Female Sektor and Cyrax explained by Ed Boon

The excitement of Kombat Pack 2 also comes with some twists of what we may have been expecting or hoping for. We're getting Sektor and Cyrax, but with the timeline change of MK1, both characters will be female. Ed explained this change and it honestly should be no surprise to any MK fan.

"We have this kind of balance we're trying to do with this game," begun Boon. "It's like, bring characters back that players want to see, but also don't just repeat the same things with them."

GameStop got with Ed Boon recently... check out the video to hear more.

Credit: EventHubs

 

So a movie? It's not really a video game then seems pointless

Some see it as pointless, for me the entire point of the story mode is the story. I'm not really interested in being forced to play as characters I don't like.

That's how the story is presented in most videos anyway. Gameplay fights cut out

 

I think it's time to bring back an oldie but goodie....

THE SACRED MK LORE!!!

 

REMEMBER WHAT THEY TOOK FROM YOU!

EMBRACE TRADITION! REJECT MODERNITY!

EMBRACE...

THE SACRED MK LORE!!!

 

Some see it as pointless, for me the entire point of the story mode is the story. I'm not really interested in being forced to play as characters I don't like.

That's how the story is presented in most videos anyway. Gameplay fights cut out

To me a point of a game is to play it. Otherwise I'd watch a TV show

 

I saw a headline like this too but he's just like "we wanted to do something different, they are female now"

Love ya Boon, not a fan of this

 

MK 1-4 Scorpion: He hates Sub Zero and wants to kill him. Whoops, he wants to protect Sub Zero. Nevermind he wants to kill Sub Zero again in MK4.

How are you talking about media literacy in one post with a smug attitude towards people, saying people needed to remember the actual history of MK...while simultaneously being so media illiterate you don't realize Sub-Zero in MK1 and Sub-Zero in MK2 are totally different characters and Scorpion's different attitude was a part of character growth and not random changing of motivation. That is a text book example of...I was gonna say media literacy 101 but it's simpler than that. It's simply being able to follow a narrative.

MK1 - Scorpion is dead and wants revenge on the ruthless Bi-Han
MK2 - Scorpion is shocked Sub is still alive but then sees him spare someone, displaying mercy & honor and is confused but finds out this is a different guy and is, in fact, Bi-Han's brother. Actually self-reflecting, Scorpion decides to protect this good man as recompense for murdering his brother.
MK4 - Scorpion finds out his wife & child were killed. Quan Chi frames Kuai Liang for this...which is why Scorpion wants revenge against him but it's revealed that Quan Chi did it.

This is all stuff stated in the games and their attract modes and endings. You acting like this is 'inconsistent' is the equivalent of saying Luke Skywalker is inconsistent in the OT because in Eps 4 and 5 he wants to kill Vader but then WHOOPS he wants to save Darth Vader in Ep 6.

Like...do you not realize there's an actual story happening with character progression?

Smug + wrong is a bad look.

 

How are you talking about media literacy in one post with a smug attitude towards people, saying people needed to remember the actual history of MK...while simultaneously being so media illiterate you don't realize Sub-Zero in MK1 and Sub-Zero in MK2 are totally different characters and Scorpion's different attitude was a part of character growth and not random changing of motivation. That is a text book example of...I was gonna say media literacy 101 but it's simpler than that. It's simply being able to follow a narrative.

MK1 - Scorpion is dead and wants revenge on the ruthless Bi-Han
MK2 - Scorpion is shocked Sub is still alive but then sees him spare someone, displaying mercy & honor and is confused but finds out this is a different guy and is, in fact, Bi-Han's brother. Actually self-reflecting, Scorpion decides to protect this good man as recompense for murdering his brother.
MK4 - Scorpion finds out his wife & child were killed. Quan Chi frames Kuai Liang for this...which is why Scorpion wants revenge against him but it's revealed that Quan Chi did it.

This is all stuff stated in the games and their attract modes and endings. You acting like this is 'inconsistent' is the equivalent of saying Luke Skywalker is inconsistent in the OT because in Eps 4 and 5 he wants to kill Vader but then WHOOPS he wants to save Darth Vader in Ep 6.

Like...do you not realize there's an actual story happening with character progression?

Smug + wrong is a bad look.

They ARE different characters. I never said they weren't.

Still, character motivations have been wildly inconsistent throughout the franchise.

You're right, being smug and wrong is a bad look. You should stop.

Edit: Nowhere in Scorpion's MK4 Bio does it state that Quan Chi frames Kuai Liang for the death of his family and clan.

