Mortal Kombat 1 / Fridge

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Fridge Brilliance

How are the villains still around in the New Era? There are indications in both 1 and 11 that someone likely can't be excluded from the timeline. In 11 Kronika had long recognized Liu Kang and Raiden as obstacles yet hadn't prevented their existences and during the story mode of 1 Liu Kang mentions altering the destinies of those who had previously threatened the realms which indicates the Keeper of Time can only manipulate individuals but not remove them entirely.
Smoke and Scorpion are pretty chummy with each other, which is fitting considering Smoke was a reskin of Scorpion and even shared his rope spear move. Also, Kuai Liang (now Scorpion in this timeline) was friends with Smoke in the previous timelines where he was Tundra/Sub-Zero. Mythology gags aside, Smoke's catchphrase ("Where there's smoke, there's fire!") now makes sense as he is a smoke user fighting side-by-side with a pyromancer.
Based on their pre-fight intros Smoke and Johnny Cage are quite amicable to each other despite not interacting in the main story with the former showing interest and even excitement at the chance to be involved in one of the latter's movies. It makes sense that Smoke would admire someone like Johnny since both are Brought Down to Badass in this timeline and still very skilled fighters regardless of not having supernatural powers.
- On top of that Smoke's introduction had him act like a vicious thug even though he's anything but. Of course Johnny would offer him a role in one of his movies: not only is Smoke a good fighter, his introduction shows he also has the potential to be a good actor.
Raiden's placement in the new timeline seems familiar: He's been reincarnated as a man who's friends with Kung Lao and later undergoes training by Warrior Monks. It looks like Liu Kang gave Raiden his old life since becoming Keeper of Time and a god means he's outside his own history.
With the changes to the timeline, mainly how the Mortal Kombat tournament itself is conducted Liu Kang does not need more militant characters which means Kurtis Stryker, Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs are uninvolved and likely still in the Special Forces and such doing things like hunting down Kano who also isn't involved as Outworld has no need for Earthrealm criminals to side with them.
The reason Liu Kang no longer has powers like Raiden once did? He shed that part of himself into an amulet for the tournament champions to use against Outworlders, who have magic, martial arts, and thousands of years to hone both.
While Mortal Kombat 9 (2011) is a love letter to the heyday of the series (in the early to mid-1990s), being a reboot/retelling of the first three games that injected new blood (pun intended) into the franchise and MKX serves as a retelling of MK4 (with Shinnok and Quan Chi being the main threat) this game is an homage to the 3D era of the franchise (early- to mid-2000s, Deadly Alliance, Deception and Armageddon), taking major plot points from these three games: a partnership between Quan Chi and Shang Tsung (that even acts as the final boss for both Arcade and Story modes); characters from that era like Ashrah, Havik, Nitara, Li Mei and Kenshi; a deception involving a character named Damashi and the setting of the final battle/chapter, the pyramid from Armageddon.
Why does General Shao say he doesn't like traitors to Bi-Han while forgetting he's one to Outworld? Because from Shao's point of view at least, he did not betray Outworld, Sindel did. He genuinely believes Liu Kang is going to harm Outworld and, since Shao's outright stated to be loyal to Outworld itself, his conflict with the current royal family and their supporters can be summed up as a disagreement on how Outworld should conduct itself in regards to its policies towards Earthrealm; in other words, the original full quote of My Country, Right or Wrong^note. By contrast, Bi-Han willingly betrayed his compatriots, clearly wanting nothing more than his own glory fulfilled even while dressing it up as bettering the Lin Kuei. Shao, a veteran raised in a military background where teamwork is emphasized and comradeship is a basic tenet likely knows how despicable and dangerous traitors can be so Bi-Han rubs him the wrong way.
Kuai Liang still ends up getting a scar across his right eye when Bi-Han (post Face–Heel Turn) fought and slashed him with an ice dagger. Bi-Han's betrayal has left both physical and emotional scars that aren’t easily healed (if not outright permanent) and said scars have damaged how he views his brother.
Shao using an axe rather than a hammer may be a metaphor for how he's in a weaker but still powerful position. Axes are not as strong as hammers in terms of power but still require effort to wield, similar to how a general is a lower position than a king or an emperor, but still a position of authority.
Bi-Han getting Adaptational Villainy makes sense when you realize there's one constant regarding him in previous timelines starting from Mythologies: A budding darkness exists within him but only he can temper it and change his fate. Bi-Han's stance about it has always been that of reluctant inaction, ignoring it for his Undying Loyalty to the Lin Kuei despite being greatly concerned and continuing his antagonism towards Scorpion. In previous timelines, it led to his death and resurrection as Noob Saibot. In this timeline Liu Kang gives him a more honorable start but does not change the core values of his arrogance, nor does he warn him about the evil inside him like Raiden did in prior timelines, hence that's why he takes the route.
