Jade (Mortal Kombat): Difference between revisions

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

About Jade

Jade is a childhood friend of Princess Kitana. While her motives were unclear, she, alongside Kitana and Mileena, served Shao Kahn as his personal assassin. When Kitana finally turned against Shao Kahn, Jade was ordered to capture her for the Emperor. But she ultimately chose to join her friend and has since loyally assisted Kitana in her quest to free their native realm and restore its beauty. Now residing in the freed Edenia, Jade is a General of the Edenian Army and continues to dutifully serve Kitana and her mother Queen Sindel.

As a female assassin adorned in a green skin-tight outfit, Jade was initially very similar in appearance to Kitana and Mileena, with the only noticeable difference being her tanned skin. She appeared first as a hidden, unplayable character in Mortal Kombat II, and would later become a regular character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Her main weapon of choice is a staff, but she also uses razor-edged boomerangs (dubbed "razorangs") as well.

Storyline

It is assumed Jade was the back-up plan of Shao Kahn during the second tournament, in case his own warriors would fail to withstand the fury and anger of the Earthrealm warriors. In fact, although she was not present in the first Mortal Kombat tournament, she was hiding in the shadows of the tournament, watching the events unfold. From there, she would have to return to Outworld and report to Shao Kahn.

Like Kitana, Jade's origins lie not in Outworld, but in the realm of Edenia. While it is not certain whether or not her parents made any signficant contributions to Edenia, it is known that they were loyal and faithful subjects who loved King Jerrod and Queen Sindel. There isn't much information on Jade's background and early life, aside from the fact that she has been Kitana's friend since childhood. Kitana was only a newborn when Shao Kahn had slain her father and conquered Edenia, and was raised as his own daughter, growing up with no knowledge of the realm or her real parents. It is unknown what the exact circumstances of Jade's upbringing were and what, if anything, she knew about Edenia. Regardless, Jade and Kitana grow up to be one of Shao Kahn's personal assassins and become best friends.

At the time of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Kitana had been sentenced to death after being tried for treason in the high courts of Outworld for murdering Mileena during the events of Mortal Kombat II. She escaped the evil realm, and fled to Earthrealm. Shao Kahn became enraged, and appointed Jade and Reptile to venture into Earthrealm and capture her. Jade was assured that Kahn wanted her back alive, but Reptile was secretly told to bring Kitana back by any means necessary, up to and including killing her.

The two then ventured into Earth to find Kitana. However, Jade found herself torn between loyally carrying out Kahn's orders and betraying her friend, or joining her against the Emperor. She ultimately decided to help Kitana, and thwarted Reptile's assassination attempt. With his defeat, the path was cleared for the two women to join Raiden and his Earthrealm combatants in the battle against Shao Kahn and his forces. Of immediate importance, howeverm was Kitana's personal mission to reach and warn the resurrected Queen Sindel about their true past together. Jade's assistance had made that possible, and Kitana was successful. With Sindel's memories recovered, she too would turn against Shao Kahn, who was shortly afterward defeated by Liu Kang. After Kahn's defeat, Kitana would go on to free Edenia from Outworld.

Jade was not present during the events of Mortal Kombat Gold. It can be assumed that she was assisting Sindel in Edenia's restoration. In any case, it was at this time that Tanya betrayed Edenia to Shinnok, and earned Jade's wrath.

Years later, at the time of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kitana and her armed forces, along with the forces of Goro and his Shokans, embarked on a war against the weakened Shao Kahn and his remaining Outworld army. She'd later join her Earthrealm allies against the Deadly Alliance of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. It is unknown what exactly Jade was doing during this time. She was either still in Edenia, assisting Sindel, or fighting alongside Kitana's armies in the background (similar to how Baraka was apparently serving the Deadly Alliance, but never actually mentioned during the game).

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, it was revealed that Jade had attempted to join Kitana and her allies in the battle against the Deadly Alliance, but had arrived too late, finding her friend's body lying on the ground with the other Earthrealm warriors. Heartbroken, Jade knelt beside her fallen friend's side, and noticed a large creature approaching. She then hid in the nearby shadows, and witnessed this evil menace, Onaga the Dragon King, resurrect the bodies of Kitana and her fallen friends. While they were resurrected, they were also placed under an evil spell and were told to meet up with the force controlling them at the Living Forest.

