The origin of the mortal Kombat scorpion

By Mitchell Saltzman

Mortal Kombat is home to some of the most iconic fighting game characters in all video games, but few are as recognizable as the yellow-skinned ninja, Scorpion.

He is also one of the most interesting characters in the series from a traditional point of view. If you are curious to know what drives the specter of Mortal Kombat's revenge in order to burn the flesh of his opponents with the head of his skull, come here as we dive deep into Scorpio's story.

First of all, let's put the basics in place. Scorpio is an interesting character – to the extent that, although he is one of Mortal Kombat's poster designers, his story is not intrinsically linked to the main conflict between Earthrealm and Outworld. It's a lot more personal.

Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu

In the world of Mortal Kombat, there are two rival clans, Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei. The Lin Kuei originate from northern Asia and are essentially superhuman warriors for rent. At one point, a Japanese warrior of Lin Kuei called Takeda (not MKX's) goes to Japan, spreads his knowledge of Ninjutsu to various generals and lords during the feudal era and forms the first ninja clan, the Shirai Ryu. .

Takeda's betrayal of Lin Kuei to found his own clan immediately brings the two clans into conflict, and over time they will develop an intense rivalry that will come to a fatal end through the plots of a certain wizard of the United Kingdom , Quan Chi. .

Quan Chi wants to steal a powerful amulet belonging to the god Shinnok, but to do this, he needs a human who bypasses his defenses. He therefore hires a Lin Kuei warrior named Bi-Han, codenamed Sub-Zero, with a Shirai-Ryu named Hanzo Hasashi, codenamed Scorpio, just in case Bi-Han could not do his job.

Bi-Han and Hanzo, unaware that they were both hired by the same man to do the same job, met in their quest, clashed, Sub-Zero wins and Hanzo is killed. Bi-Han provides the map detailing the location of the Shinnok amulet, and as payment to Lin Kuei, Quan Chi slaughters the entire Shirai Ryu clan, including Hanzo's wife and son.

The specter of revenge

It is from this moment that the man, Hanzo Hasashi, died and left, and only the Scorpion spectrum remains. Quan Chi manipulates Scorpion in the Kingdom of the Netherlands by telling him that it's Sub-Zero who killed his family and his clan, and that at the next Mortal Kombat tournament, Scorpion finally succeeds in killing Sub-Zero and to take revenge. Or he thought.

In Mortal Kombat 2, Sub-Zero is back, just like Scorpion, determined to eliminate his long hated rival. But watching one of Sub-Zero's fights in the tournament, he's witnessing something very unusual about the Sub-Zero he knew. Pity.

Scorpio eventually learned that this Sub-Zero was not Bi-Han, but his brother, Kuai Liang. Whether it's guilt of having kidnapped his brother, a way to redeem revenge killing or something else, Scorpio promises to protect this new Sub-Zero, and it's this vow that places him against Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 3 him with the Earthrealm warriors.

It is at this point that the target of Scorpion's revenge changes significantly from one game to another. In 4, we return to Sub-Zero after being led to believe that Sub-Zero actually killed his wife and child. In Deadly Alliance, he is really angry with Quan Chi after finally learning the truth about the death of his clan and his family. In Deception, he becomes a champion of the Old Gods and places his anger on whoever they lead. And in Armageddon, he gets really pissed off by the Old Gods for bringing the Shirai Ryu back to infernal warriors like him.

Then the scenario is reset with Mortal Kombat 9, and things go pretty much the same way. Scorpion enters the Mortal Kombat Tournament as a manipulated servant of Quan Chi, kills Bi-Han and remains under his control until Raiden resurrects the human form of Scorpio, Hanzo Hasashi.

Where is Scorpion

In Mortal Kombat X, Kuai Liang invites Hanzo to Lin Kuei's palace to finally bury the hatchet in between. Sub-Zero reveals that it is Quan Chi who has slaughtered the Shirai Ryu and that he has no ill will for Hanzo to kill his brother. Both bow and become friends, united by the mutual hatred of Quan Chi.

Speaking of Quan Chi! He is finally captured by the special forces of the Earth and Hanzo arrives on the scene, ready to finally take his revenge on a deserving target. And he does it, probably in the best scene of Mortal Kombat.

Unfortunately, it was too late to stop the resurrection of Shinnok and be defeated by the elder god, but at least, at least the super death of Quan Chi.

And that's where Scorpion is about to arrive at Mortal Kombat 11. It will be interesting to see what Hanzo Hasashi has to offer in the current calendar, now that his revenge is finally stifled, but as we know, Mortal Kombat It deals with many time travel, so we may not wait long to see the specter of vengeance dressed in yellow that we know and love.

Mitchell Saltzman is Gameplay / Livestream Guy at IGN. Follow on Twitter.