Jade (Mortal Kombat)

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Jade
Mortal Kombat character
File:Jade Mortal Kombat 11.jpg
Jade in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019)
First appearanceMortal Kombat II (1993)
Created byEd Boon
John Tobias
Designed by
Various
  • John Tobias (MKII, UMK3, MKT)
  • Jennifer L. Parsons (Annihilation)
  • Jennifer Hedrick (MK:D, MK:A)
  • Mark Lappin (MK:SM)
  • Atomhawk Design (MK9)[1]
Portrayed byIrina Pantaeva (Annihilation)
Voiced by
Various
Motion capture
Various
  • Katalin Zamiar (MKII)
  • Becky Gable (UMK3, MKT, MKA)[5]
  • Brenda Barrie (MK9)[6]
  • Alexis Gaube (MK11)
In-universe information
SpeciesEdenian, Revenant (MKX and MK11)
WeaponSteel Fans (MKII), Bo
OriginEdenia

Jade is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in Mortal Kombat II (1993) as a hidden opponent and first became playable in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995). Her primary weapon is a steel bō staff.

In the story of the games, Jade is the childhood friend of Edenian princess Kitana. She first appears as an assassin for Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, but due to her friendship with Kitana, she supports the princess' rebellion against Shao Kahn to liberate the realms he conquered. While Jade also appears in various media outside of the games, the character has received mixed critical reception.

Conception and development

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon initially conceived Jade as "an evil version of Kitana" for her introduction in Mortal Kombat II, where she is a fightable-only opponent.[7] The idea for Jade as a secret boss came about after they had finished recording the actors to create digitized sprites. Due to Reptile's inclusion as a secret character in the previous game, series co-creator John Tobias felt including hidden characters in the game was part of its mystique. A palette swap of the character Kitana, Tobias created Jade's color scheme, while developer Tony Goskie created the "peeking" images for the character in the game's forest level to hint at her existence. When the character was made playable in later installments, Tobias developed her backstory.[8]

Appearances

Mortal Kombat games

In Mortal Kombat II (1993), Jade was a hidden character who played no part in the game's storyline other than appearing at the start of random fights to drop cryptic clues on how to access her, with players having to then meet specific requirements during gameplay in order to fight Jade in a secret battle. She is a green palette swap of Kitana with darker skin, and fights with increased speed and a pair of gold fans.

Jade makes her official debut as a playable character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995); an upgrade of Mortal Kombat 3 in which she was written as being one of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's elite assassins along with his adopted stepdaughter Kitana, with whom she shared a close friendship.[9] After Kitana flees to Earthrealm after killing Mileena, Shao Kahn orders Jade to bring Kitana back to him alive; forcing her to choose between disobeying her superior or betraying her close friend.

Jade is not playable again until Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004). She witnesses the deaths of Kitana and the thunder god Raiden's chosen fighters at the hands of the Deadly Alliance (Shang Tsung and Quan Chi) and their subsequent resurrection by the Dragon King Onaga. Jade is forced to imprison a brainwashed Kitana in the Edenian palace dungeon before freeing Sindel and escaping with her to Outworld, while seeking revenge against traitorous fellow Edenian Tanya, who had allied herself with Onaga. In Sindel's non-canonical ending, she and Jade locate Onaga's tomb when he sends Kitana after them. Jade battles her friend before Sindel kills Onaga, breaking Kitana from his spell and returning peace to Edenia.[10]

In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the 2005 beat 'em up action-adventure spinoff that retold the events of MKII, she engages Shaolin warriors Liu Kang and Kung Lao in a fight alongside Mileena and a brainwashed Kitana, and loses against them.

In Mortal Kombat, the 2011 reboot of the series, Jade was born into Edenian royalty that served Shao Kahn after he conquered the realm. Jade served as bodyguard to Princess Kitana and the two became close friends, but was under orders to kill Kitana should she become disloyal to Kahn. They initially fight against the Earthrealm warriors, but Jade soon becomes suspicious of Kitana when she attempts to discover her true heritage, which in turn leads to her capture when she confronts Shao Kahn after coming across a grotesque clone of herself named Mileena. Jade changes allegiances and helps the Earthrealm warriors free Kitana from captivity. She later joins them as they prepare to fend off Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm. As Raiden and Liu Kang commune with the Elder Gods, the Lin Kuei ninja clan and Sindel attack; killing Jade and several of her allies before they are resurrected as undead revenants and enslaved in the Netherealm by Quan Chi.[11]

Jade was not included in Mortal Kombat X (2015), with Kitana shown using Jade's weapons in one of her three gameplay variations.[12]

