History WesternAnimation / MortalKombatLegendsSnowBlind

Unlike the previous two films, this one features an original story never previously seen in the [[Franchise/MortalKombat franchise]]. It is set AfterTheEnd where, decades after Shao Kahn's defeat, an invasion of revenants has reduced Earthrealm to a desolate wasteland with its survivors settling in remote villages. Kano has declared himself "King" and has taken over much of what is left with his followers.

A new hero named Kenshi Takahashi faces a tragedy that leaves him blind and sends him on a quest to take down Kano. He is now being mentored by an aged Kuai Liang, who has abandoned his title of Sub-Zero and sworn off using his powers after he lost control of them and caused a large number of deaths.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Kuai Liang delivers one to Kenshi when Kenshi expresses despair over what he lost. Kuai Liang also briefly describes being at his lowest and wanted to die.

* NeckList: A rejuvinated Shang Tsung does this to Kano before the failed Soul Steal.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: [[spoiler:Near the end of the movie, Kano pulled out a skull with Kronika's Crown on it to unlock a door when he was being chased by Sub-Zero]].

* UnexplainedRecovery: It is never explained how Kano was able to return after the events of the first film, where he was killed by Sonya and Johnny Cage. It is implied that he was reassembled with additional cybernetics.

* TheStarscream: Shang Tsung, as par the course for him, is working for Kano while secretly plotting to overthrow him. He gets his opportunity after absorbing the power unleashed from the Well of Souls, but it fails miserably.

* AdaptationalWimp: Shang Tsung is relegated from one of the series' most powerful sorcerers to Kano's personal servant. [[spoiler:Even when his power is restored, he cannot stand against Kano for long.]] See WrongGenreSavvy below.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Shang-Tsung, once he kicks his [[TheStarscream plan into action]]. He acts as Kano's right-hand man, until he tricks Kenshi into leading him to the Well of Souls to give himself a power-boost by absorbing the spirits there. He then attacks Kano head-on and tries to steal his soul. On paper, this isn't a bad plan. But he was not accounting for the fact that [[spoiler:Kano doesn't have a soul to steal due to being a cyborg, and he has the power of Kronika's hourglass on his side with the knowledge of past timelines, and it fatally costs Shang Tsung his life]].

* AdaptationalWimp: Shang Tsung is relegated from one of the series' most powerful sorcerers to Kano's personal servant. [[spoiler:Even when his power is restored, he cannot stand against Kano for long.]]

* AdaptationalJerkass: While Kano was always a villain in the original game series, he is even worse here. After the world is destroyed by the revenants, Kano and his gang have taken over multiple villages killing anyone that opposes him -- a kind of crime the original Kano is never shown doing. [[spoiler:At the end of the film, it is revealed that Kano was the cause of the revenant infestation so that Kano could take over as "King"]].

* ButNowIMustGo: Sub-Zero is revealed to have forged a proposition with Scorpion offscreen, should he ever use his powers again. [[spoiler:But before he and Scorpion depart to the Netherrealm, [[YouAreInCommandNowhe he leaves Kenshi in charge of the Lin Kuei.]]]]

* DragonWithAnAgenda: While Shang Tsung is serving under Kano, he secretly plots to overthrow him.

Unlike the previous two films, the plot of this one is entirely original and something that has never been seen in the [[Franchise/MortalKombat franchise]] before. It is set AfterTheEnd where an infestation of revenants decades after Shao Kahn's defeat caused Earthrealm to be turned into a desolate wasteland, with the survivors settling in remote villages. Kano has declared himself "King" and has taken over much of what is left with his followers.

A new hero named Kenshi Takahashi faces a tragedy that leaves him blind and sends him on a quest to take down Kano. He is now being mentored by the old and retired Sub-Zero, who has sworn off using his powers after he lost control of them and caused a large number of deaths.

