Line #111 Headscratchers/MortalKombat9


1	* Regarding Noob Saibot's Fatality. He splits his opponent clean in the middle while the poor bastard screams all the way to the head. My gripe is that the opponent is ''still'' screaming even after the throat got split, isn't that where the vocal chords are located? Shouldn't that render screaming impossible?
2	** In fact, way too often Fatality victims scream past the point they should stop ''living'' altogether (''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' was particularly bad about this), which just makes it all the more intriguing, what with Fatalities becoming more outlandish and overkill with each entry.
3	*** I feel the Fatalities have gotten somewhat worse over the years because of how overkill they are. At a certain point, the victim is already dead, yet there are Fatalities that, for instance, decapitate the victim and then destroy the disembodied head. Those ones are just stupid.
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5	* Why did the amulet crack after Liu Kang won the first tournament? Had Shang Tsung beaten him then, [[spoiler: Kahn's win would have been legitimate, and the Elder Gods would not intervene]]. The same applies for the second tournament, but given it was forced upon Earthrealm and the rules were changed you could argue it wouldn't count.
6	** It's possible that the amulet cracked after Kang's first victory because it wasn't a way to save the future that Future Raiden wanted. I'm going to take a guess here, but it seems that magic in Mortal Kombat also seems to be affected by the user's wants. It might be that the amulet cracked because Earthrealm was saved in a way that Future Raiden didn't want. He most likely wanted Earthrealm to be saved by having Shao Kahn destroyed for good, considering the state he was in when he sent the message.
7	*** Maybe the amulet was constantly cracking. Raiden just happened to notice it after Liu Kang's victory because he thought that Kang's victory was the event from the "he must win" message. So it's not really "oh no the amulet cracked AGAIN", it's more "oh no the amulet IS STILL cracking".
8	*** In other words, the cracking of Raiden's amulet indicates that ''[[FridgeHorror events happened as his future self planned]]''! At least before Earthrealm must let Kahn merge the realms without winning Mortal Kombat so the Elder Gods can punish him.
9	*** What the troper above me said. Granted, Future!Raiden's phrasing was extremely vague due to him being in a minor panic from seeing Shao Kahn raise his hammer for a killing strike, so Story Mode can be summed up as Present!Raiden undergoing a 'what the ''hell'' does that message mean?!' quest.
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11	* Couldn't Raiden have [[spoiler: gotten the Elder Gods on his side earlier?]] When Shang Tsung approaches Raiden after the first tournament to propose the second, he says [[spoiler: "If Earthrealm wins, Shao Kahn will renounce his claim to it forever." Raiden accepts these terms and it's implied the Elder Gods go with it. But then Earthrealm DOES win, and Shao Kahn invades, which pretty much means he's still holding a claim to it. Shang Tsung didn't mention that the deal only applied to merging the realms, so is it possible that Raiden could've prevented the massacre at the end if he had realized this?]]
12	** [[spoiler: Raiden did realize this but he was too late. He really had to wait for Shao Kahn to fully merge the realms before the elder gods finally decide to do something. The massacre happened when he and Liu Kang were out, so if they were there it would've changed things.]]
13	** Technically, an invasion doesn't equal a claim on Earthrealm. Until he actually tries to take control he's just killing people, which is unfortunate but not against the set rules. Really, it was Sindel that protected Earthrealm for this long, not the Elder God's rules.
14	*** That's not true, [[spoiler:the Elder Gods make it very clear what they're doing and why at the very end. "Sindel's ward" might have been a real thing, but Quan Chi manipulated Kahn into thinking that was ''all'' there was to it. The ward, implicitly, just kept Kahn out of the realm; him entering it was possible after this ward was nullified, but this ward had nothing to do with the punishment he suffered thereafter. If it did, not even anyone associated with Outworld could enter Earthrealm for the Tournament because they would ''all'' be banished forever. Were it not for Sindel's curse, Kahn could probably have freely come and gone as he pleased, even overseen the Tournament himself. That was probably the only reason Shang Tsung even got sent into Earthrealm to do so to begin with.]]
15	** I thought the whole deal was that he framed Earthrealm for abducting [[spoiler: Sindel]], allowing him to legally invade it. As for why the Elder Gods don't know better, well... the Gods must be crazy.
16	*** There's nothing in any of the games whatsoever about Sindel being abducted by anyone.
17	*** From the [=MK3=] synopsis on Wikipedia:
18	-->''...his Shadow Priests, led by Shang Tsung, revive his former Queen Sindel, who unexpectedly died at a young age. However, she would not be revived in the Outworld, but in Earthrealm. This would allow Shao Kahn to cross the boundary lines and reclaim his queen''
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20	* Why are [[spoiler: Cyber Sub-Zero and Stryker dead? Sure, Shao Kahn empowered Sindel but I don't think that automatically turns every strike into a fatality.]]
21	** There might be two explanations. One, [[spoiler:they might have been in really bad shape after their fight with the Lin Kuei, allowing Sindel to finish them off fairly easy]], or two, [[spoiler:they just got knocked out by her initial attacks and actually died in the crossfire of her fight with Nightwolf]].
22	*** [[spoiler: If you look closely, Stryker's face caves in from Sindel's punch. Couldn't see what killed Sub-Zero, though]]
23	*** [[spoiler:Sparks and electricity spewed out of Cyb-Zero's midsection, so maybe Sindel punched him hard enough to short-out his cybernetic parts and kill him? By logic this would dictate that Sonya, Cage, Nightwolf, and Kitana are ''seriously'' MadeOfIron considering the onslaught they had to endure.]]
24	*** [[spoiler: The game actually implies that Cyb-Zero's armor is pretty weak - in arcade mode, it only takes a few strikes for his ''brain'' to be revealed. Plus, Sindel's strikes focus entirely on his head. Given her power boost, that would be enough to cause a fatal malfunction.]]
25	*** As for [[spoiler: Stryker]] he is [[spoiler: the most [[BadassNormal normal of the cast without any superpowers]]]] so yeah.
26	*** Plus, if [[spoiler:getting his face caved in didn't kill him immediately, then shock and blood loss would have taken care of that.]]
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28	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DujrDgiHITE&feature=autoplay&list=ULGiVNetSPuqA&index=14&playnext=1 Quan Chi has Shinnok's amulet]]. While it is true that he possessed it since ''Mythologies'', and gave a false one to Shinnok, why is he wearing it so openly? You'd think somebody might notice the amulet of a fallen Elder God on his belt.
29	** This is made all the more headscratching since he's seen multiple times by two people who'd recognize what it is: Bi-Han (the original Sub-Zero) and Raiden.
30	*** Well, Raiden's mucking with the timeline caused many subtle changes around the time of the first game, such as a few characters appearing much earlier in-story. Maybe, just like there were slight changes to the first three games' story, there were also changes to the ''Mythologies'' story. Perhaps Raiden DID know, but his future visions implied Quan Chi had a role in stopping Armageddon(which he did, to some extent) so Raiden did not take action against him.
31	** There's also the ''massive'' continuity problems with Quan Chi sporting the tattoos of Onaga's army when he didn't even ''know'' about Onaga until after Scorpion beat the tar out of him and chased him through the Netherrealm, causing Quan Chi to stumble upon the Dragon King's tomb (this was after ''4''--[[BroadStrokes presumably following some shared variation of Sub-Zero and Scorpion's endings]]--as detailed in ''Deadly Alliance''[='s=] intro).
32	*** Perhaps Quan Chi managed to find a way to get a peek at Raiden's visions and took advantage of it.