Jade, as a revenant, returns in Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), serving under Kitana and Liu Kang's revenant forms in the Netherrealm after they became its new rulers in MKX as well as servant to the keeper of time Kronika.[13][14] Due to her plans to erase Raiden from history however, a time anomaly she created inadvertently brought past versions of Jade and Kitana to the present. The two lend their support to its new ruler Kotal Kahn, with whom Jade shared a romantic history with before she died.[15] While helping him track down a time-displaced Shao Kahn, during which they encountered Jade's revenant, Kotal's hatred for all Tarkatans led Jade to beat him down before he killed innocent Tarkatans and left them both vulnerable to being captured by their quarry.[16] She is later rescued by Kitana and joins her united Outworld army in confronting Shao Kahn. After Kitana becomes the new Kahn of Outworld,[17] she and Jade take part in the final battle against Kronika and their revenant counterparts alongside the combined Earthrealm/Outworld armies.[18][19]

Jade is, once again, absent from Mortal Kombat 1. She is only mentioned in some of the character intros.

Design

Jade was played by martial artist Katalin Zamiar, who also portrayed Kitana and Mileena, but Zamiar did not return for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 due to legal issues with Midway,[20] and was replaced by Becky Gable for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.[21] Jade was given her own weapon, a bo staff, to further separate her from Kitana and Mileena.[7]

Like their male ninja counterparts in the Mortal Kombat games, Kitana, Mileena and Jade evolved considerably from their original palette swap designs in the three-dimensional titles, receiving distinct new designs and other features. John Vogel, who worked on story and animations for Mortal Kombat: Deception, described Jade therein as "more of stealthy ninja type of character. She's the one who sneaks around and gets information, and carries out covert activities."[7] Much like most of the female characters, Jade was given a more revealing costume in Mortal Kombat 9, only to receive a more conversative costume again upon her return in Mortal Kombat 11.[22]

For Mortal Kombat X, Jade's special attacks were given to Kitana for her "Mournful" gameplay variation, described in the game as her paying tribute to "her fallen best friend" by "employing the weapons of the deceased master assassin."[23]

Gameplay

In Mortal Kombat II, Jade used Kitana's weapons,[24] in particular her "Fan Throw",[25] but was extremely fast and immune to projectile attacks.[25] With her Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 debut, Jade's primary weapon became a magical steel bō staff, which was also used in her Fatalities, mostly for impaling her opponents. Her projectile attack in the game was a three-pronged boomerang that players could shoot in three different forward directions through varying joystick and button combinations.[26] Jade's body-propel attack, a kick that sees her encased in a smoking green glow, is a variant of Johnny Cage's Shadow Kick.[27][28] Sega Saturn Magazine's guide to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 described her specials as leading into "some devastating combo attacks," adding that she was especially hard to win against as the CPU-controlled opponent.[27]

Jade's moves, along with these of Mileena and Kitana, were used in Mortal Kombat Trilogy to create the hidden composite character Khameleon.[29] In their 1997 review of the game, GameSpot described both Jade and Noob Saibot in Trilogy as being "incredibly overpowered, with moves that run from rendering projectiles ineffective to making characters momentarily powerless."[30] She was a non-playable boss character in Shaolin Monks, fighting alongside both Kitana and Mileena.[31] Prima Games rated Jade an overall score of seven out of ten, higher than Kitana and Mileena, for the 2006 compilation title Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, in which she was playable along with the entire Mortal Kombat roster.[32] For the 2011 reboot, Prima opined that her "speed, safe attacks, and savvy combo abilities put her near the top of the cast."[33]

Other appearances

Jade has a minor role in the novelization of the 1995 live-action film Mortal Kombat,[34] but did not appear in the film.

Jade is a supporting character in the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and was portrayed by Siberian-born supermodel and actress Irina Pantaeva, making her English-language film debut.[35] She has no past relationship nor any interaction with Kitana in the film, and she secretly remains loyal to Shao Kahn while pretending to aid the Earthrealm warriors in her attempt to lead them into an ambush. Pantaeva underwent six months' fight training prior to shooting.[36] In a 1997 interview with Femme Fatales magazine, Pantaeva stated "I loved my character so much that I [could] not get away from her."[36]

In the Mortal Kombat comic book series published by Malibu Comics, Jade was a recurring character in the 1995 miniseries Battlewave,[37] in which she is simply an evil assassin serving Shao Kahn and had no connection to Kitana or her homeland.

