Raiden/Current Timeline

"Despite my efforts, my vision has come to pass."

- Raiden about Sub-Zero's death.

Biography

 * Mortal Kombat (2011): "Raiden is the God of Thunder and Protector of Earthrealm. Ageless and wise beyond measure, he leads Earthrealm's mortals in the endless battle against the forces of darkness. When Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld, threatened to merge his realm with Earthrealm, an overwhelmed Raiden implored the Elder Gods to give Earthrealm a fighting chance. Thus the Mortal Kombat tournament was created. For millennia Shao Kahn has been kept at bay, but nine consecutive losses to Goro have eroded hope that Earthrealm can be saved. Determined to prevent Armageddon, Raiden tirelessly quests to find a champion worthy of Mortal Kombat."

Mortal Kombat (2011)
In the aftermath of Armageddon, with all other kombatants already dead, Raiden engages Shao Kahn in one last desperate effort atop the Pyramid of Argus. With power of Blaze, Kahn easily defeated the thunder god, shattering his amulet. In desperation, Raiden decided to try and use the broken shards to send a mental message to his past self - "He must win", just as Shao Kahn delivers the killing blow.

Raiden of the past receives the first fragments of the message in a series of disjointed images, at the opening ceremony of the first Mortal Kombat tournament on Shang Tsung's island. He attempts to use these memory flashes to influence events and prevent Armageddon, although his interventions prove to have unexpected and nearly disastrous consequences. Examples of this include provoking Kung Lao to participate in the tournament much earlier than originally, resulting in his defeat at the hands of Scorpion (with his rivalry with Baraka never happening); saving the Lin Kuei ninja Smoke from capture and automation, only for the younger Sub-Zero to instead suffer the same fate (with the Lin Kuei pledging their loyalty to Shao Kahn in exchange for extraditing Sub-Zero); persuading Kitana to rebel against Shao Kahn, resulting in her being captured and nearly executed; encouraging Kung Lao to fight and defeat Shao Kahn's generals at the end of the second tournament in Outworld, only for Shao Kahn to kill Kung Lao in cold blood; and killing Motaro to save Johnny Cage, only for Shao Kahn to imbue Sindel with Shang Tsung's souls, giving her the power to attack and kill Kabal, Stryker, Cyber Sub-Zero, Jax, Smoke, Jade, and Kitana before Nightwolf finally sacrifices himself to destroy her.

When the Elder Gods refuse to stop Shao Kahn's invasion, Raiden travels to the Netherrealm to bargain with Quan Chi for help. He offers Quan Chi the souls of Earthrealm warriors who fall in battle as well as his own soul in the event that he himself is killed. Quan Chi gloatingly reveals that the souls of Earthrealm's fallen already belong to him as part of Shao Kahn's agreement for the Netherrealm's assistance. Raiden is forced to fight off undead versions of his former comrades in order to escape the Netherrealm.

Raiden's most fateful intervention in previously-established events came at the apex of Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, where he came to realize that 'he must win' in fact relates to Shao Kahn - he actually has to be allowed to merge the two realms, as only then can the Elder Gods intervene. This puts Raiden in direct confrontation with Liu Kang, who has become disillusioned with the mounting body count as a direct result of Raiden's actions. Raiden is forced to defeat Liu Kang in combat to prevent him from interfering, causing Liu Kang to get severly wounded when Raiden's electricity reacts with Liu Kang's fireball and incinerates him.

Shao Kahn is allowed to enter Earthrealm, and an emotionally shattered Raiden concedes ultimate defeat, as Kahn proceeds to dominate Raiden in almost exactly the same manner as the Armageddon aftermath. Only this time, the Elder Gods finally intervene and restore Raiden's strength. He and Shao Kahn engage in a final battle, with Raiden emerging victorious and Shao Kahn destroyed by the Elder Gods. Raiden, however, is deeply saddened by the cost in lives, and blames himself for their loss. Together with the surviving Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, Raiden leaves to tend to the fallen warriors and help rebuild Earthrealm. Unknown to him is that all these events were orchestrated by Quan Chi as part of Shinnok's plan to take Earthrealm and Outworld for himself.

Mortal Kombat X
Raiden is confirmed to return in Mortal Kombat X.

Ending

 * Mortal_Kombat_Raiden_Ending_VideoMortal Kombat (2011) (Non-Canonical): "Shao Kahn was gone, but the scars of the merging of realms remained. Remnants of the invasion force roamed freely and had to be dealt with. But Earthrealm is vast and Raiden is but one being. He recruited four warriors, one for each direction of the wind, and divided his soul, placing one part in each of them. Through these new heroes Raiden can kombat the forces of darkness in four places at once."

Character Relationships

 * Is Liu Kang's friend and mentor.
 * Received the message from his future self and attempts to change the course of action.
 * Fought Sonya as a distraction and aided her in freeing Jax.
 * Healed Jax's wounds.
 * Tried to convince Scorpion to spare the elder Sub-Zero's life, but failed.
 * Successfully convinced Cyrax to spare Johnny Cage's life after Cyrax defeated him in a match.
 * Fought Shang Tsung during the Tarkatan Invasion of the Wu Shi Academy.
 * Battled and defeated Sheeva's guards along with Johnny Cage in order to rescue Sonya.
 * Signed in Earthrealm to fight in the second tournament.
 * Saved Smoke from the Lin Kuei, but failed to save Sub-Zero.
 * Recruited Smoke, Kitana and Jade.
 * Shocked Mileena unconscious during the Earthrealm invasion.
 * Killed Motaro, in order to prevent the death of Johnny Cage.
 * Recruited Stryker and Kabal to join the Earthrealm warriors.
 * Along with Liu Kang, he confronted the Elder Gods over Shao Kahn's invasion but received no help.
 * Travels to the Netherrealm to enlist Quan Chi's help.
 * Defeated Scorpion in the Netherrealm.
 * Defeated Jax, Stryker, Kabal, Kitana, Nightwolf, and Kung Lao, who were under Quan Chi's control.
 * He discovered that "he must win" referred to Shao Kahn.
 * Defeated Liu Kang who tried to interfere between him and Shao Kahn.
 * Severely wounded Liu Kang by accidentally burning him with electricity in self defense.
 * He, along with the Elder Gods, defeated Shao Kahn, and prevented the reality of a future Armageddon.
 * Along with Sonya and Johnny Cage, assisted in the reconstruction of Earthrealm.