33	*** Either that or [[spoiler:Shinnok ''himself'' pulled a Raiden as well and gave his past self a heads up (Shinnok survived the events of Armageddon alongside Shao Kahn, Taven, and Liu Kang's spirit, as the Shinnok seen in ''Armageddon'' was [[ActuallyADoombot a clone]]). It could explain why things went so wrong; two parties with innate knowledge of the future combating each other would be more likely to screw up the timestream.]]
34	*** This theory has a lot of validity, as [[spoiler:the ending'd [[TheStinger stinger]] implies Quan Chi and Shinnok had been manipulating the game's events from the beginning, which they never did to this extent in the original games. Raiden was also his WellIntentionedExtremist self when he sent his messages to the past, so his lucidity was open to question and his messages to his past self were very vague, while Shinnok was probably in a much better position to send himself clear messages on what to do. Perhaps he recognized that Raiden was getting vague messages and he used Quan Chi to manipulate events in his favor while taking advantage of Raiden's desperation.]]
35	*** To begin with, not all of the tattoos are the same. Most obviously, the ones on his head are different. Perhaps he just has a thing for tattoos? As a sorcerer, he can change them at will - he's his own tattoo artist, after all. Secondly, how exactly Shinnok and Quan Chi manipulated events in this game is never explained, [[spoiler:not even in the Story Mode of the sequel]]. It's possible Shinnok has the same temporal vision-sending powers as Raiden does, [[spoiler:but this is never implied as far as I'm aware in either game]]. The most I can say is that both were aware of what Kahn directly invading Earthrealm would do to him and so manipulated him into doing so, purely to remove him as a threat - something that, for all we know, they tried to do in the ''first'' timeline as well (remember, Scorpion is now asserted to have always been Quan Chi's puppet, even going all the way back to the first game - a {{Retcon}} that is clearly intended to have always been the case, not something that changed because of anything Raiden did or didn't do this time around; Quan Chi has clearly always been there). Perhaps the X comic books have a thing or two to say on this, but I haven't been able to read them, so I can only go based on the games themselves, which I imagine would have mentioned this in greater detail were it true. It sounds rather vital to the plot.
36	*** In regards to Quan Chi's tattoos. It should be noted that in Shaolin Monks [[spoiler:Quan Chi appears after Shao Kahn is defeated with the red tattoos he has]]. As such, it's possible that the tattoos Quan Chi has may not actually be the Dragon King's tattoos.
37	*** Shaolin Monks is non-canon, though.
38	*** According to who? Contradicting one or more games isn't enough to make Shaolin Monks not canon seeing how many times the games have contradicted themselves. [=MK9=] itself contradicts past games in regards to backstories, what with how Mileena is now way younger than she was before the reboot and the Sub-Zeros were taken by a Lin Kuei member away from their parents in Asia with no sister in sight instead of the brothers being taken by their father from America to China away from their mother and sister.
39	*** Well, the game raises more questions than it answers, and doesn't quite track with the games in the original timeline. For instance, in ''Shaolin Monks'', [[spoiler:Jade gets killed right around the time ''MKII'' would have begun]], but no game released prior to ''Shaolin Monks'' ever said or implied such a thing. Surely, if it had happened, we'd at ''least'' have gotten [[spoiler:some mention of her having been resurrected in time for ''[=UMK3=]'' or ''Deception'']], but ''Shaolin Monks'' is the ''only'' game that even mentions the possibility that [[spoiler:Jade was killed at that time]]. There was no attempt to retcon this game's events into the original timeline, and we can safely say there never will be as it's a moot point now that the series has been rebooted with the 2011 game, precluding any possibility that games like ''Shaolin Monks'' depict events that will be held canon in any game released from now on.
40	** ''Mortal Kombat 11'' finally provides an answer- Raiden isn't the only one who messes with time, as there is a GodOfGods called Kronika who is a GreaterScopeVillain of the franchise who manipulates everything. All of the differences between this game and the original timeline are explainable by this ''not being the original timeline in the first place'', and even the first game might not have been either. So, again, it is indeed the case that Raiden wasn't the only one messing with time, but it turned out that the greater culprit was not Shinnok but his mummy.
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42	* Why is Noob Saibot so willing to work with Quan Chi? In this timeline, unlike the original, Scorpion hesitates against killing Sub-Zero until Quan Chi projects a false "reminder" image of his family/clan's destruction. Sub-Zero sees the image as well and protests his innocence before being slain. Given how he saw this accusation first-hand, why would he be willing to openly support the person who got him killed?
43	** It's been implied before that Bi-Han as Sub-Zero and Bi-Han as Noob Saibot are distinct. In his ''Deception'' ending, it's mentioned that he would've been proud of his brother, but his descent to hell stripped away his compassion. In his ''Armageddon'' ending, after killing Blaze, Noob is confronted by Bi-Han, who wanted to "regain control of his divided soul". Noob Saibot is Sub-Zero minus any redeeming qualities; which he'd presumably would've regarded as weaknesses. So he probably wouldn't hold a grudge. Also, as ''Deception'' and his ending in this game show, Noob may be serving under Quan Chi, but he's got ulterior motives.
44	** Noob is just a [[PersonalityPowers shadow]] of the former Bi-Han.
45	** It's also pointed out that the two are separate entities when Noob tells Subby that even though they are related by blood, they aren't brothers.
46	*** That sounds more like a "I have no son!" moment than the literal meaning. Noob was mocking Kuai Liang's revenge motivations because he's so evil that he doesn't even appreciate that someone wanted to avenge his death. Put simply, you would be hard-pressed to find someone in ''Mortal Kombat'' with more evil in him than Noob Saibot. He is nothing but a being of hatred and villainy.
47	** Or maybe he just doesn't remember that particular event as a result of the whole "brought back from hell deal"
48	** Or, alternatively, Noob has realized that the easiest way to deal with ''both'' of the characters involved in his death is to [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder act as their ally right up until the most convenient "do or die" situation]].
49	** This Troper's theory is that Quan Chi brainwashed him when he brought him back from the dead, same way he did with Sindel.
50	* Bi-Han and Hanzo are both assassins who died violent deaths. Both were sent to the Netherrealm before returning to earth. Hanzo came back as Scorpion and Bi-Han came back as Noob Saibot. So how come one of them looks like a regular guy (except when he takes off his mask) and the other is, er, whatever the hell Noob Saibot is?
51	** Scorpion's a specter, Noob is a wraith. There's no further explanation given than that, but the two seem to be different species of TheUndead. Minus the whole "skull for a head under my mask thing" and his one-track mind on avenging his family, Scorpion more or less seems to be the same as he was in life. Noob, on the other hand, had his soul stripped of all compassion and moral restraint, leaving only a corrupt, prideful, vicious assassin. He's a MadeOfEvil HumanoidAbomination.
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53	* When [[spoiler: Sub-Zero is awakened after having his systems knocked offline, it's mentioned in his boot-up interface that higher brain function has been restored, hinting that the Lin Kuei were hampering the brain functions of their cyborg members to prevent rebellion.]] Now, while it's likely that Cyrax got the same treatment, is it likely they did the same thing with Sektor, considering how eager he seemed to become a cyborg?
54	** Yes. You can never be too careful.
55	** Well, except that it seems that Sektor is sort of a '''Control Tower''' to the other cyborgs.
56	*** If you look at the cyborgs' battle damage, you can see their brains being exposed with wires placed in them. This is only really noticeable in the Klassic Cyrax and Sektor models however.
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58	* So wait. At the end of the story, [[spoiler:are Johnny and Sonya the last humans left alive on Earth?]]
59	** No.
