Mileena

Mileena is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in Mortal Kombat II (1993), Mileena was initially depicted as a clone of the Edenian princess Kitana, created by Shang Tsung with the blood of the fictional Tarkatan species, and raised alongside her "sister". Following the time-travelling actions of Raiden in Mortal Kombat 9 (2011), Mileena's background as a Tarkatan clone of Kitana remains the same, although she was only recently awoken, rather than raised alongside Kitana. Mortal Kombat X (2015) depicts her attempts to regain her throne as Empress of Outworld, following her overthrow by Kotal Kahn.

In a third timeline, created by Liu Kang and depicted in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), significant changes were made to Mileena's character and background. Rather than a clone, Mileena is the biological daughter of Sindel and older twin sister of Kitana, making her heir to the throne. However, she was infected with the Tarkatan virus—as Baraka and other victims—resulting in her developing the deformed facial features of the Tarkatan, which she at times conceals with a mask.

Mileena is featured as a prominent villain throughout the series and uses a pair of sai as her primary weapons. Despite some criticism for her revealing character designs, Mileena has received a positive reception for her unique appearance and personality. She has been featured in various media outside of the games and is one of the franchise's most popular characters.

Mortal Kombat games
After conquering Edenia and merging it with his realm, Outworld's emperor Shao Kahn took Edenian princess Kitana and raised her as his own. While she grew up not knowing her true heritage, Shao nonetheless feared she would eventually discover the truth and turn against him. To remedy this, he tasked the sorcerer Shang Tsung with creating a vicious yet loyal clone of her to take her place if necessary. In creating the clone however, Shang Tsung used Tarkatan essence, which resulted in Mileena taking on a Tarkatan mouth. Due to this, Shao introduced her to Kitana as her long-lost twin sister as a means of spying on Kitana and ensuring she remains loyal to him. Mileena and Kitana would grow up to become Shao's personal assassins, though the former became bitter and jealous towards the latter, who Shao favored over her.

In Mortal Kombat II, after Kitana discovers her true heritage and joins forces with Earthrealm's warriors to fight him, Shao orders Mileena to watch over her. While Mileena is determined to stop her twin at any cost, she is killed by Kitana. In an alternate take of the story depicted in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, in which she appears as a boss, Mileena joins Kitana and Jade in fighting Liu Kang and Kung Lao, only to be defeated and forced to flee to the Wasteland to seek help from Goro.

In Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, having been damned to the Netherrealm following her death, Mileena swears fealty to its ruler Shinnok. Shao later resurrects her to help him defeat Earthrealm's warriors and grants her the ability to read Kitana's thoughts. Seizing the opportunity, Shinnok allows her to be resurrected so he can use her to spy on Earthrealm. Following Shao's defeat, Mileena is forced back to the Netherrealm. In Mortal Kombat Gold, she assists Shinnok in his invasion of Edenia, but allows Kitana to escape from imprisonment. After Shinnok is defeated, Mileena attempts to seize Kitana's power over Edenia, only to be defeated by her and imprisoned.

During the events of Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mileena's ally Baraka frees her before she joins Onaga, who tasks her with posing as Kitana to misdirect his enemies. Secretly, she also plots to take control of Edenia's forces and Onaga's undead army.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mileena seizes Shao's fortress and maintains her deception, intending to wait until she feels the Edenian forces are ready to serve her under her true identity. When Shao resurfaces to reinstate himself as Outworld's ruler however, she is forced to reveal herself and surrenders to him. While capturing Shujinko to coerce Onaga into joining forces with Shao, Mileena continues secretly plotting to take Edenia's throne for herself before she is killed by Shang Tsung amidst the titular Armageddon.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), after Raiden alters the timeline to avert Armageddon, Shang Tsung uses the "Flesh Pits" to create Mileena, who is introduced during an early Mortal Kombat tournament initially to serve as Kitana's replacement. However, due to her physical and mental damage, animalistic rage, and lascivious behavior, Shao uses Mileena to lure and devour victims. Additionally, he views her as his "true daughter".

