Rain



"I am no friend of yours. I am Rain, a prince of Edenia."

- Rain to Taven in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

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

About Rain
Rain was originally meant to appear in Mortal Kombat 3, but didn't actually appear until Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Rain was originally a red herring inserted by the game developers; a character shown in the game's attract mode who did not actually exist within the game itself. A recent interview reveals that the insert was made by Ed Boon himself to intentionally trick players. Many MK fans searched for him in vain, with the eventual realization of his status as a joke character (named after a Prince song, "Purple Rain") dawning. The joke expands further when it is revealed that Rain is a "prince" himself. He would, however, soon make an actual appearance in the console versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy as a full-fledged character with his own history (that of a traitor to his realm) and move set, to the delight of many fans and the chagrin of others. His popularity is mixed within the MK fanbase. He is a DLC character for Mortal Kombat (2011), with his debut gameplay trailer released on July 11, 2011, and the character itself released on July 19th.

Storyline
Rain is from the ancient realm of Edenia. He hails as the child of Argus, Edenia's protector. It is currently unknown who his mother is, however Argus's shame of infidelity, caused him to exile Rain from his royal family. As a result, Rain was given to an unnamed, but key general, in the Edenian military. Rain is a demi-god, the son of a true god and an Edenian.

His actions may have began before the events of the 1st Mortal Kombat tournament, as depicted in Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest Mode. Rain appears in Mortal Kombat: Deception as a non-playable character and is involved in two separate side quests. One of which involves Rain asking Shujinko to retrieve the enchanted dagger of the royal Shokan family. Rain states that Shao Kahn has enlisted him to retrieve the dagger for his own purposes, but Rain actually plans on keeping it for himself. Although this quest ends in Jade knocking out Rain for his troubles, it is canonly believed that he did keep the dagger, as it appears as part of his wardrobe in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

Several years later, Rain mysteriously returned during the invasion of Earthrealm. He aided Kahn in his plans for the conquest of Earthrealm. Trained in the art of kombat, Rain fought whole-heartedly to destroy Earth's warriors but his ending has Princess Kitana informing him about the true death of his adoptive father; that he was killed by Kahn's own hands. Overcome with a sense of rage, Rain embarks on a suicide mission to avenge his "father"'s death. It is unknown if this ending is canon or not, as the ending does not state if Rain succeeded or not. Merely that he left the Earthrealm Warriors to embark on the quest. Or it could be that Kahn was defeated by Earthrealm warriors before Rain confronted Kahn.

As Rain has not appeared as a playable character during the events of Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, or a main portion of Mortal Kombat: Deception, his current whereabouts were unknown. However, during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Rain learned of his true Edenian heritage. Quan Chi informed Rain that he is actually a direct descendant to Argus, the protector god of Edenia. Rain then started to refer to himself as a prince of the realm, as seen in Armageddon's Konquest mode, but he still chooses to fight on the side of evil, although he no longer serves Shao Kahn. He wishes to kill both Taven and Daegon in order to be able to win the ultimate prize and power promised from defeating Blaze. Rain confronts Taven in Arctika, but he is beaten in battle, eventually escaping in a watery portal.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), the official reboot of the series, which covers, and alters, the past events of Mortal Kombat 1-3, Rain was introduced as DLC. His original backstory as an Edenian orphan is retained, although in a modified form.

He bore witness to the invasion of his home world at the hands of Shao Kahn. During the chaos that ensued, Rain was smuggled away while his father stayed behind to perform his duties as a general in the Edenian army. Edenia's armies were crushed in the Outworld invasion, and Rain's father was subsequently killed by Kahn himself.

After that, he was rescued and raised by the Edenian Resistance following his adoptive father's death. He trained hard under their tutelage and turned into an elite but arrogant fighter. He served the Resistance well for many years and he was denied his own command. Infuriated, he betrayed his own brethren and joined his mortal enemy, Shao Kahn, who promised Rain leadership of his own army.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy: "Born of Kitana's former world of Edenia, Rain was smuggled away from the realm as a small child shortly after Shao Kahn's take over. Thousands of years later he resurfaced. His allegiance belonging to Kahn, he chose to betray his homeland rather than suffer at the hands of Kahn's extermination Squads."


 * Armageddon Bio Kard: "Although the blood of Edenian royalty flows through his veins, Rain is a traitor to his realm. When faced with the prospect of death at the hands of Shao Kahn, he offered his allegiance to the emperor and betrayed his homeland."


