The dust has settled on NetherRealm Studios’ next Mortal Kombat reveal, and it’s official – the series is going back to square one. Mortal Kombat 1 launches on September 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch.
The Standard Edition will cost $70 on all platforms, and the presence of Dragon Krystals indicates microtransactions (which were also used in Mortal Kombat 11 to buy cosmetics). But for now, that’s not causing the most buzz.
It’s the announcement trailer, which showcases what NetherRealm is calling a reborn Mortal Kombat universe. What’s going on? Spoilers follow for those who didn’t play the previous game, so back out now.
Long story short, Kronika, the Keeper of Time, wanted to rewrite history and create a new era. There’s a hunt throughout Mortal Kombat 11’s campaign for the Crown of Souls, which will allow Kronika to do so. Past versions of Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Jax, Sonya Blade and so on are also involved but eventually work with their present versions (willingly or not) to battle Kronika.
During the penultimate battle, Liu Kang battles Raiden, as the duo has done many times before, but instead of one dying, they fuse to become Fire God Liu Kang. As Earthrealm’s heroes arrive at Kronika’s keep, she turns back time, leaving only Fire God Liu Kang to thwart her plans. This results in Kronika turning back time to the beginning. Assuming you defeat her after one round is lost, Liu Kang meets with Raiden, now mortal and willing to serve as his advisor.
The events of Aftermath, the expansion, see Shang Tsung return and reveal that the Crown of Souls is needed to use Kronika’s Hourglass and create the New Era. Going back in time with other characters like Fujin and Nightwolf, Shang Tsung betrays everyone, defeats Kronika and takes her powers.
Of course, Fire God Liu Kang was aware – just like everyone else when they first announced the expansion – that he’d do all this. After one last final battle, Shang Tsung is erased, and Liu Kang’s New Era is born. The expansion concludes with him training the Great Kung Lao to battle in Mortal Kombat.
This “reborn universe” in Mortal Kombat 1 is Fire God Liu Kang’s creation. The trailer sees Raiden emerging from a hut and meeting Kung Lao on the plains. The latter has a regular hat but is recognizable by the dragon insignia on his clothes. Thunder looms in the background behind Raiden, teasing that he may have retained some of his thunder powers.
We then cut to Kitana, traveling in a carriage escorted by guards as various people are looking on. Judging by the relative peace of the setting, this could be Edenia, where Kitana is once again the princess. She’s traveling with Mileena, and Liu Kang’s narration speaks of “bitter rivalry.”
The former likely isn’t the bestest of friends with the princess. Then again, Mileena spied on Kitana for Shao Kahn in the first timeline and then served as a replacement for her sister in the second. What her purpose is now, stern looks aside, remains to be seen.
Sub-Zero and Scorpion are then shown, seemingly getting ready to fight. However, they stop, with the narration indicating the possibility of “uniting as brothers,” and then look towards a strange eclipse. This Sub-Zero seems to be Bi-Han and very much has his freezing powers. Scorpion looks very much alive as Hanzo Hasashi, possessing his trademark Spear or Stinger.
All the warriors see the same eclipse in the sky as Fire God Liu Kang teases that a “storm is brewing.” He then descends from the sky unto Kung Lao and Raiden, standing before a portal where Shang Tsung emerges. Liu Kang says that even in this New Era, there’s still one constant – there’s always something worth fighting for.
Cut to various scenes of violence where Shang Tsung is straight-up murdering everyone. He cuts Scorpion’s throat and stabs through his face with claws, snaps Mileena’s neck, stomps on Sub-Zero’s head, gouges Kitana’s eyes, and sucks out Kung Lao’s soul. You’d probably imagine Liu Kang is getting ready to hit the reset button. However, he beats Shang Tsung down for defying peace. Because to him, it’s the same as war with a God, aka Him with a capital H.
Fire God Liu Kang proceeds to summon two fiery dragons, hoisting Shang Tsung in the air by his arms. He then leaps up, and before you can go, “Welcome to the Jam,” splits Shang Tsung down the middle, slamming his head down to the ground with a splatter.
How much of this will occur in the story remains to be seen. Remember that the reveal trailer for Mortal Kombat 11 had Dark Raiden and Scorpion battling it out, with the latter killing the former. That didn’t happen in the actual game. Kronika was shown at the end, though, and that remained an essential part of the story, so there’s that.
However, we can still affirm plenty about Mortal Kombat 1’s story from the trailer. Mortal Kombat is clearly still a thing, as indicated by the end of Aftermath. It’s possible that Shang Tsung is up to his old tricks and attempting to circumvent the tournament’s rules. Of course, as far-fetched as it sounds, it’s possible that he wants to defy Liu Kang’s New Era. Maybe he retains memories from when the Fire God erased him and thinks this is all a sham.
Suffice it to say that the story wouldn’t end with his demise. There’s also the question of why Fire God Liu Kang would bring him back, knowing the amount of trouble he caused throughout the series.
There’s a theory that the Kung Lao initially seen is actually the Great Kung Lao. Since the Edenian War seemingly didn’t happen, the story may well be thousands of years in the past. Of course, how various characters like Bi-Han, Hanzo Hisashi, and Johnny Cage (not seen in the trailer but confirmed for the game) are alive at the time remains to be seen. Again, this is a New Era.
And just because Fire God Liu Kang rewrote history, doesn’t mean other Gods won’t appear to oppose him. After all, the Elder Gods were a major part of the franchise, while Kronika remained quietly in the background in the original timeline. Would it be too big a stretch to assume that other villains, like Onaga the Dragon King, also exist and could cause havoc?
Whatever the case, you feel somewhat bad for Shang Tsung, as he’s easily killed by the end of the trailer after running through so many Kombatants. It may or may not be how the story plays out, but he still got punked. At least it looked cool.
Mortal Kombat 1 is only a few months away, and we’ll likely see gameplay footage this Summer at one of the major showcases. There could be more fighters and their reimagined move sets revealed along with gorgeous locations and nauseating Fatalities. A beta is also coming in August, so fans won’t have to wait long to get their hands dirty. However events may play out in-game, Mortal Kombat is back and as bloody as ever.
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