Scorpion's Bio

Source:

It mentions the Elder God's, but not the Lin Kuei. Now it does say that Scorpion has ulterior motives - avenging the death of his family and clan - because he decided the honorable guy he was protecting wasn't honorable at all for no good reason.

Scorpion's MK4 Ending:

Here's the actual timeline of events:

MK1: Oh no, Scorpion was killed by Sub Zero and his clan wiped out by the Lin Kuei.

MK2: But wait! This Sub Zero isn't Bi-Han at all! Scorpion decides to protect Sub Zero

MK4: For no reason whatsoever, Scorpion is back to believing that Sub Zero murdered his clan and family. Sub confirms that Scorpion's clan was indeed killed by the Lin Kuei but plot twist - Quan Chi killed his family.

MK4 Scorpion is a regression - not a progression of his character.

What you have is a retcon - in other words - an inconsistency. Which is fine. No one actually cares about any of this shit.

 

They ARE different characters. I never said they weren't.

Still, character motivations have been wildly inconsistent throughout the franchise.

You're right, being smug and wrong is a bad look. You should stop.

Edit: Nowhere in Scorpion's MK4 Bio does it state that Quan Chi frames Kuai Liang for the death of his family and clan.

Scorpion's Bio

Source:

It mentions the Elder God's, but not the Lin Kuei. Now it does say that Scorpion has ulterior motives - avenging the death of his family and clan - because he decided the honorable guy he was protecting wasn't honorable at all for no good reason.

Scorpion's MK4 Ending:

Here's the actual timeline of events:

MK1: Oh no, Scorpion was killed by Sub Zero and his clan wiped out by the Lin Kuei.

MK2: But wait! This Sub Zero isn't Bi-Han at all! Scorpion decides to protect Sub Zero

MK4: For no reason whatsoever, Scorpion is back to believing that Sub Zero murdered his clan and family. Sub confirms that Scorpion's clan was indeed killed by the Lin Kuei but plot twist - Quan Chi killed his family.

MK4 Scorpion is a regression - not a progression of his character.

What you have is a retcon - in other words - an inconsistency. Which is fine. No one actually cares about any of this shit.

So are you being purposefully obtuse on purpose or are you just blatantly lying?

In MK4 you write "for no reason whatsoever"...but that's a lie. In the ending YOU POSTED Quan-Chi says he was the real killer. He manipulated Scorpion by lying to him. This is in the video you just posted. Quan-Chi has been manipulating Scorpion which is why he believes Sub-Zero is the killer.

This is not a regression for Scorpion...it's a twist. It lasts for all of one game and has reasons behind it that were also part of fleshing out Quan-Chi which was in concert with MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero which came out the same year.

MK1: Sub-Zero kills Scorpion. The Lin Kuei don't wipe out his clan. In fact, it even says he left behind a wife and child. So the Lin Kuei wiping out the clan is not what was stated.

This was not a retcon. We learn in Mythologies that Quan-Chi wiped out the clan as part of a deal with the Lin Kuei grandmaster. The first time we're introduced to the clan being wiped out, it is explicitly at Quan-Chi's hands.

Scorpion is a consistent character...not an inconsistent one. In MK1 he is an honorable but ruthless specter motivated by revenge. In MKII he believes his revenge is unfinished...but when he realizes he's targeting the wrong person (someone who is a good person, mind you) he decides to protect this person if he can as compensation for killing his flesh and blood (Scorpion does not think his revenge is wrong but still believes in restitution for killing kin...really interesting character trait)

In MK3, Scorpion is a wildcard that does not care about the conflict much...but then decides to fight for Earthrealm because Sub-Zero is an chosen one for Earthrealm and he swore to protect him...so Scorpion maintains his consistent honorable characterization.

In MK4 he is manipulated by Quan-Chi and his sense of revenge (his primary motivating factor consistently) by telling him his family was killed and Kuai Liang did it. Scorpion tries to get revenge believing himself mistaken about what kind of person Sub is...but he STILL hears Sub-Zero out when he has the chance to kill him...and someone with media literacy could infer this as being consistent with both Scorpion's sense of honor AND his previous belief that Sub was honorable...at which point Quan-Chi reveals the scheme

After this, Scorpion seeks revenge on Quan-Chi for the manipulation AND for the murder of his family.

That is all very consistent for a character. It's not particularly deep or hard to follow...which actually makes it almost impressive that you seem to be struggling with following the through line.

 

That is an astounding amount of gaslighting and lying in your post.

In MK4 you write "for no reason whatsoever"...but that's a lie. In the ending YOU POSTED Quan-Chi says he was the real killer. He manipulated Scorpion by lying to him. This is in the video you just posted. Quan-Chi has been manipulating Scorpion which is why he believes Sub-Zero is the killer.