 * Armageddon: "The Edenian race is descended from gods. That is the reason for our longevity, our nobility, and our strength. But I am more than a distant relation to the deities of old. I am a direct descendant of Argus himself. Only recently have I discovered my royal heritage. Quan Chi, an emissary of Shinnok, revealed to me that I am entitled to great power and control of Edenia. My father hid my identity for fear it would complicate his plans for succession. He favored his sons Daegon and Taven and groomed them to one day replace him as Protector of Edenia. But he foolishly tied this plan to a quest to save the realms from Armageddon, leaving open an opportunity for me to seize the power that is rightfully mine. Though it seems the Forces of Light seek to steal the prize from me, Quan Chi has made plans to assure my victory. He and his allies will help fend off the Forces of Light as I make my way to Blaze. But before this final battle, I must ensure that Taven and Daegon cannot challenge my ascension. I will finish them both before they complete their quest.


 * Mortal Kombat (2011): "A refugee orphaned by Shao Kahn's conquest, Rain grew up under the protection of the Edenian Resistance. An exceptional fighter, he soon rose through their ranks. As his reputation grew, so did his arrogance. When Rain demanded leadership of the Resistance forces, he was refused. Infuriated, he turned against his rebel comrades and betrayed them to their sworn enemy. In payment for this treason, Rain was promised his own army by the emperor Shao Kahn. Power would be his - no matter the cost... "

Power and abilities
Being the half-god he is, Rain wields immense power. Rain can control two things that involve weather: water and lightning. His powers being related to such, he is able to pressurize jet streams of water to either propel himself or attack opponents. He is most noted for his ability to trap opponents in a spherical prison of water that gives him limited control over their body. In addition, he is able to conjure up lightning blasts from the sky to blast his opponents into the air. He also possesses the ability to liquefy himself, turning himself into water and reconstituting behind them in a swift manner akin to teleporting. Through mysterious means, he enchants the strength in his legs, distorting space to strike them so hard that they would reappear opposite to his direction.

Signature moves

 * Mind Control Orb: Rain projects a light-blue sphere at his opponent, which shatters as it hits. A successful hit allows Rain to move his opponent's body in any direction for a brief time. In Mortal Kombat (2011), the move is now called Water Bubble and the opponent is encased within it. (MKT, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Hydro Bubble and it grants a meter drain while the opponent is encased in it.
 * Shocking Bolt: Rain raises his arm and summons a blue lightning bolt to strike his enemy. This attack was borrowed by Nightwolf in Deception. In Mortal Kombat (2011), it is called Lightning and the bolts are purple. (MKT, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Thunder Storm and it allows him to fire off three bolts in succession.
 * Super Roundhouse: Rain reverse roundhouses his opponent clear to the other side of the screen. In Mortal Kombat (2011), it's called Super Kick and can be postponed. (MKT, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Power Kick, it can be postponed and increases in damage.
 * Water Blast: Rain shoots a high-pressure stream of water at his adversary, knocking the opponent down. In Mortal Kombat (2011), the move is named Aqua Splash. (MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Aqua Blast, allowing Rain to shoot streams of water from both hands.
 * Mystic Vapors: Rain submerges himself in a small pool of water and emerges behind his opponent. In Mortal Kombat (2011), the move is named Water-Port and can be done in the air. (MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Aqua-Port which adds a Geyser Kick after the teleport.
 * Windy Feet: Rain propels himself forward with a blast of water from behind, kicking his opponent in the chest with both feet. (MK:A)
 * Geyser Kick: Rain goes into a handstand position and propels himself into the air using a geyser kicking anyone who is near. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Thermal Spring, and increases in damage.
 * H2O Boost: Rain waves his arm above his head and gains a damage boost, but he is unable to block. He glows yellow while this is active. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called H2O Buff which has a longer effect and grants a larger damage increase, but he is still unable to block. He glows purple instead of yellow.
 * X-Ray Move - Rain Check: Rain conjures a geyser below the opponent, which lands them in front of him. He then snaps one of the opponent's arms from the elbow, and then delivers a brutal reverse roundhouse kick to the face, damaging the skull forcing the victim to fly to the other side of the screen just like the super roundhouse. (MK 2011)

Fatalities

 * Upside Down Uppercut: Rain uppercuts his opponent into the air in several sections and they fall back down upside down. (MKT)


