History VideoGame / MortalKombat11

** The game has the following downloadable characters: ComicBook/TheJoker, ComicBook/{{Spawn}}, Nightwolf, Shang Tsung, Sindel and Franchise/{{Terminator}}.
** In 2020, an expansion subtitled ''Aftermath'' was released, which adds to the game's story and also comes along with the characters Fujin, Sheeva and Franchise/RoboCop. It adds Friendships as well.

* RebuiltPedestal: After two timelines ([[spoiler:plus many others]]) of turning against Raiden after being disillusioned, Liu Kang finally regains his trust

** [[spoiler: Liu Kang’s death during a flashback to ''Mortal Kombat 9'' is depicted differently than in that game - in ''9'', Raiden zapped Liu Kang with a bolt of lightning while Liu was charging at the thunder god with a flaming fist, causing Liu Kang to be [[CruelAndUnusualDeath electrocuted and lit on fire at the same time]]. Here, Raiden blocks a (still flaming) punch from Liu Kang with his palm and still electrocutes him, but there’s no indication of him being lit on fire as well.]]

* IronicEcho: As immediately shown from the flashback, Raiden and Liu Kang's confrontation has [[HourglassPlot a major difference]] from the one they had in ''9 '', which is reflected in the exact same line Liu Kang uses for both of them. This time, Raiden is the one acting out of desperation after letting his emotions get the better of him, while Liu Kang is the reluctant opponent that was to reason with him, simply doing what he feels may be necessary.

