Kitana



"You will learn respect!"

- Kitana's Mortal Kombat (2011) Battle Cry

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

About Kitana
Princess Kitana is 10,000 years old, but is considered young in her realm of Edenia and only appears to be in her early twenties. Throughout the years, she rose to great importance; first as the loyal stepdaughter of Shao Kahn, then as his enemy, tearing herself away from his grasp and freeing her home realm of Edenia. She also led an army into Outworld to combat any chance of Shao Kahn rising to power again.

She shared a subtle love interest with Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang, even after he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance. She has aligned herself with the good side, despite her loyalty to Shao Kahn for most of her life, until learning the truth about her past and real family.

Appearance
Even though Kitana is over 10,000 years old, she looks as if she is in her early twenties. She has a round face, brown eyes, thick, pink lips and long eyelashes, befitting her role as princess of Edenia. She is even sometimes shown wearing eye make up. She looks identical to Mileena when both of their masks are on, but when it is off, Mileena's flawed visage is exposed, as opposed to Kitana's beautiful face. Kitana's overall appearance throughout the series has been changed profusely.

In MKII, as with Mileena and Jade, Kitana wore a blue skin tight leotard with a matching pair of blue boots and gloves. She has her hair loose, only held in place by a blue hairband. This outfit seems to be the most modest when compared to her other outfits.

In UMK3, Kitana wears a costume that is somewhat identical to her MKII costume, the only noticeable difference is the opened middle held by crossed strings where her cleavage is exposed, and her hair is held in a tight bun, rather than the hairband. In MKG and MK:SM, she wore a modified version of her UMK3 outfit.

In Deadly Alliance, Unchained and Armageddon, Kitana wore a lavender one-piece outfit, with a very deep V-line, exposing her cleavage even more. She also wears a belt and thigh length boots. Also, her hair is now very long, held in place by 3 sections of a ponytail.

In MK vs DCU, Kitana wears a blue and black patterned leotard, and her long hair is held in place by a ribbon.

In MK 2011, she wears a cerulean colored bustiere which has silver trimmings and a tear-shaped bust, which holds her cleavage together with black crossed strings similar to her UMK3 design. She also wears a thong of similar design which has a long, flowing loincloth at the front with embraided designs in the center panel that are similar to the subtle designs on her mask and bustiere. Kitana also has a tiara, silver earrings, thigh high cerulean boots and matching arm gauntlets.

Powers and abilities
Kitana relies mostly on her steel fans in battle, although she is more than adequate in unarmed hand-to-hand combat. She can use her fans as both a projectile and a melee weapon, as well as a means to levitate the opponent for a juggling combo. She can also throw her fans while airborne and execute a midair punch to counter other airborne foes. This made her one of the most powerful characters in Mortal Kombat II, and was subsequently toned down in later games. In Armageddon, she can also teleport and launch herself forward with a series of kicks to the opponent.

Throughout the series, she has been shown to be more powerful than her evil twin Mileena, and has defeated her several times. She is also a very strong leader; she succeeded in recruiting Sindel back to her side and convince her of Shao Kahn's evil during the events of Mortal Kombat 3, and has done the same to Goro in Mortal Kombat Gold.

