Tanya first appeared in Mortal Kombat 4. Originally, she was going to be a playable version of Kitana, but was worked into her own character. She is one of the few “kombatants” who can use invisibility and while she used a boomerang in her original game, she now uses a naginata.
In the game’s original timeline Tanya, the daughter of an Edenian ambassador, betrayed her people by leading the evil elder god Shinnok (as well as Quan Chi and his Netherrealm forces) into her homeland. As the war between the realms waged on she would come to blows with several of Earthrealm’s champions, including her rival, Jade. However, she dies with the rest of the Forces of Darkness during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. It will be interesting to see how what her role will be in this new timeline.