Mileena

Mileena is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. She made her debut in Mortal Kombat II.

About Mileena
Mileena is a clone of Kitana, created by Shang Tsung's sorcery for Shao Kahn, using Tarkatan physiology. Vicious and evil, she despises Kitana, and feels that it is her own right to rule Edenia as Princess in her place. Her fondest wish is to kill her "sister", and claim her existence for her own. Something of an opportunist, she will make use of any chance to seize power that comes within her hands.

Appearance
Originally, s with all MK female ninjas, Mileena wore a mask and tight bodysuit, with her uniform being colored in shades of pink/purple. Later on, her costumes changed, some of them rather loose, but usually more revealing than Kitana's. In terms of physical features, she is identical to Kitana except her face, as her visage is twisted by the Tarkatan DNA flowing in her veins, giving her a large mouth rimmed with long, pointy teeth. In Deception, she compensates for this by wearing revealing apparel to show off more of her lascivious physique, wearing a veil to keep her face hidden. In Mortal Kombat (2011), she boasts an even more revealing outfit, much like her alternate costume in Deception.

Storyline
After Shao Kahn conquered the realm of Edenia and merged it with Outworld, he decided he would keep the former king's young daughter Kitana alive and raise her as his own. Although Kitana grew up loyal to the emperor, unaware that he had murdered her father, Kahn feared if she should ever discover the truth about her past, she'd turn against him.

Kahn then ordered his sorcerer Shang Tsung to create an evil, vicious, and loyal clone of Kitana who would take her place. Tsung combined Kitana's essence with a Tarkatan's to achieve this purpose. However, something went wrong with the clone's creation and her face deformed into a hideous Tarkatan's mouth. Rather than disposing of her, she was given the name Mileena and introduced as Kitana's twin sister. Instead of replacing Kitana as originally planned, Mileena would be used to watch Kitana and make sure she remained loyal to Kahn.

Kitana and Mileena grew up together as Shao Kahn's personal assassins, even though Mileena secretly harbored a growing bitterness and jealousy towards her "twin" whom Kahn favored over others. Also at some time during her life, Mileena became the secret ally and possible lover of a Tarkatan warrior named Baraka. As Kahn feared, Kitana did finally discover the truth about her past and family. Although she continued to feign loyalty to Shao Kahn, she secretly plotted and waited for the right time to overthrow him.

During Mortal Kombat II, Shao Kahn began to grow suspicious of Kitana and Mileena was ordered to watch over her sister. After finding out Kitana was indeed conspiring with the Earthrealm warriors, Mileena attacked Kitana, but Kitana proved to be the superior fighter and killed her. Mileena's essence descended into Netherealm (Mortal Kombat's hell), giving her even more reason to hate her sister.

Damned to the Netherealm, Mileena found herself recruited by the fallen Elder God Shinnok. During Mortal Kombat Trilogy, she was resurrected by Shinnok and sent to Earth to spy for him during Shao Kahn's invasion. She was also granted the ability to read Kitana's thoughts. After Kahn was defeated, Mileena was summoned back to the Netherealm with Noob Saibot, who was also sent to spy on Shao Kahn.

During Mortal Kombat Gold, Mileena assisted in Shinnok's invasion of Edenia. Seeing this as a chance to finally prove she is superior to Kitana, Mileena allowed her sister to escape Shinnok's dungeons. However, Mileena would again be denied. After Shinnok's defeat, she was again bested by Kitana and secretly locked away in an Edenian prison, perhaps in the hope that she would one day reform.



Mileena remained imprisoned for many years, until the Dragon King, Onaga, returned during Mortal Kombat: Deception and began his own invasion of Edenia. Mileena was freed from her prison by Baraka. She joined Onaga, and was ordered to pose as Kitana in order to mislead the princess' armies while Onaga gathered his strength. Mileena accepted, seeing this as a chance to gain some amount of revenge against Kitana. However, as Mileena began her deception, she also began to consider taking control of the armies for herself.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mileena had seized Shao Kahn's fortress using the Edenian forces, all in the 'name of peace'. Though she did this still under the guise of Kitana, she had decided to continue her charade until the Edenian armies were corrupted enough to follow her under her true identity. Though at first confident that Outworld was hers to rule, Mileena soon discovered that Shao Kahn, alongside Goro and Shang Tsung, had mounted an offense against the fortress to re-instate Kahn's rule over Outworld.

