Sonya Blade
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Sonya Blade is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat series.
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[edit] About Sonya
Debuted in the first Mortal Kombat, Lieutenant Sonya Blade is one of the main heroes of the story, member of a top United States Special Forces unit, member of the Outer World Investigation Agency and the only chosen female warrior from Earthrealm ever since the first game. Her impulsiveness is catalyzed by her superior and good friend Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs. Sonya represents a very emancipated and headstrong woman, but for all her stubbornness and pride, she deeply cares about the lives of her friends and comrades. Johnny Cage, her fellow Earthrealm warrior and possible boyfriend, seems to view her as a romantic interest, but there has been no indications of her feelings for him. She has a long-standing enmity with the thug Kano, who stands for everything Sonya despises.
[edit] Storyline
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Sonya and her team were in hot pursuit of Kano, the leader of the Black Dragon organization. After he jumped onto a ship, they followed him to a remote island where Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament was being held. Upon arriving they were ambushed by Tsung's personal guard. To keep her team safe, she agreed to compete in the tournament. Shang Tsung, however, had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain. He had her unit killed and, after he was defeated by Liu Kang, took her and Kano prisoner to Outworld to appease the emperor, Shao Kahn.
Sonya was able to send a signal to her superior Jax from Outworld, however, and during the events of Mortal Kombat II he traveled there to find her. Jax made contact with the other Earthrealm warriors, and together they learned of Kahn's scheme to invade Earth. It is known that before being captured, Sonya Blade and Kano were forced to put their differences aside and work together to survive in Outworld. She was later freed and Kano arrested, but as soon as they had passed through the portal to Earth, Kano escaped and ran back into Outworld.
Sonya and Jax now had other things on their minds, however. They tried to warn the United States government of the impending invasion, but their claims went unheeded. As such, they began preparing by themselves for the coming invasion. When the fateful day finally came, Shao Kahn stripped Earthrealm of all human souls, with the exception of a few chosen warriors, one of which was Sonya, who would soon encounter her old nemesis Kano on top of a skyscraper near Kahn's fortress. A fierce battle was waged between the two. Kano gained the upper hand, and kicked Sonya onto a stone gargoyle. Sonya feigned defeat, but when Kano advanced to finish Sonya off, grabbing her by the hair, she performed her the leg grab and hurled Kano off the roof to his apparent death, taking a lock of her hair with him.
After her journey into Outworld and Shao Kahn's near destruction of Earth, Sonya became a member of Earth's own Outer World Investigation Agency. The Black Dragon kept crossing her path, however, and it's last known member, Jarek, had fled to Edenia while Sonya was chasing him. This lead Sonya and Jax to team up with Raiden and Liu Kang to free that realm from the Fallen Elder God Shinnok's grasp, and to prevent him from coming to Earth. After Shinnok's defeat, in which Jarek had reluctantly participated to save himself, Jarek tried to kill Sonya, but Jax intervened and dropped him off a cliff. It was presumed that Jarek had been killed. After returning to Earthrealm, Jax and Sonya found Cyrax malfunctioning in a desert. The two brought the cyborg back to the OIA headquarters where they were able to restore Cyrax's humanity. In return, Cyrax joined the agency.
While on assignment demolishing ancient inter-realm portals in the East, Sonya received a distressing message from Jax that the Outerworld Investigation Agency had been completely destroyed by an accomplice of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. A new threat from Outworld was imminent. But without their inter-realm portals, Jax and Sonya had no means to prevent the attack. Sonya was later visited by the God of Thunder, Raiden, he asked for her aid in the coming fight against the Deadly Alliance. Sonya agreed to join her old friend and ally, but she expressed concern that all inter-realm portals on Earth were now destroyed. Raiden instructed her to meet with the other heroes on the old island fortress in the Lost Sea where he would address this issue.
