Liu Kang is one of the most popular and accessible characters in the series. He is one of Earthrealm's greatest warriors, having defeated many to prove his valor. Throughout the series he has been gradually portrayed as the main hero, becoming champion after the first Mortal Kombat tournament. Liu Kang has found a nemesis in the traitorous Shang Tsung, a sorcerer who he has defeated on numerous occasions. Kang is often considered the greatest threat to the plans of Tsung and his emperor, Shao Kahn. He is a member of the White Lotus Society and trains extensively at the Wu Shi Academy. It was at the Academy that he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi.
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Liu Kang
RaidenKitanaShao KahnMileenaQuan Chi |
Raiden is the eternal God of Thunder, protector of Earthrealm, and arguably one of the most powerful characters in all of Mortal Kombat. After the second defeat of Shinnok, he ascended to the status of Elder God. Being a god, he possesses many supernatural abilities, such as the ability to teleport, control lightning and fly. As a god, he is used to thinking in terms of eternity rather than normal human lifespans, and so he has a radically different outlook on life. This is not to say he is incapable of understanding human values and psyches.
Princess Kitana is 10,000 years old, but is considered young in her realm of Edenia and has the appearance of a young woman. Throughout the years, she rose to great importance; first as the loyal stepdaughter of Shao Kahn, then as his enemy, tearing herself away from his grasp and freeing her home realm of Edenia. She also led an army into Outworld to combat any chance of Shao Kahn rising to power again. She shared a subtle love interest with Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang, even after he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance. Though she was loyal to Shao Kahn for most of her life, she aligned herself with the side of good upon learning the truth about her past and her true father. Shao Kahn the Konqueror is represented as the embodiment of evil. In many respects, he resembles a large Asian warrior, and is well known amongst the roster of Mortal Kombat Kombatants for his godlike strength which rivals, if not outright exceeds, that of Raiden, the God of Thunder. He is also known for his extreme callousness, brutality, ferocity in battle, and his fondness of personal executions, though he has occasionally spared the lives of his subordinates, if they prove their worth, and his victims such as Sindel and Kitana, raising the latter like his own daughter and treating the former like his own wife. However, his true power that has served him well and allowed him to rise above the image of a mere warlord is his high intelligence and profound knowledge of the black arts. Like his subordinate Shang Tsung, he has the power to consume other souls.
Perhaps Shao Kahn’s greatest strength lies in his ability to work towards his goals with great tenacity and his ability to organize. However, his greatest weakness is his arrogance and overconfidence. Shao Kahn has often underestimated mankind, and therefore tried to conquer Earthrealm many times, with or without a queen (consort), to no success. Mileena is a clone of Kitana, created by Shang Tsung's sorcery in his flesh pits for Shao Kahn, using Tarkatan physiology. Vicious and evil, she despises Kitana, and feels that it is her own right to rule Edenia as Princess in her place. Her fondest wish is to kill her "sister", and claim her existence for her own. Somewhat of an opportunist, she will make use of any chance to seize power that comes within her hands. Quan Chi is the most powerful sorcerer and necromancer in the Netherrealm and a primary villain in the Mortal Kombat series. Quan Chi combines both cunning and brute force in his never-ending plots to overtake not only Earthrealm, but all of reality. He is an opportunist and will ally himself with anyone who can help him further his own goals. He is notable in particular for his ruthlessness and