Raiden

Raiden (also Rayden), is a character who appears in the Mortal Kombat series. His creation was inspired by Raiden, the Japanese god of thunder and lightning.

About Raiden
Raiden is the eternal God of Thunder and former protector of Earthrealm. After the second defeat of Shinnok, he ascended to the status of Elder God. Being a god, he possesses many supernatural abilities, such as the ability to teleport, control lightning and fly. As a god, he is used to thinking in terms of eternity rather than normal human lifespans, and as such he has a radically different outlook on life.

Storyline
When Earthrealm was young, Raiden was its protector. He fought the rogue Elder god Shinnok, who wished to rule it, in a war that threatened to destroy Earthrealm itself. One of the casualties of the war was the Saurian civilization (of which Reptile was a member), forcing the remaining survivors to emigrate to another world, which they named Zaterra.

With the aid of the Elder gods, Raiden managed to defeat Shinnok. Stripping him of the amulet, he banished the evil Elder to the Netherealm, and placed his powerful amulet in a secret location- a Temple of the Elements he constructed in the mountains of Nepal. He assigned four gods to guard the amulet- the gods of Wind (Fujin), Fire, Earth and Water.

When the elder Sub-Zero stole Shinnok's amulet for Quan Chi millions of years later, Raiden appeared before the Lin Kuei warrior, and told him to enter the Netherealm and steal it back, lest Shinnok use it to free himself. Raiden was unable to do it himself, as he would lose all of his powers in the Netherealm. Sub-Zero did as requested, for the time being, removing Shinnok as a threat.

Some time later, Shang Tsung invited Raiden to participate in Mortal Kombat. Aware of the threat posed by this tournament to the future of Earth, Raiden took the form of a human to compete.

One year later, Raiden found that he had no choice but to accept Shang Tsung's offer of Mortal Kombat in Outworld. Knowing full well the treachery of Shang Tsung and brutality of Shao Kahn, he warned the surviving members of the Shaolin tournament and disappeared alone to the Outworld.

After the Earthrealm warriors' victory, Raiden had to scramble to protect his warriors' souls when Shao Kahn reached across the realms and reclaimed his resurrected Queen Sindel. With the safety of his champions ensured, Raiden wished to fight alongside them, but was unable to due to the merger between Earth and Outworld. The Outworld menace now ruled the Earth, and Raiden had no choice but to give up his godhood in order to fight. Following Liu Kang's defeat of Shao Kahn, he reclaimed his status as both a god and Earth's protector.

Raiden and his warriors again entered battle when Shinnok escaped the Netherealm to once more wage war against the gods. Shinnok's attack caught the Elders off-guard and killed many of the gods of Earth. However, this time the war would also be fought by mortals; with Liu Kang uniting Earth's warriors under the banner of the troubled Thunder god, Raiden's Forces of Light emerged successful. Now granted the status of Elder God, he turned over his position as Earthrealm's protector to Fujin.

As an Elder God, Raiden could not interfere when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi killed Liu Kang many years later. Disgusted at the his peers for their refusal to intervene, he renounced his position as an Elder, gathering his warriors to stop the Deadly Alliance. This time, disaster struck the heroes. The Earthrealm warriors were all slain in battle with the Tarkatan horde and in a desperate measure, he confronted Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in front of the Soulnado, but was defeated.

He returned to his feet when Onaga, the Dragon King, entered the chamber, and stood beside Tsung and Quan Chi as they attacked Onaga. When he saw that their attacks barely slowed Onaga down, Raiden released his godly essence, the effect of which was a single, massive explosion. It obliterated the Dragon King's tomb, snuffed out the Soulnado, apparently destroyed the Deadly Alliance and Raiden himself, but did not harm Onaga. Raiden's essence soon gathered again in the Earthrealm, where he had now became furious with the way Earthrealm's inhabitants had treated their own realm. He became even more enraged when he learned that Shujinko had foolishly unleashed the Dragon King by attaining the Kamidogu of various realms for him. With that, his patience exhausted, Raiden then decided he was going to punish those who placed Earthrealm in harm's way.

Possible future
Raiden's shift in attitude comes to a head in his Deception game ending. He is seen brutally slaying Shujinko for his error. Whether this event becomes part of Mortal Kombat canon will be determined in the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, where both Raiden and Shujinko are confirmed to return.

Alignment
Good, although recently, he has been depicted as an angry and vengeful god who, in his game ending, killed Shujinko for endangering Earthrealm (in others words he's tired of humans putting the world in frequent danger, and he wants Earthrealm to stay safe). Interestingly, his MK1 ending also humorously depicted him inviting other gods to compete in Mortal Kombat, and it resulted in the destruction of Earth (however, this was before his role as a mentor to the heroes had been established).

