In most cases with clones, the original always ends up being more popular than the clone. Despite their best efforts, Pepsi will just never be able to defeat Coca-Cola, and the clone of Spider-Man Ben Reilly just couldn't compare to the original Peter Parker during Marvel's infamous Clone Saga. The Mortal Kombat series has bucked this trend with the creation of Mileena, the evil clone of the series' leading female, Princess Kitana.

Now it definitely is a close call, but I'd wager that in recent years Mileena has leapfrogged her sister in terms of popularity with most people. A lot of that likely has to do with the fact that she was given such a large role in the latest title Mortal Kombat X, but also because of how ferocious of a fighter she is. Armed with her dual sai, Tarkatan teeth and incredible kombat ability, Mileena is a fan-favorite for many reasons. Heck, she even is kind of funny in a demented sort of way.

But despite how revealing many of her costumes are (trust me, we'll get into that), there are some interesting secrets about Mileena that aren't well known by a lot of people. These include her references in other media, her possible endings in several of the games and powers that aren't evident in gameplay but make her more powerful than you think. Here are 20 secrets about Mileena that even die-hard fans didn't know.

20 A Different Kind Of Superstar

via: uekiodiny.deviantart.com

Mortal Kombat has primarily been the beacon of controversy due to its wanton intensity. When you have bodies being treated as collateral damage at the end of every fight, it's going to get some attention from pearl-clutching parents. But I'm surprised that the franchise hasn't gotten more attention for the way its women have been dressed. The most blatant example of this, though, would have to be Mileena. She even appeared in Hugh Hefner's magazine, for God's sake!

While her initial outfit was pretty simple and modest, as the series progressed Mileena lost more and more of clothing.

This culminated in Mortal Kombat 9 with her infamous Flesh Pits costume. MKX finally gave her some sensible clothing for the ferocious fighter. You can't destroy people with cleavage, no matter what Killer Instinct says.

19 The Fastest Being In All The Land (Almost)

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This isn't about her actual gameplay statistics or anything, although I do suspect that she is plenty fast as a playable character as well. While gods like Raiden or Shinnok can move more quickly due to their status, Mileena can instantly teleport anywhere since Mortal Kombat X. If Mileena really wanted, she could outrun all her opponents, but that ain't the MK way.

In one of her variations in that game called Ethereal, Mileena gains the ability to teleport herself to the location of her sai which the player can plant anywhere on the field. Theoretically, this means that if Mileena were to plant her sai in Outworld while in the Earthrealm, she can transfer between realms. Couple that with the fact she can teleport even without a sai, and this Tarkatan beauty is blindingly fast.

18 Who's Your Daddy?

via: mortalkombat.wikia.com

So many people refer to the pink-clad lady Tarkatan as a child of Shao Kahn. Indeed, if you play through Mortal Kombat 9 and X's story modes, many characters including Shao Kahn himself call Mileena his daughter.

In reality, though, she is much more the child of the franchise's original big bad Shang Tsung than anything else.

Sure, Shao Kahn might have approved of Tsung's creation. But even Tsung makes a good point later on when Kahn seems to have lost his life that he should claim the throne as Mileena only exists because of his sorcery. Mileena should really be considered the daughter of the sorcerer, but we suppose she prefers a father who isn't a complete failure like Tsung.

17 The Mouth That Almost Was

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The entire point of Mileena's appearance is that she has the beauty of Kitana's body but the hideousness of the Tarkatan mouth. Not that I will judge anybody who is into giant fangs that can eat your face off; to each their own. Little do people know that her mouth was almost even more ugly.

An artist at Netherrealm Studios who worked on Mortal Kombat X released concept art from the development of the game which showed off a new evolution of Mileena's jaw. The team wanted the jaw to allow her mouth to open more, but the team couldn't get it the way they wanted in gameplay. So they scrapped the idea. If they kept this, she would have fit right alongside guest stars Predator and Alien.