Mileena returns as a playable character in Mortal Kombat X (2015). In flashbacks, she succeeded Shao as empress of Outworld, but was betrayed by Reptile and overthrown by Kotal Kahn. Refusing to accept this, she set out to acquire Shinnok's amulet in the hopes of using its power to reclaim her throne. In the present, she joins forces with Rain, Tanya, and Kano in an attempt to assassinate Kotal, only to be captured. Mileena uses Shinnok's amulet to survive her execution, but is overcome by its power before Rain rescues her. She is later re-apprehended by Cassie Cage and D'Vorah, with the latter stealing the amulet and successfully executing Mileena on Kotal's orders.

Mileena appears as a downloadable playable character in Mortal Kombat 11 (MK11) via the "Kombat Pack 2" DLC.

Mileena appears as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1). After Fire God Liu Kang creates a second new timeline, she is rewritten to become Kitana's biological elder twin sister, daughter of Empress Sindel and Emperor Jerrod, crown princess of Outworld, and lover of Umgadi warrior Tanya. Additionally, Mileena secretly suffers from the Tarkat virus, a disease that slowly transforms the afflicted into feral monsters, with a serum developed by Shang Tsung keeping it at bay. While helping Liu Kang foil Titan Shang Tsung's plot to absorb their timeline, Mileena defeats Ermac, allowing Jerrod's soul to take control, but loses Sindel, who appoints Mileena her successor before dying. Following Titan Shang Tsung's defeat, Mileena becomes empress of Outworld and works to mend relations with others who share her condition.

Other media
Mileena appeared briefly in the 1997 feature film Mortal Kombat Annihilation, played by martial artist Dana Hee and identified by name only in the closing credits. She has a slightly larger part in the film's novelization, in which she joins forces with Smoke before both are defeated by Sonya and Jax. Megan Brown played Mileena in one episode of the 1998 television series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, in which she has no direct relation to Kitana. Sisi Stringer played Mileena in the 2021 reboot film Mortal Kombat, in which the character serves as Shang Tsung's main enforcer.

In director Kevin Tancharoen's web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Mileena was played in the 2011 first season by martial artist Jolene Tran in her acting debut. She and Kitana are featured in a two-part episode that features both animated and live-action sequences, and in which Mileena is a clone like in the games with a scarred but otherwise normal-looking mouth. She is shown sparring against Kitana and losing to her, causing her to kill and devour a palace guard in a fit of insanity. When the two are later sent by Shao Kahn on a mission to assassinate Kitana's father King Jerrod, Mileena kills him while he is talking to Kitana. Mileena returned for one episode in the 2013 second season, and was played by Michelle Lee. She defeats Johnny Cage during the events of the Mortal Kombat tournament before being slain by Kitana.

Mileena had a brief role in the 1994 Midway-published Mortal Kombat II comic book that was written and illustrated by series co-creator John Tobias. She was a recurring secondary character in Malibu Comics' Mortal Kombat series that was published from 1994 to 1995, in the Goro: Prince of Pain miniseries, and in the 1995 Battlewave miniseries. She and Kitana were additionally featured in a 1995 one-shot issue titled Kitana and Mileena: Sister Act. In DC Comics' 2015 Mortal Kombat X prequel miniseries set before the events of the game, Mileena battles Kotal Kahn for the Outworld throne before they temporarily join forces to stop Reiko, Havik and the Red Dragon clan. However, at the series' conclusion, Mileena loses the throne; writer Shawn Kittelsen explained, "Kotal didn’t overthrow Mileena in some macho power play; he overthrew her out of genuine concern for the safety and well being of Outworld and its citizens."

Merchandise and promotion
In October 2004, Mileena was featured in a spread in the special edition of Playboy magazine that spotlighted provocative video game characters. A famous promotional picture of her, known as "Sexy Mileena" (a topless picture in her alternative costume from Mortal Kombat: Deception) was created for this purpose by Midway Games artist Pav Kovacic. This image was used as an unlockable picture for an in-game gallery.