Sonya arrived on Shang Tsung's abandoned island fortress and was greeted by one of her allies against evil, Kung Lao. He seemed depressed, but would not offer an explanation. The two of them sparred on the beach to pass the time as they waited for the other warriors that Raiden would have contacted. By late afternoon, a small boat, apparently formed of ice, floated to shore. It was the Lin Kuei ninja, Sub-Zero, and his warrior-in-training, Frost. Sonya was not excited to see Frost. Her first meeting with the new Lin Kuei recruit was not a pleasant one. Sonya had a score to settle and developed a small rivalry with Frost, who felt it was necessary to show off her powers and impress the warriors, she was beaten by Sonya in their small fight that was interrupted by their comrades. There were more important matters at hand. For some reason Sonya felt she couldn’t trust Frost and loathed her arrogance and cockiness.
By nightfall, the remaining Earthrealm warriors had arrived. Raiden then appeared and transported the heroes to a celestial portal to Outworld. To earn the right to pass into Outworld, each warrior had to defeat a representation of his or her worst adversary. Sonya had thought it would be Frost, but to her surprise, it was a stranger with an image of a red dragon on his back.
For Sonya, facing the Deadly Alliance also coincided with her search for two missing OIA agents, Cyrax and Kenshi. She was unable to find them, however, and was killed in battle with the Deadly Alliance (she, Cage and Jax were overwhelmed by the Deadly Alliance's Tarkartan forces). The Deadly Alliance's victory was short-lived, as Onaga had entered the scene just moments after their victory over Raiden himself, and reclaimed Outworld, as well as the amulet. With his ability to raise the dead at will, he resurrected and enslaved Sonya and her fallen comrades. As Sonya and her comrades appear normal in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, it is likely that Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang had freed them from Onaga's control.
In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Sonya returns to Earth after Onaga's defeat, with the intention of continuing her assault on both Red and Black Dragon clans, only to be forced to focused on the newly-established threat of the Tekunin. In her absence, the Tekunin had grown large enough to disrupt Earth civilization and had violated Earthrealm law by engaging in illegal interrealm alliances with unknown parties, a combination which forces Sonya to divert all the resources of the Special Forces against them. Early in their battle, Sonya seems to get an unexpected break when the Tekunin's flagship - helmed by their Grandmaster Sektor himself - is seen above the Botan Jungle, and succeeds in downing it. During her direct attack, Sonya kept sending Sektor warning signals that ordered him to surrender, but Sektor wasn’t planning to give up so easily and refuses to listen. Thanks to Sonya’s destruction of the Tekunin flagship, Taven manages to escape Sektor’s capture, she then sends a team lead by her partner Jax in to hunt for survivors, they mysteriously vanish and are presumed to be captured by the Tekunin, Jax's own cybernetic bioscanners sending anomalous readings before contact is lost and Sonya fears the possibility of Jax's death.
Sonya soon focuses on discovering with who are the Tekunin working from outside Earthrealm, and feels extremely worried that these rogue groups are conspiring with outside agents, for it puts the realm of Earth under grave danger. She embarks on a quest to find a way to shut them down. With little options left to find out Sektor's plans and otherrealm connections, she tracks the signal of a homing beacon placed on Taven by Sektor before his escape, she easily killed an Ice Monster beast that was about to battle Taven with her own Armed Forces projectile special move, and eventually confronts him in Arktica. In a very dangerous mood and tough fashion, she tries to get information out of him about Sektor and the Tekunin. Proclaiming she has full authority over him, Sonya is unwilling to trust the Edenian warrior, so they soon engage in battle after Taven refuses to comply. Sonya limps away after she is beaten, warning him that she'll be watching him. [1]
In her Armageddon ending Sonya defeats Blaze, who offers her any power she desires. When Kano arrives at the scene, Sonya is glowing with energy and glares at him, her gaze burns Kano alive and makes him explode in a cloud of ash. With this new power, Sonya incinerates all of the Black Dragon and Red Dragon clan members, clearing the way for a new era of peace. [2]
[edit] Combat characteristics
[edit] Signature moves
- Energy Rings: Sonya clangs her wrists together and send out rings like whirlwind fireballs that would hit the opponent exploding and leaving rain-like drops of magical energy in the ground that would dissolve. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT)