60	** [[spoiler:Of the heroes? Yes. Out of all the denizens of Earthrealm? It's questionable, but highly unlikely. Shao Kahn's invasion was stopped the same day it happened. As great as his forces were, I don't think they could have gotten to everyone in such a short amount of time, especially if his strongest enforcers were dealing with Raiden's chosen. If Stryker, Kabal, and some NYC S.W.A.T. officers could keep Shao Kahn's elite at bay, I'm hard pressed to believe that the rest of the world would have severe trouble with [[{{Mooks}} the bottom feeders]].]]
61	** [[spoiler:Last we saw of Kano, he was okay.]]
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63	* Why did the amulet crack after Liu Kang won the first tournament? Had Shang Tsung beaten him then, [[spoiler: Kahn's win would have been legitimate, and the Elder Gods would not intervene]]. The same applies for the second tournament, but given it was forced upon Earthrealm and the rules were changed you could argue it wouldn't count.
64	** It's possible that the amulet cracked after Kang's first victory because it wasn't a way to save the future that Future Raiden wanted. I'm going to take a guess here, but it seems that magic in Mortal Kombat also seems to be affected by the user's wants. It might be that the amulet cracked because Earthrealm was saved in a way that Future Raiden didn't want. He most likely wanted Earthrealm to be saved by having Shao Kahn destroyed for good, considering the state he was in when he sent the message.
65	*** Maybe the amulet was constantly cracking. Raiden just happened to notice it after Liu Kang's victory because he thought that Kang's victory was the event from the "he must win" message. So it's not really "oh no the amulet cracked AGAIN", it's more "oh no the amulet IS STILL cracking".
66	*** In other words, the cracking of Raiden's amulet indicates that ''[[FridgeHorror events happened as his future self planned]]''! At least before Earthrealm must let Kahn merge the realms without winning Mortal Kombat so the Elder Gods can punish him.
67	*** What the troper above me said. Granted, Future!Raiden's phrasing was extremely vague due to him being in a minor panic from seeing Shao Kahn raise his hammer for a killing strike, so Story Mode can be summed up as Present!Raiden undergoing a 'what the ''hell'' does that message mean?!' quest.
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69	* Why didn't any of the Earthrealm warriors warn Kung Lao when the emperor got off his throne, walked over and snapped his neck? Unless he teleported, which he's never shown the ability to do, they should have seen it coming with enough time to save him.
70	** They probably just didn't think he was going to kill him. After all, its supposed to be a fighting tournament; that was outright murder. If anything it serves as just another example of [[JerkassGods Elder Jerkass Gods]]; how the ''hell'' can he get away with something like that? Could he just massacre all of the other fighters and just beat the crap out of the weakest in a proper fight, and claim victory?
71	*** I got the impression that Kung Lao had already won the tournament by beating Kintaro. So outside the tournament he IS free to just murder them all, as we see during the invasion. And I'm not sure the Elder Gods are {{Jerkass}}es, they seem more simply very bound by the rules, if there is no real violation they can't act.
72	** After Shao Khan snapped Kung Lao's neck, Raiden looked ready to take Khan on directly. As a god, he's normally prohibited from fighting unless challenged, so he must have known Lao's murder was a dire violation that freed him up to kill Shao Khan himself. It's only his uncertainty as to Liu Kang's role and acknowledgement he deserved to avenge Kung Lao that prevented him from annihilating Khan right there.
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74	* Why did Raiden attempt an alliance with Quan Chi to save Earthrealm? Quan Chi has been visibly aiding Outworld throughout the two tournaments and Seido or Chaos realms would have been better choices with less extreme payments. Chaos Realm might have even done it for free, they enjoy war and the chaos it brings.
75	** He was desperate and, being in charge of defending Earth Realm has not cultivated contacts in those two realms. Simply put, he had no other option. Quan Chi was the only person he knew of who had the power to help him and who would accept what he was offering. Seido would just annex Earthrealm entirely if they decided it was worth the effort, and Chaos is, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin chaotic.]] They could just as easily fight '''alongside''' Outworld as fight against them. If they decided to do so, they might have thought getting involved after Raiden asked for help would be too much order for their liking.
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77	* In Stryker's chapter, how did Mileena recover so fast from her fight with Stryker? Reptile, Kintaro and Ermac didn't get right back up afterward, and two of them should significantly be more physically capable for taking said beatings, so how did she do it? Hell, how did she get back up after Raiden blasted her? He's clearly willing to kill Outworld invaders, just look at what happened to Motaro in that same scene, so how did Mileena come out none the worse?
78	** Hm. Let's see. Because Raiden only [[ShockAndAwe shocked]] Mileena, while he used the [[CutscenePowerToTheMax more lethal]] '''[[MemeticMutation JOHNNY BOUGHT A CAR]]''' on Motaro? So, yeah.
79	*** Not to mention Raiden, literally, rammed Motaro through a bridge. So heh.
80	** Mileena was wearing PlotArmor and was part of the roster, whereas Motaro wasn't.
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82	* As per Raiden's desperate plan to ally himself with Quan Chi; not so much the plan itself, but what derails it. When he tries [[spoiler: to offer the souls of Earthrealm's fallen in exchange for Quan Chi's help]], Quan Chi refuses on merit of [[spoiler: Shao Kahn has already made the exact same deal with him.]] So...''how in Netherrealm's name does [[spoiler: Shao Kahn]] have that kind of authority?'' Raiden is at least feasible, given as he's Earthrealm's guardian and all, but '''[[spoiler: Shao Kahn]]'''? [[spoiler: He's an invading conqueror whose "say" revolves around his wife being in the realm; HER soul could be said to be under his authority, and MAYBE Kitana's...but that's where it stops. Even if he doesn't technically try to merge the realms until the end, he's still not in any position to be bargaining with souls that aren't from his own realm.]] How is this allowed?
83	** Shao Khan's MO is to steal the souls of the people of a realm, generally when they die, afterward they're his to do as he pleases.
84	*** And isn't anyone perplexed by what the [[spoiler:dead and brainwashed Earthrealm and Edenian warriors are wearing? I mean, in the cutscene, Kung Lao and Stryker are in their alternate costumes and they switch to their primary costumes when fighting Raiden (though the former wore it prior to the Tarkartans attacking the Wu Shi Academy). Also, why does Kuai Liang stay a cyborg, shouldn't he be a zombie human too?]]
85	*** [[spoiler:The revenants can look like anything Quan Chi damn well wants them to look like. That's not a mystery. Also, just because Shao Kahn made that exact same deal does not mean he actually has any authority to do so. Remember that he stepped into Earthrealm with the intent to invade it and the Elder Gods punished him for doing so - just because he does it does not mean he is legally allowed. No one ever said he actually ''had'' the privilege of using souls that aren't his as a bargaining chip. All that really matters is that Quan Chi called Raiden's bluff and knew how desperate things really were, on top of being evil through & through so he was going to go against Raiden's wishes no matter what.]]
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87	* How does ANYONE with a Tarkatan mouth speak perfect, unmangled English?
88	** UniversalTranslator. Tarkatans probably speak in an [[StarfishLanguage alien language]], it only seems that [[AliensSpeakingEnglish they can speak perfect English]] despite having that kind of mouth. This may also explain why '''''Chinese''''' kombatants such as Liu Kang and Kung Lao can converse with '''''Americans''''' like Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage. '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis IN. PERFECT. ENGLISH.]]''' Hell, since Raiden is GodInHumanForm, it is also possible that he also speaks in StarfishLanguage, so the UniversalTranslator trope is pretty much the only way to explain why EVERYONE speaks in perfect English no matter which realm and country they come from.
