Kitana
Kitana is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat media franchise originally by Midway Games and later by NetherRealm Studios. Debuting in Mortal Kombat II as a player character and as a royal from the fictional realm of Edenia. She is originally depicted as being the daughter of Shao Kahn, the ruler of Outworld, but it is later revealed that she is the true daughter of King Jerrod, the king of Edenia. She uses steel fans as her primary weapon. In the series, Kitana is aligned with multiple characters, especially Mileena who originally served as her clone. Kitana also shares the relationship as the love interest for the series' protagonist Liu Kang and serves as one of the main characters of the franchise herself. In Mortal Kombat 11, Kitana becomes Kahn of Outworld after defeating Shao Kahn.
During the development of the original Mortal Kombat, a character known as "Kitsune" was intended by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias to be in the game but was removed, that character later came into existence under the name "Kitana", which is derived from two words "Kitsune" and "Katana". Throughout the Mortal Kombat series, she eventually becomes one of its mainstays. Kitana is depicted as a warm-blooded woman, fighting for the protection of her realm and its people. Kitana has been featured in various media outside of the games, such as films and comics. She is well received by critics for her appearance, personality, and character development and has become one of the most popular and iconic characters of the franchise, and is often considered the face or mascot of the Mortal Kombat female characters.
History and development
Early version of Kitana appeared in the original Mortal Kombat named "Kitsune", who was conceived by the series co-creator and character designer John Tobias, and inspired by the Princess Mariko from Jordan Mechner's 1984 computer game Karateka. She was intended to be an unplayable herald-like character who wielded a single ornamental fan and a princess daughter to "Shang Lao—the spoil of victory for winning the tournament"—who would ultimately betray her father after Kitsune fell for the game's protagonist Liu Kang. Kitsune was omitted from the game but included in the sequel Mortal Kombat II, with revised storyline introducing her as the stepdaughter of Shao Kahn, the game's main antagonist. Tobias had to rename Kitana as her original name was rejected for being Japanese, thus not compatible with Shang and Shao both possessing Chinese roots. The final name "Kitana" is a portmanteau of words Kitsune and Katana that sounded "generically Asian enough". She was originally outfitted with a pair of sai, before Ed Boon suggested that the character could be palette-swapped, which resulted in the creation of Kitana's twin Mileena who was given the sai while Kitana instead brandished war fans. In 2009, Boon included Kitana among the series' most recognizable characters alongside Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Liu Kang. Skarlet, a female ninja who debuted as a playable character in the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, originated in MKII from a false player rumor of a glitch that would turn Kitana's outfit red.Martial artist Katalin Zamiar played Kitana and the game's other palette-swapped female ninjas in MKII, with Kitana's steel fans used for filming constructed from a reflective paper material. Zamiar was hired after meeting Boon and Tobias, who were members of her fitness center at the time. Zamiar did not return for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 due to legal issues with Midway Games, and was replaced by Becky Gable. Kitana was included in early versions of Mortal Kombat 4 before being replaced by new character Tanya. For the series' transition into 3D, beginning with Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kitana and the other ninja characters were given their own distinct redesigns.
Most of Kitana's special moves are utilized for her fans either as a melee weapon, a projectile, or to lift her enemies airborne. In Mortal Kombat X and onward, Kitana's play style is split into three fighting variations similar to other characters. According to Boon, Kitana's "Kiss of Death" Fatality, first seen in MKII, was inspired by the demise of villain Mr. Big in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die. Kitana's other most recurring finisher decapitates opponents with her fan, which has been featured in almost all of her game appearances and is expanded in Mortal Kombat 2011 where she cuts off the defeated opponents' arms before beheading them.
Gameplay
Kitana was chosen as the best Mortal Kombat II fighter by the editors of Sega Power and Super Play for being "good all around" and due to her quick attacks and perceived similarities to Chun-Li. Amiga Power too called her "a really good character to pick" and Cinema Blend stated Kitana "could absolutely dominate" the game. However, GamePro's strategy guide ranked Kitana as only the seventh best of the 12 fighters in MKII ; it was her clone Mileena who landed on the top of their chart. According to a retrospective by Complex, Kitana "had the most powerful projectile attack, and along with Mileena, the fastest throws and sweeps." "Kitana's big combos in the corner" were among Ed Boon's favourite things in the game: "When I saw people do Kitana's combos I knew there was something special, because people were taking the game to a new direction." EGM described Kitana as "a force to be reckoned with" and predicted she would "make a big impact as her Fan Wave leaves foes open to combos." In the Game Gear version of MKII, however, Kitana's fan lifts the opponent too low and too far away for an easy combo.Kitana's combo abilities were severely downgraded for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, for which she received no new special moves unlike most of the other characters. According to Nintendo Power, "with such a small repertoire, Princess Kitana will be sorely challenged by experienced warriors," even as her fan toss is faster than many other projectile attacks. Sega Saturn Magazine opined that "Kitana's lack of enhancements doesn't make her as exciting to play as some of the other characters, though her excellent juggle combos still work - and they can do loads of damage," According to Total 64, "her moves are a little unfriendly and her combos are a touch difficult." EGM Strategy Guide for UMK3 stated: "She had deadly corner traps with damage in up to 90 percent . Now, her fan-raise combos have been severely crippled to almost not being worth it." Nevertheless, X360 called the CPU Kitana "the worst possible character to come up against" in the single-player Tower mode of UMK3, as she is "fast, impossible to sweep, and capable of rendering any opponent incapable with a waft of her fan." According to Dreamcast Magazine, Mortal Kombat Gold's returning "old favourites like Sub-Zero, Kitana and Baraka" too had by then "dated moves and fatalities." Her combos improved in the later games, and according to BradyGames' official guide for Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, "Kitana stays at the top of the heap as far as kombatants go. In any stance, she can pump out over 30% with relative ease, making her one of the deadliest in the hands of a beginner or a master." Kitana was later found to be capable of infinite-loop corner combos in her "Mournful" variation in Mortal Kombat X.
