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. 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, as well as the chagrin of others. His popularity is mixed within the MK fanbase. He is a DLC character for Mortal Kombat (2011), scheduled to be released on July 19th. His debut gameplay trailer was released on July 11th.

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 a human.

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.

While in hiding, Rain formed and led a resitance against Kahn's forces. Fueled by his goal for revenge, and from being a "chosen warrior" for Edenia, he sought to challenge Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat and restore the realm to its peaceful order. However, it was during this time that Quan Chi informed Rain of his true origins as the son of Argus, the protector of Edenia.

Fueled with anger and confusion, Rain sought out to answer questions about his true origins. Under directions of Quan Chi, Rain traveled to the Temple of Argus, a sanctuary for Argus and his royal family, and free from entry to anybody who did not share his royal blood. Hence, free from Shao Kahn's forces. Once within Rain learned of his origins (including the existence of his half-brothers, Taven and Daegon) and Argus's intentions for eventual sucession and Armageddon.

Taven and Daegon were set to compete to see who would overtake Argus as protector of Edenia. Argus who was also trying to troubleshoot the eventual Armageddon problem that was to come in the far future decided to create Blaze and the Pyramid to solve both problems. The two brothers would compete to see who could defeat Blaze, the end result would not only decide who would be his sucessor but also depower/kill (depending on which brother won) all of the Mortal Kombat warriors, hence preventing the Armageddon. Furious that he was not awarded the same oppertunity for sucession, Rain decided that while his brothers were in hibernation for the eventual Armageddon, he would form a plan to kill Argus, and betray the entire realm of Edenia by handing it over to Shao Kahn. With Argus's apparent death by Daegon, there was no protector of Edenia and Kahn was free to invade without rules or (due to Rain's leadership of the resistance) any further opposition.

For Rain's betrayal and commitence of genocide against his own people, Shao Kahn rewarded Rain with his rightful title of prince, knighting Rain the "Prince of Outworld", and in a twist of irony, making Rain his adpoted son and official heir to his throne. However, Rain, knowing that Kahn would never relinquish his throne, set out on his own quest of power.

This quest for power 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 retreive 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.

Further game-wise events of Rain point to him being involved in the storyline of Mortal Kombat 3, as he made his in game debut in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Not much insight are given to his motives, other than he is in allegiance to Kahn, 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 suceeded or not. Merely that he left the Earthrealm Warriors to embark on the quest. It is quite possible that Rain never actually attempted the quest and this merely fueled Rain to continue in his deception and eventual betrayal of Kahn. Or it could be that Kahn was defeated by Earthrealm warriors before Rain confronted Kahn. Eitherway, the information conveyed by Kitana on the details of Rain's adoptive father's death is canonly accepted as is the former "association" between Kitana and Rain (althought the extent of this past releationship is never revealed).

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, the events of Mortal Kombat Armageddon's Konquest Mode depict a possible picture of Rain very slowly and maniacly planning his victory over Blaze in Armageddon. (Being as Rain, aside from the then hibernating Taven, and pre-maturely released Daegon, is the only one with knowlege of his father's plan.)

During the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, it is finally canonly revealed that Rain is actually a direct descendant to Argus, the protector god of Edenia. During the events of Armageddon it is revealed that Rain no longer directly serves Shao Kahn, and is merely guiding Kahn and his forces towards the "Final Battle" to bring about his father's Armageddon. His true intention revolves around himself; suceeding his brothers in the destruction of Blaze so that he may "rightfully" take his heirship of the Protector of Edenia as a true god. 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 while in Arctika. However, he is beaten in battle, eventually escaping through a watery portal.

In Rain's Armageddon ending, it is revealed that he is actually the half-brother of Taven and Daegon, being the son of Argus whose identity his father had tried to keep hidden. Imbued with the power of Blaze after defeating him, Rain becomes a full god, and Argus proclaims him as the new Protector of Edenia. However, Rain instead uses this power to enslave the realm. Argus, having ascended to the status of Elder God after Rain's own ascension, is unable to stop him.

Rain will be a playable character in Mortal Kombat (2011), the official reboot of the series, which covers, and alters, the past events of Mortal Kombat 1-3. He will be introduced as DLC, and as such it is currently unknown at this time if any of Rain's backstory or actions will be or have been changed as a result of this retelling.

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."


 * Rain06.jpgArmageddon 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."

Power and abilities
thumb|right|250px|MK (2011) Rain TrailerBeing 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 fire 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. 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

 * Rain1.pngMind 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 a water bubble and opponent is encased within it. (MKT, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version allows him to control the opponent longer.


 * Shocking Bolt: Rain raises his arm and summons a blue lightning bolt to strike his enemy. This attack was borrowed by Nightwolf in Deception. (MKT, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version allows him to fire off three bolts in succession.