* RebuiltPedestal: After two timelines ([[spoiler:plus many others]]) of turning against Raiden after being disillusioned, Liu Kang finally regains his trust in the God of Thunder after learning that they were being manipulated by the GreaterScopeVillain.
* RedemptionEarnsLife: Baraka and the Tarkatans. Baraka himself had previously perished in a flashback during ''X'': he was slain by D'Vorah on Kotal's orders during his coup against Mileena. During ''11'', it's revealed that shortly after the death of Mileena in the ensuing Outworld Civil War, Kotal Kahn committed genocide upon the entire Tarkatan race for their savagery and UndyingLoyalty to the previous regime. When Baraka and his tribe are reborn thanks to the TimeCrash, Kotal wants them all exterminated once again, only to be [[WhatTheHellHero called out]] by Jade. Kitana, meanwhile, successfully parleys with Baraka and convinces him to help pull a BigDamnHeroes-esque rescue to save Kotal from execution at Shao Kahn's hands, in order to secure a better life for his people. In the end, after Kitana herself is christened as a new Kahn, the Tarkatans are welcomed into a new, peaceful confederacy of Outworld's races.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Like Kotal Kahn before him, Kollector is introduced as a character that has always been part of the Outworld power structure. Somewhat {{Justified}} as he's literally just a tax collector - and only becomes important because he's one of Shao Kahn's last loyalists.
* RestrainingBolt: Cyrax is programmed with behavioral inhibitors that keep him loyal to Sektor. Disabling those inhibitors is a major part of Sub-Zero's plan to take down the Cyber Lin Kuei factory.
* {{Retcon}}: Sindel revealed as EvilAllAlong, whereas past games - and even one of Geras' interactions with Kitana - had established her as a heroic figure.
* RetGone:
** The ''entire current timeline'' is erased from existence via time travel, only leaving a [[HeelFaceTurn fully-revived Liu Kang]], past-Kitana (good ending) and a now-mortal Raiden to oversee the creation of a [[ContinuityReboot new timeline]].
** If anything happens to the past incarnations of kombatants, it would jeopardize their present selves - as well as their children. Sonya manages to pull this on Kano, blowing his past self's brains out and thus erasing his present self from reality. Kano himself threatens to wipe Cassie out of existence before this by holding a gun at Johnny's younger self.
* RippleEffectIndicator: In Chapter 6, Past Johnny gets grazed with a bullet to the cheek, causing a scar to Present Johnny. The more vain iteration does not take it well.
-->'''Present Johnny''': ''[feels scar]'' Ooh, that's [[Literature/FreakyFriday freaky like Friday.]]
-->'''Past Johnny''': They shot our face, Johnny... THEY SHOT OUR FACE!
* SamaritanRelationshipStarter: As with their prime relationship back in ''9'', Past Sonya eventually warms up to Past Johnny as he steps up to being a hero; in chapter 8, when both are trapped in Kano's fight club with assured death no matter the victor, Johnny helps them stall for time by allowing Sonya to fight him (and refuses to take a dive per her request, knowing Kano will see right through it and kill them). This allows enough time for the cavalry to arrive; as Sonya eventually saves his life, Johnny sincerely apologizes for being an asshole to her and asks her to dinner sometime to get to know each other, as they are aware they eventually spawn Cassie. Sonya agrees, as long as it's platonic to start.
-->'''Sonya''': Patience is a virtue, Cage.
* SenselessSacrifice: Near the end of the first chapter, Present Sonya is caught in a pile of debris during the attack on the Bone Temple, after all the charges are set and primed to detonate; she orders Jacqui and Cassie to evacuate their remaining forces while she initiates the detonation sequence, which goes off without a hitch and kills her in the process. The reason this is senseless is because, not long after the Special Forces evacuate the Netherrealm, Kronika shows up and reverses the destruction that was just wrought. To drive the knife in even further, Kronika's powers evoke a temporal collision which brings many characters from the past into the story, including Sonya Blade; Cassie, with pain in her heart, tells Past Sonya what exactly happened.
* SequelHook: While the story seemingly serves as the GrandFinale of at least this timeline, a few of the ladder endings hint at an GreaterScopeVillain even bigger than Kronika: [[AbusivePrecursors The Titans]].
* ShaggyDogStory: The Special Forces efforts to destroy Shinnok's citadel in the Netherrealm is instantly undone by Kronika's time manipulation. This means that Sonya Blade died for nothing.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Jax Briggs is revealed in the first chapter to have been honorably discharged from the Special Forces due to his physical and mental trauma, unable to cope with the stress caused by losing his arms, dying, becoming a revenant, and losing his wife to sickness a year before the story begins. Living alone on his farm, Jax is consumed by the knowledge that his daughter is out there fighting supernatural monsters, and being unable to call her during the temporal merge causes him to suffer a panic attack. His PTSD and fear for Jacqui makes him susceptible to Kronika's charisma, leading to a FaceHeelTurn under the false promise that, in the New Era, the world will be peaceful and his daughter will never have to fight. The younger Jax [[WhatTheHellHero isn't impressed]], but the older Jax insists that he's being a WellIntentionedExtremist.
* ShieldBash: When Past Johnny Cage's face gets grazed by a bullet, he picks up a riot shield and rams the gunmen. The game also gives Sheeva a spiked version that she brings into battle.
* SNKBoss: Even in the grand ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' tradition of cheap final bosses, Kronika stands out. She's immune to all your special moves, Fatal Blow, and most of your combos, and her own moves are so devastating that if she can land a single one, you'll be lucky if you only lose half your health. Luckily, she's got absolutely no idea how to deal with jump kicks or uppercuts.
* StandardFemaleGrabArea: In Chapter 6, two Cyber Lin Kuei hold Past Sonya captive by clasping both of her arms as Present Johnny fights Sektor and Past Kano.
* StayInTheKitchen: The reason why Present Jax makes a FaceHeelTurn. Jax wants to rewrite history so that Jacqui will not join the Special Forces and endanger herself, with his "vision" for her being a [[IWantGrandkids happy housewife with kids]].
* SurprisinglyHappyEnding:
** This is the first ''Mortal Kombat'' to have ''any'' sense of closure starting from DarkerAndEdgier ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]]'' to ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatX X]]''. Liu Kang and Raiden's arc ends on a better note than the betrayal-induced trauma both characters have had to deal with, with the latter staying uncorrupted. It also gives Scorpion's and the Cage and Briggs families' character arcs a much-needed closure to their respective storylines. Kitana puts a [[KilledOffForReal permanent end to Shao Kahn's tyranny]], and Jade gets a heartfelt reunion with Kotal Kahn.
** That all being said, it remains to be seen if any of that will be preserved in the new timeline Liu Kang is tasked with constructing.
* TakeThat: One of Johnny Cage vs Erron Black references the infamous "good guy with a gun" idea, with Erron dismissing it with a "that never works, Cage" (which is ironic, coming from a character that relies heavily on guns).
** Shao Kahn says that he and Kollector will [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump make "Outworld great again."]]
** A more serious one is that Jax, if handed omnipotent power, prevents slavery from ever happening.
** Played with as Johnny Cage cites Ronald Reagan as an actor who made a difference in history, which Geras reluctantly admits was true, though his "exception that proves the rule" comment implies that he's of the opinion he probably shouldn't have.
* TeleportSpam: Happens in Chapter four if the player selects Sub-Zero to fight Cyrax while Scorpion deals with the Cyber Lin Kuei lackeys. Scorpions keeps coming in and out of the fire dimension quickly while swiftly dealing with the multiple opponents.
* TemporalDuplication: Because of the time-travel shenanigans involved as the result of the BigBad messing with time, several characters meet up with their past selves. Whatever affects a character's past self affects their present self as well.
* TemptingFate: In their first encounter, Kung Lao decapitates Geras with a hat throw. He even remarks to Liu Kang: "That was easy"... only for Geras to regenerate and start fighting the heroes proper.
* ThroneRoomThrowdown: Subverted in the last chapter (excluding [[MissionPackSequel the Aftermath portion]]): we're led to believe during the entirety of the Story Mode that the last battles take place on Kronika's lair. Then Kronika begins to rewind time, and the last battles take place at the prehistory and, should Fire God Liu Kang lose a round, the beginning of time.
* ThrowTheDogABone: Hsu Hao appears in Joker's ladder ending as one of Joker's allies in the attack on Seido, and nothing bad happens to him for once.
* TimeCrash: This is Kronika's end goal, restarting history while wiping Raiden from existence so she can enforce a balance between light and darkness. [[YouCantThwartStageOne She succeeds in the first half of the plan]] before Liu Kang defeats her.
* TookALevelInJerkass:
