5 Reasons Why I Love Mortal Kombat’s Mileena

For the past two years, Mortal Kombat X has been in the wings. Last year, the first trailer was revealed, and since then we have been in awe of the new characters, the slick design, the improved gameplay, the utterly sadistic fatalities, and most importantly, awaiting in breathless anticipation which of the classic MK cast would make it in.

On Friday February 27th 2015, a new trailer for the story was released, and it’s official. My favourite Mortal Kombat character of all time has been officially confirmed. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…Mileena.

Doesn’t she look amazing?!

And now, just because I’m so excited that I fear I may lapse into another episode where I actually think I’m her (I swear that this has actually happened. I have bipolar disorder, and sometimes things can get a little out of control, but y’know, don’t be scared or anything), allow me to talk about why I love Mileena quite so much.

1. She’s a role model for ostracised citizens everywhere

If you don’t follow Mortal Kombat, allow me to give you a little background on Mileena and her origins: she’s the sister of Kitana, who is the princess of Outworld, the fictional Mortal Kombat universe where most of the events take place. But when I say ‘sister’, I do not mean this in any conventional sense. She was created by the sorcerer Shang Tsung, and the intention was for Mileena to be a clone of Kitana, destroy her, and have Mileena take her place as princess. However, Mileena turned out horrifically wrong and ended up looking like the worst British stereotype on God’s green Earth.

Yikes.

But, does Mileena give a fuck? No, she gives none. She takes what she’s been given, and she kicks arse anyway. She knows she’s been dealt a cruel hand, but she teases, flirts, and wears the most outrageous outfits in MK history (more on that later). Basically, Mileena is not here for your shit. She is without fear, without doubt and clearly without a shred of self awareness. She is also without a conscience and will fuck you up if she feels this is necessary.

Personally, I admire that.

2. She’s an underdog.

She was originally only planned to appear in Mortal Kombat II, but due to her massive popularity in the game – she was largely regarded as one of the best fighters due to her immense speed, rapid teleport attacks and deadly combos – was brought back in Ultimate Mortal Kombat III and is now regarded as one of the most iconic characters in the history of fighting games. Not bad for someone who began as a palette swap of Kitana. UP YOURS, PRINCESS.

3. She was the first Mortal Kombat female to appear topless.

This is a genuine picture featured in an unlockable gallery in Mortal Kombat: Deception, created after Mileena was featured in a Playboy spread that promoted provocative video game characters.

Incredible.

4. Her moveset and general gameplay are absolutely phenomenal

It may not have changed much from MKII, but you don’t fix what isn’t broken. From her classic teleport kick, to her sneaky roll attack, and her unpredictable sai throwing, she added to her already deadly moveset in the re-booted MK9 with her savage bite attack and split kick combo. Seriously, is there anything not perfect about this woman?!

5. Her fatalities. Ah yes, her fatalities. 

So, stabbing her opponent to death with her sais was pretty brutal. And swallowing a whole packet of nails only to regurgitate them as bullets to immobilize her prey was not only unethical and medically defying, but also rather disturbingly awesome, was cool too. And bludgeoning her foe’s feet into the ground with her sais and then forcibly tearing their body asunder with her bare hands, well, I don’t really need to add anything to that, do I?

Then there’s this.