Hello Mileena fans, stans and etc. I want to go ahead and break down her background story, for those who are too busy to do some research. Let us begin. Mileena was built by the orders of Shao Khan, because Kitana refused to accept him as her Father/ruler of Outworld. Shang Tsung created Mileena in the flesh pits and create a few more clones, just in case the "first" one dies or fails. So Mileena is a killing machine with no heart as people like to say. She is just as dynamic as a Tarkatan clone.

Now looking back, I can see why Ed Boon does not care for Mileena. To him, she is just a clone with no personality, lack of a memorable backstory, no motives for what she does, a simple slave that only follows the orders of her masters and is simply a clone of Kitana herself. So we don't really know "fully" as to why Mileena likes to kill, serve Shao Khan/Shang Tsung and why she wants Kitana to accept her as her own. This "storyline" for her is convoluted and just leads to more questions.

In MKX, we finally get to see some humility/personality in this character. She has an end goal, we see her emotions and Mileena actually has made love to some people/got a face lift, so she can be accepted by society. (Kind of like how we rejected her and called her ugly back in the day) Since Ed Boon did not care for the character and saw her as another grunt, he figured it was time to kill her off in MKX in the most brutal/disrespectful way possible. Thing is, we were just getting to know about the "humane" side of Mileena and for Ed Boon/the creative writers, to kill her off like that, makes no sense whatsoever. 4thSnake breaks down why the rebooted storyline for Mortal Kombat, just doesn't work and it ends up creating more problems then solutions for each character.

Throughout the five years of her death in MKX, fans have gathered, formed some sort of "cult" or "fanbase" and have taken it upon themselves, to write petitions, spam Ed Boon's and the creators, writers and whoever else was apart of the MK projects, social media feeds of all kinds. They even went as far as to send "death threats" due to Ed Boon's constant trolling of this character, which indeed made a lot of Mileena fans of old/new, quite angry/frustrated. So after all of that, the Mileena fanbase critiquing one another over their past actions, they now come together and celebrate the return of the "real" Mileena in MK11. Well as Wade Barrett would say, "I got some bad news." This is NOT the real Mileena.

Upon further analysis and going back over Ed Boon's tweets, I figured that he would have a plan up his sleeve, to appease the fans and still find a way to get the last laugh. He succeed. MK11 is one of the top selling Mortal Kombat games of all time and Mileena fans bought the game because of her inclusion in the game. Now enough with all of that. You didn't stop by to read all of this just to hear me talk about things that you already knew. Mileena fans/stans came to see what my thoughts are on Mileena as a whole. I will break it down from my thoughts as a child and now. Get your popcorn and fruit bowls ready!

Childhood/Teenagehood thoughts:
When I first saw Mileena, I liked her and didn't think she was ugly at all. She reminded me everyday that, people fear what they do not know. Looking back, I don't understand the memes of this character at all. She has a completely different moveset from Kitana and her overall design was quite fascinating. She is scary but cute at the same time. I remember one word that came out of my mouth when I first see this character: "Sympathy."

Adult thoughts:
She is really cute. I loved her MKX design. I was happy to see that I could finally learn more about this character. It just seemed weird to me that they would kill her off. Did I go off on a rant about it? Yes! But did I bother the creators about it? No. I just boycotted their products and watched the picture show. (Not just because of Mileena, but due to their business practices and etc.)

Now lets get on with the real purpose of this thread. My thoughts on her NOW in 2020! Oh boy. Just like Sindel, I feel that they just ruined this character. Instead of going back to what made her more humane/giving her a personality, they went backwards and just made her evil. Kind of like how the writers portrayed Sindel in MK9-MK11. It's just an easy way out for them, so they don't have to give us excellent character development for both characters. Many Youtubers touched upon the subjects of Mileena and Sindel being "wasted potential" and they would be correct.

Mileena is back where she started from. Since she died in MKX and was brought back from the dead thanks to Kronikas hourglass, it is unclear as to whether or not she is the real Mileena from the past or a clone. Better yet, with so many Mortal Kombat tournaments and with the fact that back then, "nobody can really die in Mortal Kombat" as stated by Ed Boon years ago in a video interview, It makes you wonder how many times did Mileena lose/die in the Mortal Kombat tournament in the first place. Shang Tsung seems like the type of person that would have killed Mileena after she have failed in her first attempt. Let's just say that was the case and Shang Tsung did punish/kill her. That would mean that another "clone" would have taken her place. So the whole "Mileena is back" phrase that I am hearing is kind of fruitless if you ask me.

