Jade



"Once a close friend of the Princess, Jade is faced with the task of betraying her friend or disobeying her Emperor."

- Jade's Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 biography

Jade is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. She first appeared as a secret, unplayable character in Mortal Kombat II, and first became playable in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

About Jade


Jade is a childhood friend of Princess Kitana. While her motives were unclear, she served Shao Kahn alongside Kitana and Mileena as his personal assassin for most of her life. When Kitana finally turned against Shao Kahn, Jade was ordered to capture her for the Emperor. She ultimately chose to join her friend, and has since loyally assisted Kitana in her quest to free their native realm and restore its beauty. Now residing in the freed Edenia, Jade is a General of the Edenian Army and continues to dutifully serve Kitana and her mother Sindel.

As a female assassin adorned in a green skin-tight outfit, Jade was initially very similar in appearance to Kitana and Mileena, the only noticeable difference being her darker skin. She appeared first as a hidden, unplayable character in Mortal Kombat II whose moveset were mostly like Kitana's including the use of the fan blade weapon. To reach Jade, the player would fight a one-player game on the match just before the "?" on the map of the mountain. If the player won at least one round of the match using only the Low Kick button (no punches, High, or Block button presses), they would immediately be warped to Goro's Lair to fight Jade. The player did not have to win the match -- only one round -- to fight Jade.

Jade would later become a regular character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Her main weapon of choice is a metal staff, but she also uses razor-edged boomerangs (dubbed "razorangs") as well.

Storyline


It is assumed Jade was the back-up plan of Shao Kahn during the second tournament, in case his own warriors would fail to withstand the fury and anger of the Earthrealm warriors. In fact, although she was not present in the first Mortal Kombat tournament, she was hiding in the shadows and watching the events unfold. From there, she would have to return to Outworld and report to Shao Kahn.

Like Kitana, Jade's origins lie not in Outworld, but in the realm of Edenia. While it is not certain whether or not her parents made any significant contributions to Edenia, it is known that they were nobles of the realm and were loyal and faithful subjects who loved King Jerrod and Queen Sindel. Aside from the fact that she has been Kitana's friend since childhood, there isn't much information on Jade's background and early life. However, it is known that Jade was kidnapped as an infant along with Kitana when Shao Khan murdered King Jerrod and took over Edenia. Jade grew up with Kitana and Mileena and was trained as one of Shao Kahn's personal assassins.

At the time of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Kitana had been sentenced to death after pleeding guilty for treason and murdering Mileena during the events of Mortal Kombat II. She escaped the evil realm and fled to Earthrealm. Shao Kahn became enraged and appointed Jade and Reptile to venture into Earthrealm and capture her. Jade was assured that Kahn wanted her back alive, but Reptile was secretly told to bring Kitana back by any means necessary, including and especially killing her.

The two then ventured into Earth to find Kitana. However, Jade found herself torn between loyally carrying out Kahn's orders and betraying her friend or joining her against the Emperor. She ultimately decided to help Kitana and thwarted Reptile's assassination attempt. With his defeat, the path was cleared for the two women to join Raiden and his Earthrealm combatants in the battle against Shao Kahn and his forces. Of immediate importance, however, was Kitana's personal mission to reach and warn the resurrected Queen Sindel about their true past together. Jade's assistance had made that possible. With Sindel's memories recovered, she too would turn against Shao Kahn. Shortly afterward, Kahn was defeated by Liu Kang. After Kahn's defeat, Kitana would go on to free Edenia from Outworld.

Jade was not present during the events of Mortal Kombat Gold. It was at this time that Tanya betrayed Edenia to Shinnok and earned Jade's wrath.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, it was revealed that Jade had attempted to join Kitana and her allies in the battle against the Deadly Alliance. She had arrived too late, finding her friend's body lying on the ground with the other Earthrealm warriors. Heartbroken, Jade knelt beside her fallen friend's side and noticed a large creature approaching. She then hid in the nearby shadows and witnessed this evil menace, Onaga the Dragon King, resurrect the bodies of Kitana and her fallen friends. While they were resurrected, they were also placed under an evil spell and were told to meet up with the force controlling them at the Living Forest.

