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If I won't risk my life for the throne, I'm not worthy of it.
 

 

—Mileena to Sindel in Mortal Kombat 1

Biography

  • Mortal Kombat 1: "Born mere seconds ahead of her twin sister, Mileena is the rightful heir to Outworld's throne. But even so, there are those who distrust Mileena's impulsiveness. They whisper that Kitana, with her steadier hand, should replace Mileena as Sindel's heir. As Mileena fights for legitimacy, she hides a horrible secret: she is infected with the dreaded and lethal Tarkat disease. Were her affliction found out, Mileena would be forced into battle to save her throne."

Storyline

Mortal Kombat 1

Mileena's life was adjusted greatly by Liu Kang in his New Era. Rather than being Kitana's foul clone, she would be her legitimate sister and the elder twin daughter of Outworld's rulers, Emperor Jerrod and Empress Sindel. Though she would still be affected by Tarkatan features, with the bloodthirsty race now being reduced to a deadly affliction, Mileena would be loved greatly by her family and those close to them, including Li Mei, her mentor-in-kombat and, an Umgadi warrior named Tanya, who is also Mileena's lover. Though some Outworlders believed Kitana to be a better choice for the heir to the throne, due to Mileena's impulsiveness, Mileena was still regarded well by her people.

After Jerrod's unjust murder, Li Mei would resign from the Umgadi in disgrace, as it was on her watch that the Emperor had been killed, leaving the bonds between her and the royal family shattered. Replacing her position was Tanya, with whom Mileena formed a strong bond and a secret romantic relationship with, despite knowing Umgadi were forbidden to have such connections. The arrival of a sorcerer named Shang Tsung helped alleviate Mileena's daily battles with her Tarkat disease, as he was somehow able to develop a suppressant for it, giving it to Tanya to safekeep.

Mileena is first seen in the story with Kitana and the Umgadi, waiting at the Earthrealm portal gate in Sun Do to welcome Liu Kang and his champions to Outworld for the inter-realm tournament. Upon their arrival, they bow to Mileena and exchange welcomes. Liu Kang introduces Earthrealm's contestant for the tournament, a young farmer named Raiden. Mileena warns Raiden that she is most eager among the Outworld kombatants for the tournament, thinking it too long since they've tasted victory. Should Raiden succeed in the first day's rounds, Mileena is set to face him in the penultimate round before General Shao.

Raiden manages to excel on the first day, beating both Li Mei and Reiko and steadily increasing the chance that he will end up fighting Mileena in the tournament. However, Mileena's eagerness to participate is cut short during the evening banquet, in which she experiences a bout of stomach pain. Tanya checks on her, worried it may be the princess's Tarkat manifesting, but Mileena insists that she is fine. Having watched from afar, Sindel thinks otherwise, and later calls Mileena and Kitana to her quarters. Mileena again protests that her ills were not the result of Tarkat, but Sindel says she can't chance on it and decides to have Kitana fight in the tournament in place of Mileena. Mileena is aghast at the decision, but Sindel reminds her that she is too impulsive, and that she contracted the disease as a result of her leaving the palace unattended. Mileena retorts that it was because she wanted a temporary out from the pressure of being in the royal house. Attempting to ease tension, Kitana tells Mileena that Sindel only made the decisions to ensure Mileena's protection, as she could be banished to the Wastes otherwise. Still irritated by her family, Mileena brushes Kitana aside and walks off. True to Sindel's word, Kitana fights Raiden in the tournament, under the excuse that Mileena is away on pressing imperial business.

Later, accompanied by Tanya and Rain, Mileena is sent to Shang Tsung's Laboratory to receive further treatment for her Tarkat. Unbeknownst to them, Shang Tsung had made a more effective suppressant by forcefully extracting bone marrow from the Tarkatan Baraka. Shang Tsung's administering of the cure is interrupted by an intrusion of the three other Earthrealm champions - Kenshi Takahashi, Kung Lao, and Johnny Cage - who mistakenly believe that Shang Tsung is infecting Mileena with Tarkat. Though Tanya and Rain stand against them, the champions managed to take them down. Kenshi rushes to Mileena's chair to check on her, and though the unconscious princess manages comes to, she is quickly overtaken by her Tarkat disease, breaking free of her chair's bonds.

Now up against "Monster Mileena", Kenshi and his team must hold her off while Shang Tsung hurries to create more serum, with the previous vial broken in the scuffle. Kung Lao and Johnny manage to hold her at bay, before Monster Mileena breaks free and nearly mauls Johnny before Kenshi intervenes. In her mania, she notices her sais on a nearby table and grabs them, piercing through Kenshi's eyes before Shang Tsung finally subdues her and injects the suppressant, knocking her unconscious. Kitana, General Shao and Goro arrive to halt the commotion and Quan Chi appears from a portal, claiming the events were foretold in his prophecy regarding Liu Kang seeking to conquer Outworld. Keenly not fully trusting Quan Chi, Kitana says she will take the group's concerns to Sindel before getting Tanya and Rain's help in carrying Mileena out of the laboratory.