** While the Revenants warranted sympathy in MKX due to being turned into undead slaves of Quan Chi and Shinnok, and reasonably point out to Raiden that their deaths were caused by him, this game doesn't give them any excuses for how utterly cruel and twisted they have become. They not only blame Raiden for leading them to their deaths, but extend that blame to others associated with themselves as well [[note]] Revenant Jade having followed Kitana, especially egregious because their revenants were ''still on the same side'' even before Kronika came along. [[/note]]. They display GreenEyedMonster tendencies [[note]] Liu Kang accusing Raiden of wanting the glory of killing Shao Kahn as reason killing him on top of everything else the Revenants hate him for.[[/note]], and act like victims despite committing horrible and heinous acts while doing so, making them seem like hypocritical and childish assholes. The sole exception being Revenant Kabal, who doesn't linger on it much like the others do.
** Revenant Liu Kang and Jade are the biggest examples among them due to how depraved and sadistic they have become. Jade being a condescending bitch who mocks Pasts Kung Lao and Jax over their present selves deaths and cites having followed Kitana as another reason for her death. Liu Kang actively goes against his archetype, going so low as to not only kill his former ally but even capture his past self and use Shinnok's magic to devour his soul as a means to strengthen himself and take revenge on Raiden. Even Revenant Katana and Kung Lao immediately turn their hostility toward Fire God Liu Kang., both blaming him for their inadequacies.
** Older Jax after siding with Kronika. While it's true that he's essentially traumatized from his time as a Revenant and losing his wife while constantly worrying if his daughter will make it home each time she goes into battle, Jax's motives appear to be quite overprotective, believing that Jacqui only enlisted to honor him. Even his younger self is disgusted by how disgraceful and pathetic he's being by trying to selfishly create an alternate version of the timeline where he retires as an honored war hero and Jacqui doesn't enlist. While he does repent for his actions after Raiden tells him the truth, it still doesn't excuse Jax's actions.
** Frost already was a Jerkass back in the original timeline, the new timeline and this game have it up to eleven. She has become so arrogant and twisted that she is willing to capture and kill her former clan members and turn them into cyborgs just to spite Sub-Zero. She keeps stating that no one realizes her potential, however her problem is not her power but her impatience and apathy towards others and fails to realizes that every time. Sub-Zero in one of his intros even says she would have been Grandmaster if she had better judgement and been more patient, but Frost had become too consumed by her desire for recognition and power to even care.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
** The announcement trailer spoils the presence of two Scorpions, human and hellspawn - with the human one being murdered.
** The first bit of story revealed is the opening cutscene with Dark Raiden torturing and beheading Shinnok, freely spoiling TheStinger of ''X''.
** The "Old Skool vs. New Skool" trailer spoils Jax joining Kronika's army.
** The launch trailer spoils the creation of Fire God Liu Kang in its final few seconds.
* TrojanPrisoner: Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kitana attempt this in order to enter Shao Kahn's camp, with Kitana as the "prisoner" and the other two in disguise as Kotal Kahn defectors. Skarlet sees through the ruse immediately, even addressing Liu Kang by name.
* {{Tyrannicide}}: During most of the game, the tyrannical Shao Kahn usurps back the throne from its previous ruler, Kotal Kahn, who was a fair ruler. During most of the game's story mode, Shao Kahn is seen oppressing the denizens of Outworld in order to rebuild their armies for Kronika's purposes. Then he's confronted by Kitana, after Kotal Kahn is freed from his shackles. After a gruesome fight, Kitana [[SlashedThroat slashes]] Shao Kahn's throat, killing him for good.
* UncannyValley:
** In an intentional case, Geras is practically a walking Uncanny Valley, between having some part of his flesh held together with metal while others having perfect cracks in between, his voice being artificial sounding yet emotional, and coming back to life by unwinding himself perfectly, he is one of the most unsettling characters in the franchise.
** Frost invokes this, being a {{cyborg}} who looks generally human enough that the specific ways her body moves, [[AbnormalLimbRotationRange twists, turns]], and ''[[DetachmentCombat separ]][[LosingYourHead ates]]'' will make you constantly go ''[[BodyHorror "HER BODY SHOULD NOT DO THAT"]]''. Her Friendship, in which, after skating on ice for a while, she starts spinning her entire body ''while her head is completely still'' makes her look surprisingly creepy.
* UnwillingRoboticization: The Cyber Lin Kuei are back, and not every one of them is a willing subject. Cyrax, in particular, resisted being cyberized, but failed, and hopes that Sub-Zero can find a way to reverse the procedure as he had returned from being a Revenant.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The final fight in the Story Mode involves fighting BigBad Kronika [[spoiler:after she's already begun reversing time to the point all of mankind, including the characters in the game save for Raiden and Liu Kang, have been [[RetGone irrevocably erased from existence]]]]. This final bout even decides [[spoiler:how far back history rewinds by the time of your victory; sweep both rounds, Kronika is stopped by the prehistoric era and therefore Kitana is saved, but take all three rounds, and history is rewound to the dawn of time itself.]] Kronika's stage even reflects these changes through the fight.
* VictoryIsBoring: Both Kano and Erron Black find emptiness in controlling the Hourglass after their victory, and shape their destinies to where they're continuously challenged for their rewards.
--->'''Kano''': Without a fight, winning was worthless. Nah, the fun wasn't in the having, it was in the getting.
* VillainBall: Kronika reveals that the combination of Liu Kang and Raiden is the only threat to her power and then separates the two by capturing Liu Kang and allowing the Revnant version to absorb his past self's soul. At that point, Kronika was almost unstoppable -- even if the allied forces reached her Keep, they would have to fight through an entire Netherrealm army, find her Hourglass, then get through her Revenant guardians ''and'' Cetrion, all while Kronika grew ever closer to resetting time. But she and the evil Liu Kang couldn't resist sending him out to find and kill Raiden one last time. By doing so, Raiden merges himself and ''both'' Liu Kangs, creating an entity more powerful than all of Kronika's forces combined that who knows exactly where the Hourglass is and how much time remains, and is immune to the time reversal once it starts.
* WantingIsBetterThanHaving: Kano's ladder ending initially has him use the Hourglass to give him everything he could ever want. After finding this boring, he uses it instead to place things he wants just out of reach. He might not win all the time, but the wins he does get, he savors.
-->'''Kano:''' [[LampshadeHanging Nah, the fun wasn't in the having. It was in the getting]].
* WhamLine:
** [[EternalRecurrence "This... this has happened before..."]], which Raiden says as Liu Kang is about to come to blows with him ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 again.]]'' However, Raiden means it more than just that one incident: as it turns out, ''in every single timeline'' Kronika steers events so that Raiden and Liu Kang come to blows, ultimately resulting in Liu Kang dying. Realizing this dissuades Raiden from fighting Liu Kang, ending the cycle.
** Followed almost immediately by Kronika revealing that it's ''not'' the first time Raiden has realized what she was doing, and that it has never stopped her before.
** When Raiden transfers his power to Liu Kang, we don't know the full extent of what he's done until the title for the last chapter appears... '''End of an Era: ''Fire God Liu Kang.'''''
* WhamShot: From the announcement trailer. Dark Raiden brutally beats and kills Scorpion, only to be approached and attacked by ''another'' Scorpion.
* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Amusingly, Past Sonya asks this of her prime self to Cassie, as she is understandably put off by vain Johnny Cage of the past. Cassie assures her that Johnny grows up and into responsibility as both military leader, husband, and father, from the influence Sonya had on him.
* WhatTheHellHero: Certain characters will have this reaction. Notably Raiden and Jax:
** Raiden does not accept Scorpion's plea to form an alliance, which escalates into a fight with Liu Kang, who didn't believe the fact that his Revenant self hated Raiden and became an extremist. Once Raiden figures out Shinnok's amulet was indeed corrupting him, he resolves to prevent Dark Raiden coming to be again.
** Jacqui and past Jax towards present Jax for being persuaded to join Kronika's side. Past Jax in particular despises how his present self has hit rock bottom and joins Kronika in the name of protecting Jacqui, while he himself is proud of his future daughter for fighting for Earthrealm.
** When Past Sonya discovers how her present self died in chapter 1, she angrily calls out Cassie for abandoning her. Cassie fires back, however, by pointing out that she was following ''Sonya's'' orders at the time and tells ''Lieutenant'' Blade to read the entire report. After doing so, Sonya acknowledges she was wrong to lash out.
** When Past Jade sees that Kotal intends to execute an entire Tarkartan village (including women and children), she intervenes. When trying to talk him down fails, she takes on her lover in a fight. After winning, she tells him that his heart has been hardened since she knew him.
* WhyAmITicking: After reverse-engineering the cyborg-ninja schematics from his body so that Kronika can manufacture her own MechaMooks, Sektor is repurposed as a nuke by the Black Dragon and used to destroy the Special Forces base.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Played straight and inverted. Cetrion states that the time merger has weakened the Elder Gods. She, an Elder God herself, is weakened to the point where she is able to fight most of the Mortal Kombat cast through the story - and not completely CurbStomp them. Even so, depending on the player, Jacqui or Past Jax will equip Kronika's crown when fighting her just to be sure.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Aftermath'' Story Tropes ('''SPOILERS''') ]]
* AndIMustScream: Shang Tsung takes most of Raiden and Fujin's power by stealing their souls, but leaves the job unfinished, and they remain barely alive as shriveled husks. As he explains to Shao Kahn and Sindel, he intends to keep them alive to he can siphon their power for all eternity.
* AGodAmI: With the Crown in his possession, Shang Tsung declares himself Kronika's equal. In his ending, he absorbs Liu Kang's soul, gains his power over thunder and fire, and reshapes time to make himself a MultiversalConqueror.
* AnyoneCanDie: Compared to the main story, ''Aftermath'' has a considerable bodycount. In approximate order: Revenant Nightwolf has his soul [[YourSoulIsMine devoured]] by a mortally-wounded Shang Tsung early in the story. Sindel kills Sheeva, when the latter discovers her true allegiance to Shao Kahn, and then pins her death on Kitana to win the loyalty of the shokan. Geras's head is crushed to pulp under Shao Kahn's warhammer, and he presumably doesn't have the time to revive before the story ends. A barely-conscious Kung Lao is tossed into the Sea of Blood and left to drown by either Sindel or Shao Kahn during their capture of the Outworld fleet. Kotal Kahn is beheaded offscreen, and the Liu Kang of the past is left with an UncertainDoom after having his legs broken to splinters by Shao Kahn. Raiden and Fujin are kept barely alive, but have their power siphoned by Shang Tsung after he takes the crown, and he presumably devours Nightwolf's soul offscreen (he was in fact about to do so after their battle, before the gods interrupted him). The revenants of Kung Lao, Kitana and Jade are butchered in a CurbstompBattle against the combined forces of Shang Tsung, Sindel and Shao Kahn. Shang Tsung then betrays and devours Shao Kahn and Sindel before doing the same to Kronika. Finally, the [[MultipleEndings ending]] either sees Shang Tsung himself [[RetGone erased from history forever]] by Fire God Liu Kang, or Shang Tsung devouring Liu Kang's soul to become the new Keeper of Time.
* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: Young Johnny during Sindel and Shao Kahn's chapter. While first appearing still jovial, when Sindel and Shao Kahn invade the Sea of Blood and take down both Cassie and Sonya, as they mock their defeats, Johnny [[LetsGetDangerous defiantly makes a last stand]] against the Outworld rulers.
-->'''Sindel''': ''(mockingly)'' The poor man is heartbroken.
-->'''Shao Kahn''': Why waste tears on weaklings?
-->'''Johnny Cage''': Those women are braver and stronger than fifty of you put together!
-->''[If Sindel is chosen to fight]''
-->'''Johnny Cage''': Every fight I've fought, I've fought for myself. But this? This one's for my family!
* TheBadGuyWins: Should Shang Tsung win the FinalBattle with Liu Kang, [[DownerEnding he gloats to Liu Kang over his victory, steals his soul, then gets everything he could ever want.]]
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: Shang Tsung is the one who kills Kronika this time around (right after doing the same to Shao Kahn and Sindel). This is in fact invoked by Fire God Liu Kang, to get rid of Kronika before taking the Crown from Shang Tsung.
* BatmanGambit: Fire God Liu Kang knows that Shang Tsung is going to get the crown, and betray everyone in his way - so he acts as if he can't leave the Hourglass' side. In doing so, he makes Shang Tsung believe he's got one less rival he'll have to deal with, and simply waits for Shang Tsung's plan to be near fruition - then shows up to take the Crown from him.
* BattleCouple: Shao Kahn and Sindel share a story chapter and kick a lot of ass together, including against other couples like Johnny and Sonya, Kotal and Jade, and Liu Kang and Kitana.
* BigBad: Largely a BigBadEnsemble between Shang Tsung and Kronika. However, Shang Tsung ultimately retakes the role, as the plot is largely so he can usurp the timeline and become an all powerful god.
* BigBadWannabe: Played with. Shao Kahn and Sindel believe that they will get their hands on Kronika's crown and her hourglass, and they do lead the charge, but they ultimely are betrayed by Shang Tsung, right before the end of the story.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: First teased in her Ladder Mode ending, Sindel is revealed in the story of ''Aftermath'' to have been a willing ally of Shao Kahn, even murdering Jerrod, herself, to consummate their deadly alliance. The story of her committing suicide to defy Shao Kahn? Total bullshit: she had been murdered by Quan Chi so he could put himself in a better position to influence Shao Kahn for his own ends.
* BludgeonedToDeath: Shao Kahn, after escaping imprisonment from Kitana, encounters Geras, who wants him and Sindel to re-join Kronika. Shao Kahn responds by defeating him in battle, and then using his hammer to smash his face in, and then into several pieces.
* BodyHorror: Anyone Shang steals souls from is reduced to a withered husk.
* BookEnds: The story begins with Shang Tsung arriving to see Liu Kang and calling out "cease, Liu Kang, before you doom us all." The same thing happens at the end of the story with the roles reversed. By extension, both original 1992 game and 1995 movie focuses on Liu Kang's ending, where he fought and defeared Shang Tsung for the fate of Earthrealm. The Aftermath story ends with both fighting for the last time, for the fate of ''everything''.
* BringIt: Young Johnny Cage challenging ''Shao Kahn and Sindel''... which doesn't end well for him no matter who is chosen to fight him.
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' Okay, bozos! No jokes, no gimmicks - just Kombat! [[Film/Batman1989 You wanna get nuts? O-ho... let's get nuts!]]
* BrokenPedestal:
** The Revenant Nightwolf has lost faith in the Great Spirit for not protecting him from his death at the hands of Sindel.
** Sheeva is horrified to see Sindel, whom she had sworn a lifelong vow of loyalty to, freeing Shao Kahn and plotting to overthrow her own daughter.
** Kitana, likewise, is horrified to learn the stuff she believed about her mother's mind being twisted by Shao Kahn's magic was a lie.
* BullyingADragon: Overlapping with TooDumbToLive. Whereas Shao Kahn before knew what Kronika was to him in scope and simply served her than remotely object or try anything, he challenges Shang Tsung to a fight near the climax, claiming he has forgotten he was Shao's servant. Keep in mind Shang Tsung is more powerful than Kronika herself at this point. Needless to say, [[KilledOffForReal it does not work out for him and Sindel well.]]
* ButtMonkey: Kotal really can't catch a break. After being humiliatingly crippled by Shao Kahn in the main story, he's beat up and knocked out by Sheeva in a feeble attempt to stop her crew's efforts at reviving Sindel. Later on, he's given a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Shao Kahn and unceremoniously decapitated off-screen.
* CallBack: ''Aftermath's'' finale homages past events in numerous ways.
** The final chapter plays out similarly to the base game's story mode, a massive assault on Kronika's Keep and a battle with Kronika. However, in place of Fire God Liu Kang with Kung Lao and Kitana, it's Shang Tsung with Shao Kahn and Sindel leading the charge.
** Early in the story, Shang Tsung is brutalized by the Revenant Nightwolf and steals his soul to heal himself. Near the end of the story, Shang Tsung beats up the past Nightwolf and it is implied that he stole his soul.
** Shang Tsung betraying Shao Kahn is a reflection of VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance, where Shang Tsung betrays Shao Kahn for his own ambitions. Only this time, Shang Tsung defeats the real Shao Kahn instead of his clone and does it without the aid of Quan Chi.
** Sindel first dies by being betrayed by one of the franchise's two sorcerers, which later resurrected her; in this game she's resurrected again by the other sorcerer, and dies for good when he betrays her.
** The final battle is the same as the original ''Mortal Kombat'' -- Liu Kang vs Shang Tsung.
** If you choose Shang Tsung in the final battle, Liu Kang says to him "You are mad, Shang Tsung. Your visions are nothing. Delusions of an addled mind." This is almost word-for-word the same things Liu Kang said to Raiden in the final chapter of the ''2011'' reboot.
** ''The 2011 ​reboot'' had Raiden trying to decipher the meaning of his last words from the original timeline, "He must win", and ultimately realizes this refers to ''Shao Kahn'': all he must do is to let his invasion of Earthrealm to succeed, so that the Elder Gods will punish him for violating the rules of Mortal Kombat. Liu Kang employs a similar plan with Shang Tsung: he knows that the sorcerer cannot be trusted -- thus he allows him to succeed and take control of the Hourglass and Kronika's Crown, so that Liu Kang can eventually step in to stop Shang once and for all, and then take both for himself.
* TheCameo: The Descendant of Apep - AKA the player character of the Krypt mode - pops up in the Shaolin Trap Dungeon, having met an unfortunate end on a spike trap.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: ''As expected,'' Shang Tsung betrays everyone he allies with at some point. In fact, this is exploited by Liu Kang, who had expected the inevitable betrayal to happen and waited until Shang Tsung has disposed of Shao Kahn and Kronika before showing up to finish him off.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Several, with multiple characters having greatly reduced roles the second time around:
** Present-Day Johnny Cage is still nowhere to be seen in the final battle, despite Sonya and his younger self having their whereabouts explained.
** Frost disappears both from the scene and the story after her fight with Nightwolf. We don't even see any Cyber Lin Kuei in the final battle.
** Sub-Zero and the younger Scorpion are also never seen again after Kronika is driven away from the Fire Gardens.
* ContinuityNod:
** In Baraka's ending from ''Mortal Kombat 9'', he successfully identifies Shang Tsung masquerading as Shao Kahn from his scent. In ''Aftermath'', Baraka pulls off the same feat when Shang Tsung is disguised as a Shokan warrior.
** In Fujin's chapter, he acknowledges [[VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero fighting Bi-Han at Wind World]].
** Nightwolf attempts to stop Cetrion by sacrificing himself, just like he did in ''Mortal Kombat 9''. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], Sindel stops him.
** In Liu Kang's ending, [[https://youtu.be/DGoc3Sz8rvo?t=309 the small statue that the Great Kung Lao touches up]] is the same one [[https://youtu.be/JToqcBFRrb4?t=381 seen in Kung Jin's chapter]] in [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX MKX]].
* ContinuitySnarl: Before fighting Kung Lao, Shao Kahn tells the monk that he was seconds from [[NeckSnap snapping his neck]] in the [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 Outworld coliseum]]. In the main storyline, Raiden says that Kung Lao had just defeated Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, meaning Kung Lao still had to fight Kintaro before Shoa Kahn killed him. It’s ''because'' Kung Lao beat Kintaro that Shao Kahn broke his neck.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: The ''Aftermath'' DLC confirms that the "Good" ending of the story isn't canon, as Shang Tsung announces his presence to Raiden before Fire God Liu Kang can begin reshaping time, with Nightwolf and fellow god Fujin in tow.
* CutsceneIncompetence: When Shang Tsung gets Kronika's Crown from Fujin near the end of the campaign, Raiden and Fujin do nothing but watch as he puts it on. While it's justified in Fujin's case given that Liu Kang told him to let Shang Tsung's plan continue uninterrupted, Raiden has no such excuse.
* ADayInTheLimelight: For ''every single DLC character'' - namely Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, Fujin, Sheeva, Sindel and Shao Kahn. The ''Aftermath'' story is mostly centered around characters that had little or no involvement whatsoever during the main story. Shang Tsung only got a passing mention, whereas Fujin and Nightwolf were completely absent from the story, and so was Sindel, one of the main villains; Shao Kahn is the only recurring character that also had a recurring role in the main story. In contrast, almost all the main characters from the main story are DemotedToExtra at best. This is actually [[JustifiedTrope justified]] early into the story, as in attempting to recruit any of the major characters involved in the attack on Kronika's fortress could steer the timeline in an unpredictable direction.
* DarkerAndEdgier: If you thought the main story was bleak, then this expansion takes it up to eleven, since it undoes all the positive changes Kitana made for Outworld, shows even more characters being killed, or at least greatly injured, and can possibly end with the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung becoming the god of a new timeline, where he rules.
* EnemyMine: Liu Kang and Raiden team up with Shang Tsung and send the sorcerer back in time to retrieve Kronika's crown. However, Raiden shows a great reluctance to have to team up with Shang Tsung in order to actually have a chance at fixing the timeline, and Shang Tsung knows that nobody would ever want to trust him. Fellow god Fujin has already been convinced to join Shang Tsung, which is a bit of reassurance for Raiden.
* EntitledBitch: Sindel resented how her first husband, Jerrod, refused to exercise his royal "privilege" and treated his subjects like equals. She became attracted to Shao Kahn specifically because Shao Kahn believed himself better than others, and acted like it.
* EveryoneHasStandards: PlayedForLaughs. In the midst of a fight with Kitana's loyalists and Sheeva's team, a Tarkatan is knocked into the Dead Pool. The battle momentarily breaks up as everyone looks on in comical horror at the poor guy melting to death.
* ExpansionPack: ''Aftermath'' presents an extension of the base game's story, in addition to new characters and stages.
* EyeScream: As it turns out, Kitana didn't kill Shao Kahn in the main story. She slashed out his eyes and had him chained up in the animal pens beneath the colosseum.
* FakeShemp: Sonya Blade appears during the final battle with her family, but Ronda Rousey does not reprise her role, and she is knocked out before she has a chance to speak.
* FlayingAlive:
** Fujin inflicts this on one of the giant ratlike creatures Kollector unleashes on himself and Shang Tsung, trapping the creature in a cyclone that tears off its skin.
** Sindel's scream does this to the pair of Shokan which were assigned to guard blinded Shao Kahn.
* ForWantOfANail: ''Aftermath'' brings up massive changes to the official [=MK11=] Story Mode - mainly from Chapter 7 onwards. To elaborate:
** Kollector does not fight Kitana, since he senses Shang Tsung's presence in the Koliseum and follows him.
** Due to Sindel being resurrected, Sheeva doesn't survive to join Kharon's army.
** Kotal Kahn's spine is healed courtesy of the Soul Chamber. He then joins forces with the heroes to assault Kronika's Keep, and is killed by Shao Kahn.
** The adventures on Shang Tsung's Island are not conducted by the Briggs family, but by the alliance of Shang Tsung, Sindel, Nightwolf and Fujin, who get their before them. In turn, Present Jax comes to his senses earlier than in the main story.
** The confrontation between Scorpion and Sub-Zero comes to a halt when Shang Tsung and company arrive in the Fire Gardens. Raiden's wrath fueled by Shinnok's Amulet is unleashed on Shang Tsung, not Scorpion.
** Since the heroes are able to chase off Kronika from the Fire Gardens, she doesn't get a chance to abduct Liu Kang. This means the Revenant Liu Kang doesn't get to steal his past self's soul, and Raiden doesn't merge with them to transform them into Fire God Liu Kang.
** Kronika's Keep is not reached by the Forces of Light this time: Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn and Sindel massacre their way through, killing her Revenants in the process.
* FullCircleRevolution: Played with. In his ending of ''Aftermath'', Fire God Liu Kang serves as the inspiration and mentor for the Great Kung Lao to train himself in order to defend Earthrealm against Outworld in what's possibly another incarnation of Mortal Kombat, thus once again kickstarting the chain of events that would lead to his descendants eventually joining the tournament in the original timelines. Seeing as Shang Tsung is no longer around to mess with the rules in this cycle, things may very well end up differently this time.
* FutileHandReach: After being defeated by Sindel and Shao Kahn and on the brink of death, Liu Kang and Kitana slowly strain for each other's hand for one final moment while laying on the deck of the cargo ship, until Shao Khan cuts the moment off by crushing Liu Kang's hand underfoot.
* GoldenSuperMode: When he takes Kronika's crown for himself, Shang Tsung shapeshifts into his younger self clad in armored robes of [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] (motifs shared with Kronika herself), reminiscent of the outfit he wears in his Arcade Mode ending. The tremendous power boost he gains from the crown proves to be more than enough to defeat Raiden, Fujin, Shao Kahn, Sindel and Kronika in quick succession, and [[MultipleEndings potentially]] Fire God Liu Kang as well.
* GuileHero: Liu Kang looked through time and foresaw Shang Tsung's endgame, so he sat the conflict out until it was over and then he could intervene to get the Crown as intended. Shang Tsung lampshades this is a devious way to operate.
* HappyEndingOverride: Played with. The original good ending where Liu Kang rebuilds the timeline with Kitana is rendered non-canon, and even the ending where Liu Kang rebuilds the timeline with Raiden's guidance is interrupted by Shang Tsung's revelation that by destroying Kronika's Crown, their attempts to use the Hourglass will just make things worse. That said, if players choose to play as Liu Kang in the final battle, his ending is reaffirmed more strongly -- he rebuilds the timeline and remains the God of Thunder and Fire, and it is implied he will train the original Kung Lao so his defeat at Goro's hands doesn't happen.
