| Mileena | |
| Series: | Mortal Kombat |
| Firstgame: | Mortal Kombat II (1993)[1] |
| Creator: | Ed Boon John Tobias |
| Species: | Edenian-Tarkatan clone (1st – 2nd timelines) Edenian-Tarkatan (3rd timeline) |
| Origin: | Outworld |
| Weapon: | Sai, teeth |
Mileena is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in Mortal Kombat II (1993), Mileena was initially depicted as a clone of the Edenian princess Kitana, created by Shang Tsung with the blood of the fictional Tarkatan species, and raised alongside her "sister". Following the time-travelling actions of Raiden in Mortal Kombat 9 (2011), Mileena's background as a Tarkatan clone of Kitana remains the same, although she was only recently awoken, rather than raised alongside Kitana. Mortal Kombat X (2015) depicts her attempts to regain her throne as Empress of Outworld, following her overthrow by Kotal Kahn.
In a third timeline, created by Liu Kang and depicted in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), significant changes were made to Mileena's character and background. Rather than a clone, Mileena is the biological daughter of Sindel and the older twin sister of Kitana, making her heir to the throne. However, she was infected with the Tarkat disease that results in her developing the deformed facial features of the Tarkatan race, which she conceals with a mask.
Mileena is featured as a prominent villain throughout the series and uses a pair of sai as her primary weapons. Despite some criticism for her revealing character designs, Mileena has received a positive reception for her unique appearance and personality. She has been featured in various media outside of the games and is one of the franchise's most popular characters.
Mortal Kombat co-creator and producer Ed Boon described Mileena and Kitana as the "female versions of Scorpion and Sub-Zero", two palette-swapped ninja characters from the original game.[2] Character creator John Tobias chose Mileena's name as he felt "it had a pleasant sound to it, which either helped hide her grotesque appearance or exposed a hidden inner beauty", while hers and Kitana's storylines were borne from "the conflicts of sibling rivalry and rebelling against authority".[3] Mileena's signature weapon in the series is a pair of sai, along with recurring teleport-kick and ground-rolling-attack special moves while she utilizes either her sai or cannibalistic tendencies in most of her Fatalities. She typically wears pink or purple.[4]
Mileena was portrayed by martial artist Katalin Zamiar in Mortal Kombat II,[5] and as a palette-swapped character, she was physically identical to Kitana and hidden character Jade save for her pink outfit and large gnashing teeth, which were created only for one of her Fatalities in which Mileena consumes her defeated opponent and spits out their bones.[6] She was excluded from Mortal Kombat 3 along with the series' other ninja characters, but returned in the upgrade Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, in which the female ninjas were played by Becky Gable.[7] In October 2004, Midway Games character artist Pav Kovacic created an illustration of Mileena in a topless alternate costume for Mortal Kombat: Deception, which was unlocked by players in the game.[8] Her motion capture actors for 3D games have included Carlos Pesina in Deception and Armageddon, but in MK2011 she was played by a female actor.[9] In Mortal Kombat X, her facial appearance was redesigned in which she has a human-like mouth with her facial deformities relocated to her cheeks.[10] Her alternate costume in the 2011 reboot is composed of bandages wrapped around her otherwise naked form.[11]
Mileena is considered one of the top characters of Mortal Kombat II. She was ranked as the game's best overall fighter by Sega Visions for her high speed, reach, and her teleport kick when used to dodge opposing projectiles.[12] Super Play too called her "the best MKII character" as she is "fast, with a good range of attacks, and the potential for the most awesome combos in the game."[13] C+VG ruled Mileena's teleport kick as "the best surprising move in the game."[14] According to CU Amiga, Mileena was "third only to Jax and Liu Kang for sheer brilliance," being a "somewhat misleading character" whose moves need to be "learnt the right way to put them all together to be devastating."[15] Hyper magazine wrote that in the hands of skilled players, Mileena was "almost unstoppable."[16] GamePro testers opined in 1994, "With her rapid sai-throwing ability, teleport attacks, and deadly combos, this beautiful assassin lands atop our rankings."[17]
Mileena is a hidden unlockable character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3,[18] but is immediately playable in the compilation game Mortal Kombat Trilogy. According to Nintendo Power, her original powers "may prove insufficient" for using her with the same effectiveness in UMK3, in which most of the other characters were given additional special moves.[19] On the other hand, Total 64 wrote that Mileena in Trilogy was "a damn good fighter [with] plenty of powerful moves".[20]
According to GameSpy, Mileena in Deception has "a few solid combos up her sleeve, as well as a few pop-up attacks that are extremely quick and open up brief juggle opportunities," but a very short range of her sai and poorly ranged attacks.[21] Prima Games' official guide for Mortal Kombat Armageddon called her a "punisher" type character, but while she "is able to punish from any range and even interrupt high attacks and projectiles, the damage she inflicts is minor."[22] Mileena is not playable in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks wherein she only appears as a sub-boss character.