Jade followed in secret, only to discover that they were going to invade Edenia and hold Queen Sindel prisoner. Jade returned to Edenia to find Queen Sindel behind bars and guarded by her own daughter. Sindel could have fought for her freedom, but she couldn't strike her own daughter. Jade attacked Kitana and managed to trap her in a cage of her own while she freed Sindel. Kitana then began shouting for the guards to capture them, forcing Jade and Sindel to flee to the portal into Outworld. Before they went through the portal, Jade caught a glimpse of her enemy, Tanya, standing next to Onaga.

Currently in Outworld with Sindel, Jade has made it her personal mission to assist her Queen in rescuing Kitana from the Dragon King's spell, and to seek justice (or perhaps vengeance) against Tanya, who has betrayed Edenia yet again.

Possible future

In Jade's ending, she feigns defeat at the hands of several Tarkatans, in order to get close to Tanya. As Tanya arrogantly approaches, Jade hurls a small glass orb filled with concentrated Tarkatan essence at her. The Tarkatan essence splashes all over Tanya, causing the other Tarkatans to go into a violent rage. Perceiving Tanya to be a rival male, they instinctively attack her. Jade then escapes as Tanya pleads for help, as she is torn apart by the enraged Tarkatans.

Jade also appears in Sindel's ending, holding the enslaved Kitana off long enough for Sindel to use the Dragon King's ancient spells against him. When Onaga is destroyed, Kitana is freed from his power and she is finally reunited with her best friend and mother. As of now, it is unknown whether either of these endings will become part of established Mortal Kombat canon, but the truth will be revealed in the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, where she is slated to make a reappearance.

Fatalities

• Shake N Bake: In this fatality, Jade impales her opponent and shakes him/her at violent speeds until he/she explodes. (UMK3, MKT)
• Staff Impale: Jade uppercuts her opponent and holds her staff in front of her, impaling them as they land on her staff. (UMK3, MKT)
• Spear Gymnastics: Jade impales her victim through the head, then grabs her staff and vaults over her opponent's head, ripping it off in the process. (MK:D)
• Deep Cut: Jade runs past her opponent while holding her spear, blood trailing behind her. The opponent's upper body then neatly slides off, leaving the victim in two mangled pieces. (MK:D)

Other finishers

• Pogo Staff – Jade hops up and down on her staff like a pogostick. (UMK3, MKT)
• Kitty Cat – As an Animality, Jade turns into a small cat that spins the opponent to pieces. (UMK3, MKT)

Movie appearance

Despite her portrayal as a "good" character in the games, Jade appears in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (portrayed by Siberian supermodel Irina Pantaeva) as a distinctly Asian character who remains loyal to Shao Kahn until her death. After failing to seduce Liu Kang and leading the other warriors to an ambush (not before testing Liu Kang and leading him to the Temple of the Elder Gods), Kahn himself has her eaten and swallowed by a living gargoyle in his palace. There is also no indication in the movie that Jade and Kitana know each other from the past. Instead, Kitana glares at Jade when Jade betrays the group.

File:Irena Pantaeva as Jade.jpg

Irena Pantaeva as Jade in Mortal Kombat Annihilation, moments before her death.

Trivia

• In Mortal Kombat II, before the player reached the "?" box in the single player mode, if they used low kick only, never blocked, and managed to attain victory twice, they could fight Jade. From there, the player would be sent to Goro's lair, which was a returning level from Mortal Kombat, to face her.
• Could be seen peeking out from a tree in The Living Forest Arena in Mortal Kombat II, as could fellow secret character Smoke. It was then further suggested in the comic book series that Jade and Smoke were infact assassins working for Shao Khan. However, the comic books were considered to be non canon.
• Jade's introduction to the Mortal Kombat series is quite similar to that of Reptile's. She was simply a faster pallette-swap of Kitana and Mileena. In the first Mortal Kombat, Reptile made his appearance as a green colored version of Scorpion, only he had both Scorpion and Sub-Zero's abilities. When Jade made her first non-secret appearance in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, she was given her own attributes and storyline.
• Jade also made an appearance in the game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks as an assassin that fought alongside Mileena and Kitana. Her appearance sparked some controversy about the validity of the game's story, compared to established Mortal Kombat canon. After battling her, she is stabbed in the eyes with Mileena's sai by the player and dies. If this is held to be true at all, her appearances in future games is indeed questionable (although a valid counter-argument could be that many characters have died in the Mortal Kombat universe only to be resurrected later on.)The possibility that Shao Kahn himself might have resurrected Jade cannot be ruled out, as he has brought Mileena back from death at the hands of Kitana.
• In Malibu's non-canon Mortal Kombat comic books, she is depicted as an evil character who is loyal to Shao Kahn. She also associates herself with Smoke, most likely due to the Living Forest appearance.