** Erron Black, Ferra and Torr are members of the murderous Black Dragon in this movie while in the reboot timeline, they work for Kotal Khan. Even more so for Black since his older self is a NobleDemon at best while his past self is a Black Dragon member.
** Kabal's alignment differs in each continuity and like Scorpion, he has a history of HeelFaceRevolvingDoor. Like with Black, Ferra and Tor, he's a member of the Black Dragon and is as murderous as the others.
* AdaptationalWimp: Shang Tsung has gone from one of Outworlds most powerful warriors to Kano's personal servant. [[spoiler:Even when his power is restored, he cannot stand against Kano for long.]]

* AgeLift: In both video game timelines, Kenshi is around the same age as Sub-Zero. In this movie, he is significantly younger.

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Kenshi was initially portrayed as this, up until his first defeat by Tremor.
* AscendedExtra: Kano in the first film played only a very minor role. In this film, he is the BigBad.
* AssholeVictim: The Black Dragon Clan as a whole, not a single person mourned for them after they are finally killed off.
* AuraVision: Kenshi develops this through honing his senses. This feature also replaces the X-Ray aspect, shown in the previous two movies.

* BigBad: Kano is the ultimate tyrant of the wastelands and a powerful threat. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that he is the cause of Earthrealm's current state as he was the one who unleashed the horde of revenants]].
* TheBrute: Tremor is this, as he's the 2nd toughest Black Dragon member aside from Kano himself and is the only one to actually give Kenshi some trouble.
* BullyingADragon: This is how the entire Black Dragon behaves towards the likes of Kenshi and Sub-Zero, of course this doesn't end well for any of them by the climax.
* ButNowIMustGo: Sub-Zero is revealed to have forged a proposition with Scorpion off-screen, should he ever use his powers again. He also mentions that Scorpion will keep said promise, should he fail to honor it. [[spoiler:But before he and Scorpion head to the Netherrealm, [[YouAreInCommandNowhe he left Kenshi in charge of the Lin Kuei.]]]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: When Sub-Zero's village is invaded by Kano's forces, Sub-Zero is ready to run away. Kenshi calls Sub-Zero out on how he is cowering in fear of losing control of his powers and that they should help as it's the right thing to do. This does get through to Sub-Zero, as he later comes to help.