- Leg Grab: Sonya does a handstand and grabs her opponent with her feet and slams them on the ground. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG)
- Square Wave Punch / Face Planter: Sonya takes off into the air and flies across the screen with a punch to anyone who was in the air. This can also be used to "teleport" out of harm's way. This attack was also given to Kitana in the later games.(MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:A)
- Inverted Bicycle Kick: Sonya performs a great counter-air attack rising into the air with a series of vertical kicks. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG)
- Air Leg Throw: Using her legs, she tosses the opponent to the ground from the air. (MK4, MKG)
- Cartwheel Kick: Sonya performs a cartwheel at her opponent kicking them on impact. (MK4, MKG)
- Kiss of Death: Sonya blows a poisonous mystical kiss that would stun/blind the opponent temporarily in order to get a free hit. This move was translated from her Kiss of Death fatality as a move, and was given to Kira in Mortal Kombat: Deception. (MK:DA, MK:A)
- Armed Forces: Sonya shoots a purple projectile at her opponent. This attack was later given to Kira in Deception, while she does this attack after crouching, in a similar way to Tanya's MK4 projectile. Sonya also crouches before releasing the projectile in Armageddon, similar to Kira. (MK4, MKG, MK:A)
- Flying Boots: Sonya delivers a flying kick to her opponent. This move is borrowed from Liu Kang. (MK:DA, MK:A)
[edit] Recurring fatalities
- Kiss of Death: Sonya kills her opponent by blowing them a kiss. In the first and third games, her kiss takes the form of a ball of fire, burning her opponent alive. Also in MK3, another derivation of this fatality could be seen, in which the kiss takes the form of a purple orb, crushing the opponent and leaving behind a pile of blood and bones. In MK4, the kiss returned in a different fashion; the kiss takes the form of an energy ball and slices the opponent in half. In Deadly Alliance, the kiss takes the form of a purple poisonous mist, which makes her opponent choke and vomit out organs, food, and blood. This fatality has been Sonya's trademark fatality ever since the first game. In the second movie, the kiss is performed with the aid of an explosive chemical. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA)
[edit] Appearance
Unlike many other female Mortal Kombat characters, Sonya does not wear provocative clothes or dressing that reveals her body, while there are minor factors that make up for her sex appeal. In Deadly Alliance, her lingerie can be seen outside, and in Shaolin Monks, she has a belly button piercing.
Sonya has been involved in all MK games as either a playable or a non-playable character, and she is the most recurring female Mortal Kombat character. She had always received a new and different look throughout the games that she had been playable. In the first Mortal Kombat, Sonya simply had a green outfit with short hair, headband, and earrings. This sprite was kept for Mortal Kombat II because her appearance was an unplayable cameo. In MK3/UMK3/MKT, she still wore a green spandex outfit, but it had been improved and expanded with black and white stripes. She also had a gypsy belt and white tennis shoes.
Her hair is changed to a long ponytail. In MK4/Gold, she had a new green top with black pants, and she replaced the headband with a cap. In Deadly Alliance, she was given a military outfit, a completely new and improved look when compared to her other appearances. She wore a jacket, a tight torn shirt, tight pants, and black boots. In Shaolin Monks, she received a new look that was mainly inspired by her Deadly Alliance outfit; her jacket was more simple and dark brown, but her tight black shirt and military-like pants were completely new. She again had her hair as a ponytail. She was also given a belly button piercing. In Armageddon, she kept her Deadly Alliance appearance. Also keeping the high-rise thong straps that are visible over her hips rising above the waistband.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Film
Sonya appears in both Mortal Kombat movies as one of the leading characters, both times played by a different actress. In the first movie, played by Bridgette Wilson, she first defeats many of Shang Tsung's guards in a battle alongside Johnny Cage and Liu Kang. Later. she defeats and kills Kano with a variation of her Leg Grab special move (noted as a variation because the Leg Grab is practically impossible to perform in real life), by grabbing his neck in a headscissors and twisting it. This is her only solo fight in the movie. Shang Tsung has a certain "attraction" towards Sonya during most of the film, but she uses sarcasm and rudeness to stop the sorcerer's advances. Even though she repeatedly rebuffs Cage's advances, she later becomes attracted to him. Sonya was going to fight Jade in a secret arena, but the scene was scrapped, though it appears in the novelization.
