Sonya Blade

Sonya Blade
Mortal Kombat series character
File:Sonya mkvsdc.jpg
First game	Mortal Kombat (1992)

Sonya Blade is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat series.

About Sonya

Lieutenant Sonya Blade is one of the main heroes of the story, and she debuted in the first MK game. She is a member of a top United States Special Forces unit and the Outer World Investigation Agency. 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. She has a long-standing enmity with the thug Kano, who stands for everything Sonya despises.

Storyline

Mortal Kombat

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.

Mortal Kombat II

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.

Mortal Kombat 3

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 whom was Sonya, whom 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 eventually gained the upper hand and Sonya feigned defeat, but when Kano advanced and grabbed Sonya by her hair to finish her off, she performed her signature leg grab and hurled Kano off the roof to his apparent death, taking a lock of her hair with him.

Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat Gold

After her journey into Outworld and Shao Kahn's near destruction of Earth, Sonya became a member of Earth's own Outworld Investigation Agency, or OIA. The Black Dragon kept crossing her path, however, and its 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 interfered 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.

Deadly Alliance

While on an assignment demolishing ancient inter-realm portals in the East, Sonya received a distressing message from Jax that the Outworld 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 interrealm 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 interrealm 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 Tarkatan 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.

Armageddon

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Sonya returns to Earth after Onaga's defeat, with the intention of continuing her assault on both the 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 capture, she then sends a team lead by her partner Jax in to hunt for survivors, but they mysteriously vanish and are presumed to be captured by the Tekunin. Jax's own cybernetic bio scanners send out anomalous readings before contact is lost, and Sonya fears the possibility of Jax's death.

Sonya soon focuses on discovering with whom 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 in 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 other realm connections, she tracks the signal of a homing beacon placed on Taven by Sektor before his escape, easily killing an Ice Monster beast that was about to battle Taven with her own Armed Forces projectile special move, and eventually confronts him in Arktika. 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.

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.

Combat characteristics

Signature moves

File:SonyaMKSM.jpg

Sonya, as she appears in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

• Energy Rings: Sonya clangs her wrists together and sends out rings like whirlwind fireballs that would hit the opponent. They explode on impact and leave rain-like drops of magical energy to dissolve on the ground. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MK:DCU )
• Leg Grab: Sonya performs a handstand and grabs her opponent with her feet and slams them on the ground. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DCU)
• Square Wave Punch: 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.(MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:A, MK:DCU)
• Vertical Bicycle Kick: Sonya performs a great counter-air attack rising into the air with a series of vertical kicks. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DCU)
• Air Leg Throw: Using her legs, Sonya 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, MK:DCU)
• Kiss of Death: Sonya blows a poisonous kiss that stuns/blinds the opponent temporarily in order to get a free hit. This move was translated from her Kiss of Death fatality into an actual move, and was given to Kira in Mortal Kombat: Deception. (MK:DA, MK:A, MK:DCU)
• 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)

Recurring Fatalities

• Kiss of Death: Sonya immolates her opponent by blowing them a kiss. In MK3, the kiss becomes a purple orb, crushing the opponent and leaving behind a pile of blood and bones. In MK4, it takes the form of an energy ball and slices the opponent in half. In Deadly Alliance, the kiss is a purple poisonous mist, which makes her opponent choke and vomit out organs, food, and blood.(MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK vs. DCU, MK vs. Disney)

Appearance

Sonya was the only one of the seven original playable characters from the original MK whose look changed throughout the series. In the first game, she simply had a green outfit with short hair and a headband. This sprite was kept for her cameo appearance in MKII. In MK3, her green spandex outfit was touched up with black and white stripes.

Since Deadly Alliance, her lingerie could be seen outside, and in Shaolin Monks, she had a belly button piercing. In MK4, her most notable feature was a black cap. In Deadly Alliance, she was given a military-style outfit with a jacket, a tight torn shirt, tight pants, and black boots; she kept this appearance for MK: Armageddon.

Appearances in other media

Film

Sonya was a primary character in both Mortal Kombat films. Bridgette Wilson was cast in the first movie after the filmmakers' first choice, Cameron Diaz, suffered a broken wrist during martial arts training prior to shooting. During production, she was given the nickname "RoboBabe" by director Paul Anderson. Sandra Hess took over the part in the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.

Television

Sonya was a lead character in the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and was voiced by Olivia d'Abo. Her vendetta against Kano was explained, and was explored further in two separate episodes.

Comic books

Sonya was one of the main characters in Malibu Comics' MK series. She first appeared in the Blood & Thunder miniseries in hot pursuit of Kano alongside her partner, who was later killed by Kano in one of only two organized fights that commenced in the entire series. She succeeded in capturing Kano at the conclusion of Blood & Thunder, but he was later freed by his Black Dragon cohorts.

In the second series, Battlewave, Sonya investigated a brutal attack on Jax. Convinced that only someone from Outworld could inflict such injury, she ventured into Shang Tsung's island only to be ambushed and captured by Kintaro. She was brainwashed by Reptile into marrying Kahn, but the Earth warriors intervened during the ceremony and Sonya was able to break free from the trance by herself.

Character development

Sonya was partially inspired by martial artist and actress Cynthia Rothrock, and was named after one of Boon's sisters, as confirmed in a video interview in the special edition of Deception.

There were originally no plans for Sonya's inclusion in Mortal Kombat, as Kurtis Stryker (who debuted in MK3) was to have her storyline, but he was eventually dropped due to fans' requests for a female character during early beta testing of the game. MK: Special Forces was to have both Jax and Sonya as playable characters; however, Sonya's part was dropped due to deadline issues exacerbated by Tobias's sudden departure from the company. Her latest appearances include being featured as one of the cover characters for the PS2 version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, and being featured in a special card ("Vixen Vendetta") for the Epic Battles card game fighting Kira.

Game information

File:Cgae mkda end.jpg

Johnny Cage's ending in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

According to her profile in Midway's official MK comic book and the game's 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 Deadly Alliance ending shows a movie poster with him standing and Sonya clinging to his leg.