pragmatism. His manipulative and deceptive nature has earned him many enemies, including Sub-Zero and Scorpion, the latter whose entire family and clan he destroyed. Only Shinnok, Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung and Delia can match Quan Chi's skills as a sorcerer. Reincarnated in the darkest of all realms, the Netherrealm, Noob Saibot is the very incarnation of evil. Before becoming a wraith, he was once (Bi-Han) The Original Sub-Zero, an assassin among the most powerful of Lin Kuei. As Sub-Zero's name, clothes, and powers would suggest, his character was icy and distant. In all aspects, he was a cold-blooded and violent assassin absolutely dedicated to his clan, the Lin Kuei. While essentially neutral, his soul had become dark and corrupted from years of violence and remorseless killing. Before his story is revealed to the player, the player can make an educated guess on who he was. He disappears after MK, and reappears in MKII reborn as Noob Saibot. When he died in the first Mortal Kombat tournament at the hands of Scorpion, his soul, corrupted by years of violence, descended to the Netherrealm's Fifth Plane, but was resurrected by Quan Chi. The evil within his soul was released, stripping him of pride, compassion, and everything else that made him a human. He wishes not only to remain in the Netherrealm, but to conquer and rule it. Though he has been seen in the service of conquerors such as Shinnok and Shao Kahn, his ultimate allegiance is himself. |
Noob saibotScorpionScorpion is perceived by fans as the title's foremost anti-hero. He undertakes actions that benefit the forces of good, albeit in his own gruesome and vigilante manner. His attitude, appearance and self-reliance have all contributed to his popularity. Compared to the purely virtuous "good guys", and the diabolically evil "bad guys", Scorpion's moral neutrality is unique. Although he is featured alongside the forces of evil in the opening scene of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, he remains neutral due to his fierce hatred of Quan Chi.
Scorpion appears human when masked, though this is merely an illusion. Only his skull remains when in his true form, sometimes ablaze. However, he can fully regain his human appearance if he conquers his own demons. Scorpion's most popular and recognized skill is his famous spear attack, which is used to draw an opponent toward him. This attack will also stun the opponent for a short amount of time. Scorpion will shout, "Get over here!" or "Come here!", while executing this technique. NightwolfTakeda takahashiSub-ZeroWhile the younger Sub-Zero was depicted as a young Lin Kuei warrior who was living in the shadow of his older brother, he has since changed and grown into a warrior who has progressed towards the more humane sides of moral issues. This change in characteristics has not only strengthened him as a man, but has also set him apart from his former Lin Kuei counterparts. This included leaving his clan in disgust and breaking the sacred codes of honor, joining the rebellion against Shao Kahn and assistingRaiden and Liu Kang (along with Earthrealm's other chosen warriors). More recently, he defeated the cyborg assassin known as Sektor after the events of Mortal Kombat Goldto gain the leadership of the Lin Kuei and become the Grandmaster, where he has grown even stronger and more powerful. He is a dependable ally of Earthrealm who is willing to assist when needed, especially when Raiden gives the call. He is, without question, one of the greatest and most powerful warriors that Earthrealm has to offer. He, like much of the MK cast, follows a character archetype. In his case, he is the enigmatic hero that shows up to aid the main hero(es) when needed.
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It is known that his father, a former member of the Shirai Ryu, forbade his son from joining the clan, as he did not wish for his son to live the life of an assassin. However, Hanzo joined in spite of his father's wishes in order to provide his wife and son with a comfortable life.
