Mavado's influence in the games' storyline began sometime before the events of Mortal Kombat 4. Since the Red Dragon's top priority is the extermination of the Black Dragon while still desiring to keep their existence secret,^[21] they decided to use the Special Forces to serve their own purposes. To that end, Mavado instructed his subordinate, Hsu Hao, to infiltrate the Outer World Investigation Agency and help them in tracking down and killing the last members of the Black Dragon, a mission Hsu Hao performed to great success.^[22]

After the events of Mortal Kombat 4, with Jarek seemingly killed by Jax,^[1] and Kabal presumably killed by Mavado himself (the latter's trademark hookswords being taken as trophies in the process), Hsu Hao's task was deemed over. However, Mavado was then contacted by the Deadly Alliance. Both sorcerers saw the Red Dragon as a great potential ally for their eventual domination of Earthrealm. Mavado was hired to fend off Kenshi, in return acquiring the opportunity to be given the last Black Dragon member: Kano, at the time a general in the service of the Deadly Alliance.^[21] They also requested that the Red Dragon destroy the Outer World Investigation Agency's techno-portals to prevent the Special Forces from being able to travel to Outworld.

During the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mavado complied with these tasks. He instructed Hsu Hao to destroy the Outer World Investigation Agency's underground portal facility,^[22] shortly before traveling to Outworld himself through a secret inter-realm portal located in the Lost Sea.^[21] Mavado tracked down and defeated Kenshi,^[23] allowing him to have his fight with Kano; however, rather than kill his foe, Mavado captured Kano and had his Red Dragon minions bring him to their headquarters. Like his overlords Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, though, he had little time to revel in his victory. Shortly before Mortal Kombat: Deception, Kabal returned fully recuperated from his stay in Chaosrealm and seemingly killed Mavado, retrieving his hookswords back.^[24]

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mavado returns, apparently having survived. He is still seen wielding hookswords as a weapon, but these are presumably no longer Kabal's. In the game's Konquest mode, Mavado is seen in the Red Dragon's lair reporting to Daegon that the clan has located Blaze. Daegon then orders him to kill his brother Taven while he prepares to leave. Taven defeats Mavado, but Mavado is able to escape using a hidden elastic rope to propel himself into a secret compartment.

Mokap

Originally introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as a secret character, Mokap is described as being a motion capture actor with a vast knowledge of martial arts and fighting styles. Although he is introduced somewhat as a joke character, he is indeed being treated as a legitimate figure in the canon plot. Mokap has been involved with the events of the last few games, although the circumstances as to how and why are very mysterious and vague. He seems to continually find himself inexplicably transported to and wrapped up in the battles that have transpired, simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.^[25] Mokap's name is short for motion capture (with the "C" being replaced by a "K" as per Mortal Kombat tradition), as in the devices used by the actors to capture the movements of characters in the game. The character had been added late in Deadly Alliance's development, so he lacked many character-specific features such as his own fighting styles, a weapon stance, and a fatality.^[25][26] Mokap is a tribute to Carlos Pesina, the actor who played Raiden in Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.^[25]

Mokap's Deadly Alliance bio reveals that he is a former martial arts teacher on the North side of Chicago. One day he was called upon by Johnny Cage to do some motion capture work for his new movie "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance", and he became the primary martial arts talent for motion capture in this film. Mokap was flown to Hollywood to begin his first session, which consisted mainly of the Crane and Snake styles (although none of these martial arts have been used by Mokap in the games that he appeared; concidentally enough, both styles are used by Shang Tsung in Deadly Alliance).^[27]

It is unknown how Mokap participated in the events of Deadly Alliance. Although he fought on the side of good, he did not appear to have any effect on the outcome of the battle. Some time after this, Mokap gained some telekinetic powers, although the source of these powers was not explained. Mokap returned in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, again fighting for the side of Earthrealm and for his life.^[25]

In Mokap's Armageddon ending, he defeats Blaze and causes an explosion which kills himself and the rest of the fighters. Mokap becomes a constellation, and he remains a figure taught in Edenian history as the Earthrealm warrior who saved all the realms from Armageddon.^[7]

Moloch

Moloch is the only known ally of his Oni counterpart, Drahmin. Unlike Drahmin however, distorted and consumed by rage as he may be, Moloch has most likely always been a demon from the Netherrealm. The sorcerer Quan Chi confronted Moloch and Drahmin with an offer to free them from the Netherrealm if they protected him from the ninja spectre Scorpion. It was no surprise to Moloch that Drahmin accepted the offer and so they smashed Scorpion whenever he came near Quan Chi. As the two oni were combatting Scorpion, Quan Chi escaped from the dark realm without them. Enraged, Moloch and Drahmin followed Quan Chi through the portal but were transported to a different location than the sorcerer.

