[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mortalkombatrebirth_9192.jpg]]

->"''If this tournament exists, Shang Tsung will find you. And if this tournament exists, it's our one shot to take out Baraka, Reptile and the other maniacs who've turned this city into a killing field. We want you to join the tournament, and we want you to win it. We want you to do what you do best: kill them all.''"
-->-- Captain Jackson Briggs

A more realistic take on ''Franchise/MortalKombat''. In Deacon City, [[ViceCity crime is running rampant]], forcing Police Captain Jackson Briggs (Creator/MichaelJaiWhite) to reach out to [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] Hanzo Hasashi. Briggs informs Hasashi of the presence of two [[SerialKiller madmen]], codenamed Reptile and Baraka, as well as the man believed to be employing them both, [[BigBad Shang Tsung.]] The plan to deal with these men is simple; Tsung is holding an underground fighting tournament where it is believed that they and other undesirables will gather. Hasashi is to enter the tournament and [[LeaveNoSurvivors eliminate everyone involved]]. Initially, the assassin is uninterested in this plan, until Sonya Blade (Creator/JeriRyan) reveals to him that a man named [[ArchEnemy Sub-Zero]] will be there as well. His curiosity piqued, as he believed Sub-Zero to be dead and buried, Hasashi agrees before [[ThatManIsDead dropping his old name]] in favor of a new one - Scorpion.

Originally a short film intended to generate interest in a version of ''Mortal Kombat'' [[FollowTheLeader not unlike]] ''Film/BatmanBegins'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Rebirth was greenlit to become a ten episode web series. The original short/trailer can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_gMRjL_6l8 here.]]

The series made its debut on April 12, 2011, with Episode 1 of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s6UiEuCYXA Mortal Kombat:]] [[WebVideo/MortalKombatLegacy Legacy]]''.
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!This work contains examples of:

* AdaptationalMundanity: The games are set in a FantasyKitchenSink world with magic, mythical creatures, and alternate dimensions. This series takes a much more grounded approach. Even the nickname "Jax" is too unrealistic for this series.
* AdaptationNameChange: Baraka's true name is Alan Zane.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Baraka still has them, but this time they're telescopic and collapsible, making them a little less unrealistic. It's still not explained how he extends and retracts them.
* BodyHorror: Reptile has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin-type_ichthyosis harlequin ichthyosis]], a [[RealityIsUnrealistic real-life birth defect]] that causes, amongst other things, [[PainfulTransformation dry, diamond-shaped "scales" to form instead of healthy skin]] and [[EyeScream his eyelids to be formed inside out.]] He's noted to be thirty years old despite most babies with the condition (a photo of one is shown) dying in days or weeks.
* ImAHumanitarian: Reptile keeps the heads of his victims in his fridge and eats them when he's hungry.
* InNameOnly: Several changes are in effect, and not just [[DoingInTheWizard replacing fantasy and magic with science and technology]]. The most blatant of these are Reptile being portrayed as a human SerialKiller with [[BodyHorror harlequin ichthyosis]] who [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalizes people's heads]], and the [[BaldOfEvil bald]] [[HumansAreWhite light-skinned]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Outworld Tarkatan]] [[BladeBelowTheShoulder Baraka]] reimagined as "[[AdaptationNameChange Alan Zane]]," a dark-skinned, [[DreadlockWarrior dreadlocked]], [[AdaptationalAttractiveness formerly handsome]] failed plastic surgeon who killed [[MyGreatestFailure one patient by accident]] and [[SanitySlippage two dozen on purpose]], [[SavagePiercings pierced his face]], and [[EmpoweredBadassNormal implanted telescopic blades into his forearms]].
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Johnny Cage, via decapitation]].
* LeaveNoSurvivors: Sonya Blade says it word-for-word when ordering Scorpion to kill everyone in the tournament.
* MadDoctor: This incarnation of Baraka is a former plastic surgeon named Alan Zane who went mad and became a serial killer after accidentally killing a patient during an operation.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The video goes out of its way to provide realistic explanations for two of Mortal Kombat's most outlandish fighters, Reptile and Baraka. Instead of being a lizard man and HumanoidAbomination from alternate dimensions, they're explained as serial killers with a genetic disorder causing lizard-like appearance and a plastic surgeon who took body modification a bit too far respectively. Then we find out Jax has been explaining all this to Hanzo Hasashi, who turns to the camera, revealing his pure-white eyes, and says that Hasashi is dead, his name is Scorpion, with some subtle dialogue indicating that, perhaps, Hasashi [[DeadAllAlong really is dead]].
* MeaningfulName: In this universe, Zane's alias "Baraka" makes more sense as he was originally a doctor who helps people.
* MyGreatestFailure: Baraka is a former plastic surgeon who accidentally killed a patient. [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope The next two dozen were not accidents.]]
* MythologyGag:
** Reptile's penchant for eating heads is a reference to one of his Fatalities.
** The name on Capt. Briggs door has a few faded letters. The darker ones spell 'Jacks,' a play on his in-game name of Jax.
** Possibly [[spoiler:Johnny's death, as it was a RunningGag in the games at the time to kill him off.]]
** The word "fatality" and the phrase "Finish him!" are both spoken.
** Sub-Zero having a brother, whom Hashashi has killed by mistake.
** "[[TheStinger Get over here!]]"
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Baraka]] kills [[spoiler:Johnny Cage]] this way.
* OneLastSmoke: [[spoiler:Johnny Cage]], right before [[spoiler:Baraka]] takes his head off.
* PlayAlongPrisoner: Hasashi claims that he's in prison only because he wants to be and [[BadassBoast he can leave whenever he chooses]]. He proves this by casually removing his handcuffs without Briggs noticing.
* ProphetEyes: Scorpion's eyes are milky-white without irises. Despite this, he can see just fine.
* RecruitingTheCriminal: Briggs wants Hasashi, one of the world's top assassins, to do what he does best and kill those who've made Deacon City into a hellhole.
* RedRightHand: Reptile is reimagined as a human SerialKiller with [[BodyHorror harlequin ichthyosis]], the symptoms of which he manages to mostly cover with bandages.
* SerialKiller: Both Baraka and Reptile are re-imagined this way.
* ThatManIsDead: Scorpion, in regards to Hanzo Hasashi.
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