At first, Mileena hid in the throne room, and had instructed her mages to cast a defensive spell on the main door. Their magic, however, proved futile against Shao Kahn's brute force, and soon, the former emperor was face to face with Mileena. The mages then stood between the two in a last effort to protect their 'princess', only to be stabbed in the back by her. Revealing her identity to Kahn, Mileena surrenders to him.

Shao Kahn accepts Mileena's surrender, and then commands her to capture Shujinko, who would be used as a bargaining chip in gaining Onaga as an ally. Mileena then sends Shujinko a false invitation, which apparently works, as Shujinko soon finds himself confronted by the dark alliance and quickly imprisoned after being captured by Mileena herself. However, having tasted power for herself, she is no longer content with being a minion. Deciding that she is destined for greater things, and with Outworld out of her reach, sets her sights on ruling Edenia instead.

She appears in Armageddon's Konquest mode, encountering Taven in the dungeons of Shao Kahn's fortress. She battles the intruder, but ultimately is not successful in preventing his progress.

In Mileena's Armageddon ending, she defeats Blaze, causing herself and her "twin" Kitana to psychically fuse together for a moment. When they separate, Mileena finds that she has taken Kitana's features and become beautiful, while Kitana has been cursed with Mileena's Tarkatan teeth. Mileena is now able to take her rightful place as princess of Edenia. She rules in Kitana's place and locks her "sister" in the Edenian palace dungeon, where Kitana eventually goes insane.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat II: "Serving as an assassin along with her twin sister Kitana, Mileena's dazzling appearance conceals her hideous intentions. At Shao Kahn's request, she is asked to watch for her twin's suspected dissension. She must put a stop to it at any cost."


 * Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: "Murdered by her twin sister Kitana, Mileena finds herself brought back to life by Shao Kahn himself. Her skills as a vicious fighter will be needed to defeat Earth's chosen warriors. Her ability to read the thoughts of her twin sister will enable Kahn to stay one step ahead."


 * Mortal Kombat Gold: "Reborn in the Netherrealm and servant to Shinnok since her rebirth, Mileena finds that a coming battle gives her a chance to both escape her fearful servitude to Shinnok and avenge her own death. Knowing Kitana will fight for Edenia, Millena ensures an easy escape route is left as she moves into battle with Shinnok."


 * Deception: "I am a creation of sorcery, the hybrid of a Tarkatan warrior and the Princess of Edenia. My purpose was to eventually replace my... sister... Kitana, from whom I was cloned. Kitana regained her memories, however, and uncovered the plot to supplant her. After Shinnok's invasion, she cast me into her prison, where I remained until Baraka freed me. My hatred for Kitana consumes my every thought. But Baraka tells me that his new lord, the Dragon King, has possession of Kitana's body and uses it as his personal bodyguard. My only chance for revenge against her will be to serve Onaga and pose as the Princess, leading her precious alliance of Edenia and Outworld to their doom."