In the second movie, played by Sandra Hess, Sonya manages to fight more characters than the rest of the cast. She first faces Shao Kahn when he knocks her to the ground but is soon released after Johnny Cage tries to save her, resulting in his death. Sonya expresses remorse for his death but seems to forget about him by the end of the film. She later defeats a rather large group of Shao Kahn's extermination squad assassins and in the same fight kills Cyrax with her trademark Fatality, the Kiss of Death. Later, she defeats Mileena in a one on one battle and in the final battle faces both Ermac and Noob Saibot (the latter of whom is erroneously spawned from the former). While Jax deals with Noob offscreen, she defeats Ermac with another Leg Grab variation (this time resembling a hurricanrana) and breaks his neck to finish him.
[edit] Television
Sonya is a lead character in the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and was voiced by Olivia D'Abo. Her vendetta against Kano is explained, though it is stated she won a fight against him during the first Mortal Kombat.
[edit] Comic books
Sonya is one of the main characters of the Malibu Comics series. Her portrayal is faithful to the games, but ventures so far as to give its own origin to her rivalry with Kano. Sonya appears during the Blood & Thunder series in hot pursuit of Kano alongside her partner Lance/Sparky. The pursuit leads the three of them into the Mortal Kombat tournament, and they decide to participate to catch up with Kano. Lance is the first to fight him, receiving a gruesome death from Kano's heart-ripping fatality. Sonya cannot contain herself and proceeds to beat down Kano in rage until Goro stops her and chains her in the dungeons of the palace. Sonya spends the later half of the series wandering Outworld with Johnny Cage, and confronting a twisted version of herself called Aynos: a mirror image of her, but born in Outworld and the opposite in personality. At the conclusion of the series, she is able to capture Kano, though he is freed a short time later by his superiors in the Black Dragon gang.
In the second series, Battlewave, Sonya starts an investigation after Jax is found brutally beaten. Convinced that only someone from Outworld could inflict such wounds on Jax, she ventures into Shang Tsung's island only to be ambushed and captured by Kintaro. Sonya later plays an important role in Shao Kahn's plan: she is brainwashed by Reptile into marrying the emperor, and the alliance is able to weaken the barriers between realms enough to allow Shao Kahn to conquer Earthrealm, with Sonya herself as his wife and queen. During the wedding ceremony, though, the Earthrealm warriors stop the ceremony and Sonya is able to break from the trance by herself.
The comics strongly suggest a love interest between her and Johnny Cage.
[edit] Character development
Sonya is the first female character to appear in the Mortal Kombat franchise. She was partially inspired by the karate champion and movie actress Cynthia Rothrock[3]; and was named after one of Boon's sisters, as confirmed in a video interview in the special edition of Deception.
Sonya almost didn't make it into Mortal Kombat. Originally, Kurtis Stryker, who later debuted in MK3 (although, at the time, the name was given to the character who would eventually be called Jax in MKII) used her storyline, but he was dropped and Sonya created to add a female character to an otherwise all-male cast. Since her debut, Sonya has been considered to be one of the most iconic characters of the franchise of Mortal Kombat, her image being merchandized in action figures, comic books, cloth accessories, movies, TV series, game publicity, board and card games, etc. Her latest appearances include being featured as one of the cover characters for the PS2 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon videogame, and being featured in a special card ("Vixen Vendetta") for the Epic Battles card game fighting her rival Kira.