** A remnant who resembles Nightwolf appears in Sub-Zero's flashback.
** Jarek shows up just to get easily killed by Kenshi.
** [[spoiler: Dairou shows up briefly after Scorpion frees Kenshi.]]
** Drahmin appears alongside the Black Dragon, after they capture and tie up Kenshi.
* CurbStompBattle: Scorpion easily kills Dairou, No-Face, Ferra/Torr, and Erron Black without trouble.
* DeathSeeker: Kenshi briefly became suicidal after getting blinded.
* DentedIron: Advanced age aside, Sub-Zero is still able to keep standing and fighting despite the damages he received.
* TheDragon: Shang Tsung is Kano's advocate and second in command and unlike with Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung doesn't enjoy this position one bit.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: While Shang Tsung is serving under Kano, he's been secretly plotting to overthrow Kano.
** a very minor example, Kabal, Kobra, and Kira made plans for some time to defect from the Black Dragon to "do their own thing".
* TheDrifter: Kenshi is a wanderer that travels from town to town, in search of a worthy opponent to further hone his skills.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: When Kobra was killed by Shang Tsung's attack, everyone paused for a moment at the ordeal and Kira appears shocked. Even Kano himself even says "Sorry mate".
* EvilRedhead: Just like in the games, Kira is a redhead who's a member of the villainous Black Dragon. Kano is shown to have a red mohawk and is the BigBad.
* {{Fingore}}: Kenshi’s pinkie and ring fingers get shot off by Erron Black near the end.
* FlatCharacter: No-Face, Jarek, Drahmin, Ferra/Torr and Dairou get no characterization at all.
* ForTheEvulz: When establishing their authority, the Black Dragon just loves to commit a lot of rather unnecessary atrocities against helpless villagers for no other reason than the fact that they can do it.
%%Zero Context Example* {{Gorn}}: Of course, it wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without it.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: After stabbing Ferra with his spear, Scorpion uses her corpse to beat the other Black Dragon members around him.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: How Erron Black met his end, as he was vertically sliced in half by Scorpion. Tremor himself suffered a similar fate against Kenshi.
* HandicappedBadass: Thanks to Sub-Zero's training, Kenshi honed his senses and is able to handle himself well against the majority of the Black Dragon Clan. Despite his pinkie and ring fingers on both hands getting shot off by Erron Black, it hardly did anything to slow him down.
* HollywoodHealing: Kenshi loses the pinkie and ring fingers on both hands during the climax but is still able to sword-fight against multiple opponents after simply bandaging the wounds. In reality losing these fingers would make effectively using a slashing weapon like a katana near impossible without some kind of prosthesis.
* ItsPersonal: Kenshi lampshades this when telling Sub-Zero that he'll handle Tremor during the climax. Justified in that Tremor is the one responsible for the brutal beatdown he recieved earlier in the film.
%%Zero Context Example* {{Jerkass}}: The entirety of the Black Dragon Clan fits this trope to a tee.
* {{Jobber}}: Jarek, No-Face, Ferra/Torr, and Drahmin serve no other purpose in the film aside from fighting and getting killed by the heroes to showcase their strength.
* KneelBeforeZod: Kano wants everyone to bow before him. One villager refuse, saying he'd rather die free than bow a slave. Kano kills him and then says, "I tell ya, mate... freedom is overrated."
* KillItWithFire: How Scorpion defeat/kill with No-Face and Kabal. The former has its tank exploded from his kunai, while the latter gets burned alive.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Tremor delivers a brutal beatdown on Kenshi in their first fight. If Shang Tsung didn't intervene, Kenshi would've been dead.
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Kira is killed during her final fight with Kenshi, as the latter sliced her head off.]]
* OneManArmy: Kenshi proved himself able to take on multiple opponents at once.
* OutOfFocus: The film doesn't mention anything about the characters from the previous two movies (except for a statue of Liu Kang).
* RetiredBadass: Although Sub-Zero had stepped away from fighting after accidentally killing his men years ago, he's still able to train Kenshi and handle himself against the Black Dragon.
* RidingIntoTheSunset: The final scene has Kenshi walking into the sunset of the destroyed Earthrealm [[spoiler:after Sub-Zero named him the Lin Kuei's new successor.]]
* {{Sadist}}: Kano establishes himself as one very clearly. He forces people to fight to the death for his amusement, and when one of the people refuses to kill the other, Kano kills her personally. When Kano captures Kenshi, instead of executing him swiftly, Kano takes the time to slowly torture Kenshi, all the while enjoying his suffering.
* TheSoulless: As Kano tells Shang Tsung, he doesn't have any soul left for Shang Tsung to absorb, rendering his power useless against him.
* TheStarscream: Shang Tsung, as per usual for him, is working for Kano while secretly plotting to overthrow him. Shang Tsung gets his opportunity when Kenshi leads him to the Well of Souls, allowing Shang Tsung to regain his power and attempt to overthrow Kano, but he fails.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Kenshi does this a couple of times in the movie.
* TorsoWithAView: Shang Tsung inadvertently kills Kobra this way, when he was trying to kill Kano.
* UnexplainedRecovery: It is never explained how Kano was able to return, as when he was last seen in the first film, he was killed by Sonya and Johnny. It is implied that he was put back together as even more of a cyborg than he already was.
* WasOnceAMan: It appears that at this point in time, Kano is now more machine than human as Shang Tsung couldn't steal his soul since Kano doesn't have one.
* WalkingTheEarth: Kenshi is portrayed as a wandering warrior with no true home to speak of.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: The film doesn't mention anything about the main heroes of Earthrealm (aside from a statue of Liu Kang), although it could be possible that either Kano did away with them after attaining Kronika's Hourglass or they may have fell victim to the revenant attack.
* WolverinePublicity: Shang Tsung appears on the cover of the film's poster, which is there to draw people in because he is one of "Mortal Kombat"'s most iconic villains. Shang Tsung does show up in the film, but only plays an important role in the beginning and is quickly killed off by the true BigBad of the film, Kano (who isn't on the cover).
* WouldHitAGirl: Kenshi has no qualms about attacking Kira in their scuffles and is seen killing several female mooks as well. Scorpion also qualifies for killing Ferra.
* YourSoulIsMine: Shang Tsung tries to pull this off on Kano. It is {{Subverted}}, as Kano doesn't have any soul to steal, allowing Kano to easily overpower and kill Shang Tsung.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: The film doesn't mention anything about the main heroes of EarthRealm (aside from a statue of Liu Kang), although it could be possible that either Kano did away with them after attaining Kronika's Hourglass or they may have fell victim to the revenant attack.

