History Fridge / MortalKombatX

* When Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin end up captured by Kotal Kahn, they try to use the Reiko Accords as a means to stop him, to which Kotal Kahn replies that "the Accords no longer concern me". He says this in a manner that's outright dismissive of them, which may seem odd at first until one realizes the fact that he has just legally become Emperor by disposing of Mileena and winning the Outworld civil war. This means, as the abolute ruler of Outworld, he can now ''abolish'' the Reiko Accords if he so chooses, so that's exactly what he does for his first act as Emperor, using Kung Jin's RulesLawyer ploy from earlier in the story against him. This also makes sense considering onsidering that Reiko was his enemy and a former ally of Shao Kahn.

* When Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin end up captured by Kotal Kahn, they try to use the Reiko Accords as a means to stop him, to which Kotal Kahn replies that "the Accords no longer concern me". He says this in a manner that's outright dismissive of them, which may seem odd at first until one realizes the fact that he has just legally become Emperor by disposing of Mileena and winning the Outworld civil war. This means, as the abolute ruler of Outworld, he can now ''abolish'' the Reiko Accords if he so chooses, so that's exactly what he does for his first act as Emperor, using Kung Jin's RulesLawyer ploy from earlier in the story againsst him. This also makes sense considering onsidering that Reiko was his enemy and a former ally of Shao Kahn.

** Most of the Earthrealm characters are out of commission during the time skip, with Scorpion and Sub Zero tending to their respective clans, Johnny continuing his career and raising Cassie, and Jax retiring from the Special Forces, with only Sonya, whose career involves the defense of the realms, and Kenshi, who had a personal vendetta, still being active. This emphasizes the fact that no one can keep up a position of constantly defending the realms ffor an extended period of time, and contrasts with the previous timeline that had the cast constantly fighting for 10 years.

* When Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin end up captured by Kotal Kahn, they try to use the Reiko Accords as a means to stop him, to which Kotal Kahn replies that "the Accords no longer concern me". He says this in a manner that's outright dismissive of them, which may seem odd at first until one realizes the fact that he has just legally become Emperor by disposing of Mileena and winning the Outworld civil war. This means, as the abolute ruler of Outworld, he can now ''abolish'' the Reiko Accords if he so chose, so that's exactly what he does for his first act as Emperor. This also makes sense considering onsidering that Reiko was his enemy and a former ally of Shao Kahn.

** He's possibly the [[DeadpanSnarker snarkiest]], most sarcastic character in the entire history of ''Mortal Kombat'' with a sense of humor that is dry as a bone. He's probably SeenItAll, being [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over 150 years old]], so there's most likely very little that actually phases him enough to warrant any reaction beyond "Meh." Other characters (Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Kotal Kahn, Raiden, etc.) are also at least nearly ageless, but one rule that seems to exist in Mortal Kombat is that there's a direct correlation between a character's [[PhysicalGod divinity]] and his [[LargeHam hamminess]]. Erron, being human, isn't prone to the hamminess that comes with the territory of being a god. It also explains his extreme BadassBaritone, as the human voice usually gets lower-pitched over time during a normal human lifespan, much less a lifespan as long as Erron's. Additionally, it's theorized that people with aged vocal cords speak from their chest more than usual out of necessity, which results in a deeper voice.

* Johnny Cage sometimes asks Mileena, during a fight, "You dress that way for work?", even though the Mortal Kombat series is known for scantily-dressed women (and no one else makes comments about the other female kombatants' attire). Mileena, however, is different-- she's the empress of Outworld; Cage is implying that she should dress the part.
* Johnny Cage claims, towards Erron Black, that "Guns don't impress [him]," but refrains from using the "guns make you a coward" logic that a few other characters use towards Erron, perhaps because his daughter and one of his best (and probably only) friends use firearms. His default skin also has a gun on his hip.
* Johnny Cage appears to have a lot of somewhat generic lines directed towards him during fights (such as "Scurry away, Cage!" or "Die, Cage!"), which is most likely because [[TheFriendNobodyLikes damn near everybody]] [[HatedByAll hates him]]. As a result, they're more vocal towards him than other characters. He's also a professional {{troll}}, which only exacerbates the matter.

