Origins
Reiko was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4 as a mysterious warrior with a strong lust for power. He appears as a muscular caucasian male, with a facial tattoo and white eyes without pupils. He once served as Shinnok‘s general and was a member of the Brotherhood of the Shadow, a group that worshiped the fallen Elder God. When Shinnok was defeated and banished by Raiden, he was believed to have died in battle and disappeared. He later reappeared, becoming Shao Kahn‘s top general. Apparently, his skills in battle were legendary and his ruthlessness earned him Shao Kahn’s favor. Considered a genius by his enemies, Reiko would still be fooled by his own hubris in the end.
Reiko’s Role-Play
Reiko is arguably the biggest creep in the MK franchise, as he appears to have a perverse obsession with Shao Kahn. In Mortal Kombat Deception’s Konquest mode, the player finds out during a side quest that Reiko would borrow Shao Kahn’s helmet without his permission, sneak into Kahn’s throne room when it was empty and would wear his helmet for hours. Apparently, he would pretend to be Shao Kahn in some sort of power fantasy scenario when he thought no one was around to see. Shao Kahn eventually caught onto Reiko’s bizarre behavior however, as he came to the realization that one of his own men was taking his mask behind his back. Only his right-hand man had access to his helmet…
While Shujinko was on a quest in Outworld, he runs into the emperor himself. The two clearly were not allies, and Shujinko was not welcome in Kahn’s presence. Shujinko thought he would have to then fight for his life, but the mighty emperor had a much simpler solution. He ordered the traveler to perform an easy task for him. He sent Shujinko to deliver a possible warning to Reiko, if it was indeed him that has been stealing his personal item. Sure enough, Reiko was caught in the act by Jinko, and the news was returned to Kahn.
Shao Kahn was appalled with Reiko, and told Shujinko that Reiko would surely be executed if he did anything like this ever again. If Reiko’s skills were not so valuable, Kahn definitely would have disemboweled the deviant.
If Shujinko again confronts Reiko after this event, Reiko will appear humiliated, embarrassed and depressed. No longer allowed to wander Kahn’s palace without Tarkatan supervision, Reiko curses Shujinko, claiming that he will one day be the supreme ruler of Outworld, and no one would be able to stop him then.
Appearance
- Age – Unknown
- Height -6′ 3”
- Weight -199 lbs
- Species – Outworlder
- Alignment – Evil
- Origin – Outworld
- Resides – Outworld
Mortal Kombat X
In the alternative timeline, Reiko appears as a main antagonist in the comic prequel to Mortal Kombat X. Just like in the original timeline, he was a renowned general in Shao Kahn’s forces, and was shaped by the emperor himself as a potential heir. In one of his campaigns, Reiko conquered a kingdom whose temple’s goddess has shared a prophecy to him: “Reiko’s blood reigns”.
However, he wasn’t counting with Quan Chi, who manipulated and deceived Shao Kahn – who would end up dying – in the name of the Brotherhood of Shadows. As he lost hope in succeding Shao Kahn, he contemplated suicide as a better option compared with being enslaved by the now freed Elder God Shinnok. When he was about to end it all, he is found by the cleric of Chaos, Havik. Havik said that he was in search of the one from the prophecy and said that his blood would indeed reign, but first, it had to run, as he stabbed Reiko with a Kamidogu dagger.
Later, he would act as a general in Mileena’s forces, as well as being her lover. Reiko had a pivotal role in a significant victory against Kotal Kahn’s forces, where Goro himself would erradicate the emperor’s own father at his own hands. However, when Goro failed to deal with Kotal himself, he and Havik concluded that part of Kotal’s newfound power was due to the Blood Magik brought by the Kamidogu dagger from Outworld, which made Reiko become more decided about becoming the new Blood God. For his next step, he went to Jax’s farm, who was keeping the Kamidogu of Earthrealm, and gave him an offer: the dagger for the life of Jacqui, who was under Havik’s captivity along with Cassie at the time. After an one-sided battle between them, Jax only complied when Reiko threatened to kill his wife as well. Much later, he resumes the process to turn into the Blood God, by stabbing himself with two Kamidogu daggers.
Eventually, when Kotal’s forces, along with Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, arrive at Shang Tsung’s Island, Reiko and his forces – consisted of Red Dragon, Skarlet and mind-controlled Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs – would receive them, and then the battle took off. Eventually Mileena’s forces would join the party, fighting side by side with Kotal’s forces against the threat of Reiko. Reiko rips D’vorah in half with his new found strength. Proud that he is stronger than the mighty Shao Kahn himself, Reiko is so sure of himself in this moment that he is the greatest warrior to ever live.
This joy is short lived however, as this spells the beginning of the end for the deviant known only as Reiko. Ermac summons Shao Kahn’s Wrath Hammer, and gives it to Mileena. Sneaking behind the fool, she caves his head in with the mighty hammer. Reiko’s brains went everywhere and his eyeball popped out of his socket, his skull was completely broken and he died on impact. However, it wouldn’t take long to see that the Blood Code’s influence on Reiko was strong enough to make him regenerate him and bring him back to life. This would not be beneficial for long. To make things worse, the might of the alliance between Kotal, Mileena and Ermac would result in an even more painful death for the imbecile. Kotal Kahn would gut Reiko with a dagger, causing his entrails to spill out and Reiko to cry out in pain and terror, Mileena then would break his legs off causing another yelp of agony from Reiko, and just as he thought that was the end of it, Ermac used his telekenis on his head, tearing it off of his body with his magic and resulting in the screaming evil man dying once more. Reiko was now nothing more than a mutilated corpse, but Havik came along with a mind-controlled Raiden, who electrocuted every opponent in the battlefield.
After the battle, Havik announced that he would repair Reiko’s remains via Shang Tsung’s Flesh Pits. His body would be regenerated, and Reiko would be resurrected a final time to claim his throne. There, the transition to Blood God could be resumed. Reiko claims that he has died enough for one day, and is ready to live a life of godhood now. He first drank from the goblet of the champions’ blood (the champions being Johnny, Sonya, Kotal, Mileena, and Ermac). Then, he is brutally stabbed by the remaining Kamidogu daggers, as Havik declared that Reiko’s blood reigns. Shortly after that, he demands sacifices in his name, but as he is unable to feed himself with the champions, Havik instead asks for the remaining soldiers from the battle to be brought for the sacrifice. As Reiko kills and devours every single one of them, he asks for more people to sacrifice. As Havik says that there is none left, Reiko begins to feel the hunger stinging and clawing from within, which causes his bones to rip through his flesh and tear his own body apart. In the midst of his agony, Reiko’s face begins to melt, and the supposed ‘god’ can only scream because of his excruciating pain. It is then revealed by Havik that godhood was not Reiko’s to claim, and that he was instead just a pawn in Havik’s invocation of the real god. He then diggs his thumbs into Reiko’s eye sockets and rips open Reiko’s head with his own hands holding his brain for all to see. Havik then pops Reiko’s brain and Shinnok’s amulet was revealed to be hidden inside his pineal gland all along. Reiko is no more.
