At long last, rabid Mortal Kombat fans the world over can relax. Mileena has returned to Kombat, the headline addition of the upcoming Kombat Pack 2. She joins the demigod Rain and '80s action star John Rambo in a surprisingly robust collection of fighters, bringing the marquee NetherRealm Studios fighter to a robust count of 37 playable characters.
To say Mileena has been in demand would be an understatement. Since NetherRealm Studios first announced the game in December 2018, fans have used every available venue to demand her inclusion. Tweets, e-mails, YouTube comments and more have spammed series creator Ed Boon for over a year now, and he seems to have relented.
The problem, though, is Mileena visually looks to be a step back. The character's appearance hearkens more to her Mortal Kombat II design, which does make sense. From a story perspective, other characters from the past timeline -- including Mileena's "sister," Kitana -- hail from that era of the timeline, plucked from history shortly before their victory over Shao Kahn.
For Mileena, this represents a tumultuous era. Mileena spent years languishing in the franchise as little more than a palette swap of Kitana. Though she always had a unique feature in her grotesque Tarkatan teeth, a side effect of her nature as a hybrid Edenian/Tarkatan clone, they were hidden in most designs behind a traditional mask. It wasn't until Mortal Kombat: Deception that Mileena's role in the franchise started to take shape, and with it, her unique identity.
Deception saw Mileena shrewdly use her appearance to impersonate Kitana, at the time believed to be dead. It was also the first time her teeth were more openly visible in gameplay and design, though concealed behind a transparent veil. In the renewed timeline of 2011's Mortal Kombat, she was once again placed opposite her sister but kept most of her personality: she was just a mean psychopath, serving at the whim of Shao Kahn and Outworld. It wasn't until Mortal Kombat X that the character really became prominent, which is a shame. That version appears to be all but gone.
Mortal Kombat X's Mileena was significantly redesigned. She still had a misshapen jaw highlighting her life as a clone, but the design was reworked to be something more unique. Large protruding teeth on her jaw were brought in line with a more traditional lip line and front teeth, allowing the character to have dialogue without looking too jarring. Mileena's design also strayed from the more royal-themed garb given to Kitana; here, Mileena is dressed in much simpler attire and is dressed for battle, not for royalty.
Characterwise, this Mileena was no longer a stooge. She was in possession of Shinnok's amulet and saw herself as the rightful ruler of Outworld following Shao Kahn and Kitana's deaths. For much of the game's story mode, Mileena was the big bad, a serious threat that had to be contended with in order to preserve Outworld. She was much more calculating, much colder and had a mean cynicism to her. That Mileena would die at the hands of the Kytinn D'vorah, executed for attempting to usurp the title of Outworld Kahn.
With a return to her Mortal Kombat II form, all the growth Mileena experienced look as if it may be gone. The gorgeous redesign is done away with; Mileena once again has a full mouth of protruding, sharp teeth -- and based on some screenshots, now compliments it with an elongated tongue. From what little we saw in the teaser trailer, her personality is back to that of Mortal Kombat II as well, losing her calculating demeanor in favor of just being a mean psychopath all over again.
Of course, this may not entirely be the case. Mortal Kombat 11 is built around the idea of multiple versions of characters, with a glutton of skins present for characters to don. Who's to say the MKX version of Mileena isn't hiding in the gear system, or that an older, more calculating Mileena is present in the in-game dialogue? Or perhaps like her "mother," Sindel, Mileena's story will be fleshed out further in an additional story mode pack -- after all, Ed Boon has hinted that Mortal Kombat 11 is far from finished, just over a year and a half after release.
Regardless, for Mileena fans, this is a joyous occasion. For better or for worse, the impure clone has returned to Kombat, and she's sure to be tearing up the Kombat League scene any day now.
Developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate arrives on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia and PC Nov. 17.