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Midway was riding high on Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II by the mid 90s, with more success on the way with a film adaptation set to release in July 1995. However, even before that, creators Ed Boon and John Tobias were prepping for the release of the series’ third entry with Mortal Kombat 3, which once again was aiming to take the series further. Couple that with a massive promotional campaign, Mortal Kombat 3 seemed like a sure-fire success, which it was. However, along with the success, the cracks were also starting to show for the franchise from a technical standpoint, and from some bizarre decisions for the game itself.

Outworld ruler Shao Kahn, frustrated with losses in the Outworld tournament, decides to enact a 10,000-year-old plan. Khan’s Shadow Priests, led by Shang Tsung, revive his former Queen Sindel, who unexpectedly died at a young age. Instead of being revived in the Outworld,...

The original Mortal Kombat 1 game was released by Midway in arcades in October 1992. The established rivalry between Sub-Zero and Scorpion has become a feud that has lasted for more than 30 years giving us massive lore, fantastic battles, and eponymous finishers.

However, when Ed Boon, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat franchise decided to change this nostalgic lore and make Sub-Zero and Scorpion brothers in Mortal Kombat 1 reboot from 2023, many fans expressed their disapproval. That said, the controversial change wasn’t out of nowhere, since there is more to the brotherly bond between two Mortal Kombat ninjas.

Sub-Zero and Scorpion Original Pitch Sub-Zero Scorpion rivalry.

The idea of Scorpion and Sub-Zero being siblings appeared during the creation of the first game itself. Daniel Pesina, Scorpion’s original actor has revealed that creating unique characters for the Mortal Kombat universe was a time-consuming process.

He said that the first ninja character he...

From the original Mortal Kombat to Mortal Kombat 1, “Get Over Here” has become an iconic catchphrase among them. Basically, everything that Scorpion does has found a home in the hearts of people. One of his signature moves, when he harpoons the opponents through his Kunai rope dart, can raise the hair strands on anyone’s neck every time they hear it.

Little do they know, this could’ve become a matter of jokes today if the original concept had been added to the game. To that end, Scorpion might’ve become the cowboy running around, giving a loud “Yeehaw” instead of the original catchphrase. Maybe people would’ve given him a new alias, ‘Wonder Man’.

Mortal Kombat Would’ve Seen an Entirely Different Character

Scorpion using katana in Mortal Kombat 11.

The character was originally created by Ed Boon and John Tobias and initially played by martial artist Daniel Pesina. But...

Johnny Cage, Mortal Kombat’s arrogant movie star, has become a fighting game icon over the decades. His signature sunglasses and cocky one-liners have become instantly recognizable and have become a character trait that has persisted through all the various reboots of the gaming series.

Very few fans know that the inspiration for this martial arts movie star came from Marvel Comics’ Iron Fist.

Mortal Kombat’s Johnny Cage Is Based on Marvel Comic’s Iron Fist

Johnny Cage retains his signature personality in the series reboot, Mortal Kombat 1.

Johnny Cage has been a staple of the Mortal Kombat series since his first appearance. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, Cage was originally made as a parody of the typical 1980s action hero, also drawing heavy influence from real-life martial artist and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, while crafting Cage’s persona, Boon also looked to a rather unexpected character – Iron Fist.

No Mortal Kombat character has suffered more at the hands of backstage drama than the cocky Earth realm warrior Johnny Cage. Starting out as the game's version of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, the character's name was subsequently changed to Johnny Cage. Originally played by Daniel Pesina in the first Mortal Kombat game, the character was then portrayed by Linden Ashby in the live-action 1995 movie based on the game.

But then Johnny Cage was killed off in the sequel movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and was also missing from the roster for several games. In a series of tweets, John Tobias, the co-creator of the gaming franchise, revealed that there was a secret system in place that allowed them to determine which characters were the most popular among players, and Cage simply did not make the cut.

Ed and I wanted to add as many new characters to the MK2 roster as possible.

Gavin Jasper May 2, 2019

Mortal Kombat's yellow-clad mascot might not be the stealthiest ninja, but he's definitely one of the most versatile.

While Scorpion is the face of Mortal Kombat, it's always been a curious choice. Street Fighter has Ryu, King of Fighters has Kyo, and Guilty Gear has Sol Badguy. They’re not only the central characters of their respective series, but they’re also the heroes (although things get a little gray in terms of Kyo post-KOF98). Scorpion is more like Mitsurugi from SoulCalibur, who happens to be on most of the box covers despite being little more than a supporting character.

Not that Scorpion isn’t one of the best characters on the roster and isn’t a total badass, but he’s neither the main hero nor the main villain. He’s just the wildcard, smoldering in hellfire on the sidelines while reality hangs in the balance.