates the character's quest in the epitome of their benefit, although in some endings (specifically the endings of Shinnok, Daegon, Taven, Moloch, Quan Chi, Meat, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Kenshi, Kobra,Jax, Kai, Darrius, and Kira) this benefit is not without its consequences. Again, this also includes your created character, whose ending you get to write personally as their "biography".

The official Armageddon ending achieved through Konquest mode was Taven's self-told ending, which revealed that his defeating Blaze did not disempower or destroy the kombatants, thus doing nothing to stop Armageddon. The version told by Argus, achieved when Taven defeats Blaze in Arcade mode, reveals that Taven's victory actually made all the other kombatants stronger thanks to the same corrupting effects of the spell Onaga's acolytes had earlier put on Blaze, thus rendering the quest a failure.

Notably, it was Mokap's ending would've had the effect Argus intended all along, resulting in the would-be deaths of all the other kombatants and stopping Armageddon - though the death toll would include all three sons of Argus and Mokap himself turned into a constellation.

Powers and abilities
Being a fire elemental, Blaze governs power over everything fire-related, ranging from flame projectiles to physical strikes augmented by his fire powers. In Deadly Alliance and Armageddon, it was revealed that his captors who forced him to guard the Dragon Egg "corrupted his original design" which perhaps explains the new form he has taken on. Created by Delia, Blaze serves as a catalyst of ultimate power which can be absorbed by any kombatant who successfully defeats him, giving the winner god-like power, amplifying their powers to omnipotent levels and granting a single wish. It is also in this new form that Blaze becomes the most powerful kombatant in the entire franchise in which he is able to single-handily cause Armageddon by devouring existence itself.

Signature moves

 * Flame Ball: Blaze shoots a flaming projectile at the opponent. (MK:DA, MK:U)
 * Flame Uppercut: Blaze performs an uppercut on the opponent. (MK:DA, MK:U)
 * Flame Charge: Blaze charges at the opponent. (MK:DA, MK:U)
 * Quake Slam: Blaze punches the ground, sending lava up underneath his opponent,this will break the opponent block. (MK:A)
 * Steam Roller: Blaze rolls along the ground, flattening his opponent. (MK:A)
 * Charge Up: Blaze taunts his enemy, regaining some health. (MK:A)
 * Melting Lava Teleport: Blaze melts into the ground, rising on the other side of his opponent. (MK:A)
 * Blaze actually DOES have a fatality that causes 6 fatality skulls. It's similar to his signature moves except he crushes his opponent head at the end. (MK:A)

Endings

 * Deadly Alliance: "Having been enslaved through sorcery to guard the molten incubation chamber, Blaze was finally freed once the dragon egg had hatched. He then resumed the quest he had undertaken before being subdued by his captors."


 * Unchained: "Blaze had completed the first of his duties. Soon he will begin the second: to lure warriors to the Final Battle. There they will challenge him, hoping to attain godlike power from his defeat. The arrogance of these warriors will be their downfall, for only a son of Edenia can unleash the true purpose of Blaze."


 * Armageddon: (Non-canonical) "During his ages-long quest to monitor the realms, Blaze had been enslaved by Onaga's holy men and forced to guard the great dragon egg. The spell used to control him corrupted his original design. When his final objective atop the pyramid came to pass, he was unstoppable and defeated all who challenged him. As forseen by the sorceress Delia, Armageddon began in the Edenian crater and spread throughout the realms, shattering reality until there was nothing."

Character development
Blaze was included in Mortal Kombat II ' s Pit II background by art director Tony Goskie as part of the series' tradition of adding mystery elements to the games. He was originally called "Torch" by the developers. However, they were not able to use this name in the games due to Marvel holding the rights to the name as part of the Human Torch. In his MKII appearance, Blaze's sprites (and Hornbuckle's as well) were actually palette swapped versions of the Liu Kang character with flames covering his upper body.

Design concepts from Deadly Alliance ' s Krypt show pictures of a non-fiery Blaze with hair on his head and double axes for a possible weapon stance. Blaze's character had been added late into the development of this game, hence he lacked many character-specific attributes such as his own fighting styles, a weapon stance, and a fatality.

Game information
Blaze, like most characters in the series, made a cameo in Mortal Kombat: Deception ' s Konquest mode in the Outworld realm. In it, Blaze has lost his memory and asks the mode's protagonist, the player as Shujinko, to find and bring him a memory potion, allowing him to resume the quest that he had undertaken before being subdued. This is a foreshadowing of what is to some in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. His "quest" refers to the one Argus has sent him on. Blaze and Hornbuckle also appear in a secret area in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. If the player completes the first four Smoke missions, a portal to the Pit II is unlocked. Here, Hornbuckle and Blaze are seen fighting in the background.

Trivia
In General: Mortal Kombat 2: Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance: Mortal Kombat Deception/Mortal Kombat Unchained: Mortal Kombat Armageddon:
 * Blaze was originally going to be called Torch.
 * The only character in the series that bleed orange steam.
 * He appears in the background in the pit 2 stage just standing there facing at the guy in the green but really they are fighting, and both of them are palette swaps of Liu Kang.
 * He can be unlocked by completing konquest mode with all characters. To select him, highlight Raiden and press X and down at the same time.
 * Has the same voice act as Scorpion, Kenshi, and Johnny Cage.
 * In Deception, he was one of the few characters that have NOT appeared in cells.
 * The only playable character in Unchained that does not have an alternate costume.
 * In konquest mode, he can be found in outworld. When you speak to him, he loses his memories will ask you to find a memory potion, you will find a memory potion at the enslaved village and you find a woman that has it.  Then go back to Blaze and he will reward you.
 * The final boss of the game.
 * He can be unlocked by finding 50 relics in konquest mode.

Character Relationships

 * Created by Delia to watch over the realms
 * Enslaved by Onaga's holy men to guard the dragon egg
 * Summoned every kombatant to the final battle
 * Destroyed by Taven in Armageddon and now Taven is the protector of Edenia