In the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, Mileena was judged to be well-balanced and universal by Prima Games, displaying neither particular weaknesses nor advantages that would result in a one-sided battle.[23] In Mortal Kombat X, Mileena's fighting style is split into three variations like those of the game's other playable characters. Prima Games commented that she possessed "several great ways to stop opponents from jumping toward her," but she is "not as safe as some of the other characters, which means she has to take a few risks."[24]
Making her series debut in Mortal Kombat II (1993), Mileena is a horrific clone of Kitana, who was once the princess of the fictional realm of Edenia until Shao Kahn, evil emperor of the dimension of Outworld, forcibly annexes the realm and takes Kitana as his own daughter.[25] To keep her from learning about her past, Kahn orders the sorcerer Shang Tsung to create a clone for the purpose of spying on Kitana and ensuring her loyalty to Kahn, and to replace her if necessary.[26] [27] However, Shang Tsung combines Kitana's genetics with that of the brutish Tarkatan race,[26] resulting in Mileena having the latter's characteristic mouth of razor-sharp teeth that she conceals with a mask.[27] In their adulthood, Mileena and Kitana are employed as Kahn's personal assassins in his battle against the Earth defenders.[28]
In Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), Mileena is killed by Kitana and damned to the subterranean Netherrealm, where she swears fealty to the realm's ruler, Shinnok. Shao Kahn resurrects her in his effort to defeat Earth's warriors while granting her the ability to read Kitana's thoughts.[29] In Mortal Kombat Gold (1999; a home-console update of Mortal Kombat 4), Mileena assists Shinnok and his cohort, the evil necromancer Quan Chi, in his invasion of Edenia and the imprisonment of Kitana. But when their forces then leave the realm to focus their attack on Earth, the resulting lax security enables Kitana to escape.[30]
Mileena is a focal point of the storyline of (2004). She herself is jailed by Kitana for years until the Dragon King Onaga (the game's final boss) invades Kitana's homeland of Edenia and kills her, along with Earth's other defenders.[31] After Mileena is freed by her ally Baraka, she is ordered by Onaga to pose as Kitana in order to confuse and misdirect his enemies.[26] However, as Mileena begins the game's titular deception, she develops a hidden agenda and opts to take control of both Edenia's forces and Onaga's undead army for herself. In the game's training mode, Mileena tutors the game's main protagonist Shujinko in combat.[32]
In (2006), Mileena seizes Shao Kahn's fortress while still disguised as Kitana, intending to wait until she feels Edenia's forces are ready to serve her under her true identity. However, when Kahn resurfaces to resume his rule of Outworld, she is forced to reveal herself and willingly surrenders to him. She captures and incarcerates Shujinko under Kahn's orders in order to coerce Onaga into joining forces with Kahn, all while secretly plotting to take Edenia's throne for herself.[33] In the game's opening cinematic sequence, she is killed by Shang Tsung during the titular Armageddon amongst the series' then-entire playable roster in their attempt to gain final boss character Blaze's elemental powers.[34]
The thunder god and Earth protector Raiden alters the timeline to prevent Armageddon in Mortal Kombat (2011), which reboots the series' first three titles. During the events of the second Mortal Kombat tournament, Mileena is created from Edenian and Tarkatan genetics by Shang Tsung in his "Flesh Pit" laboratory to serve as Kitana's replacement and Shao Kahn's "true daughter" after Kitana learns of her past.[35] Mileena's physical and mental instability leads Kahn to instead use her to lure and devour her victims.[36]
Mileena plays a significant role in the plot of Mortal Kombat X (2015).[37] Prior to the game's events in the story mode, she has taken over the rule of Outworld after Shao Kahn is killed by Raiden.[38] However, she is overthrown by new ruler Kotal Kahn and his allies — Ermac, Reptile, and new character D'Vorah — after it is revealed that Mileena is a genetic creation and unrelated to Shao Kahn by blood.[39] Refusing to accept this, she set out to acquire Shinnok's amulet in the hopes of using its power to reclaim her throne. In the present, Mileena's failed assassination attempt on Kotal leads to her capture, but she uses Shinnok's amulet to survive her execution. She is later re-apprehended by D'Vorah and Special Forces operative Cassie Cage. D'Vorah takes back the amulet and executes Mileena on Kotal's orders.[31]