* HeroKiller:
** While Shang Tsung stops short of fully devouring Raiden and Fujin's souls, he is implied to have devoured Nightwolf's soul offscreen. [[MultipleEndings If he wins the final battle]], he also devours the soul of Fire God Liu Kang.
** Shao Kahn and Sindel behead Kotal Kahn and throw Kung Lao overboard to drown during their rampage.
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Shang Tsung is seemingly working with Raiden and Liu Kang to retrieve Kronika's crown so that the latter two can properly reshape the new timeline. However, everyone is aware of how untrustworthy the sorcerer is and are wary of his true motives. The story recap, narrated by Johnny Cage, even lampshades the ramifications in working with a long-time villain.
* HijackedByGanon: Shang Tsung pulls the ultimate example. He displaces Kronika as the story's FinalBoss and, to add insult to injury, he also betrays Shao Kahn, as if to assert his dominance as the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise's true BigBad [[BookEnds from the very beginning.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: When Shang Tsung betrays Shao Kahn and her, Sindel claims he is "a dog who betrays his masters". While she isn't wrong at all about this, that's rich coming from ''her'', of all people.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: In the final confrontation, Shang Tsung is amused that Liu Kang would sacrifice his friends just to allow Shang Tsung to get Kronika's crown for him. Liu Kang states that he intends to revive them once he's dealt with Shang Tsung.
* IdiotBall: Really, all of the conflict that happened in the DLC could have been avoided had everyone followed Fire God Liu Kang's idea in the very beginning: Sending himself back to the past, just before his past self won against Kronika, then ending the fight so that the Crown was still intact. The point was brought up then ignored by everyone else save Shang Tsung, who said it left "Too much to chance". This is, well, Shang Tsung ([[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder the same character whose plans have an acknowledged tendency in-universe to benefit only himself]]). Raiden, who should have been too familiar with Tsung's schemes, never said a word against it.
* ILetYouWin: A rare literal heroic version. Shang Tsung deduces that Liu Kang allowed him to defeat his oppositions before realizing the latter let him win his battles knowing of his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. Shang Tsung actually finds it amusing that Liu Kang would go that far just to defeat him, and lampshades it.
-->'''Shang Tsung''': You ''let me win''.
* ImHavingSoulPains: During the mission to capture Sindel's revenant, Nightwolf feels a pain in his chest, and realizes that his revenant is nearby.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: When Baraka realises that Shang Tsung is posing as a Shokan, he stabs him InTheBack with his arm blade.
* InevitableMutualBetrayal: Shang Tsung being a backstabbing snake means everyone teaming with him nigh instantly knows he'll inevitably betray them and only tolerate him so long as he's required for their goals. Liu Kang outplays Shang by making him think Liu Kang ''can't'' betray him first, and thus wasn't prepared for him to show up after Shang has backstabbed literally everyone else.
* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the events of the original story being changed, some events remain constant.
** Present Jax is still convinced that he made a mistake in following Kronika.
** Raiden still casts aside the corrupting influence of Shinnok's amulet.
** Cetrion still sacrifices herself to power up her mother.
** Despite Past!Liu Kang getting crippled by Shao Kahn (as well as Revenant!Liu Kang) and Raiden getting his soul partly drained and then captured alongside with Fujin, Fire God Liu Kang still exists. Justified, since being the new Keeper of Time, he isn't affected by changes made to his ''own'' timeline since he now controls it.
* InTheirOwnImage: In Shang Tsung's ending, he uses the power of the Hourglass to remake the timeline in his own image with him as the surpreme ruler.
* ItsPersonal: When Kotal awakens from his rest in the Soul Chamber, the sight of Shang Tsung sends him into an UnstoppableRage despite his injuries.
* KarmicDeath:
** After kicking their asses toward the climax, Shang Tsung steals Shao Kahn and Sindel's souls, getting a massive power up. It's especially karmic in how Shang was unceremoniously killed by Shao Kahn before to power up Sindel the same way. Furthermore, Shao Kahn has historically only ever treated Shang like a dog so it's cathartic to see his former servant, now unfathomably stronger than him, end him for good.
** In the Good ending, Shang Tsung is killed by Liu Kang, the man whose murder by his hand sent the original timeline into a downturn. Even better, Liu Kang's words imply he's not just killed, but [[DeaderThanDead erased]] [[RetGone entirely]].
* KickTheSonOfABitch: It's hard to feel sorry for Shao Kahn, Sindel, and Kronika when Shang Tsung kills them and steals their souls.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Shang Tsung's ChronicBackstabbingDisorder habits mean few are willing to trust him. Liu Kang knows this will be some sort of power play on his part and thus betrays Tsung ''first'' by lying to him about being unable to leave the Hourglass so he can jump in and defeat him after he's done all the leg work.
* MacGuffinDeliveryService: Rare heroic example: Liu Kang knows Shang Tsung has to get the crown and use it against Kronika, so he lies that he can't leave the Hourglass. Thus Shang Tsung doesn't realize he has to worry about Liu Kang and does all the work before Liu Kang swoops in once Kronika and the other villains are dead to defeat Shang Tsung and take the crown.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: After being returned to her living self, Sindel reveals to Kitana that she never committed suicide. She was murdered by Quan Chi and the sorcerer staged her death to look like she had taken her own life.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: Shang Tsung's meddling creates a pronounced butterfly effect which effectively erases the heroes' victorious efforts in the previous story mode, setting himself up to claim Kronika's Crown and total dominion over all of time.
* MetaphoricallyTrue: Shang Tsung convinces his allies to help him revive Sindel in aid them if they have to fight Cetrion, as they saw how powerful she was during Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm and she curb-stomped Raiden's allies. He leaves out that she only accomplished this because she was empowered by his souls -- the ''real'' reason he wants her back is to position her as TheMole to take over Outworld again.
* MultipleEndings: The final fight has Fire God Liu Kang and Shang Tsung engaging in a final battle for control of Kronika's crown and hourglass.
** If [[GoldenEnding Liu Kang wins]], he erases Shang Tsung from existence and proceeds to shape the new timeline. We next see Liu Kang at the Wu Shi Academy and recruiting the future Great Kung Lao as the next Champion of Earthrealm. VideoGame/MortalKombat1 starts from this ending.
** If [[DownerEnding Shang Tsung wins]], he steals Liu Kang's soul and uses the power of the crown and the hourglass to make himself a powerful deity. We last see him with Dark Raiden and Fujin (now his minions), and orders them to conquer Orderrealm and Chaosrealm after being told that Earthrealm, Outworld and the Netherrealm are now under his control.
* MythologyGag: Too many to mention, so naturally [[MythologyGag/MortalKombat11 it has its own page]].
* NearVillainVictory: Contingent on the player picking the heroic path as Fire God Liu Kang in the final battle, Shang Tsung still comes perilously close to a complete victory. He has obtained Kronika's Crown and absorbed the power of everyone who could possibly stand against him. His downfall was never anticipating Liu Kang being as much of a ManipulativeBastard as him.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Shang Tsung points out that with Liu Kang killing Kronika, and in the process destroying her crown, the Hourglass cannot properly function. And apparently attempting to use the Hourglass without the crown will be catastrophic.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: In the "good" ending, Liu Kang kills Shang Tsung by erasing him from existence, reducing him to nothing but sand.
* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Subverted. While the story starts out as a EnemyMine situation, Shang Tsung ([[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to the surprise of absolutely no one]]) betrays the heroes roughly half way through, and the rest of the story focuses on him, Sindel, and Shao Kahn, as the sorcerer's schemes come to fruition and he takes Kronika's crown for himself and ultimately makes a move to take control of time. Only at the last minute can things turn back in the heroes' favor when Liu Kang reveals he planned for Shang Tsung's inevitable betrayal. (But whether or not it works depends on the player's choice to play as Liu Kang or Shang Tsung in the final battle.)
* TheNoseKnows: When confronting Sheeva and her company about their questionable actions, Baraka immediately spots the incredibly suspicious-looking Shokan mook among known names. One good whiff up close is enough for him to recognize it's Shang Tsung.