16 Blazing The Trail

via: getwallpapers.com

Mortal Kombat has a lot of races roaming around its six realms. Humans, Outworlders, Centaurs, Shokan, and Zaterreans, oh my! With that in mind, it's pretty crazy to think that isn't much mixing of races going around here. I mean, let's face it, there are so pretty beautiful looking people of other MK races so you think they would have... alright, I'm getting off track.

Point is, Mileena holds a special status in the world of Mortal Kombat.

Due to her nature as half Edenian and half Tarkatan, Mileena is the first character in the franchise to be the mix of two different species. Crazily enough, she remains to this day the only one. If Liu Kang and Kitana ever have a child (which seems inevitable), then that would be the second.

15 Two Time Queen

via deviantart.com (SpaceWeaver)

Mileena has continually sought power from being the ruler of either Edenia or Outworld throughout most of her history. Now, many characters have goals in the world of Mortal Kombat, but few actually accomplish them. Yes, I'm looking at you, Reptile, think I couldn't see through your invisibility?

Mileena, however, has actually ascended to the throne three times, but one of those wasn't canon. That non-canon was in her Mortal Kombat Gold ending where she destroys Kitana and seizes the throne of Edenia in her place. The second time was in Mortal Kombat: Deception where she fooled people into believing she was Kitana and took control of the Edenian armies. Finally, when Shao Kahn perished in Mortal Kombat 9, Mileena took the throne before newbie Kotal Kahn took it from her.

14 Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

via akizukifantasycritic.blogspot.com/ via deviantart.com (TheRumbleRoseNetwork)

It was hard to make characters look gorgeous in the original 2D Mortal Kombat games. With limited graphical capabilities, it was easier to make characters look ugly than good. Instead of leaning away from turning Mileena into a symbol of lust as technology improved, though, Ed Boon and the gang took the opposite approach.

It was a fanboy's dream.

As the sixth and seventh generation of consoles came roaring in force, Mileena's assets started to grow and the clothing on her body continued to shed until it looked she had more skin than clothes showing. Either Ed Boon's team likes to troll people with her beautiful body but horrible mouth, or they just like drawing T and A. I'm leaning to the latter.

13 Not The Clone You're Looking For

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When it comes to the original appearances of Mileena and Kitana, I could buy the fact that Kitana and Mileena can be identical. They were, after all, just palette swaps of one another. As the series progressed, though, we really have to question the eyes of characters in the Mortal Kombat universe if they think that Mileena could pass for Kitana.

Just look at them. We can start with the assets which lay on their chests. Quite frankly, Mileena's are bigger. Not only that, but Mileena's hair is shorter, her voice is radically different than her "sister's," and her entire fighting style is different. Now, we understand the need for this as players, but to those in those characters in the game? What a bunch of mortal morons.

12 The Liu Kang Love Triangle

via newgrounds.com (Bichuck)

The greatest romance in Mortal Kombat would have to be Liu Kang and Princess Kitana. Not only have the romantic undertones between the two been brewing since Mortal Kombat II, but the chemistry between the two has been evident for so long. However, if Mileena is Kitana's clone, then surely she must have some feelings for Liu Kang.

Well, believe or not, this might be hinted at in Mortal Kombat X.

Before the start of each match in the game, there are small dialogues between the opponents. Before the face punching starts, Mileena makes flirtatious remarks and jokes to Kang. Now, this may just be to mess with him, but behind every joke is a little bit of truth, right? I think Kang will take the body and a regular mouth, thank you very much.

11 She Could Never Harm Family...

via: magentamileena.deviantart.com

Aside from seizing the throne of Outworld/Edenia, Mileena's mission in the Mortal Kombat franchise has always been to defeat her "sister" and bite her face off. Well, this screenshot certainly isn't canon, because Mileena has been defeated by the noble Kitana in every encounter they ever had. If Mileena wanted to taste Kitana, she could just eat herself.

