Mortal Kombat character
Sub-Zero is a fictional character in the "Mortal Kombat" fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. A warrior from the fictional Lin Kuei clan, he possesses ability to control ice in many forms. He is the only fighter to appear in every main installment of the series, along with the action-adventure spin-off "" (1997).
In the games, the mantle of Sub-Zero is used by brothers Bi-Han () and Kuai Liang (). Bi-Han debuted as Sub-Zero in the original 1992 game before appearing in subsequent installments as Noob Saibot. Kuai Liang took over the mantle in "Mortal Kombat II" (1993) and served as the franchise's main Sub-Zero up to "Mortal Kombat 11" (2019). In "Mortal Kombat 1" (2023), Bi-Han returns as Sub-Zero, while Kuai Liang becomes Scorpion.
One of the "Mortal Kombat" franchise's signature characters, Sub-Zero has appeared in various related media outside of the games. He has received acclaim for his appearance, abilities, and Fatality finishing moves.
Character design and gameplay.
Sub-Zero was first conceived by "Mortal Kombat" co-creator John Tobias as a mysterious character named simply "Ninja" and inspired by the book "China's Ninja Connection" by Li Hsing, which "posits historical evidence for the existence of the Lin Kuei and their influence on the Japanese ninja. I was aware of there being some controversy about the author’s claims. So when we split the character in two for palette swaps, I thought it would be fitting that one was of Chinese origin and the other Japanese to kind of embody the argument." According to Tobias, the original "Hunter&amp;Hunted concept was going [to be] about a ninja escaping from his clan and hunted by another member. We used that later for SZ in "MK3"." Sub-Zero's early name was Tundra.
In his early appearances, Sub-Zero was primarily portrayed and voiced by non-Asian actors. Midway Games later explained Sub-Zero's rather occidental appearance for a Chinese assassin by giving him a white mother. According to this new backstory, his father had a wife, two sons, and a daughter while he lived in America to hide his personal role as an assassin for the Lin Kuei. Midway Games programmer Josh Tsui portrayed the unmasked Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang) in the character's "Mortal Kombat II" ending.
Sub-Zero's early costumes have been very simple due to technical limitations. "Mortal Kombat" co-creator Ed Boon noted that Kuai Liang's counterpart from DC Comics is Batman as both are "dark, mysterious, brooding characters". Tobias said that Sub-Zero was unmasked in "Mortal Kombat 3" in order to stir up fan speculation about the character's backstory. The new Sub-Zero made his official debut on the cover of "GamePro" April 1995 issue, with Turk's red outfit tinted blue (as it was for the game), but the photo used was a reversed negative, as his scar was over his left eye. Since "Mortal Kombat 3", Sub-Zero has had a scar running down from his forehead and across his right eye as a mark of death. The scar was originally red, and later changed to blue in "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" as a result of Sub-Zero's enhanced powers. Mortal Kombat and Deadly Alliance states that Sub-Zero is 6 feet 2 inches tall; in recent games such as "Mortal Kombat X" and "Mortal Kombat 11", his sprite appears to be similar to most characters. In "Mortal Kombat: Deception", his scar has faded to the point where it can no longer be seen. He now wore an armored uniform heavily inspired by Dynastic era Chinese battle armor, though it was often criticized by fans as being too reminiscent of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" villain, the Shredder. However, Sub-Zero's alternate uniform was very reminiscent of Chinese culture, even featuring Sub-Zero without a cowl and a Qing dynasty-era hairstyle. In "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon", Sub-Zero reverts to his masked costume from "Deadly Alliance", retaining the scar, which is not part of his alternate costume (which is the primary one from "Deception"). Since "Deadly Alliance", Sub-Zero is the only character who has shown considerable signs of aging. Concept art from "Deadly Alliance" depicted him with a graying, receding hairline, and a more pale and gaunt face, while his scar was now blue and his forearms frozen over. Although Sub-Zero originally had blue eyes, they turned white after he obtained the Dragon Medallion in the game. Sub-Zero's appearance in "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" was one of the most revised ones from the title. Character lead Mark Lappin did almost ten passes on his design; producer Shaun Himmerick noted that "we went through literally 5-6 heads and styles of head costume on him" and commented that Sub-Zero's design in "Mortal Kombat" was difficult to make although most people called it "simple". In the end, the staff was satisfied with his final look in the game as it reminisces them to his classic outfit. His appearance in "Injustice 2" was redesigned by Jim Lee.