Signature moves



 * Fan Throw: Kitana throws one of her fans to her opponent. Because the move could be executed both on the ground and in mid-air, it was a great way to finish off a combo, making her a deadly character in Mortal Kombat II. In Deadly Alliance, Kitana also has the option to throw her steel fan, but there's a catch. If the thrown fan connects, it would impale the enemy; if it missed or was blocked, it was gone entirely. Whether it connected or missed, Kitana was only able to throw her fans once per round. This has been altered in Armageddon, as she can use multiple fan tosses in a single round, and the thrown fan only cuts the enemy and falls away, as her original fan projectile from Mortal Kombat II did. In MK 2011, Kitana throws both of her fans towards her opponent and it is called Fan Toss. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MK:DA, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Charged Fan. Kitana throws one fan, and then on delay throws the second fan. You can further delay the second fan by charging. This will also increase the damage of the second fan by 1%.
 * Square Wave Punch: Kitana jumps into the air and attacks incoming foes with a flying punch. This attack is borrowed from Sonya during her absence in Mortal Kombat II, however, in later games that they have both appeared, both of them kept this attack (with the exception of Deadly Alliance, in which neither of them had this attack). Interestingly, Sonya has this attack with a name change, Face Planter, in Armageddon, while Kitana still has this attack with its original name. The move changes in MK 2011, as Kitana leaps in the air with her back facing the opponent and uses her fans to launch and slam herself into the opponent. It is renamed Square Boost. (MKII, UMK3, MKG, MK:SM, MK:A, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Square Wave. This increases the damage.
 * Fan_Lift.jpgFan Lift: Kitana uses her fans to make the enemy levitate helplessly in the air. This attack is served as both an anti-air attack and a set-up for juggle combos, and the effectiveness of the move has decreased significantly in each game since Mortal Kombat II. In Deadly Alliance, Unchained and Armageddon, performing this move while in an unarmed fighting style will automatically switch the player into Fan style. In MK 2011 this is called Upraise. (MKII, UMK3, MKG, MK:DA, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Uplift, which uses a windstorm to keep the opponent in the air.
 * Fan Swipe: Kitana swipes at her enemy with her razor sharp fan. (MKII, MKG)
 * Pretty Kick: Kitana flies toward her opponent with multiple kicks. (MK:DA, MK:U, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Pretty Legs in which Kitana hits an additional kick.
 * Pixie Dust Teleport: Kitana disappears in a violet cloud and reappears behind her opponent. The move is also used in her X-Ray Move in MK 2011, but is not usable by the player. This move is borrowed from Jade. (MK:A, MKvsDCU)
 * Rolling Fury: Kitana rolls under her opponent and trips them up. This move is similar to Mileena's Rolling Thunder. (MKvsDCU)
 * Cutting Fan: Kitana spins both her fans around her, dealing damage if the opponent touches her. (MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Fan Dice. Kitana hits the opponent with two additional swings of her fans.
 * Fake Out Kick: Kitana spins one way then reverses to thumb|250px|rightkick the opponent in the shin. (MK 2011)
 * X-Ray Move - Fan-Tastic: Kitana throws her fans. If they hit the opponent, she teleports behind them and lodges the fans into their skull dealing damage to it and the neck. She teleports again in front of her opponent and grabs the fans. Then she lodges them in her opponents eyes damaging them and the skull. (MK 2011)

Fatalities

 * Kiss of Death: Kitana removes her mask and kisses her opponent on the cheek, who expands like a huge balloon before exploding into pieces. In UMK3, the opponent stretches to enormous size before exploding to pieces. In Deadly Alliance, the victim inflated several times (vomiting blood in between) before exploding. In Shaolin Monks, the opponent explodes without inflating. In DC Universe, the opponent swells up, and only their flesh explodes as their skeleton falls down on the ground. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MKDA, MKU, MK:SM, MKvsDCU)
 * Fan Slice: Kitana decapitates her opponent with a fan. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MK:SM)
 * Fan Impalement: Kitana throws both fans at the foe's torso, killing them. (MKvsDCU)
 * Fan Opener: Kitana uses her fans to chop off the opponent's arms before slicing their head off at the jaw line as they drop to the ground. (MK 2011)
 * Splitting Headache: Kitana drives one of her fans into her opponent's body and opens it up, slicing through the front. She then does the same to the head, whereby the opponent collapses. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship #1: Birthday Cake: Kitana makes her opponent a cake. (MKII)
 * Friendship #2: Soap Bubbles: Kitana blows bubbles. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Animality: Nasty Bunny: Kitana turns into a bunny and mauls her opponent off the screen. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Babality: Kitana turns into a baby and takes out her bladed fans. She flaps them causing her to fly and then lets go of them, falling on the ground with the fans falling right next to her. (MK 2011)

Film
Kitana appeared in the first Mortal Kombat movie (unmasked and played by Talisa Soto) as an unwanted companion of Shang Tsung and his warriors. Kitana, as opposed to the games, is said to come from Outworld in both movies. Kitana eventually imparted to Liu Kang the essential knowledge he needed to defeat his greatest adversaries.

In the second movie, she faced and converted her mother, Sindel, in the final battles. She wore the same outfit from the first movie, and finally used her war fans in battle (shown as undulating silver blades linked by blue fabric). Although she (and her mother in some scenes) was believed to be a key to close Shao Kahn's portals to Earth in the second film, it was all a trick to steal time from the warriors. Kitana was again played by Soto, and was one of only three actors from the first movie to come back (and one of only two reprise their role).

