Rayden

Raiden (Japanese: 雷電) is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Based on the Japanese deity Raijin, he is depicted as the god of thunder who possesses control over lightning. He debuted in the original 1992 game and has appeared as a playable character in every main installment except Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) and its first update.In the storyline of the games, Raiden is the protector of Earthrealm. He fulfills his duty by selecting and training the warriors who defend Earthrealm from various threats, while also participating directly in the realm's defense. Raiden generally serves as a mentor figure to the franchise's heroes, although he sometimes assumes a darker role in the story, which sees him become more ruthless in his protection of the realm.One of the franchise's central characters, Raiden has appeared in various related media outside of the Mortal Kombat games, including guest appearances in NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995), NFL Blitz (1997), Unreal Championship 2 (2005), and Injustice 2 (2017). He has received a positive reception and is among the series' most popular characters.

Powers and Abilities

Raiden is the god of thunder and lightning and, as such, he is immensely powerful and has complete control over electricity. Raiden's movements in combat are stated to be as fast as lightning in the Konquest Mode's lore in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. He can summon lightning bolts with a thought, project electricity from his hands that can paralyze, incapacitate, kill, or force an opponent's body to move wherever he chooses, create forcefields and blades made of electricity, summon electric orbs that act as shocking traps, use electricity in conjunction with telekinesis to move objects without physically touching them, form massive thunderstorms that shapes the weather and channel electricity through his limbs to strengthen his strikes.He usually keeps behind the scenes in the games and rarely fights, although one notable exception was in Deception, where he fought both Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, and was able to hold his own for most of the fight. Raiden has a plethora of other abilities that are not suited for combat such as creation of interrealm portals, project blinding light from his eyes, raise fallen beings from the dead, take flight and summoning objects such as ships as shown in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.The thunder god is gifted with foresight, and has the ability to see the future in his dreams or simply viewing it in his mind. His precognition can be enhanced by Kamidogu daggers infused Blood Magik, although this prevents his wounds from healing for a while once he has slit himself with the dagger. He has a degree of enhanced senses as he can track energy signatures and locate the presence of others, preventing stealth attempts on him or simply finding someone who is lost.In Mortal Kombat (2011), it is shown that he can also use electricity to heal and resurrect others. He also has the ability to teleport to another destination by transforming his body into an ethereal state. Despite his godly status, he is not indestructible and has limits. Raiden, like any other god, will have his powers taken away should he enter a domain not native to him, with Outworld being the most prominent example of this. His powers can return to him once he returns however. It is also because of his godly status that he is forbidden to directly participate in any Mortal Kombat tournaments unless he takes on a mortal form.It should be noted that even without his godly power, Raiden has a millenia of experience coupled with knowledge on 750 forms of Jujitsu and three other martial arts and is not to be taken lightly, even in mortal form. He is well versed in the art of Bojutsu, the art of wielding the bō staff in combat. Throughout the years, Raiden has consistently carried his trusty staff with him through the years, although he has wielded other weapons such as warhammers.

Signature Moves

Teleport

Electricity

Torpedo

Shocking touch

Shocker

Vicinity Blast

Projectile Cancel

Reverse Electricity

Lightning Dash

Rising Thunder

Static trap

Summon Lightning

Lightning strike

Jo push

Lightning rod

Rolling thunder

Electric burst

Storm cell

Super bolt

Electric current

Lightning storm