Now Scorpion is a hell-spawned spectre, inexorably seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his own family. Despite his malevolent appearance, he is not inherently evil. He joins the forces of evil when promised a means of resurrecting his clan on Earth, or the chance to inflict his wrath against those who butchered them. Scorpion has also (indirectly) assisted the game's protagonists to fulfill these motives. Although Scorpion is often strict and wrathful, at times he shows a caring side and is very honorable. In the original timeline, when he discovers the Sub-Zero in the second tournament isn't Bi-Han and in fact his more merciful brother, Scorpion vows to protect Kuai Liang instead for killing his kin. In the second timeline, Scorpion truly intended to spare the first Sub-Zero in exchange for the resurrection of his clan, but Quan Chi prevented this. Most notably, in the Mortal Kombat X Comic, it's shown he took in victims and survivors of the Netherrealm War into his iteration of the Shirai Ryu to now protect Earthrealm while also raising Takeda Takahashi. During this time, he treated Takeda like his own son, such as when he comforts Takeda after Fox's death. Nightwolf is an Apache warrior who, although introduced as a historian and a shaman, does not live in the past. He is a proud and fierce warrior dedicated to the cause of good, and is in contact with Raiden through visions. As such, he draws on both internal and external spiritual energy to enhance his power.Nightwolf is absolutely in tune with all things spiritual. He is able to manifest bows and arrows created from spirit energy, and wields tomahawks of the same nature. He can empower his tomahawks with an ethereal green flame, or channel lightning into them for fatalities. Daggers of spirit energy have been added to his arsenal in MK 2011 for throws and kombos. He is even able to completely purify a being of their sins over time. Fitting for his name, Nightwolf also has a close relationship with wolves and is able to communicate with them. In Mortal Kombat Annihilation, he is able to assume the shape of a wolf. Takeda lived a normal life in Thailand with his mother, Suchin, despite his father not knowing of his existence until he was a child. After his mother was killed by the Red Dragon, he was entrusted to Hanzo when his father left to avenge her death. Although he is taught the ways of a warrior, Takeda originally had a timid nature and didn't take fighting seriously. However, after the newest iteration of the Shirai Ryu are eradicated, he becomes more serious and continues to help his master, both in missions and preventing him to give into his wraith persona. Takeda is shown to take his battles seriously, but does make wise cracks during so. He expresses great loyalty to the Shirai Ryu, as he continues to wear a yellow headband to show his connection to the clan and will fight any who threatens his clan. Despite not trusting Hanzo at first because he was a wraith, Takeda becomes immensely loyal to his master over the years and sees Hanzo as a father-figure. While Kenshi is his father, Takeda originally didn't trust him and prefers not to speak about him. There are in fact two incarnations of Sub-Zero, and they are siblings; older brother Bi-Han and younger brother Kuai Liang. Both are blue garbed warriors who at different times have used the codename "Sub-Zero", and both have served the Lin Kuei. Both descended from Cryomancers, an Outworld race possessing the ability to generate and control the powers of ice. However, they were born in Earthrealm and only the younger Sub-Zero would discover his heritage. Kuai Liang bears a scar on his right eye which he received between the events of MK3. However, as seen in Deception, the scar has faded away. This may have been caused by the Dragon Medallion's power.
In their biography, both Sub-Zero brothers were sons of a Cryomancer father and a human mother. It is known that the father of both brothers was a secret operative for the Lin Kuei in the United States. He married an American woman and together they had two sons. Against the will of their mother, the father took the sons with him to move back to China, and as such both brothers were trained as Lin Kuei assassins. This was later retconned as both brothers being kidnapped by the Lin Kuei when they were still children (this was revealed in Sub-Zero's trailer in Mortal Kombat 2011). Bi-Han appeared as Sub-Zero in the first Mortal Kombat, while Kuai Liang went by the codename "Tundra". After Bi-Han was murdered by Scorpion during the tournament, Kuai Liang swore revenge on him. He mastered the art of Ice and Cold, and took his brother's former code name: Sub-Zero. Driven by anger, Kuai Liang entered The Mortal Kombat Tournament with one goal: To destroy his brother's killer, and anyone else that gets in the way. Kuai Liang replaced him as Sub Zero for the rest of the games - Bi Han later was resurrected by Quan Chi and became the undead Netherrealm wraith Noob Saibot. The younger Sub-Zero clearly shares many traits with his older brother, and was perhaps too similar to his brother upon his introduction. Like the elder, the younger Sub-Zero gives the impression of being a stern, distant and cold man who goes about his business silently, without attracting unwanted attention. However, as time progressed, Sub-Zero evolved - from what fans labeled a "carbon copy" of his brother - into a man of great integrity and self-discipline. The disparities between the brothers, who were once neutral and almost indistinct from each other, have now grown so large that one could speak of the evil twin syndrome. |