During the first fight between Raiden and Kung Lao the former was worried they'll be kicked out if they break anything but the latter told him not to worry. While he clarifies that (ego aside) the fight won't last long enough for anything to break it may also just be a joke about the game no longer having interactable objects so there's literally nothing for them to break.
Kung Lao wanted to be a part of testing Raiden's sister only for Liu Kang to tell him it was up to Madam Bo. Smoke later told him Madam Bo decided he was out. Given he tried getting Syzoth to scare her as a joke and might've told the others as he told Kenshi, she likely saw this as proof he wasn't mature enough to take her testing seriously. Kung Lao essentially ruined his chance to help test Raiden's sister for a prank.
When Kung Lao invites Syzoth to Madam Bo's he gags and says he can't stomach human foods. While it may sound like he's rudely saying he thinks what we eat is gross odds are he physically can't stomach it. Reptiles have highly specified diets, and even the few that are omnivores can't handle the high amounts of fat, carbohydrates and sugars humans consume so there's a good chance most of our foods would just make him sick.
As is lampshaded In-Universe Liu Kang is technically the New Era's creator god. It stands to reason that the role of the one that perverts his designs could be no other than his old serpent-themed nemesis Shang Tsung.
Shao (and Reiko) being appalled by Kung Lao's table manners (or lack of them), while funny, may seem hypocritical at first glance. But that's only because we're used to Shao Kahn, who was a brutish emperor raised like a barbarian. General Shao, on the other hand was raised as a soldier and works under the royal family so despite his appearance it makes sense he would be taught manners and discipline.
It seems incredibly strange that every fighter in the Order of Darkness fights identically to their New Era counterparts, in many cases being radically different from their pre-MK1 incarnations. However, three things explain this:
- Titan!Shang Tsung knew about Fire God!Liu Kang's timeline at least long enough that he was able to elevate two commoners to upper-class positions.
- It's explicitly stated he'd been preparing to invade long enough that Fire God!Liu Kang didn't stand a chance without enlisting other Titans.
- Titan!Shang Tsung was petty enough he couldn't abide even knowing a timeline where he was defeated existed.
- So it's possible and in-character that he altered the destinies of fighters in his own timeline until they mirrored their New Era counterparts in order to mock his old enemy.
Liu Kang's reply to Shao that it was safer to keep the denizens of Earthrealm in the dark regarding Outworld and the other realms could be interpreted in two ways: to keep Earthrealm from inadvertently weakening themselves due to panic and chaos and thus leaving themselves under threat of incursion; or to keep Outworld safe from invasion by Earthrealm. Liu Kang's sharp retort on Shao's comment regarding Earthrealm's "frailty" hints to the latter.
- Going into Fridge Horror: Given that Earthrealm technology (such as Johnny's drone and - in an intro dialogue with him - the concept of media) seems to mystify Outworld denizens it's implied Liu Kang was keeping both realms in the dark of each other's capabilities. And considering the closest Outworld has to a doomsday weapon is Onaga while Earthrealm has nuclear warheads it makes Shao's distrust regarding Earthrealm a bit more understandable.
  - Additionally, Outworld technically being occupied by one state in conjunction with Sindel's reign being considered a golden age indicates it hasn't had to deal with full war since she came to power. In contrast, Earthrealm being comprised of multiple states in frequent conflict with one another would be better prepared for war against external threats, meaning that unlike one prior timeline in particular they would be able to more immediately attack and defend against Outworld than vice versa.
Havik's association with Rain: Both of their endings show that Rain, on Havik's urging used his water powers to summon a flooding tsunami that destroyed Seido's capital, thus ravaging Orderrealm and allowing it to be rechristened as Chaosrealm. An impressive feat indeed... and a most adequate choice of instrument by Havik himself: He possesses a hate-boner against all manner of order, systems, stability, rigidity and sings the praises of chaos. What better element to represent Havik's ideals than formless water which can assume any shape? This also explains his hatred of ice which is water in a solid - that is, rigid state.
