Of all the characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise, Raiden has been one of those who have been playable in all of the main titles. This being of flight and lightning is the God of Thunder in most timelines and in terms of lore is one of the most powerful beings in the universe, only really being outclassed by the Elder Gods, Titans, and the One Being.

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Many gamers are familiar with his duty as a protector of Earthrealm and his stalwart defense of humankind, however, there are some lesser-known facts about this deity that might surprise even a few fighting game veterans.

10 Raiden's Character Is Inspired By A Japanese God

raiden next to the japanese gods who inspired his name and origin.

In Japanese mythology, there are quite a few powerful deities that preside over the world. One of these kinds of gods is Raijin, which literally translates to "Thunder God". Raiden's powers and name are directly inspired by these lords of storms. It is also worth mentioning that Raiden is one of the first gods of any kind to appear as a playable character in a fighting game.

9 Raiden's Appearance Is Inspired By A Movie Character

character that inspired the appearance of raiden in mortal kombat.

While Raiden's name and powers are derived from the Japanese Raijin, his appearance was inspired by a character also named "Raiden" from the 1986 John Carpenter action movie Big Trouble in Little China. This character wore a straw hat that obscured most of their face and also had the power to control electricity.

8 Countless Cameos

raiden in unreal tournament 2 and injustice 2.

Not only has Raiden been in all of the major Mortal Kombat games, but he has also appeared in countless others as a bonus character, a secret character, cameo, or another noticeable form. Probably the most well-known out of these are his appearances in  Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict and Injustice 2, however, he has also been in titles very dissimilar to fighting games, such as NFL Blitz and NBA Jam: Tournament Edition.

7 Original Fatality Was Censored

raiden (rayden) doing their fatality that was censored on the snes.

The first Mortal Kombat game that was released in 1992 received fairly wide distribution, however, when it appeared on the SNES, some changes had to be made in order to comply with Nintendo's strict no-blood policy.

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As such, many of the fatalities in the game were altered, one of which was Raiden's (or Rayden, as he was known for copyright reasons at the time). Instead of decapitating the opponent, the target was instead zapped into a pile of ash.

6 Similar Stances In Mortal Kombat 4

two characters with the same stance.

In terms of martial arts techniques, Raiden has been rather inconsistent throughout the franchise, ranging from using Jujutsu to Judo and beyond. In Mortal Kombat 4, the God of Thunder shares their stance with Johnny Cage despite both characters using vastly different movesets. This is likely just a coincidence, albeit an interesting one for the more keen-eyed fans.

5 Interesting Alternate Costume

raiden without his hat for the first time.

For the first time in the entire franchise, Raiden was seen without wearing his trademark hat in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. This can be witnessed if the player changes Raiden into his alternate costume, however, he still carries his famous hat on his back.

4 Raiden Wasn't Supposed To Be In Mortal Kombat: Deception

ending for raiden's campaign.

Initially, Raiden was not supposed to appear in Mortal Kombat: Deception, as he was meant to be replaced by another god: Fujin.

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However, when fans learned about this, they were immensely upset and voiced numerous complaints. This was such an ordeal that the developers decided to swap out Fujin for everyone's favorite deity, much to the joy and satisfaction of everyone. Fujin does appear in the game, though only sparsely and not as a playable character.

3 Arcade Ladder Love

in game arcade ladder menu.

Out of all the characters in Mortal Kombat (2011), Raiden appears the most in the arcade ladders of various characters. In total, he appears in 8, more than anyone else, and even appears on his own ladder, meaning that players will need to best the God of Thunder using his own strengths if they wish to be successful.

2 Shockingly Underwhelming Attack

raiden using a cool electric attack that does surprisingly little damage.

In Mortal Kombat X, X-Ray moves were introduced as a new kind of attack that references the title of the tenth installment of the franchise. While these new assaults are very cool to witness and seem like they would be devastating on opponents, some are rather lackluster. Raiden's X-Ray move; which breaks the jaw, explodes the liver, and electrocutes the foe; takes only 31% of the opponent's health. This is among the weakest of all the X-Ray attacks along with Sub-Zero's and Reptile's respective moves.

1 The End Of Two Gods

the aftermath of shang tsung's story.

At the end of  Mortal Kombat 11's story mode, Chapter 17 is shown from Shang Tsung's perspective. During this portion, the mighty sorcerer does battle with both Fujin and Raiden and canonically defeats them, however, contrary to a lot of the buzz and hype made on the internet, these godly characters do not die. Shao Kahn and Sindel desire to finish off the weakened deities, however, Shang Tsung suggests that they should be kept alive and imprisoned in order for them to be continuously siphoned of their essence; a fate far worse than death.

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