Kitana's role in both films has been minor when compared to her fellow comrades protagonists Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax and Johnny Cage; in the first film acting more like a secondary character, and in the second being absent for the most part of the film for being captured.

Unlike the games, Kitana apparently always knew Shao Kahn had killed her mother and father and conquered Edenia. The movies give no indication that Kitana was ever loyal to Shao Kahn, though she does feign loyalty in the first movie to convince Shang Tsung of his follies. The movies also neglect to address any connection Kitana shares with either Mileena, Jade, or Rain (although in the second movie, Sonya, upon seeing Mileena, thinks she is in fact Kitana). In addition, her appearance is much different from the games; she is unmasked, her hair is braided rather than held in a bun, and wears a black sleeveless leather top and pants (and the occasional dress) rather than a leotard.

Kitana (portrayed by Sam Tjhia) in Mortal Kombat: Legacy is different from other versions of herself, in that she and Mileena were raised together from the cradle by Shao Khan alone, however taught not to trust one another. Another big difference is that her mother, Sindel, used a ritual so her soul fused with Kitana's in hopes to avoid Shao Khan's corruption. She is taught to hunt and kill and is seemingly more skilled than Mileena in hand to hand. Her first major mission shown is to hunt and kill, first impostors, and then the real King Jerrod, her biological father. When she and Jerrod meet, Kitana learns the truth, that she is his daughter, as he lay dying after Mileena stabs him. Kitana at first doubts it until she visits her original crib, where her mother's memories show the truth. Knowing the truth, she goes into the Mortal Kombat tournament with a new drive: stopping Shao Khan.

Television
Kitana also makes three appearances in the live-action TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, played firstly by Dara Tomanovich and subsequently by Audie England. Her dress is nearly exactly that of Talisa Soto's character, and she wields identical fans. Kitana is fully aware of her Edenian past and the deaths of her parents at Shao Kahn's hands, and works covertly to prevent the Emperor from conquering realms while feigning her allegiance to him. She first employed Kung Lao to protect the last mystical essence of Edenia from Outworld's grasp. In a later episode, Shao Kahn disguised the warrior Mileena with Kitana's likeness and sent her to murder Kung Lao. While Mileena seduced Kung Lao, Kahn also sent Kitana's Edenian friend turned traitor Rain to attack him. Kitana was forced to deter attacks from both fighters and convince Kung Lao that she was the true princess. She was finally murdered by Shao Kahn's Shadow Priests in the series finale. The Emperor was most reluctant and indeed bitter at killing his stepdaughter, whom he seemed to love dearly, but cited her plots against him as justification.

Kitana is one of the lead characters in the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, her voice provided by Cree Summer. She has an important role during Episode 4, "Skin Deep", where Rain appears as an old friend of hers, and during Episode 10, "Swords of Ilkan". Similar to her portrayal in the movies, Kitana is never shown to have even been loyal to Shao Kahn at any time in her life.

Comic books
Kitana appears as a secondary character during the Malibu Comics series. Her story is slightly altered: she is still princess of Edenia and daughter of Jerrod and Sindel, though she was already grown up when Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung killed Jerrod and seized the realm. Kitana is also under a spell induced by Shao Kahn that makes her forget her past life and believe she's Shao Kahn's daughter. She first appeared during the Goro: Prince of Pain miniseries, leading a group comprised of Mileena, Baraka, and Reptile and is ordered by Shang Tsung to seek Goro in Outworld after his mysterious disappearance.

During the Battlewave series, Kitana starts to rebel against Shao Kahn (though if she has restored her true memories is never stated) and forms an alliance with Kung Lao, Baraka and Sub-Zero to do so. Most of her appearance during the first issues have her making plans to foil Shao Kahn's new army of undead warriors led by Scorpion.

Unlike the games, Kitana has no interactions with Liu Kang in any issue. Instead, she has a closer relation with Kung Lao, a fact Shang Tsung exploits without success in Kung Lao's one-shot issue. Jade's relation with Kitana is also never brought up, and there's nothing indicating they are even friends in the comic's continuity.

Character development
Kitana's original costume for filming of MKII was blue, but game footage was shot with a red outfit for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Katalin Zamiar played Kitana for MKII, and her mask had to be attached to her nose with double-sided tape while her boots were held in place with rubber bands in order to keep them from falling down during filming.