* In pre-match dialogue with Kenshi, Erron Black expresses some [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain outdated]] views on women. This seems to come out of nowhere at first, until his klassic tower ending reveals that he's over 150 years old, making this a case of DeliberateValuesDissonance.
** In the aforementioned pre-fight intro, Kenshi quips "What century are you from?" towards Erron Black. He may have been serious rather than simply making light of his sexism.

** Furter proof is of whenever near most male characters, she's either flirting or enraged, the clear notes being Liu Kang, where Mileena goes into a {{Yandere}} state, and Erron Black, who she despises. Towards Raiden, she doesn't exactly get what he is saying, and goes into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge when seeing either Quan Chi and/or Shinnok, whom were responsible for her "Father"'s death.

* Erron Black's X-Ray has him firing a magic bullet with the opponent's name. While it's discussed for him in the Fridge Logic part below, what name is applied to [[SNKBoss Corrupted Shinnok?]] ''Shinnok''. Why? Because [[InSpiteOfANail despite Shinnok corrupting the Earth's life and becoming Corrupted Shinnok]], he's still Shinnok.
* Raiden and Shinnok both know of Jason, to where [[PragmaticVillainy Shinnok calls Jason by his name with caution]]. However, Johnny Cage knows Jason as well - nodding to the fact that ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' is a famous series and of Johnny's Hollywood status. In his quotes against him, Johnny is unsure if he should snark (A [[SarcasmFailure non-snarky]] ''[[OhCrap Ohh... Freak]]'' and a snarky ''Here you go, lucky boy''), under the belief that [[RealAfterAll it could be the true Jason and not some knockoff]].
** Makes sense when you consider Johnny's reactions to Jason's intros. In the intro where Jason pulls a knife out of his neck, Johnny gets snarky before the knife is pulled out. In the intro where he's dragging a dead teenage girl across the ground? That's when Johnny doesn't get snarky.

* Johnny Cage seems to show some uncharacteristic scorn towards Triborg, specifically going, "Oh look, a ''robot''." However, this does have some merit behind it - ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' was considered to be the series' FranchiseOriginalSin, one of the main criticisms being the introduction of robot ninjas. Also consider that it was also the first game in the series to virtually UnPerson Johnny Cage as well ''(due to the circumstances of his actor Dan Pesina's firing,)'' and from a Meta-standpoint, it makes perfect sense why Johnny Cage is portrayed as more pissed off than usual at Triborg.
** On a side note, ''Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance'' confirmed that Cyrax loathes Johnny Cage's movies, and was even sent to outright kill him in ''Mortal Kombat (2011).'' With him being one quarter of Triborg's psyche, it seems that the feelings are indeed mutual.

* Even though he's a very seasoned Kombatant and the current champion of Earthrealm (after Liu Kang's unfortunate fate), Johnny Cage is ''constantly'' underestimated by everyone, even his own friends. ''But that's the entire point.'' While Johnny is powerful, he's not a career soldier like Sonya and Jax, a trained warrior from childhood like Liu Kang, Kung Lao or Kuai Liang, or [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu a god like Shinnok or Raiden]]. Johnny is an ''actor'', first and foremost, and he's fighting ''way'' outside his weight class. His acting background is all about making the audience (in this case, an opponent) see what the actor wants them to see. And he wants them to see a loud-mouthed idiot so that they ''don't'' take his fighting abilities seriously. His Shadow Kick and other powers mostly rely on misdirection and confusion while his [[YouFightLikeACow taunting]] is designed to get under opponent's skin and goad them into making a mistake. The guy weaponized ObfuscatingStupidity, he's a first-rate GuileHero and the MK universe's answer to [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]].

** Let's get into some of the other fathers. [[SilverFox Johnny Cage has a good relationship with Sonya and Cassie,]] [[OverProtectiveDad Jax worries about his daughter]] [[MyGreatestFailure and Hanzo's wife and child were murdered by Quan Chi.]] Add with [[AbusiveDad Kano trying to teach his son of the world by beating all weakness from him]], and Takeda not being on good terms with Kenshi, and it's rather clear and easy why Kano calls Kenshi a deadbeat dad.

