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Overview

One step closer to flushing out Ultratech.

— Orchid's victory quote

Orchid (also called B. Orchid or Black Orchid) is a playable female fighter and a major signature character of the Killer Instinct games, having featured prominently in every installment of the series to date. A secret agent and highly trained assassin who boasts mysterious powers, Orchid was dispatched by a shadowy organization to uncover the truth behind Ultratech's activities. In Killer Instinct (2013), she's a rogue counterintelligence operative who has embarked on a personal crusade against the megacorporation, and founded an underground resistance movement known as the Disavowed. Along with her younger half-brother, Jago, Orchid is one of the main protagonists of the Killer Instinct franchise.

Biography

Appearance

In the original Killer Instinct (1994), B. Orchid is a prime and athletic young woman with a tanned skin and raven black hair, who wears a green leotard with the word "HOT" written on each side in large yellow letters. The ends of the leotard feature a yellow lining around her thighs, and she wears green gloves and ankle-length, high-heeled boots. The boots also have yellow cut-offs and show extra weapons strapped to them. Orchid wears a green and yellow headband, and she wields two plasma-based eskrima sticks.

In Killer Instinct 2, the Black Orchid receives a (pretty) noteworthy aesthetic redesign featuring a green thong bodysuit with yellow highlights. This (thong) bodysuit shows parts of her exposed and tanned skin through a pair of oval-shaped openings on each side of her chest and abdomen, and then cuts off sharply as a "V" shape in between Orchid's legs, unapologetically revealing her (perfectly) voluptuous booty to the world. Her high-heeled boots extend right up to her thighs, and the eskrima sticks are replaced with electrified tonfas. Unique to KI2, Orchid's hairstyle is also slightly more curly and she wears a pair of large golden earrings.

In Killer Instinct (2013), B. Orchid's appearance reflects her secretive background in the US special forces while also accentuating her body's top athletic figure. Her iconic yellow headband has nightvision goggles added to it, and she features a green armored bustier over a white top, green shorts with a belt around them, black cut-off gloves while on her left upper arm she has a green strap of cloth wrapped around her biceps. Bandages are wrapped around her wrists and a mini-computer is strapped to her right wrist. She wears a single shin-guard on her right knee along with another strap of cloth, and features ankle high, high-heeled combat boots. Orchid again uses her eskrima sticks seen in the 1994 game.

Orchid's KI 2013 retro costume closely mirrors her original 1994 arcade appearance, but mixes in some minor elements from her famous KI2 outfit such as the high-heeled boots and its set of large gold earrings.

Personality

A devoted soldier driven to obsession, Orchid will never abandon a mission while she lives.

— Orchid's story mode description

Orchidcat

Cougars–always watching, waiting for you to let your guard down

A steadfast and intrepid servicewoman, B. Orchid's life changed dramatically when she was sent to investigate a RUMINT about the sinister ambitions and sprawling web of influence of the supposedly defunct Ultratech. Quickly uncovering that the notorious corporation not only remains active but in fact has never been as powerful, Orchid becomes targeted by Ultratech's enigmatic CEO, ARIA, after she gathers information that threatens to expose the full extent of the company's influence over governments, mass media, financial institutions and the military-industrial complex.

Soon disavowed by her own organization and labelled a dangerous rogue, the Black Orchid responds by making Ultratech's smears her own, and establishes an underground network of spies and agents who were similarly brought to ruin by the megacorporation. Bereft of her official support, under severe psychological strain and in constant danger, ARIA expected Orchid to falter. But the secret agent instead embarks on a crusade against Ultratech, and starts building out the Disavowed into a fully-fledged paramilitary resistance movement, bent on strategically sabotaging ARIA's operations across the world.

Pitted in a contest of wills against what often appears to be an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, Orchid becomes increasingly volatile, until she is reunited with her long-lost half-brother, Jago; with the siblings resolving to support each other in their struggles, no matter the outcome.

Abilities & Powers

Trained for most of her life as an elite field agent for covert operations, black ops and wetworks by the Special Warfare Department of the US military, the mysterious and beautiful woman known as the Black Orchid combines the qualities of a special forces operative and an assassin, rendering her a deceptively lethal and highly capable asset. Orchid fights in an advanced style of CQC that emphasizes legwork, grappling and ground control techniques in order to subdue her targets, and utilizes various forms of crowd control weaponry, such as flashbang grenades and stun batons, to disorient and control her mark before suddenly taking it down.

Because of a top secret government experiment that has been performed on her paternal grandmother, the Black Orchid is capable of summoning a cat-like manifestation of energy (which she affectionately calls the "firecat") that obeys her every command and which assaults anything that's threatening her. Orchid has been known to assume this cat-like form of pure energy herself, implying the "firecat" in actuality is the extension of her own life force.