Kitana's signature "Kiss of Doom" fatality was, according to Ed Boon in a webchat interview, inspired by the demise of the villain in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, Ed Boon described Kitana and Mileena as the female equivalents of Scorpion and Sub-Zero, because just like the male ninjas, both female ninjas were created from the exact same models, palette swap creations due to the lack of memory. Also because Kitana and Mileena have come to be the female icons of Mortal Kombat, just as Sub-Zero and Scorpion have become icons of the series.

Game information
Kitana was one of the most popular characters in Mortal Kombat II, and was the character that many fans used because of her combos, which always ended with a fan throw in mid air. During the early production runs of Mortal Kombat II, Kitana became notorious as an unbeatable character, as her "fan lift" move could be done in such a way as to completely immobilize the opponent in the corner of the screen, allowing the player using Kitana to defeat the opponent with a series of uncontested punches. Ed Boon claimed in the trading card for Kitana that it was amazing seeing people doing combos with her that even he hadn't thought of. Changes were made in later versions of the game to eliminate this, as it tended to unbalance the game.



Kitana was supposed to be in Mortal Kombat 4 but was taken out in favor for new character Tanya. She was not, however, completely removed from the game: her rendering was still used in Liu Kang's ending, and players could fight as her in the Nintendo 64 and PC versions via a cheat device. Kitana, however, appeared in full playable form, in the updated version of the game called Mortal Kombat Gold, released for the Dreamcast.

Kitana was also supposed to be featured in Mortal Kombat: Deception. However, it was decided that the storyline would change and have her captured in favor of the reappearance of Jade, who has not been featured in many Mortal Kombat games, though Kitana is playable in Mortal Kombat: Unchained.

Trivia

 * In her MK vs DC Universe ending, Kitana was given Shang Tsung's abandoned island as a base of operations for her Edenian Resistance fighters, she had it changed to a "Bastion of Beauty and Light" and named it Argus Island, essentially the Themyscira of Edenia.
 * In Mortal Kombat Gold, Kitana's face model resembles the actress Talisa Soto, who played Kitana in the first two Mortal Kombat movies.
 * Kitana's body can be seen in the introduction of Mortal Kombat: Deception, located on the stairs leading to the Soulnado.
 * Like many of the story elements of Shaolin Monks, Kitana's presence and depiction was the cause of some controversy. Some fans were upset over the inclusion of Kitana being under a spell, feeling it weakened her overall storyline. Other complaints were over the fact that not only Kitana is never shown killing Mileena, she in actuality appears to be defeated by her, and later needs to be rescued by Liu Kang and Kung Lao.
 * In Sindel and Ermac's Deception ending, Kitana resembles a blue-clad Mileena. Kitana was to originally appear in Deception as a playable character but was replaced by her clone, Mileena as the team wanted to bring back characters from older games.
 * Kitana has a history of being repeatedly deceived and/or manipulated by several villains throughout the series. She, during Mortal Kombat II, falsely believes Shao Kahn to be her father. In Deception, she is under the control of Onaga; and in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Kitana is being manipulated by both the rage sent by Dark Kahn, and then by Quan Chi; and in Shaolin Monks, Mileena and Jade put her under Shao Kahn's spell.
 * Kitana currently has the longest hair than any other female in the series. She has even longer hair than her mother, Sindel.(Except of course, when Sindel is using her hair as a weapon.)
 * Kitana appears in the opening video of Armageddon. She is seen fighting Kano first before being sent flying after Kintaro smacked her in the face. She is later seen fighting Reptile.
 * Kitana's second color in MKII is gray, which is also used as the palette swap for MK Trilogy's Khameleon.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, she says "This is not over, mortal!" as her win quote. The said quote becomes ironic as she says this even if she uses a fatality on the opponent.
 * She was originally planned to be in Deception, but was replaced by Jade, because she hadn't been in many games at that time.
 * Mortal Kombat (2011) is the only game in which Kitana does not have her Kiss of Death Fatality.
 * Along with Blaze, Frost, Quan Chi, and Kenshi, she is one of the few characters in Deadly Alliance to be seen performing a kata.
 * She is the only character in MK 2011 whose X-ray can be activated both on the ground and in the air.
 * In MK 2011, she is one of the three characters, along with, Sektor and Kenshi whose X-Ray Move is activated as a projectile.
 * In MK 2011, Kitana, along with Jade and Mileena, have the most costumes, with a total of 4, while most characters have 2 or 3.