A figurine of Mileena ("the evil twin") from Mortal Kombat II came out exclusively with a special issue of the Argentinian magazine Top Kids in 1995. A 7.5-inch action figure that was also based on her design in this game was released by Infinite Concepts in 1999, with a detachable mask. A ten-inch polystone statue of her Mortal Kombat 2011 incarnation was released in Syco Collectibles' Enchanted Warriors series in 2012. Pop Culture Shock Collectibles released a 1/4 scale statue of "Klassic" Mileena from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in 2015, followed by a 1/3 scale (28 in / 71 cm tall) statue from Mortal Kombat X in 2018.

Mileena was one of the faces of Mortal Kombat: Deception during and after its release, including the game's special edition for the Xbox that featured her likeness, and a promotional metal card with her biography. She was featured in the 1995 collectible card game Mortal Kombat Kard Game, as well as in the 2006 crossover collectible card game Epic Battles where she is one of the characters representing the Mortal Kombat universe that were featured already in the Premiere Edition. An electronic music track called "Mileena's Theme" by Tokimonsta was released in 2011 as the first of three singles that were compiled on the album Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors. Mileena is one of several MK characters featured on 2.5" x 3.5" collectible magnets by Ata-Boy and Halloween costumes of her have been also sold.

Design
Mortal Kombat co-creator and producer Ed Boon described Mileena and Kitana as the "female versions of Scorpion and Sub-Zero", two palette-swapped ninja characters from the original game. Character creator John Tobias chose Mileena's name as he felt "it had a pleasant sound to it, which either helped hide her grotesque appearance or exposed a hidden inner beauty", while hers and Kitana's storylines were borne from "the conflicts of sibling rivalry and rebelling against authority". Mileena's signature weapon in the series is a pair of sai, along with recurring teleport-kick and ground-rolling-attack special moves while she utilizes either her sai or cannibalistic tendencies in most of her Fatalities. She typically wears pink or purple.

Mileena was portrayed by martial artist Katalin Zamiar in Mortal Kombat II, and as a palette-swapped character, she was physically identical to Kitana and hidden character Jade save for her pink outfit and large gnashing teeth, which were created only for one of her Fatalities in MKII in which Mileena consumes her defeated opponent and spits out their bones. She was excluded from Mortal Kombat 3 along with the series' other ninja characters, but returned in the upgrade Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, in which the female ninjas were played by Becky Gable. Her motion capture actors for 3D games have included Carlos Pesina in Deception and Armageddon, but in MK2011 she was played by a female actor. In Mortal Kombat X, her facial appearance was redesigned in which she has a human-like mouth with her facial deformities relocated to her cheeks. Her alternate costume in the 2011 reboot is composed of bandages wrapped around her otherwise naked form.

Gameplay
Mileena has been commonly perceived as one of the top characters of Mortal Kombat II in gameplay terms. She was ranked as the game's best overall fighter by Sega Visions for her high speed and reach as well as her teleport kick that can uniquely dodge the opponent's projectiles. Super Play too called her "the best MKII character" as she is "fast, with a good range of attacks, and the potential for the most awesome combo in the game." EGM noted about how this "deadly woman...can hold her own against any man in the game" as her players can use her "lightning speed" and the sai blasts to overcome other players, while C+VG evaluated all of MKII characters as "well-balanced" and "potentially excellent", but still the teleport kick of the "very fast" Mileena was singled out by them as "the best surprising move in the game." According to CU Amiga, Mileena was "third only to Jax and Liu Kang for sheer brilliance," being a "somewhat misleading character" whose moves need to be "learnt the right way to put them all together to be devastating." Hyper verdicted that in the hands of the skilled players, all three "Mileena, Jax and Liu Kang are almost unstoppable," and Amiga Concept chose the "almost unassailable" Mileena as the game's best character alongside Jax. In GamePro test, the "queen of the hill" Mileena was effective against all characters, and especially versus Jax (who shared tier 1 with her in their ranking), Reptile and Shang Tsung. GamePro testers opined that "although Jax is the better overall characters against Tiers 2-4, Mileena's massive advantage over him makes her number one. Neither suffers disadvantages against anyone else. With her rapid sai-throwing ability, teleport attacks, and deadly combos, this beautiful assassin lands atop our rankings." In Amiga Format test matches, both Mileena and Kitana were always "so much faster" that "poor Jax...ended getting his head kicked in every time."