Jade followed in secret, only to discover that they were going to invade Edenia and hold Queen Sindel prisoner. Jade returned to Edenia to find Queen Sindel behind bars and guarded by her own daughter. Sindel could have fought for her freedom, but she couldn't bring herself to attack Kitana. Jade attacked Kitana and managed to trap her in a cage of her own while she freed Sindel. Kitana then began shouting for the guards to capture them, forcing Jade and Sindel to flee to the portal into Outworld. Before they went through the portal, Jade caught a glimpse of her enemy, Tanya, standing next to Onaga.

Currently in Outworld with Sindel, Jade has made it her personal mission to assist her Queen in rescuing Kitana from the Dragon King's spell and to seek justice (or perhaps vengeance) against Tanya, who has betrayed Edenia yet again.

In Jade's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending, she is given great power by defeating Blaze. Through sheer will she opens the Pyramid of Argus. All of the darkness in the realms is drawn into it, where it is sealed forever. Jade is regarded as a hero, and the pyramid stands as a testament against anyone who wishes to do harm to Edenia.

Biographies

 * Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: "When the renegade Princess Kitana makes her escape into the unknown regions of Earth, Jade is appointed by Shao Kahn to bring his daughter back alive. Once a close friend of the Princess, Jade is faced with the task of betraying her friend or disobeying her Emperor."


 * Mortal Kombat Deception: "I had arrived too late. Kitana and her allies from Earthrealm had been slain in the epic battle against the Deadly Alliance. At the least, they had killed many Tarkata before they died. As I knelt beside her, a menacing, dragon-like creature strode across the bridge to the palace. I leapt out of sight and watched as he resurrected the dead and ordered them to regroup near the Living Forest. I followed them in secret. The Dragon King's entourage crossed into Edenia and imprisoned Queen Sindel. He used Princess Kitana to guard her, knowing the Queen would not attack her own daughter. I fought Kitana and eventually managed to lock her in a cell of her own. Kitana furiously screamed, alerting the enemy. Before Queen Sindel and I escaped through a portal to Outworld, I caught a last glimpse of the Dragon King... and at his side... Tanya!"thumb|300px|right

Powers and abilities
When she was first introduced in MKII, Jade was the only secret character to possess an outright special ability: an absolute immunity to projectile attacks. Any projectiles thrown at her would fly harmlessly pass her. Aside from that, her style of combat was identical to Kitana's, wielding a pair of copper fans during gameplay.

When she was made playable, she displayed slightly more aptitude than her other counterparts. Unlike Kitana and Mileena, Jade wielded two weapons: a steel, sharp-pointed staff and a supply of 'razorangs' (a portmanteau of 'razor' and 'boomerangs'). She displayed the most effectiveness with the staff, preferring weapon combat over hand-to-hand combat. During one of her Fatalities and her win pose, the staff left behind purple energy trails, hinting at magical properties. The staff has also been redesigned twice, first displayed as mentioned above, but in Deception, given a larger spearhead at one end whilst in Shaolin Monks, it is a simple iron staff with no sharp ends. She also displayed skill with the razorangs, able to retrieve her weapons as they returned to her without cutting herself and can alter their trajectory at will. Jade is able to emit a 'force rejection field' around her which seems to cause projectiles in particular to fly right through her like air.