 * When Lightning Strikes: Rain sends a bolt of lightning that strikes the opponent over and over until they explode to pieces. (MKT, MK Advance)


 * Bubble Burst: Rain summons a large ball of water around the victim's head, and then forces it down the opponent's throat causing them to inflate and then explode. (MK 2011)


 * Does it Sting?: Rain conjures up a ball of water to snap the opponent's legs, breaking them off. He then manipulates the water around his arm and shapes it into a highly pressurized blade to cut off the upper half of their head. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: Rain makes it rain around his opponent causing a few flowers to grow at their feet. (MKT)


 * Friendship #2: Rain gets out an umbrella and starts flying straight up. (MK Advance)


 * Animality: Rain turns into a small elephant and blows his opponent's skin off their body by yelling out of its trunk. (MKT)


 * Babality: Rain creates a jet of water he propels upwards, creating a storm cloud above him. It precedes to rain on top of him, causing him to fall down and cry. (MK 2011)

Endings

 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy: (Semi-Canonical) "Rain fights valiantly for the emperor Shao Kahn. But it would be Kahn's own step daughter, the Princess Kitana, who turns Rain against him. Like Kitana, Rain's origins also come from their former realm of Edenia. He learns that his father was once a general in Edenia's army and died at the hands of Shao Kahn himself. Enraged at the truth of his history, he joins Kitana in aligning with the Earthrealm warriors. But his allegiance comes under question when he mysteriously disappears during an extermination squad attack. To prove his loyalty, he embarked on a suicide mission to destroy Shao Kahn and end the menace once and for all."


 * Armageddon: (Non-Canonical) "The half-brother of Taven and Daegon, Rain, absorbed the power of Blaze and became a full god. I had not anticipated that the victor would be the son whose true identity I have hidden for so long. I bestowed the title of Protector of Edenia on Rain, but my pride in my son was misplaced. He uses his power to enslave Edenia. And now that I have ascended to Elder God status, I am forbidden to stop him."


 * Mortal Kombat (2011): "Shao Kahn had used Rain to crush the Edenian Resistance, but had not granted him an army. For this betrayal, Rain drowned the emperor in his own blood. A grateful Raiden thanked Rain for eliminating the emperor and saving Earthrealm. His heroics were befitting of a son of Argus. Rain's lost heritage was a revelation to him. That he was a direct descendent of an Edenian god, proved his superiority. Power was his by right. His divinity confirmed, Rain's path was clear. He would use Shao Kahn's army to rule not just Outworld, but all the realms. To Raiden's surprise and horror, Rain's first target is Earthrealm."

Movie appearance
Played by Tyrone Cortez Wiggins, Rain made a brief appearance in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. He was killed by Shao Kahn at a relatively early stage in the film, for not killing Kabal and Kurtis Stryker, when Shao Kahn knocks him into a fire pit using his Wrath Hammer. This abrupt end, before any display of Rain's fighting or magical abilities, was seen by fans as an example of the film's inability to deal properly with the large number of characters introduced within its running time. It is implied that Rain was the general of Shao Kahn's extermination squads, ranking higher than Motaro, Sheeva and Ermac, as all three contend to fill the role after Rain's death (a role eventually awarded to Sindel). This, however, contradicts Raiden's threat of killing all four of Kahn's "generals" at the start of the movie. Stock footage of Rain's demise is used for Baraka's death in a later scene.

TV appearance
Rain made an appearance during one episode of Mortal Kombat: Conquest, where he was played by Percy Brown. Shao Kahn sends him to kill Kung Lao so as to eliminate Earth's Grand Champion before the next tournament. Rain does battle with the monk, whom he is able to damage greatly, but Rain also becomes injured during the fight. As Kung Lao's friends arrive, Rain escapes in his weakened state. He appears later in the episode after being trailed by Siro. While the two are in combat, Kitana intervenes, forcing Rain to flee once again. Kitana then reveals that she and Rain were once 'close', but he had become seduced by the power offered by Shao Kahn and chose to betray his homeland of Edenia.

Rain has also appeared in an episode Skin Deep of the animated Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm series. He was portrayed as Kitana's ex-fiance who was thought to have been killed in battle against Shao Kahn thousands of years ago, sparking jealousy in Liu Kang. However, Rain betrayed the heroes and kidnapped his former comrade, swearing allegiance to Shao Kahn as the emperor appreciated his talents. He went unmasked throughout this entire episode. It is also hinted that Rain was only engaged to Kitana simply because of her power as princess.