In Mortal Kombat 2, Kitana is successful in beheading the wicked clone and sends her to the underworld. She returns in Mortal Kombat Trilogy courtesy of Shinnok's magic, but as of Mortal Kombat Gold (an update of MK4), Kitana defeats her once again. Mileena probably would have hoped with the reset timeline in Mortal Kombat 9 things would be different. But nope, she loses to Kitana once again. With Mileena now gone and Kitana a Netherrealm revenant, we wonder if these two will ever fight again.

10 Spending Time With Reiko

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There are plenty of Mortal Kombat fans online who would love a night with Mileena. Sure, her mouth might be a little bit scary, but her body is to perish for. Those reasons, however amazingly enough, weren't the reason why Shao Kahn's most trusted military general Reiko decided to seduce the femme fatale.

If only Mileena looked online for lovers, she'd find plenty in Earthrealm.

In the Mortal Kombat X comic book series, it is shown that in between the 25 years of Mortal Kombat 9 and X Mileena had ascended to the throne as Empress of Outworld. Seeking to secretly claim the throne for himself, Reiko thought that straight combat would be a bad choice and instead chose to become Mileena's lover. His love was all a lie as he was truly working with Havik for his own goals.

9 Shao Kahn Doesn't Love Her In Malibu

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In the mid 90s, Mortal Kombat was at peak popularity. As a result, there was a comic book series that might have been called Mortal Kombat, but in reality was its own story separate from the games. This series drastically changed a key part of Mileena's story in connection to her "father" Shao Kahn.

In the original games and in the new timeline, Shao Kahn states many times that he prefers and loves Mileena more than he ever did Kitana. In this comic series, however, Kahn says that he doesn't love Mileena at all because as close as she is to Kitana, she isn't quite the Princess. Even under the messed up definition of love by a warlord, Mileena can't get any love in this series.

8 Reading Her Mind

via deviantart.com (khaluow)

It is easy to forget because of how sadistic her combat style is, but Mileena can also be a great tactical threat when she wants to be. This is not only because of Shao Kahn's influence on her but because of a gift granted to her by Shinnok.

Telepathy isn't something one usually associates with a ravenous monster like Mileena.

In Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mileena is resurrected by Shinnok in order to spy on Shao Kahn and the fighters of Earthrealm. To help her in her task, Shinnok bestows the power to read her "sister" Kitana's mind. This ability must have been forgotten by the writers as the games went on because if Mileena has this power, how in the Netherrealm could she ever lose to her? No love for Mileena, apparently.

7 The End Of Armageddon

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Raiden's final line in Mortal Kombat X is 'There are fates worse than death." Somehow, I believe he was talking about Kitana's ultimate fate in Mileena's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending because, hot darn, this ending would have been dark and bonkers.

In this possible future, Mileena had climbed to the top of the pyramid and slew the fire monster Blaze. With his magic flowing through Mileena and Kitana both, Mileena's mouth had been fixed! She no longer had the fangs of a Tarkatan and actually looked like Kitana! Kitana, on the other hand, now looked like Mileena but couldn't convince anyone else what happened. Mileena locked her away in a dungeon where she went insane. Considering how long Kitana can live, that is centuries of insanity we're talking about.

6 Mileena And Baraka, Sitting In A Tree...

via deviantart.com (ANgELoNIINe23)

Despite the Tarkatan race being featured many times throughout the franchise, there are only two (well, one and a half) playable Tarkatans in the series: Mileena and Baraka. Naturally, these two have been paired up at numerous points, including the second game in the franchise, Mortal Kombat II.

If you really wanted it, I'm sure you can find plenty of images of Mileena and Baraka... together.

In her arcade mode ending of that game, Mileena betrays her allies and destroys Kintaro, Shang Tsung, and Shao Kahn. From there, Mileena seizes the throne and rules Outworld alongside her "secret companion" Baraka. This ending is most certainly out of character for Mileena, as she would never turn against Shao Kahn. But it does make me laugh at the thought of King and Queen Baraka and Mileena.