Signature moves

 * Razor-Rang: Jade throws a razored-boomerang at her opponent. In the 2D games, there were three variations of this move: one that curved up, one that curved down, and one that returned if it missed the opponent. (UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, "MK 2011")
 * Blazing Nitro Kick: Jade illuminates herself with a green force and kicks her opponent. This move is borrowed from Johnny Cage. (UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
 * Dodging Shadows: Jade puts a forcefield around herself which causes projectiles to go through her. This move is taken in reference to her automatic immunity to projectiles in MKII. (UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
 * Vanishing Winds: Jade spins with a cloud of green smoke surrounding her and appears behind her opponent. (MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Shake It: Jade stabs the foe in the belly with her staff and shakes it (as the name applies) to the point where the body blows up. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Staff Impale: Jade uppercuts the opponent into the air and promptly holds out her staff as the opponent is pierced by it upon falling down. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Jade Cutter: Jade runs past her foe after cutting him/her and when she looks at the foe, the foe's upper torso and the lower body split apart and fall to the ground. (MK:D)
 * Head Kabob: Jade thrusts her staff into the opponent's head, then flips over and smashes the opponent to the ground, which separates the body and the head, the latter of which is still attached to the weapon, spilling blood. (MK:D)
 * Staff Impale+Decapitation: Jade kicks the opponent into the air and plants her staff into the ground, after the opponent is impaled by the staff, she rips off his/her head and sticks it at the top of the staff. (MK 2011)

Other Finishers:

 * Animality: Jade turns into a cat and mauls the opponent to death. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Friendship: Jade hops on her staff like a pogo stick. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Hara-Kiri: Razorang Harvest: Jade throws her razor boomerang in the direction in front of her. Then it comes back and cuts off her head. (MK:D)

Endings

 * Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 / Mortal Kombat Trilogy: (Semi-Canonical) "Jade makes the decision to assist her longtime friend, Kitana. She thwarts an assassination attempt by Reptile against the princess and fends off their other Outworld enemies. This clears the path for Kitana to turn Sindel against the emperor Shao Kahn. With Sindel removed as an enemy, Jade finds herself facing the emperor in kombat. She defeats him, and both Earth and her former homeland of Edenia are transformed to their original states. Jade has earned herself a place alongside the great heroes of Mortal Kombat."


 * Deception: (Non-Canonical) "The traitor Tanya had given the Dragon King the information he needed to finish merging the Kamidogu. But before he conquered all the realms, Jade would see Tanya dead. Jade had allowed Baraka's soldiers to capture her, feigning defeat in battle. As Tanya approached her prisoner, Jade waited for the right moment... and threw a glass orb filled with concentrated Tarkata essence at her. The glass broke, splashing its contents across Tanya's body. Baraka and his vile savages worked themselves into an uncontrolled frenzy. They perceived Tanya to be a rival male and instinctively attacked. I doubt she survived the encounter."


 * Armageddon: (Non-Canonical) "Defeated, Blaze transferred godlike power to Jade and instructed her to make true that which she most desired. As if controlled by some divine force, she let out a tremendous shriek that split open the pyramid. As she inhaled, the forces of Darkness were sucked inside the ancient structure. It then resealed itself, trapping them there for eternity. Jade was celebrated as a hero -- and the pyramid stood as a reminder to those who would threaten Edenia."

Film
Despite her portrayal as a "good" character in the games, Jade appears in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (portrayed by Siberian supermodel Irina Pantaeva) as a character who remains loyal to Shao Kahn until her death. After failing to seduce Liu Kang and leading the other warriors to an ambush (not before testing Liu Kang and leading him to the Temple of the Elder Gods), Kahn himself has her eaten and swallowed by a living gargoyle in his palace due to her alleged failure at keeping the Earth Warriors from escaping. There is also little to no indication in the movie that Jade and Kitana know each other from the past. Instead, Kitana glares at Jade when she betrays the group during a later part of the film.

Literature
Jade appears in the novelization of both feature films. Her role in the first novel is very small, appearing only on one page before being tricked by Sonya and defeated with a single blow. It is interesting to note that instead of fighting with any of the three weapons she uses in the games (fans, staff or razorangs), Jade displays great proficiency with a pair of half-moon daggers, capable to moving them so fast around her that she can shield herself from attack.

Jade's role in the novelization of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is expanded, and a history between her and Kitana is hinted at, but Kitana is disgusted by her arrival rather than friendly with her (which would explain Kitana glaring at Jade in the movie). She fakes subduing Sindel and lures the Earth Warriors into a trap, distracting them long enough for the Extermination Squads to get close, before escaping. Like in the film, despite Sindel's testimony to Jade's loyalty, Shao Kahn has her devoured by a living stain-glass window for allowing the Earth Warriors to survive.