* OddFriendship: "Friendship" is pushing it, but the story primarily follows an unlikely alliance between Shang Tsung, Nightwolf and Fujin (with Sheeva and Sindel joining up later on), characters who have little previous connection or interaction. The Doylist explanation is that they are all DLC characters. Nevertheless, they have some surprising chemistry and synergy on the battlefield.
* OffWithHisHead: Off-screen, Shao Kahn decapitates Kotal Kahn. He makes his entrance at the final battle by lowering his ship ramp and tossing Kotal's head to roll to the ground.
* OhCrap: During the assault on Kronika's Keep, Raiden confronts the revenant Liu Kang, as he did the last time. This time, however, the latter's legs become mutilated as a result of Shao Kahn smashing his past self's legs. When he mentions Shao Kahn's presence, Raiden is overtaken by shock and horror as the Outworlders begin to arrive.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: In the "bad" ending, Shang Tsung wins and claims total dominion over the realms. Having rebuilt reality in his image, he becomes a literal giant sitting on a throne in space, commanding the now subservient Raiden and Fujin to conquer in his name.
* ProperlyParanoid: ''Everyone'' knows Shang Tsung will betray them and is probably up to something nefarious while pretending to help them. They are correct.
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: The bad ending sees Raiden and Fujin become Shang Tsung's generals in his multiversal conquest.
* RetGone: If Fire God Liu Kang wins the final battle, he uses the Hourglass' power to completely erase Shang Tsung from history, causing the sorcerer to collapse into sand.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: With his sight restored and his queen by his side, Shao Kahn and Sindel beat the crap out of the Cage family, Kotal Kahn and Jade, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, and Kitana. Shao Kahn then declares himself kahn again, breaks Liu Kang's legs, and decapitates Kotal.
* SealedCastInAMultipack: The reason Fujin, Shang Tsung, and Nightwolf are able to assist Raiden and Liu Kang. Kronika attempted to recruit each of them, but when they refused, she threw them outside of time as punishment. With her defeat, they are free to escape and assist the heroes.
* SequelHook: In Liu Kang's ending, he recruits the Great Kung Lao to be his Champion of Earthrealm, and says he will need to be trained. Though Liu Kang oversees time as God of Thunder and Fire, evidently there are still threats afoot.[[note]]Since he erased Shang Tsung from history, it would follow that Liu Kang may not necessarily be talking about the Mortal Kombat tournament, but something else that the Great Kung Lao will play a role in.[[/note]]
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: In Liu Kang's ending, he recruits the Great Kung Lao to be his Champion of Earthrealm, and is intent to make sure the new timeline goes down a brighter path than it originally did.
* SomethingWeForgot: An instance that kicks off the entire DLC plotline. As Liu Kang prepares to use the hourglass to restart history, Shang Tsung calls out for him to stop. When Liu Kang killed Kronika, he destroyed her crown, and it is too dangerous to attempt to restart history without it. Fujin points out that all of Kronika's schemes were to secure her crown and she didn't try to restart history until she had it, supporting the idea that it is risky otherwise. This is also supported by the Tower mode endings, where Kronika's crown is knocked off and she reaches for it as she is killed.
* TheStarscream: Shang Tsung aided Kronika in crafting her crown and now seeks to usurp her and take control of time for himself. He also manipulates Sindel and Shao Kahn into believing he still serves them, only to devour their souls the moment his ultimate victory is at hand.
* ThisCannotBe: Raiden is shocked to see Shang Tsung, Nightwolf and Fujin appear in the aftermath of the Normal ending. By all rights, the only two beings who still exist should be Liu Kang and himself.
* TooDumbToLive: Shao Kahn and Sindel ''somehow'' thought Shang Tsung, after getting Kronika's crown (i.e. godlike power), would serve as a lapdog in ''their'' New Era. It doesn't end well for them.
* UngratefulBastard: Downplayed. Despite Sindel sincerely claiming she is in Sheeva's debt for everything she did for her, she kills her when she stands against her plotting against Kitana. However, Sindel does not enjoy this and even pleaded with Sheeva to join her cause.
* UndyingLoyalty:
** Sheeva claims she is honor-bound to Sindel and views her death as her greatest failure. She is naturally willing to go with Shang Tsung's plot to resurrect her. Notably, this doesn't make her remotely evil, as she has incredible doubts over doublecrossing Kitana. When Sheeva finds out how evil Sindel actually is later on, she loses her life in fighting her for Kitana's sake.
** More like ''dying'' loyalty: When Shang Tsung, Fujin, Nightwolf and Sindel travel to Shang Tsung's island, Shang Tsung notes the hanging corpses, stating that they were his former underlings who killed themselves after their master perished.
* UnholyMatrimony: Shao Kahn and Sindel are quite a loving couple, openly admitting how much they missed each other, and admiring their partner's bloodlust and cruelty in battle.
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: At the beginning of Aftermath, Fire God Liu Kang has a small but secret conversation with Fujin which ends with him saying "say nothing to Nightwolf". At the end of the game, we find out Liu knew only Shang Tsung could get the crown, and he let Shang do all the work for the moment he could steal it back.
* VillainEpisode: The story is essentially Shang Tsung goes back in time and how his interference would've royally screwed the heroes over something fierce if he was around. Luckily since the events are set to be erased anyway, it comes off more as a canon “What If” with the only thing that really matters is who gets Kronika's crown in the end. You can play it straight if you pick Shang Tsung in the final battle with Fire God Liu Kang.
* VillainousBreakdown: After remaining smug and in control the entire time, Shang Tsung has one in Liu Kang's ending. As he's disintegrating into sand and erased from existence, he can only watch in horror and vainly try to crawl away from Liu Kang, terrified as he ceases to exist.
* VillainProtagonist: Despite all pretenses, Shang Tsung is still his same manipulative, deceitful self, but the story primarily follows his untold perspective, as well as other villains such as Sindel and Shao Kahn.
* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: Since Fujin and Nightwolf refused to ally with her, and Shang Tsung was too dangerous to be allowed to stick around, Kronika banished them to a void beyond time. With her defeat, they are freed.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Averted with Revenant Nightwolf and Sindel, who are seen with the other revenants in the Netherrealm at the start of the story. However they still count for the original story mode, as this is explicitly a new timeline being created.
** Kollector vanishes after his single appearance in Chapter 13, where he is last seen unconscious in the Kolosseum beast pens after being defeated by Nightwolf.
** Frost only appears to fight Nightwolf in Chapter 13 and is never seen afterwards.
** Erron Black and Baraka are not seen again after their defeat in Chapter 14. They aren't present when Shao Kahn and Sindel retake control of Outworld in Chapter 16, and aren't even on the ship ferrying Kitana's loyalists to the final battle, despite the crew including Tarkatans and Baraka himself having been present during the battle at Kronika's keep.
** Much like in the main story, Revenant Kabal and Noob Saibot disappear from the plot after being defeated on Shang Tsung's island.
** Jade is tossed through a ship deck by Sindel and is left unaccounted for in the aftermath of the Outworld fleet's takeover, despite Kung Lao getting tossed overboard to drown during the battle, Kitana and Liu Kang being taken captive, and Kotal being KilledOffscreen.
** Jacqui Briggs and both versions of Jax disappear in the middle of the penultimate battle outside Kronika's keep. Sub-Zero and Scorpion are nowhere to be seen at all, despite participating in the same battle during the main story.
** The mortal Raiden chose to stay with Fire God Liu Kang as he tended to the hourglass. What became of him after Fire God Liu Kang traveled back to thwart Shang Tsung is left unstated.
** Present Johnny, D'Vorah, and Skarlet aren't even mentioned.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: Everyone expects Shang Tsung to betray them once he gets the Crown, and that is indeed what happens at the climax of the story when he betrays Raiden, takes the Crown, and makes his play. {{Subverted}}, however, as Fire God Liu Kang expected betrayal from him, so he lied to him first about being unable to leave the Hourglass so he could save himself the effort of fighting Kronika again.
* YourSoulIsMine: Given that the TropeNamer is here, this is expected. Shang Tsung takes the souls of the Revenant Nightwolf, past Nightwolf, Sindel, Shao Kahn and Kronika, and he also takes Liu Kang's soul in his ending. He partially takes Raiden and Fujin's souls, but keeps them barely alive so he can repeat the process forever with them. Absorbing so many powerful warriors boosts Shang Tsung's power monstrously.
* YouWillBeBeethoven: This happens when you chose Fire God Liu Kang ending, where in the original timeline Raiden has chosen the Great Kung Lao to become Earthrealm's defender. But in a new timeline, it is Liu Kang who takes Raiden's place and chose the Great Kung Lao to become Earthrealm's defender.
[[/folder]]