FridgeLogic is found at [[Headscratchers/MortalKombat the main Headscratchers page]].

!!FridgeBrilliance
* Erron Black's [[DownloadableContent bounty hunter attire]] completely changes his hairstyle. He goes from having medium-length, flowing hair (on his other two attires) to almost no hair at all, and no other character has such a drastic change in hairstyle across their different attires. It's possible that Erron doesn't keep his hair the same consistently because, as a {{badass normal}} [[ProfessionalKiller assassin for hire]] [[OnlyInItForTheMoney who simply follows money]], he has to make sure he's not immediately recognizable (which is also presumably why he never shows his face).
* Kung Jin is, to put it simply, kind of a {{jerkass}}. He mocks Jacqui on the subject of [[spoiler:Jax's status as a revenant]], and also makes light of what happened to Scorpion's family. This becomes a lot more understandable when you realize not only is he constantly forced to live up to the legacy of guys like the Great Kung Lao and Liu Kang, but that [[{{Gayngst}} he is also a gay man in a clan where this is generally not accepted]] -- coming from a culture in which homosexuality is so frowned upon, he may have been ridiculed badly by his peers. As a result, he lashes out at the world by antagonizing people for no real reason.
** Kung Jin suggests that he's been rejected for his sexuality in the past and is somewhat sensitive about it. With this in mind his jerkish behaviour makes much more sense, by behaving this way he forces people to reject him for reasons he's okay with instead of the reason that would actually hurt him. It's his defense mechanism.
* Erron Black is possibly the [[DeadpanSnarker snarkiest]], most sarcastic character in the entire history of ''Mortal Kombat'' with a sense of humor that is dry as a bone. He's probably SeenItAll, being [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over 150 years old]], so there's most likely very little that actually phases him enough to warrant any reaction beyond "Meh." Other characters (Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Kotal Kahn, Raiden, etc.) are also at least nearly ageless, but one rule that seems to exist in Mortal Kombat is that there's a direct correlation between a character's [[PhysicalGod divinity]] and his [[LargeHam hamminess]]. Erron, being human, isn't prone to the hamminess that comes with the territory of being a god. It also explains his extreme BadassBaritone, as the human voice usually gets lower-pitched over time during a normal human lifespan, much less a lifespan as long as Erron's. Additionally, it's theorized that people with aged vocal cords speak from their chest more than usual out of necessity, which results in a deeper voice.
* One of Erron Black's one-liners towards Johnny Cage is "Sonya married ''this?''", obviously implying that he can't believe the two were a couple. Don't forget, however, that Erron is very much attracted to Sonya-- he says this at least partially out of ''jealousy'' that someone like Johnny Cage was able to win Sonya's heart.
* Erron Black's Outlaw variation gives him a sword that's actually the dismembered blade of a Tarkatan (with the arm still attached). If you look closely, it appears that the still-attached arm in question is a left arm. In one of ''Mortal Kombat's'' plot continuities, [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/mkwikia/images/7/73/Baraka_and_Sub-Zero_dead_-_C%C3%B3pia.png/revision/latest?cb=20110516225904 guess who's a Tarkatan and lost his left arm]].
* Erron Black's intro, when he speaks second, features him loading his revolver to prepare for the impending fight. One might assume that his guns should already be loaded. Maybe they should, but he has custom-made bullets for every given opponent. He waits until he sees who he's going to fight, then loads the corresponding rounds into the chamber.

* Johnny Cage appears to have a lot of somewhat generic lines directed towards him during fights (such as "Scurry away, Cage!" or "Die, Cage!"), which is most likely because damn near everybody hates him. As a result, they're more vocal towards him than other characters. He's also a professional {{troll}}, which only exacerbates the matter.
* While the [[ShowsDamage battle damage]] generally seems more conservative since [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 last time]], of particular note is how the damage to Scorpion's mask only chips away the paint to turn it white, rather than breaking off entirely to reveal white bone. D'vorah's fatality reduces the head to a bloody skull with at least a single eyeball remaining - to show raw bone one moment and then gory remains the next would be awkward, so only alluding to his undead nature keeps things consistent.

