Kitana (Mortal Kombat)

General CVG character
name= Kitana


series="Mortal Kombat" series
firstgame="Mortal Kombat II" (1993)
|liveactor= Katalin Zamiar ("MKII")
Becky Gable ("UMK3", "MKT")
Talisa Soto (films)
Dara Tomanovich "()"
Audie England "(MK: Conquest)"
Jennifer DeCosta ("")
voiceactor=Cree Summer ("")
inuniverse=Mortal Kombat character
race = Edenian
weapons = Steel Fans ("MKII", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK:DA", "MK:SM", "MK:U", "MK:A") Flying Blade ("MKG")
fighting-styles = Eagle Claw ("MK:DA", "MK:U")
Ba Gua ("MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:A")
alignment = Good

Kitana (or Princess Kitana by title) is a fictional character in the "Mortal Kombat" fighting game series.

About Kitana

A primary hero in the "Mortal Kombat" saga, Kitana is the princess of Edenia and the daughter of Queen Sindel. She is over 10,000 years old, although she appears only to be in her early to mid twenties. Through the years, she has risen to great importance, first as the loyal stepdaughter of Shao Kahn; then his enemy, tearing herself away from his grasp and freeing her home realm of Edenia; and then leading an army into Outworld to combat any chance of Shao Kahn rising to power again. Driven by a search for justice, redemption, and peace, Kitana is a strong combination of discipline, intelligence, love, and perseverance. She shared a subtle love interest with Earthrealm champion Liu Kang until he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance. She has aligned herself on the good side, despite her loyalty to Shao Kahn for most of her life until learning the truth about her past and real family.

toryline

"Mortal Kombat II"

First appearing in "Mortal Kombat II" as Shao Kahn's personal assassin and daughter, Kitana is actually the daughter of Edenia's King Jerrod and Queen Sindel. Taken as Shao Kahn's own when he conquered the realm, Kitana spent much of her life loyally serving him until she discovered the truth about her past and vowed to overthrow him. In "Mortal Kombat II", when Mileena, an evil clone of Kitana originally created to replace her but instead used to spy on her, discovers that she is no longer loyal to Kahn, they fight and Kitana kills her.

"Mortal Kombat 3"

During the events of "Mortal Kombat 3" (where she appears in Liu Kang's ending) and "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" (where she appears as a selectable character), Kitana is put on trial for treason for Mileena's murder. She escapes and joins the warriors of Earth to free Sindel who has been resurrected and being used by Kahn to invade Earth. After convincing her friend Jade to join her, Kitana frees Sindel from Shao Kahn's hold, leading to his defeat at the hands of Liu Kang. Kitana and Sindel then free Edenia from Outworld.

"Mortal Kombat 4"

Their jubilance is shortlived, as during "Mortal Kombat 4" Shinnok and his grand vizier Quan Chi invade from the Netherealm. Kitana is taken prisoner, but manages to escape and rejoin her Earthrealm allies. Shinnok's forces are defeated, and with Edenia once more free, Kitana finally proposes to Liu Kang and offered to rule Edenia with him as King and Queen. He reluctantly rejects her, seeing his true duty as Champion of Earth.

After Shinnok's defeat, Kitana learned that Shao Kahn had survived his defeat on Earthrealm and was trying to regain his strength in Outworld. Knowing when he regained his power he would threaten Edenia again, she forged an alliance with Goro and the Shokan. The combined armies wiped out much of Kahn's forces, but eventually were in stalemate.

"Deadly Alliance"

In "", Kitana learns that Shao Kahn has been slain by unknown assassins. Thinking her fight is finally over, she begins to journey back to Edenia, hoping she can finally live in peace. However, she encounters Kung Lao who tells her of the "Deadly Alliance" of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, who were planning to revive the Undead Army of the legendary Dragon King, and how they had already managed to kill Shao Kahn and Liu Kang.

Despite Kitana's grief upon learning of Liu Kang's death at the hands of the Deadly Alliance, she again joins with her old Earthrealm allies against the new threat. Eventually, Kitana and her allies assault Shang Tsung's palace where she faces Quan Chi one on one. Unfortunately, despite her new and improved skills gained from training with Bo' Rai Cho, Kitana is outmatched by the powerful sorcerer and killed, while her allies would each also perish as well. Shortly after, they would be resurrected by Onaga, the legendary Dragon King himself, who also puts a powerful spell on them, turning them into his loyal servants.

