Sindel

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Sindel (or Queen Sindel by title) is a video game character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

[edit] About Sindel

Sindel is a distinctive character in the Mortal Kombat series (and in fighting games in general) in more than one way. She is older than most fighting game characters, with flowing grey hair and a regal attitude befitting of her role as Queen of Edenia. Another factor that contributes to her uniqueness is the fact that at one point in the series, she was actually undead. In spite of her gloomy, gothic appearance, Sindel is benevolent in nature. She rules the realm of Edenia alongside her daughter, Princess Kitana. Sindel's power appears to be more one of an inner, ethereal nature, however, and she has a natural affinity with aerial magic, as evidenced by her ability to levitate and manipulate sonic waves.

[edit] Storyline

Sindel's storyline begins tragically 10,000 years ago, when her kingdom was invaded by Shao Kahn, and she was forced to watch as her husband, King Jerrod, was killed, her people enslaved, and then-infant Kitana adopted by Kahn as his daughter. This proved too much for her, as a mother, wife, and queen, and soon after the invasion, she committed suicide.

However, this would not be the end of her. Gaining aid from the Elder God Shinnok, Shao Kahn would conspire to bring her back to life, but not in Outworld. Instead, her resurrection would take place on Earth, which would allow Shao Kahn to step through the borders separating the realms and claim her for himself, thus forcing a merger between Earth and Outworld. She would also be revived in a brainwashed state, with no knowledge of her past and having complete loyalty to Kahn. After the sorcerer Shang Tsung failed to secure Earth via the Mortal Kombat tournament, Kahn implemented this plan, and was partially successful; Sindel was reborn just as was planned, but Kahn was only able to garner a partial merger of the realms by her revival before Earth's warriors defeated him. However, Kahn didn't just lose Earth in his defeat; Kitana - realizing that her mother was alive - succeeded in procuring an audience with her and convincing her of her true past, thus turning Sindel against the emperor. As Kahn's defeat also succeeded in separating it from their homerealm of Edenia, Sindel took up her rightful place on its throne, and vowed not only to rebuild their home, but to also bring down Shao Kahn for his many crimes.

However, those plans had to wait, as one of Sindel's people, the daughter of an Edenian ambassador to the realms named Tanya, betrayed her homeland and allowed the Netherrealm forces of the fallen Elder God Shinnok to invade the palace. Though Kitana got away, Sindel herself was captured and held in her own dungeon until Shinnok's forces were defeated. Enraged at this latest invasion on her kingdom, Sindel sent Kitana to form an alliance with the Shokan armies and lead them into battle against a weakened Shao Kahn while she continued to help restore Edenia to its former beauty. Unfortunately for her, Edenia was once again invaded, this time by the Dragon King, Onaga, who had slain Kitana and her Earthrealm allies and resurrected them under his control. She is once again confined inside her own prison, this time guarded by her own daughter (an effective plan, as Sindel could never bring herself to fight against her own flesh and blood, even for her own freedom), but was freed by Jade. Now, she scours Edenia for more information on Onaga that might lead her to a way to free Kitana from his control.

In Sindel's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending, she defeats Blaze and obtains god-like powers. With these newfound abilities, she decides to resurrect her husband King Jerrod, reaching out to the Heavens and taking his soul. She gives him flesh and bones, allowing him to live once more. Now Sindel, Jerrod, and Kitana will work together to ward off evil tyrants like Shao Kahn and to keep the realms safe and protected.^[1]

[edit] Combat characteristics

[edit] Signature moves

• Banshee Scream: Sindel screams and stuns the opponent for a free hit. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
• Levitate: Sindel uses her flying abilities to float in mid-air. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
• Fireball / Star Screamer: Sindel fires a ball of fire from her mouth. In Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Sindel can perform this move while floating in the air as well. She could also fire two fireballs in Trilogy. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
• Sliding Foot Grab: Sindel slides forward, face down on the ground with her arms reaching out to grab the opponent's legs. When she does, she bends up her legs to kick the opponent in the face and knocking them down. (MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)

[edit] Recurring fatalities

• Super Scream: Sindel screams with such force to destroy her opponent. In Mortal Kombat 3 and its updates, Sindel used her voice to rip off her opponent's skin, leaving a skeleton covered in flesh remains (this version was later reused as another fatality for Fujin in Mortal Kombat 4, in which he used his wind powers to rip off his opponent's skin). In Deception, this fatality returned in another fashion; in which Sindel used her voice to tear her opponent's body to pieces. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U)

[edit] Appearance

In every video game appearance, Sindel is presented with a purple body suit and gloves. She also possesses flowing white hair with black streak on it, which is another recognizeable feature of Sindel. Despite being aged, she has the physique of a middle-aged woman, probably because of her Edenian roots (Edenians are well known for aging very slow). Only her hair indicates her old age. She has solid white eyes, while the majority of Edenians do not. Her eyes may indicate her undead status before her resurrection.

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Film

Sindel appeared in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and is eventually turned to the good side by Kitana. She is first believed to be the key to closing Shao Kahn's portals to Earth, then her daughter is believed to be the key. She only has a limited role in the movie, and is noted for her cheesy lines of dialogue. When she is brought back to life, her change in alliances occurs, and she wears a symbolic white dress to denote this. She is portrayed by South African actress Musetta Vander.

[edit] Television

Although Sindel is never seen or mentioned by name on the live-action TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, her video game biography is acknowledged when Princess Kitana declares that her mother killed herself following the execution of her husband Jerrod rather than be subservient to Shao Kahn, who conquered Edenia. The deaths of her parents are one of Kitana's motives for covertly working against the Emperor while in his service.

[edit] Comic books

Sindel has a minor cameo appearance during Malibu Comics single issue Kitana/Mileena titled Sister Act. The comic revealed Kitana's past, showing Sindel as her caring mother. An interesting point is that in the comic, Sindel's hair is black. Although the comic shows Jerrod's death in the hands of Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung, Sindel's fate is never shown.

[edit] Character development

Sindel is said to have been inspired by Marvel Comics' characters Banshee and Siryn, father and daughter heroes who appears in the X-Men series using their superhuman vocal capabilities to attack enemies and levitate.^{[citation needed]}

Sindel was one of several MK3 characters who were not officially named until the game neared completion. During production, she was nicknamed "Muchacha" and "The Bride" by the programmers.

[edit] Game information

In Mortal Kombat 3, the original Sindel costume used for filming game footage was red. It was digitally tinted purple for the game.

Her "that was fun" quote from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was used in the second movie. This time, however, it's given a more seductive air, said after using her sonic scream to destroy the Elder Gods' temple.

She is the first character in the Mortal Kombat series who used the power of flight as both a move used in combat and as a victory pose.

[edit] Trivia

• Coincidentally, Sindel's Mortal Kombat 3 actress Lia Montelongo was dating Brian Glynn, the actor for Shao Kahn, at the time of the game's filming, but they broke up in 2001.
• Ed Boon stated that Sindel was kind of influenced by The Bride of Frankenstein
• Ed Boon said she was also influenced by a Hong Kong mystical martial arts movie where an old man had long hair that would whip around and grab things. It opened a lot of ideas for her powers.
• Ed Boon and Tobias said that her appearance leads many to believe she is a Banshee from the Irish legend.
• Sindel's mid-air fireball is the only projectile that could impact Motaro, a boss character who's immune to projectiles and rebounds them back to the sender.

[edit] References