The Oni encountered the cyborg Cyrax in Outworld but were forced to flee from his bombs. Eventually, they took refuge in a forest and fed on those who wandered too close to its borders. Li Mei came too close to the forest, but escaped through the trees. After that, they were enlisted by Shang Tsung and held in the basement of his palace as an insurance policy should Quan Chi turn on him. Eventually, Moloch and Drahmin were set free. Instead of confronting Quan Chi, they ironically protected him by defeating Scorpion and hurling him into the Soulnado.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Moloch is shown to be a bit smaller or rather less bulky than he was in Deadly Alliance. Also, it is worth noting that he was not carrying his trademark Mystical Orb (aka Ball and Chain) despite the chain still being wrapped around his arm. Originally, it was believed this would mean the Orb would be his weapon fighting style in the game, but it's since been shown he only has one fighting style, leaving the mystery of why the Orb is missing unanswered. However, the Orb does appear in his hand during some of his special moves and his versus screen picture.

In his Armageddon ending, Moloch defeats Blaze and absorbs his power, transforming him into a Destroyer of Worlds. He then destroys Argus' pyramid and later destroys Edenia and turns it into a wasteland. But because he had destroyed the portal, he was stuck in Edenia, a victim of his own destructive rage.^[7]

Nightwolf

Nightwolf had been warned of the coming invasion of Earthrealm by a vision from Raiden. As such, he was fully aware and prepared for the events as they occurred, including the attacks of Kahn's extermination squads. His own homeland protected through shamanic magic, he would soon be joined by the other chosen warriors. Together, they then travelled back to the East Coast, prepared for battle against the Emperor and his minions, and won.

Nightwolf made his return during the events of Mortal Kombat: Deception. In the events leading to Deception, Nightwolf viewed images of the Dragon King and his resurrection in his dreams. These nightmares recurred constantly, and Nightwolf came to recognize them as a warning. He knew that a new evil threat was about to arise from the ashes, and in view of Reptile's transformation into Onaga, his predictions most assuredly came true.

The method that Nightwolf would use to destroy Onaga was one passed down to him by his forefathers. This method was that of the "Sin Eater", which involved absorbing the sins of his tribe. However there was a terrible consequence to be considered in taking on such a role. If he were to do this, he would be a danger to all that surrounded him, including his allies. Hence, he made the decision to destroy Onaga on his own, keeping his allies out of harm's way. His role as a Sin Eater would involve entering the Netherealm, drawing Onaga's soul to him, and releasing the absorbed sins of his ancestors, which would bind Onaga to the spot.

His method was successful and he managed to separate Reptile from Onaga, and bind the Dragon King to the Netherealm.

After completing his quest, he was guided back to Earthrealm by his spirit guides - a pack of wolves. Nightwolf began to receive visions of a battle, where an unknown power was forcing the participating warriors to fight each other. His visions started to become reality, when he spoke with Johnny Cage and their allies, and agreed to assist them in battle against Shinnok and his forces. Eventually, Nightwolf was met by Kitana and the spirit of Liu Kang. The bond that the two of them shared was enough for Kitana to keep Kang's spirit whole, until a way was found for him to rejoin with his body. Still drained after using his shamanic powers on Onaga, Nightwolf used what magic he could to relieve Kitana of her burden, and took on the responsibility of looking after Kang's spirit.^[1]

Nitara

Nitara spent a very long time trying to find a mysterious orb that bound her realm to Outworld before actually discovering its location. The orb, however, was inaccessible to her, submerged under molten lava. Fortunately for her, at one point she had spotted the Outer World Investigation Agency agent Cyrax travelling across Outworld. With his cybernetic body, he would be able to descend into the lava and come back with the orb, unharmed.^[21]

