Baraka

"My blades will find your heart!"

- Baraka to Jax Briggs. "Shao Kahn conquered my realm. I owe him my loyalty. I honor his will!"

- Baraka to D'Vorah.

Baraka (in Arabic: بركة) is a Tarkatan warrior and an antagonist from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

Mortal Kombat II
Baraka led the attack on the Shaolin Temple in the Earthrealm, which caused Liu Kang to seek vengeance and journey into Outworld, all according to Shao Kahn's plan. He teamed up with Mileena in an attempt to take down Shao Kahn, but they failed in the attempt. Baraka was sent to the lowlands of Outworld, but escaped after Kahn was defeated during the events of Mortal Kombat 3, left to wander the realms.

Mortal Kombat 4
Quan Chi found Baraka wandering through Edenia and offered him a chance to rule the realms at his side, if he fought for Shinnok. The Tarkatan agreed due to his need for combat, but planned to betray his masters yet again. However Shinnok was defeated before he got the chance to.

Mortal Kombat: Deception
Baraka found a new master, this time the resurrected Onaga, whom he had great faith in. The Tarkatan freed Mileena and recruited her to the Dragon King's side to pose as Kitana so as to misdirect Edenia's forces against Baraka's raiding forces, keeping them away from Onaga. But when Mileena gave Bo Rai Cho control of Edenia's army, many of the Tarkata were defeated, angering Baraka. When the two set up a meeting in the Beetle's Lair, the Tarkatan sent another of his race in his place, since he had grown suspicious of her. This proved to be an excellent decision since Mileena killed the Tarkatan in an attempt to get rid of Baraka.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
In the final battle of Armageddon, Baraka joined the Forces of Darkness to fight against Kung Lao once again.

In his ending, Baraka defeated Blaze and gained godlike power. The Tarkatan then decided to be his own master and ordered Shao Kahn and Onaga to bow before him or die. They responded by attacking him, only to be impaled on Baraka's armblades, which grew to twice their normal size. Now ruler of Outworld, the Tarkatan made Mileena an offer to be his queen. She chose wisely, implying that she agreed.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
After the merger began, Baraka attacked Sonya at the Shaolin Temple, but was defeated. He then appeared as one of Quan Chi's allies, along with Shang Tsung after Scorpion managed to track down Kitana. The Netherrealm sorcerer sent Baraka, Scorpion, and Shang to take out Captain Marvel, but they were defeated. Afterwards he and the other two appeared at Raiden's Sky Temple as Quan Chi freed Kitana from the rage. Baraka then joined forces with the other Mortal Kombat fighters so as to defeat Dark Kahn. Upon arriving, Baraka was surprised by what Outworld has become, since it had fused with Apokolips.

In his ending, the rage dissipated in all the inhabitants of the realms, except for the Tarkata. The rage brought them to a whole new level of bloodlust and they stormed through the realms, dominating all and marking their foreheads with the blood of their enemies.

Mortal Kombat (2011)
Baraka took part in Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament and fought Johnny Cage, but was defeated by the movie star, who thought his fangs and blades were just special effects. Later on, the Tarkatan listened to Cyrax talking to Raiden and reported this to Shang Tsung, who sent Baraka and Sheeva to kill the Lin Kuei, thinking he'd turn against him. However, Cyrax beat the two of them. After the tournament was over, Baraka led his fellow Tarkata in attacking the Wu Shi Academy, capturing Sonya Blade in the process. Once Raiden and the other Earthrealm warriors arrived in Outworld, Jax faced off against Baraka, but the Tarkatan lost yet again. After Kitana found out the truth about her past, Baraka was commanded to guard the Tower where she was imprisoned and as he was ding so, also sorted the weapons that Shang had gotten from the Black Dragon with another Tarkatan. He told the other not to mess around with the weapons and sent him elsewhere, when Jade arrived.

Baraka told her she was not allowed in and then she taunted him, calling him a good guard dog, and ordered him to heel. A fight ensued and the Tarkatan was beaten, saying Edenians had no loyalty, but Jade knocked him out. Baraka later watched Shao Kahn face off against Liu Kang and be defeated, then presuming he was dead, met with the other generals to discuss who would take over. The Tarkatan argued Mileena should take Kahn's place since she was his sole heir, but Kahn revealed that he was still alive and Baraka and the others bowed to him. He presumably later led the other Tarkata in Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm.

