Fujin

Fujin: Farewell Thunder God, I will not fail you. Raiden: That is why I picked you. -- Fujin's Mortal Kombat 4 Ending

Fujin is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero as a boss, and first became playable in Mortal Kombat 4.

About Fujin
First appearing as an unnamed boss in the adventure title Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Fujin made his debut in the main fighting series of games during Mortal Kombat 4 portrayed as the God of Wind. Along with Raiden, Fujin is another character in the series to have originated from Japanese religion, based on the Shinto god of the wind of the same name. He appears as a tall, ageless, muscular human with long white hair bound in a ponytail and glowing white eyes. The back of his Mortal Kombat 4 costume features the Chinese character 空, whose most relevant translation to English is air or sky. As expected, he has a great variety of wind-oriented attacks at his disposal. Although more indifferent and abstract in character than Raiden, Fujin is also depicted as being concerned with the fate of Earthrealm.

Storyline
Fujin made his first chronological appearance in the spin-off game Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero. He appeared here as one of the four guardians assigned by Raiden to protect Shinnok's amulet and was the first of the gods that the elder Sub-Zero bested in order to acquire it (he is seen being torn asunder by his own tornado, but survived the ordeal).

He would remain inactive until the events of Mortal Kombat 4, being one of the few remaining Earthrealm gods not destroyed by Shinnok. He joined Raiden in his battle against his old enemy, assisting the Earthrealm forces in emerging victorious. After Shinnok's defeat, Fujin consulted with the Elder Gods. They revealed to him that he had a new task. Raiden appeared before him and informed him of his own impending ascension to the pantheon of Elder Gods. Earthrealm would be in need of a new protector and Fujin was the one Raiden had chosen. Fujin accepted the position and promised Raiden that he would not fail him.

During the time of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Fujin became aware of a stark change in Raiden. He saw that the thunder god, while still seeking to protect Earthrealm, had grown to be ruthless. Raiden was now commanding the reanimated corpse of Liu Kang, who was killing many innocent people for unknown reasons. Fujin allied with Kung Lao in hopes that they could possibly find a way to save both Raiden and Liu Kang. From Kung Lao he learned of Johnny Cage's gathering of the Forces of Light and the mention of the brothers Taven and Daegon. It is revealed that Fujin had been a friend of their family for ages, and that he had questioned their father Argus when the two disappeared. He realizes that Argus placed them on a quest, but now this quest was becoming corrupted by evil. Fujin then goes to search for both brothers, hoping to prevent their progress and learn the true purpose of their quest.

Fujin reappears in Armageddon ' s Konquest mode, confronting Taven outside of the Red Dragon Clan's headquarters. He urges him not to enter, even if that means he will have to fight Taven to stop him. They do battle, but in the end Taven emerges victorious, allowing him to continue his journey but feeling regret at having had to do this to a friend.

In Fujin's Armageddon ending, after Blaze's essence flows into him, his powers grew immensely. Fujin then creates a new realm made from the ones destroyed by Shao Kahn. It would be the new place of origin for the forces of good. Fujin also assigns Kung Lao to be his new general.

Powers and abilities
Fujin is in complete control of all things related to wind. He can levitate by manipulating the wind around him, allowing him to strike the opponent from a safe distance. He can also send miniature tornados at his opponents that spin them around several times and leave them vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Addtionally, he can levitate the opponent and slam them down on the ground and transform himself into a tornado to heave them towards him. Considering that many of these moves can potentially leave the foe open for a free hit, Fujin has proven to be a supremely powerful fighter on par with that of fellow god Raiden.

Signature moves

 * Rising Knee: Fujin would fly and hit his opponent with his knee. This move seems to be borrowed from Shao Kahn. (MK4, MKG)
 * Gusting Cyclone: Fujin spins like a tornado which sucks the opponent in and throws them to the other side. (MK4, MKG, MK:A)
 * Air Funnel: Fujin uses a gust of wind to lift his opponent and slam them down. (MK4, MKG, MK:A)
 * Wind Kick: While airborne, Fujin comes down and kicks the opponent. (MK4, MKG, MK:A)
 * Tornado Wind: Fujin launches a small tornado at the opponent, causing them to spin around wildly and setting them up for an additional combo. (MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Crossbow Kill: After levitating the opponent, Fujin shoots his crossbow at them, causing them to explode. (MK4, MKG)
 * Skinner: Fujin concentrates a huge blast of wind at the opponent that rips their skin clean off. (MK4, MKG)

Game information
Fujin was written to be Raiden's brother (which is also true for the myths) in Mortal Kombat 4 ' s official strategy guide, although this has never been mentioned in the games. The character possessed a projectile crossbow weapon in this title, which Ed Boon has stated that he believed was a mistake as it did not fit with the style of the rest of the weapons and the computer AI had a difficult time managing it. Concept art in Armageddon, early video footage of the game, and a screenshot seen in the instruction manual show that Fujin was to have a weapon known as the Wind Staff, described as being an ancient tree branch fitted with "Forest Crystals" and having magical wind energy circling the twigs on the staff's end. However, he would instead be given what was initially Reiko's Devastator sword in the final version.

Fujin makes two small cameo appearances in Mortal Kombat: Deception. In the game's Konquest mode, he can be found in Orderrealm searching for a book that will help him in his defense of Earthrealm. He is also seen as a background prisoner in the Dark Prison stage, along with various other characters.

Trivia

 * In early versions of Armageddon, Mian Chuan and Hapkido were supposed to be his unarmed fighting style. He was also going to have the Crude Hammer, Windstaff, and Mugai Ryu before he eventually acquired the Devastator.