When he first appeared in the first "Mortal Kombat", Sub-Zero featured only two special moves: his ice blast and sliding kick. These moves have become Sub-Zero's trademark since then, being featured in every game that Sub-Zero has appeared in ("Mortal Kombat II" and subsequent games feature a younger Sub-Zero whose identity is Kuai Liang). "Mortal Kombat II" added his ground freeze move, and two new Fatalities including the now-famous one where he would freeze and shatter the victim. According to Boon, Sub-Zero's Freeze was originally omitted from the game in place of the Ice Shower, but was brought back in the next revision following fan feedback at a local arcade. Sub-Zero's "Predator"-inspired Fatality, the "Spine Rip," is considered by Boon to be his favorite Fatality from the first game as well as the most controversial. Some home versions of the first game replaced the "Spine Rip" with another finishing move due to its violent content, for instance the SNES port had a freeze and shatter finishing move due to Nintendo's "family friendly" policies (this tame fatality received a positive reception so it was added to Sub-Zero's arsenal in the sequels). Unlike other returning characters whose moves remained intact, the spine rip Fatality was not carried over to "Mortal Kombat II" and "Mortal Kombat 3," (an explanation is because Kuai Liang was heroic compared to his villainous brother Bi-Han). The Nintendo 64 port of "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" gives Sub-Zero's special techniques and finishing moves to the classic masked version, due to the fact the N64's cartridge format had memory restrictions that did not allow the use of both masked and unmasked characters. The developers had to remove the "Spine Rip" from "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" as that game was aimed at a younger audience. Sub-Zero also gained a teleporting move in the game in which he freezes himself and falls back to the ground, appearing behind the foe.
In 1996, World Championship Wrestling decided to have a wrestler based on one of the Mortal Kombat characters and Eric Bischoff who is a fan of the Mortal Kombat games wanted his new character to be based on Sub-Zero and created the character of Glacier and he and his rival Mortis had Mortal Kombat like matches.
Appearances.
"Mortal Kombat" games.
Bi-Han first appears as a playable character in "Mortal Kombat" (1992) and "" (1997). A cryomancer and warrior of the Chinese Lin Kuei clan, he was sent to kill Shang Tsung, host of the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament. However, Bi-Han is attacked and killed by Scorpion, an undead specter who seeks revenge on Bi-Han for seemingly killing him sometime prior.
Kuai Liang first appears as a playable character in "Mortal Kombat II" (1993). Following his older brother Bi-Han's death, he takes up the mantle of Sub-Zero before the Lin Kuei send him to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament in Bi-Han's stead. In the process, he encounters Scorpion, who initially tries to kill Kuai Liang under the belief that he is Bi-Han. In an alternate take on the game's events depicted in "" (2005), in which Kuai Liang appears as a boss and unlockable player character, he briefly allies himself with Liu Kang and Kung Lao while searching for Bi-Han, who had been transformed into the undead Noob Saibot.
In "Mortal Kombat 3" (1995), Kuai Liang and his ally Smoke leave the Lin Kuei after the clan begins converting their best warriors into cyborgs, but Smoke is captured and converted. Following this, Kuai Liang is recruited by Earthrealm's protector Raiden to defeat the tyrant Shao Kahn. Additionally, a non-canonical playable character called "Classic Sub-Zero" appears in "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" (1995) and "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" (1996). Initially believed to be Bi-Han, he is an unidentified warrior who emerges to assassinate Shang Tsung.