In this timeline, Tarkatans are mutants created from a disease instead of a race of beings. This is probably thanks to Liu Kang having Quan Chi reborn as an Outworld miner instead of a demonic sorcerer leading to little contact between the Netherrealm and Outworld; in past timelines, Quan Chi was heavily involved with Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung. At least in one timeline, Tarkatans were said to come from demons having relations with Outworlders, however, because of the change of relationships between the Netherrealm and Outworld and the lack of contact between the realms’ species, the race never came to be. However, fate and nature apparently found a way.
The framing of Fatalities from MK9 to this game help paint a distinct picture of how each games' events treat death as a whole. In 9 little focus is brought to the corpse outside of whatever spectacle the killer does after holding a dismembered body part in their hands, playing the death off as a mere display of their skill. In X the focus is on the aftermath of the body, letting you take in every single wound and prepare yourself for all of the death yet to come. 11 focuses on the final act itself but doesn't show off the final resting position of the body in most cases because the act of killing itself was the point. But in 1 the focus is explicitly on the combatants posing victoriously with the body pushed off to the side. It feels almost like a metaphor for Liu Kang's efforts to make an ideal timeline; He tries to focus more on victory in the face of adversity and camaraderie between kombatants but no amount of his changes could undo the fact people will still kill each other given a justifiable enough reason. "It's in our blood" indeed.
Sento knew Kenshi was of Taira blood, it was just waiting for him to prove himself honorably. Johnny was the rightful owner of Sento due to having purchased it so for Kenshi, a former yakuza member with undeniable blood on his hands to break into his home with the intent to steal was dishonorable to say the least and Liu Kang even called him out on this. Kenshi's goal to restore his clan was never going to work had he continued this way as he would've lacked the moral compass deemed necessary. Johnny was (unintentionally) acting as its gatekeeper, using Sento like a carrot against Kenshi. When Kenshi went to defend Johnny from being fatally wounded by a crazed Mileena he lost his vision when his eyes were gouged. Johnny felt indebted to Kenshi for saving him that he willingly gave up Sento despite his reluctance as he himself feels useless while blind. When he hears his comrades in danger against Ermac, however, he fearlessly takes Sento ready to fight, proving himself worthy of it and his ancestors restore his vision in a way to help him defeat Ermac with Ashrah. Kenshi had earned the right to restore his clan's honor because he went about it the proper way.
Considering the game implies each 11 character ending split off to become their own respective timeline there still seems to be too many wacky fusion characters and timelines in the climax considering simultaneous alternate timelines have never happened prior. But if you remember just how bad the timelines of the more villainous characters ended up it makes sense those living in such timelines would get into the same kind of conflict the last timeline's inhabitants got into with Kronika. Thus resulting in exponentially more timeline fractures and increasingly strange results, all of whom would eventually get drawn into the conflict of the final chapter.
Ashrah tells Johnny that Hollywood is filled with evil with him agreeing. At first this could be seen as a commentary about how toxic culture in Hollywood is. Then comes the release of Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match, which reveals as a plot point that a good amount of people in Hollywood are demons in disguise. Considering this isn't the first Legends movie to be referenced suddenly this discussion isn't as much of a Shout-Out than it is Foreshadowing. Though considering the extent of Liu Kang's alterations to the realms' histories it's unknown if this applies to the New Era.
- This can also explain Ashrah's distrust of Johnny as she confided to Kenshi due to his background. While he seems to be a good guy, Kriss aside, for all she knows he could be no better than the humans in Hollywood aligned with the demons.
- It also gives us a reason why Johnny actually remains a hero in every timeline: He's among those who kept trying to save the day against all odds and has not been corrupted in spite of close proximity to the damned and such.
Syzoth/Reptile is seen holding sets of keys on him implying he's some sort of warden for Shang Tsung's prisoners. In other words he's a monitor lizard (since he's implied to oversee the cells and is literally a reptile).
Bi-Han boasting to Syzoth about how the former's blood is iced even though the latter's is cold as well as Syzoth telling him it was not something to be proud of carries a deeper meaning than in the literal sense.
- Syzoth, despite being a cold-blooded reptilian only worked for the bad guys because they'd blackmailed him and once it was clear he'd been betrayed he wastes no time in defecting and gets along well with almost everyone else irrespective of whether they are from Earthrealm or Outworld. Reptile is literally cold-blooded even though his personality is anything but.
- By contrast Bi-Han, despite being human (and thus warm-blooded) easily let his greed and ambitions get the better of him to the point of committing multiple crimes (letting his father die, lying about said death to his brothers, selling out Earthrealm and attempting to kill both brothers when they refused to follow him) and never caring about his actions. In addition he's an overbearing Jerkass to everyone else. Thus Bi-Han is figuratively cold-blooded.
