Kitana

**Kitana** is a character in the *Mortal Kombat* fighting game series who made her debut in *Mortal Kombat II*.

## About Kitana

Princess Kitana is 10,000 years old, but is considered young in her realm of Edenia and has the appearance of a young woman. Throughout the years, she rose to great importance; first as the loyal stepdaughter of Shao Kahn, then as his enemy, tearing herself away from his grasp and freeing her home realm of Edenia. She also led an army into Outworld to combat any chance of Shao Kahn rising to power again.

She shared a subtle love interest with *Mortal Kombat* champion Liu Kang, even after he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance. Though she was loyal to Shao Kahn for most of her life, she aligned herself with the side of good upon learning the truth about her past and her true father, the late King Jerrod.

## Appearance

Even though Kitana is over 10,000 years old, she looks as if she is in her early twenties, at times shown wearing eye makeup. She looks identical to Mileena when both of their masks are on, but when it is off, Mileena's flawed visage is exposed, as opposed to Kitana's beautiful face. Kitana's overall appearance throughout the series has been changed profusely.

In *MKII*, as with Mileena and Jade, Kitana wore a simple blue leotard, along with matching knee-high boots, long gloves, and a headband.

In *UMK3*, Kitana now wears a leotard with added details, the only noticeable differences being the laced chest opening, armlets, ear studs, and a more liberal use of black, while the headband was dropped and her hair was tied in a tight bun. For her first 3D and unmasked appearance in *Gold*, her face was modeled after Talisa Soto, and she is clad in a modified leotard, with a near-closed chest opening, a gold brooch, and blue ear drops.

In *Deadly Alliance*, *Unchained*, *Armageddon*, and *DC Universe*, Kitana wore a blue-and-black leotard with thigh-high high-heeled blue-and-black boots as well as a more regal costume featuring a lavender leotard with a very deep V-neck, exposing her cleavage even more. She also wears a brown belt, gold ear drops, and lavender, high-heeled thigh-high boots. Also, her hair is now very long, held in place by 3 sections of a ponytail.

In *MK 2011*, she wears a short, cerulean-colored, cropped halter top, which stops and splits above her naval and has silver trimmings and has an opening in the middle, laced together with crossed strings in a way reminiscent of *UMK3*. She also wears a matching thong of a similar design with a long flowing loincloth at the front, with embroidered designs on the center panel similar to the subtle designs on her mask. Kitana also has a coronet, thigh-high boots, silver eardrops, and matching arm gauntlets along with a tiara on her head. Her alternate outfit is a blue-and-silver halter top with matching bikini briefs, as well as a loincloth at the back, knee-high boots, and detached sleeves. Like most other female characters, she is strong, large-breasted, and voluptuous.

## Bios

* **Mortal Kombat** - *""Over 10,000 years old, Princess Kitana remembers little of her early years. Her mother, Queen Sindel, died mysteriously ages ago in Earthrealm. Most of her life she has loyally served her father, Shao Kahn, in his unending quest to conquer the realms. With her closest friend, Jade, Kitana enforces his brutal will. But there is a feeling tugging at her... a feeling that the life she has known is a deception. For the moment, Kitana dutifully works to ensure Outworld's victory in this latest Mortal Kombat tournament. If she were to lower her guard, however, she might discover that her Earthrealm opponents can lead her to answers."*

## Kombat Characteristics

### Powers and Abilities

Kitana relies mostly on her Steel Fans in battle, although she is more than adequate in unarmed hand-to-hand combat. She can use her fans as both a projectile and a melee weapon, as well as a means to levitate the opponent for a juggling combo. She can also throw her fans while airborne and execute a midair punch to counter other airborne foes. This made her one of the most powerful characters in *Mortal Kombat II*, and was subsequently toned down in later games. In *Armageddon*, she can also teleport and launch herself forward with a series of kicks to the opponent.