But she realized she would need to offer the cyborg something in exchange for his services. Seeing Reptile as an easily exploitable fool, she presented him with a Kirehashi blade, an artifact of Reptile's Zaterran realm, and revealed to him the location of Kitana's military encampment. This was merely a deception, as it gave Quan Chi and Shang Tsung time to team up and kill Shao Kahn. After Reptile discovered the dead body of Shao Kahn he offered his services to Nitara, grateful for her apparent kindness. He pledged to serve her, and she commanded him to attack Cyrax, describing him as an Earthrealm invader, and explaining he could be weakened by destroying his arm console, which Nitara was aware the cyborg used to travel between realms.^[28]

Reptile did as instructed, and fled after being frightened away by one of Cyrax's attacks. Nitara introduced herself to Cyrax immediately after, and made her proposal: Having the ability to traverse realms through the powers of her gemstone (her race uses these to travel the realms in search of sustenance), she would send him home, under the condition that he retrieve the orb for her. Although hesitant to trust her, Cyrax accepted, having little choice.^[21] The two journeyed to the orb's location, Onaga's incubation chamber. There, both parties held up their end of the bargain: Cyrax descended into the lava and retrieved the orb, and Nitara sent the cyborg home. With the orb in her hands, her plans had come to a successful conclusion. She then smashed it into pieces on the floor, separating her realm from Outworld at last. The ordeal knocked her unconscious, but when she awoke, she was home.^[29] She then made it her mission to protect the realm's fragile stability.^[2]

During the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, mass genocides of her people began to occur in her realm. The wounds on the bodies indicated that the attacker used a mystical kriss known as "Datusha", which is described as existing solely to slay vampires. Nitara is sent by her people's elders to a crater in Edenia so as to find a prophecized force of great power that would be able to destroy the blade. While travelling there, she came upon the demon Ashrah, the possessor of Datusha who was slaughtering vampires in the belief that it was purifying her soul. To protect the rest of her race, Nitara lured Ashrah out of her realm and continued on her journey into Edenia, planning to bring her attacker to the Edenian weapon where it may be used against her.^[1]

Onaga

Millennia ago, Onaga, also known as the Dragon King, was a ruler of Outworld. Seeking eternal life he ordered the last known dragon egg to be kept hidden and guarded hoping the blood of an infant dragon would grant him immortality. However, he died before this prophecy could be fulfilled. Shao Kahn, one of his chief advisors, had him poisoned and took over his rule of Outworld. As a result Onaga's army (known to be undefeatable due to Onaga's heart, capable of resurrecting anyone he desired) was cast into a mummified state. In the time that followed, Onaga was apparently forgotten. With the exception of his acolytes, nobody knew that Onaga had actually cheated death and was able to retain consciousness from beyond the grave. It's unknown for sure how this is possible, but it is speculated to have stemmed from the moment when Onaga drank from the blood of the last known Dragon infant.

Quite some time before Liu Kang's victory over Goro and Shang Tsung at the Shaolin Mortal Kombat tournament, Onaga communicated through death to Shujinko through an avatar named Damashi. He persuaded Shujinko to embark on a quest to unite the Kamidogu from the six realms, claiming he was carrying out the will of the Elder Gods, as well as granting him the power to learn the fighting techniques of any warrior he encountered and faced in battle. Shujinko readily embarked on his quest, setting in motion events that Onaga hoped would lead to his eventual return to power. In addition, there was a clan of acolytes still dedicated to him who had been guarding the egg of the last great dragon in a chamber of molten lava. During the events of Mortal Kombat II, they captured the Outworld elemental Blaze, who was originally created to guard the egg until it was ready to hatch and revive the king (Onaga's soul residing inside the infant dragon).