Mileena is a hidden playable character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, for which she needs to be unlocked with a special "Kombat Kode", but is available from the start in the compilation game Mortal Kombat Trilogy (appearing as seen in UMK3). Sega Saturn Magazine stated "she's pretty much identical to the last time," meaning MKII. According to Nintendo Power, Mileena's original powers "may prove insufficient" for using her with the same effectiveness in UMK3 in which most of the other characters got some additional special moves. On the other hand, Total 64 wrote that Mileena of Trilogy (directly based on UMK3 version) is "a damn good fighter [with] plenty of powerful moves" making her "an all round classy fighting star."

According to GameSpy's guide to Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mileena "has some solid offensive tools" and "a few solid combos up her sleeve, as well as a few pop-up attacks that are extremely quick and open up brief juggle opportunities," however she now also has severe weaknesses such as a very short range of her sai and poor ranged attack abilities. Prima Games' official guide for a Deception-based Mortal Kombat Armageddon gave Mileena an overall rating of 6/10, calling her a "punisher" type character and a better fighter than Kitana ("seems to have the upper hand between the two"), but while she "is able to punish from any range and even interrupt high attacks and projectiles, the damage she inflicts is minor." Mileena is not playable in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks wherein she only appears as a sub-boss character with Kitana and Jade.

In Prima Games' official guide for the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, Mileena was judged to be well-balanced and universal, displaying neither particular weaknesses nor advantages that would result in a one-sided battle against anyone else. In Mortal Kombat X, Mileena's fighting style is split into three variations like those of the game's other playable characters. Prima Games evaluated her as a "solid character" with "several great ways to stop opponents from jumping toward her," but who is "not as safe as some of the other characters, which means she has to take a few risks."

Cultural impact
Mileena has made several homage cameo appearances outside of the Mortal Kombat franchise, including in the comic book series Gen13 in 1995, in the episode "Another Bad Thanksgiving" of the animated series The Cleveland Show in 2010, and in a comedy sketch by Animation Domination High-Def in 2015.

According to People, "Mileena" proved a popular baby name in 2015. In November 2020, rapper Megan Thee Stallion dressed up as Mileena to promote the character's addition as downloadable content in Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate Edition.

Popularity
Mileena's addition to the series was well received and she quickly became one of the most popular and recognizable Mortal Kombat characters. Her debut appearance in Mortal Kombat II was met with a favorable critical reception, with for example Nintendo Power characterizing her as "beautiful, graceful, beguiling and strong, but most of all, deadly." UGO rated Mileena 17th on their 2012 list of the top 50 Mortal Kombat characters, citing her then-rare presence as an evil female player character while stating that her brutal attacks and "slutty" outfits made her a fan favorite. Den of Geek placed Mileena fifth (14 spots ahead of Kitana) in their 2015 rating of the series' 73 playable characters. CraveOnline's Dread Central called her "without question" one of the "most beloved" characters in the Mortal Kombat universe.

In spite of her disfigured face, Mileena has been often rated among the most attractive characters in video games. UGO Networks counted Mileena among the best-looking female ninja-type characters in all media, further ranking her as the "seventh-finest" female fighter in 2010, despite "that big scary demon mouth she keeps under the skarf." Alongside Mileena and Jade, Kitana was included on the list of the "hottest chicks" of 2011 by Univision. Larry Hester of Complex ranked Mileena herself as the "eighth-hottest" video game character in 2012, writing "Mileena is what some guys would call a paper bagger" due to the stark contrast between her body and her mouth. She was one of the most searched game characters on Pornhub in 2016.