Killer Instinct (1994)

Story

Kiorchid1994

♫ Oh baby, she's a killer–such a killer! ♫ (KI, 1994)

B. Orchid is a secret agent, sent by an unknown group to investigate the mysterious disappearances that surround the Killer Instinct tournament. Her true identity and abilities are shrouded in secrecy.

Extended Story

For many years, Black Orchid has been amongst the code-named elite of a professional spy organization working for the greater good of society. Her past remains hidden, including some things of which even she is unaware; she won't find out for some time yet that Jago is actually her brother. Realizing that clear evidence of Ultratech's crimes and dark ambition is proving impossible to come by, she eventually decides that the only way into the company is also the most dangerous: straight through the open front door. Once her superiors are persuaded of the necessity, she goes ahead and enters the tournament.

Ending

Orchid Classic

♫ Such a feeling–killer feeling... ♫ (Orchid's retro costume in KI 2013)

Escaping unscathed with vital information about the corrupt future plans of Ultratech, Orchid rushes back to report. Informing her superiors of Ultratech's evil intentions, they can now act in bringing about the destruction of the corruption presiding there.

Stage

Main article: Chicago Rooftop

Killer Instinct 2

Story

Eyedol’s death by Orchid’s hand freed massive energies, ripping Ultratech back in time. Now 2000 years in the past, Orchid must face a new challenge and an even greater foe.

Extended Story

The lethal secret agent remains as enigmatic as always. Had she been caught and detained in her infiltration of Ultratech, the authorities would eventually have exposed her as a valued asset of an international spy organization. However, Orchid's role in the tournament and ultimate victory over the warlord Eyedol yielded some very unexpected results, leaving not only her but most of Ultratech trapped two millennia in the past with rather more urgent concerns on their hands.

Endings

Referenceorchid

♫ Don't give in to fear–this is all you need to hear! ♫ (KI2, 1996)

Kill Sabrewulf, don't kill Jago:

Gargos is defeated. The way stands clear for the forces of good to rid the world of Ultratech. Cursing Orchid as he is dying, Gargos reveals that Jago is her brother and they'd both soon be dead. Separated at birth, the orphaned brother and sister are reunited. A new fighting team has been formed.

Kill Sabrewulf and Jago:

Gargos is defeated. The way stands clear for the forces of good to rid the world of Ultratech. With his dying breath, Gargos curses Orchid to the same fate that had befallen her brother Jago. She returns home, but her victory is hollow. For the rest of her life, she mourns the loss of the brother she never knew.

Don't kill Sabrewulf or Jago:

Gargos is defeated. The way stands clear for the forces of good to rid the world of Ultratech. Cursing Orchid as he is dying, Gargos reveals that Jago is her brother and they'd both soon be dead. Reaching beyond the grave, Gargos possesses Sabrewulf and attacks. But Jago slays the wolf and the siblings return home to a new life.

Don't kill Sabrewulf, kill Jago:

Gargos is defeated. The way stands clear for the forces of good to rid the world of Ultratech. With his dying breath Gargos curses Orchid to the same fate that had befallen her brother Jago, his spirit possessing Sabrewulf in a last desperate act. Gargos attacks. Taken by surprise, Orchid falls and Gargos has his vengeance.

KI Gold Ending:

Amazed that her victory in the 1st tournament hadn't destroyed Ultratech, Orchid returned, but this time there can be no doubt, Ultratech has been destroyed, good has triumphed. But, in her heart Orchid knows this is not the last time she will be needed, for wherever there is good, evil must also exist, it is only a matter of time before she must return.

Stage

Main article: Helipad

Killer Instinct (2013)

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♫ Listen this is war–you are gonna hit the floor! ♫ (KI, 2013)

Story

Paranoid, unstable, and disavowed from her agency, Orchid is determined to carry out her crusade against the dismantled organization, Ultratech. In war-torn Eastern Europe, she sets out to build an underground network that will prove Ultratech is still active.

Extended Story

The Firecat’s Summoning:

Main article: The Firecat's Summoning

Endings

Spare Sadira, ULTRA Fulgore:

Gasping and defeated, Sadira reveals the identity of the one who sanctioned her: ARIA leads a reborn Ultratech. With renewed purpose, Orchid becomes a mercenary angel of vengeance, bent on burning Ultratech to the ground.

Spare Fulgore, ULTRA Sadira:

Branded a rogue and psychotic, Orchid leaves behind a wake of death and terror in her single-minded campaign against Ultratech. As others are drawn to her cause, Orchid's network becomes an increasingly unstable and deadly global force to be reckoned with.

ULTRA Both Sadira and Fulgore:

With only personal conviction to maintain her crusade against Ultratech, Orchid nearly falters-- until she is again reunited with her brother, Jago. Each grappling with inner demons, they are strengthened by mutual cooperation, resolved to aid each other to the end.