During the Sun Do festival, Mileena and Kitana entertain the partygoers with Tanya and the Umgadi at their side. Mileena and Tanya have a flirty exchange, in which Mileena asks Tanya to fetch water for her and Kitana, and Tanya complies with a smile before sashaying away, much to Kitana's concern as she warns Mileena about the consequences of Tanya breaking her oath. Mileena is less than thrilled with the Umgadi's rules, as well as Kitana for reminding her, but Kitana assures her that she can still change the Umgadi's rules, just only when she is made Empress. Annoyed by Kitana regardless, Mileena storms off, leaving Kitana by herself.

Sometime later, Mileena and her family are seen in the palace, when Sindel catches word that Liu Kang has teamed up with Li Mei to reach the palace and seek an audience with her. Not trusting either of them due to Quan Chi's prophecy and the incident at the laboratory, Sindel sends Tanya and the other Umgadi to capture them, but Li Mei defeats Tanya and captures her instead, convincing the other Umgadi to escort them to the throne room. Mileena watches as her mother and Li Mei exchange words, with the latter trying to talk the angry Sindel down before Tanya interrupts her with a sneak attack. As the court erupts into kombat, Mileena attempts to engage, but Sindel protests, reminding her of her condition. After Kitana and Tanya were defeated, she once again attempts to fight them and Sindel still refuses to let her. However, Mileena declares that if she can't risk her life for the throne, she isn't worthy of it, and rushes Li Mei regardless.

The princess manages to send Li Mei flying with a move Li Mei taught her when she was a girl and recognizes now. Mileena claims much has changed since then, and Li Mei reaffirms that her loyalty to the royal house has remained steadfast, urging her to trust her once again. After an exchange of attacks, Mileena is knocked to the ground, but rises up with her Tarkat frenzy on full display, with Li Mei left aghast at seeing the princess's transformation. Sindel attempts to stop her from harming Li Mei but is caught off guard when Mileena turns on her, tackling her to the ground and nearly mauling her on the spot before Li Mei manages to wrestle her away from Sindel. The empress watches as Li Mei defeats Mileena, giving Tanya the opportunity to inject her with the suppressant.

Li Mei returns to being in good faith with Mileena and her family, and Liu Kang leads them to Shang Tsung's real laboratory, underneath his fake one, in order to repair their own friendship. Once they arrive, Mileena and her family are deeply disturbed by the horrendous experiments they find. They observe as Liu Kang summons Geras and reveals the truth of his position in their reality - that he was once Keeper of Time and crafted the realms and their people with his own hands, by means of a celestial object known as the Hourglass. The history lesson is cut short by the arrival of General Shao and his cohorts, who hold the group at bay with the Amulet of Shinnok. Though Mileena, Kitana, Geras and Tanya are all captured by the amulet's power, Li Mei, Liu Kang and Sindel avoid the blast and begin fighting Shao's troops both laboratories. Eventually, they are victorious, and Liu Kang frees Mileena and the others from the amulet. After Mileena and Kitana hug their mother, Liu Kang interrupts urging that they must make their next move quickly in order to save the realms from their remaining enemies' ploy.

Mileena's group joins up with more of Liu Kang's allies in the Lin Kuei ninja Scorpion and Smoke before they make their way to Ying Fortress, the base of operations for Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Infiltrating the battlements, they discover a marching group of soldiers, whom Sindel recognizes as General Shao's most loyal lieutenants, and impossible to have stand down. With kombat inevitable, they split up to tackle multiple soul stealers. Tanya and Mileena form a group and move to take out a soul stealer, but are stopped by the arrival of Ermac, a soul construct under Quan Chi's control. Tanya tells Mileena to stay behind her, but Mileena refuses, saying that they will fight together. Their initial efforts prove futile, however, as Ermac bombards them with telekinetically-launched chunks of rock and throws them over a wall, causing Tanya heavy rib damage. The Umgadi thinks they may be broken, but asks Mileena to help her up nevertheless so they can face Ermac together. However, Mileena urges her to stay down and recover, declaring that it is her turn to protect Tanya.

Mileena defeats Ermac, inadvertently causing Quan Chi's spell over the construct to break before returning to help Tanya up. Tanya remarks how impressed she is by her fighting skills, claiming that she is skilled enough to have been Umgadi in another life, though Mileena tells her "dearest Tanya" that she prefers her current life. Before the two can walk off, Jerrod's soul is able to take priority within Ermac and calls them back for an emotional reunion with Mileena. He explains that Ermac was constructed using souls from the Living Forest, which is why he was able to return. Jerrod also questions Tanya's new position as Umgadi and learns about Li Mei's plight, but reveals that his murder was not Li Mei's fault. Before he can explain further, Mileena insists they can discuss it another time, and Jerrod levitates them all so they can regroup with the others. Afterwards, the heroes proceed deeper into the fortress.

