Black Dragon (Mortal Kombat)

The Black Dragon is a faction in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About the Black Dragon
According to legend, the Black Dragon split from its parent organization, the Red Dragon. The reason the Black Dragon was founded was a deep-rooted discontent with the strict codes of honor and stealth that pervaded the Red Dragon.

History
While the Black Dragon garnered notoriety around the world, the Red Dragon marked every renegade for death, and the United States government formed the Special Forces to deal with their activities. In the events leading up to the first Mortal Kombat tournament, Kano and his Black Dragon gang lured Sonya Blade and her unit to Shang Tsung's island. Though Sonya was at a severe disadvantage with her unit massacred and forced to compete in the tournament held there, the tournament would also be the beginning of the end of the Black Dragon's current incarnation.

After the tournament, Shang Tsung fled to Outworld, taking both Sonya and Kano captive to appease Shao Kahn and to lure the other Earthrealm warriors to Outworld to compete in a second tournament. During this tournament, Jax Briggs rescued them both, but Kano soon escaped back into Outworld. He was able to convince Shao Kahn to spare his life in exchange for his assistance in training Outworld's army how to use modern weapons. Through deceit and trickery, he even made it to general after Kahn's foiled invasion of Earth, feigning death. At this time the Black Dragon had fallen apart, with most notable members arrested, disappeared, turned away from criminal life (such as Kabal), or simply killed.

Thought to be the last member of Black Dragon, Jarek fought against Shinnok alongside Jax and Sonya. After Shinnok's invasion of Heavens foiled, Jax dropped Jarek off a ravine, seemingly killing him. But Jarek survived the fall by thrusting his weapon to the side of the cliff but he was badly injured. Jarek went into hiding and the Black Dragon was thought to be completely eradicated.

The Red Dragon was persisent in eradicating all those who had once belonged to the Black Dragon, however. When the Deadly Alliance assumed power over Outworld, Mavado, one of the Red Dragon's operatives, defeated the swordsman Kenshi for them, and in exchange was given the opportunity to fight Kano, although it's unclear whether or not this transpired. Reportedly, he had already killed Kabal in combat. But unknown to him, Kabal was saved from the brink of death by Chaosrealm cleric Havik. Though Kabal had renounced his life of crime, Havik was able to rekindle his anarchist ideals. After taking revenge on Mavado, Kabal reforged the Black Dragon more as an ideological than a purely criminal organization, and vowed to learn from its past mistakes. Together with his two new recruits, Kira and Kobra, he travelled to Outworld to assist Havik in his schemes and test the strength of his new gang. Kabal's aims seem to go further than Kano's. While Kano was content to be a common gang leader, Kabal wishes to tear down society. Kano was captured by the Red Dragon and was going to be used as a test subject for combining humans with dragons, but he escaped before they could finish. Jarek also returned apparently alive after his ordeal with Jax, who dropped him into a ravine, having plunged his weapon into the sides of the cliff as he fell to escape death. It is as yet unknown if he has returned to the Black Dragon, as his current agenda involves perfecting his fatalities enough so that he may take revenge on the traitor that sold him out (an agenda apparently aided by Quan Chi, who informed him that the final battle of Armageddon would prove to be the perfect venue to test out his fatalities.)

Television appearance
One episode of the live-action television series Mortal Kombat: Conquest concerned the Black Dragon.

A band of thugs appeared suddenly one evening to claim the Reyland family trading post as their own. Their leader, a beautiful, aggressive woman named Jola, revealed to Kung Lao that the deceased Baron Reyland had been a fraud with many debts owed to the Black Dragon over his lifetime. Siro was familiar with the organization that held a monopoly on drugs, prostitution, and money laundering in Zhu Zin, effortlessly destroying any opposition. The successful defense of the trading post by Kung Lao and his friends led Jola to desire stronger methods of coercion.

Centuries ago, the Black Dragon had been privy to the mystical powers of an actual black dragon, which granted their user powers over fire but ultimately corrupted him into death. The Black Dragon had sealed the powers within a medallion to be guarded by the group's leader, and they lay forgotten for generations. Jola, recalling the ancient legends, desired to unleash the mystic powers once again. Her demand was harshly overturned by her father Binnack, the Black Dragon leader, and her brother Kibral, the second-in-command.

Jola refused to be denied her wish. Coldly murdering her father in secret, she brought the dragon medallion to her old ally and lover, Shang Tsung, in the cobalt mines of Outworld. Despite the sorcerer's admonitions for her to abandon the deadly powers, Jola was adamant to shape a new future as leader of the Black Dragon. In return for unlocking the powers, Shang Tsung demanded Kung Lao's death by them. Jola consented, and the abilities were unleashed, imbuing her with the power to hurl blasts of flame.

Jola turned on her brother, murdering Kibral as easily as her father, and assumed leadership of the Black Dragon. She confronted Kung Lao in a deadly fight which was made even deadlier by her fiery powers, but she was forced to flee when she felt herself being consumed by the strength of the forces within her. Shang Tsung rescued her and brought her to the mines in Outworld to recover, but denied her leave as his price for her failure. While she mastered the powers, Jola would be Shang Tsung's servant. She was not heard from again in the series.

The Black Dragon were never encountered again, but Raiden warned Kung Lao and his friends to remain cautious, as the evil they represented would not die with Jola's absence.

Trivia

 * There was an actual Black Dragon organization in Japan during the 1920s, but its ideology was more akin to fascism than anarchy.
 * Almost all the Black Dragon members that are playable have their names start with the letter K. Jarek is currently the only exception (though there is one at the end). There are other members that have their names start with a different letter (No Face, Tasia, and Tremor) but none of them are playable.