Jade appeared in the 2021 animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, and was voiced by Emily O'Brien.[4]

A Jade figurine was included with a 1995 special issue of Argentinian magazine Top Kids that featured a cover story titled "Jade: mystery warrior".[38] A 1:6 scale limited-edition character statue was released in the Mortal Kombat "Enchanted Warriors" line by Syco Collectibles in 2012.[39]

Reception

Gavin Jasper at Den of Geek praised her hidden fight in Mortal Kombat II, but felt "she doesn't really bring anything to the table afterwards" until Mortal Kombat 11. There he enjoyed her romance with Kotal, and called it "a fresh romantic pairing that made sense and added a little bit of hope to Mortal Kombat 9's tragedy and the nihilism of Kronika's" plot.[40] Julian Beauvais of CBR was positive on Jade's playstyle, but mixed on her storyline, stating "For most of her time in the franchise, Jade has pretty much been defined as being the best friend of Kitana. In a series where lasting friendships are rare, that’s a cool little detail, but it also puts Jade in a role that makes her seem secondary to the princess."[41] Stuart Glover of Gaming Bolt was more positive on Jade's story, stating "it's one of the more interesting of Mortal Kombat’s tertiary characters."[42]

In Art Imitates Life: The Representation (Or Lack Thereof) of Black Women in Video Games, author Bug Gadson was critical of Jade's role in the Mortal Kombat series, examining "Her only role in the Mortal Kombat narrative is a servant." When discussing the scene in Mortal Kombat 9's story mode where Sindel kills several characters, Gadson points out "Jade's death is the most gruesome in the entire cutscene; her white and male counterparts are only put down with punches and kicks. Her master, Kitana, is merely shoved away. Jade's stomach is ripped out of her body as she tries to protect her."[43] UGO Networks author Chris Plante questioned if Jade is a "crude stereotype," and added "She is 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."[44] Chad Hunter of Complex chose Jade, along with Kitana, to represent the "women who fight" stereotype in his 2012 list of the fifteen most stereotypical characters in video games, describing them as "half-naked skanks who can fight, hurl lasers and perform aerobatic attacks while wearing thongs, high-heeled boots and keeping their giant breasts under scarves", and claiming that this has caused "female gamers [to] slide away from this series."[45]

Princess Weekes at The Mary Sue, in response to complaints about Jade's more conservative design in Mortal Kombat 11, stated "It's silly because the design is bad, their bodies are designed poorly, and it doesn’t add anything to the character. Plus, maybe this is just me, but in fighting games, part of the sex appeal of the characters is watching them destroy their enemies." Weekes opined, that in spite of her more covered up appearance in the game, she still has "plenty of sex appeal when she disembowels her enemies."[22] Prior to her more conservative design in MK11, Sammi Baumgartner at Ka Leo O Hawai'i, in a list of best-dressed female video game characters, observed Jade wearing more revealing attires overtime, while opining "Jade certainly knows how to evolve her style and it is her daring-ness that puts her on this list."[46]

Black Girl Nerds writer April Prince was positive on the character, describing her as "a strong, beautiful dark-skinned woman who has always fought for the freedom and autonomy of her realm and for that we as the gaming world love her."[47] In another article by the same publication, Prince noted her as a character who appeals to black women who play Mortal Kombat, ascribing her as "quite the representative for dark-skinned women."[48]

Despite the mixed critical reception, Jade remains a popular character among the fandom. Similar to Mileena in Mortal Kombat 11, Jade is highly requested to be added as DLC in Mortal Kombat 1.[49]

Jade also appeared in both as one of the contestants in the four-part mini-series Video Game Vixens,[47] and in G4's "Girls Gone Wild" panel.[50]

