She showed up in the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, voiced by Cree Summer. With Kahn defeated by Liu Kang, Edenia separated itself from Outworld, and Kitana and Sindel took charge of things. Kitana was able to fend off Reptile, reconnect with her BFF Jade, and get Sindel’s head back on straight. Much like in Annihilation, the plot revolved around a mind-controlled Sindel. The female ninja outfit was far more elaborate and revealing, making me wonder why all three women chose to dress the same way that day. With Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 hitting the arcades, Becky Gable portrayed Kitana, Mileena, and Jade. While Kitana was in the dark once again, the comic ended with Mileena overhearing all of this, brought to tears over discovering her own true nature. When Kitana found out who she was, Kahn just gave her that mind-whammy one more time. In this version of the story, Kitana was old enough that Kahn needed to magically remove her memories. She and Mileena got their own one-shot where Kitana investigated who she was and discovered the truth. It mostly played up her Mortal Kombat II status as a mysterious assassin, having her on the side of Shao Kahn. Kitana also had a role in the Mortal Kombat comic series by Malibu Comics. But only three minutes into Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, after hearing that? I strongly considered it. I have never walked out of a movie in theaters in my entire life. The opening minutes of the film gave us the infamous moment where upon seeing her brainwashed mother, she said, “Mother…you’re alive!” followed by Sindel responding with the cheesiest delivery, “Too bad you…will die.” Soto was one of the only two actors to reprise their role in the second movie, even though Kitana spent most of the film captured. She already knew that Kahn wasn’t her father and instead acted out like a rebellious teenage daughter, mainly by giving Liu Kang tips on how to get through the tournament. Rather than beat around the bush, there was no surprise reveal in her backstory. Said romantic connection got more play in the Mortal Kombat movies, where Kitana was played by Talisa Soto. Kitana appeared to thank Liu personally for his help, hinting at a romantic connection between the two. In it, Kahn was defeated and the portal to Outworld was closing. While she wasn’t in Mortal Kombat 3as a playable character, she showed up in Liu Kang’s ending. The following game played up her royalty as a rebel against Shao Kahn’s rule. Slave Leia, to be more specific, because male gaze. No longer was she the mysterious henchwoman, but instead Princess Leia with razor fans. Kitana’s status changed in the game series from that moment on. Not the smartest plan, considering all it took was someone knowledgeable like Raiden going, “Hey, there’s something you should know about your parents…” Kahn decided to raise Kitana as his own daughter, but turned her into a fierce killer ready to do his bidding. Kitana’s mother, Queen Sindel, killed herself rather than marry Kahn. Kahn took it over, killed Jerrod, stole a very young Kitana for his own purposes, and merged Edenia with Outworld. Years and years and years ago (because non-Earthrealm people age sloooowly in this game), Shao Kahn invaded the realm of Edenia, which was ruled by King Jerrod. Kitana discovered that Mileena was actually a horrific clone engineered by Shang Tsung (which makes it kind of strange that they never hung out with their masks off) and that she was actual royalty. Scorpion showed his demon skull head, Sub-Zero showed a human face to explain that there was nothing supernatural about his return, Reptile was a literal reptile, and of course, there’s the faces of Kitana and Mileena. All of their endings would start with an image of the ninja posing with the mask on, followed by an image of them without. For all of them, the mask actually meant something and hid their true natures. Mortal Kombat II had an interesting theme going on with the five masked, playable characters. Mileena, on the other hand, would remove her mask and reveal a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, allowing her to devour her enemy and then spit out their bones. Kitana had a move where she would remove her mask – showing a normal face – and kiss her opponent, causing them to explode. Even without completing the game with either character, you could tell that something disturbing was up with the Kitana/Mileena relationship through their Fatalities. She was seen speaking with one of the heroes, and Kahn wasn’t quite sure about her loyalties. Storywise, Kitana and Mileena were Shao Kahn’s top assassins, though there was something up with Kitana.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |