History Characters / MortalKombat1992

-> '''Other appearances''': ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' (Daniel Pesina), ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' (John Turk), ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' (John Turk/Dan Forden), ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' (cameo), ''VideoGame/MortalKombatShaolinMonks'', ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'' (Tom Taylorson), ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' (Creator/SteveBlum, English; Creator/EduardoGarza, Latin American Spanish), ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' (non-playable cameo in the Krypt), ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' (Creator/AndrewMorgado)

Individual Characters: [[Characters/MortalKombatHanzoHasashi Scorpion I]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatBiHan Sub-Zero I/Noob Saibot]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatJohnnyCage Johnny Cage]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShangTsung Shang Tsung]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II/Scorpion II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKitana Kitana]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatMileena Mileena]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn/General Shao]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShinnokAndQuanChi Shinnok and Quan Chi]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKotalKahn Kotal Kahn]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKronika Kronika]]-]]]

Individual Characters: [[Characters/MortalKombatHanzoHasashi Scorpion I]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatBiHan Sub-Zero I/Noob Saibot]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatJohnnyCage Johnny Cage]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShangTsung Shang Tsung]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II/Scorpion II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKitana Kitana]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatMileena Mileena]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShinnokAndQuanChi Shinnok and Quan Chi]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKotalKahn Kotal Kahn]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKronika Kronika]]-]]]

* GreenAndMean: He is a reptilian warrior clad in green clothing who fights for Outworld.

* EatingTheEnemy: After his redesign into a more reptilian body, Reptile hasn't shied away from eating parts of or the entire bodies of his foes. His ''Mortal Kombat 1'' fatality takes this to the logical conclusion where he [[SwallowedWhole swallows them whole and alive]], before regurgitating them half-digested to finish off.

** Averted in ''1'', where other characters only call him by his actual name.

** ''1'' features the New Era's Reptile making significant use of this trait, defaulting to an almost perfect human form, but able to regularly shift into his natural Saurian form. In this game, he becomes [[HulkingOut a massive reptilian beast]], and unlike previous installments, [[{{Animorphism}} he can transform between the two forms in combat]], even [[PartialTransformation partially]] (for example, one of his moves has him in human form briefly producing his massive Saurian tail [[TailSlap to whip into his opponent]], another has him transform his upper half to deliver his [[AcidAttack acid breath]]). This ability also plays into the backstory of this new incarnation of Reptile: while in this new timeline, his race is still around, [[FantasticRacism him being able to appear human made him a freak among his people, leading him to be terrorized and exiled]]. It's also implied that the resulting emotional trauma has made him ''more'' comfortable in his human form, since he's shown in that form even when he has no reason to be, only taking his lizard form for purposes of kombat or intimidation.

** Averted in ''1'', where characters only call him by Syzoth.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reptile_render.png]]

** However, in the film ''Scorpion's Revenge'' his race is alive and he participates in the Mortal Kombat tournament for unknown reasons.
** His backstory is completely overhauled in 1, where his race is once again alive and well, but his ability to turn into a human makes him a freakish mutant in their eyes and he's an outcast to them.
* AdaptationalJobChange: In the first game and the reboot, he works for Shang Tsung as his bodyguard and protector during the first Mortal Kombat tournament. However, in the film adaptation ''Scorpion's Revenge'' he loses this role, and only participates in the first tournament to combat Sonya Blade.

** Even though he sides with the likes of Shao Kahn and Shinnok, all he wants is to revive his extinct reptilian race. Later games suggest that over the centuries since his race's destruction, he's been ever so slowly going mad, and [[ExtremeDoormat attaches himself to whatever authority figure he can]]. After Shao Kahn's apparent death, he almost ''immediately'' enters Nitara's servitude. One of his endings also show him going mad from his abuse into OmnicidalManiac territory, and that none of his employers treats him with a hint of respect.
** In ''MKX'' Outworld has a new leader in Kotal Kahn, and Reptile is under his command as well, though Kotal has earned Reptile's respect instead of pressing him into service.

* BilingualBonus: His ''Kirehashi'' blade from ''Deadly Alliance'': "Kirehashi" translates to "scraps", "cut end", or "cut-off piece", all of which [[OddlyShapedSword adequately describe the sword's shape]].
* BodyguardingABadass: At the beginning of the series, Reptile's job was to be Shang Tsung's personal bodyguard, which seems odd given Tsung isn't exactly a push-over himself. Reptile turned this to his advantage in ''MKX'', where he revealed that spending years shadowing Shang Tsung meant he was the only one left who knew Mileena's true origins.

** In ''4'', he [[spoiler:gets a denial, again, but this time from Shinnok. He succeeded during his fight against Earthrealm's warriors, so he talks to Quan Chi so that he may convince Shinnok to send Reptile back in time to his homeworld before it was destroyed. After a useless plea, Shinnok appears, does a NeckLift on him, and [[YourHeadASplode Reptile's head explodes]]]].

** In ''[=MK9=]'''s story mode, even though he survives the events of the game, he seems to exist solely to get his ass repeatedly kicked by the heroes. In fact, he loses to Johnny Cage at the very beginning of the game. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Which can be much more humiliating if the player]] [[CurbStompBattle beats him with a "Flawless Victory"]] [[GroinAttack or hits him with Cage's signature "Nut Punch" move]], the latter of which happens in the ''MKX'' Prequel Comic. That being said, in the non-canon Arcade Mode, [[spoiler:he DOES get what he wants when he forced Shang Tsung to recreate his race, and then (presumably) kills him before he gets screwed again. [[OmnicidalManiac And the rest of the existing races in Outworld]] before they can screw him]].
** [=MKX=], however, is better for Reptile. His boss and personal friend, Kotal Kahn, actually respects him, and in his ending [[spoiler: he finds a hidden enclave of Raptors hidden beneath Earthrealm, along with a new queen to serve.]] While he still shows up in story mode mostly to have his ass handed to him by the heroes once again, he has finally been given the respect he deserves and seems a lot more stable as a result of this.

* DependingOnTheArtist: Reptile (as well as his fellow Saurians in general) tend to change dramatically in appearance between entries and media. Introduced strictly as a human in the first game, ''2'' then established him as being in fact [[LizardFolk a literal reptile man]] who merely took the guise of a human, and appearances since then have jumped between almost entirely human-looking, a grotesque beast-man with a snout, tail, and bare lizard feet, and somewhere in between. ''1'' finally addressed the discrepancies by revealing that he can turn into a human at will, and that this a unique (and by the standards of his race, heavily scandalized) ability of his.

* IOweYouMyLife: After his failure in the Mortal Kombat tournament against Johnny Cage at the beginning of [=MK9=], Reptile fell out of favor with Shao Kahn, and was ordered executed by Kotal's hand. The Osh-Tekk saw purpose in Reptile, however, and recruited him to his personal unit, figuring Reptile's skills would be of far more use there than as a foot soldier. For this, and the personal friendship between the two, Kotal has earned Reptile's UndyingLoyalty.

** Add to that his many deaths [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie across]] [[Film/MortalKombat2021 various]] [[WesternAnimation/MortalKombatLegendsScorpionsRevenge adaptations]], and it's easy to see why [[BadassDecay some fans feel that he has gone from the cool, mysterious character he was initially, to becoming the "Yamcha" of the series]].

* ProgressivelyPrettier: [[ZigZaggingTrope All over the place]] due to [[DependingOnTheArtist inconsistencies of what he actually is and the lore reasons behind it]]. The first three games had him use [[PaletteSwap the same human-looking sprites as every other male ninja sans green armor]], but starting from ''4'', he began being made to look like [[LizardFolk more like an actual reptile]], going from merely having a scaly complexion in ''4'', developing a more lizard-like head, feet, and tail in ''Deadly Alliance'', losing the snout in ''Shaolin Monks'' and ''Armageddon'', and so on. The peak of this came in ''Mortal Kombat 1'', where his HumanDisguise form is the most easy-on-the-eyes he's ever been (aside from his unusually bright emerald eyes, he can pass perfectly unmasked as a normal human), but his true Saurian form is also the most bestial it's ever looked.

** Starting with ''Deadly Alliance'', it has been shown that Reptile is mentally unstable due to his separation from his race, and his mental state has continued to deteriorate. In Konquest he's having full-blown battles with hallucinatory opponents, even once mistaking his then-master, Nitara, as one of the sorcerors. At the end, he "fights" the enemy he thinks has been the source of all his failures to the death. It was [[spoiler:[[MirrorMatch himself]].]]

* ToServeMan: He can swallow an entire human head in one bite, and some of his fatalities have him ripping and eating [[OffWithHisHead the opponent's head]], chameleon-style.

** ''MKX'' throws two to Reptile. Unlike Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi and Shinnok, Kotal Kahn seems to genuinely care for Reptile, sharing the bond of being the [[LastOfHisKind Last of Their Kinds]], and sparing and recruiting him during the events of [=MK9=] as a valued member of his honor guard rather than a lackey. In turn, Reptile serves him with undying loyalty and much stabler than normal. Additionally, in his arcade ending, [[spoiler:he discovers the Zaterran still exist in Earthrealm, and he pledges his alliance to his race]].
** ''1'' throws the biggest bone he's ever received: a new incarnation with a much better backstory. In the New Era, despite him being an outcast from his race due to being able to take on a human form, the Zaterrans are alive and well and Syzoth is a free agent who willingly chooses to aid Liu Kang, firmly on the side of the Forces of Light rather than serving outright villains or anti-heroic rulers.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''1'', New Era Reptile is finally shown taking a central heroic role and acting of his own accord rather than merely going from one villain's minion to the next.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: In ''4'', '' Deadly Alliance'', and ''Armageddon''.

* ThrowTheDogABone: ''MKX'' throws two to Reptile. Unlike Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi and Shinnok, Kotal Kahn seems to genuinely care for Reptile, sharing the bond of being the [[LastOfHisKind Last of Their Kinds]], and sparing and recruiting him during the events of [=MK9=] as a valued member of his honor guard rather than a lackey. In turn, Reptile serves him with undying loyalty and much stabler than normal. Additionally, in his arcade ending, [[spoiler:he discovers the Zaterran still exist in Earthrealm, and he pledges his alliance to his race]].

* LizardFolk: [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Not at first]], but since ''2'', Reptile is a lizard-like humanoid with some degree of {{shapeshifting}} ability that lets him pass as human, though [[DependingOnTheArtist how much his actual lizard traits show and to what degree depends on the game]]. He comes from a race of these called the Saurians, which in at least canon originated from Earthrealm during prehistoric times, having evolved from dinosaurs and being the dominant race up until the late Cretaceous Period, when war raged between the Elder Gods and forced them to migrate to Zaterra, only for them to eventually be conquered by Shao Kahn and nearly driven to extinction.

* ProgressivelyPrettier: [[ZigZaggingTrope All over the place]] due to [[DependingOnTheArtist inconsistencies of what he actually is and the lore reasons behind it]]. The first three games had him use [[PaletteSwap the same human-looking sprites as every other male ninja sans green armor]], but starting from ''4'', he began being made to look like [[LizardMan more like an actual reptile]], going from merely having a scaly complexion in ''4'', developing a more lizard-like head, feet, and tail in ''Deadly Alliance'', losing the snout in ''Shaolin Monks'' and ''Armageddon'', and so on. The peak of this came in ''Mortal Kombat 1'', where his HumanDisguise form is the most easy-on-the-eyes he's ever been (aside from his unusually bright emerald eyes, he can pass perfectly unmasked as a normal human), but his true Saurian form is also the most bestial it's ever looked.

** ''1'' features the New Era's Reptile making significant use of this trait, defaulting to an almost perfect human form, but able to regularly shift into his natural Saurian form. In this game, he becomes [[HulkingOut a massive reptilian beast]], and unlike previous installments, he can transform between them in combat, even [[PartialTransformation partially]] (one of his moves has him in human form briefly producing his massive Saurian tail [[TailSlap to whip into his opponent]]). This ability also plays into the backstory of this new incarnation of Reptile: while in this new timeline, Reptile's race is still around, [[FantasticRacism him being able to appear human made him a freak among his people, leading him to be terrorized and exiled]]. It's also implied that the resulting emotional trauma has made him ''more'' comfortable in his human form, since he's shown in that form even when he has no reason to be, only taking his lizard form for purposes of kombat or intimidation.

* BigEater: Frequently has Fatalities that involve eating his opponent, usually swallowing their head whole or devouring them in chunks. In ''Mortal Kombat 1'', he's outright capable of swallowing his opponent whole, and does so in a matter of ''seconds''.

* HumansAreUgly: ''1'' gives him a human form that is strikingly handsome by our standards, but his ability to turn into a human ''at all'' is considered a freakish mutation by others of his race, and he's a pariah to them because of it.

Reptile is pretty much the same he's ever been in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'': an assassin for Shang Tsung and a foot soldier for Outworld. As a minor modification to his role, he no longer hides in the shadows of the Mortal Kombat tournament but is instead an official participant, fighting on behalf of Outworld. He is quickly eliminated but continues to offer his services to Shang Tsung in other areas as the tournament progresses. In ''VIdeoGame/MortalKombatX'', Reptile's real name of Syzoth is revealed and when Outworld plunges into a civil war, he's among the first to join up with the newly-appointed emperor, Kotal Kahn.\\\
Though he does not appear in ''11'' and ends up erased from existence during the story events of that game, Reptile is reincarnated in the New Era of ''Mortal Kombat 1'' created by Fire God Liu kang. In this new universe, Syzoth remains a Zaterran, but unlike his past incarnation who was a reptilian-humanoid hybrid, he is fully-reptilian with the ability to shapeshift into a human form. His unique ability among his people resulted in him being treated as an outcast, exiled from their lands. He finds new purpose allying with Liu Kang's chosen champions.

* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: His backstory in the games, while inconsistent at times, has remained largely the same. A lone Zaterran serving his masters after his home-realm was mysteriously destroyed and his race was driven to extinction. However, in the film ''Scorpion's Revenge'' his race is alive and he participates in the Mortal Kombat tournament for unknown reasons.

** Finally averted in ''1'', where he plays a more central role as one of the heroes, who are actually impressed by him.

** ''1'' features the New Era's Reptile making significant use of this trait, defaulting to an almost perfect human form, but able to regularly shift into his natural Saurian form. In this game, he becomes [[HulkingOut a massive reptilian beast]], and unlike previous installments, he can transform between them in combat, even [[PartialTransformation partially]] (one of his moves has him in human form briefly producing his massive Saurian tail [[TailSlap to whip into his opponent]]). This ability also plays into the backstory of this new incarnation of Reptile: while in this new timeline, Reptile's race is still around, [[FantasticRacism him being able to appear human made him a freak among his people, leading him to be terrorized and exiled]]. It's also implied that the emotional trauma from that has made him ''more'' comfortable in his human form, since he's shown in that form even when he has no reason to be, only taking his lizard form for kombat or intimidation purposes.

** ''1'' features the New Era's Reptile making significant use of this trait, defaulting to an almost perfect human form, but able to regularly shift into his natural Saurian form. In this game, he becomes [[HulkingOut a massive reptilian beast]], and unlike previous installments, he can transform between them in combat, even [[PartialTransformation partially]] (one of his moves has him in human form briefly producing his massive Saurian tail [[TailSlap to whip into his opponent]]). This ability also plays into the backstory of this new incarnation of Reptile: while in this new timeline, Reptile's race is still around, [[FantasticRacism him being able to appear human made him a freak among his people, leading him to be terrorized and exiled]]. It's also implied that the resulting trauma from this has made him ''more'' comfortable in his human form, since he's shown in that form even when he has no reason to be.