Mileena was initially omitted from Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), but due to heavy fan demand,[40] she was added to the roster in November 2020 as part of a "Kombat Pack" of downloadable characters.[41] In the game's expanded Aftermath story mode, Mileena originates from the past during the second MK tournament, having been brought to the present by the keeper of time Kronika, the game's main antagonist, and learning of her future self's death.[42] [43] Her arcade ending shows her in a relationship with Edenian warrior Tanya and raising a child together.[44]
Mileena appears as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).[45] After Fire God Liu Kang creates a second new timeline, she is rewritten to become Kitana's biological elder twin sister, daughter of Empress Sindel and Emperor Jerrod, crown princess of Outworld, and lover of Umgadi warrior Tanya. Additionally, Mileena secretly suffers from the Tarkat virus, a disease that slowly transforms the afflicted into feral monsters, with a serum developed by Shang Tsung keeping it at bay. While helping Liu Kang foil Titan Shang Tsung's plot to absorb their timeline, Mileena defeats Ermac, allowing Jerrod's soul to take control, but loses Sindel, who appoints Mileena her successor before dying. Following Titan Shang Tsung's defeat, Mileena becomes empress of Outworld and works to mend relations with others who share her condition.
Mileena appeared briefly in the 1997 feature film Mortal Kombat Annihilation, played by martial artist Dana Hee and identified by name only in the closing credits.[46] Sisi Stringer played Mileena in the 2021 reboot film Mortal Kombat, in which the character serves as Shang Tsung's main enforcer.[47]
Megan Brown played Mileena in one episode of the 1998 syndicated television series , in which she has no direct relation to Kitana.[48] [49]
In director Kevin Tancharoen's web series , Mileena was played in the 2011 first season by martial artist Jolene Tran in her acting debut.[50] She and Kitana are featured in a two-part episode that features both animated and live-action sequences. Mileena is shown sparring against Kitana and losing to her, causing her to kill and devour a palace guard in a fit of insanity. She later kills Kitana's father, King Jerrod, on Shao Kahn's orders.[51] Michelle Lee played the character in one episode of the 2013 second season, in which she defeats Johnny Cage during the Mortal Kombat tournament before she is killed by Kitana.[52]
Mileena appears in the Mortal Kombat Annihilation novelization, and has a brief role in a Mortal Kombat II comic book prequel that was written and illustrated by series co-creator John Tobias and served to introduce the game's new characters.[53] She is a recurring minor character in Malibu Comics' Mortal Kombat series, appearing in the miniseries Goro: Prince of Pain (1994) and Battlewave (1995).[54] [55] She and Kitana were additionally featured in their own 1995 one-shot issue, Kitana and Mileena: Sister Act.[56] In DC Comics' 2015 Mortal Kombat X prequel miniseries set before the events of the game, Mileena battles Kotal Kahn for the Outworld throne before they temporarily join forces to stop Reiko, Havik, and the Red Dragon clan.[57] The Outworld and Earth heroes are successful in defeating them at the series' conclusion, but Mileena nonetheless loses the Outworld throne when Ermac, her lone ally, pledges his allegiance to Kahn.[58] Writer Shawn Kittelsen explained in a 2015 interview, "Kotal didn’t overthrow Mileena in some macho power play; he overthrew her out of genuine concern for the safety and well being of Outworld and its citizens."[59]
Mileena was one of several Mortal Kombat characters featured in their own special issue of the Argentinian magazine Top Kids.[60] The character has been licensed for action figures,[61] Halloween costumes,[62] [63] [64] and statuettes by Syco Collectibles[65] and Pop Culture Shock Collectibles,[66] [67] The 2011 compilation album included a track by electronica musician Tokimonsta titled "Mileena's Theme".[68]
Mileena has made several homage cameo appearances outside of the Mortal Kombat franchise, including in the comic book series Gen13 in 1995,[69] in the episode "Another Bad Thanksgiving" of the animated series The Cleveland Show in 2010, and in a comedy sketch by Animation Domination High-Def in 2015.