* Scorpion [[spoiler:murdering Quan Chi could look like an idiotic move that dooms other heroes to be revenants forever thanks to Scorpion's selfishness. With the history of Scorpion being abused and tricked by Quan Chi aside, however, this means the forces of evil just lost one of the greatest masterminds that is responsible for many bad things in original and altered timeline if left alive, in which in the original timeline, Quan Chi always have his way to cheat death or cheat other people. What if Quan Chi was baiting Raiden all the time with false hopes that with him, the heroes could be restored? Time will tell if Scorpion's paranoia bears fruit or not.]]
** While a very callous move, [[spoiler:Scorpion executing Quan Chi may have been the right call...if he'd only been a bit quicker about it. If Scorpion had ended Quan Chi even ten seconds earlier, Shinnok wouldn't have been freed. Yes, it would still have doomed the other fallen characters to remain as revenants, but there are probably some characters that would have stepped aside and let Hanzo end Quan Chi, given the choice.]]
*** It's worth remembering that [[spoiler:Quan Chi's exact plan was to be captured and free Shinnok in Earthrealm. He'd let himself be captured, D'Vorah would show up in the refugee camp unexpectedly, subdue the special forces, free Quan Chi and let him unseal Shinnok. Remember that D'Vorah, who's already a very dangerous kombattant by herself, was armed with Shinnok's amulet at the time, which according to Li Mei had the power to wipe out entire battalions in an instant when Mileena used it. She probably would have been able to free Quan Chi before Sonya's troops even knew what hit them and the outcome would have been that Cassie and her team would have been forced to confront Shinnok, D'Vorah and the revenants as in the game, but their enemies would also have had a fully empowered Quan Chi on their side. So yeah, Scorpion's vengefulness probably ended up saving the day in a very roundabout way.]]
* Regarding Cassie Cage's tower/arcade ending: [[spoiler:Remember those flashbacks Raiden had at the start of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''? One of them was most likely [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception Shujinko causing the return of Onaga, the Dragon King.]] With that said, him sending Cassie to kill him was specifically to prevent this from ever happening!]]

* In Kano's ending, he brutally beats down his [[spoiler:son's weakness and teaches him of the Black Dragon ways.]] Despite this, he calls [[BlindWeaponMaster Kenshi]] a "Deadbeat Dad" for him abandoning his son. If one looked up the definition of Deadbeat Dad, they'll find that [[spoiler:Kano stood by his son, despite the TrainingFromHell he brought forth, and chews Kenshi out big time for abandoning Takahashi Takeda and not acting like a true father.]]

* In some pre-fight interactions between Kotal Kahn and Raiden, Raiden seems to be taking Mileena's side in the Outworld civil war. At first this makes absolutely no sense, seeing as how Mileena is much more insane and a threat to almost everything around her, but it makes sense when one realizes Raiden truly supports [[spoiler: neither claimant of Outworld's throne, and is only concerned about Earthrealm. He supports her so that Outworld will continue remaining weakened in its civil war, diminishing its potential threat to Earthrealm. In the off-chance she does win, it could be assumed she'd make a poorer leader than Kotal Kahn and lead Outworld to its own destruction, also to Earthrealm's benefit]].
** Oddly enough, this is somewhat undermined by [[spoiler:Kotal Kahn's own screw-ups over the course of the game. Though he comes across as a Reasonable Authority Figure, he proves patently terrible in the realm of diplomacy, attacking Cassie Cage's group and then almost letting himself get killed when he's honorably defeated. And despite his claims that he will be the one to unite Outworld where Mileena failed, the Tarkatans, the Shokan, and Edenia are all likely still vying to, at least, breakaway. A case can also be made, that by usurping Mileena, a precedent is set that anyone with the power to overthrow the current emperor/empress is a valid successor, practically ensuring other contenders for the throne.]] If Raiden's goal is an unstable Outworld, Kotal Kahn serves that purpose rather well.
*** On the other hand, pre-match dialogue with Mileena has Raiden supporting Kotal Khan over her, or at least refusing to support her rebellion. Basically, he wants NEITHER in charge, and wants the EnemyCivilWar to go on for as long as possible - if either Kotal Khan or Mileena falls, the other would face no organized resistance in Outworld, and would charge into Earthrealm (as Kotal Khan did [[spoiler: after Mileena was executed by D'Vorrah]])
* In pre-match dialogue with Kenshi, Erron Black expresses some [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain outdated]] views on women. This seems to come out of nowhere at first, until his klassic tower ending reveals [[spoiler: that he's over 150 years old, making this a case of DeliberateValuesDissonance.]]
** In the aforementioned pre-fight intro, Kenshi quips "What century are you from?" towards Erron Black. He may have been serious rather than simply making light of his sexism.

** Furter proof is of whenever near most male characters, she's either flirting or enraged, the clear notes being Liu Kang, where Mileena goes into a {{Yandere}} state, and Erron Black, who she despises. Towards Raiden, she doesn't exactly get what he is saying, and goes into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge when seeing either Quan Chi and/or Shinnok, [[spoiler:whom were responsible for her "Father"'s death.]]

* D'vorah's alliance with [[spoiler:Shinnok]] makes a lot more sense when you remember that one of the identities associated with the devil is Lord of the Flies ''(insects)''. With [[spoiler:Shinnok]] acting as her superior, this literally makes him just that!

** Another explanation for the near-extinct Saurians showing up: [[spoiler: Reptile finds a big colony of them hiding out in Earthrealm during his Arcade ending.]]

* It seems odd that Tanya did not side with Shinnok at all in story mode but think about it for a second, unlike the old timeline when she had a degree of power as an ambassador to Edenia, she is merely a rebel in the new timeline. Shinnok and Quan Chi have no need to recruit her as a mole, instead, if the theory of Shinnok also sending a message back in time is anything to believe, [[spoiler:he influenced D'Vorah since she does have influence in Outworld's court]].
* It's odd to note Scorpion's influence with both Kenshi and Takeda, the former being a {{Hellfire}} Ninja within a Psychic family of a HandicappedBadass Father and his IHateYouVampireDad styled son. And even then, no connections of any in-game info helps Hanzo...unless you turn and look at the game ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy''. In that game, Scorpion appears as a bonus skin, hence his influence. Alternatively, It's mentioned that Takeda lacks the skill that Kenshi has, and that [[DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou Kenshi shows little effort of being a father]] whereas Hanzo himself is a widowing father, making as much sense for Takeda's case as it does Scorpion's case.
* Erron Black's X-Ray has him firing a magic bullet with the opponent's name. While it's discussed for him in the Fridge Logic part below, what name is applied to [[SNKBoss Corrupted Shinnok?]] ''Shinnok''. Why? Because [[spoiler:[[InSpiteOfANail despite Shinnok corrupting the Earth's life and becoming Corrupted Shinnok]]]], It's still Shinnok.
* Raiden and Shinnok both know of Jason, to where [[PragmaticVillainy Shinnok calls Jason by his name with caution]]. However, Johnny Cage knows Jason as well - nodding to the fact that ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' is a famous series and of Johnny's Hollywood status. In his quotes against him, Johnny is unsure if he should snark (A [[SarcasmFailure non-snarky]] ''[[OhCrap Ohh...Freak]]'' and a snarky ''Here you go, lucky boy''), under the belief that [[RealAfterAll it could be the true Jason and not some knockoff]].

* One may think it a bit weird that characters would spout one-liners like ''"Walk it off!"'' and ''"I will crush you!"'' after killing their opponents with Brutalities ''(since, you know....they're already dead)'', and then it hit me: watch what the characters ''do'' after performing it. They're facing the screen, which means that their trash talk isn't directed at the dead opponent.....[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou it's directed at you, the player!]]

* It may strike some as unusual that Reptile, of all kombatants, is one of the most civil towards Bo Rai Cho, despite his fierce loyalty towards Outworld and his occassionally AxCrazy behaviour. However, if one sits down and thinks about it, it makes sense - Bo Rai Cho's philosophy has always been "No one deserves subjugation," something Reptile can sympathize with since he has been a subject his entire life. This is hinted at in Bo Rai Cho's ending, where he is seen personally training Reptile.
* Kenshi's mirror match dialogue is more or less generic, with neither realizing they're clones. Which is believable given both are still blind men who can't see their faces.
* Sonya is healed from her injuries at the end of the opening chapter of story mode by exposure to the Jinsei chamber. 20 years later, in the next few chapters, she's the only returning character who doesn't seem to have visibly aged. Is there a connection?
* Tremor's quotes to Kitana "To those who have One last princess", Mileena "In the Dream Realm, you are reborn...", Jacuqi "I admire your Gauntlets", Shinnok "You're wise without measure", Liu Kang "Yet your approach continues...", and all of his quotes to Bo Rai Cho show that he is very smart, although that's mainly due to the Dream Realm [[spoiler:within his ending, where the Psyhe-Bomb was needed there. His high intelligence and power came from exposure from the realm]] [[FromBadToWorse and confirmed Mileena's ending.]] It's what he got for being left to die by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Kano]].
* At times, the [[MirrorMatch mirror matches]] or normal battles use events from [[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon the Armageddon timeline.]] While it's clearly seen in Shinnok's Mirror Match having him fight against [[spoiler:his clone turned Elder God in his ending]], Liu Kang and Mileena have one as well, via Mileena saying "You'll remember your love for me!" ...[[spoiler:Mileena wouldn't say that, [[HarsherInHindsight but rather an insane Kitana trapped in Mileena's body after the latter's ending.]]]]
* Kotal Kahn is seen bargaining with Kano in Chapter 2, when in the comics he kept some distance from the Black Dragon (with Erron Black as the only nexus between the BD and KK) and he ordered their incarceration after the Shokan onslaught for the kidnapping of Cassie and Jacqui. It's possible he didn't wanted to repeat that mistake, and Kano indeed had important information regarding the rebels (Mileena's location, extracted from him after Chapter 5), despite the posterior betrayal in Chapter 2.

* Johnny Cage seems to show some uncharacteristic scorn towards Triborg, specifically going, "Oh look, a ''robot''." However, this does have some merit behind it - ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' was considered to be the series' DorkAge, one of the main criticisms being the introduction of robot ninjas. Also consider that it was also the first game in the series to virtually UnPerson Johnny Cage as well ''(due to the circumstances of his actor Dan Pesina's firing,)'' and from a Meta-standpoint, it makes perfect sense why Johnny Cage is portrayed as more pissed off than usual at Triborg.

* Why does Kung Jin give Cassie such a hard time? First one could very easily make the argument that Cassie's in charge because of her parents and not because she actually deserves it (it's not true but to someone who didn't know them so well it's not a difficult conclusion to come to)and second, Johnny is very clearly a loving and supportive father to Cassie, Jin on the other hand has been treated badly by his family due to his sexuality, he's jealous and lashing out at her.
* At first the gangs' complete failure against Sub-Zero makes them seem like they're completely out of their league, which is at odds with the rest of the story where they defeat the likes of Kotal Kahn, the revenants and even Shinnok, so why such a bad performance against Sub-Zero? Think about their fighting styles and who their mentors were: Johnny, Sonya, Jax, the Shaolin and Scorpion! Sub-Zero has known all of them, and fought with and against all of them, for decades now. They're fighting an opponent who knows all their moves and can read exactly what they're going to do before they do it!

!!FridgeHorror

* How Kano's able to remain alive without his new cybernetic heart when Hsu Hao himself died not having his own cyber-heart in him? This pretty much means that something else is keeping him alive.
** He still has his actual heart, as shown with Kotal Kahn's fatality.
** I think Kano's chest-mounted power pack is actually meant for his cybernetic eye then anything and not for his respiratory/cardiovascular systems, since he can't obviously put the power source inside his own head; might bring unintended side effects.
* With the announcement of characters like Johnny Cage, Sonya, Kenshi, and Jax, there's a potential for parents and their child to kill each other.
* Reptile's main personality trait is UndyingLoyalty to whoever he declares his master. After Shao Kahn's death Mileena took over so he would work under her. But he is seen working for Kotal Kahn, a usurper. This begs the question... '''WHAT THE HELL COULD MILEENA HAVE DONE THAT WOULD DRIVE REPTILE OF ALL PEOPLE TO JOIN KOTAL KAHN?'''
** Unsure if it's related, but [[spoiler: Reiko and Goro practically killed nearly all of the Osh-Tekk (Kotal Kahn being the last one that is alive). Chances are, Kotal Kahn would seem more relateable to Reptile than Mileena]].
** Reptile serves a master for one of two reasons A) They have the power to restore his race (Shang Tsung, Shao Khan, Shinnok) or B) they treat him kindly (Nitara). Mileena's powers are entirely combat based and she's an insane sadistic monster, while Kotal may offer one or even both to Reptile.
** It's revealed in the Story mode that [[spoiler:Reptile is aware that Mileena was grown in the flesh pits, and is arguably not of Shao Kahn's blood. Reptile also seemed to personally find the method of her creation abominable in it's own right. From his view, he may owe her no more loyalty than he does any usurper, with the key being that Kotal Kahn is a capable and relatively fair ruler.]]
** In the comics, Kotal outright saves Reptile's life from execution on Shao Kahn's orders in the comics for his losses in the Mortal Kombat tournaments, and offers him a place of respect and use and then becomes friends with him.
* As pointed out [[spoiler:and shown by Dark Raiden at the end of story mode]], the Elder Gods cannot die... and fallen though he be, Shinnok is still an Elder God. Whatever crap you put him through, he ultimately [[OnlyMostlyDead lives through that]]... [[AndIMustScream and all the consequences that implies]]. Cut out his heart and drink its blood? Lives. Make a head-sized hole in his chest, possibly ''with'' his head? Lives! [[NoKillLikeOverkill Chop off his face and reduce the rest to]] LudicrousGibs? '''[[RuleOfThree LIVES]]!''' "There are [[FateWorseThanDeath fates worse than death]]", indeed...

* Raiden said that Liu Kang was like a son to him, [[spoiler: yet he threatens him with a FateWorseThanDeath in TheStinger in case he decides to attack Earthrealm. Even if Kang ''is'' the Emperor of Netherrealm, this is an exceptionally ruthless act, considering it was Raiden's actions that helped put him in that position.]] He even said Kang was right to be angry at him for his AccidentalMurder, and yet here he is, [[spoiler: holding the possibility of something worse over his head. Does Dark Raiden have any shame left, or has he committed himself fully to preemptively defending Earthrealm, regardless of what happened in the past?]]
** If you know [[spoiler:Dark Raiden]], you should have known that such things are not even above [[spoiler:Dark Raiden. After all, in the past timeline, he was the one who brought Liu Kang back as a zombie to serve as his enforcer even if Liu's spirit was still good. When it comes to Dark Raiden, he's throwing away any notions of morality, decency and goodness, his character becomes "Protect Earthrealm at all costs, even if I have to be an utter jackass about it. And I have no regrets!". The kind of 'Good goal, but anything goes for method (mostly ruthless)' character.]]

* If you look at Quan Chi's Fortress, you'll see Shao Kahn's battle armor, as well as his War Hammer as an interactable weapon. During the fight as players take damage, a large ''Shao Kahn-sized'' humanoid emerges from the blood pool, which was established during Story Mode as the place where Quan Chi revives dead warriors to serve as revenants. Fridge Horror time - was Quan Chi trying to resurrect Shao Kahn behind the scenes?
** Well, good thing Ermac now has Shao Kahn's soul.

* Tremor's ladder ending explained that [[spoiler: he went to the Dream Realm to recover a psych bomb that would help Kano in stealing Shinnok's amulet. Of course, while he gained a power-up out of the trip, pre-fight dialogue hinted that Kano left him to die there. Now, didn't ''[=MK9=]'' used the Dream Realm to justify [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger's]] appeareance]]?

* In pre-match dialouge, Erron Black casually mentions to Kano that he killed Kobra. There are two ways of looking at this - one, Kobra, being from a criminal gang, would have a bounty on his head and Erron was just collecting on it. The other? Consider that ''(and disregarding the fact that the concept for Erron didn't exist as yet back then)'', in ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'', Kobra is not only very much alive, but there's no sign of Erron. It is likely that the original timeline is one where ''Kobra'' winds up killing ''Erron'' instead.