 * Armageddon: "Outworld was MINE! Posing as the Edenian wench Kitana, I gained command of her army and with it took control of Shao Kahn's fortress - all in the name of "peace." I had planned to continue my charade until the Edenian forces could be corrupted enough to follow me as Mileena, the true conqueror of Outworld. But my plans were foiled when the fortress was attacked - Shao Kahn had returned! And he was not alone! As I watched the initial assault from the safety of the imperial balcony, I recognized the two warriors who aided him: Goro, Prince of the Shokan, and Shang Tsung, wretched Sorcerer of Darkness - my creator. They crushed all who defended the stronghold. I hid in the throne room and commanded the Edenian mages to cast a defensive ward upon the main door. It was of no use. Their magic was nothing compared to the might of Shao Kahn. He shattered the door and strode in as confidently as ever. As he stood before me, the two mages rushed to defend their princess, positioning themselves between Shao Kahn and myself. What a surprise it must have been when their own "princess" stabbed them from behind. They fell limp to the floor. Shao Kahn paused, momentarily confused. Removing my veil, I knelt before him, "Welcome home, my master." Shao Kahn accepted my surrender and later ordered me to capture the Earthrealm warrior known as Shujinko. He was to be used as a bargaining chip to help forge an alliance with Onaga, the former ruler of Outworld. I sent the fool an invitation, hoping to utilize his arrogance and pride by acknowledging his heroic deeds. The ruse worked; soon he was at the main gate. Reiko's men, dressed in the armor of slain Edenian soldiers, led him directly to the throne room where he was confronted by the new Dark Alliance. I did battle with him as Shao Kahn commanded, defeating him with surprising ease. He was then cast into the dungeon, where he will remain until Onaga arrives. I do not relish serving Shao Kahn. I am destined for greater things. An entire realm was once in the palm of my hands - and I will not rest until I regain that status! Though it will be impossible to rule Outworld now that Shao Kahn has returned, there are other realms ripe for the taking. Edenia will be mine!"

Powers and abilities
Being Kitana's twin, or at least born from her blood, Mileena possesses equal combat strength, aptitude and agility. What separates her from Kitana, though, is her weapon of choice as well as her secret weapon. She displays sufficient skill with the sai as much as Kitana does with her fans. Her secret weapon, however, is her Tarkatan blood. The mutant DNA in her being grants her a hideous visage of a full row of sharp, dagger sized teeth, which she keeps hidden with a veil.

As shown in Mortal Kombat (2011), Mileena possesses a pink mystical flame and this appears when she executes her signature moves, including the Rolling Thunder and Kick from Above.

Signature moves

 * Soaring Sai: Mileena's signature move. She throws two sais, charged with purple energy, at her opponent. In the older games, it was a charged move and could be performed in mid-air. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MK:D, MK:A, MK:2011)
 * Kick from Above: Mileena slides through the ground and quickly hits her opponent from above with a jump kick. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MK:D, MK:A, MK:2011)
 * Rolling Thunder: Mileena tucks into a ball and rolls toward her opponent knocking them off of their feet. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MK:D, MK:A, MK:2011)
 * Face Gnaw: Mileena leaps onto her opponents chest and begins eating away their face. Two variations are she will either jump off or jump off with a kick. (MK:2011)
 * Backstabber: Mileena leaps into the air and lands on top of her opponent, lodging her sais into her foes back. (MK:2011)
 * X-Ray Move: Mileena grabs hold of her opponent, punches them hard in the stomach, then knees them in the face. (MK:2011)

Fatalities

 * Multiple Stabbings: Mileena's signature fatality. She pulls her sais out and stabs her opponent to death. In Shaolin Monks, after stabbing them, she delivers a powerful kick which sends them flying across the arena. (MKII, MK:SM)
 * Man Eater: Mileena removes her mask and literally inhales her opponent. She then turns to the other side and regurgitates a torrent of bones onto the ground. (MKII, UMK3, MKT)
 * Nail Shooter: Mileena removes her mask and fills her mouth from a bottle full of nails. She then unleashes a deadly barrage upon her helpless foe. (UMK3, MKT, MKG)
 * Sai-Anara: Mileena throws a number of sais at her opponent, hitting all areas of the body. Her final throw ends up in her victim's head. This fatality is almost an exact duplicate of Reiko's Ninja Star fatality. (MKG)
 * Head Snack: Mileena removes her veil, then charges at the opponent and bites into their neck. She then tears the head off with her teeth and spits it out on the floor behind her. She then grins rather grotesquely (yet apparently pleased), going "Mmmmmm...." before laughing maniacally. (MK:D)
 * Sai Lodge: Mileena throws her sais into the air and kicks them towards her opponent. The sais drive into the enemy's shoulders, killing them. (MK:D)
 * Kiss Me Deadly: Mileena thinks about what she will do, but rapidly throws her sais into the opponent's chest. She then walks to them as if about to kiss them, only to rip the head off and chew on it viciously. She then throws the head to the ground and grins evilly, much like her fatality in Deception. (MK:2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship #1: Mileena plants a seed that turns into a flower. (MKII)
 * Friendship #2: Mileena removes her mask and gazes into a mirror, and the mirror shatters. Shao Kahn then says "Pretty." (UMK3, MKT)
 * Animality: Turning into a skunk, Mileena sprays the opponent to death. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Hara-Kiri: Mileena drives her sais into her own head sideways. (MK:D)