Mileena has been renowned as a notable female villain in video gaming. Complex ranked her eighth on their list of the "most diabolical video game she-villains" in 2011, while Polish web portal Wirtualna Polska featured Mileena among the top ten villainesses in gaming in 2014. Placing Mileena 18th on his 2013 list of the most brutal fighters in Mortal Kombat, Hanuman Welch of Complex described her as a "deadly mixture of Kitana's agility and seduction, and Baraka's impulsive behavior." Márcio Pacheco Alexsandro of Brazil's GameHall placed them both at second spot of his top list of female ninja characters in games, calling Mileena "beautiful and monstrous" and adding that there was nothing more "cool" than a ninja who is both sexy and insane.

An often commented, and referenced, aspect of Mileena is her cannibalistic tendencies. The University of Sydney's Kate Robertson analyzed Mileena's cannibalism as one of examples how "the connection between women and cannibalism reflects the common trope of the danger inherent within the female body" regarding "allure, fear and revulsion provoked by such a display of female power." X360 chose her MK2011 Fatality, "in which she tears a man's head off then chows down upon it," to represent cannibalism on their list of the top ten video game crimes. GamesMaster opined one "simply cannot watch" Mileena decapitate an opponent "and then take repeated bites out of his face ... without deeply desiring this game." In 2015, Andrea Subissati from horror magazine Rue Morgue selected "making out with Mileena" as one of the best Fatalities in the 23 years of Mortal Kombat.

Mileena was described by Computer and Video Games as "equally erotic and repulsive." According to IGN, "at first blush she seems like your quintessential sultry video-game vixen, but the mask comes off and she's got a gaping mouth filled to the brim with dagger-like teeth." Comparing the Mortal Kombat characters to the seven deadly sins in Dante's Inferno, Chris Holt of GamePro chose Mileena to represent Envy. Virgin Media included her on their list of the ten "game girls you wouldn't dare to date" for being attractive "until she rips off her veil and reveals her monstrous form beneath." On the other hand, EGM's Eric L. Patterson wrote that Mileena's face is actually one of the reasons why he prefers her over Kitana. Ranking Mileena as second on his 2013 list of ugliest video game characters, Alex Langley of Arcade Sushi wrote: "If ever there were a time to use the term 'butterface' it would be with Mileena because everything about her is hot...but her face."

Other reception and criticism
Mileena was noted for her alternate costume apparel, in particular, her unmasked and near-naked "Flesh Pits" outfit from MK2011 as reported by Destructoid's Hamza Aziz. Other writers also found such design ridiculous and unfitting for a fighting game character. On the other hand, UGO ranked the "Sexy Mileena" from Deception as second-best on the 2011 list of the gaming's "most stylin' alternate costumes". Kotaku's Patrick Klepek, in 2015, recalled hearing about "Mileena’s sexuality" while playing the game at arcades.

Mileena was one of the characters cited by Guy Aoki as allegedly perpetuating existing stereotypes of Asians as martial arts experts. In their 1996 book Interacting With Video, which condemned the violence of video games as supposedly affecting social behavior and causing real-life violence, Patricia Marks Greenfield and Rodney R. Cocking used the "two Asian twin sisters, Mileena and Kitana," as an example of a "highly eroticized dragon lady" trope, with Mileena's "Man-Eater" Fatality described as "a high-powered kiss that evokes vagina dentata." The authors wrote that despite the inclusion of "characters of color" such as the two and Jax, "we cannot assume that this greater diversity represents a more progressive identity politics, for one could argue that it merely increases the racist and sexist potential of individual fights."

Some commentators admitted that they found themselves too distracted by her mouth. Joystiq's Alexander Sliwinski wrote about Mileena that instead of "focusing on her fighting style, or assets," they simply could not "get past one thing: how does she pronounce the letter P without touching her lips together?" When American radio host Howard Stern mocked a Mortal Kombat fan who admitted that he masturbates to Mileena, Matt Helgeson of Game Informer called the latter "insane" as "onanism and Mileena should not mix."