5 So Many Masters, So Little Time

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In her mind, Mileena's place on the throne of Outworld is a given. Through various means, she found herself on that throne twice, as I mentioned above. But that doesn't mean she didn't have to serve plenty of masters and do tons of grunt work before getting there.

Firstly, she had to serve her "father" Shao Kahn as a slayer and enforcer alongside Kitana. Once Kahn fell and Mileena was slain, she was drafted into service by Shinnok and worked as a spy against both Kahn's and Earthrealm's warriors. Once she was reborn, she had posed as Kitana to become Empress. But, in reality, she had to serve Onaga the Dragon King anyway. Then the Dragon King fell in combat, but Shao Kahn returned and decimated her armies until she slunk back. Mileena: usually a pawn, rarely a queen.

4 Why Does She Need A Sword?

via youtube.com (The Krypt)

Contrary to some people's beliefs, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance wasn't the first game to feature weapons. It actually was the game which is considered the weakest of the actual fighting games, Mortal Kombat 4 (and its remix Gold) which featured the debut of usable weapons. That being said, it was a poorly implemented mechanic and nowhere is that more obvious than with Mileena.

There's a reason why Mortal Kombat Gold was considered super lazy by critics.

Even a casual fan of Mortal Kombat can tell you that Mileena's weapon of choice is her twin sai. Well, somebody should have told the developers of Mortal Kombat Gold this, because Mileena uses a long sword as her weapon in this title. Thank the lord she was given back her sai in Mortal Kombat Deception.

3 She Is Worse Than Shao Kahn

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More than anyone else, Shao Kahn is the big bad of the Mortal Kombat franchise. Not only has he threatened Earthrealm many times, but he was a menace to Outworld for so long as he ruled it for thousands of years with an iron fist. However, in just a few years of Mileena's rule, the denizens of Outworld considered her to be even madder than the late Emperor.

In the Mortal Kombat X comic book series, her rule is looked on by her people to be even worse than Kahn's because of her instability and her tyrannical nature. This leads to an uprising by series newcomer Kotal Kahn, who successfully overthrows her and becomes the new ruler. He isn't perfect, but compared to Mileena he is revered. When you're looked at as worse than Shao Kahn, you've got to be pretty awful.

2 Getting Close With Baraka

via: mortalkombat.wikia.com

The intro dialogues of Mortal Kombat X can be a lot of things. Many of them are mere trash talk between two competitors, some of them are hilarious, and other ones reveal potential backstory on characters within the game. Case in point: Johnny Cage's interaction with Mileena.

I think we're better off not knowing how Cage got this info.

If you pit these two against each other in a match, Mileena will open with calling Johnny Cage a disgusting human. Let's be honest, that isn't that much of a stretch. Cage gets a good retort in by telling her that being with Baraka is truly disgusting. Mileena reacts with shock that he knows this, essentially confirming that she was close with Baraka as Empress. Now, it's unclear if any of these dialogues are canon, but it's interesting nonetheless.

1 A Strange Crossover

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Mortal Kombat is one of the most popular video game franchises on the planet. Thus, it's common for it to get referenced in other media all the time. But there was only one time where I could find where Mileena was referenced and that was in the short-lived Cleveland Show, a spinoff of Family Guy.

In the episode "Another Bad Thanksgiving", Cleveland has to deal with his sister-in-law Janet who he can't stand. In typical Seth MacFarlane fashion, there's a cutaway gag where we see Cleveland cosplaying Scorpion and Janet in Mileena's garb. Cleveland not only wins the match but gets a flawless victory! The episode fails, though, as the fatality shown is actually Raiden's from MK 2 and not Scorpion's. Too bad for Mileena fans, as her appearance is just to be exploded.