Mortal Kombat has come a long way with not only introducing one of the most iconic g🐭ameplay features in a fighting game called “fatalities,” but the char💎acters are what make the series stand out. Ninjas, sorcerers, martial artists, and more make up one of the most colorful character cast in any fighting game. One of them stands out for being one of the first playable gods in gaming, and that is Raiden.

The Thunder God plays an important part in being the protector of Earthrealm and a mentor to Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Along the way, he would team up with others like one of the game’s most popular characters Sub-Zero. The Lin Kuei assassin has always been a fan favoriꦜte due to his awesome abilities as a Cryomancer and his rivalry with Scorpion.

It’s hard to argue against the fact that Sub-Zero is definitely more popular than Raiden, but the latter has some tricks up his sleeve that make him stand out and be better in combat and approachable charac🅷ter than the cold ninja. While the rivalry with Scorpion will always remain the most iconic, it’s not surprising to see a matchup with the Thunder God and the Cryomancer.

Raiden might not be as loved as Sub-Zero, the former still has a strong fanbase that admire him and like his design, fighting moves, and his role in the Mortal Kombat franc🎃hi🍬se. How does Raiden fare compare to Sub-Zero?

Here are twenty things 🦂that Raiden can do that Sub-Zero 🎃can’t.

20 💖 Thunder Takes Him

With Sub-Zero being able to control ice, Raiden has the ability to control thunder and lightning. The Thunder God can produce an infinite amount of electricity to shock his opponents in self-defense. Just make sure that you are nowhere near water if a𓃲 fight occurs near an ocean or lake.

It’s funny how that despite being electrocuted, Raidꩵe꧅n’s opponents are still able to keep fighting despite the intensity. Raiden can be very fearsome if the volts were insanely high. As the Thunder God, he does limit his power, but the day he unleashes it all will be the end of someone’s life for sure.

19 🍎 It's💮 Electric!

Sub-Zero might have his own animality, being able to transform into a polar bear, but Raiden can turn into an electric eel. While a polar bear has the height, strength,ꦐ and endurance compared to an electric eel, Sub-Zero is not able to use his cryomancy abilities.

Raiden is still able to in his eel form.

Both animals fit theꦺm perfectly, but Raiden’s is slightly more dangerous if you think about it.🧸 It is said that a fully grown electric eel can generate six hundred volts of electricity. Now put Raiden in the equation and he will be monstrous compared to regular eels.

18 𝕴 He's In The Zone 🐟

It’s funny how while Sub-Zero has a bigger following, he does not have many cameos compared to the Thunder God. Raiden is a star in completely different video games, especially the ones that were made by Mortal Kombat’s former development team Midway Games. Raiden is quite the sports star, appearing in games such as NBA Jam Tournament Edition, NFL Blitz, and Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict.

The Thunder God would be the perfect fit for playing sports due to his height and physiquཧe. Sub-Zero probably could fare as well, but we believe that Raiden would be superior in sports than the Lin Kuei ninja.

17 🐲 Become The Star ꦡ

Mortal Kombat would eventually get a reboot in 2011, and it received all the praise it deserves for returning to its roots of being a 2D era fighting game and featuring a lot of extra content. One of the surꦆprising additions was a proper story mode. Both Sub-Zero and Raiden are playable in chapters eight and sixteen respectively.

However, Raiden is the true main character in the story due to the conflict of Earthrealm’s possible chance of being inva🃏ded by Outworld. He has appeared a lot and starts the story from his vision of Shao Kahn winning in Armageddon to defeating the Outworld ruler for good.

16 Despite The Odds 🌟

Injustice 2 is the perfect sequel to the first game, having a gripping story mode and provide unique ways to play with the amount of characters in the roster. The game managed to market the DLC extremely well, featuring characters who were highly requested such as Starfire and Red Hood. Sub-Zero appeared alongside the🔴m, which was no surprise.

However, Raiden would appear in the next pack with Black Manta and Hellboy.

Even though Sub-Zero was the first cho🐓ice, having Raiden appear shows how 🅘popular he is, even if the former is requested more. If the popularity was the other way around, then it might not have been possible for Sub-Zero to be included as DLC.

15 Take Him On ♈ 🌼

If there is one thing we have to admire from Raiden, it’s the fact tha♋t he took on Shao Kahn despite almost completely conquering Earthrealm. Raiden was almost nearly defeated for the second time until the Elder Gods gave him the strength to fi🎶ght against the emperor of Outworld.

Just like that, Raiden became the savior of Earthrealm.

Liu Kang might have defeated him first, but Shao Kahn got a huge buff and Raiden was already worked up from a tragic fight with the former. Sub-Zero probably wouldn’t stand a chance aga🎀inst this cheap charact🌞er.

14 ﷽ Having Sympathꦓy

While Sub-Zero is shown to have emotions, his role as an assassin for the Lin Kuei makes him a⛄ less relatable character, even if he is very popular. Raiden, on the other hand, has shown endless amounts of kindness and patience for those around him. While he will not show mercy to his opponents, he does suppress himself if they are willing to listen to him.

Especially in Mortal Kombat (2011), we see Raiden mourn for those he has lost, es�👍�pecially his pupil who he sees as a son Liu Kang. He would do anything to bring him and the others back to the light.

13 ♍ Convincing The Elder Gods

The Elder Gods are imposing and have power in all of💎 the realms and universe. Raiden is very loyal to them for the most part and will carry out his duties at the protector of Earthrealm. There was one instance in the reboot where Raiden pleas for Scorpion to spare Sub-Zero.

If he does, then Raiden would request the Elder Gods to bring Scorpion’s clan back into the world of the living. Due to his connection 🥃with the Elder Gods, it is possible that miracles can happen if there is a good reason, and Raiden has the lucky route.

12 Made H💝is Way In 💯

Mortal Kombat: Deception would have been a completely if Raiden had not appeared. The opening movie features him sacrificing himself to defeat the Dragon Kin♕g Onaga. Fans were not pleased at the thought of Raiden not being included in the game.

Because of high popular demand, Raiden would be included in the game, and Fujin, who would have taken his place, made a cameo appearance in Konquest mode and the Prison stage. It goes to show that when fans don’t like something, we can rely on game developers to listen to the feedback with the utmost respe🅷ct.

11 ꦯ Foreseeing Events 🔯

The franchise’s reboot combined the events of the first, second, and third Mortal Kombat games. They crafted into an engaging and straight-to-the-point story. After the vision of the future of what would become Armageddon, Raiden from the pa🀅st would later see more sights of what will happen.

He managed to prevent most of them.

While there were some event👍s that screwed them over, such as the second Sub-Zero turning into a cybernetic ninja, the future at least became bright with a chance to bring Earthrealm to peace. If only there was a way to prevent the costs of the main roster’s lives.