Baraka is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Mortal Kombat II (also referred to as MKII) is an arcade game and the second title in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Johnny Cage performing his shadow kick while MK1-Raiden sends a lighting bolt Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and produced by Midway. ... Mortal Kombat Gold is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series. ... Mortal Kombat: Deception is the latest game in the controversial and bloody Mortal Kombat video game series by Midway. ... Mortal Kombat: Deception is the latest game in the controversial and bloody Mortal Kombat video game series by Midway. ... Outworld (Mortal Kombat: Deception) Outworld is a realm in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... This page discusses the multiple species and/or subspecies/races found in the Mortal Kombat game universe. ... Pencak Silat or Silat (fighting by using techniques of self-defense) is a Southeast Asian martial art with roots in the culture of the Malay World. ... Hung Gar, also known as Hung Kuen or Hung Ga, is a southern Chinese martial art associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Gar. ... Richard Divizio (born September 6, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is a computer artist who has portrayed a diverse host of characters in the popular Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... For other uses, see Mortal Kombat. ... Screenshot of The King of Fighters XI (2005, SNK Playmore). ...

About Baraka

Baraka was introduced as an unpredictable warrior in service of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat II. He belongs to a race of nomadic mutants, later revealed in Mortal Kombat: Deception 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". Outworld (Mortal Kombat: Deception) Outworld is a realm in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Shao Kahn is a fictional boss and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mortal Kombat II (also referred to as MKII) is an arcade game and the second title in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... This article is concerns biological mutants; for fictional aspects see Mutant (fictional) A mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a sudden structural change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the... Mortal Kombat: Deception is the latest game in the controversial and bloody Mortal Kombat video game series by Midway. ... This page discusses the multiple species and/or subspecies/races found in the Mortal Kombat game universe. ... The map of the Netherealm used in Mortal Kombat: Deception The Netherealm is a fictional world in the Mortal Kombat video game series. ... Earthrealm (Mortal Kombat: Deception) In the Mortal Kombat video game series, Earthrealm is the name that is most frequently used for Earth. ...

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. The Shaolin temples (少林寺; pinyin: Shàolín Sì, Wade-Giles: Shao-lin Ssŭ) are a group of Chinese Buddhist monasteries famed for their long association with Chán (Japanese Zen) Buddhism and martial arts. ... For the artist, see Liu Kang (artist). ... Shao Kahn is a fictional boss and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mileena is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ...

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 Mortal Kombat: Deception, 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 Edenian 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. Johnny Cage performing his shadow kick while MK1-Raiden sends a lighting bolt Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and produced by Midway. ... Mortal Kombat Gold is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series. ... Necromancy is divination by raising the spirits of the dead. ... Quan Chi is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Edenia (Mortal Kombat: Deception). ... Shinnok is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mortal Kombat: Deception is the latest game in the controversial and bloody Mortal Kombat video game series by Midway. ... Onaga is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Kitana (or Princess Kitana by title) is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Edenia (Mortal Kombat: Deception). ...

In Baraka's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon 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 the tarkatan. 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 where she chose wisely.^[1] Blaze is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ...

Combat characteristics

Signature moves

• Flying Shard: Baraka fires a spark by scraping his blades to his opponent. (MKII, MKT, MKG, MK:D, MK:SM, MK:A)
• Blade Fury / Chop Chop Blades: Baraka slices his opponent up vertically with his blades numerous times. (MKII, MKT, MKG, MK:D, MK:SM, MK:A)
• Head Swipe: Baraka performs a quick, strong swipe at the opponent with his blade. (MKII, MKT, MK:SM)
• Blade Spin: Baraka would spin like a top with his blades extended, damaging his opponent. (MKT, MKG)
• Mutant Blades: Baraka quickly lunges at his opponent with both blades out. (MK:D, MK:A)

Recurring fatalities

• Decapitation: Baraka extends a blade and severs his opponent's head with a single swipe. (MKII, MKT, MKG, MK:SM)
• Blade Lift: Extending both blades, Baraka stabs his opponent in the torso and lifts him/her high. The victim screams and flails about helplessly before expiring, the limp form twitching as it slides down the deadly shears. In Shaolin Monks, Baraka spreads out his arms, cutting the torso into pieces. (MKII, MKT, MKG, MK:SM)

Appearances in other media

Film

Baraka (played by Dennis Keiffer) appeared in the second Mortal Kombat movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, 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. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) was directed by John R. Leonetti. ... Rain is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ...

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 [Johnny] Cage pain!" Malibu Comics was a comic book publisher in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. ... A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups who do not share a common language, in situations such as trade. ...

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. Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to the participant role of a referent, such as the speaker, the addressee, and others. ...

Character development

While brainstorming possible character ideas for Mortal Kombat II, several designers visited a local costume shop and found a Nosferatu mask. They painted the mask to enhance its horrifying appearance and added false fingernails to appear as long fangs. This mask was worn by Richard Divizio, the actor who portrayed Baraka in the game. In a video interview, on the bonus DVD included with the special edition of Mortal Kombat: Deception, Divizio stated that the mask was a "skin-tight" fit, and throughout his motion capture 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." Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (A Symphony of Horror in German) is a German Expressionist film shot in 1922 by F.W. Murnau. ... Richard Divizio (born September 6, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is a computer artist who has portrayed a diverse host of characters in the popular Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Motion capture, or mocap, is a technique of digitally recording the movements of real things — usually humans — it originally developed as an analysis tool in biomechanics research, but has grown increasingly important as a source of motion data for computer animation. ... Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American video game magazine. ...

Early Baraka concept art by character designer John Tobias portrayed him as a masked, bald human ninja armed with hookswords. The swords were later used by Kabal - also played by Divizio - in Mortal Kombat 3. Concept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in movies, video games, or comic books before it is put into the final product. ... John Tobias (born August 24, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois) was one of the creators (along with Ed Boon) of the groundbreaking Mortal Kombat fighting game series for Chicago-based Midway. ... A hook sword is a weapon consisting of a rod or blade that curves into a large, sharpened hook at the tip, with an axelike blade set parallel to the hilt of the sword. ... Kabal is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mortal Kombat 3 (also known as MK3) is the third game in the Mortal Kombat series, released in arcades in 1995. ...

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 X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. ... For other uses, see Wolverine (disambiguation). ...

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. Civil and state flag and ensign (Aug 13, 1999. ...

Game information

Baraka in Mortal Kombat Gold

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. Image File history File links Mkg_baraka. ... Image File history File links Mkg_baraka. ...

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 Mortal Kombat Gold, Baraka has a scar lined with large metal staples splitting his body straight down the middle. According to a render of Baraka and Mileena found in Deception's Krypt, this was the end result of Baraka's brush with Kung Lao's Hat Slice fatality during Mortal Kombat Trilogy (although this fatality is only usable in MKII and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks). 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. Mortal Kombat Gold is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series. ... A packet of staples commonly used in the home or office Staples in use, showing the front and the back side. ... Mortal Kombat: Deception is the latest game in the controversial and bloody Mortal Kombat video game series by Midway. ... Kung Lao is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Shinnok is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ...

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