Endings



 * Mortal Kombat II: (non-canonical) "Once thought to be Kitana's twin sister, Mileena is actually a grotesque clone created by Shang Tsung. With Shao Kahn suspicious of Kitana's motives, Mileena seizes the opportunity to attack Kahn and his minions. Caught off guard, they were no match for Mileena's speed. She wins the tournament, and together with her secret companion, Baraka they rule the world as king and queen."


 * Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: (non-canonical) "Winning the third tournament enables Mileena to reclaim her throne as Outworld queen. With the help of Baraka, she then takes both Sindel and her daugter Kitana hostage. Together they threaten Shao Kahn with their lives unless he lures the Earth-born warriors into a fourth Mortal Kombat where Baraka can return and regain his title as the Ultimate Mortal Kombat champion."


 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy: (non-canonical) "When Mileena is murdered, she finds she is reborn in an evil place called the Netherrealm. Here she accepts her servitude to an all-mighty god known as Shinnok. It is Shinnok who allows her soul to be reborn on the Outworld. Her loyalty to Shao Khan is replaced by her fear of Shinnok. Mileena plans to overthrow her own father. The ability to read Kitana's mind and predict the Earth warrior's motives enables Mileena to set up her father's downfall. When Kahn is weakened by the onslaught of attacks, Mileena takes the opportunity to destroy her father and allow Shinnok to step forward and take both realms for his own sinister purposes."


 * Mortal Kombat Gold: (non-canonical) Mileena enters Kitana's throne room and demands her position as ruler of Edenia. Kitana refuses and states Mileena as a clone from Shang Tsung. Mileena gets upset knowing the truth she will never be allowed but then uppercuts Kitana onto her throne. She then throws two purple sais and Kitana flies out of the room at a near by window, probably never to be seen again.


 * Deception: (canon) "Because it was widely believed that Princess Kitana had slain her many years ago, none were suspicious of the veil Mileena wore to conceal her Tarkatan features. It was not difficult for her to assume the identity of the princess and take control of her alliance. To further conceal her deception, Mileena gave command of the armies to Bo Rai Cho, and instructed him to lead the attack against Baraka's diversionary forces. Baraka's militia had failed to divert the enemy, and to her surprise, was decimated by Bo Rai Cho's forces. She then realized that she was in control of the most powerful military force in Outworld and Edenia combined.... She had finally achieved her true purpose, her destiny. But Mileena could not continue her charade indefinitely - not as long as Baraka knew the truth. She ambushed him in the ancient Beetle Lair and fed him to a swarm of flesh-eating insects. All hail Princess... Kitana."


 * Armageddon: (non-canonical) "For an instant, the power of Blaze united Mileena and Kitana. When the energy dissipated, Mileena had become beautiful! But Kitana was horrified to find her mouth filled with elongated razor-sharp teeth. The change in her appearance allowed Mileena to pose as Kitana and finally take her rightful place on the throne of Edenia. She imprisoned Kitana, who went mad in the palace dungeon."

Movie and TV appearances


In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Mileena (played by Dana Hee) served as an assassin for Shao Kahn. She has one line in the entire movie, and was notably not mentioned by name. Instead, she was referred to as "the woman" when describing the dragon tattoo on Raiden's back later in the film. She fought Sonya Blade, who mistook Mileena for Kitana. Sonya killed Mileena, causing the dragon tattoo on Mileena's shoulder to come to life and quickly disappear. Oddly enough, the similar appearances of Mileena and Kitana are the only connections between the two characters that the movie makes. Mileena's name is never actually mentioned in the movie, but on the DVD release of it, it was mentioned in one of the fight scenes one could select in the Special Features.

