Scorpion & Sub-Zero’s Rivalry Was Planned From the Start

Scorpion and Sub-Zero kind one in all gaming’s most iconic rivalries, with origins relationship again to Mortal Kombat’s early growth.

Few members of the Mortal Kombat forged are fairly as iconic as its pair of brightly clad ninja warriors, Sub-Zero and Scorpion. The 2 Mortal Kombat rivals have grow to be virtually synonymous with the sequence, and their feud dates again to the very origins of the MK‘s creation.

At first look, Sub-Zero and Scorpion appear to be carbon copies of one another. They had been as soon as, not less than aesthetically, fairly darn shut. All through the primary few Mortal Kombat video games, each ninjas shared the identical mannequin, with solely a minor palette swap differentiating the 2. However whereas the additionally they shared related preventing kinds and had intertwined origin tales, the 2 characters are literally fairly distinct. The blue ninja, Sub-Zero, hails from an historical clan of ninja-like Chinese language warriors known as the Lin Kuei. Sub-Zero’s fighting style facilities round cryomancy, or ice manipulation. In the meantime, the yellow ninja, Scorpion, is an undead member of the Japanese Shirai Ryu ninja clan. He bears a grudge in opposition to the primary Sub-Zero (who would finally get replaced by his brother) for purportedly slaughtering him, his clan, and his household.

Associated: Mortal Kombat’s Scorpion & Sub-Zero Conflict Is The Heart Of The Movie

The connection between Scorpion and each Sub-Zero iterations is without doubt one of the major focuses of Mortal Kombat‘s story, even main as much as and together with the sequence’ most up-to-date video games. As one may anticipate, such a storied rivalry has real-world origins. In a current Twitter thread, Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias detailed the story behind Sub-Zero and Scorpion’s development history. In keeping with him, the 2’s backstories have their roots in outdated martial arts films and Asian mythology.

Mortal Kombat: The Story Behind Sub-Zero & Scorpion’s Creation

Earlier than Mortal Kombat was even a stable thought in Ed Boone and John Tobias’ heads, the 2 had been simply starting to work on what would grow to be the legendary preventing sport sequence. Tobias delved into Asian mythology and drew inspiration from a guide known as China’s Ninja Connection. It gave a doubtful account of a Chinese language murderer and thief clan often known as the Lin Kuei, which supposedly went on to encourage Japan’s ninjas.

After that, Tobias scribbled out his first notes for Sub-Zero’s character concept, a mysterious ninja from a legendary Chinese language clan bearing the identical title because the one Tobias examine. From there, he and Boone developed the thought of a rival ninja from a Japanese clan of their very own design. The 2 borrowed influences from martial arts myths and films to develop a set of rivals who would additionally conveniently fill their need to avoid wasting reminiscence by together with a pair of palette-swapped characters.

The remaining is historical past. The rival ninjas Tobias and Boone created would kind a lot of the inspiration of Mortal Kombat‘s success. They helped prop up MK’s themes of martial arts and mysticism and supplied an attractive story utilizing recognizable character archetypes. All of this amounted to 2 characters with emotional, interrelated tales, cool powers, and attention-grabbing aesthetics. These components make up the recipe for any good preventing sport character, and the legacy of Mortal Kombat‘s all-star duo is proof of that truth. 

Subsequent: Mortal Kombat Movie Villain Sub-Zero Is A Complex Character

Supply: John Tobias/Twitter