According to People, "Mileena" proved a popular baby name in 2015.[70] In November 2020, rapper Megan Thee Stallion dressed up as Mileena to promote the character's addition as downloadable content in Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate Edition.[71]
Mileena's debut appearance in Mortal Kombat II was met with a favorable critical reception and made her one of the series' most recognizable characters. Nintendo Power, in 1994, characterized her as "beautiful, graceful, beguiling and strong, but most of all, deadly."[72] UGO cited her then-rare presence as an evil female player character in the series while stating that her brutal attacks and "slutty" outfits made her a fan favorite.[73] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek commented in 2015, "Mortal Kombat gets some well-deserved guff for the way the female characters are over-sexualized, but I always thought it was pretty funny of them to focus the male gaze on the monster-faced woman."[74] CraveOnline's Dread Central called her "without question" one of the "most beloved" characters in the Mortal Kombat universe.[75]
In spite of her disfigured face, Mileena is noted for her sex appeal. Larry Hester of Complex wrote in 2012, "Mileena is what some guys would call a 'paper bagger'" due to the stark contrast between her body and her mouth.[76] She was one of the most searched game characters on Pornhub in 2016.[77]
Mileena has been renowned as a notable female villain in video gaming.[78] [79] Hanuman Welch of Complex described her as a "deadly mixture of Kitana's agility and seduction, and Baraka's impulsive behavior."[80] Márcio Pacheco Alexsandro of Brazil's GameHall called Mileena "beautiful and monstrous" and adding that there was nothing more "cool" than a ninja who is both sexy and insane.[81]
An often commented, and referenced, aspect of Mileena is her cannibalistic tendencies. The University of Sydney's Kate Robertson analyzed Mileena's cannibalism as one of examples how "the connection between women and cannibalism reflects the common trope of the danger inherent within the female body" regarding "allure, fear and revulsion provoked by such a display of female power."[82] X360 chose her MK2011 Fatality, "in which she tears a man's head off then chows down upon it," to represent cannibalism on their list of the top ten video game crimes.[83] GamesMaster opined one "simply cannot watch" Mileena decapitate an opponent "and then take repeated bites out of his face ... without deeply desiring this game."[84] In 2015, Andrea Subissati from horror magazine Rue Morgue selected "making out with Mileena" as one of the best Fatalities in the 23 years of Mortal Kombat.[85]
Mileena was described by Computer and Video Games as "equally erotic and repulsive."[86] According to IGN, "at first blush she seems like your quintessential sultry video-game vixen, but the mask comes off and she's got a gaping mouth filled to the brim with dagger-like teeth." Comparing the Mortal Kombat characters to the seven deadly sins in Dante's Inferno, Chris Holt of GamePro chose Mileena to represent Envy.[87] Virgin Media included her on their list of the ten "game girls you wouldn't dare to date" for being attractive "until she rips off her veil and reveals her monstrous form beneath."[88]
Mileena was noted for her alternate costume apparel, in particular, her unmasked and near-naked "Flesh Pits" outfit from MK2011 as reported by Destructoid's Hamza Aziz.[11] Other writers also found such design ridiculous and unfitting for a fighting game character.[89] [90] [91] Kotaku's Patrick Klepek, in 2015, recalled hearing about "Mileena’s sexuality" while playing the game at arcades.[92]
Mileena was one of the characters cited by Guy Aoki as allegedly perpetuating existing stereotypes of Asians as martial arts experts.[93] In their 1996 book Interacting With Video, which condemned the violence of video games as supposedly affecting social behavior and causing real-life violence, Patricia Marks Greenfield and Rodney R. Cocking used the "two Asian twin sisters, Mileena and Kitana," as an example of a "highly eroticized dragon lady" trope, with Mileena's "Man-Eater" Fatality described as "a high-powered kiss that evokes vagina dentata." The authors wrote that despite the inclusion of "characters of color" such as the two and Jax, "we cannot assume that this greater diversity represents a more progressive identity politics, for one could argue that it merely increases the racist and sexist potential of individual fights."[94]
Some commentators admitted that they found themselves too distracted by her mouth. Joystiq's Alexander Sliwinski wrote about Mileena that instead of "focusing on her fighting style, or assets," they simply could not "get past one thing: how does she pronounce the letter P without touching her lips together?"[95] [96]