Gone is her humility. Gone is what little humanity she had in MKX. Even though the past self seems to know of her future, she is still foolish and follows the commands of those who are using her anyway? Falling for the lies of Shao Khan and new Sindel, but won't listen to her sister that she is trying to acquire the trust and love from? Don't fall for the dialogues between Sindel and Shao Khan when it comes to Mileena. It is all lies. If anybody has taken a psychology course, you will know that it is all mere "reverse psychology mixed with manipulation." Sort of like what woman beaters do to men who abuse their wives. They manipulate their thoughts, give them false promises and brainwash them into thinking that, "Their way is the only way and that I am the only person who loves you." I think it was quite ridiculous and pointless how in her arcade ending, Mileena kills Kitana but not D'vorrah? Then she rules side by side with two people who manipulated her anyway? Then on top of that, she is in a relationship with Tanya and they have a child? Do you see why this character development is a disaster!?

But wait there is more! If you pay attention to her intro dialogues with all the characters, you can see that she is very confused and is wondering what her true purpose in life really is. While all the other characters at least know why they are participating in the Mortal Kombat tournament somewhat, she seems to be like the only person that DOES NOT even know what is really going on and believes the lies of her creator/fake father Shao Khan. On top of that, some of the characters call her a clone and SHE DOESN'T DENY IT! Doesn't Mileena want to be her own person or is this "version or clone" of her, has just accepted who she is and doesn't want to know anymore. (The fact that she didn't even bother to look at the hourglass herself in her arcade ending, to see she was being deceived and lied to, makes no logical sense. And the fact that Mileena stans and fans are hoping for Mileena/Tanya's daughter to be in MK12, is completely laughable. No offense.)

So, this character arc is confusing and a mess! How would I write her off? Well for starters, I would do the following:
1. After Mileena lost the first battle in her first MK tournament, she would reject Kitanas offer to help her sister, she would run away out of fear of being killed by Shang Tsung and team up with Tanya and Rain. (I do like their alliance and I can see how their can be a lot of character progression between those three)
2. Mileena will learn the truth about Sindel, Edenia, Outworld, Shao Khan and her creator Shang Tsung. (This will give her a change of heart to seek revenge and then eventually, join forces with Kitana and help Tanya/Rain see the light or face death when she is the new ruler of Outworld.)
3. Mileena will be more skilled/have a more valid reason as to why she continues to participate in the MK tournaments. (With her team mates Rain and Tanya)
4. She will have more character depth, humility and will end up being the anti-heroine of the MK series.
5. A more vicious clone of hers will be made by Shang Tsung, who has evil intentions to kill everything and everyone at sight. (She would only listen to the commands of Shang Tsung and him alone. Shang Tsung eventually betrays Sindel and Shao Khan when the time is right anyway.)
6. Instead of her dying in MKX, I would have Tanya die in MKX by the hands of D'vorrah, where Mileena would kill her and vow vengenance towards her new lover.

There are soooooooooo many ways to write this character off in a much better light and she can still be sadistic, crazy but humane. (Take notes from Juri Han and many sadistic female anti-heroine characters in anime.)

It blows my mind that people DO NOT like her MKX counterpart. It is literally the best version of her in the game. (She just needed to be written a little bit better) Heck, her storyline/rivarly between her and Baraka in MK Deception was pretty awesome, but nothing came of it afterwards sadly. (The MKX comics are not canon sadly. For...reasons?)

So final thoughts of this character in a non-gameplay perspective? (Her moveset is still a little stiff, but a huge improvement overall from her MKX counterpart.) Mileena is disappointing. So much potential wasted. Like I stated before, I see why Ed Boon does NOT care for Mileena anymore. It shows even in MK11, that he does not know what to do with this character. Sad but true. I am still a Mileena fan. Forgive me for expecting just a little bit more and for saying that her STORYLINE/REASONS for killing/being the queen of Outworld, make no sense. Just like Sindel, Mileena has been ruined.

This is not Mileena. It's a past delusional clone of her former self, who is lost and follows the orders of her creators like a drone. SMH. You can reboot a series as many times as you want, but if you don't get it right the first time, this is what you get. "Critically Acclaimed" story telling from Netherrealm Studios? Huh. I find that hard to believe. I am glad you are back Mileena, but looking back, you should have stayed dead. Ed Boon and the creative directors hoodwinked us!