Onaga

Onaga the Dragon King is the former ruler of Outworld and a villain from the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games.

Ruler of Outworld
Many millenia ago, Onaga was the original true emperor of Outworld, and he had unified that entire realm into a perfect civilization and a powerful empire under his might. So that he might attain eternal life, Onaga ordered the last dragon egg to be kept, hoping that infant dragon blood may be the key to keeping himself alive forever. However, he was poisoned by his advisor, Shao Kahn, and died with this goal unfulfilled. Shao Kahn then took the position of ruler of Outworld, while Onaga's undefeatable army was left in a mummified state. The reason this army was undefeatable was because the Dragon King possessed the ability to raise the dead and he could constantly resurrect his army during battles. Onaga then faded into the pages of history, forgotten.

Manipulating Shujinko
Some time before the events of the games, Onaga appeared before the young fighter Shujinko as an astral messenger of the Elder Gods known as Damashi. He managed to convince the boy to go on a quest for the Kamidogu, powerful items that were hidden in the realms. To aid Shujinko in this task, Onaga gave him the ability to mimic and learn the fighting abilities of any warrior he encountered. The young fighter set out on this quest, while the Dragon King watched as he set in motion a series of events that would hopefully return Onaga to power. Along the way, a group of Onaga's holy men that had guarded the last dragon egg captured the fire spawn, Blaze, and forced him to guard it until it could revive the Dragon King.

Reclaiming the Throne of Outworld
A few years after this, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung formed the Deadly Alliance and began resurrecting Onaga's army, in the hope that they could use it to take over Outworld and other realms beyond. Raiden attempted to lead the fighters of Earthrealm against the evil pair, but this failed. Most of the fighters were killed and Raiden himself was defeated by the two sorcerers. However the two turned on each other and Quan Chi managed to defeat Shang Tsung, only to see Outworld's true ruler return. Earlier, Reptile had discovered the last dragon egg while following the cyborg ninja Cyrax and his new ally, the manipulative vampire Nitara, only for it to break open and send its energy into the Zaterran. This caused Reptile's body to warp and transform as Onaga's spirit took it over, fulfilling the prophecy of the Dragon King's return. Onaga then went to confront Shujinko, who had just finished collecting the Kamidogu. The Dragon King revealed his deception and attempted to kill him, but he managed to escape through a portal to Earthrealm. Onaga proceeded to march into his former kingdom to reclaim his army, where Quan Chi attempted, unsuccessfully to stop him. Even after Quan Chi joined forces with Shang Tsung and even Raiden, their power did nothing but slow the Dragon King's advance. Raiden made one last desperate attempt to destroy Onaga by releasing his godly essence in a blast that destroyed Shang Tsung's palace, himself, and the two sorcerers. However the Dragon King emerged from the blast with no visible damage and Quan Chi's amulet (actually the Amulet of Shinnok) now in his possession.

Defeat against Shujinko
With the six Kamidogu in his possession, Onaga began attempting to merge them into one ultimate Kamidogu he could use to conquer the realms. Meanwhile Shujinko began uniting warriors to help him fight the Dragon King and eventually managed to bring all the fighters involved in the conflict in one place. It was at this point that the power Onaga had given Shujinko so many years ago proved to be his undoing. He absorbed the powers of all the fighters and used this power to destroy the Kamidogu. With the powers of so many fighters at his command, Onaga proved no match for Shujinko and was forced out of Reptile's body and back down into the Netherrealm. He was then sealed by Nightwolf and remained there, until he was discovered by the fallen Elder God, Shinnok. The fallen god offered him a deal, if Onaga would help him regain his power, Shinnok would see to it that he regained his place on Outworld's throne. Though the Dragon King hated the idea of serving anyone, he agreed to the offer for the time being.

Battle of Armageddon
thumb|right|300px|Onaga's intended ending in MK:D

Shinnok then informed Onaga of Blaze and how anyone who defeated him in combat would receive godlike power. He then told the Dragon King that by allying with Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi, he would increase his chances of defeating the firespawn. However Onaga did not trust Shinnok for one second and knew that he had to be planning something else. He was also disgusted at the idea of having to work alongside Shao Kahn, the one who had betrayed him. But Onaga could see no other alternative method of escaping the Netherrealm and agreed to Shinnok's terms. With that, the fallen Elder God opened a portal to Outworld, through which the Dragon King found his new allies. But Onaga swore to take Blaze's power for himself and crush anyone who dared to stand in his way.

In his ending in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the Forces of Darkness defeated Blaze and the Dragon King took his power for himself. He immediately attacked his hated enemy, Shao Kahn, and beat him to the point of death. But Onaga was not going to let him die so quickly and ordered Quan Chi and Shang Tsung to torture him as a captive in his own dungeon, while the Dragon King reclaimed his throne.

Powers
Onaga is possibly one of the most powerful beings in all of Mortal Kombat, though exactly how strong he is unknown. But since Shao Kahn poisoned him, instead of fighting him it seems that he has enough power to make even Kahn himself fear him. After claiming the six Kamidogu, Onaga proved practically unstoppable, since he took the attacks of Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, and Raiden all at once with it only succeeding in slowing him down, as well as all of Raiden's godly power, which didn't even leave a scratch on him. Being a dragon, Onaga can fire blasts of fire out of his mouth and fly, as well as use his wings to create powerful gusts, and he also possesses necromantic powers which he used to give his army the reputation of being undefeatable. Onaga seems to possess some degree of magic, since he could create an avatar of himself anywhere he wants (Damashi).

Trivia

 * Though Onaga is not a playable character in Mortal Kombat: Deception, with the exception of using third-party cheat devices, there is evidence that he might have been planned to be an unlockable character. There is an unused ending for him that can be unlocked and a model for him for a mini game called Puzzle Kombat.


 * From what many people have reported, Onaga is very difficult to use in Puzzle Kombat. His wings obscure a good part of the screen, his special builds up at a slow pace, and his wings also conceal his next move.


 * Onaga is the second Mortal Kombat boss character to be immune to projectile attacks, the first being Motaro. However Motaro reflects the attacks, while Onaga doesn't.


 * If a character uses a low kick ending combo, Onaga will shout "NO KICKING!" in a somewhat whiny voice.
 * Onaga appeared within Raiden's visions in Mortal Kombat (2011). In that vision, he was seen with the corrupted Raiden, Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung amd Quan Chi.


 * Out of all the endbosses in the Mortal Kombat series, Onaga is the first one with a bestial appearance, unlike Shinnok or Shao Kahn.