Mortal Kombat has introduced fighting game players to some of the fiercest and freakiest fighters this side of Earthrealm. Along with humanity’s champions, the series is also host to several unearthly creatures with a lust for blood and kombat. One of these iconic characters from the NetherRealm Studios series is Baraka, a member of the brutal Tarkatan race.
Debuting 28 years ago in Mortal Kombat 2, Baraka quickly became one of the highlights of the series and showcased its dark and brutal nature when compared to other fighting game franchises. Known for his serrated teeth and equally as deadly arm blades, Baraka is easily one of the deadliest kombatants around. Here’s a closer look at the sharpest points of his hack and slash frame.
Baraka Boasts a Superhuman Tarkatan Physiology
As one of the most prominent Tarkatan, it’s no surprise that Baraka has all of their greatest physical traits. These include physiology and dexterity far beyond that of a human. This gives him superhuman strength and durability, allowing Baraka to withstand even the toughest of attacks. He also has a superhuman healing factor, helping to mend his body when damage is actually done to him. These powers and more make him and his race into killing machines, thirsting for blood when others would have long before tired out.
Baraka’s Sharp Arm Blades are a Killer App
The most noteworthy part of Baraka’s body is easily his arm blades. These are another part of his species’ physical traits, and the bony structures allow Baraka to unleash the true cutting edge of offensive maneuvers. The claws aren't just one singular blade, either, with the bones jutting out of Baraka's arm like a series of knives. Similar spikes are sometimes seen all the way up on his shoulders, suggesting that they're naturally growing along a Tarkatan's arm. Unsheathing the weapons doesn't seem to have any adverse effect on Baraka or the other Tarkatans, though this may simply be their healing factor at work.
Newer games in the Mortal Kombat series also give him the ability to shoot these blades and other spikes from his body as a long-range, showcasing an even greater level of control over these bony appendages. He can also strike them against each other to fire a blade spark projectile, keeping his opponents at range until he's ready to go in for the kill.
Baraka’s Bite is Much Worse Than His Bark
The Tarkatans all have serrated, razor-sharp teeth filling their gaping mouths, and Baraka is no exception. Strangely enough, these fangs are rarely used in any of his attacks. Also surprising is that Baraka and the other Tarkatans, including his half-breed love interest Mileena, have no issue speaking despite their lack of lips.
Baraka Once Had to Be Stapled Back Together
Though his healing factor is definitely handy, it isn’t a foolproof defense against damage. Baraka learned this the hard way once when he got up close and personal with Kung Lao’s razor-sharp hat. Baraka was nearly cut in half but was able to survive the ordeal despite the massive wound he was left with.
In order to help pull himself back together again, Baraka’s torso was stapled together in a rather coarse fashion while his body healed. The design was seen in Mortal Kombat Gold, though it was healed by the time of his next appearance in Mortal Kombat Deception without so much as a scar from the ordeal. The healing factor seems to have not only helped him recover but numbed him to the pain, as the stapled Tarkatan was able to fight just fine as if everything was normal.
Baraka Doesn’t Have the Smartest Brain
Tarkatans may be a mighty race, but they’re also a savage, brutal and rather simple one. Baraka exemplifies their bloodletting, primitive ways, typically acting in a manner befitting a simple-minded minion.
More recent games in the series have upped his intellect a little bit, such as his engaging in diplomacy with Kitana against Shao Kahn. Even then, however, he’s no scholar, with even his voice epitomizing a dumb, cannibalistic brute. It’s this one-track drive to fight to the death, though, that pushes the Tarkatan Warrior to such violent extremes of kombat.