Moloch

Moloch is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About Moloch
The three-eyed Moloch is a massive, lumbering Oni who had originally come from the Netherrealm and made his debut in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance carrying a massive orb and chain with it, as a non-playable character (excluding third-party devices). However, in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Moloch is a readily-playable character in the game. He has typical miniboss abilities such as great strength, devastating moves and a few weak spots to exploit for the typically more nimble but weaker opponent. In Deadly Alliance, Moloch is the sub-boss before both Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, and he has no fatality.

Storyline
Moloch is the only known ally of his Oni counterpart, Drahmin. Unlike Drahmin however, distorted and consumed by rage as he may be, Moloch has most likely always been a demon from the Netherrealm. The sorcerer Quan Chi confronted Moloch and Drahmin with an offer to free them from the Netherrealm if they protected him from the ninja spectre Scorpion. It was no surprise to Moloch that Drahmin accepted the offer and so they smashed Scorpion whenever he came near Quan Chi. As the two oni were combatting Scorpion, Quan Chi escaped from the dark realm without them. Enraged, Moloch and Drahmin followed Quan Chi through the portal but were transported to a different location than the sorcerer.

The Oni encountered the cyborg Cyrax in Outworld but were forced to flee from his bombs. Eventually, they took refuge in a forest and fed on those who wandered too close to its borders. Li Mei came too close to the forest, but escaped through the trees. After that, they were enlisted by Shang Tsung and held in the basement of his palace as an insurance policy should Quan Chi turn on him. Eventually, Moloch and Drahmin were set free. Instead of confronting Quan Chi, they ironically protected him by defeating Scorpion and hurling him into the Soulnado.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Moloch is shown to be a bit smaller or rather less bulky than he was in Deadly Alliance. Also, it is worth nothing that he was not carrying his trademark Mystical Orb (aka Ball and Chain) despite the chain still being wrapped around his arm. Originally, it was believed this would mean the Orb would be his weapon fighting style in the game, but it's since been shown he only has one fighting style, leaving the mystery of why the Orb is missing unanswered. However, the Orb does appear in his hand during some of his special moves and his versus screen picture.

In his Armageddon ending, Moloch defeats Blaze and absorbs his power, transforming him into a Destroyer of Worlds. He then destroys Argus's pyramid and later destroys Edenia and turns it into a wasteland. But because he had destroyed the portal, he was stuck in Edenia, a victim of his own destructive rage.

Signature moves

 * Suction Breath: Moloch sucks in the opponent (MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Ground Bash: Moloch smashes his chain ball down to the ground and shakes it.  (MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Power Ball:Moloch smashes his chain ball down to the ground shooting out a white projectile (MK:A)
 * Super Charge:Moloch howls which gives hims a boost (MK:A)
 * Raging Oni:Moloch charges forward knocking over the opponent (MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Beast Lord:Moloch howls which heals him little (MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Furious Howl:Taunt (MK:A)

Character development
Moloch takes his name from a Near Eastern deity who was given human sacrifices. Concept art for Deadly Alliance depicted Moloch as originally having an owl who would fetch his orb from the Netherealm. Moloch would appear where the owl dropped the orb.

Character analysis
In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Moloch cannot be thrown by normal characters (similar to Blaze and Onaga) and is immune to projectiles, forcing the opponent player into close range.

Trivia

 * Moloch makes a brief cameo in Deception's Konquest mode. He is seen speaking with Drahmin, saying they should feed on the remains of the loser of the nearby battle between Quan Chi and Scorpion. This is most likely how Quan Chi met the two oni. Also, after the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Deception is completed, the player is able to talk to Moloch. He asks the player to tell Drahmin of a feast. After the player completes the task, Moloch will make numerous belching noises when spoken to again.
 * When Moloch is standing straight up, not crouched over like he usually is, he is the second/third tallest character in the game Onaga being the tallest, but there is no real difference between Blaze and Moloch in height whilst standing straight up.
 * Moloch's ball does appear in MK:A when using special moves Power Ball and Ground Bash.