* AdaptationalWimp: Shang Tsung has gone from one of Outworlds most powerful warriors to Kano's personal servant. [[spoiler:Even when his power is restored he cannot stand against Kano for long.]]

* BadBoss: Kano tends to subject his own subordinates to his twisted games nor does he hesitate to use them as meat shields against Shang Tsung.

* ButNowIMustGo: Sub-Zero is revealed to have forged a proposition with Scorpion off-screen, should he ever use his powers again. He also mentions that Scorpion will keep said promise, should he fail to honor it.

* KneelBeforeZod: Kano wants everyone to bow before him. One villager refuses, saying he'd rather die free than bow a slave. Kano kills him and then says, "I tell ya, mate... freedom is overrated."

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: The film doesn't mention anything about the main heroes of EarthRealm (aside from a statue of Liu Kang), although it could be possible that either Kano did away with them after attain Kronika's Hourglass or they may have fell victim to the revenant attack.

* {{Gorn}}: Of course, it wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without it.

* Jerkass: The entirety of the Black Dragon Clan fits this trope to a tee.

* The Dragon: Shang Tsung is Kano's advocate and second in command and unlike with Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung doesn't enjoy this position one bit.

* TheBrute: Tremor is this, as he's the 2nd toughest Black Dragon aside from Kano himself and is the only one to give Kenshi some trouble.

* DentedIron: Advanced age aside, Sub-Zero is still able to keep standing and fighting despite the beating he received.

* ForTheEvulz: Besides using force to establish their authority, the Black Dragon just loves to commit a lot of unnecessary atrocities against helpless villagers for no other reason than the fact that they can do it.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: How Erron Black met his end, as he was vertically sliced in half by Scorpion.

* {{Jobber}}: Jarek, No-Face, Drahmin serve no other purpose in the film aside from fighting and getting killed by the heroes to showcase their strength.

* AssholeVictim: The Black Dragon clan as a whole, not a single person mourned for them after they are finally killed off.

* BullyingADragon: This is how the entire Black Dragon behaves towards the like of Kenshi and Sub-Zero, of course this doesn't end well for any of them by the climax.
%%* ButNowIMustGo

** Kabal, Kobra, and Kira made plans for some time to defect from the Black Dragon to "do their own thing".

* FlatCharacter: No-Face, Drahmin, Ferra/Torr and Dairou get no characterization at all.

%%Zero context example* {{Gorn}}: Well it wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without it.

* HandicappedBadass: Thanks to Sub-Zero's training, Kenshi honed his senses and is able to handle himself well against the majority of the Black Dragon Clan. Despite his pinkie and ring fingers getting shot off by Erron Black, it hardly did anything to slow him down.

* {{Jobber}}: Jarek, No-Face, Drahmin serve no other purpose in the film aside from getting killed by the heroes to showcase their strength.

* KillItWithFire: How Scorpion defeat/kill with No-Face and Kabal.

* Gorn: Well it wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without it.