Jade (Mortal Kombat)
Encyclopedia
Jade is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting video game series. She debuted in Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II is a competitive fighting game originally produced by Midway Games for the arcades in . It is the second game in the Mortal Kombat series. Like its predecessor, various home versions were produced...

(1993), at first as an unplayable secret character
Secret character
A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...

 and became a player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

 in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, released in arcades in 1995. It is an update of Mortal Kombat 3 and was later updated again into Mortal Kombat Trilogy...

. Eventually, Jade became one of stalwart supporting characters, also featured in some of the related media and in merchandise in the Mortal Kombat franchise.

In video games

In Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat II is a competitive fighting game originally produced by Midway Games for the arcades in . It is the second game in the Mortal Kombat series. Like its predecessor, various home versions were produced...

, Jade was a mysterious hidden character with no part in the game's storyline whatsoever. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is an action/beat-em-up video game based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. Shaolin Monks was developed by Midway LA and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox...

, the 2005 beat'em-up retelling of MKII, she appears to fight against Liu Kang
Liu Kang
Liu Kang is a video game character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. First appearing in the series' first title, Liu Kang is portrayed as a Shaolin monk who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to save his world, Earthrealm, from being destroyed due to having lost nine consecutive...

 and Kung Lao
Kung Lao
Kung Lao is a player character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.Kung Lao is a former Shaolin monk and a former member of the White Lotus Society. He stands in the shadow of his great ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, but unlike his great ancestor he has no desire to be champion and would...

 alongside Mileena
Mileena
Mileena is a player and boss character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Mileena was originally known as the personal assassin of the Outworld's evil emperor Shao Kahn and twin sister of his stepdaughter Princess Kitana, but in a truth she is a deformed clone of her created by the sorcerer...

 and Kitana
Kitana (Mortal Kombat)
Kitana is a recurring player and a one-time boss character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. One of the lead characters of the Mortal Kombat saga, Kitana is the princess of the otherdimensional realm of Edenia and the daughter of Queen Sindel...

; when defeated, she is stabbed in the eyes with Mileena's two sai by the player's character, killing her.

Jade returns in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, released in arcades in 1995. It is an update of Mortal Kombat 3 and was later updated again into Mortal Kombat Trilogy...

(1996) in which her backstory as a fellow Edenian and long-time friend of Kitana is revealed. She once served as Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is a boss, announcer and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The main antagonist in the Mortal Kombat series, Shao Kahn is the Emperor of Outworld known for his godlike strength, extreme brutality and knowledge of black magic...

's elite assassin along with his adopted step-daughter Kitana (and later also Mileena). After Kitana was put on trial for Mileena's murder and escaped to the Earthrealm, Jade was ordered by Kahn to bring Kitana back to Outworld alive. However, he also sent his warrior Reptile
Reptile (Mortal Kombat)
Reptile is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat series of video games. Created for Midway Games by John Tobias and Ed Boon, Reptile debuted in Mortal Kombat as a hidden boss and appeared in subsequent titles as a playable character. The character has also appeared on various merchandise,...

 with Jade, ordering him to kill Kitana if necessary. The two located Kitana and Jade narrowly prevented Reptile from killing her. Convinced by Reptile's actions and Kitana's words, Jade turns against Kahn and aids Kitana in freeing her resurrected mother, Queen Sindel, from Kahn's mental control. The three later join with Kitana's Earthrealm allies to help defeat Shao Kahn.

After they liberate Edenia from Outworld, Jade serves Sindel and Kitana for years. Sometime after Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, originally known as Mortal Kombat V: Vengeance or simply Mortal Kombat 5, is a fighting game developed and published by Midway for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance...

, she witnesses the death, resurrection, and capture of Kitana and her allies by Onaga under an enslaving spell. In Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Deception is a fighting game developed and published by Midway as the sixth installment for the Mortal Kombat series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2004, while a Nintendo GameCube version was published in March 2005. Mortal Kombat: Deception follows the...

(2004), Jade rescues Sindel from imprisonment in the Edenian palace dungeon. They escape to Outworld, attempting to free Kitana from Onaga's sorcery. Jade also attempts to seek revenge against the traitorous Edenian Tanya. In the game's Konquest story mode she orders Shujinko to bring the Edenian traitor Rain to her.

In Mortal Kombat, the 2011 reboot of the series, Jade is is a member of Edenian noble family that served Shao Kahn once he conquered their realm, giving Jade to him as tribute when she was a child. After years of rigorous training and service as an assassin for Shao Kahn, Jade has earned a reputation as an agile and stealthy warrior, andwas awarded the position of a bodyguard to Princess Kitana. Over the centuries she and Kitana have become close friends. Under the emperor's orders, she at first fights the Earthrealm warriors, and later unsuccessully attempts to stop Kitana from learning the truth about her heritage, but eventually helps to free Kitana from captivity. Later, Jade joined also the Earthrealm warriors during the invasion of Earthrealm. However, when Sindel arrived, Jade was killed by Sindel. She was last shown in the Netherrealm, as one of the warriors resurrected and enslaved by Quan Chi.