Original timeline

 * Son of Argus, younger half-brother of Taven and Daegon.
 * Adoptive son of an Edenian general who was killed by Shao Kahn.
 * Rescued and raised by the Edenian Resistance following his adoptive father's death.
 * Betrayed the Resistance when they refused to make him their leader and joined forces of Shao Kahn.
 * Had Shujinko search for a ceremonial dagger for him in Outworld.
 * Asked Shujinko to find him a suitable place to launch covert attacks on the Edenian Freedom Fighters.
 * Was ambushed by Jade in Edenia after Shujinko betrayed him.
 * Reappeared in the invasion of Earthrealm.
 * Learned about his heritage as the son of Argus from Quan Chi.
 * Tried to kill Taven and Daegon, but was unsuccessful.
 * Joined the Forces of Darkness in the final battle in Armageddon.

Alternate timeline

 * Adoptive son of an Edenian general who was killed by Shao Kahn.
 * Rescued and raised by the Edenian Resistance following his adoptive father's death.
 * Betrayed the Resistance when they refused to make him their leader and joined forces of Shao Kahn.

Trivia

 * In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Rain was once engaged to Kitana, causing Liu Kang to become jealous whenever he made an appearance. Rain's former relationship with Kitana was also included in Mortal Kombat: Conquest. The relationship between them has never been hinted in the games.
 * Rain's stationary pose changes between console versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy. In the Nintendo 64 version, Rain uses the same "dragon claw" pose as Reptile, as he did in versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 where he was selectable. In every other version of MKT, however, Rain uses the "Scorpion Tail" pose used used by every other male ninja (minus Reptile) featured in the game.
 * One Kombat code activated the message: "Rain can be found in the graveyard."
 * Although Rain could be considered a joke and minor character, considering his role in the arcade version and the fact that he has appeared in only a few games, he has a large fanbase. Fan demand for Rain to appear in Mortal Kombat (2011) via DLC was rampant on Ed Boon's twitter account, and likely contributed to NRS' decision to finally make him a DLC character.
 * Rain's roundhouse kick sends the opponent flying off the screen and back on the other side. However, it only does about one-third as much damage as anyone else's roundhouse kick.
 * Mortal Kombat Advance was the only port of Ultimate MK3 that gave Rain his own unique fatality (though the fatality was borrowed from MK Trilogy).
 * His bio, before it was retconned, had him as an ex-member of the Lin Kuei who left to work for Shao Kahn, which was meant for Tremor before Rain replaced him.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Rain's Primary costume depicts him carrying a dagger on his waistline. This could be a reference to Mortal Kombat: Deception ' s Konquest mode, where Shujinko finds and delivers a ceremonial dagger to Rain.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode, he retains his UMK3 appearance.
 * In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Rain was placed at #7 of the worst characters in the Mortal Kombat series. This was however only stated to be because he was named after the Prince song "Purple Rain" and thus was purple, not because of his lack of fighting skills, which were admitted to be "pretty awesome".
 * Although the reference to "the aritist formerly known as Prince" is widely more accepted, a lesser known inspiration for Rain's character happens to be Rain of the Three Storms, one of David Lo Pan's most fearsome enforcers from the film Big Trouble in Little China. The most notable shout out is from his move set in Mortal Kombat (2011). He even shares a special move with fellow Three Storms tribute character, Raiden, in the 2011 game: their style of teleportation.
 * Rain's Friendship in Mortal Kombat Advance may be a reference to Mary Poppins, as she can fly with an umbrella just as Rain did.
 * In early versions of MK:A, Karate was supposed to be his unarmed fighting style.
 * His primary costume has a slight resemblance to the Prince of Persia, possibly as an in-joke from Rain's status as a prince with ninja abilities who carries a fancy looking dagger. It also has a resemblance to the Three Storms, as yet another shout-out to Big Trouble in Little China.
 * Further hints to Rain's concept designs that is based on the 80's pop song can be found in Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode after Jade succeeds in her ambush against Rain. When speaking to Jade, she will say "Purple? Rain chooses his wardrobe most curiously."
 * In the fighting game Skullgirls Encore, the character Fukua has a color palette that is based off of Rain's colors. This is one of three color palettes referencing Mortal Kombat, the other two being Ermac and Reptile.