Raiden is one of the most popular characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise, having gone through constant evolution throughout each installment. NetherRealm Studios’ takeover of the franchise has further fleshed out the Thunder God’s character and made him a central figure in a wide-reaching storyline.
It’s not all heroics and victory, however. Raiden’s past is littered with some truly head-scratching moments of complete buffoonery. While it’s great to note Raiden’s accomplishments, scrutiny should also be paid to the stupidest things he’s ever done. Here’s a list guaranteed to soil your opinion of the character.
10 He Got Fooled By Quan Chi
Raiden is supposedly blessed with the powers of a God, but they don’t appear to extend to the realm of clairvoyance. Raiden’s foe Quan Chi managed to fool the Thunder God by producing a forgery of Shinnok’s powerful amulet, which would have drastic ramifications in later MK games.
It’s difficult to imagine Raiden being so totally duped by a forgery, especially given the amulet’s vast and incredible power, which would be (at the very least) difficult to fake.
9 He Fell For Shao Kahn’s Lies
One has to wonder what was going through Raiden’s head when he accepted a proposal from Shao Kahn to leave the Earthrealm alone, in exchange for Raiden hunting and destroying the warrior Taven.
This singular act was orchestrated so Kahn could steal the powers of Blaze, becoming akin to a God, himself. Here, Raiden put focused primarily on the safety of Earthrealm at the expense of all the others, only to be betrayed by Kahn at the end. It is perhaps the dumbest thing Raiden has ever done.
8 He Bet It All To Destroy Onaga
After suffering major losses in his campaign to defeat the Deadly Alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, Raiden was forced to deal with a new threat: the Dragon King Onaga. The three joined forces to combat Onaga, but it didn’t go very well.
Recognizing that Onaga’s power was substantial, Raiden concentrated all of his powers in one gigantic explosion which ended up killing both Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Onaga however, was unfazed. Without Shang Tsung and Quan Chi to rely on, Raiden lost whatever advantage he may have had.
7 He Went To The Dark Side
After succumbing to the corrupting power of Shinnok’s amulet, Raiden took on a far more aggressive and sinister persona, in contrast to his benevolent one.
His obsession with protecting the Earth realm went a bit overboard, prompting him to attack the other realms in order to prevent them from rising up and posing a threat. In this warped state, Raiden truly did attempt to use a cannon to kill a mosquito.
6 He Botched His Own Backup Plan
In the final act of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Raiden and Shao Kahn squared off for what would be the last time, at least, in the original timeline. On the verge of death, Raiden sent a message back through time to his younger self in an attempt to avert a disastrous future.
After events spiral out of control, Raiden realizes that his own premonition “he must win” was taken completely out of context. This enrages Liu Kang, who watched as his allies were slain, seemingly for nothing. When Kang attempted to attack Shao Kahn, Raiden accidentally killed him. Perhaps he could have chosen a more detailed message to send back in time?
5 He Got Kung Lao Killed
Raiden’s premonition from his future self was a simple, yet ambiguous one: “he must win.” Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to decipher his own self’s words, and the results were disastrous, to say the least.
Raiden mistakenly believed the person in question was Kung Lao. After encouraging him to fight, Kung Lao took out Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Kintaro, in succession. Raiden thought he was onto something, at least until Shao Kahn grabbed Lao from behind and broke his neck.
4 He Went To The Dark Side, Again
The events of Mortal Kombat X found Raiden attempting to undo Shinnok’s corruption of the Jinsei, the life force of the planet, itself.
In so doing, Raiden became corrupted by Shinnok’s power once more and reverted to his dark form. After the events of Armageddon, one would think that Raiden would have recognized the risk, but the events of Mortal Kombat 11 tell a different story.
3 He Brought Kronika Out Of The Shadows
Raiden’s meddling with the timeline (which began in 2011’s Mortal Kombat reboot) was bound to catch up to him sooner or later. Indeed, the character said as much to his Earth realm allies, warning of unforeseen repercussions.
These would come following the events of Mortal Kombat X. In his dark form, Raiden became a bit too enthusiastic in his mission to protect the Earth realm, which ended up attracting the unwanted attention of the powerful Kronika. Had he pulled back, events may have played out differently.
2 He Trusted Shang Tsung
The Aftermath expansion for Mortal Kombat 11 brings Shang Tsung back into the fold once more, and this time he’s working directly with a younger version of Raiden to secure the Crown of Souls.
For whatever reason, Raiden saw fit to trust Shang Tsung, who betrays him outright, defeats him, and steals his soul. Surely a wizened Thunder God would have eyes in the back of his head when dealing with such a manipulative liar as Shang Tsung.
1 He Destroyed The Planet
It could be argued that the events of the original Mortal Kombat game are now largely non-canonical, especially given the culmination of everything that has happened up to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
Fortunately, this includes Raiden’s original ending, which indicates that the Thunder God became so bored of the Mortal Kombat tournament that he began inviting other Gods to participate. The ensuing carnage unbalanced the furies and ended up causing the destruction of Earth, and presumably everything else in existence, as well. This was not his most shining moment.
NEXT: 10 Guest Characters We’d Love To See In Mortal Kombat 12