In "Mortal Kombat 4" (1997), Raiden summons Kuai Liang to help him defend Earthrealm against the fallen Elder God Shinnok. Amidst this, he fights Scorpion, who had been manipulated by the necromancer Quan Chi into believing Kuai Liang had killed his family. In ' (2002), Kuai Liang becomes the new leader of the Lin Kuei, takes on an apprentice named Frost, and helps Earthrealm's warriors fight the titular Deadly Alliance of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. In ' (2004), Kuai Liang joins forces with the warrior Shujinko, among others, to combat the Dragon King Onaga and Noob Saibot. In the training mode of "" (2006), Sub-Zero faces the warrior Taven before they ally to fend off Noob Saibot and Smoke, during which they knock out the latter in the hopes of reversing his conversion.
Both Bi-Han and Kuai Liang appear in "Mortal Kombat" (2011). Though Raiden alters the timeline to avert the events of "Armageddon", Bi-Han is still killed by Scorpion and resurrected as Noob Saibot by Quan Chi, leading to Kuai Liang changing his Lin Kuei codename from Tundra to Sub-Zero. While attempting to avenge Bi-Han, Kuai Liang is captured, converted into a cyborg, and forced to serve Shao Kahn. Nonetheless, he regains his mind and joins Earthrealm's warriors in fighting the tyrant. In the process, he re-encounters Noob Saibot, who seemingly dies after being pulled into Quan Chi's "Soulnado", before Kuai Liang is killed by Shao's queen Sindel and resurrected by Quan Chi as an undead revenant.
In "Mortal Kombat X" (2015), which takes place two years after the previous game, Kuai Liang continues to serve Quan Chi until he and Scorpion are restored to life by Raiden. Over the course of the following twenty-five years, Kuai Liang defeated former ally Sektor, became the Lin Kuei's new grandmaster, made amends with Scorpion - now Hanzo Hasashi - while helping him uncover Quan Chi and Sektor's roles in their feud, and trains Cassie Cage's team. Additionally, his cyborg form appears as a hidden variation for the downloadable playable character Triborg.
In "Mortal Kombat 11" (2019), which takes place a further two years later, Kuai Liang learns Sektor, Noob Saibot, and Frost have allied themselves with the keeper of time Kronika and kidnapped several of his clansmen to convert them into cyborgs and bolster Kronika's forces. Allying himself with Hasashi and former enemy Cyrax, Kuai Liang infiltrates and destroys Sektor's cyborg factory before regrouping at Hasashi's Fire Gardens with the rest of Earthrealm's warriors due to the Lin Kuei base, among other locations, being compromised. After gaining help from Kharon, a Netherrealm ferryman whom he and Hasashi met while they were revenants, Kuai Liang joins Earthrealm's warriors in assaulting Kronika's keep.
In "Mortal Kombat 1" (2023), following Kronika's defeat and Fire God Liu Kang creating a third new timeline, Bi-Han became Sub-Zero once more and the Lin Kuei's grandmaster following his father's death who believes Liu Kang is limiting the clan's potential. Furthermore, Kuai Liang became the pyromancer Scorpion and the Lin Kuei Earthrealm's centuries-old protectors. Both appear as playable characters while an unidentified Sub-Zero appears as an assist character, or "Kameo Fighter". In the story mode, Liu Kang sends Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and their adopted brother Smoke to investigate Shang Tsung. However, the brothers are captured before Shang Tsung sways Bi-Han to his side by promising him control of the undead Dragon Army. Bi-Han agrees and betrays Kuai Liang, revealing he allowed their father to die for his perceived weakness. Kuai Liang and Smoke subsequently escape to help Liu Kang stop Shang Tsung before heading to Japan to found the Shirai Ryu clan and replace the Lin Kuei as Earthrealm's protectors. Meanwhile, the Lin Kuei's master armorer Sektor advises Bi-Han to bolster