Hey gang it's Jay aka BanTheTesters here once again to bring you more news in all things nerdy. Today we have a two part show for you guys, we will be looking at not only all things Alien, BUT diving a little into Mortal Kombat’s very own Baraka as well! It turns out that the Xenomorphs (Aliens) have been on laying eggs on Outworld for quite a long time and one poor Tarkatan (Baraka’s species) had an unfortunate date with a Facehugger! So sit back, sharpen those arm blades, grab that pules rifle and let’s get to hunting!
@jamessmk favorite Baraka (portrayed by Richard Divizio in MK II and MKT and voiced in MKX by Greg Eagles of “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy” fame) has been a staple of the MK franchise since Mortal Kombat II and has went on to be featured in (if we count UMK’s Puzzle Kombat and MK Unchained as actual games) 11 games in the MK series which to me is a pretty impressive resume. Design wise Baraka was thought up by Mortal Kombat Ko-Kreator (see what I did there?) John Tobias, who referred to him as a “savage barbarian demon warrior” originally by the name of Rokuro, but this concept never made it to the actual game. Media wise Baraka showed up in the “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” movie (played by stuntman Dennis Keiffer) and the “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth” short film (played by Capoeira martial artist Lateef Crowder) as failed experimental plastic surgeon Dr. Alan Zhan with 10 inch blades surgically attach to his forearms!
My only question is who would win in a blade fight Baraka or Wolverine…?
While trying to think of a few different ideas for a character design some of the MK team visited a costume shop in the area and found a “Nosferatu” ( fully translated as “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” – an unauthorized version of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”) mask and painted and added false teeth to add to the horrifying appearance of the mask. This was later given to actor Richard Divizio to wear as a part of Baraka’s characters motion capture costume.
Whoa whoa hold up…exactly where is Barakas other hand in going in this pic?
In game background wise, Baraka belongs to a “race of mutants living in the wastelands of Outword” (a species called the Tarkatan’s). His skills in combat would later catch the eye of emperor Shao Khan and he would also lead an attack against Liu Kang’s very own temple. He would serve under Khan until his defeat to reemerge in Mk Trology, but Khan is defeated once again and this time Baraka returns to his life as a nomad/drifter once more. Baraka would later set an imprisoned Mileena free and team up with the Dragon King, Onaga. Let’s take a look at his new mate, the Alien shell we?
Hey look, a loading screen of nightmares…
Ah the Aliens franchise, in 2016 it is pretty much a household name at this point with franchise comic books (even DC/Injustice's own Batman fought these things!) and video games. The first Aliens film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and released in May 1979, directed by Ridley Scott (who directed the 1982 cult film “Blade Runner”). The film was budgeted at around $9-11 million dollars and actually went on to make $104.9-203.6 million dollars which for that time was a heck of a feat! At the time Fox was reluctant to throw money at a Sci-Fi movie but after Star Wars became the hit it was, they quickly green lit the project. It should be noted that Scott called Aliens the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre of science fiction”! The Aliens film not only spawned a sequel in 1986 but also three more movies (yes…including Prometheus which has been confirmed as legit…) with another film on the way in 2017 titled “Aliens: Covenant”.
Yes this might be true for Space..but not for Mortal Kombat!
The creature effects for the Alien movie were also ahead of their time. The “Facehugger” for instance were made up of sheep intestines and a high pressure hose was used to shoot the creature out of. The “Chestbusters” creature was actually inspired by not only screenwriter Dan O’ Bannon’s experience with Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease) but also 1944 painting by Francis Bacon titled “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion”. The Chestburster scene from Aliens is iconic in the film world (also voted as one of the most memorable scenes in film history!) but here is a fun fact: While the cast members knew about this scene and the puppet that went along with it, they had no idea about the fake Blood and High Pressure pump effects being used in the scene. So basically when you watch the scene in the film and see the frightened reactions of the crew of actors…these are all in fact REAL. This scene was shot in one take using an artificial torso and a puppeteer.