Character design

Jade first appeared in Mortal Kombat II as one of the game's hidden characters along with Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He debuted as a hidden character in Mortal Kombat II , although the later game Mortal Kombat: Deception established his true identity as that of the original Sub-Zero, who was killed by his nemesis Scorpion after...

 and Smoke
Smoke (Mortal Kombat)
Smoke, whose real name is Tomas Vrbada, is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. First appearing as a hidden unplayable opponent in Mortal Kombat II, Smoke makes his playable debut in Mortal Kombat 3 as an unlockable character. While Smoke is human in MK2, he becomes a...

, at first as a green palette swap
Palette swap
A palette swap is a practice used in video games, whereby a graphic that is already used for one element is given a different palette, so it can be reused as other elements. The different palette gives the new graphic a unique set of colors, which make it recognizably distinct from the original...

 of Kitana with darker skin and different-colored fans. Since Ultimate MK3, Jade's weapon became a magical steel
Bo
-People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...

 staff (featured heavily in her Fatalities
Fatality (Mortal Kombat)
In the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, a Fatality is a finishing move that can be used against one's defeated opponent at the end of the final match, after the boss character says "Finish Him/Her." The Fatalities are usually lethal, featuring a brutal and morbid execution of the defenseless...

; in Deception it was turned into a spear) and bladed boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...

 projectiles, her Animality being a kitten. One of her new UMK3 attacks, a smoking kick, is a variant of Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage, whose real name is John Carlton, is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Cage is portrayed as a film actor who enters the game's tournament, and provides the comic relief of the franchise....

's classic Shadow Kick. In the Sega Genesis and Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 versions of the game, Jade's fighting stance is Mileena's and Kitana's, respectively. Jade's moves, along with these of Mileena and Kitana, were also used to create the composite character Khameleon in Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and published by Midway in 1996. It is a compilation of content from the previous Mortal Kombat titles, based primarily upon the gameplay mechanics of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3...

(who has Jade's moves if her name bar letters are green). Jade and Kitana are the only characters to have two additional "Klassic" costumes in the downloadable content for MK2011 (from MKII and UMK3).

Gameplay


When she was first introduced as a secret unlockable opponent in Mortal Kombat II, Jade possessed immunity to projectile attacks but otherwise her gameplay style was identical to Kitana's. Jade has become playable since Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but she is non-playable in Shaolin Monks. In UMK3, Jade was a powerful character and her unique invincible to projectiles was kept, becoming a special move.

According to Sega Saturn Magazine
Sega Saturn Magazine
Sega Saturn Magazine was a monthly UK magazine dedicated to the Sega Saturn. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and as such some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, called Sega Flash, which included playable games and game footage...

, "Jade's variety of projectile attacks makes her a difficult character to get near, and her invincibility can make her tricky to get away"; she also "has got some devastating combo
Combo
Combo may refer to:*A small musical ensemble, especially in jazz*Combo Waterhole, a real location in Australia, believed to be the inspiration for Waltzing Matilda...

 attacks" and is especially hard to play against the CPU-controlled opponent. According to GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

, Jade and Noob Saboit in Trilogy are "incredibly overpowered, with moves that run from rendering projectiles ineffective to making characters momentarily powerless". In Mortal Kombat (2011), the classic varsion of Jade is the final hidden character.

In other media

In Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...

' 1995 Mortal Kombat miniseries Battlewave, the comic version of Jade is an evil assassin serving Shao Kahn's command. She is showing no relation or ties with Kitana and always paired with Smoke (an image of them is the cover of Mortal Kombat Battlewave #3: "No Guts, No Glory"), unsuccessfully trying to kill Jax and then Johnny Cage. Introducing herself as "Jade, storm warrior", she also attempts to redeem herself by slaying Raiden during the comic book miniseries Rayden [sic] and Kano, also appearing along with Smoke.

Jade was originally set to appear in the unfilmed scene in the first live-action Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (film)
Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American action and adventure film directed by Paul Anderson. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the film was the first part of the Mortal Kombat film series...

 movie's original screenplay. In it, Jade is described as "a diminutive woman dressed in an ornate Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...

", whose weapon is a stiletto hidden in her hair bun
Bun
A bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....

. Jade duels Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade is a player character from the Mortal Kombat series. She is portrayed in the games as an officer of the United States Special Forces.-In video games:...

 and quickly loses. Jade appears on screen in the second movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...