In Mortal Kombat: ''Shaolin Monks, Kitana is fought as a boss character twice in the game's main story mode and is one of unlockable player characters for the versus mode. Prima Games' guide to Shaolin Monks states she is "quick enough for moderate damage, and has some of the most potent special moves in the game," but her limitation is that she needs to be fighting at close range to make use of it. Regarding Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, however, Prima declared Kitana "a tough character to win with" and "like many of the other low-tier character types, she's lacking in almost every aspect". She was rated overall only 4/10 for this game. Their official guide for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, on the other hand, called her "one of the more dangerous characters in the game due to her speed and extremely effective move-set." Prima's official guide for 2011's Mortal Kombat deemed Kitana a capable fighter who once again "is at her deadliest in the corner" and is also especially good if played against Baraka and Cyber Sub-Zero. Prima observed Kitana in MK2011 as her "cheapest" incarnation so far, stating "Kitana is not only one of the most damaging characters in the game, but in addition to the Fan Lift and Square Wave Punch, she can combo her Air Fan almost any time an opponent is airborne." According to Prima's guide to MKX, "Kitana is one of the more unique characters in the game" due to her inheriting many of Jade's special moves, and she "is a zoning character at heart, but she can play offensively or defensively" depending on a variation chosen. The guide recommended the "Mournful" variant for former Jade players, and the "Assassin" variant, which "tries to take the generally defensive style Kitana has in MKX'' and add some offensive firepower to it," for veteran Kitana players.
Appearances
''Mortal Kombat'' games
Kitana debuts in Mortal Kombat II alongside her sister Mileena as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's personal assassins. While she is ten thousand years old, she resembles a younger woman. In her ending, Kitana turns against Kahn after learning that her parents were once rulers of Outworld until they were forcefully overthrown by Kahn, while Mileena is an evil clone created by the sorcerer Shang Tsung.Kitana and the series' other ninja characters were excluded from Mortal Kombat 3, but her backstory is expanded therein with the introduction of new character Sindel. Kitana is revealed as the daughter of Queen Sindel and King Jerrod, who ruled the Outworld realm of Edenia until it was invaded by Kahn and his forces, during which Kahn kills Jerrod and takes Kitana as his daughter. After Sindel commits suicide rather than serve as Kahn's consort, she is resurrected and used by Kahn as a means to illegally invade Earthrealm. Realizing her life had been a lie, Kitana turns against Kahn and allies with Earth's champions to defeat him. The ninjas returned as playable characters in the 1995 upgrade Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, in which Kitana is tried for treason after killing her evil twin Mileena, but before a verdict is reached, Kitana escapes and joins the Earth heroes to reach Sindel and warn her of her true past. Kitana and fellow Edenian Jade free Sindel from Shao Kahn's mind control, which enables reigning Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang to defeat him and results in Edenia and Earth returning to their peaceful states.
During the events of Mortal Kombat Gold, fallen Elder God Shinnok and his cohort Quan Chi invade Edenia, aided by the traitorous Edenian Tanya. When Quan Chi and his forces later leave the realm to focus on attacking thunder god Raiden and the Earth heroes, Kitana escapes to aid her allies in defeating Shinnok. With Edenia freed once again, Kitana offers Liu Kang the chance to rule Edenia by her side, which he reluctantly rejects due to his duty as Earth's champion. In a special-edition MK4 comic book released with the 1998 PC version of the game, Kitana arranges peace between the warring Shokan and Centaurian races.
In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kitana leads a preemptive strike against Shao Kahn's forces, but Kahn is killed by unknown assassins later revealed as the titular Deadly Alliance of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, who formed alliances to kill Kahn and Liu Kang before attempting to revive the mysterious Dragon King. Despite her grief, she leads the Earth warriors into an assault on Shang Tsung's palace, where she faces Quan Chi but is outmatched and killed alongside her allies.