"Deception"

In "" Onaga uses Kitana to imprison her mother Sindel, knowing the queen would not fight her daughter. Luckily, Sindel was freed by Jade, and together they fled to Outworld where they attempted to find a way to defeat Onaga and free Kitana from his evil influence. Unknown to Kitana, Liu Kang's spirit, which was able to remain amongst the living due to the bond he shared with her, [http://mkarmageddon.com/assets/bios/bio_nightwolf.html Nightwolf's "Armageddon" bio] . [http://www.mkarmageddon.com/ Official "Mortal Kombat Armageddon" website] . Retrieved on 2007-01-23.] found himself a new ally and friend in Ermac, and the two had embarked on a mission to save their allies as well.

"Armageddon"

Ermac and Liu Kang are successful in freeing Kitana and the other Earth heroes. Afterward, as she travels back to Edenia, she encounters Blaze, who warns her of a coming new danger that will threaten all the realms. Weary of constant battle, Kitana is disheartened, but Blaze assures her that the wars will soon be over. Following this warning, Kitana returns in "", fighting alongside Edenia.

During the events, she was accompanied by Liu Kang's spirit in order to keep him whole until there was a way to reunite him with his body. They later met up with Nightwolf, who was still drained from using his shamanic powers to draw Onaga's soul into the Netherrealm, and offered to relieve Kitana of her burden by using what magic he had left and took on the responsibility of looking after Liu Kang. Therefore, Liu Kang and Kitana parted ways once again.

In her "Armageddon" ending, Kitana defeats Blaze and becomes the champion of the Elder Gods. She goes on to form an all-female fighting force consisting of herself, Sindel, Jade, Sonya and Li Mei. They set out to defeat the forces of Darkness and trap them in the Netherrealm forever. [http://mortalkombatwarehouse.com/mka/kitana/ Kitana's "Armageddon" info] at [http://www.mortalkombatwarehouse.com/ Mortal Kombat Warehouse] ]

Combat characteristics

ignature moves

*Fan Toss / Ground Fan: Kitana throws one of her fans at her opponent. Because the move could be executed both on the ground and in mid-air, it was a great way to finish off a combo, making Kitana a top-tier character in "Mortal Kombat II". In "Deadly Alliance", Kitana also has the option to throw her steel fan, but only once per round. Whether it connects or misses, Kitana is only able to throw her fans once per round. This has been altered in "Armageddon", as she can use multiple fan tosses in a single round, and the thrown fan only cuts the enemy and falls away. ("MKII", "UMK3", "MKG", "MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:SM", "MK:A")
*Square Wave Punch: Kitana jumps into the air and attacks incoming foes with a flying punch. This attack is taken from Sonya during her absence in "Mortal Kombat II", however, in later games where they both appeared, both of them kept this attack (with the exception of "Deadly Alliance". ("MKII", "UMK3", "MKG", "MK:SM", "MK:A")
*Fan Lift: Kitana spins her fans, levitating her opponent helplessly in the air. This attack served as both an anti-air attack and a set-up for juggle combos. In "Deadly Alliance" and "Armageddon", performing this move while in an unarmed fighting style will automatically switch the player into Steel Fan style. ("MKII", "UMK3", "MKG", "MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:SM", "MK:A")
*Fan Swipe: Kitana slashes at her enemy with her razor sharp fan. ("MKII", "MKG")
*Pretty Kick: Kitana flies toward her opponent, kicking multiple times. ("MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:A")
*Pixie Dust Teleport: Kitana disappears in a violet cloud and reappears behind her opponent. This move is taken from Jade.("MK:A")

Recurring fatalities

*Kiss of Death: Kitana removes her mask and kisses her opponent, who expands like a huge balloon before exploding into pieces. In "UMK3"/"Trilogy", the opponent stretches to odd proportions before exploding to pieces. In "Deadly Alliance", the victim inflated several times (vomiting blood in between) before exploding. In "Shaolin Monks", the opponent explodes without inflating. ("MKII", "UMK3", "MKT", "MKG", "MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:SM")
*Head Chop: Kitana decapitates her opponent with a fan. ("MKII", "UMK3", "MKT", "MKG", "MK:SM")

