Garlador Wrote:
Not necessarily. Rain wanted to rule himself, first and foremost, and if these people wouldn't even entrust him with a ragtag rabble of resistance fighters, what hope would there ever be of them respecting his authority and rule? They would just as soon question every act of leadership he ever did, if not aggressively seek to remove him from authority by force.
Though, another issue is Rain may have a legitimate claim to the throne... but no surefire proof (and even us fans speculate whether it exists or not or if it's all in his head). But his claims of royalty would fall on deaf ears, or not instigate outright cries of treason and insurrection against the currently reigning royal family. By eliminating those supporters, that were never his to begin with, Rain avoids this conflict.
Make no mistake; Rain isn't in it for Edenia, a world he never knew. He's in it for the right to rule A world of his own, be it Edenia, Outworld, or possibly Earthrealm, but in his head, he's Edenian royalty, Edenia should be his, and he'll fight, not for the Edenian people, but for the right to rule as he feels he is entitled to.
Raiden is unquestionably a good guy... because he fights on "our" side. But Raiden is the protector god of Earthrealm... doing desperate things for Earthrealm. Raiden showed he was willing to sacrifice the very lives of Earthrealm warriors, barter their souls, and kill them if he felt it was in the "great good" for the realm of Earth. His intentions are quite noble, but his methods border on extreme and callous, if not outright cruel and corrupt. Raiden will not let anyone else rule Earthrealm... no matter how good or evil they might be or how good or evil he must be.
Rain, though different in persona and motive, is still heir apparent to being protector god of Edenia, and he'll similarly do extremely desperate and despicable things to ensure HE gets control of Edenia. He'll sacrifice the sheep to the slaughter, allay the suspicions of his adversaries, and endure, but his end goal is the same as well: liberation for Edenia on his terms under his rule. He won't let anyone else rule Edenia... no matter how good or evil its ruler would be or how good or evil he must be.
Very nice response, you definitely cleared things up for me (not to say your original post was not detailed and thorough). I'm still a little bothered by what Rain would do if he were to eliminate Shao Kahn given that Edenian supporters have long been reduced but I guess that may be where that arrogance kicks in. Anyway, nice explanations.