Jade doesn't appear in Jeff Rovin's non-canon Mortal Kombat novel.

Comic books
Jade has a minor role in Malibu Comics second series Battlewave. Since her participation in Mortal Kombat II wasn't revealed during production of the comic, Jade's portrayal and personality is highly different from her in-game canon story and traits. In the comics Jade is an evil assassin under Shao Kahn's command, and shows no relation or ties with Kitana besides their shared looks. She is always paired with Smoke, possibly due to both of them appearing on the background of the Living Forest stage in Mortal Kombat II.

Jade and Smoke attempt twice to kill Jax (and later Johnny Cage) before they arrive in Outworld, but both times they fail to do so. Later they try to redeem themselves by killing Raiden during his fight with Kano (the third issue of the mini-series Rayden and Kano), only to be stopped by Kano himself. She is also present as one of the wedding guests for Shao Kahn and Sonya's wedding in issue #6 of the Battlewave series.

Character development


Jade's introduction to the Mortal Kombat series is quite similar to that of Reptile's. She was simply an extremely fast palette-swap of Kitana who could not be harmed by projectiles and, in all ports of MKII, (except for Sega Genesis/Megadrive, and Sega Saturn where she had Kitana's skin color) had brown skin. In the first Mortal Kombat, Reptile made his appearance as a green-colored version of Scorpion with both Scorpion and Sub-Zero's abilities. When Jade made her first non-secret appearance in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, she was given her own attributes and storyline. The same happened for Reptile when he made his first non-secret appearance in Mortal Kombat II. Jade's name was not superimposed over her MKII energy meter; its inclusion was likely forgotten by the programmers during production.

Jade could be seen peeking out from a tree in The Living Forest Arena in Mortal Kombat II, as could another secret opponent Smoke. It was then further suggested in the comic book series that Jade and Smoke were in fact assassins working for Shao Kahn. However, the comic books were non-canon.

Jade also made an appearance in the game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks as an assassin that fought alongside Mileena and Kitana. Her appearance sparked some controversy about the validity of the game's story, compared to established Mortal Kombat canon. After battling her, she is stabbed in the eyes with Mileena's sai by the player and dies.

Trivia

 * Jade was a representative of Mortal Kombat in Video Game Vixens - a special four-part TV show on G4 that features what they consider to be "the sexiest female video game characters of the year."
 * In the 1995 movie, "Mortal Kombat", Jade was scheduled to face off against Sonya in a secret area of the island that was slated to be a hidden Easter egg in the DVD version of the movie; but the scene was later scrapped due to time constraints.
 * In her Girls Gone Wired video Jade reveals not only her measurements (36, 24, 36) but also that she is a Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 22).
 * In early versions of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Long Fist was supposed to be her unarmed fighting style.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest Mode, Jade asks Shujinko to bring Rain to the Edenian Freedom Fighters, and in completing this, she defeats him. Afterwards however, she still asks Shujinko to bring him to her.
 * In Mortal Kombat 2 Jade occasionally drops down during a match and gives clues on how to reach her just as Reptile did in Mortal Kombat. One of her clues is a reference to the Ermac rumors from Mortal kombat 1.

Jade Gone Wired
Much like Sonya Blade, Chun Li, and perhaps even Ms. Pacman, Jade has become a renown female character from video gaming. Her beauty accounts for this.

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Character Relationships

 * Childhood friend of Kitana.
 * Assisted Shao Kahn in MK2 and UMK3.
 * Traveled to Earthrealm with Reptile to find Kitana in UMK3.
 * Betrayed Shao Kahn to fight for Kitana and the Earth Warriors in UMK3.
 * Defeated Sheeva along with Kitana in UMK3.
 * Tried to join the fight with the Earth Warriors against the Deadly Alliance, but was too late.
 * Witnessed Onaga's return and then he revived Kitana and the Earth Warriors.
 * Tanya became her sworn enemy.
 * Fought the manipulated Kitana and then put her in a cell of her own.
 * Freed Sindel out of her cage and allied with her to free Kitana out of Onaga's spell.
 * Joined the Forces of Light in the final battle in Armageddon.