 * Super Roundhouse: Rain roundhouses his opponent clear to the other side of the screen.(MKT, MK 2011)


 * Water Blast: Rain shoots a high-pressure stream of water at his adversary, knocking the opponent down. (MK:A, MK 2011)


 * Mystic Vapors: Rain submerges himself in a small pool of water and emerges behind his opponent. In Mortal Kombat (2011), this appears to now be a teleport punch. (MK:A, MK 2011)


 * Windy Feet: Rain propels himself forward with a blast of water from behind, kicking his opponent in the chest with both feet. (MK:A)


 * X-Ray: Rain conjures a geyser below the opponent, which lands them in front of him. Rain then snaps one of the opponent's arms from the elbow, and then delivers a brutal roundhouse kick to the face, damaging the skull.

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)


 * Fatality 1: Rain summons a large ball of water around the victims head, and then forces it down the opponent's throat causing them to expand and then explode (MK 2011)


 * Fatality 2: 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 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 lets out an umbrella and starts flying straight up. This can be only done in the Game Boy Advance.


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

Endings

 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy: (Non-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 form 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.

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 allowing Kabal and Kurtis Stryker to live, 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. He went unmasked throughout this entire episode.

Trivia
In General Mortal Kombat: Deception Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Mortal Kombat (2011)
 * Rain_mkdk.jpg 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 existed in the games.
 * One of the codes activated the message: "Rain can be found in the graveyard."
 * Although Rain could be considered a joke character, considering his pointless 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 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.
 * His bio, before it was retconned, had him as an ex-member of the Lin Kuei who left to work for Shao Kahn. This bio was allegedly given to Tremor, a difference being that Tremor went to work for the Black Dragon instead of Shao Kahn.
 * He also was put in the game instead of Tremor.
 * 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.
 * Despite having been a placeholder for a cameo appearance in Mortal Kombat (2011), Rain does not appear on the initial roster. However, Ed Boon had mentioned the possibility of Rain as DLC on multiple occasions, indicating he may be among the first DLC characters released in Mortal Kombat (2011). In an article by IGN with details on Skarlet, IGN confirmed Rain to be a DLC character.
 * Rain's Fighting Stance in UMK3 Arcade and MKT N64 is a version of Reptile's, however, in MKT PC is a version of Scorpion's.
 * 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 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".
 * In the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo versions of UMK3, Rain is a playable character.
 * He is one of the characters that appear in a cell in the Dark Prison stage, while being trapped there, he sounds like a female character.
 * He is one of the characters that can be found running around and hiding in the krypt graveyard.
 * In konquest mode in the Chaosrealm, one of the chaos people has a backwards speech which states "Rain is purple, get it?"
 * In konquest mode in Edenia, when Jade defeats Rain, she says "Purple? Rain chooses his wardrobe most curiously." This may be a play on "Purple Rain", or a humorous reference to Prince's wardrobe.
 * In Konquest mode, he can be found in Outworld, when you speak to him, he will ask you to search for a dagger.
 * A concept art shows Rain battling what appears to be Sektor in one part of Liu Kang's tomb.
 * Rain_earlykarate.jpg early versions, Karate was supposed to be his unarmed fighting style.
 * Rain was shown with daggers but never used them in the game.
 * His Daggers closely resemble Kira's Dragon Teeth
 * In gameplay, after Rain is defeated in the first round, he gets back up the same way as Noob except Rain uses a water teleport and Noob uses a shadow teleport.
 * He uses the same fighting style; Zi Ran Men that Tanya had in Deception.
 * His alternate costume is somewhat similar to his UMK3 appearance.
 * His primary costume in MK 2011 is based on his alternate costume in MKA.
 * In the Armageddon opening cinematic, Rain attempts to attack Ermac but is "clothslined" by him instead.
 * Rain is the only character to assume his original victory pose from UMK3/MKT when he wins.
 * His second fatality is similier to Quan Chi's On Your Knees fatality.

Character Relationships

 * Son of Argus, younger Half-brother of Taven and Daegon.
 * Adoptive son of an Edenian general who was killed by Shao Kahn.
 * Joined Shao Kahn's forces rather than face death after the Invasion of Edenia
 * Had Shujinko search for a ceremonial dagger for him in Outworld.
 * Took part in the invasion of Earthrealm.
 * 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.
 * Learned about his heritage as the son of Argus from Quan Chi
 * Is the adoptive son of Shao Kahn and hier to his throne.
 * Has an unrevealed past association with Kitana.
 * Tried to kill Taven and Daegon but was unsuccessful.
 * Joined the Forces of Darkness in the final battle in Armageddon.