(1997), portrayed by the Siberian-born model Irina Pantaeva
Irina Pantaeva
Irina Pantaeva is a former model and actress.Pantaeva was born in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, Russian SFSR. She is an ethnic Buryat. In 1992, she moved to Paris to become a model...

 in a role of "a beautiful refugee from Outworld". The film version of Jade secretly remains loyal to Shao Kahn and her relationship with Kitana is not explored at all. Jade appears to test Liu Kang and attempts to seduce him, later leading the other Earthrealm warriors to an ambush. When she fails to defeat his enemies, Shao Kahn has her eaten by a gargoyle in his palace.

Jade appears in the novelizations of both feature films. Her role in the 1995 Mortal Kombat novel by Martin Delrio
Martin Delrio
Martín Antonio Del Rio or Martin Antoine Del Rio was a Jesuit theologian of Spanish descent. He wrote, among other books, Disquisitionum magicarum libri sex, a work on magic and the occult...

 is very minor as Jade (described as a long-haired Asian woman in a green silk dress with and covered in tigera and dragon tattoos, wielding two half-moon daggers) is killed with a single kick by Sonya Blade after being tricked into returning the bow of respect (this happens the same time Liu Kang fights Kitana). Jade's role in Jerome Preisler's 1997 novelization of Annihilation is similar as she first tries to seduce Liu Kang and later lures the Earthrealm warriors into a trap. In it, Jade is described as "absolutely, stunningly beautiful", as "bulky animal skins in which she was wrapped only seemed to accentuate the long, seductive, length of her body", and turns out to be Kitana's former lover. In the end, she is put to death by the enraged Shao Kahn, who first strangles her and then feeds her to a living stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 window creature.

Promotion and merchandise

In 2005, Jade represented the cast of Mortal Kombat: Deception in G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...

s program "Girls Gone Wired", making "a special virtual appearance" in the form of a CG-graphics Jade hosting the show and introducing herself as of being better than Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...

. In 2011, a "free exclusive Jade character costume download" for the PS3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 version of the reboot game was featured as part of promotional content in the Blu-ray release of the two (sold separately) Mortal Kombat feature films.

A figurine of Jade came in the MKII set with a special issue (featuring also the cover story "Jade: a warrior of mystery") of the Argentinian magazine Top Kids in 1995. Two different action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...

s (basic and 10-inch models, each with different featured weapons) were released by Toy Island in 1996-1998 as part of the collections for Mortal Kombat: Trilogy. A 1/6 scale limited-edition statue of Jade in her primary costume from MK2011 was announced to be released in the Mortal Kombat Enchanted Warriors line by Syco Collectibles in 2011. She is also featured in the collectibe card games Mortal Kombat Kard Game
Mortal Kombat Kard Game
Mortal Kombat Kard Game is a collectible card game released in 1995 by BradyGames in cooperation with Midway Games. It is based on the Mortal Kombat video game series, it however did not contain excessive violence like its video game counterparts.-Game:...

as a common character (depicted as having curly hair) and in Epic Battles
Epic Battles
Epic Battles is a collectible card game by Score Entertainment released in September 2005. Gameplay attempts to emulate a traditional fighting game experience and features characters and attacks from several different franchises....

as one the rare characters.

Reception


Jade received most of critical attention due to her sex appeal. According to UGO.com, "Jade seems to fetishize Eastern culture. ... She is a paradox: equal parts exotic slave girl and Asian princess, her most powerful weapon being her sexuality. She's the mystical, foreign black widow, a relic of post-war pulp novels
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...

." In G4's 2005 Video Game Vixens
Video Game Vixens
Video Game Vixens was a special four-part TV show hosted by Hal Sparks on G4 that featured what the network considered to be "the sexiest female video game characters of the year." It debuted in June 2005...

beauty pageant's "Sexiest Finish" contest, Jade won the third place out of five contestants (the winner being Summer from Outlaw Golf 2) and was awarded the score of 8.7/10. While comparing the Mortal Kombat characters to the seven deadly sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...

 in Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's epic poem Divine Comedy.Dante's Inferno may also refer to:* Dante's Inferno , a silent film about a slum landlord sent to hell...

in 2011, GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...

's Chris Holt chose Jade to represent Lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...

. Same year, GameFront's editor Phil Owen noted her popularity among the more attractive cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

ers and wrote: "Jade, I love you". Unreality included Jade on the 2011's list of The Eight Hottest Mortal Kombat Fighters. Complex ranked her as the number one on the 2011's list of The 25 Best Looking Sideline Chicks in Games, stating their preference of her over Kitana, Mileena and Sonya, and also comparing her staff to a "stripper pole" and applauding her Fatality in MK2011 as "the stuff of horrors".

In 2010, Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...

included one of her finishing moves in Deception, "Head Gymnastics", on the list of the best Fatalities so far. In 2011, Complex noted the viciousness of Jade's crotch attack special move showcased in a Jade-on-Mileena gameplay trailer.
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