Throughout the series, she has been shown to be more powerful than her evil twin Mileena, and has defeated her several times. She is also a very strong leader; she succeeded in recruiting Sindel back to her side and convince her of Shao Kahn's evil during the events of *Mortal Kombat 3*, and has done the same to Goro in*Mortal Kombat Gold.*

## Movelist

### Signature Moves

* **Fan Throw:** Kitana throws one of her fans to her opponent. Because the move could be executed both on the ground and in mid-air, it was a great way to finish off a combo, making her a deadly character in *Mortal Kombat*.
	+ In *MK:U*, the enhanced version is called **Charged Fan**. Kitana throws one fan, and then on delay throws the second fan. You can further delay the second fan by charging. This will also increase the damage of the second fan by 1%.
	+ In *MK:A,*the enhanced version is called **Fan Toss**and Kitana throws two fans one by one.
* **Fan Lift:** Kitana uses her fans to make the opponent levitate helplessly in the air. This attack is served as both an anti-air attack and a set-up for juggle combos, and the effectiveness of the move has decreased significantly in each game since *Mortal Kombat*.
	+ In *MK:A*, the enhanced version is called **Uplift**. The windstorm will hold the enemy higher and for a larger amount of time.
	+ In *MKF*, the enhanced version keeps the opponent in the air for a longer time. The enhanced version of **Fan-Nado** is called **Fan Vortex**, in which the tornado will travel the whole screen to lift the opponent up.
* **Rising Fan:**Kitana slices the opponent with both of her fans, lifting them up.
	+ The enhanced version **Rising Blades**adds a second slice. It also has armor.
* **Throat Slice:**Kitana leaps at her opponent and slices his/her throat with her fans.
	+ The enhanced version is called **Throat Slash,** and deals more damage, also having armor.
* **Air Float:**Using her fans, Kitana lifts herself up while airborne.

####  Mournful

Gains unique Special Attacks utilizing Jade's Glaive and Staff. Jade's Glaive and staff are secured on her back and waist, respectively.

* **Glaive Throw:**Taking Jade's glaive, Kitana throws it at her opponent. It can be thrown also in an up- and downwards arc as well as in the air. This also replaces the **Fan Throw**.
	+ The enhanced version is called **Returning Glaive,**where the glaive returns and cuts the opponent again.
* **Shadow Kick:**Kitana slides across the arena and kicks the opponent. This move is borrowed from Jade.
	+ The enhanced version, **Eclipse Kick**, adds a slam with Jade's staff and has armor.
* **Staff Grab:**Using Jade's staff, she grabs the opponent by the chest and slams them behind her.
	+ The enhanced version is called **Staff Smash** and has armor.After grabbing the opponent, Kitana sticks the staff into the ground to lift them in the air and kicks them away with an upwards kick.

#### Royal Storm

Gains Fan-Nado, Bounce Back and Square Boost. Veil is removed, hair sticks emits a blue glow.

* **Square Boost:** Kitana jumps into the air and attacks incoming foes with a flying punch. This attack is borrowed from Sonya during her absence in *Mortal Kombat*, however, in later games that they have both appeared, both of them kept this attack (with the exception of *Deadly Alliance*, in which neither of them had this attack).
	+ Both in *MKII:E* and *MKII:O*, the enhanced version is called **Square Wave**. This increases the damage.
* **Bounce Back:**Spinning in a tornado, Kitana reflects all projectiles thrown at her back to the enemy, and they keep their original properties.

#### Assassin

Gains Assassin Strike, Princess Parry, and Sharpen. Attire is now prominently black, black face paint is added around her eyes.

* **Assassin Strike:**Kitana charges towards the opponent and once she reaches them, runs them up and impales their mouth with her fan.
	+ The enhanced version is called **Assassin Impale** and has armor. After Kitana stabs her opponent's mouth, she takes out the fan and impales their throat.
* **Princess Parry:**Going in a parry stance, Kitana will teleport over her opponent if hit, and stomps on them. She then stabs the opponent twice in their backhead, before delivering one last stab in their back.
* **Sharpen:**Kitana sharpens her fans by cutting them at each other, which gives her a damage boost for all fan attacks. It also changes **Assassin Strike**into **Assassin Impale**without the need of Super Meter, but this version lacks armor.
	+ The enhanced version **Razor Blade** has increased duration.

### Other Moves

* **Throw:**Kitana grabs her opponent, takes out one of her daggers and stabs her opponent in his/her chest, then takes out her other fan and slices him/her vertically.
* **Reverse Throw:** Kitana grabs her opponent, flip over his/her shoulder and slice him/her on the back with her fans.