Men In Black this is NOT
Speaking of Aliens the creature has been known by several names including Beast, Dragon, Monster and Serpent. One of its better known terms however is “Xenomorph” which comes from the Greek word “Xeno” meaning “other” or “strange”. The term Xenomorph was actually first used in the Alien movie’s sequel “Aliens” by the character Lieutenant Gorman. The Alien creature was designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger (1940-2014) who was brought on and recommended to Director Ridley Scott to design the Alien creatures for the movie project. Fox was at first reluctant to bring Giger onto the Aliens film project due to the disturbing nature of his artwork but later change their minds and brought him on.
Exactly what the kids want for the Holidays!
While the overall design of the alien creature is interesting, so is the fictional life-cycle of said creature. The basic Life Cycle starts with the Queen laying the eggs (the eggs however do not need to be fertilized as with say for instance, some insects), the eggs then releasing FaceHuggers (the eggs unfold as a “host” approaches so the inside contents of the egg can attack potential host), the Facehugger then attacks its victim and attaches itself to its head (where removal of the Facehugger from a host is NOT recommended due to its acid blood and it tightening its grip on the host neck) implants an embryo then dies soon after, when the host wakes up then comes the Chestbuster ( that causes the host to complain of “chest pains” often due to the creature inside trying to escape before it’s ready…) and finally after several rapid growth spurts it finally reaches its adult size.
Here’s a fun game, watch this scene while eating and see who throw’s up first!
The Aliens appearance/characteristics have steadily been the same throughout the early film series (with the exception of Alien 3’s “Dog Alien”, the “New Born” in Alien Resurrection and the “Predalien” in Aliens vs Predator: Requiem and MKX’s version). These include such things as the fact that they have elongated, cylinder type skulls and don’t possess any visible eyes (a minor exception is the original Aliens film had “human looking eye sockets). The Aliens inner jaws are actually strong enough to penetrate bone or metal. They also possess a long blade tipped tail which is strong enough to pierce through a Predator and able to lift its prey up as well! The Alien creatures also contain acidic blood inside of their bodies which Alien’s Conceptual Designer Ron Cobb stated was because “it was made to make the creature un-killable “. If one were to use traditional guns or explosives on the creature it would “eat though the hull of the ship”. The Aliens have also been shown to be intelligent creatures as well (this is pointed out in the criminally underrated Alien Resurrection).
Wonder how many people made fun of HIS head in class and got away with it?
The Alien (with the help of a local Tarkatan) comes to us in MKX with Baraka arm blades in hand as what they developers have described as “Animalistic”. While its base design is different there has clearly been a lot of love put into the character (in which he also uses a lot of slashing and biting moves as well as using his “tongue” plus a throw animation ripped right from the films). His tail has been said to be a “5th Limb” and he is able to effectively control space with it (his Down 4 and Jump 4 normals reach INSANELY far). Special move wise he has a combo ender move with his tale to reach and grab you in and stab you (which is armored), a tail flip (similar to Killer Instinct’s Riptor special move) over head move which launches when Enhanced, a crawl move that closes distance and leaves him at slight advantage that must be blocked by an opponent (noted as one of the Fastest special moves in the game!), a ground acid attack (which unlike Erron Blacks caltrops not only damages over time but HITS the opponent on contact). He also comes with a Facehugger egg summon that holds your opponent in place AND an “Alien Drone” that can be called and dropped on your opponent and delayed when enhanced (similar to Street Fighter 5’s R. Mika V Trigger!).
Look at the reach on that tail!
Well it looks like that’s GAME OVER MAN…GAME OVER…for this week, just wanted to thank @Tim Static again for letting me continue to write for TYM. I hope everyone enjoyed this close look/introduction to the Alien character and I hope everyone’s enjoying Kombat Pack 2 and the XL updates. Let me know in the comments what character you all are playing this time around, what’s your favorite Alien Movie and would you like a Kombat Pack 3? See you all again with more soon!
