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Template:Mortal Kombat character Baraka is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About Baraka

Baraka was introduced as a mean, unforgiving, and unpredictable warrior in service of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat II. The race he belongs to, later revealed in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, is that of the Tarkata, a nomadic crossbreed between vile Netherealm creatures 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 lower arms. 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. He fights for those he calls "master", but invariably plots his own path to power. His nasty, deformed and brutish appearance has made him a fan favorite throughout the series.

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 also partnered with Mileena (possibly romantically), but canon states that their plan to overthrow the emperor never came to fruition. Mileena was murdered and Baraka was sent away to quell an uprising in the lowlands of Outworld. Their second chance at obtaining power, after Mileena was resurrected during the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, failed as well.

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.

Possible future

Baraka appears in multiple Mortal Kombat:Deception endings. In Bo Rai Cho's, Baraka's forces are routed by an invigorated Bo' Rai Cho, and is himself beaten by the old master. In his own ending, he suspects that Mileena has betrayed him somehow, he arranges a meeting with her, but sends a double in his place. Learning that Sub-Zero is near, Baraka sends his remaining soldiers to deal with the ninja and sets off. Discovering that Mileena has fed the double to flesh-eating beetles, Baraka surprises Mileena and slays her.

Whether or not this ending will become canonical is currently unresolved. Along with nearly every other playable character from the series' past, Baraka is slated to reappear in the upcoming game Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

Memorable moves

• Shredder: Baraka brandishes his blades and vigorously chops at the air, ravaging the body of any opponent caught in range.(MK:II, MKT, MK: Gold, MK:D)
• Blade Spark: Baraka extends both blades and takes a strange stance on one foot while shooting a burst of blue energy which is a shard of a part of blade that grows on his arms (MK:II, MKT, MK:Gold, MK:D)
• Blade Spin: Baraka spins tornado fashion, blades out, across the screen. (MKT, MK: Gold)
• Mutant Blades: Baraka dashes towards his opponent with both blades extended in front of him knocking them backwards. (MK:D)

Fatalities

• Head Chop – Baraka extends a blade and severs his opponent's head with a single swipe. (MKII, MKT, MK Gold, 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. Also if down is held on both controlers your opponet will slide down the swords. In MK:SM, Baraka spreads out his arms, cutting the torso into pieces(MK2, MKT, MKG, MK:SM)
• Uppercut Spike – Baraka decapitates his opponent with an uppercut, then extends a single blade upon which the severed head falls and is impaled. (MK:D)
• Dismemberment – Baraka swiftly slices across his opponent's legs, arms, and head. He then stabs his opponent in the torso, ripping it away from the five appendages which fall to the ground. (MK:D)

Other finishers

• Birthday Present: Baraka offers his opponent a small gift as a Friendship. (MKII, MKT)
• Vulture: Baraka transforms into a vulture and rips off his opponent's torso while taking flight. The head then falls to the ground. (MKT)
• Hara-kiri: Baraka uses one of his own blades to decapitate himself. (MK:D)

Movie appearance

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 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.

Baraka is one of several familiar characters to briefly appear in MK:A whose names are never mentioned during the film but do appear in the credits.

Trivia

• While brainstorming possible character ideas for Mortal Kombat II, several designers visited a local costume shop and found a Nosferatu rubber mask. They painted the mask to enhance its horrifying appearance and added silver 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."
• 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.
  • 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.
• He made several appearances in Malibu Comics' MK comic book series, including the final issue of the six-part Blood and Thunder series. 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 Cage pain!")
  • Baraka was 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, which was a sore spot among many readers.
• In Mortal Kombat Gold, Baraka has a nasty scar lined with big 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 MK Trilogy (although the hat slice fatality is only usable in MK 2); he survived the attack, and the staples were there 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 rumor that he had actually died.

• MK Main Characters