89	** Or TranslationConvention. Unless you look up the subtitles and all the characters (Tarkatans, Outworlders, gods) speak in different {{Starfish Language}}s, untranslated conversations won't make any sense.
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91	* In the beginning, Johnny Cage seems to know nothing of the supernatural beings. How did he end up at the tournament in the first place? Also, how can a guy who can throw energy balls still have any skepticism left?
92	** According to the movie, the best martial artists in the world are invited to the tournament, Cage being one of them, apparently. Or, perhaps he heard of the tournament and decided to attend to test his might against others. As for Cage's skepticism; his ancestry may have given him his Shadow abilities, but that doesn't mean he's spent his entire life around mutants, humanoid lizards, and gods. So, the skepticism makes sense.
93	** Raiden seems to choose Earthrealm's champions and he seems to have already talked Cage up to Liu Kang by the time the tournament starts to it's likely Raiden chose who he wanted there and Shang Tsung made sure they got there. As for having skepticism while being able to shoot energy blasts keep in mind that the only character in the series established not to have some kind of power is Stryker so energy powers are likely common in this world.
94	** Some martial artists in real life subscribe to the idea that they can focus their "chi" and use it to strike/knock down opponents without actually touching them. It's likely that in the Mortal Kombat universe, this is definitely real. Johnny Cage is aware of the technique and uses it in the form of his energy blasts; however, he probably shrugs it off as a discipline with a scientific explanation that he doesn't really care about and has no further knowledge or belief in the supernatural. As for his invitation, it was probably orchestrated by Raiden but as far as Cage is aware, it's just some exclusive martial arts tournament that he's been invited to take part in, being notably skilled and a high profile actor.
95	** Johnny may abide by the rule that he only believes in powers he personally witnesses, which is a fair position to take. He is a witness to his own power, therefore he believes in his own power, but not only had he never previously noticed Raiden or anyone like him, the whole thing was getting too weird for him too soon to take it seriously right away - he was falling headlong down the rabbit hole, and there was simply too much to take in all at once. I think he'd prefer to assume he is the only one with supernatural abilities for the sake of his own sanity until he conclusively proves otherwise, which of course he does in short order.
96	** Regarding Johnny being at the tournament, remember Shang Tsung's speech "Some of you are here on their own volition, others are here by chance". Probably Johnny heard of the tournament and took it as an opportunity to show his prowess.
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98	* So it seems that Scorpion's clan and family were around back in the Sengoku era of Japan or thereabouts. But the tournament clearly takes place in modern times. I could accept Scorpion holding a grudge for 400-odd years, but unless Bi-han is immortal that can't be the same Sub-Zero.
99	** Scorpion may not be entirely there anymore after coming back as a specter. He may automatically associate "Cryomancer in blue ninja garb" with "the one who murdered my family".
100	** Bi-Han is [[KingBobTheNth Sub-Zero V]]. If you consider that Cryomancers live longer lives than Earthrealmers on average, it could be well plausible for us to think that Scorpion thought Sub-Zero I (Bi-Han's ancestor) killed his family and clan. [[spoiler: But of course he didn't, Quan Chi did under his guise.]] Even if you consider that Cryomancers don't live much longer lives than humans, there's a possibility that several of Sub-Zero I's descendants ''did not'' take the name Sub-Zero.
101	*** I totally buy this, but why didn't Bi-Han simply say, "Dude, that happened centuries ago, I'm not the guy you're looking for?" And why doesn't Scorpion realize any of this? Come to that, how do the Lin Kuei know anything about Netherrealm, Mortal Kombat, or Outworld? Are they not just a family of assassins?
102	*** It's possible that Scorpion subscribes to a "Sins of the Father" mentality, although that's unlikely, since you'd think Sub-Zero would at least bring that up, and it made Scorpion's quest a lot less sympathetic to modern audiences, so yeah, Bi-Han must be able to live for centuries. As for how the Lin Kuei know about the different realms and their inhabitants, it's implied that they are one of many groups like the Black Dragon that other-realmers hire to do their dirty work on Earthrealm.
103	** Or, Scorpion's clan just tends to do things old school. They're probably more "traditional" than the more modernized Lin Kuei, reflected by their housing and style of dress. Also, [[AllThereInTheManual according to official sources,]] Bi-Han was 32 when he was killed by Scorpion.
104	*** They're also more Japanese than the modernized Lin Kuei, who are Chinese. But we know explicitly that Bi-Han killed Scorpion. Specifically, he killed Scorpion during the events of Mythologies; Scorpion, in the original timeline, was after Bi-Han as vengeance for ''his own'' murder, and it wasn't until [=MK4=] that Quan Chi duped him by accusing Kuai Liang of murdering Scorpion's family. Either Scorpion is at the tournament to kill Sub-Zero just for his own murder, and Quan Chi was forced to play the "He murdered your family" card earlier as a result of Raiden's meddling, or Scorpion was there to avenge his family and this is just another one of those mysterious changes that had nothing to do with Raiden.
105	** If so, then Hanzo is actually a modern-generation member of the antiquated Shirai Ryu, just as Bi-Han is a modern-generation member of the modernized Lin Kuei.
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107	* Sooo...since [[spoiler: all of the heroes aside from Johnny Cage and Sonya are dead, not to mention the fact that many fan-favorites were just killed off]], how is the next game gonna work exactly?
108	** Most of the characters that were killed died over the course of the next two games anyway. They'll just introduce the characters from four through whatever game the next one involves along with some new characters and carry on as normal. I suspect the goal is to give the newer characters more focus so the fanbase will actually start to like them instead of focusing on the older characters and bowing to fan demand. Just look at Stryker, he got some focus and now people like him quite a bit. Hell, I wouldn't be surprise if Lui Kang was treated as he was to make us more open to accepting Shujinko.
109	*** Or they could all be under Quan Chi's control, and fighting for Netherrealm. And lets not forget the first law of resurrection.
110	*** I'm not quite sure what you're saying. The heroes killed by Sindel are under Quan Chi's control and will likely be used against Earthrealm, unless Raiden destroyed their souls while they battled him but even then at least three were left. Either way the story won't be able to focus on them like it did in this game so the new heroes the next game brings in will get to step into the spotlight. And while resurrection is likely, especially if they reintroduce Onaga, it may not be for everyone, it seems even the developers are sick of some of the characters and only included them because they needed to. I wouldn't be surprised if Liu Kang stayed dead, same goes for Kabal and Kung Lao, characters who were introduced but never really did anything important, and with Edenia having not been freed there's really no real need for Sindel, Kitana and Jade to return as they merely divert focus from the plight of Earthrealm. The new timeline is sort of like a screening process, they can look back at the old timeline, expand on the good ideas and discard the ones that didn't work out. A lot of characters were brought in sorely to introduce new characters with each game, forcing out ones that would have made logical sense (notice the near complete lack of Edenians involved in the story of [=MK4=] despite it being about Edenia being invaded, same in Armageddon). Everyone was given their moment to shine, it's entirely possible that that's all they'll get this time around.
111	** Sequels could simply take a BroadStrokes or AlternateContinuity approach if they want to bring back some (or all) of the characters that have been killed off. However, since it's been established that Raiden can send visions to his past self, he could presumably try to change the past again. By sending a message that's less ambiguous than "he must win", all the mistakes that were made during Story Mode could be avoided, essentially making ''MK 9'' a ShaggyDogStory as they SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong...again. That way they can pick up the story at the SequelHook but change a few details here and there.
112	** Perhaps the only answer this question needs is to quote John Vogel: [[spoiler:"Nobody ever really dies in Mortal Kombat."]]