A few years later, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, the Deadly Alliance, used their powers to resurrect Onaga's army. Their plan was to use this army to conquer Outworld and eventually, all other realms with as well. Raiden embarked on a mission with the Earthrealm warriors to Outworld to stop their plans, but his attempt ultimately failed. His comrades were slain and he himself was defeated by the Deadly Alliance in person. However, their victory was short-lived. The vampiress Nitara tricked Reptile into helping her disable Cyrax's arm console so he could help her access the chamber of the last dragon egg. The chamber also held an orb that would separate Outworld from the vampire realm. After she destroyed the orb, Nitara left, but Reptile, feeling betrayed, followed them and arrived shortly after she transported Cyrax to Earthrealm and herself to her native realm. At that moment, the egg hatched and sent its energy into Reptile, which fulfilled the prophecy of Onaga's return. The Dragon King, as such, used the transformed body of Reptile as a host, after he had gained the ability to rise from the dead himself as a result of Shujinko having placed all the Kamidogu in the Nexus. After he was revived he first went to the Nexus to reveal to Shujinko that he manipulated him into collecting the Kamidogu for him and not for the Elder Gods. Shujinko realized that his life had been mislead by evil and ran out of the Nexus which left Onaga to collect the Kamidogu for himself, making him invulnerable and augmenting all his current abilities.

Just as the army stood ready to receive commands from Quan Chi, who had emerged victorious in a battle with his former ally Shang Tsung, Onaga returned. Even the combined might of Shang Tsung, Quan Chi and Raiden was not sufficient to defeat him. Raiden's desperate last measure was to use a self-destruct magic that released his godly essence, but that only succeeded in destroying Onaga's army and, presumably, the two sorcerers. Onaga was unaffected and was now in possession of the amulet Quan Chi previously held. He then revived the Earth warriors as his pawns and used them and a newly-forged alliance with the Tarkatan horde to keep Edenia's army at bay while he searched for the spells that would allow him to fuse the Kamidogu together and grant him supreme power. However, just as he was about to do so, Shujinko rallied the remaining warriors against him and, empowered beyond the Dragon King's own expectations by his ability to absorb other warriors' fighting abilities, defeated Onaga and destroyed the Kamidogu, leaving Onaga with only Shinnok's amulet as his sole form of protection. It was at this time in which Nightwolf took action. Having absorbed the sins of his tribe, he travelled to the Netherrealm with the intention of sealing Onaga's soul within the realm. His mission was successful, as he bound Onaga's soul to a mystic symbol, weighed down by his people's sin.

Some time later, Onaga was approached by Shinnok in the Netherealm. Shinnok offered to restore Onaga's rule over Outworld if Onaga would help Daegon defeat Blaze and gain godlike power. As this would also ensure his release from the Netherealm, Onaga reluctantly agreed, though he held his own suspicions against the Elder God. He was released from his bondage and returned to his own body, surrounded by Shao Kahn and the sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. He then feigned reluctant acceptance into a treaty between himself and the others, but swore to gain Blaze's power for himself. In his Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending, Onaga defeats Blaze and becomes all powerful. He then uses his new power to take revenge on his most hated enemy, Shao Kahn. After beating him to the point of death, he refuses to kill him. Instead, he hires Shang Tsung and Quan Chi to torment Shao Kahn forever while Onaga became the ruler of outworld once again.^[7]

Tanya

Tanya is a slender, gloomy female from Edenia. Originally introduced as relatively innocent, she quickly turned out to be corrupted by evil, as evidenced in her adherence to the worshipping of Shinnok and her later service to both the Deadly Alliance and Onaga. She seems to view herself as more of a survivor rather than anything else, justifying her choices as being the "right decisions". Tanya is one of the few lady henchmen from the Mortal Kombat series, and prides herself on her superior knowledge of dark magic and diplomacy. Because of her frequent betrayal of the Edenian cause, she has earned the rivalry and bitter hatred of Jade.

It is unknown when Tanya fell to the lure of the dark side of existence. Possible explanations may have been her youth under the harsh regime of Shao Kahn, when Outworld and Edenia were still merged, or her attraction to the forbidden areas of magic, which led her to make contact with Shinnok. Her upbringing on Outworld may also explain her total lack of affinity with her native realm Edenia.

At any rate, Tanya first appeared on the stage during the events of Mortal Kombat 4. As the daughter of Edenia's ambassador to new realms, she invited a group of refugees fleeing their own world into the peaceful realm of Edenia. However, the refugees were in actuality a disguised Shinnok, along with Quan Chi, and their Netherealm forces. Thanks to Tanya's treachery, Shinnok was free to wage war against the gods. During this time, she attempted to lure Liu Kang into a trap, but the attempt did not succeed, and Shinnok's power base was soon destroyed. With her master gone, and herself a wanted traitor in Edenia (having earned in particular the wrath of Jade), Tanya fled to Outworld.