----

->'''Raiden:''' I look forward to meeting again, [[spoiler:in the next timeline]].\\
'''Liu Kang:''' Then I will not say goodbye.
----

[[caption-width-right:320:''[[{{Tagline}} You're next.]]'' [[note]]Also, [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou Scorpion is about to make you]] '''[[CatchPhrase GET OVER HERE!]]'''[[/note]]]]

** Also the first mainline game without a MidBoss, with ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' following suit. Past games had [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 Goro]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatII Kintaro]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Motaro]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombat4 Goro again]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Moloch]][[note]]Before the SequentialBoss of the titular Deadly Alliance.[[/note]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception Noob-Smoke]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon all previous bosses and sub-bosses plus Sheeva]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse Shao Kahn or Darkseid]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 Goro and/or Kintaro]], and [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX Goro again]]. Here, you fight someone else prior to Kronika.

* BreakingOldTrends: With the development cycle completed, it's safe to say that this is the first 2D based ''MK'' game without a playable version of [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 The Pit]]. And no, the one in the Krypt doesn't count.

** Past Jax appearing with Past Johnny and Past Sonya with his new metal arms is twofold; while Jax and Sonya are in Earthrealm as they should be, at this point in ''Mortal Kombat 9'' Johnny is in Outworld recovering from a beating courtesy of Ermac, and Jax had only just had his arms [[AnArmAndALeg torn off]] by Ermac, and he doesn't appear again in that game until well after Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm begins, which itself is after a minor TimeSkip where Shao recovers from his near-fatal [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impalement]] ''and'' after Quan Chi revives Sindel. Even in the world of Mortal Kombat, it's unlikely that Jax would have been issued prosthetics and sent back into the field so soon.

** By the time of ''Mortal Kombat 9'', Kabal has undergone a HeelFaceTurn and joined the police. Past Kabal is inexplicably still a member of the Black Dragon.

* GoneHorriblyWrong: In a meta sense, one of the storywriters believed that Sindel would be much more appreciated if she was an EvilAllAlong BitchInSheepsClothing rather than a TragicVillain and trophy wife to Shao Kahn. Such characterization was utterly ''Despised'' with a capital "D" and her change in character brought a lot of hate. Probably because of this, in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'', Sindel got [[CharacterRerailment rerailed]] to her original benevolent self, much to the relief of fans.

* ApeShallNeverKillApe: D'Vorah assures this is the case with her insectile race, making a comparison with how insects work in contrast to how all humans and humanoids always find and enemy.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The previous game had some pre-fight intros hinting fights between original and alternate versions of some characters. In this game, some of them (such as Liu Kang and Kung Lao) do that ''canonically''.

''Mortal Kombat 11'' is the eleventh official FightingGame entry in the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchise and the sequel to ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', which was released on April 23, 2019 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne and PC, and also the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, being the first ''[=MK=]'' since ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Armageddon]]'' to release on a Nintendo platform. It is developed on a highly modified version of the Unreal Engine 3.

** If [[GoldenEnding Liu Kang wins]], he erases Shang Tsung from existence and proceeds to shape the new timeline. We next see Liu Kang at the Wu Shi Academy and recruiting the future Great Kung Lao as the next Champion of Earthrealm.

* PlotHole: When Shao Kahn smashes Liu Kang's Legs, it also causes Revenant Liu Kang's legs to be smashed. This is despite the fact that ''MKX'' established that when someone becomes a revenant, they are given a new body, meaning that any injuries that Liu Kang suffers shouldn't affect his future revenant self.

-> ''"This... was not your destiny, Shinnok. Once again, the Thunder God has upset the balance of history. But know this: The arc of the universe bends to ''my'' will. It is only a matter... of '''time'''."''

timeline shenanigans occur thanks to the BigBad and causes characters from the past appearing in the present time.

* {{Tyrannicide}}: During most of the game, the tyrannical Shao Kahn usurps back the throne from its previous ruler, Kotal Kahn, who was a fair ruler. During most of the game's story mode, Shao Kahn is seen oppressing the denizens of Outworld in order to rebuild their armies for Kronika's purposes. Then he's confronted by Kitana, after Kotal Kahn is freed from his shackles. After a gruesome fight, Kitana [[SlashedThroat slashes]] Shao Kahn's throat, killing him for good.

* Flanderization: Past Johnny Cage is far more perverted and immature than he was ever depicted in ''Mortal Kombat 9.'' While he started out ''9'' treating everything like an extreme LARP session, he took things much more seriously once Raiden proved he was a god and explained the stakes of the tournament. He would occasionally make an immature or inappropriate comment, but a quick beatdown would suffice in humbling him. Here, Past Johnny is ''extremely'' vain, self-centered, and makes an entire room freeze with a single crude comment. It takes not only a beating from his older self but also getting captured and tortured by a terrorist organization to finally get him to shut up help Raiden without complaint.

* BookEnds: The story begins with Shang Tsung arriving to see Liu Kang and calling out "cease, Liu Kang, before you doom us all." The same thing happens at the end of the story with the roles reversed.
** By extension, both original 1992 game and 1995 movie focuses on Liu Kang's ending, where he fought and defeared Shang Tsung for the fate of Earthrealm. The Aftermath story ends with both fighting for the last time, for the fate of ''everything''.

''Mortal Kombat 11'' is the eleventh official FightingGame entry in the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchise and the sequel of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', which was released on April 23, 2019 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne and PC, and also the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, being the first ''[=MK=]'' since ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Armageddon]]'' to release on a Nintendo platform. It is developed on a highly modified version of the Unreal Engine 3.