113
114	* At the end of one of Kung Lao's fatalities, he wipes his hat off with his hand, with a quick movement. How the heck does he do that without cutting his hand?
115	** Years of practice.
116
117	* What are the rules of Shang Tsung's tournament? It looked like any confrontation counted as an official fight, but sometimes people were disqualified and other times they were not.
118	** It's a game of elimination between two teams, namely Earthrealm and Outworld representatives. When only one competitor remains undefeated, they are crowned the tournament champion and their side is considered the winner of the tournament. However, because Shang Tsung is presiding over the tournament and essentially invoking ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem, any situation that could see Earthrealm lose one of its competitors and edge Outworld closer to victory is declared an official fight in the tournament.
119	*** If it's a game of elimination, why does Scorpion fight Sub Zero? The Lin Kuei may be from Earth Realm but in the tournament they fight for Outworld as mercenary (As mentioned by Sektor and Cyrax) so why would Scorpion (Who is also subcontracted to Outworld) fight against his own side?
120	*** For it to be a tournament, it need not be one side against the other. A tournament is inherently a competition of elimination: Competitors challenge each other till one has emerged above all the rest. All that needs to happen is that someone makes it to the top to face Goro. If you're that person and you just happen to be from Outworld, then congratulations, you don't need to get your head ripped off by Goro, and Outworld automatically wins. This is why Earthrealm's fighters have to keep going and can't just allow Outworlders to rip each other apart to clear the path to the top - if someone from Outworld makes it, it's over already. An Outworlder doing so also implies, of course, that all of Earthrealm's challengers have been defeated, leaving Earth defenseless as Outworld subsumes it... or at least retains the title for the next 50 or so years till the next Tournament.
121	** It may also take into account which fighter makes the challenge.
122
123	* How big is Shang Tsung's island?
124	** Good question. It's hinted that the island doesn't even exist as far as Earthrealm's maps are concerned, from the conversation Sonya has with mission control when she calls for an evac ("There's nothing where you're at!"). [[NoOntologicalInertia It may even blink out if Shang Tsung is theoretically killed permanently.]] The best logical explanation could just be 'as big as Tsung designed it with his sorcery.'
125
126	* If Quan Chi and Shinnok wanted Shao Kahn out of the way, why did Quan Chi resurrect Shao Kahn at the end of the second tournament?
127	** It could be that the Elder God's eventual intervention put a more permanent end to Shao Kahn than Liu Kang's efforts, getting him out of the picture once and for all. If nothing else, helping him complete his plan - to a certain point, at any rate - wiped out most of Earthrealm's best warriors, leaving it vulnerable to an attack from the Netherrealm.
128	*** Right, in the original timeline, Liu Kang's "killing" of Shao Kahn in ''II'' and ''3'' didn't exactly seem to end his threat (he was still fighting Kitana and Goro's allied forces as of ''MKDA''). Having the Elder Gods destroy him/send him to the phantom zone/whatever they did might be the only permanent way to get rid of him.
129	** Quan Chi didn't actually resurrect Kahn, he just sped up his healing. So Kahn would have recovered anyway it just would have taken longer. So Quan Chi made the invasion happen faster and with Kahn grateful to Quan Chi, which devalued Shang Tsung, Quan Chi's only real rival.
130
131	* How does Shao Kahn own the souls of Earth's warriors? Maybe they could have used the soulnado thing but unlike the original timeline Nightwolf obliterated it with Noob Saibot destroying it. Also you have to be evil to descend there. Raiden warned Bi Han he was screwed if he didn't shape up so why did people like Kung Lao and Jax go there?
132	** Probably because of Shinnok. He manipulated everyone throughout the game thanks to time travel, and was able to work some things to get them into Hell, with him being ruler of it and all.
133	** By the sound of it, that's not Shinnok's doing at all. That's just Quan Chi laying claim to the departing souls via sorcery. He also corrupts them mentally, emphasizing their negativity and hatred. Also, Kahn doesn't have to own something to try to use it - he's just that kind of guy: He'll take it regardless of who really owns it or what's expected of him in return. The quintessential megalomaniac.
134
135	* Why is Motaro only in a cutscene?
136	** Mostly because programming him would be too much of a hassle with all four legs. It's practically the reason they did away with his back legs in Armageddon.
137	** And probably because [[TheScrappy/MortalKombat nobody really liked him anyway]]. I mean, did [=ANYONE=] become a fan of him because way back in the third game he was [[SNKBoss nearly impossible to kill]], not merely immune to but also ''reflecting'' projectiles back at you on top of having a super-powerful one of his own he could use repeatedly without limit? ''I'' sure didn't miss him this time around.
138
139	* What was the point of the storyline, exactly? The characters are basically just as bad off as when the game started.
140	** Armageddon has been averted, which was the entire point of sending the vision to the past. There are more heroes alive at the end (Raiden, Sonya and Johnny) than at the start (all three die during Armageddon). Plus it allows Netherealm to ignore their old canon and move forward in a different direction.
141	*** I'm not sure it's been ''averted'' per se. It could still happen, it's still in prophecy. What Raiden was specifically fighting to change was Shao Kahn being the victor of that entanglement, which he did - Kahn won't even be a contender in it anymore. I think Armageddon not happening hinges on [[spoiler:Edenia still being merged with Outworld; in the original timeline it was unmerged after Liu Kang won in the third game, but that was more or less because Kitana and Sindel were not only alive but made forces of good, which is not the case here at all]]. After all, something that seems very much overlooked is a detail only revealed in [[spoiler:Shinnok's ''Armageddon'' ending: Shinnok didn't actually participate in Armageddon, sending a copy of himself to eliminate the other bad guys from the series]]. After all, as is pointed out in the next game, [[spoiler:Shinnok can't actually die]], so while Kahn can be sent away permanently, [[spoiler:there is still a possibility that not only can Armageddon still happen, but Shinnok could win instead]]. I say all this because [[spoiler:by the time Armageddon would have happened in the original timeline, it clearly doesn't in this one, and as a matter of fact Edenia's freedom from Outworld is a point of contention around that time in the next game]]. This all applies regardless of [[spoiler:how Shinnok could have manipulated any of the events of this game into happening]].
142
143	* What is the deal with all the [[{{Retcon}} Retcons]] that Raiden's changing the past shouldn't affect? How is it that [[spoiler: Mileena being raised along with Kitana]] is suddenly changed to [[spoiler: her ''just'' finished being created and Kitana ''just'' finding out about her]]?
144	** [[spoiler: Because Raiden isn't the only one who has been changing the past. Shinnok's scene at the end of the game and Quan Chi's presence is a good indication that both of them had information they shouldn't have had at the time, with Shinnok confirmed to have survived the Armageddon fight and in a better position to follow Raiden's lead and send messages to his past self. All of the changes can be chalked up to Quan Chi manipulating events to wind up more favorable to Netherrealm (such as telling Raiden exactly how to defeat Shao Kahn for good).]]
145	*** That is dubious at best. Shinnok screwing around as Raiden did shouldn't have ''that'' far-reaching of consequences. It's implied in the original games that [[spoiler:the sisters are at least ten thousand years old apiece]], and Shinnok would probably not have cared to go ''that'' far back. For one thing, [[spoiler:Mileena isn't really vital to his plan]], and for another, if he ''could'' go that far back, why not even further? Why not continue to rewind the timeline until he gets what he wants? It's never explicitly implied [[spoiler:in either Story Mode]] that he used similar powers. Instead, we're down to theorizing that he makes petty changes like [[spoiler:changing Mileena's date of birth by about ten millennia]].
