Today, for the first (titled) edition of Character Spotlight, I wanted to highlight one of my favorite characters from my favorite fighting game franchise. When I say the name Mortal Kombat, who is the first person you think of? If you thought of the words "Get Over Here", you're right, but I am thinking of the OTHER guy, the colder guy, the first character I ever learned to play as in MK: Sub-Zero.
Info:
First Appearance: Mortal Kombat (1992)
Real Name: Bi-Han (Mortal Kombat, 1992), Kuai Liang (Mortal Kombat II - present, 1993 - present)
(Most Recent) Voice Actor: Steven Blum (Mortal Kombat X, 2015) aka "The Wolverine Guy"
Personal Favorite Game He Appears In: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
There are many things I still remember about my childhood, whether it's TV shows that stuck with me, events in school I'll never forget, or my first experiences with certain video game franchises, you'll remember them like it was yesterday. This was the case the first time I looked into an arcade at age 7 and saw Mortal Kombat. Needless to say I was blown away, and a little grossed out. I'll highlight the game itself at a later date, because this is all about the man with the icy stare.
I think a lot of what drove me to be a Sub-Zero fan had something to do with my time playing Street Fighter, as odd as that may sound. Back then, I thought the Hadoken was the coolest move ever, dude just sticks his hands out, yells, and a fireball blasts out of his palms, that's fuckin' rad! It's STILL rad! So here, with Sub-Zero, he kind of has a Hadoken-esque move, but it's an ice ball that freezes the opponent, allowing for a free hit, that's fucking RAD...DER!
In Mortal Kombat (1992), Sub-Zero (Bi-Han) was tasked by his clan, the Lin Kuei, to kill the tournament's host, Shang Tsung. He fails to do so, and ends up getting killed by Scorpion. Bi-Han then ends up becoming the undead ninja known as Noob Saibot. I always found that super cool that while I am playing as Noob Saibot, I am actually playing as original Sub-Zero. Bi-Han's brother Kuai Liang takes up the Sub-Zero codename in Mortal Kombat II to honor his fallen family member, and remains THE Sub-Zero to this day.
Mortal Kombat 3 is when things start picking up for young Sub-Zero, as he escapes the Lin Kuei Clan who is looking to turn all its members into cyborgs, which gave us Sektor, Cyrax, and Smoke. The game also gave us one of the iconic looks for SZ, as the decision came down to remove the mask.
Then came a very divisive game: Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero. I'm betting those of you who played that game just went "ugh". Hear me out, there were some cool things about that game, it wasn't a great game, but it was the first real attempt to take the Mortal Kombat universe and expand it to something other than a straight fighting game. This also marked the first appearances of Quan Chi and Shinnok to the franchise. Set as a prequel to the original game (meaning it was Bi-Han SZ), Mythologies was an action-RPG with superbly cheesy FMV cutscenes. Well worth a playthrough nowadays.
Mortal Kombat 4 was the first game in the series to go to a 3D engine and helped push the Sub-Zero/Scorpion rivalry but having Quan Chi tell Scorpion that SZ and his clan wiped out Scorpion's family, which ends up being untrue (weird) and Quan Chi was the real killer. Deadly Alliance sees our Sub-Zero fighting Sektor for leadership of the Lin Kuei clan, and also the introduction of SZ's apprentice, Frost. Deception has Sub-Zero confronting his older brother Noob Saibot, and throughout that game and Armageddon, he tries what he can to save his undead brother.
Sub-Zero would make an appearance in Shaolin Monks, an adventure game retelling the events of Mortal Kombat II starring Kung Lao and Liu Kang. He appears as the first boss in the game before joining up with the Monks to search for his older brother. He leaves the duo while chasing Noob through the Netherrealm.
Due to the success of Shaolin Monks, (yeah, it's a pretty good game) work got underway for a co-op adventure game called Fire & Ice, starring Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The game was scrapped due to budget and time constraints.
Sub-Zero also appeared in the well-regarded MK vs DC Universe as a counter to Batman. At the end of his story in the game, he is inspired by The Dark Knight to become a super hero, donning a new costume and cape. Sub-Zero MAN!
Then came Mortal Kombat (2011), which retells the stories of games 1 - 4, with a bit of a twist. Bi-Han is still killed by Scorpion and Kuai Liang takes the mantle, but instead of Smoke being captured and turned into a cyborg, Liang gets kidnapped and assimilated, bringing us Cyber Sub-Zero. CSZ helps Raiden in taking down Shao Khan, but Sindel, Khan's wife, overloads CSZ's circuits, so now both Sub-Zeros are "dead". Until Quan Chi resurrects and enslaves SZ. Which is how he starts off in Mortal Kombat X. Also, he is back in human form because....video games.
Crazy shit happens in Mortal Kombat X with Sub-Zero, (SPOILER...I guess), Sub-Zero and Scorpion are FRIENDS?!?! It's 25 years after the Netherrealm War and Scorpion begrudgingly agrees to meet with (now Lin Kuei Grandmaster) Sub-Zero. It is revealed to Scorpion that it wasn't SZ, but Sektor and Quan Chi, who were behind the murders of the Shirai-Ryu clan and Scorpion's family. That's insane to me, it's like Batman and Joker shake hands, dogs and cats living together!
Sub-Zero was originally simply called Ninja while in development. That character was split in two for palette swaps and became Scorpion and Tundra. That name was changed after a member of the development team watched the Schwarzenegger film The Running Man, where the first assassin was named Sub Zero. Side note: that movie is bad ass!
The character is one of the most popular in the series, he also has the distinction of being the only character in the MK universe to appear in every game.
Evolution of the Character:
Mortal Kombat (1992)
Mortal Kombat II (1993)
Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero (1997)
Mortal Kombat 4 (1997)
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002)
Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004)
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006)
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (2008)
Mortal Kombat (2011)
as Cyber Sub-Zero
Mortal Kombat X (2015)
with SICK beard...
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Sub-Zero's popularity has helped him become one of the most iconic characters in the franchise. Besides the video games, Sub-Zero has appeared in both live action movies (the good original one and the oh-God-no-what-the-hell Annihilation) and all 3 seasons of the web series Mortal Kombat Legacy.
Since day one I always gravitated towards Sub-Zero, just an absolute badass who has been a staple of the franchise. While Scorpion is busy screaming "Get Over Here". throwing fire everywhere and generally being Ghost Rider, Sub-Zero takes a cool, calm, and collective approach. A stone cold killer. Death's cold embrace. Other puns!
Fatality Time!
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