Sonya Blade is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat series. Debuting in the original Mortal Kombat game from 1992, she was a late addition to the game as developers decided deep into the development cycle that the game needed a female character. In the series canon she is an officer of the United States Special Forces and later of a specialized U.S. government agency. Her goal in most of the games is to pursue and capture Kano, as well as eliminate his criminal syndicate, the Black Dragon. In later games she is joined in this effort by her comrade Jax. One of the original seven player characters of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Sonya has featured in almost all of the games since her inception. She has also appeared in alternate MK media such as the two live-action films; the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy; and print media such as the 1995 Mortal Kombat novel and the Malibu comic series, in addition to some official merchandise.