146	** ''Mortal Kombat 11'' provides an answer- Raiden isn't the only one who messes with time, as their is GodOfGods called Kronika who is a GreaterScopeVillain of the franchise who manipulates everything and has been doing so countless times. The original timeline is different because ''this isn't the original timeline'', and indeed the very first ''Mortal Kombat'' game might have been either.
147
148	* Is there any particular reason why [[spoiler: post-[=MK9=] Raiden can't send another message to his pre-[=MK1=] self to explain what exactly he needs to do? Post-Armageddon Raiden didn't have much time to send anything more than "He must win," which caused [=MK9=] Raiden to do some rather dumb things in response to that very ambiguous message. Post-[=MK9=] Raiden, however, has some free time on his hands, which means he could send another, far more understandable message to his [=MK1=] self (e.g. personally make sure Scorpion doesn't kill Sub-Zero by making him promise to keep the battle where he can see it, don't let the Lin Kuei capture Smoke or the other Sub-Zero, warn Kung Lao to keep his distance from Kahn when he wins the Outworld tournament, don't let your warriors die en masse, and let Shao Kahn come to Earthrealm and then have the Elder Gods take care of him). There doesn't seem to be a reason why he can't try that, and it would certainly screw over Shinnok and Quan Chi's plans if he did (even though he wouldn't know that they've been interfering so much, he could at least ensure that Quan Chi didn't claim the souls of the dead Earthrealm warriors by making sure that they don't die).]]
149	** Time travel is a tricky thing, you never know if the changes you make will make things better or worse. We have the advantage of knowing the details of both timelines and weighing which outcome was better. Contrary to appearances, the new timeline is pretty well off, if only by having the Emperor permanently dead, along with Shang Tsung. And with so many apparently permanent casualties Armageddon becomes much less likely to happen.
150	** Is it really, though? The setup now is "''Mortal Kombat 4'' but no one's alive to do anything about it". If you imagine a reality where whatever Shinnok tried to do in ''[=MK4=]'' goes off without any challengers then that could still be a bad situation. Although ultimately this is probably moot since ''X'' may just skip over any of the ''4''-''Deception'' details that could still persist in the new timeline (such as Shujinko's quest).
151	*** To quote John Vogel once again: [[spoiler:"Nobody ever really dies in Mortal Kombat."]]
152	** I imagine the time travel thing was more of a last resort than anything else, something Raiden put off so much he nearly forgot about it till it was too late. It's something none of the gods in the series have used, at least as far as we're aware, because it can do more harm than good. For example, [[spoiler:Sindel killing off half the cast plus herself]] might be bad, but what if Raiden saw that and tried to wind the clock back ''again'' to avoid it? Just ask [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Marty McFly]] how time travel can go wrong.
153	** We clearly see the circumstances Raiden is in when he sends back the message though time and it's just moments before Shao Kahn is about to bash his head in for good and seize ultimate power. So no, he ''didn't'' have time to send a better message. Future-Raiden was either erased from history or died at the hands of Shao Kahn.
154
155	* Why couldn't the original Sub-Zero beat Scorpion during Shang Tsung's tournament? He had already beaten him in the Netherrealm while he was a spectre/revenant, so even with the power-up of being undead he was still no match for him. What, did Scorpion just get a few lucky rolls on his critical hits?
156	** Scorpion was astoundingly pissed off.
157
158	* How does the first tournament even work? Liu Kang is presented at the only Earthrealm warrior to "reach this level" on his match against Ermac. Yet, neither Johnny Cage nor Sonya have lost a match - Kung Lao can be excused by the fact that he's not supposed to be here. Similarly, how can Ermac be at this level when he's just been introduced as a new kombatant and has therefore not fought anyone? How do the brackets for this tournaments even work? How are 2 vs 1 matches legal for Mortal Kombat (Such as Liu Kang Vs. Scorpion and Quan Chi)? Why doesn't Shang Tsung make ALL matches 2 vs 1 to stack his odds? He's got more warriors anyway (Kitana, Jade, Cyrax, Sektor, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Quan Chi, Baraka, Ermac, Goro and Himself) Vs Earthrealm's 5 (Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Sonya, Nightwolf and Johnny - Raiden doesn't take part in the tournament).
159	** Johnny Cage was beaten by Cyrax, no idea about Sonya, she may have forfeited somehow without realizing it. As for why not all matches are two on one in some cases multiple opponents would be an advantage as they'd get in each other's way.
160	** Sonya likely backed out at Raiden's insistence on having Liu Kang win the Tournament, believing Liu Kang is "he [who] must win". Besides, she wasn't there to save the world, as much as she would have liked to... she was just there to kill Kano.
161	*** Alternatively, Sonya may have lost offscreen (most likely against Scorpion, the only one who might spare her), while Liu Kang bested whomever else was left. Nightwolf and Liu Kang also may have beaten some characters prior, explaining why Kitana, Jade and Sektor don't show up.
162	** Johnny: beaten by Cyrax. Cyrax: fled the island after beating Sektor. Sektor: beaten by Cyrax. Sonya: forfeited after rescuing Jax. Jax: not even fighting in the first place. Kano: beaten by Sonya. Nightwolf: beaten by Scorpion. Kung Lao: beaten by Scorpion (plus he was an unofficial competitor anyway). Kitana and Jade were only assassins, same as Sektor, to weed out Earthrealm's fighters, so they didn't officially compete in the tournament. So, it makes sense Liu Kang was the only Earthrealmer left.
163
164	* The PS Vita version of the game has a whopping '''fifteen''' costumes added to it compared to the other versions of the game! Why couldn't they have added those to the PC and console versions via DLC after the Vita version was released? Isn't the fact that the Vita version is portable and has extra Challenge levels incentive enough to get more than one copy of the game?
165	** No, I'm afraid it's not. First, that's not how most people buy games. One in a million might, but most such people would be collectors anyway. Secondly, the point of all that extra content was to attract people who bought a Vita, regardless of how many people actually did (not a whole lot, for the record). Releasing those costumes to other versions devalues this one. It wasn't to get people to buy multiple versions of the same game. That's not how game industry employees think. Finally, most people just don't care enough about that sort of thing, regardless of whether they have the money to spring for it. The few who would don't collectively offer enough money to get the developer to do it.
166	[numlist:START_NUMBER]
167	This is a conversation whose OP has recanted the first post:
168	** That depends on you having a deep enough pocketbook to spring for not just another game but another console altogether. Not only that, but speaking as an Xbox gamer, the Vita version is totally useless to people like me because to unlock this stuff in the Vita version you have to do everything all over again. Why would we buy multiple versions of the same game if there's no way to share progress between them? Of all the possible added perks, that one is a must.
169	*** This troper is mostly speaking in terms of those who already had a Vita plus another system to begin with. Those who want these extra costumes but can't afford / don't want a Vita would want them as DLC for the PC / console versions even more.
170	*** But would they want those costumes badly enough to spring for another version of the game, regardless of other costs? Further, if you have the Vita version, with all the extra stuff it has (including the costumes), why would you still have, let alone play, any other? I could understand wanting the costumes as DLC, but from the sound of it you're already making the case that they have nothing to lose in doing so ''because'' people would want to buy both versions since the Vita version came after and has a bunch of extra stuff to sweeten the deal even further. That makes no sense to me.
171	*** Even if one has the Vita version, most people still like having the home console release of a fighting game for several reasons (arcade fight-stick support, better graphics, ability to play local multiplayer without both people needing the same system, etc.) And considering the fact that people in fighting game tournaments (which always use the home console version of a game) like having alternate skins and palettes to differentiate themselves from their opponents, it would make sense that they would like having more costume options.