With Jerrod being in control of Ermac as well as Sindel's soul being part of it, there's the chance Sindel may return to life or take temporary control for various reasons (i.e. advice to her daughters).
Of course the Hanzo from Invasions Season 1 would have trouble finding a Harumi that lived: he was searching through timelines similar to his own, so it shouldn't be a surprise his quest always ended with her blood spilled. Liu Kang, on the other hand, is more knowledgeable of how other timelines can progress, and had much less of a problem finding an unattached Harumi.
Nitara being the Invasions boss for November makes sense thematically. After all, Thanksgiving Day is a time of gathering and feasting, something Invading!Nitara has been doing by banding together all the vampires she and her kin could find.
Despite his desperation for a cure, Baraka has multiple intros where he denies another kombatant's offer to cure his affliction. This isn't Arbitrary Skepticism on his part; considering he was a successful merchant it makes sense he would have a knack for realizing when deals sound Too Good to Be True.
Liu Kang depriving Johnny of his green energy powers (or at the very least not making them easily accessible) seems to be an odd choice considering they may come in handy in the future, but in a way it might've helped him out in the long run. The original reason Johnny joined in the first place was to shut up his doubters who viewed him as a faker and prove his skills were legitimate. With his powers no longer in the equation the public has little reason to believe his moves were just "special effects". The only problem he really has in Hollywood now is that he's considered past his prime which is something he himself makes peace with by the end of the main story.
- Also note that Liu Kang likely didn’t remove his powers but simply made them more difficult to get until he's finally ready.
There's a key moment early in the story where the whole plot is basically defined: New Era!Shang Tsung boasting to Syzoth that he already killed his family. This single Villain Ball act had long-term ramifications:
- It triggered Syzoth's Heel–Face Turn, giving the Earthrealmers the extra muscle to get through Outworld. Syzoth would later be a key player in the Earthrealmers' escape, and later a key player in Earthrealm's side.
- By following Syzoth, they also meet Ashrah, who later helps Team Earthrealm to escape, joining them. The benefit is mutual: Team Earthrealm gains a new player, and the act allows Ashrah to finally find the absolution path she long desired.
- Also by following Syzoth they end in the Living Forest, leading to Team Earthrealm learning about Quan Chi's soulnado devices. This discovery leads Liu Kang to send the Lin Kuei to the Qing Dynasty Fortress, where more of these machines were built in order to power up an army. It also triggered Bi-Han's Face–Heel Turn and Kuai Liang and Tomas's defection (and later creation of the Shirai Ryu). On the plus side, this specific location also allowed Kenshi to finally get Sento and unlock its true power.
- During the escape to Earthrealm, they learn about General Shao's and Reiko's alliance with Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. This eventually leads to the Lin Kuei also finding the Outworlders in Earthrealm, and later, once Sindel learns the consequences of her actions and Liu Kang's own past, to the disowning of Reiko and General Shao. Without Syzoth's support, the team wouldn't have made it out of Outworld. And it also prevented the Earthrealm-Outworld Great Offscreen War to escalate further.
- The discoveries made by Team Earthrealm during their Outworld trip leads Geras to further investigate, and finding that Shang Tsung and Quan Chi's benefactor doesn't hail from Liu Kang's New Era. Eventually, once Tsung and Chi are cornered, their benefactor finally appears: Titan!Shang Tsung. Once The Reveal happens and New Era/Shang Tsung and Quan Chi learn they were used as Unwitting Pawns, their Heel–Face Turn is triggered, and they become key players in shutting down the interdimensional gateways. Tsung's later thought experiment about the existence of multiple timelines leads Geras and Liu Kang to retrieve the latter's lost Keeper of Time powers and call allies from other timelines, eventually concluding in the Battle of Armageddon, where Titan!Shang Tsung finally bites the dust. A death that could have been prevented if New Era!Tsung didn't told Syzoth that he murdered his family. Or directly not do the deed.
In Titan Shang Tsung's timeline, Hanzo Hasashi is still Scorpion, Tanya is as devious as ever, Raiden is still a god (and is in his dark form), Shao is still Kahn of Outworld (as evidenced by his health bar and use of a wrath hammer), and Mileena is still a clone made from the flesh pits. This is because unlike Liu Kang, Shang Tsung made no effort in changing the destinies of many characters in an effort to reform them, instead making the heroes subservient to him while keeping the villains as-is. He also still made Bi-Han his timeline's Sub-Zero because in an intro with Kuai Liang in Mortal Kombat 11, he prefers Bi-Han over Kuai Liang because he believes Bi-Han is more effective than Kuai Liang.

