Moment pages are Spoilers Off by default, so all spoilers are removed. Proceed with caution. Also, meta moments are forbidden as well. You Have Been Warned.
I've caused devastation, ended thousands of lives… all because of my blind ambition. […] My only ambition now is to one day be forgiven.
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Story Mode
- Losing a fight in story mode is followed by a caption box that reveals the aftermath of your defeat. While some are minor, others can be outright sad.
- Chapter 2: Mr. A-Lister:
- First, we see Johnny got a role as the lead in a short film as a favour from a director. Because of this, Johnny is convinced his career (which has apparently hit a low point) will take off again, but his wife Cristina wants him to be more realistic, and start by selling their Big Fancy House and stop splashing out on fancy toys, art pieces and relics. He tries to convince her that this is all just part of being Johnny Cage, but instead, his words just drive her away for good.
Cristina: I didn't marry Johnny Cage! I married John Carlton... I'd give anything to have him back. [Grabs her purse and leaves.]- Afterwards, Johnny realises what he's done and promptly gulps down the drink in his hand before going over to pour another, muttering "How do you like that, Mr. A-List?" to himself. Story mode dialogue and pre-match intros confirm she filed for divorce and Johnny ended up having to sell his mansion anyway due to legal expenses.
- Losing to Kenshi (who came for Sento, Johnny's most prized possession) shortly after gives this caption box:
"In one evening, Johnny had lost his beloved wife and his most prized possession. Never had he felt more alone." - Chapter 3: The Chosen One:
- Sindel is introduced as the wise and benevolent ruler of Outworld, who still mourns the murder of her husband Jerrod. The pain in her voice is palpable.
- From the same chapter, Li Mei is introduced as Raiden's first kombatant in the tournament. She is there by tradition, for Sun Do's First Constable, Li Mei, is always the first fight. Sindel, however, makes it abundantly clear that's the only reason she's there, as she wants nothing to do with her, blaming her for Jerrod's death.
- Mileena in this timeline starts off as a legitimate twin sister to Kitana, but still slowly has to succumb to her iconic monstrous appearance, which would jeopardize her status as Kahn.
- By tradition in the tournament, the penultimate battle is against the heir of Outworld, which is her. Her Tarkat affliction, however, prevents this, causing Kitana to take her place. Immediately, Mileena is upset, as there are already whispers for Kitana to take the throne. Sindel angrily rebukes Mileena, stating her thoughtlessness is how she got Tarkat in the first place. Kitana tries to keep peace, but it is very difficult.
- Chapter 4: Secrets and Lies:
- Tarkatans in this timeline are victims of a disease responsible for their appearances that drives them to madness and savagery. We also learn more about how much more tragic Baraka's story is in this timeline. Before he was infected, he lived a life most would dream of: he was a successful merchant with a tribe, a home, and a wife and child. Once he got infected by Tarkat and exposed, by Sindel's decree, he had his assets taken away and was thrown to where all Tarkat-infected people go. While Baraka lives, his family slowly perishes, leaving him to take the mantle of guarding every infected person.
Baraka: We are victims of Tarkat. It disfigures, then debilitates. In time, it will turn us all into bloodthirsty monsters. Death is our only release.- Kenshi's blinding is equal parts horrific and heartbreaking; unlike in the previous timeline, where arrogance was his downfall, a much nobler Kenshi loses his sight because he tried to help people; assuming that Shang Tsung was trying to infect Mileena with Tarkat, Kenshi (along with Johnny and Kung Lao) intervened and wound up preventing Mileena from getting an injection to suppress Tarkat, causing her to go berserk, and when Kenshi stops her from mauling Johnny's face, she grabs her sais and brutally gouges out his eyes.
- Chapter 5: Weird Science:
- When we are introduced to Syzoth, AKA Reptile, he's working with Shang Tsung, but not willingly, as the sorcerer claims to have his family held hostage and will kill them if he disobeys. When Syzoth fails to stop Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Kenshi, and Baraka from escaping their prisons in the Flesh Pits, Shang Tsung casually drops the fact that he had Syzoth's family killed...months ago! Poor Syzoth takes it poorly.
- The blinded and despairing Kenshi notes that he is now useless and even briefly tells his friends to leave him behind, needing Johnny's encouragement to even keep moving.
- Reptile, despite his home realm of Zaterra and people existing in this timeline, explains that he's still all alone, as he's an outcast due to his shapeshifting ability.
- Chapter 7: Narrow Escape
- You can tell that Kitana is in a difficult situation of trying to support her sister's eventual ascension to the throne, even if Mileena's brashness and decision-making skills pose a risk to her future rule. When she notices Mileena and Tanya subtly flirting with each other at a festival later in the story, she warns Mileena that such an entanglement could potentially ruin her rule, telling Mileena that she has eyes, as do her detractors, and that if she's patient enough she can remove the restriction on Umgadi celibacy when she becomes Empress. Mileena storms off in frustration, clearly irritated by Kitana trying to help her, the latter clearly striking a nerve with her sister when she was only being nice to her as a sister and a best friend.
- When Liu Kang sees Kenshi's condition, he's horrified, having hoped that in the New Era, Kenshi could manage to keep his sight.
- Chapter 8: Band of Brothers:
- Despite Sub-Zero being a rude, callous, aggressive man, his Face–Heel Turn still comes as a shock to Scorpion, who is both horrified and disgusted by how low his brother is willing to sink, especially when Bi-Han reveals that when their father had his fatal accident, Bi-Han was there and just let him die. To say that Kuai Liang is heartbroken and betrayed by his brother's actions is a massive understatement.