172	[/numlist]
173
174	* Noob Saibot's X-ray move causes his opponent to vomit upon his leg when he delivers a side kick to their stomach. Aside from the possibility of the vomit entering his wounds from the battle, why would he try it on Reptile? The guy ''[[HollywoodAcid upchucks acid that melts people down to skeletons in seconds]]''.
175	** Even moreso with Skarlet's fatality, where she slits her opponent's throat and ''bathes in their blood''. Again, not recommended if Reptile's inwards are as bad as his bodily fluids.
176	** Perhaps Reptile's acid is spewed from a gland and is not actual stomach acid, which would make sense from a biologist's point of view. This also means that Reptile could effectively fight on a full stomach... Maybe [[MST3KMantra we're reading too much into this?]]
177	** Reptilian venom in the real world is ''saliva''. Not stomach acids.
178	** Two points: firstly, this is Mortal Kombat. "Real world" does not apply. Second, Reptile's clearly using an ACID of some sort. Saliva does not melt flesh.
179	*** Neither does acid. Acid ''dissolves'' things, just like saliva does. Saliva is the first part of the digestion process, and it may not break down matter as quickly as the dedicated acids in your stomach do, but it gets the job started. Think of the various poisons in nature that are described as pre-digesting the food from the inside out. Same thing.
180	*** Not to mention that it clearly sounds like he's spitting whenever he uses his Acid '''Spit''' special.
181	*** To the person who claimed that "Real world" things didn't apply to Reptile due to him being of a fictional fantasy race (Saurians), you're wrong in your thinking due to the fact that the Saurians are stated to have evolved from reptiles from Earthrealm [[note]]"The Saurians are reptilian humanoids who evolved from the dinosaurs." "The Saurians were originally native to Earthrealm where their civilization thrived countless years ago." Both of these quotes are from the Mortal Kombat Wikia on their Saurian article[[/note]], thus whatever applies to reptiles from the human world should also apply to the Saurians in theory.
182	** Noob may not be especially concerned with the potential damage due to his status as an undead entity
183	** X-Ray Moves aren't canon. The actual gameplay is just for hypothetical purposes.
184
185	* Raiden managed to heal Jax somehow with his electricity powers in the second chapter of the game, so why couldn't he [[spoiler:try it on Kitana before she died? Could've at least brought her back from the brink...]]
186	** Perhaps the wounds were too severe; also, RuleOfDrama.
187	** [[spoiler: Sindel was halfway through stealing Kitana's soul before Nightwolf intervened. Presumably Raiden's healing powers only work on physical injuries.]]
188	** I got the impression Raiden was just cauterizing the wound.
189	*** Jax clearly had a lot of bruises in addition to any actual cuts and wounds he may have sustained. Raiden's powers seemed to heal those as well, and apparently gave him the strength to be able to walk around on his own again, so it's not ''just'' cauterization.
190	*** In multiple MK games, Raiden is shown using the Jinsei, earthrealm's lifeforce, to heal himself when low on energy. Perhaps he's imparting some of it to Jax, but because Kitana isn't from Earthrealm it wouldn't work on her?
191
192	* While it's probably a writing oversight, when Nightwolf approaches Stryker after his victory over Ermac, he says that Raiden is gathering Earth's defenders, to which Stryker replied "Well, Earthrealm defender is about 10 steps above my pay-grade!" How did Stryker know it was called Earth''realm'' when the very idea of other realms existing is something normal people like him wouldn't know about prior to Shao Kahn's invasion?
193	** Just because you stick realm at the end doesn't mean he couldn't recognize that he would be defending the planet. Plus, it would make sense to assume the monsters attacking are from another realm, so the context is fairly clear.
194
195	* In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', [[spoiler:when Raiden goes to the Netherrealm to [[DealWithTheDevil strike a deal with Quan Chi]], the sorcerer reveals that he has dominion over the fallen heroes' souls. Among the lineup of characters is ''Cyber'' Sub-Zero. Since it is just Sub-Zero's soul (his body ''should'' still be in Earthrealm), shouldn't he be depicted as his human self? Similarly, shouldn't Jax be missing his cybernetic arms?]]
196	** [[spoiler: For Jax it's possible the soul takes a form based on the body when they pass on. As for Cyber Sub-Zero it's possible his soul didn't leave like Smoke in the original time line, and his soul took on the cyborg form when it finally passed on.]]
197	*** [[spoiler: Considering his soul came back for a HeelFaceTurn, Cyber Sub-Zero is definitely not like Cyber Smoke. As for why his soul took the cyborg form, my guess is that he came to terms with his new self before death, so his soul changed to signify that. Probably the same thing for Jax.]]
198	* Why does Quan Chi have his tattoos in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatShaolinMonks Shaolin Monks]]'', ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', and ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse MKVsDCU]]''? All three of those games are set before ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat4 MK4]]'', and he doesn't get the tattoos until before ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]]'', whilst trapped in the Netherrealm after ''[=MK4=]''.
199	** Well, something also came to me about Quan Chi and your insight into his tattoos makes it seem more likely. Think how did Raiden transfer his thoughts to the past? Through his amulet. Now considering that Quan Chi has the amulet of Shinnok, a more powerful god than Raiden it is highly possible he did something similar and is paving his way to power by manipulating events with a clearer understanding of the future. He even throws in a quip about being a [[TitleDrop Deadly Alliance]] with Shang Tsung in story mode although it was likely just an in-joke.
200	** Either that or Shinnok ''himself'' pulled a Raiden (the real Shinnok survived the events of Armageddon alongside Shao Kahn. Taven, and Liu Kang's spirit; the one in-game was confirmed to [[ActuallyADoombot be a clone]]).
201
202	* A major part of Bo' Rai Cho's background is that he would easily be able to fight in a Mortal Kombat tournament, but doesn't because he's from Outworld and, if he wins, he would be allowing Outworld to get closer to conquering Earthrealm, which he doesn't want. Okay, that works. But Shang Tsung is from Earthrealm and serves Shao Kahn, so if he wins a tournament, he'd be preventing his master from invading Earthrealm like he wants to. In the first game, he's obviously counting on Goro winning, but in the second one, he's in by himself and has no excuse.
203	** Not as hard as you think. Shang Tsung is from Earthrealm, but is a resident of Outworld and a servant of Outworld's emperor. He fights for where he's living. Bo'Rai Cho, unfortunately, lives in Outworld. [[KnightMysterio My]] theory does create the fridge logic of why Bo' didn't just side with Earth, though, or if he's living on Earth why he didn't fight...
204	*** Bo ''doesn't even live in Outworld''. If memory serves, in ''Deception's'' Konquest mode he trains Shujinko in Earthrealm, and he was probably on Earthrealm if he trained Liu Kang prior to the first game.
205	*** Shang Tsung is a weird one, he can't be easily compared to Bo Rai Cho. For starters, Shang Tsung essentially had his soul bound to Shao Kahn himself, so spiritually became Shao Kahn's puppet. Meaning that his victories would automatically go towards the master who he is spiritually bound to, and is a puppet of. It's explained with dark magic, when Shang Tsung first took control of the tournament, and when reappearing as an old man after having been seen young prior before, he was essentially "renewed" by Outworld, thus his victories go towards his new, adopted realm. Second of all, that he's absorbed the souls of many warriors over a thousand years, from different realm origins, possibly negated his Earthrealm identification in regards to the tournament victories. Thirdly, and this is just a guess, but with the Elder God's intervening, the same one that presented Shang Tsung with the curse to consume souls for youth maintenance in the first place, it effectively meant Shang Tsung was denied Earthrealm identification for his treachery. With the Elder God's intervention, as well as his soul being spiritually tied to Shao Kahn, I believe it made Shang Tsung 'realmless' in a sense, not actually having a defined realm to belong in, I think that's part of his status as free roaming sorcerer.
