Nightwolf



"Ancestors give me Strength!"

- Nightwolf's Mortal Kombat (2011) Battle Cry

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

About Nightwolf
Nightwolf, an Apache warrior, is a Native American character who, although introduced as a historian and a shaman, does not live in the past. He is a proud and fierce warrior dedicated to the cause of good, and is in contact with Raiden through visions. As such, he draws both on internal and external spiritual energy to enhance his power.

Combat characteristics
Being the shaman he is, Nightwolf is absolutely in tune with all things spiritual. He is able to manifest a bow and arrows created from spirit energy and wields tomahawks which he empowers with an ethereal green flame to take on his opponents at close range and is able to completely purify a being of their sins. Fitting for his name, Nightwolf also has a close relationship with wolves and is able to communicate with them. In Mortal Kombat Annihilation, he is able to assume the shape of a wolf.

thumb|right|250px

In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Nightwolf is shown to be rather quite tech-savvy, serving as the group's technician. He is accompanied by a pet female wolf named Kiva, whom he bonds with to transform into his familiar appearance and utilize his shaman powers.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, it is mentioned that Nightwolf becomes a Sin Eater, able to completely absorb evil energies whilst retaining his psyche. Primarily, he utilizes the sins of his ancestors and for this purpose, can weigh down any being regardless of their powers to bowels of the Netherrealm, which he uses to bind Onaga.

Signature moves

 * Tomahawk_swing_MKT.pngTomahawk Swing: Nightwolf uppercuts his opponent with a tomahawk. In MK 2011 this is called Axe Swing. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Tomahawk Bash. After the first upswing, Nightwolf slams the opponent back down with his tomahawk.
 * Reflector: Nightwolf glows green and redirects projectile moves back at his opponent. This is called Reflect in MK 2011. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Absorb and allows Nightwolf to use the projectile as a source to regain some of his health.
 * MK9_Nightwolf_Kitana.jpgSpirit Arrow: Creating a mystical bow, Nightwolf shoots an arrow at his opponent. In MK 2011 this is called Arrow Shot. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Multi-Arrow and fires three arrows at once, with the arrows going diagonally up, straight and diagonally down.
 * Shoulder Charge: Nightwolf glows green and then quickly dashes forward and knocks his opponent backwards. This is called Shoulder in MK 2011. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Power Charge. After the initial hit, Nightwolf strikes the opponent a second time.
 * Lightning From Above: Nightwolf raises his arm and summons a bolt of lightning that knocks his opponent off his feet. In MK 2011 this is simply called Lightning. (MKD, MKA, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Thunder Storm and hits the opponent skyward.
 * Choke: Nightwolf grabs his opponent by the neck and raises them in the air before knocking them away with his Shoulder. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Strangle. Nightwolf summons a green knife and slashes the opponent's stomach twice before knocking them away with a Shoulder.
 * X-Ray Move - Ancestor's Call: Nightwolf summons glowing tomahawks in the form of mystical green energy to turn his opponent around before forcing them into their shoulders. He then kicks them in the back, damaging their whole spine. (MK 2011)

Fatalities

 * Spiritual Teleport: Nightwolf opens a portal on his opponent which teleports him/her away. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Lightning Summon: Nightwolf summons lightning to his axe and electrocutes his opponent to death. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Axe, Meet Head: Nightwolf throws a tomahawk at the opponent's face, killing him/her. (MK:D)
 * Tomahawk Decap: Nightwolf decapitates his opponent using his tomahawk, sending the severed head in the air. Nightwolf then catches it and holds it up high for his victory. (MK:D)
 * Little Off The Top: Nightwolf throws his tomahawk at the opponents head, then takes out another one to decapitate him/her. He then raises the head in victory, with the axe still attached. (MK 2011)
 * Ascension: Nightwolf's signature Fatality and a variation of Spiritual Teleport, Nightwolf charges up his spiritual daggers with lightning, and plants them in the opponent's shoulders. He then summons a giant beam of light, that comes down and melts the opponent's flesh. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: Nightwolf transforms into Raiden and a Mortal Kombat arcade machine falls down next to him. A message appears that says "No, but I can do a Raiden transformation," or "I've never seen a Kano transformation." In the Nintendo 64 version of Trilogy, he instead juggles tomahawks. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Animality: Nightwolf transforms into a wolf and bites his opponents several times. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Hara-Kiri: Homing Tomahawk: Nightwolf throws a tomahawk into the air, which comes back down onto Nightwolf's heart. (MK:D)
 * Babality: Nightwolf lifts his tomahawk up high and an image of a wolf and moon appears behind him. The wolf howls and scares Nightwolf, making him cry. (MK 2011)

Film
Nightwolf (played by Litefoot) appears in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation as the one who teaches Liu Kang how to use his Animality and telling him that he has to pass three tests in order to beat Shao Kahn (only one test, Courage, is shown, however). Other than striking Liu Kang unconscious, he never really fights, though he is shown transforming back from his wolf form (introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 and implied by his name). After he strikes Liu, he is shown sitting at a campfire in Liu's dream. When after Liu's dream, he will meet to Jade.

Television
In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Nightwolf (voiced by Tod Thawley) served to offer both spiritual and technical help, having experience with computer technology. He only fought a few times, spending most of his time back at base monitoring the Earthrealm looking for dimensional rips. Nightwolf had a pet wolf named Kiva, who could merge with Nightwolf to increase his power.

Trivia

 * Nightwolf also appears in the Armageddon opening movie. He was one of the people who first came in contact with the other army. He appears again in the pyramid along with Ermac, fighting Sheeva which was unsuccessful. Then Sheeva, after almost killing Ermac and Nightwolf, was killed by Kenshi. After being choked, Nightwolf continues to climb the pyramid.
 * Nightwolf was originally designed as part of a Create-A-Character contest hosted by Midway games after the release of Mortal Kombat II, and was one of three winning characters, the other two being Stryker and Kabal.
 * In a GameInformer preview about Mortal Kombat (2011) they had a picture of Nightwolf with his green energy bow about to fire an arrow. The caption jokingly said that DC comics should tell the story of Nightwolf as the first Green Lantern.
 * Along with Sonya, Quan Chi and Kabal, Nightwolf never appears in Mortal Kombat (2011)´s Story Mode in his alternate costume.
 * In MK 2011, this is the first time Nightwolf is seen using daggers.
 * This is also the second time Nightwolf is referred to as a shaman. The first being Deception in Konquest mode.
 * In Mortal Kombat (2011), Nightwolf, along with Cyber Sub-Zero, is the only character in whose ending, is possessed by Shao Kahn.