References

  1. ^ "Characters". Atomhawk.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  2. ^ "Linda Maria Lee's resume". Lacasting.com. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  3. ^ Lee, Mela [@TheMelaLee] (April 23, 2019). "Honored to join the Stellar Cast of #MK11 as the Voice of #JADE Thank you to @NeatherRealm and @noobde for creating this exquisite Warrior Goddess" (Tweet). Retrieved 2019-04-22 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b Couch, Aaron (2021-06-16). "Animated 'Mortal Kombat Legends' Sequel Arriving This Summer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  5. ^ "Tips & Tricks - Volume III Issue 01 (1996-01) (LFP) (US)". January 1996. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  6. ^ "About". Brendabarrie.net. 2009-07-24. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  7. ^ a b c Dunham, Jeremy (2004-08-03). "The Kombatants of MK Deception, Round 2 - IGN". Uk.ign.com. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  8. ^ Tobias, John [@therealsaibot] (April 17, 2021). "Funny thing is, I just realized that Smoke/Jade as secret characters in #MortalKombat 2 may have been part of an elaborate joke on me by @noobde ... (thread)" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-04-18 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "GameSpot:Video Games PC Xbox 360 PS3 Wii PSP DS PS2 PlayStation 2 GameCube GBA PlayStation 3". 2007-05-30. Archived from the original on May 30, 2007. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  10. ^ Midway Games (2004). Mortal Kombat: Deception. Level/area: Sindel ending.
  11. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2011). Mortal Kombat (2011). Level/area: Chapter 16: Raiden.
  12. ^ Guerrero, John (February 6, 2015). "Kitana takes off her mask and uses Jade's weapons". IGN.com. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  13. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 1: Next of Kin (Cassie Cage).
  14. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 9: All in the Family (Jacqui & Jax).
  15. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 2: Timequake (Kotal Kahn).
  16. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 5: Truths Revealed (Jade).
  17. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 7: Coming of Age (Kitana).
  18. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 11: Cutting the Strings (Raiden).
  19. ^ NetherRealm Studios (2019). Mortal Kombat 11. Warner Bros. Level/area: Chapter 12: End of an Era (Fire God Liu Kang).
  20. ^ "The '97 Midway Court Case - Shang Tsung and Kitana Speak!". The Gaming Liberty. February 10, 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  21. ^ "Tips & Tricks - Volume III Issue 1 (1996-01)". January 1996. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  22. ^ a b Weekes, Princess (February 19, 2019). "Jade Is a Boss in MK11 Despite Complaints About Her Outfit".
  23. ^ Kitana: Mournful - MKSecrets.net. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  24. ^ "Sega Visions Issue 21". October 1994. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  25. ^ a b "TheOne Magazine Issue 76". February 1995. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  26. ^ "Sega Saturn Magazine - Issue 08 (1996-06) (EMAP Images) (UK)". June 1996. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  27. ^ a b Lomas, Ed (April 1996). "Showcases: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3". Official Sega Saturn Magazine, p. 47.
  28. ^ "Full Coverage: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3". Jade Power 91 (December 1996), page 69.
  29. ^ "The History of Mortal Kombat: Mortal Kombat Trilogy (GameSpot)". 2007-05-07. Archived from the original on 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  30. ^ Fielder, Joe (September 26, 1997). "Mortal Kombat Trilogy Review (GameSpot)". videogames.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2002. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  31. ^ "gamesTM 37". Retrieved 2014-05-04.
  32. ^ Bryan Dawson and Fletcher Black. Mortal Kombat Armageddon: Prima Official Game Guide (p. 169). Prima Games (2006), ISBN 0761554483.
  33. ^ Jason Wilson and Adam Hernandez. Mortal Kombat: Prima Official Game Guide (p. 82). Prima Games (2011), ISBN 0307890953.
  34. ^ Delrio, Martin. Mortal Kombat. Tor Books (1995), ISBN 0812544528
  35. ^ Black Belt January 1998, page 84.
  36. ^ a b Reid, Craig (January 1998). "Fighting Femmes of Mortal Kombat". Vol. 6, no. 7. Femme Fatales. pp. 12–13. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  37. ^ "Jade (comic book character)". Comic Vine. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  38. ^ "TOP Kids #19 cover". Cgshrines.rydia.net. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
    Juan Quaglia. "Muñecos de Mortal Kombat Top Kids | Guía del coleccionista". Juguetesdecoleccion.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  39. ^ "Jade Polystone Statue". 2011. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  40. ^ Jasper, Gavin (July 30, 2019). "Mortal Kombat Characters Ranked". Den of Geek.
  41. ^ Beauvais, Julian (April 20, 2017). "The Best Female Fighters In Mortal Kombat". CBR.
  42. ^ "Mortal Kombat 1 – 9 More Characters We Need to See".
  43. ^ Gadson, Bug (December 2, 2012). Art Imitates Life: The Representation (Or Lack Thereof) of Black Women in Video Games. Arcadia University. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  44. ^ Plante, Chris (September 4, 2010). "Hot Girls Cosplay: Who needs an excuse to dress up?". UGO.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  45. ^ Chad Hunter, The 15 Most Stereotypical Characters In Video Games Archived 2013-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Complex.com, May 9, 2010.
  46. ^ Baumgartner, Sammi (September 17, 2014). "Video game fashion for the everyday woman". Ka Leo O Hawaii.
  47. ^ a b Prince, April (May 25, 2019). "The History of Mortal Kombat's Jade and Her Return in MK 11". Black Girl Nerds.
  48. ^ Prince, April (January 3, 2020). "4 of the Best Black Female Video Game Characters". Black Girl Nerds.
  49. ^ Fischer, Tyler (August 25, 2023). "Mortal Kombat 1 Director Addresses Major Missing Character". ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  50. ^ "Breaking News - G4 - Video Game Television - Shifts Into Overdrive in '05 with Two New Series 'Formula D' and 'Girls Gone Wired' | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com.

External links

Media related to Jade at Wikimedia Commons

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