Baraka revealed to have been a respected merchant before contracting the Tarkat Disease in Mortal Kombat 1's new timeline
Just yesterday, Li Mei, Tanya, and Baraka were revealed for Mortal Kombat 1. Though Li Mei and Tanya both appear to have ties to the "Umgadi" of the new timeline, Baraka backstory goes in a different direction.
In the previous timelines, Tarkatans were a species that inhabited Outworld. In this new timeline, however, Baraka and other "Tarkatans" are victims of the new "Tarkat Disease." During the trailer, Baraka ends up relaying just how dismal his situation really is.
"We are victims of Tarkat," says Baraka upon his reveal in the trailer. "It disfigures then debilitates. In time, it will turn us all into bloodthirsty monsters. Death is our only release."
What's interesting about this is that it implies that Baraka was once a human or humanoid inhabitant of Outworld before becoming infected. Who exactly was Baraka before the Tarkat Disease changed him?
Similar to how Rain and Smoke's Mortal Kombat 1 bios were revealed in Discord before they appeared on the Mortal Kombat 1 website, information about Baraka's new backstory has surfaced. As it turns out, Baraka was a respected merchant before he became a victim of Tarkat Disease.
"Baraka was once a respected Outworld merchant. But that life ended in an instant when he contracted the dreaded Tarkat plague," said Baraka's bio. "Incurable, contagious, and the cause of severe physical deformities, Tarkat turned Baraka into a monster."
It would appear that Baraka's warrior spirit from the previous timelines is still present in Baraka in Liu Kang's new timeline. The hopelessness of Baraka's situation has seemingly only filled him with determination.
"He was cast out and doomed to live out his days in a colony of similarly afflicted Outworlders," continued the bio. "When Baraka first arrived, the colony was in disarray. His fellow Tarkatans had given up and were ready to die."
"Their hopelessness lit a fire in Baraka's heart. He spares no effort to better his fellow Tarkatans' lives. He knows that as long as he fights, he will never truly be a victim."
Providing a fierce shred of hope to those affected by Tarkat. #MK1 pic.twitter.com/HPxbNvRyju
— Mortal Kombat 1 (@MortalKombat) July 22, 2023
Baraka in the trailer is shown to have many bony protrusions stabbing out of his skin, giving Baraka a particularly monstrous appearance. Though this hasn't been shown with Mileena thus far, it appears that those that suffer from Tarkat also develop retractable blades that can be extended from the forearms.
With all this in mind, it makes us wonder what Baraka looked like before he contracted Tarkat Disease. Perhaps we'll get a glimpse of "Human Baraka" in the Mortal Kombat 1 story mode.
We'll just have to wait until the game is released on September 14, 2023 to find out.