The MK4 model of Sonya Blade resembles the model Bridgette Wilson, who played Sonya in the first movie. She could also have been inspired by Kerri Hoskins. Her MK:DA model slightly resembles Sandra Hess, who played Sonya in the second film.
Originally, Mortal Kombat: Special Forces was to have both Jax and Sonya as playable characters; however, Sonya's part was dropped due to deadline issues. In early shots of Special Forces at the time when Sonya was still in the game, it listed her code name as "Panther". [1] In the first movie, her code name is mentioned as "BlackHawk".
[edit] Game information
According to her profile in the Official Mortal Kombat comic and instruction manual, her known relatives are Major Herman Blade (father), Erica Blade (mother), and Daniel Blade (twin brother, deceased).
Both Sonya and Kano are shown in one of the backgrounds in Mortal Kombat II, chained in Kahn's Arena. They were also the first MK3 characters to be confirmed. Johnny Cage's Deady Alliance ending shows a movie poster with him standing and Sonya clinging to his leg, again suggesting a love interest. It is the first reference to the connection seen in the games.
In the kards seen in Mortal Kombat: Deception, she and Cage are both notably listed as each other's allies, once again acknowledging their connection.
In her ending in Mortal Kombat 3, there is a typo with the word "possible" being spelled "posible". [2]
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Sonya Blade was revealed to be one of Ed Boon's favorite characters during an interview around the time of Mortal Kombat 3 (published in MK3 Official Kollectors Book, by EGM Masters series in 1995); Ed Boon stated that she was not only one of the strongest, but also one of the most popular fan favorites of the game.
- Sonya Blade was one of six selected characters that were featured in the Mortal Kombat: Armageddon’s Premium Edition special cover of the game.
- Sonya Blade was one of a small group of selected characters to be featured in special card-like pictures to promote Mortal Kombat Trilogy .
- Sonya Blade was one of the lucky 17 characters to receive an official Biography in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The rest of the cast remain without any official information excluding a few who participate in the events that take place during the Konquest adventure.
- In Malibu Comics' non-canon Mortal Kombat series, Sonya was kidnapped, and hypnotized by Reptile into marrying Shao Kahn. The unholy matrimony was the reason why she is absent in Mortal Kombat 2 and is seen chained in the background. The wedding was stopped during a battle involving the entire cast of the first two games.
- Oddly enough, in the Mortal Kombat: Armageddon opening movie, as soon as the swordfight between Quan Chi and Kenshi begins, you can see Johnny Cage pushing Sonya off the pyramid in the background. Before this, you can see her fighting Frost in the battlefield.
- During 2001, before any specific information was revealed about Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Sonya Blade was one of the first four characters to be confirmed to return for said game (the other three were Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Quan Chi). She was also the first female to be officially confirmed to return for the Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance installment of the series at that time.
- During the Mortal Kombat: Deception era, Ed Boon confirms in a video Interview that can be seen in the special edition of Mortal Kombat: Deception, that she is definitely going to return for a new Mortal Kombat game.
- According to the first Mortal Kombat film, Sonya's vendetta against Kano stems from him killing her partner. Before their match, Kano (taking out his knife) taunts Sonya and is quoted saying "This baby brings back memories now doesn't it? -- Put a big smile on your partner, from ear to ear." According to Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, that man was named Wexler, after Jonathan Wexler of Threshold Entertainment (the show's executive producer and writer) and he wasn't killed by a knife; Kano had rigged a bomb on the military base which exploded when Wexler entered the barracks (Sonya herself just barely escaped this blast). However, according to the MK Novel by Jeff Rovin, the partner's name was Cliff LoDolce, and he was shot by Kano (six times!) in the back while in the dark -- it was implied that Kano's eye-plate gave him better vision in the dark. In the Malibu comics storyline, Kano kills Sonya's partner in the actual tournament by tearing his heart out - his name was Lance, A.K.A. Sparky. The name Sparky was also used in the original MK video game comic book. The games have established that Kano killed Sonya's partner but have not elaborated on any of the details as the TV shows, comics, and novels have done.
[edit] References
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