Games - Reiko

	Games - Reiko

Reiko is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About Reiko

Reiko is a grim, serious-looking man with black and white hair, glowing blue eyes and a penchant for brutality. He also has an odd black tattoo over his eyes, giving him a Robin or Nightwing (of Batman fame)-like appearance. Reiko's abilities include extreme agility and almost eternal life.

Storyline

Not much is known about him, save that his primary occupation is that of a general. In this capacity, he has served both Shinnok and Shao Kahn, although in the case of the latter, when precisely is unclear. He has also served as a member of the Brotherhood of the Shadow. During Shinnok's war against the Elder Gods, he was presumed killed. He later resurfaced during the time of Mortal Kombat Gold, but after Shinnok was defeated again, prompty vanished. His imminent return in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon promises more insights into the character.

The Reiko/Kahn controversy

For the most part, Reiko began as a simple new character added to put new faces in Mortal Kombat 4. However, as the game arrived on PlayStation and Game Boy, some alarming and heavily-debated developments took place. In the early releases of Mortal Kombat 4, Reiko's ending showed him stepping through a portal and nothing more. However, as the game made its way into home systems, this scene was further elaborated on. On the other side of the portal, Reiko arrived in Shao Kahn's throne room, where the Emperor's skull mask lowered onto his face. This quickly led to a division among fans, some believing that Reiko was actually Shao Kahn, with others rejecting the idea entirely.

The "Reiko is not Kahn" faction put forth the arguments that many MK character endings are not canon; many previous endings had been neglected in developing the story to date. Another argument was the great difference in heights of the characters, Shao Kahn being much taller than Reiko. Also given is an episode of Mortal Kombat: Conquest
in which Reiko and Shao Kahn are seen together. On top of that, used as evidence was Ed Boon's confirmation that the two were not the same.

The "Reiko is Kahn" action found counters for each argument, however. They pointed out that if not contradicted by those of other characters, many endings could very well be considered canon until they are specified otherwise in a future game. As for the profound differences in stature of the characters, they pointed out that Mortal Kombat hosts many supernatural abilities, such as body-hopping and shapeshifting. They also stated that the TV shows and movies are not considered part of the games' canon storyline, and thus could be disregarded as irrelevant. Another point against Boon's statement is his lack of involvement in the storyline, a position originally held by John Tobias, and later, John Vogel.

Another convincing piece of evidence was Reiko's ending from the Game Boy version of Mortal Kombat 4, which stated that he returned to ruling the realm that he commanded before Shinnok's return, and continued his plans for the conquest of Earthrealm. While not specifically stating that the two were the same, the text was oddly specific and was quickly accepted as proof by the believers in the controversy.

In truth, little thought was put in either version of Reiko's ending. His original ending, in which he simply walked into a portal and disappears, was created as a joke, nothing more. As the home versions were released, it was decided Reiko's joke ending was not funny, and the extra scene, in which Reiko dons Shao Kahn's mask was added to "add intrigue to his character." Whether or not the maker of Reiko's extended ending actually meant for him to be Shao Kahn is unknown.

Due to the fact that the Game Boy lacked FMV endings, the developers of the home versions of Mortal Kombat 4 were forced to elaborate on Reiko's ending and its meaning on their own. Therefore, they followed on Reiko's extended ending mentioning his quest to conquer Earth. But due to the fact that not even the makers of Reiko's extended ending were sure if he would indeed be Shao Kahn, the Game Boy ending was kept vague and non-specific.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Reiko ]

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