It's worth noting that in production art unlockable in the "Krypt" in Mortal Kombat: Deception, the new Raiden design used after the revival of Onaga (black and generally darker in appearance than in previous games) is described as belonging to "Evil Raiden." Additionally, during an encounter with Shujinko in Konquest mode, the new "dark" Raiden offers to train him and warns him that he's "not the Thunder God you once knew."

Trademarks

 * His conical, straw Chinese coolie (harvester) hat, one of Raiden's most recognizable features.
 * Has electricity running across his body in MK, MK4 / Gold, and MK: Deadly Alliance.
 * He became notorious for yelling randomly while performing his Torpedo move in MKII. Fans originally believed that he was yelling Japanese phrases. Interestingly, others thought that he was actually speaking English, and thus Raiden's phrases were misinterpreted as "Get back in the car!", "Gimme ma money!", or even "Your mother's from L.A.!" Midway soon revealed that Raiden was merely speaking gibberish and not actual Japanese or English words. (Raiden was voiced by Midway employee Jon Hey in the first two games.)
 * A saya (katana scabbard) appears on one of Raiden's secondary costumes. However, he is never seen using the sword.
 * Glowing white, occasionally blue (now red) eyes. (In Mortal Kombat: Conquest he had deep blue eyes).

Memorable moves

 * Teleport: At will Raiden would vanish and reappear behind his opponent. (MK, MKII, MKT, MK4, MK Gold, MKD)
 * Electricity: Raiden would send bolts of lightning flying at his opponent. (MK, MKII, MKT)
 * Torpedo: Raiden would fly at his opponent like Superman and push them against the wall. (MK, MKII, MKT, MK4, MK Gold, MKD)
 * Air Torpedo: Raiden could use his Torpedo while in the air too. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MK Gold, MKD)
 * Shocker: Raiden would grab his opponent and electrocute them. (MKII, MKT)
 * Reverse Electricity: Raiden would send a bolt of lightning the other direction hitting an opponent from behind. (MKT)
 * Lightning Ball: Sending a fireball composed of electricity at his opponent besides a bolt of lightning. (MK4, MK Gold, MKDA, MKD)
 * Electric Slide: Raiden would slide across the floor and hit his opponent with his shoulder also electrocuting them in the process. (MKDA)
 * Shocking Touch: Raiden would grab his opponent and hold them in the air and electrocute them and then he would punch them. (MKDA, MKD)
 * Electric Kick: Similar to the Shocking Touch, Raiden would do the same thing only end with a kick to the opponent. This was Raiden's special throw.  (MKDA, MKD)

Fatalities

 * Godly Essence: Raiden charges up a ball of energy just like the intro of Mortal Kombat: Deception, he then fires it at his opponent thus blowing him and his opponent into a million pieces (this fatality mirrors the game's opening movie) (MKD).
 * Electric Head: Raiden sends a surge of electricity into his opponent's head and it explodes (MK, MKT PSX). In Super Nintendo version, the electricity reduces them to a pile of ash and a skull.
 * Explosive Uppercut: The god crouches down and sends a vicious electric charged uppercut to his opponent blowing him/her into millions of pieces (MKII, MKT).
 * Electrocution I: Raiden grabs his opponent, holds him/her a few feet off the ground, and sends electricity into their body making them explode (MKII, MKT, MK4).
 * Electrocution II: Raiden lodges his hands into his opponent's chest, lifts him/her over his head, and sends surges of electricity into their body making them blacken and explode (MKDA).
 * Staff Shock: Raiden calls for his staff, lodges the end into his opponent's chest, lifts them up and shocks them until they're dead. This was also Raiden's first in-game use of a staff (MK4).
 * Lightning Strike: Raiden calls down lighting until it strikes his hand and he fires lighting out of his other, shocking his opponent until they blow up (MKD).

Other finishers

 * Kidd Thunder: Raiden generates a mini version of himself that laughs. (MKII, MKT)
 * Electric Eel: Raiden turns into an electric eel and electrocutes his opponent until they explode into pieces. (MKT)
 * Fergality: After inputing a code on the genesis version of MKII, Raiden will turn the enemy into a smoking version of one of the MKII members. (MKII)
 * Brutality: Probably the easiest to perform, Raiden goes brutal on his foe, using uppercuts mostly and using a one last uppercut to make his opponent explode. (MKT)
 * Hara-Kiri – Raiden charges himself with electricity until he explodes. (MK:D)