### X-Ray Move

* **Fan-Tastic:** Kitana throws her fans. If they hit the opponent, she teleports behind them and lodges the fans into their skull dealing damage to it and the neck. She teleports again in front of her opponent and grabs the fans. Then she lodges them in her opponents eyes damaging them and the skull. (*MK 2011*) \*Note: This move could be a reference to Kitana's rabbit Animality as the first time the fans are lodged into the enemy's skull, he/she resembles a rabbit.

## Finishing Moves

### Fatalities

* **Kiss of Death:** Kitana removes her mask and kisses her opponent on the cheek, who expands like a huge balloon before exploding into pieces. In the Arcade and Saturn versions of *UMK3*, the opponent stretches to enormous size before exploding to pieces, while in SNES and Sega Genesis versions, only their head will inflate and they will fly off screen, after an explosion his bones and blood fall to the ground. In *Deadly Alliance*, the victim inflated several times (vomiting blood in between) before exploding, while in the Game Boy version, the opponent simply falls down and dies before vomiting blood and organs fall out. In *Shaolin Monks*, the opponent explodes without inflating. In *vs DC Universe*, the opponent swells up, and only their flesh explodes as their skeleton falls down on the ground. Kitana doesn't remove the mask before kissing since *MK:DA*.
* **Decapitation:** Kitana decapitates her opponent with her fan.

### Brutalities

* **Off the Top:** Kitana jumps on her opponent with a **Throat Slice** and slices their neck by opening her fans, decapitating them.
* **Biggest Fan:** Kitana performs **Rising Blades**, slicing her opponent upwards four times. The fourth slice splits the opponent completely in half.
* **All is On:** Kitana does a **Glaive Throw** aimed at the opponent's head, lodging it in their forehead. (*Mournful Variation*)
* **Back That Up:** Kitana jumps and does a **Square Boost**, venting herself right into the opponent with enough power to blow their upper half apart. (*Royal Storm Variation*)
* **Lost Girl:** Kitana lunges at her opponent with an **Assassin Impale**, stabbing their mouth and then the neck. She then violently pulls out the lodged fan, which decapitates the opponent. (*Assassin Variation*)
* **Right Back At Ya:** Kitana uses **Bounce Back** to reflect an enemy projectile back to them and mimic one of their brutalities (for example: Kung Jin's **A Little Heart** or Cassie Cage's **Between the Eyes**). (*Secret - Royal Storm Variation*)

## Sequences

### Battle Intro

Kitana teleports onto the battlefield with her fans up and says, "You will learn respect!" before she puts them away.

### Victory Pose

Kitana unfolds her fans, swings them around and then poses with both of them.

## Trivia

* Kitana's name is a combination of Japanese words *Kitsune* ("Fox") and *Katana*.[1]
* In her *MK vs. DC Universe* ending, Kitana was given Shang Tsung's abandoned island as a base of operations for her Edenian Resistance fighters. She had it changed to a "Bastion of Beauty and Light" and named it Argus Island, essentially the Themyscira of Edenia.
* Kitana's body can be seen in the introduction of *Mortal Kombat: Deception*, located on the stairs leading to the Soulnado.
* Kitana has a history of being repeatedly deceived and/or manipulated by villains throughout the series. She, during *Mortal Kombat II*, falsely believed Shao Kahn to be her father; in *Deception*, she was under the control of Onaga; in *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe*, Kitana was manipulated by both the rage sent by Dark Kahn, and then by Quan Chi; and in Shaolin Monks, Mileena and Jade put her under Shao Kahn's spell.
* Kitana's second color in *MKII* is gray. This color was recycled for *MK Trilogy's* Khameleon.
* Kitana has a "Kiss of Death" Fatality in every game but *Mortal Kombat (2011)* and *Mortal Kombat X*.
* Kitana is the most-seen female character in *Mortal Kombat (2011)'*s Story Mode. She appears in all chapters but three: Chapter 12, Chapter 13, and Chapter 14.
* When Kitana performs her X-Ray Move in *MK (2011)* on female characters, her fan's blades will go through the skull, but when she performs it on males, the blades will not go through the skull. However, when her X-Ray Moveis performed on Goro, Kintaro, or Shao Kahn, the blades will go through the skull.
* WWE Diva AJ Lee dressed as Kitana during a Halloween Costume Battle Royal as a homage to the character.
* Kitana's costume from the Samurai Pack DLC for *MKX*, called Jingu Kitana, is probably based on Empress Jingū, a legendary Japanese Empress and *onna bugeisha--*a female warrior who commonly fought alongside samurai.