Blood Sisters Turned Bitter Rivals: Exploring the Fraught Bond Between Skarlet and Mileena
As an obsessive Mortal Kombat fan since the ‘90s arcade era, I‘ve long been fascinated by the deadly duo of Skarlet and Mileena. These two fatal women share entwined origins as the created "daughters" of Shao Kahn – built to loyally serve the Emperor as his top enforcers and assassins. But over the span of the newer timelines, their sisterly bond curdles into a bitter rivalry defined by jealousy, diverging loyalties, and a severed connection that ends in Mileena‘s grisly demise.
Shared Beginnings as Shao Kahn‘s Tools
Both Skarlet and Mileena can trace their bloody history to Shang Tsung‘s Flesh Pits, the sorcerer‘s laboratory where he engineers twisted creations to serve Shao Kahn‘s will. Mileena was the first experiment, introduced in MKII (1993) as a mutant clone melding Princess Kitana‘s Edenian beauty with the feral Tarkatan race‘s monsterous features. With her unstable mind concealed behind a veil, Mileena was tasked with secretly spying on the "true" daughter Kitana.
Skarlet wouldn‘t emerge until MK 2011 – but her backstory retroactively made her Mileena‘s "sister" test subject. As Shang Tsung tells it, Skarlet was an experiment fusing a warrior‘s soul with the mystic abilities of blood magik. This granted her deadly powers to drain opponents of their lifeforce.
As "twin" proxy daughters, Mileena and Skarlet shared sibling bonds as Shao Kahn‘s foremost assassins for ages – training together, serving together, and slaughtering in his name. In the early years, they made for a potent and loyal partnership as adopted Outworld princesses.
Contrasting Looks and Powers
But the seeds for their eventual bitter rivalry were apparent even early on, as Skarlet and Mileena adopted wildly contrasting looks and powers befitting their differing natures:
Mileena
- Wears provocative pink attire, mask to hide monstrous visage
- Uses quick paired sai, relies on Tarkatan rage in combat
- Teleport kicks and rolling thunder ball attacks
- Unstable psyche, difficult for Kahn to control
Skarlet
- Clad in red ninja garb with face obscured
- Wields blood magic and daggers for ranged/close attacks
- zoning style using blood projectiles and tentacles
- Coldly focused personality, fanatically loyal
As this shows, Mileena depends on her Tarkatan fury to overwhelm opponents at close range. By contrast, Skarlet utilizes precise blood attacks to control the battlefield from afar. This mirrors their personality dichotomy – Mileena‘s instability versus Skarlet‘s calculating focus in serving their father. These differing approaches would soon breed contempt.
Strained Bonds: Mileena‘s Jealous Rage
By MKX (2015), tensions between the "sisters" came to a head as Mileena‘s instability boiled over. Despite ruling Outworld as Kahn‘s heir, Mileena seethed with jealousy as Skarlet seemed to rise in esteem among Kahn‘s counsel, her skills earning praise Mileena felt belonged solely to her.
Several telling exchanges showcase Mileena‘s resentment of Skarlet (via Mortal Kombat Wiki):
- "Why so nervous, sister? Afraid you might… lose something?" – Mileena taunts Skarlet smugly
- "You will learn your place!" – Mileena asserts her superiority over the upstart Skarlet
Most tellingly, in a matchup dialog, Mileena spits:
- "You wish to take my place!" – Mileena exposes her belief Skarlet is trying to dethrone her
Indeed, Mileena seemed threatened by Skarlet‘s tactics and favor with Kahn‘s minions. This sparked bitter jealousy that Skarlet was going to supersede her, exacerbating the friction between Shao Kahn‘s top lieutenant daughters.
Diverging Paths: Skarlet‘s Loyalty vs Mileena‘s Treachery
These tensions finally snapped after Mileena‘s rule proved incompetent and unstable, as she was deposed as leader. While Skarlet dutifully aligned with new ruler Kotal Kahn, Mileena launched a bloody rebellion campaign to try and reclaim the throne she felt was rightfully hers. This split their loyalties permanently – the loyalist Skarlet turned against her treasonous sibling Mileena for good.
In MKX‘s Story Mode climax, it is Skarlet who battles her raging "sister" Mileena before Kotal Kahn himself executes Mileena with brutal finality. As Mileena declares "I am his heir, the throne is mine!" while being choked to death by Kahn‘s magics, Skarlet stands dutifully at his side, silently allowing Mileena‘s demise. In this instant, whatever bonds once tied these sisters together perished alongside Mileena‘s life.
Their diverging character arcs come full circle – the fanatically steadfast Skarlet embracing her role as unquestioning servant to Kotal Kahn, never aspiring for power herself. And Mileena‘s all-consuming jealousy and instability leading her to treason and a doomed rebellion that sever their connection forever.
Mileena‘s Legacy – And Skarlet‘s Future?
Since MKX, Mileena has remained deceased, her rebellion crushed – but her rabid fanbase still clamors for her return. As a chaos agent provocateur through every appearance, Mileena won popularity for bringing turmoil and a savage X-factor to MK‘s stable of kombatants.
By contrast, Skarlet keeps lurking in the shadows, biding her time for yet unknown schemes. As the consummate opportunist, Skarlet allied with Mileena, then betrayed her when fortunes swung to Kotal Kahn. If history holds, should Kotal Kahn ever falter, expect Skarlet to strike out for her own agenda if it suits her bloodthirst.
For now though, Mileena remains departed, with Skarlet firmly entrenched as Kotal Kahn‘s deadliest enforcer. Let‘s see what happen‘s in the eventual MK12…could the wayward "sister" Mileena yet return to challenge Skarlet and Kotal Kahn anew? As a diehard devotee, I‘ll be watching eagerly for the next Khapter in Skarlet and Mileena‘s sanguinary saga!