Movie storyline
In the first Mortal Kombat movie, Raiden remains the guiding god of thunder, bent on doing all within his power to help the warriors of earth gain victory. According to the movie, Raiden is forbidden from directly interfering in the tournament of Mortal Kombat. Raiden also possesses a sense of humor which the other characters seems not to share, often prompting him to apologize after making dry remarks. In the critically-panned 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Raiden is revealed to be low in the hierarchy of the gods, as he must seek their guidance when the emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn, begins his invasion of Earthrealm. Raiden had a tattoo of a dragon on his right shoulder blade that was given to those who carried his family's bloodline. (It also allowed its bearers to travel between realms.) Shao Kahn also carried this same tattoo, and was revealed to be Raiden's brother while Shinnok was Raiden's father. (This is a non-canon event created specifically for the film that was likely a failed attempt by the screenwriters to shock viewers.) Mileena and Cyrax sported temporary versions that flew off when they were defeated. Many fans dismissed this as just another example of how far-fetched Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was from the games. Raiden does not have his movie tattoo in either Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance or Mortal Kombat: Deception; this can be seen on his alternative outfits as both have one of his shoulders bare, and in the games, his status among the Elder Gods varies so much it could be said he had attained the power to traverse realms at some point and never needed such a mystical tool.

Raiden is portrayed by Christopher Lambert in the first movie and by James Remar in the second.

Clancy Brown provided Raiden's voice in the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. Jeffrey Meek played Raiden in the live-action series Mortal Kombat: Conquest. Lambert will reprise the role of Raiden in the upcoming second sequel Mortal Kombat: Devastation.

Trivia

 * Raiden's Fatality in the original MK, in which he obliterated his opponent's head with a lightning strike, was drastically altered in the Super NES version due to Nintendo's strict no-blood policy at the time. The decapitation was changed to the opponent's turning into a gray pile of dust.
 * Raiden's name is spelled Raiden in the arcade iterations of the Mortal Kombat games, and both Deadly Alliance and Deception. On the other home versions, his name is spelled Rayden.  This was allegedly because of copyright issues as a shoot 'em up was named Raiden, or possibly to keep from confusing of Raiden from the Fatal Fury series, who was seen as a large wrestler.  The console versions up until Mortal Kombat 4 changed the name to Rayden.
 * Raiden was modeled after the character "Lightning" from the 1986 John Carpenter movie Big Trouble in Little China.
 * Originally, Raiden was not going to be in Deception, and the opening of Deception explained why Raiden would not be in the game. However, this changed after fan complaints, and Raiden remained in the game; the character who would have replaced him, Fujin, makes only a cameo appearance in the Prison stage, and in the Orderrealm during Konquest.  Despite this, logically Fujin is still the protector of Earthrealm, as appointed in MK:DA.
 * In MK3 and Ultimate MK3 for both the arcade and home versions, Nightwolf's Friendship had him transform into Raiden and an arcade machine of MKII drop down with two quotes, "Yes, But I Can Do a Raiden Transformation" or "I've Never Seen a Kano Transformation." (Despite not actually turning into Kano) This Friendship was omitted in the Nintendo 64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy because of the fact that Raiden was in that game with the same MKII sprite.
 * Raiden was originally going to use his staff as a weapon in MKII, but Midway were forced to omit it due to memory constraints.
 * Of all the symbols shown in MK3's vs. Kombat Kode, Raiden's symbol was the eighth to appear if player press the right buttons seven time or in reverse by holding the joystick Up and press the right buttons three times.
 * In the Super NES version of the first MK, by killing the final opponent in the third Endurance Match with Raiden using his Shock to the Head fatality will make Goro appear grey just like the ashes when he defeated the opponent.
 * Raiden's popularity as a "thunder god" and the way fans reacted to him when he made his debut ultimately lead to the creation of other gods such as Fujin (the "wind god"). While they had their own uniqueness, Raiden was still considered to be the most popular of all the gods in the series.


 * He also appeared as a secret character in Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, NFL Blitz and NBA Jam: Tournament Edition . Raiden also makes a cameo appearance in a pinball machine, Bally's 1994 World Cup Championship, in a bonus round.
 * In the non-canon Malibu Comics three-issue miniseries Rayden and Kano, Raiden has two female servants named Wynd and Rayne. In Malibu's Blood and Thunder storyline, Raiden did not take part in the MK tournament, claiming that he was not allowed to compete.
 * Raiden and Sheeva don't get along in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, he was to partake in an extensive fight scene with Sheeva (Marjean Holden). Despite being in the shooting script (and subsequent novel adaptation), it was cut from the film; Raiden instead fights a pair of Reptile clones while Sheeva instead meets her demise by being crushed by a falling cage.
 * Even though Raiden/Rayden has been portrayed by Midway employee and martial artist Carlos Pesina in all the original games AND all sprites, Raiden/Rayden’s versus screen image is portrayed by Sal Divita, whom is also responsible for Nightwolf and all three cybernetic ninja.