As a result of her death in the previous game, Kitana is unplayable in Mortal Kombat: Deception, in which she and her slain companions are resurrected and controlled by the game's final boss, the Dragon King Onaga, who additionally uses her to defeat and imprison Sindel and then install Mileena to pose as Kitana. However, Jade frees Sindel before imprisoning Kitana, and together they flee to Outworld to figure out how to free Kitana from Onaga's influence. Meanwhile, Liu Kang's spirit is able to remain amongst the living after his murder, and he enlists the reformed ninja Ermac to help him free Kitana and his friends from Onaga's control, a mission in which they are successful.
In the spinoff game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, after Kitana was found to be no longer loyal to Shao Kahn, she was placed into a spell-induced trance and forced to fight the Earth heroes, Mileena, and Jade before being freed by the Shaolin warrior monks Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Eventually, Kitana slays Mileena.
Following this warning, Kitana returned in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, accompanied by Liu Kang's spirit in order to keep him whole until she found a way to reunite him with his body. They later meet with Nightwolf, who offers to relieve Kitana of her burden by absorbing Liu Kang's soul, allowing her to fight against the coming evil. Kitana ultimately perishes alongside the rest of her allies during the battle.
In the non-canonical crossover game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Kitana was transported to Metropolis, where she encountered Wonder Woman. As she was suffering from "kombat rage" at the time, Kitana hallucinated Wonder Woman as an assassin sent from Outworld and challenged her. After being defeated, Kitana fled to a different section of Metropolis, where she was found and defeated by Scorpion and brought to Raiden's temple, where she reveals she had a vision of Darkseid to become Dark Kahn. Following this, Kitana joined the rest of the combatants in traveling to the fused realms of Outworld and Apokolips and fighting the DC Universe's heroes and villains while Raiden and Superman destroyed Dark Kahn.
In the rebooted timeline of Mortal Kombat, which retells the events of the first three Mortal Kombat games, Shao Kahn sends her and Jade to participate in a Mortal Kombat tournament. Kitana tries to defeat Liu Kang, but ends up being defeated. Anticipating her death, she is shocked by his choice to let her live. In the second tournament, Raiden approaches Kitana and reveals that her belief that she is Shao Kahn's daughter is false. Riddled with uncertainty, she secretly entered Shang Tsung's flesh pits and came across the recently made Mileena. Prior to meeting Kahn, she blames Shang Tsung for replacing her, only to be surprised by the revelation that the Emperor was the one who created Mileena. Before carrying out the execution, he locks Kitana in the palace and demands for his real daughter to be brought to him. Liu Kang quickly helps Kitana to be liberated, and they, along with Jade, flee to Earth to team up with their new comrades in the fight against Outworld's army. They help in the fight for Earth, but are slain by Kitana's evil mother, Sindel, along with other warriors. Ultimately, it is revealed that she is among the fighters brought back to life as revenants by Quan Chi in the Netherrealm to fight against Raiden.
In Mortal Kombat 11, Kitana's revenant aligned herself with the keeper of time, Kronika. As a result of Kronika's actions however, a past version of Kitana and Liu Kang were brought to the present. While he traveled to Earthrealm to find out more about what happened, she stayed in Outworld to find Shao Kahn, who had also been brought to the present. To aid the new Outworld emperor Kotal Kahn, Kitana forged alliances with Outworld's disparate factions before leading them into battle against Shao Kahn; personally defeating and maiming him herself. Kotal, who had been crippled during the fight, appointed Kitana as the new Kahn of Outworld in recognition of her skills in combat. After Kronika kidnaps Liu Kang, Kitana and her Outworld army aided Earthrealm's allied forces against Kronika's army until Raiden merged himself with Liu Kang to become Fire God Liu Kang. As the rest of her allies fought off Kronika's forces, Kitana joined Liu Kang in breaching Kronika's keep. However, Kronika reverses time for everyone except Liu Kang, who faces her and his allies' revenants alone. In one of the game's endings, Liu Kang defeats Kronika and is able to bring Kitana back to help him forge a new timeline. In the DLC story expansion Aftermath, Kitana was brought back to life by Fujin and Shang Tsung to join forces with Sindel in the battle against Kronika. Nevertheless, she was shocked to discover her mother's real character when she was unable to prevent her from betraying Earth and Outworld.
In Mortal Kombat 1s rebooted timeline, Mileena is biologically her older twin sister at birth and they have a steady relationship with each other as well as their mother, Sindel. Due to being slightly older, Mileena is set to inherit the throne, but her family fears her potential banishment from the throne due to her affliction with the Tarkat disease. They are initially deceived by Shang Tsung and General Shao into believing Earthrealm is plotting against them until Fire God Liu Kang and his allies expose their atrocities. Though they are reunited with their father, Jerrod, after he takes control of Ermac's body, Sindel is killed shortly afterwards by her evil counterpart from Titan Shang Tsung's timeline and passes the throne to Mileena. To defeat Titan Shang Tsung, Liu Kang brings over Kitana from an alternate timeline where she defeated Kronika and became a Titan, and they passionately embrace each other before recruiting more Titan allies to face off against the threat. After Titan Shang Tsung's defeat, Titan Kitana returns to her own timeline, and the Kitana from Liu Kang's timeline replaces Shao as the General of Outworld's army while continuing to advise her sister.