| Baraka (mortal Kombat) |
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Baraka is a Fictional Character in the '' Mortal Kombat '' Fighting Game series. ABOUT BARAKA Baraka was introduced as a mean, unforgiving, and unpredictable warrior in service of '' to be called Tarkata , a crossbreed between vile Netherealm demons and denizens of Outworld, apparently populating the vast wastelands of Outworld. Baraka, like most other members of his race, possesses long blades extending from his forearms. Although he has had numerous incursions with the Earthrealm warriors, he appears not to have any particular rivalry or hatred towards Earth or its inhabitants. A loyal warrior, he fights for those that he calls "master". STORYLINE In the events leading up to the second Mortal Kombat tournament, Baraka led the attack on the Shaolin Temple of Light in Earthrealm, which spurred Liu Kang to seek vengeance in Outworld as predicted by Shao Kahn . During the ensuing tournament, Baraka partnered with Mileena to overthrow Shao Kahn and rule Outworld, but canon states that their plan never came to fruition. Mileena was murdered and Baraka was sent away to the lowlands of Outworld. Following Shao Kahn's fall from power after '' Mortal Kombat Trilogy '', Baraka escaped and spent time traveling alone. In the time before the events of '' Mortal Kombat Gold '', Baraka encountered the Necromancer Quan Chi while wandering through Edenia . Quan Chi offered Baraka a chance to rule the realm at his side if he agreed to join the army of Shinnok . Eager for battle, he readily accepted. Once again Baraka planned to betray his new masters, but after Shinnok was utterly defeated, his opportunity was also lost once again. During the events of '''', Baraka found yet another new master in the risen Dragon King, Onaga , in whose strength he had great faith. Freeing Mileena from her prison, Baraka recruited her to Onaga's ranks. She posed as Princess Kitana , using her position to misdirect the Edenia n forces into combat against the Tarkatan raiding parties well away from Onaga. This was intended to give the Dragon King the time he needed to complete his schemes. In Baraka's '''' ending, he defeats Blaze and possesses godlike power. He decides that he will never serve anyone again. He threatens Shao Kahn and Onaga to bow before Lord Baraka or die, but they respond by attacking. Baraka's blades grow twice their normal size and he impales them through their hearts, then throwing their lifeless bodies over the pyramid side. Now the ruler of Outworld, he appoints Mileena as his queen. Baraka's ''Armageddon'' info at Mortal Kombat Warehouse COMBAT CHARACTERISTICS Signature moves
Recurring fatalities
APPEARANCES IN OTHER MEDIA Film Baraka (played by Dennis Keiffer) appeared in the second ''Mortal Kombat'' movie, '''', along with another pair of his race. After a brief sword fight with Liu Kang, all three are killed. The shot of "Baraka's" body falling into the firepit surrounding the fighting ring is actually stock footage of Rain doing likewise earlier in the film. Comic books Baraka made several appearances in Malibu Comics ' ''MK'' comic book series, making his first appearance on the first issue of Goro's miniseries ''Prince of Pain''. Baraka was portrayed as the classic brawn-over-brains type, and had the distinction of speaking in Pidgin English; in the 1993 Midway-created ''Mortal Kombat II'' comic book, his only line is ''"Baraka show {Link without Title} Cage pain!"'' Baraka was also featured in an eponymous one-shot issue by Malibu Comics in 1995. He was also one of numerous characters who habitually referred to themselves in the Third Person throughout Malibu's entire ''MK'' series. Baraka's background is mostly kept in the comic, having him as the leader of the mutants that form part of Shao Kahn's armies. On the following ''Battlewave'' series though, he changes sides when Shao Kahn starts replacing his mutants with Scorpion's army of undead soldiers. He ends up joining with Kitana, Kung Lao and Sub-Zero in a rebel force set to defeat the emperor. Despite this, his violent nature often put him at odds with his former comrades. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT While brainstorming possible character ideas for ''Mortal Kombat II'', several designers visited a local costume shop and found a filming he was sweating profusely. ''"He was a pretty cool character,"'' Divizio said to '' Electronic Gaming Monthly '' in 1994, ''"but I didn't like him too much."'' Early Baraka Concept Art by character designer John Tobias portrayed him as a masked, bald human ninja armed with Hooksword s. The swords were later used by Kabal - also played by Divizio - in '' Mortal Kombat 3 ''. Another Baraka concept portrayed him as a creature with extra-long, metal talon-studded, muscular arms, but it was felt this might create an unfair reach advantage and so was re-sketched with blades inspired by the '' X-Men 's'' Wolverine , whose claws extend from his hands. The third and final attempt at a Baraka design included a full head of black hair tied up in a bun, and a large red dot on his belt to go along with his familiar red-and-white tunic and black pants. The red dot, added simply as a decoration, was axed because it was misinterpreted as symbolizing the red dot on the Japanese Flag , and the hair was gone shortly thereafter, finalizing Baraka's bald look used throughout the ''MK'' series. GAME INFORMATION In the early stages of ''Mortal Kombat II'', Baraka was going to be given a fatality in which he would slice his opponent's stomach open and let their entrails spill to the ground. This was actually deemed "too gory" by the development team and still has not been seen in game-form. Baraka's biggest drawback in his first appearance was that he lacked any sort of "moving" special move and was widely considered to be a "low-tier" character. Although only he and Jax (a high-tier) shared this problem, Jax's other specials were considered much better than Baraka's. In ''''). Baraka survived the attack and the staples were implemented to hold his body together while he healed. However, an unused bio for Baraka had him dying from Kung Lao's attack and being revived by Shinnok . This bio was released in a few strategy guides for the game, sparking the misconception that he had actually died. In ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'', after the use of a special move, Baraka's blades which came out in the process of the move would slide back in without a sound. But, if the player executes a special move in the Blade style, the blades will never shoot back in. Baraka is also revealed to be "The Scourge Of Outworld". This is the exact title given to Kintaro in the Malibu series of ''Mortal Kombat'' comics. Also, if Baraka is defeated in the first round, he will lift himself up using his blades and start the next round using his blades as his fighting style. He is the only character to switch to or remain in his weapon style after being defeated. In ''Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'' and in ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'', Baraka is playable in all the Mini-Games available, these include Chess Kombat, Puzzle Kombat, and Motor Kombat. REFERENCES |
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