In his ending, all of Shao Kahn's minions were enraged when Baraka apparently killed their master, just as Earthrealm seemed in their grasp. However, it turned out that the Tarkatan had killed Shang Tsung, who'd been posing as Kahn, though this had not fooled Baraka, who had smelled the sorcerer's scent. His loyalty was rewarded and the Tarkata became Kahn's favored race.

Mortal Kombat X
Baraka makes an appearance in Mortal Kombat X. After the death of Shao Kahn, Baraka became a loyal servant to Mileena. When Mileena ambushed Kotal Kahn and his servants, Baraka was with her. However, after Ermac betrayed them and joined Kotal. D'Vorah, one of Kotal's enforcers, attacked Baraka. After an intense battle, D'Vorah managed to defeat Baraka. And after Kotal gave judgment to Baraka, D'Vorah performed a fatality on Baraka, by ripping out his heart and brain, killing him.

Mortal Kombat 11
Baraka will be a playable character in the upcoming sequel Mortal Kombat 11. He was revealed in a Mortal Kombat 11 event on January 16th, 2019.

Personality
Baraka was introduced as a mean, ruthless, unforgiving, unpredictable, and destructive warrior in service of Shao Kahn. He belongs to a race of nomadic mutants, later revealed in Mortal Kombat: Deception to be called Tarkata, a crossbreed between vile and unpleasant Netherrealm demons and denizens of Outworld, apparently populating the vast wastelands of Outworld. Like most members of his race, Baraka possesses long blades extending from his forearms. Although he has had numerous incursions with the Earthrealm warriors, he doesn't appear to have any particular rivalry or hatred towards Earth or its inhabitants. As a loyal and nonviolent warrior, he fights for those whom he calls "master".

Powers and Abilities
Baraka has great strength and stamina, along with an incredible healing factor, since he survived Kung Lao slicing him in half with his hat, though he needed to have metal staples attached to his body to keep the halves together. Baraka's main source of attack are his armblades, which he can sprout from his lower arms. He can also fire an energy spark attack by scraping his blades together.

Allies

 * Shang Tsung
 * Shao Kahn (killed by Raiden and the Elder Gods revived in MK 11)
 * Cyrax (killed himself in MKX comics)
 * Mileena (killed by D'Vorah in MKX game)
 * Sektor (killed by Sub-Zero in MKX comics)
 * Reiko
 * Goro
 * Kintaro (killed by Sonya, Cassie and Jacqui in MKX comics)
 * Rain
 * Tanya
 * Motaro (killed by Raiden in MK 2011)
 * Centaurians
 * Noob Saibot
 * Hsu Hao (killed by Scorpion in MKX comics)
 * Smoke
 * Kabal
 * Mavado (killed by Cassie and Jacqui in MKX comics)
 * Netherrealm Demons
 * Wraiths/Revenants
 * Quan Chi (killed by Scorpion in MKX game)
 * Jarek
 * Black Dragon
 * Kano
 * Skarlet
 * Tarkata
 * Moloch (killed by Kitana in MKX comics)
 * Jarek
 * Drahmin (killed by Quan Chi in MKX comics)
 * Sindel
 * Shinnok
 * Red Dragon
 * Daegon
 * Onaga
 * Revenants
 * Ermac (formerly)
 * Reptile (formerly)
 * Sheeva (formerly)
 * Shokan (formerly)
 * Saurian (formerly)
 * Geras
 * Kronika

Enemies

 * Earthrealm heroes
 * Raiden
 * Kitana
 * Liu Kang
 * Kung Lao
 * Jax Briggs
 * Sonya Blade
 * Jade
 * Johnny Cage
 * Scorpion
 * Sub-Zero
 * Special Forces
 * Kenshi Takahashi
 * Fujin
 * Bo' Rai Cho
 * Li Mei
 * Sareena
 * Kotal Kahn
 * Erron Black
 * Ermac
 * Ferra and Torr
 * Reptile
 * Saurian
 * Shokan

Trivia

 * Baraka and Mileena seem to have a romantic relationship that was settled in Baraka's Armageddon ending.
 * His fatality from MKII, where he impales his opponent on his arm blades and holds their body up as they bleed to death, was voted number 5 on Screwattack's Top 10 Mortal Kombat Fatalities list.
 * Baraka is the main protagonist in DashieXP's Mortal Kombat series, with his "homie" Raiden being the main antagonist.

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Baraka