Inter-Web Stuff:@jamessmk favorite Baraka (portrayed by Richard Divizio in MK II and MKT and voiced in MKX by Greg Eagles of “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy” fame) has been a staple of the MK franchise since Mortal Kombat II and has went on to be featured in (if we count UMK’s Puzzle Kombat and MK Unchained as actual games) 11 games in the MK series which to me is a pretty impressive resume. Design wise Baraka was thought up by Mortal Kombat Ko-Kreator (see what I did there?) John Tobias, who referred to him as a “savage barbarian demon warrior” originally by the name of Rokuro, but this concept never made it to the actual game. Media wise Baraka showed up in the “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” movie (played by stuntman Dennis Keiffer) and the “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth” short film (played by Capoeira martial artist Lateef Crowder) as failed experimental plastic surgeon Dr. Alan Zhan with 10 inch blades surgically attach to his forearms!
My only question is who would win in a blade fight Baraka or Wolverine…?
While trying to think of a few different ideas for a character design some of the MK team visited a costume shop in the area and found a “Nosferatu” ( fully translated as “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” – an unauthorized version of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”) mask and painted and added false teeth to add to the horrifying appearance of the mask. This was later given to actor Richard Divizio to wear as a part of Baraka’s characters motion capture costume.
Whoa whoa hold up…exactly where is Barakas other hand in going in this pic?
In game background wise, Baraka belongs to a “race of mutants living in the wastelands of Outword” (a species called the Tarkatan’s). His skills in combat would later catch the eye of emperor Shao Khan and he would also lead an attack against Liu Kang’s very own temple. He would serve under Khan until his defeat to reemerge in Mk Trology, but Khan is defeated once again and this time Baraka returns to his life as a nomad/drifter once more. Baraka would later set an imprisoned Mileena free and team up with the Dragon King, Onaga. Let’s take a look at his new mate, the Alien shell we?
Hey look, a loading screen of nightmares…
Ah the Aliens franchise, in 2016 it is pretty much a household name at this point with franchise comic books (even DC/Injustice's own Batman fought these things!) and video games. The first Aliens film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and released in May 1979, directed by Ridley Scott (who directed the 1982 cult film “Blade Runner”). The film was budgeted at around $9-11 million dollars and actually went on to make $104.9-203.6 million dollars which for that time was a heck of a feat! At the time Fox was reluctant to throw money at a Sci-Fi movie but after Star Wars became the hit it was, they quickly green lit the project. It should be noted that Scott called Aliens the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre of science fiction”! The Aliens film not only spawned a sequel in 1986 but also three more movies (yes…including Prometheus which has been confirmed as legit…) with another film on the way in 2017 titled “Aliens: Covenant”.
Yes this might be true for Space..but not for Mortal Kombat!
The creature effects for the Alien movie were also ahead of their time. The “Facehugger” for instance were made up of sheep intestines and a high pressure hose was used to shoot the creature out of. The “Chestbusters” creature was actually inspired by not only screenwriter Dan O’ Bannon’s experience with Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease) but also 1944 painting by Francis Bacon titled “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion”. The Chestburster scene from Aliens is iconic in the film world (also voted as one of the most memorable scenes in film history!) but here is a fun fact: While the cast members knew about this scene and the puppet that went along with it, they had no idea about the fake Blood and High Pressure pump effects being used in the scene. So basically when you watch the scene in the film and see the frightened reactions of the crew of actors…these are all in fact REAL. This scene was shot in one take using an artificial torso and a puppeteer.
Men In Black this is NOT
Speaking of Aliens the creature has been known by several names including Beast, Dragon, Monster and Serpent. One of its better known terms however is “Xenomorph” which comes from the Greek word “Xeno” meaning “other” or “strange”. The term Xenomorph was actually first used in the Alien movie’s sequel “Aliens” by the character Lieutenant Gorman. The Alien creature was designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger (1940-2014) who was brought on and recommended to Director Ridley Scott to design the Alien creatures for the movie project. Fox was at first reluctant to bring Giger onto the Aliens film project due to the disturbing nature of his artwork but later change their minds and brought him on.
Exactly what the kids want for the Holidays!