Fridge Horror

If we know how bad Bi-Han can be as a human then it's probably going to get so much worse if he once again turns into Noob Saibot somewhere down the line.
This game revealed the Arcade Ladder endings of 11 to now technically be kanon. Even if Liu Kang's done cleaning up Titan!Shang Tsung's mess he'll have to deal with potential invasions by the likes of Sindel or even The Joker Joker.
- Speaking of which, Mirror Match dialogue between Liu Kang reveals Joker to be active in the New Era, having successfully pulled a Superman on Liu Kang and tricked him into killing Kitana. The mere fact a complete rewrite of history starting at the dawn of time isn't enough to erase Joker from existing happens to be downright chilling. Add to it that he succeeded in breaking Liu Kang and the possibility that a New Era!Bruce Wayne (if he exists) may never become Batman if his parents were spared means Joker has little to no opposition now. That doesn't even begin to go into potential timeline fusions with less pleasant characters or how would a timeline with a Titan!Joker look like!
With Tarkatans being victims of a mutative disease this time around it means anyone who wins a fight against Mileena or Baraka and performs a fatality on them has already sealed their fate. While Baraka states that Tarkat is only contagious in certain conditions it becomes harder to, say, watch Kitana give Baraka a very intimate Kiss of Death or watch Reptile take a bite out of Mileena knowing they've likely just condemned themselves to a slow and agonizing terminal disease that will disfigure them, mutate them and drive them insane by doing so.
Johnny's reaction to seeing Baraka about to kill Shang Tsung is to sit back, watch and report it to Liu Kang later. As far as Earthrealm's safety is concerned this would have been the right call; with Shang Tsung dead his Titan counterpart's scheme collapses. Granted this would also mean certain doom for Mileena given she'd never get the updated serum allowing the suppression of Tarkat for extended periods and it would not fully stop Quan Chi or anyone else's side of the plan or quell the thoughts of rebellion brewing in Shao's head, all still being possible issues for Outworld. But Kenshi's decision to insist on sticking to the letter of Liu Kang's orders allowed so many dominoes to fall.
It was actually a good thing Baraka stayed behind when Syzoth and Ashrah went to Earthrealm. The untold disasters of not just an incredibly foreign disease exposed to another world, but one that transforms you into a monster and slowly destroys your body and mind. Granted Baraka would have had to infect someone and Johnny, Kenshi and Kung Lao were all near Tarkat infectees, and some intros have Baraka suggesting Earthrealmers are immune to Tarkat. But it would still have been massively risky.
For multiple reasons, if Shang Tsung ever reaches his past selves' threat level again Liu Kang will regret giving him a Last-Second Chance instead of finding a way to erase him from existence:
- Shang Tsung was deliberately given a meaningless life, the chance to live good and honestly only to end up being reduced to a Snake Oil Salesman that can barely make ends meet with no one but himself to blame as a result of his own laziness and shifty nature. Being told this was because another version of himself became a cosmic multiversal threat, something he had no control over would make anyone hungry for vengeance.
- There are heroic versions of Shang Tsung in other timelines^{Such as...} Liu Kang has no control over so not only was he denied a meaningful existence just because Liu Kang wanted to take the precautions, he was also denied because Liu Kang thought he would be a dangerous threat no matter what when it was clearly not the case.
- Shao, arguably someone who can prove (and has proven in the case of the Midway timeline) to be just as much of a threat was spared this treatment by Liu Kang, being allowed to earn his way into admiration in Outworld and becoming a War Hero. As a bonus suddenly Shao's paranoia that Liu Kang is not with Outworld, while still wildly exaggerated does not sound so baseless anymore since Liu Kang did technically act against Outworld (albeit to one citizen).
Considering the game both shows that a timeline split can produce a Titan for each one and the ending of 11 ended up producing multiple timelines based on the acquisition of the Hourglass it's entirely possible there's a version of Kronika who won. Endlessly resetting her own timeline in pursuit of impossible perfection, remaining unaware of other timelines... unless one of them were to breach hers. And that's not counting the timelines where the characters chose to spare Kronika such as Erron Black's.
- Mirror Match dialogue between Geras confirms this to be true.
Regarding the gruesome experiments done on Tarkatans, this bodes ill for what New Era!Shang Tsung planned to do with Mileena if he failed to create a means of suppressing their condition…
- This means Sindel could've lost one of her daughters after losing her husband because she trusted a man with quite the history of deceiving and betraying others.

Fridge / Mortal Kombat 1

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