Mortal Kombat 1: 22 Biggest WTF Moments

In Outworld, Tarkatans like Baraka can easily be identified by their fanged faces and spiked arms. Shang Tsung admired the tribe's ferocity, inspiring him to create a clone of Kitana with Tarkatan DNA called Mileena, hoping she would be a worthy heir to the throne.

But after Liu Kang got his hand on the Hourglass, this subplot has been heavily revised. In the new timeline, Tarkat is a disease which turns regular people into violent monsters.

This retcon may be simple, but it drastically changes how the Tarkatans are perceived. Hearing Baraka talking about how he lived peacefully with his family before being ravaged by the virus is heart-wrenching.

Although this version of Mileena bears no ill will towards Kitana, the Tarkat flowing through her veins makes her act like a wild animal.

Because Mileena and Baraka have been perceived as irredeemable evildoers in the past, it's shocking to see them reinvented as MK1's most tragic characters.