206	*** Wasn't Rain fighting on the side of Shao Kahn during the events of the third game? Now, his heritage and birthrealm is Edenia, but yet his victories went towards Outworld, because he pledged his allegiance to Shao Kahn (and consequently Outworld). And, he betrayed his realm of Edenia, so surely that would deny him Edenian identification, almost like being exiled. I imagine Shang Tsung follows the same course. Bo Rai Cho could have fought for Earthrealm as his adoptive home, he'd just need to be exiled from Outworld and denied identification from it. This didn't happen, he just left of his own accord as far as I know. Nothing more was done.
207	*** Edenia was still merged with Outworld during the events of the third game so Rain's realm is, technically, Outworld during that period. Kitana then got him to turn on Kahn for a while, until he learned of his true origins and decided to rule Edenia himself.
208	*** No wonder Outworld was able to conquer other realms so easily. Other realms willingly exile traitors from having the realm identification, meaning they lose numbers, and the victories of Shao Kahn's forces end up going to Outworld as their new adopted realm. I guess that's why Outworld seemed to have ridiculous amount of victories after all. Outworld would basically never exile fighters from it's realm, because obviously they'd gain a new realm identification in their new adopted realm, and suddenly they could compete in tournaments to assist Outworld's enemies, giving the invaded realms a better defense.
209	*** Perhaps the reason is that Earthrealm is not united and has a bunch of different governments that change over the millennia, most or all of which have no idea that a "Mortal Kombat" tournament is taking place. Tsung is free to fight for Outworld because there is no government on Earthrealm for him to pledge his loyalty to, but Shao Kahn is the absolute ruler of Outworld and the tournament exists solely because of his desire for Konquest, so the rules are lopsided in his favor- Earthrealmers and others are free to choose, Outworlders are not, and that is because one is relatively free from tyranny and one isn't. Maybe Raiden or someone else actually ''allows'' Earthrealmers to make the choice while Kahn forces Outworlders to fight whether they like it or not, and Raiden does this either because he isn't actually in charge or because he doesn't want to be like Kahn.
210
211	* How did Kitana go 10,000 years without noticing her twin sister has tarkatan features?
212	** [=MK9=] [[spoiler:shows Mileena being created during the events of [=MK1=].]]
213	*** That's a retcon; before ''9'' she was established as being created when Shao Kahn took over Edenia and was raised as Kitana's sister.
214	** Who's to say she didn't know? Kitana was evil all the way up until the end of [=MK2=]. She probably didn't really care.
215	*** Kitana discovered the truth about Mileena, and her past before [=MK2=] began, it's why she turns against the Emperor and was helping Earthrealm. Mileena catches her in the act and that's why she was finally allowed to attack Kitana.
216	** [[CaptainObvious Mileena wears a mask.]] I'd honestly be surprised if more thought went into it than that.
217
218	* Movie example: it's assumed that during their fight, Scorpion teleported Cage into the Netherrealm. All right. Cage defeats Scorpion, whose head explodes, a MythologyGag to MKII is made, and the scene ends. Next time we see Cage, he's back on Tsung's island, with no mention of how he escaped from Hell.
219	** If Scorpion took him there, it could be assumed that killing him would take Cage back. Simple.
220
221	* How does ANYONE with a tarkatan mouth speak perfect, unmangled English?
222	** Two words: UniversalTranslator. Tarkatans probably speak in [[StarfishLanguage a language alien to at least the Earthrealm inhabitants]], it only seems that [[AliensSpeakingEnglish they can speak perfect English despite having that kind of mouth]]. This may also explain why ''Asian'' kombatants such as Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and the Sub-Zero brothers can ''converse'' with ''Americans'' like Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage. In English. ''Perfectly well''. Hell, since Raiden is GodInHumanForm, it is also possible that he also speaks in a StarfishLanguage, so the UniversalTranslator is pretty much the only way to explain why EVERYONE speaks in perfect English no matter which realm and country they might come from.
223	** Tarkatans are demon spawn, which mean they're creatures of magic. So, basically, AWizardDidIt
224
225	* How exactly can [[spoiler: Kung Lao be the reincarnation of the Great Kung Lao]] when a major plot point of [=MK4=] and Mythologies: Sub-Zero was that Shang Tsung had absorbed the Great Kung Lao's soul, [[spoiler: meaning it wouldn't be available to be reincarnated]]?
226	** Through the magic of not being canon, like all the rest of [=MK9=]'s Arcade endings.
227	** Or it could be a retcon. It's not like [=MK9=] hasn't already retconned a character's backstory (see Mileena being born during the events of [=MK1=] rather than knowing Kitana for years and how both of the Sub-Zeros were abducted as children in what is clearly East Asia rather being taken by their father away from their mother and sister in America). And while Mythologies was referred to in [=MK9=], how much of the game as it was back then still applies is questionable.
228
229	* In the movie many people wonder how Johnny Cage escaped Netherrealm after defeating Scorpion. Because Scorpion can't die, Cage didn't kill him per se. However even when controlled by Shang Tsung, [[HonorBeforeReason Scorpion follows a certain code of combat.]] So when Cage beat him after giving him everything he's got, he let Johnny leave. It makes sense why Johnny would do the [[DefeatEqualsFriendship Friendship Autograph, rather than Fatality as well.]]
230
231	* Why is it [[ForgottenSuperweapon never suggested]] that Earthrealm use [[NuclearOption its vast arsenal of continent-shattering, precision-guided superweapons]] against the other realms?
232	** Because [[AWizardDidIt sorcery]]. By the time this would even have been brought up, everyone would know that the constant invasion campaigns are being masterminded by people with tons of sorcery and magic at their disposal. No nuclear weapon can compete with that. Best case scenario, the bad guy just magically seizes the nukes and tosses 'em away harmlessly.
233
234	* In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Raiden claims that he would lose all of his powers if he went to the Netherrealm. Why did he enter the Netherrealm (Scorpion's Lair) to visit Quan Chi in desperate measures and not lose his powers?
235	** In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', they finally step in to assist Raiden after Shao Kahn merged the realms, and not a second before. They're not concerned with preventing deaths or destruction like Raiden, a protector God is, their concern is just keeping the realms apart. Which sort of explains why they did nothing to stop Onaga directly; they only react to the merging, never act proactively (aside from appointing Scorpion their champion). Is it still stupid? Yes, but slightly less so.
236	*** At that, they only really did anything because Shao Kahn WON by cheating. That was sort of the point of Raiden's message to the past, beating Shao Kahn more or less led directly to the events of the following four games, in which more death and destruction was caused by the bad guy of the week circumventing the tournament as opposed to letting the Elder Gods enforce the rules.
237	** Hierarchy. The Elder Gods' job is to observe every realm in existence and maintain the division of the One Being. A bunch of guys killing another bunch of guys is below their radar; events that are actively merging the realms and threatening the resurrection of the One Being is their focus. For the smaller-scale "people are suffering and dying" issues, that falls into the jurisdiction of Protector Gods like Raiden. Spirits and entities like Fujin before his promotion are focused on even smaller roles, like protecting the temple that housed Shinnok's Amulet. It isn't apathy, they just have more important things on their plate. Asking the Elder Gods to step in because Shao Kahn is killing people is like asking the CEO of a company to take customer service calls; until he becomes an actual threat to the separation of the One Being, they have bigger fish to fry.

Context Headscratchers / MortalKombat9