While the overall design of the alien creature is interesting, so is the fictional life-cycle of said creature. The basic Life Cycle starts with the Queen laying the eggs (the eggs however do not need to be fertilized as with say for instance, some insects), the eggs then releasing FaceHuggers (the eggs unfold as a “host” approaches so the inside contents of the egg can attack potential host), the Facehugger then attacks its victim and attaches itself to its head (where removal of the Facehugger from a host is NOT recommended due to its acid blood and it tightening its grip on the host neck) implants an embryo then dies soon after, when the host wakes up then comes the Chestbuster ( that causes the host to complain of “chest pains” often due to the creature inside trying to escape before it’s ready…) and finally after several rapid growth spurts it finally reaches its adult size.
The Aliens appearance/characteristics have steadily been the same throughout the early film series (with the exception of Alien 3’s “Dog Alien”, the “New Born” in Alien Resurrection and the “Predalien” in Aliens vs Predator: Requiem and MKX’s version). These include such things as the fact that they have elongated, cylinder type skulls and don’t possess any visible eyes (a minor exception is the original Aliens film had “human looking eye sockets). The Aliens inner jaws are actually strong enough to penetrate bone or metal. They also possess a long blade tipped tail which is strong enough to pierce through a Predator and able to lift its prey up as well! The Alien creatures also contain acidic blood inside of their bodies which Alien’s Conceptual Designer Ron Cobb stated was because “it was made to make the creature un-killable “. If one were to use traditional guns or explosives on the creature it would “eat though the hull of the ship”. The Aliens have also been shown to be intelligent creatures as well (this is pointed out in the criminally underrated Alien Resurrection).
Wonder how many people made fun of HIS head in class and got away with it?
The Alien (with the help of a local Tarkatan) comes to us in MKX with Baraka arm blades in hand as what they developers have described as “Animalistic”. While its base design is different there has clearly been a lot of love put into the character (in which he also uses a lot of slashing and biting moves as well as using his “tongue” plus a throw animation ripped right from the films). His tail has been said to be a “5th Limb” and he is able to effectively control space with it (his Down 4 and Jump 4 normals reach INSANELY far). Special move wise he has a combo ender move with his tale to reach and grab you in and stab you (which is armored), a tail flip (similar to Killer Instinct’s Riptor special move) over head move which launches when Enhanced, a crawl move that closes distance and leaves him at slight advantage that must be blocked by an opponent (noted as one of the Fastest special moves in the game!), a ground acid attack (which unlike Erron Blacks caltrops not only damages over time but HITS the opponent on contact). He also comes with a Facehugger egg summon that holds your opponent in place AND an “Alien Drone” that can be called and dropped on your opponent and delayed when enhanced (similar to Street Fighter 5’s R. Mika V Trigger!).
Well it looks like that’s GAME OVER MAN…GAME OVER…for this week, just wanted to thank @Tim Static again for letting me continue to write for TYM. I hope everyone enjoyed this close look/introduction to the Alien character and I hope everyone’s enjoying Kombat Pack 2 and the XL updates. Let me know in the comments what character you all are playing this time around, what’s your favorite Alien Movie and would you like a Kombat Pack 3? See you all again with more soon!
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BanTheTesters
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- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjdfXNDYZYfD7fRsJM7peug
- https://twitter.com/bcharred/status/588005239057297408
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(Mortal_Kombat)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)
- http://mortalkombat.wikia.com/wiki/Baraka
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu
- http://mkw.mortalkombatonline.com/mk2/baraka/
- http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=alien.htm
- http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ridley-scott-says-alien-paradise-lost-will-be-now-called-alien-covenant-20151113
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_(2012_film)#Sequel
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn's_disease
- http://metro.co.uk/2009/12/10/john-hurt-interview-harry-potter-flamenco-and-chestbursters-624303/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(creature_in_Alien_franchise)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._R._Giger
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0167803/
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnwVjFwmMlXCZwUlMu-9lSg
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-m8aPmS3SVnMk0LsRykHQ
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmd5XLD5Gj48OZVN1FGWgwg
- http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Aliens-Dark-Horse-Comics/dp/1569713057