* It's odd to note Scorpion's influence with both Kenshi and Takeda, the former being a {Hellfire} Ninja within a Psychic family of a HandicappedBadass Father and his IHateYouVampireDad styled son. And even then, no connections of any in-game info helps Hanzo...unless you turn and look at the game ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy''. In that game, Scorpion appears as a bonus skin, hence his influence. Alternatively, It's mentioned that Takeda lacks the skill that Kenshi has, and that [[DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou Kenshi shows little effort of being a father]] whereas Hanzo himself is a widowing father, making as much sense for Takeda's case as it does Scorpion's case.

* It's odd to note Scorpion's influence with both Kenshi and Takeda, the former being a {Hellfire} Ninja within a Psychic family of a HandicappedBadass Father and his IHateYouVampireDad styled son. And even then, no connections of any in-game info helps Hanzo...unless you turn and look at the game ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy''. In that game, Scorpion appears as a bonus skin, hence his influence. Alternatively, It's mentioned that Takeda lacks the skill that Kenshi has, and that [[DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou Kenshi shows little effort of being a father]] whereas [[DeterminedWidow Hanzo himself is a widowing father]], making as much sense for Takeda's case as it does Scorpion's case.

* Orange is something of a ColorMotif for Takeda. He has an orange MartialArtsHeadband, his suit has orange streaks along the arms and legs and his whips glow orange in his "lasher" variation. Now take a look at Scorpion and Kenshi, the two characters whose abilities and weapons influenced Takeda. Their outfits contain yellow and red respectively and what do you get when you mix those colors together? Orange.

* Kitana's Mournful variation has her using Jade's Staff. This could be a callback to Jade's original appearance as a non-playable opponent in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat2'', she used Kitana's fans.

* While [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason]] is a ImplacableMan to a fault, he ''does'' indeed react towards two fatalities. What are those fatalities? [[FrickinLaserBeams Kano's Head Case and Predator's Certain Death]]. The brilliance sets in that Jason was incapacitated the most in ''Film/JasonX'', a movie set in the future.

* At first the gangs' complete failure against Sub-Zero makes them seem like they're completely out of their league, which is at odds with the rest of the story where they defeat the likes of Kotal Kahn, the revenants and even Shinnok, so why such a bad performance against Sub-Zero? Think about their fighting styles and who their mentors were: Johnny, Sonya, Jax, the Shaolin and Scorpion! Sub-Zero has known all of them, and fought with and against all of them, for decades now, they're fighting an opponent who knows all their moves and can read exactly what they're going to do before they do it!

* Kitana's Mournful variation has her using Jade's Staff. This could be a callback to Jade's original appearance as a non-playable opponent in MK2, she used Kitana's fans.

* You might think it odd for Havik and Reiko to be allies, but there are two factors which blend into this: One, Havik's main mission is that of spreading chaos, something which the Outworld Civil War is doing a good job of by keeping it going. And Two, both of these characters were originally concepts for another MortalKombat character: Noob Saibot.

* At times, the [[MirrorMatch mirror matches]] or normal battles use events from [[MortalKombatArmageddon the Armageddon timeline.]] While it's clearly seen in Shinnok's Mirror Match having him fight against [[spoiler:his clone turned Elder God in his ending]], Liu Kang and Mileena have one as well, via Mileena saying "You'll remember your love for me!" ...[[spoiler:Mileena wouldn't say that, [[HarsherInHindsight but rather an insane Kitana trapped in Mileena's body after the latter's ending.]]]]

* Johnny Cage seems to show some uncharacteristic scorn towards Triborg, specifically going, "Oh look, a ''robot''." However, this does have some merit behind it - VideoGame/MortalKombat3 was considered to be the series' DorkAge, one of the main criticisms being the introduction of robot ninjas. Also consider that it was also the first game in the series to virtually UnPerson Johnny Cage as well ''(due to the circumstances of his actor Dan Pesina's firing,)'' and from a Meta-standpoint, it makes perfect sense why Johnny Cage is portrayed as more pissed off than usual at Triborg.