Years later, Tanya resurfaced in the Deadly Alliance's ranks as an enforcer (although she preferred the term "ambassador" and was not a playable character in the game). She imposed Shang Tsung and Quan Chi's will upon the denizens of Outworld. But when the Deadly Alliance crumbled, Tanya found herself alone once more, and desired to return to Edenia. She was found, however, by Baraka, who gave her the choice of serving the newly resurrected Onaga or dying. She joined the ranks of the Dragon King, who was searching for ancient incantations that would enable him to fuse the Kamidogu into one, and thus acquire incredible power. Believing that such information still existed in Edenia, Tanya brought Onaga to her native realm.

Tanya was for a time mistaken to be a "clone" of Jade, just like Mileena is a clone of Kitana. In development stage of MK4, the development team did intend Kitana to be a playable character, but the decision was made to add a new face instead (Kitana would, however, be accessible through third-party devices, and officially reappear in Mortal Kombat Gold). Her name comes from Ed Boon's sister, Tania.

Tanya could be considered to be the single most untrustworthy character in the series. She has betrayed both Kitana and Queen Sindel, her own homeworld of Edenia, her MK4 ending depicts her as betraying Liu Kang, following this she betrays Quan Chi and Shinnok (evidenced by her being with Onaga in Deception), and her Deception ending depicts her as betraying Onaga as well as betraying Shujinko in Konquest mode. Her alignment as being evil was hard to distinguish when she first debuted in Mortal Kombat 4, as her profile seemed to suggest that she herself was a victim of treachery. Her ending in MK4 (which never occurred canonically) demonstrates her alignment of evil, and reveals that she did in fact know the true nature of the refugees she accepted.

Taven

Taven made his first appearance in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon as the series' new hero, featured as the main character in the game's Konquest mode. Due to the negative fan reaction to Shujinko, the previous protagonist of the series. However fans reaction to this character was poor aswell. He is a half-god and the oldest son of Argus, the Protector of Edenia, and Delia, a powerful sorceress who has the ability to see into the future. He also has the ability to control fire, much like his brother Daegon.

The Konquest Mode in Armageddon revolves around a contest between Taven and his brother Daegon set by their father to save the realms from Armageddon. They are sent to Earthrealm and are kept in incubation by two dragons, Caro and Orin, until Blaze calls for them to be awakened and the quest to begin. Their task is to find and defeat Blaze. The victor would succeed his father's place, becoming a full god and Protector of Edenia. He would also decide the fate of the rest of the kombatants.

When Taven is released by his dragon, Orin, he finds that his brother, Daegon, had been prematurely awakened centuries ago. Taven soon discovers that his brother had become corrupted during this time. Daegon's dragon, Caro, reveals to Taven that Daegon killed their parents and formed the Red Dragon clan in order to locate Blaze sooner, as well as to eliminate the competition: his own brother.

Eventually, Taven confronts Daegon in battle on the edge of the crater that Armageddon is said to begin in. Taven emerges victorious, defeating his brother. The Pyramid of Argus then rises from the ground nearby. Fighting his way to the top, Taven finally reaches the end of his quest to save the realms and decide the fate of the other fighters. Not knowing if his victory would disarm the rest of the combatants or kill them all, Taven manages to defeat Blaze in Mortal Kombat. In the end, however, because Blaze's design had been corrupted long ago by Onaga's holy men, his victory over Blaze does neither of the above, instead actually increasing the powers of the kombatants below, potentially exacerbating the onset of Armageddon. As a result, Taven will make it his duty as a new god to delay Armageddon until a solution can be found.^[7]

See also

List of minor Mortal Kombat characters

References

v • d • e Mortal Kombat series - Main characters Baraka · Bo' Rai Cho · Chameleon · Cyrax · Ermac · Goro · Jade · Jax · Johnny Cage · Kabal · Kano · Khameleon · Kintaro · Kitana · Kung Lao · Liu Kang · Meat · Mileena · Motaro · Noob Saibot · Quan Chi · Raiden · Rain · Reiko · Reptile · Sareena · Scorpion · Sektor · Shang Tsung · Shao Kahn · Sheeva · Shinnok · Shujinko · Sindel · Smoke · Sonya · Stryker · Sub-Zero List of characters · List of minor characters