RAIDEN/RAYDEN
 
Height: 7'0"
Weight: 230 lbs
Origin: The heavens
Species: God
Affiliation: Gods of Earthrealm, formerly the Elder Gods
Styles: Nan Chuan, Jujutsu, Staff

Mythologies: Raiden appeared too late to stop Sub-Zero from handing over
the mystical amulet. He commanded the mortal to enter the Netherealm, as
Raiden would have been powerless in the realm. Once Sub-Zero had regained
the amulet, Raiden opened a portal and led him to safety. He pointed out
that Sub-Zero was indeed evil, but it was not too late to change his path
of destiny.

Mortal Kombat 1: Raiden was personally invited by Shang Tsung to enter
the tournament. Raiden accepted and worked as a mentor to Liu Kang,
Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. He did not win, but his wisdom did help Liu
Kang gain a victory over Shang Tsung. He was also the sole witness of
Scorpion vs. Sub-Zero.

Mortal Kombat II: While Raiden was not out for revenge like Liu Kang and
Kung Lao, he still had no choice but to accept Shang Tsung's challenge to
take part in the Outworld Mortal Kombat tournament. While he did not win,
Liu Kang surpassed his expectations and came out on top. Also, Raiden was
responsible for Kintaro's death.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy: Raiden gave up his godhood in order to take part
in the great war for Earthrealm. He used his abilities to protect the
souls of those warriors he felt could best face Shao Kahn's onslaught.
In the end he faced the mad emperor one-on-one. He either won the fight
and saved Earthrealm, or lost so that Liu Kang could come out with the
win. Once it was over, Raiden had regained his status as god.

Mortal Kombat Gold: Shinnok, a fallen Elder God who Raiden had defeated
in a long and grueling crusade eons ago had attacked the Elder Gods.
Raiden rallied his troops of dependable Earthrealm combatants and had
them join his battle to destroy Shinnok once and for all. In the end,
perhaps by Raiden's hand, Shinnok had been killed. Raiden was granted
Elder Godhood and asked that Fujin be his replacement as Protector of
Earthrealm.

Deadly Alliance: Raiden watched as Liu Kang was taken apart by the Deadly
Alliance. After renouncing his godhood invited Kung Lao, Sonya, Jax,
Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero and Frost to meet him on Shang Tsung's deserted
island. They journeyed into Outworld to take on the combined might of
Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Once the day was saved, Raiden stepped down
from being an Elder God out of anger for the other Elder Gods doing
nothing to help on their quest. He returned to being the Protector of
Earthrealm, but suspects that the future will bring even more darkness.

Miscellaneous Facts and Notes:

MK1 lists Raiden as being 350 lbs. So by MK:DA he lost 120 lbs! Maybe
he's on the Subway diet.

In MK1, Raiden's depiction was completely different from being the leader
of the good guys. The original story was that he entered the tournament
to prove that he was more powerful than any and all humans. The ending
even had him destroying the planet. Once MK2 came around, Midway
retconned him into being the mentor archetype we all know and love.

Unfortunately there's nothing that suggests that Raiden is as jokey and
witty as he was in the movie and cartoon.

Raiden was a secret character in one of the NFL Blitz games.

His MK1 profile claimed that he has black hair, but again the creators
borrowed from the movies and gave him silver-gray hair in MK:DA.