- Chapter 9: Civil War:
- If Scorpion loses his fight against Sub-Zero:
"As death darkened his vision, Scorpion thought about the Lin Kuei's future under his brother's rule. He was glad he wouldn't be alive to see it." - Chapter 10: Protect and Serve:
- If Li Mei loses her fight against either Reiko or Tanya:
"Once again, Li Mei had fought to defend the royal house. Once again, she had failed. History would not remember her kindly."- Losing her fight against Mileena ends with her death:
"Mortally wounded, Li Mei could only watch as Princess Mileena was completely overcome by Tarkat disease. Li Mei died heartbroken by the loss." - Chapter 12: Queen's Gambit:
- Sindel's death at the hands of her Dark counterpart. Especially since unlike her previous timeline counterpart this Sindel has been shown to be a good person throughout. Fortunately, Ermac (under King Jerrod's control at that point) was able to save her soul and store it within Ermac, allowing the two to be Together in Death.
- Unfortunately, if Mileena loses her fight against Evil!Sindel:
"Mileena couldn't believe that she had lost both her mother and her empire. She welcomed death as a release from her misery." - Chapter 13: Deadly Alliance:
- If Shang Tsung loses against the evil versions of Rain or Scorpion:
"As a huckster in Outworld's hinterlands, Shang Tsung dreamed of wielding great power. Though he held it only a moment, it was worth every sacrifice he had made to get it." - Post-story:
- At the end of the story, while some of the villains to get a second chance in the New Era managed to become better people, others, for whom Liu Kang only wanted to give a second chance, still succumbed to their worst instincts, and in some cases, needed very little if any prodding to do so. Even his old Arch-Enemy, Shang Tsung, who Liu Kang deliberately put into a mediocre life as a precaution, got a chance to do something better, and he gleefully threw it away in exchange for power.
Pre-fight Intros
- A Liu Kang Mirror Match hints that The Joker tricked one of them into killing his version of Kitana.
- All of Baraka's dialogue either is anger from Sindel's poor treatment of them, or a faint wish for death to free him of his Tarkat prison, to the point where he even tells Geras he'd rather not even exist. He also doubts that he'll live to see a cure for the disease be made, meaning (at least in-story) his time is running out, and there's a high chance that this is the last we'll see of him.
- Mileena's pre-kombat intro dialogue with Baraka often touches the topic of tarkat, and in one of them, she asks him to kill her if she would ever succumb to tarkat frenzy.
- One of Reptile's pre-fight quotes against Scorpion reveals that he has much in common with the previous timeline's Hanzo Hasashi.Scorpion: Shang Tsung killed your family?!
Reptile: He brutally murdered my wife and son... - Both Kuai Liang and Liu Kang lament what Bi-Han has become.Liu Kang: I had such high hopes for your brother.
Scorpion: So did I, Lord Liu Kang. - Liu Kang, after being revealed to be all the characters' creator, is dealt a lot of blame from some of the characters for all the misfortune that befell them (ie. Mileena in regards to Sindel's death, Baraka for his Tarkat infection, Reptile and Smoke for their families' deaths, Havik for his being treated unjustly by the Seidan regime).
- Rain's post-story intros take place sometime after his Tower ending, with Rain wandering the realms, desperately seeking a way to atone for the atrocity he committed, while trying to stay alive when so many people are out for his blood. While he does try defend himself somewhat when it comes to some of his pre-face-turn actions, the Seido massacre is something he always speaks of with complete shame and regret.Liu Kang: A half a million Seidans dead.
Rain: And if I could bring them back, I would.
Rain: Let my story be a cautionary tale.
Kung Lao: I too have hurt others with my ambition. - Few, if any, of Omni-Man's intros imply him to be better than his comic or animated versions, heavily hinting that in all timelines Nolan will experience the same events, both the good and the bad, no matter how history changes. Some even imply he could have turned out worse.
- In one of Baraka's mirror matches, it is revealed that his brother Teermakus also caught the tarkat virus.
Arcade Tower Endings
- Rain's Tower ending. Having become a fugitive for his role in General Shao's rebellion, but no longer wishing to ally with them, Rain allies with Havik as the last person willing to offer him sanctuary, leading him to create a massive flood that drowns the capital of Seido. In seeing the destruction, Rain finds nothing but absolute horror, and laments that by not controlling his ambition, he doomed half a million people to a horrific death. In despair and seeking to atone, he turns himself in to Mileena, willing to accept whatever punishment may come.
- Omni-Man's Tower (thankfully non-canon) ending. After being taken from his timeline by Titan Shang Tsung to help in the fight against Liu Kang, Omni-Man decides to kill Titan Shang Tsung and claim the timeline for the Viltrum Empire in hopes it would redeem himself for not completing his mission to conquer Earth in his timeline. But after years of dominating the Realms, Omni-Man knows that due to his people's excellent memory, sooner or later, The Empire will set its sights back on Earth in their original timeline and hopes that their time conquering the Mortal Kombat realms has allowed his son time to prepare. J. K. Simmons delivers in a forlorn tone that makes you feel that although his loyalty is to Viltrum, the father in Nolan really doesn't want to fight Mark again.
Other
- Invasion Mode Season 1 reveals a Hanzo Hasashi from another timeline where things went as usual: His clan was butchered by the Lin Kuei via the machinations of Quan Chi, especially his wife Harumi, who was murdered. This Hanzo managed to gain dimension-hopping skills and searched for a timeline where Harumi lived, to no avail, until he came to Fire God Liu Kang's timeline and found out that she was alive... but was already married to Kuai Liang, a former member of the Lin Kuei and the Scorpion of this timeline. Already frustrated by his failures, he snapped, vowing that he will burn this entire timeline — if Harumi is forever destined to elude his embrace, then he shall make sure no one else gets to have her. However, Liu Kang is able to give him a happy ending through the hourglass.