Mileena appeared in one episode of the television series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, in which she had no initial relation to Kitana and was here depicted as a repulsive-looking Outworld assassin (from an unknown realm) sent by Shao Kahn to (unsuccessfully) kill Kung Lao (whom she develops feelings for), with a magic spell placed over her to give her Kitana's beautiful face, which she loved (for a second, he called her his "new daughter" before saying that her beauty was temporary and if she failed he would take it away); as punishment for her taking too much time in her mission, Kahn allows her to keep her beauty with the exception of making her teeth more exaggerated and pointy and making her voice sound like that of an old woman, her outer beauty to remind her of trying to be something that she is not. As giving her the face with fangs and the haggish voice makes her ugliness much more appalling, she starts to wear her signature mask, which Kahn gives her before banishing her from his sight. She was portrayed by Megan Brown in both forms, and by Audie England in the form of Kitana.

Trivia

 * She could be said by fans to be the closest thing to a daughter Shao Kahn has. In 1995, Malibu Comics released a special spin-off issue of their non-canon Mortal Kombat series, where this is discussed in detail. It is revealed here that Mileena was specifically created by Shang Tsung for Kahn through sorcery (Mileena constantly refers to herself in these comics as "Shao Kahn's true daughter").


 * In Deception, she boasted an alternate outfit that covers less skin than any Mortal Kombat outfit to date. To this end, she also appeared in a special edition of Playboy magazine featuring video game characters, though she remained clothed and veiled.


 * MK co-creator Ed Boon has described Kitana and Mileena as the female equivalents of Scorpion and Sub-Zero.


 * While still razor sharp, Mileena's elongated Tarkatan teeth seem to be getting shorter and shorter through the games, as recent transparent promotional renders that allow her teeth to be seen through the veil on her head reveal significantly shorter teeth than her MK2 teeth or Baraka's teeth, for example.


 * Every game in which Mileena and Kitana both appear without being palette swaps of one another, Mileena sports more revealing and provocative clothing than Kitana. An obvious character explanation would be that perhaps Mileena is flaunting her body as a form of compensation for her lack of a beautiful face (or at least a lower face in particular).


 * In UMK3 Mileena, during her victory pose, can be seen with Kitana's fans before holding her sais above her head.


 * She was ranked 5 out of 11 for Top 11 Mortal Kombat Characters from UGO.com.


 * Mileena is the first female character to be confirmed in the new Mortal Kombat video game, due to be released in 2011.


 * Mileena never had any new special moves since MK2. Until Mortal Kombat (2011), she now has new special moves called Face Knaw and Backstabber.


 * She can be considered one of the most evil and treacherous characters in Mortal Kombat. Examples of this include taking control of Kitana's army, misleading Shujinko to use as a bargaining chip gaining Onaga as an ally and seizing Shao Kahn's dungeon in the name of peace.


 * Mileena has appeared in every Mortal Kombat mini-game; Chess Kombat, Puzzle Kombat and Motor Kombat.


 * Of all the characters featured in Deception (or perhaps Armageddon), Mileena has the loudest scream when most fatalities is performed on her.

Character relationships



 * Created by Shang Tsung in the form of Kitana and a Tarkatan horde.


 * Shares a close relationship with Reptile in the canonically-disputed Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.


 * Is seen as the on-again, off-again lover of Baraka.


 * Served Shao Kahn.


 * Trained Shujinko her fighting styles.


 * Attacked Johnny Cage along with Kitana, Jade, Baraka, and Shang Tsung.


 * Killed by Kitana in MKII.


 * Resurrected by Shinnok to serve Shao Kahn once again in UMK3.


 * Served Shinnok in MK Gold.


 * Trapped in a dungeon by Kitana.


 * Freed from the dungeon by Baraka.


 * Disguised as Kitana to misdirect Onaga's enemies.


 * Gave Bo' Rai Cho the command of her armies while disguised as Kitana.


 * Served Shao Kahn once again.


 * Captured Shujinko and brought him to Shao Kahn's dungeon.


 * Defeated by Taven in Armageddon konquest mode.


 * Joined the Forces of Darkness in the final battle in Armageddon.