Appearances in other media

Film

Despite being an upper-echelon character in the series canon, Kitana was a supporting character (and unmasked) in both films, and was played by Talisa Soto. She appeared as an unwanted companion of Shang Tsung in the first film, and spent most of the under Kahn's capture before facing Sindel in the final battle. Her war fans briefly appeared as her primary weapon in the sequel, but her Edenian background, prior loyalty to Kahn, and relationship with both Mileena and Jade were ignored in both pictures; she was instead described simply as being the rightful heir to the Outworld throne.

Television

Kitana made three appearances in the live-action TV series "", with the role shared by Dara Tomanovich and Audie England. She is fully aware of her Edenian past and the deaths of her parents at Kahn's hands, and works covertly to prevent the Emperor from conquering realms while feigning her allegiance to him.

Kitana was one of the lead characters in the 1996 animated series "", in which she was unmasked [http://tabmok99.mortalkombatonline.com/unmasked-kitana.html MK Characters Unmasked - Kitana] at [http://tabmok99.mortalkombatonline.com/kombat_pavilion.html/ The Kombat Pavilion] ] and voiced by Cree Summer. Similar to the films, Kitana is never shown to have even been loyal to Kahn at any time in her life.

Comic books

Kitana appears as a secondary character in Malibu Comics' "MK" series. Her backstory is slightly altered; she is still princess of Edenia and daughter of Jerrod and Sindel, but an adult when Shao Kahn killed Jerrod and seized the realm. Kitana is also under a spell induced by Kahn that makes her forget her past life and believe she is Kahn's daughter. She first appeared during the "Goro: Prince of Pain" miniseries, joining Mileena, Baraka, and Reptile in searching for Goro in Outworld. During the "Battlewave" series, Kitana attempted to rebel against Kahn with the assistance of Kung Lao, Baraka, and Sub-Zero.

Character development

Kitana was played by Katalin Zamiar in "MKII", and the original costume used for filming was blue. Her mask had to be attached to her nose with double-sided tape while her boots were held in place with rubber bands in order to keep them from falling down. Becky Gable took over the part for "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3," for which motion capture footage was shot with a red outfit.

Kitana's signature "Kiss of Doom" Fatality was, according to Ed Boon in a webchat interview, inspired by the demise of the villain in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die". In "Mortal Kombat: Deception", Boon described Kitana and Mileena as the female equivalents of Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

Game information

Kitana was one of the most popular characters in "Mortal Kombat II", and was the character that many fans used because of her combos which tended to end with a fan throw in mid air. During the early production runs of "Mortal Kombat II", Kitana became notorious as an unbeatable character, as her "fan lift" move could be done in such a way as to completely immobilize the opponent in the corner of the screen, allowing the player using Kitana to defeat the opponent with a series of uncontested punches. Changes were made in later versions of the game to eliminate this, as it tended to unbalance the game. Ed Boon claimed in a trading card for Kitana that it was amazing seeing people doing combos with her that even he hadn't thought of.

After her debut, Kitana was mostly meant or mentioned to return as a playable character in most sequels, but was often removed due to several circumstances, however she has always returned in the port or an update to the sequels that she's supposed to appear but cut down. She was going to return in "Mortal Kombat 3", but she, along with all other palette-swapped ninja characters, were cut down from the game due to Midway's strict policy about ninja-inspired material at that time, however she returned in "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3".

She was also supposed to be in "Mortal Kombat 4" (along with Noob Saibot and Kano), but was taken out in favor of the new character Tanya. She was not, however, completely removed from the game: her rendering was still used in Liu Kang's ending, and players could fight as her in the Nintendo 64 and PC versions of the game via a cheat device. Later on, she was added to the roster of "Mortal Kombat Gold", an update to "Mortal Kombat 4".

After her appearance in ', she was again stated to be featured in '. However, it was decided that the storyline would change and have her held captive by Onaga in favor of the reappearance of Jade, who has not been featured in many Mortal Kombat games, though Kitana later became playable in "", the PlayStation Portable port of "Deception".

References