Shadow Lords

Loose Ends

(before fighting Sadira)

Orchid has never been one to leave things half-done, and finishing off Ultratech's assassin is an itch she's been waiting to scratch for far too long.

An Uneasy Alliance

(before fighting ARIA)

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the old saying goes. But when it comes to ARIA and the Ultratech empire, Orchid is willing to make an exception - just this once.

Shadow Brother

(before fighting Shadow Jago)

This aberration is not Orchid's brother! Purge the evil spirit from Shadow Jago's body, and return Orchid's sibling to his true self.

Stage

Orchid Wallpaper 1920x1080-1

B. Orchid in her new Rebel Outpost stage for Killer Instinct (2013)

Main article: Rebel Outpost

The rebel outpost is similar in theme to B. Orchid's Helipad stage from Killer Instinct 2. During an Ultra Combo, the apartment building in the background will be destroyed by army helicopters, who demolish it with a missile barrage. If both characters remain idle on this stage for a while, a remix of Orchid's classic theme, "K.I. Feeling", will begin to play in the background.

Gallery

Killer Instinct (1994)

Killer Instinct 2

Killer Instinct (2013)

Quotes

Target spotted. This should be quick.

— Orchid's Killer Instinct (2013) intro quote

Itsy bitsy, yes you were.

— Orchid derides Ultratech's assassin Sadira, after taking her out during the events of Shadow Lords

Let's put an end to this, once and for all!

— Orchid tracks down the location of ARIA's mainframe computer (Shadow Lords)

Finish!

— B. Orchid unleashing her Ultra Combo (presumably on ARIA's robotic form)

Go ahead and call me landlord, 'cuz I'm about to evict you from my brother's body!

— Orchid takes on Shadow Jago during Shadow Lords

It all ends here, chubby. With you and I. Tell gruesome I'll be with him shortly.

— B. Orchid in the Killer Instinct comics (1996)

ORCHID

"This should be quick."

What kind of coward flees a fight with Gargos? Bring it on!

— Orchid being her usual self in the middle of the End Times

Take 'em down!

— B. Orchid activating her Instinct Mode in KI 2013

Comin' through!

— Orchid letting loose her "firecat" powers

Gotcha!

— B. Orchid's air leg grapple

Lasaken!

— Orchid throwing her "lasaken" projectile in Killer Instinct (1994)

Trivia

  • B. Orchid's "retro" costume in Killer Instinct (2013) initially was to be modeled after her noted looks from Killer Instinct 2, but this idea became shelved, and the costume was instead based on her original 1994 arcade appearance.
  • Orchid's famed "boobs flash" Ultimate in Killer Instinct (1994) appears to be inducing a fatal case of Stendhal's syndrome in all of her male opponents.
    • Conversely, if the opposing character is another B. Orchid, she'll stomp her heels on the ground in a fit of frustrated jealousy.
  • Throughout the KI games, Orchid is consistently portrayed as being the nemesis of the global megacorporation Ultratech. In KI 2013, this story angle is taken to the next level with the introduction of ARIA—the "woman" CEO of Ultratech and B. Orchid's ultimate adversary, with the colliding two alpha females unsurprisingly having a tiny little bit of enmity between them.
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The Queen rarely loses her temper, but when she does, she brooks no argument.

  • The lyrics to Orchid's newest pop music song for KI 2013, titled "Touch Me And I'll Break Your Face", seem directed specially at ARIA (and the colorful line ♫ You'll never see me coming, b*tch! ♫ in particular), as they're singing into words Orchid's fearless defiance of Ultratech.
    • Similarly, the line ♫ Please man, I'm outta your league! ♫ appears a jab aimed at Cinder, ARIA's lieutenant and enforcer, who like Orchid has a distinguished service record in the US special forces in his backstory for KI (2013).
  • During B. Orchid's intro for KI 2013, a voice from an unseen communication device is heard, saying "Orchid, confirm visual." and "What's your time estimate?". This is one of the secret agents of the Disavowed, her underground network engaging in global asymmetric warfare against ARIA.
  • Orchid's mysterious ethnicity is a source of conjecture among KI's fans, who in the aggregate assert she's anything from Caucasian (KI 2013) to (Eur)asian (1996 KI comics) to a Latina and Black woman (KI2). However, the only official details about B. Orchid's private background is that she's American-born, that Jago is her younger half-brother; and that their father was a soldier named Jacob.
    • With much of Orchid's personal life being classified as a state secret of the US government, her real name or true identity has yet to be revealed.
  • During the pre-alpha development of Killer Instinct (1994), then under the placeholder "Brute Force", the Black Orchid's design wasn't yet finalized, and there was a cancelled and more generic prototype of Orchid called Roxxy or Wanda.
  • B. Orchid's animation while shape shifting into the "firecat" in Killer Instinct 2 is recycled from the first game. If watched closely, her sprite can briefly be seen to revert to its original 1994 arcade model.

External Links

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