In the Dragon Army's chamber, they spot Shang Tsung and Quan Chi observe a group of the soldiers training. Realizing they need to close the distance for a better ambush, Mileena decides to gambit on her wits and openly confronts the sorcerers while the others close in from all sides. She approaches them with the false news that she helped the rebellion from the inside since she never wanted all the pressure that being Empress-to-be brought, and that General Shao overthrew Sindel and become Emperor in her place. Shang Tsung compliments her, saying Outworld benefits from her wisdom, but while Mileena agrees with him, it is not in the manner that Shang Tsung thinks, as her allies suddenly attack the sorcerers from all sides. Mileena defeats both Shang Tsung and Quan Chi with Tanya's help, winning the battle for the heroes.

However, Mileena is taken aback along with the others upon discovering Shang Tsung's benefactor is an alternate Shang Tsung, who originated from the previous timeline along with Liu Kang and battled him for the Hourglass, with their clash resulting in time's fabric being torn apart and their mutual victories in newly separated timelines. After "Titan" Shang Tsung and Dark Geras depart, Mileena joins the others in an uphill battle against Dark Sindel and Dark Raiden, who prove themselves difficult opponents. After being hit by Dark Raiden's lightning attack, Mileena starts to have another Tarkat episode, but manages to control the disease for her benefit and defeats Dark Raiden.

Dark Sindel is strong enough to overwhelm the gathered warriors on her own, but Sindel manages to rise and duels Dark Sindel to the death, taking a fatal blow from her dark counterpart after she leaves herself open in an attempt to kill her. Dark Sindel mocks Mileena, saying it is always sad to see a child lose her mother, but Mileena angrily warns her that if Sindel dies, she will ensure that she is not the only Sindel that will perish. True to her words, Mileena defeats Dark Sindel in her frenzy, before collapsing in exhaustion. Tanya delivers the suppressant to return Mileena to her normal state, but Sindel cannot be saved. All of her family despairs over their loss, but Sindel is grateful they had a few more hours together, and crowns Mileena empress before she passes. After Jerrod uses Ermac's powers to safely store Sindel's soul within the construct, reuniting the couple in death, the group flees the fortress.

Realizing they cannot defeat such an overwhelming force on their own, they ponder on how to match Titan Shang Tsung in battle, before the current Shang Tsung suggests the possibility of more than two timelines existing - that infinite timelines exist as a result of time's collapse. Kitana in turn suggests they press this potential advantage by gathering allies from these timelines to build their own army, though Liu Kang is unsure if the timelines still exist, and Jerrod worries that banking their survival on such a guessing game may be wasting their time. Mileena replies that the battle ahead of them may already be lost, but Geras believes that if Liu Kang regains his powers as Keeper of Time, he may be able to perform the search for other timelines.

Thus, the group splits up - Liu Kang and Geras return to the Fire Temple to begin the restoration of Liu Kang's power, while Mileena and the others move to disrupt Titan Shang Tsung's army by attacking the multitude of portals constructed in order to transport them. Mileena is amazed by Johnny's stealth drone, believing it to be some sort of advanced magic, but Johnny explains that his drone is fully technological. As per Scorpion's plan, while Jerrod and Ermac use telekinesis to bombard the army with rock and stone, Mileena and the others charge the army head-on, disrupting the march while Raiden, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi directly attack the portals.

The current Mileena is not seen again in the main story afterwards, but various versions and amalgamations of Mileena are seen during the second Battle of Armageddon, including one allied with Titan Shang Tsung, a Quan Chi afflicted by Tarkat called Jawspell, and many more. Additionally, another version of Mileena can be selected as the final warrior who aids Liu Kang in defeating the Titans Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, before being sent back to her respective timeline.

The current Mileena becomes Empress after Sindel's death, and quickly begins reworking several positions - Kitana takes Shao's place as general, Syzoth becomes her emissary to the Zaterrans, Li Mei leads the Imperial Police before returning to her position as First Constable due to preference, and Tanya replaces the old Matron Superiors after discovering their incompetence regarding Jerrod's murder and convincing Mileena not to disband the order. Baraka, with Syzoth's help, reaches out to Mileena to receive aid for the Tarkatan colonies, and Mileena visits the colonies personally, discovering their horrible living conditions. To make up for Sindel's mistakes, Mileena begins directing resources to improve the colony life, and decides to reveal her own affliction to Outworld as a show of faith and honesty, and to raise awareness for Tarkat. Though the following scandal is inevitable, Mileena becomes a more capable empress as a result, and she continues to rule in earnest, with Kitana and Jerrod at her side.

Endings

  • Mortal Kombat 1 (Canonical): "Though worried about how the public might react, I met with Baraka to discuss his Tarkatans. Speaking from his heart, he moved me. I agreed to visit his colony and see how his people lived. The conditions were atrocious. This was one of my mother’s few mistakes. Like all Outworlders, she treated Tarkatans with scorn. What they deserved from us was compassion. And the only way to get it for them was to reveal my affliction, to show all my subjects that even an empress could get Tarkat. The scandal my revelation caused was intense. But with the help of Kitana and Tanya, I emerged from it a stronger empress than ever. My honesty, empathy, and resolve won over my remaining doubters. There is no longer any question that I am fit to lead the Empire."
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