This is not a regression for Scorpion...it's a twist. It lasts for all of one game and has reasons behind it that were also part of fleshing out Quan-Chi which was in concert with MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero which came out the same year.

MK1: Sub-Zero kills Scorpion. The Lin Kuei don't wipe out his clan. In fact, it even says he left behind a wife and child. So the Lin Kuei wiping out the clan is not what was stated.

This was not a retcon. We learn in Mythologies that Quan-Chi wiped out the clan as part of a deal with the Lin Kuei grandmaster. The first time we're introduced to the clan being wiped out, it is explicitly at Quan-Chi's hands.

Scorpion is a consistent character...not an inconsistent one. In MK1 he is an honorable but ruthless specter motivated by revenge. In MKII he believes his revenge is unfinished...but when he realizes he's targeting the wrong person (someone who is a good person, mind you) he decides to protect this person if he can as compensation for killing his flesh and blood (Scorpion does not think his revenge is wrong but still believes in restitution for killing kin...really interesting character trait)

In MK3, Scorpion is a wildcard that does not care about the conflict much...but then decides to fight for Earthrealm because Sub-Zero is an chosen one for Earthrealm and he swore to protect him...so Scorpion maintains his consistent honorable characterization.

In MK4 he is manipulated by Quan-Chi and his sense of revenge (his primary motivating factor consistently) by telling him his family was killed and Kuai Liang did it. Scorpion tries to get revenge believing himself mistaken about what kind of person Sub is...but he STILL hears Sub-Zero out when he has the chance to kill him...and someone with media literacy could infer this as being consistent with both Scorpion's sense of honor AND his previous belief that Sub was honorable...at which point Quan-Chi reveals the scheme

After this, Scorpion seeks revenge on Quan-Chi for the manipulation AND for the murder of his family.

That is all very consistent for a character. It's not particularly deep or hard to follow...which actually makes it almost impressive that you seem to be struggling with following the through line.

It's not in the video I posted. He said he needed a specter to kill Sub Zero. He never said that Kuai liang was the one that did killed Scorpion's family. You will not find that line of dialogue in Scorpion's MK4 Ending. It does not exist. He never told Scorpion that Sub Zero killed his family. Listen to the words Quan Chi speaks in the ending.

Read the bio again. He was explicitly given life to fight the Elder Gods on behalf of Quan Chi. The Lin Kuei were never mentioned. At all.

The bio and the ending contradict each other. Because the writing in MK was never consistent.

Now if you're done jerking off to 30 plus year old lore, I called you out in a set. Answer the call.

 

Read the bio again. He was explicitly given life to fight the Elder Gods on behalf of Quan Chi. The Lin Kuei were never mentioned. At all.

...how do you think Quan Chi got Scorpion to fight on his behalf? By lying to him about Sub-Zero's involvement in the death of the Lin Kuei. This is an inference a CHILD could make (I know...I did when I was a child) based on the ending.

"he needed a specter to kill Sub Zero"

HMMMMMMMM! How would Quan-Chi have convinced the specter Scorpion to kill Sub-Zero?! Oh wow this is a REAL brain-twister! I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with Scorpion now believing Sub killed his family...which Quan-Chi then gloats about having been the real architect of.

Again, it is hilarious that you are talking about media literacy when you seem incapable of making basic inferences in a story written to be consumed by all ages. Let me reemphasize this: you are showing yourself to be incapable of following the simplistic story of Mortal Kombat. It is eluding you. That is genuinely an impressive amount of media illiteracy.

There is no contradiction. If you read Sub-Zero's bio, he is helping the Elder Gods by fighting Shinnok. This is why Quan Chi wants Sub-Zero dead. Again, children can follow this basic stuff.

Now if you're done jerking off to 30 plus year old lore, I called you out in a set. Answer the call.

JFC this is some weapons grade cringe.

 

...how do you think Quan Chi got Scorpion to fight on his behalf? By lying to him about Sub-Zero's involvement in the death of the Lin Kuei. This is an inference a CHILD could make (I know...I did when I was a child) based on the ending.

"he needed a specter to kill Sub Zero"

HMMMMMMMM! How would Quan-Chi have convinced the specter Scorpion to kill Sub-Zero?! Oh wow this is a REAL brain-twister! I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with Scorpion now believing Sub killed his family...which Quan-Chi then gloats about having been the real architect of.

Again, it is hilarious that you are talking about media literacy when you seem incapable of making basic inferences in a story written to be consumed by all ages. Let me reemphasize this: you are showing yourself to be incapable of following the simplistic story of Mortal Kombat. It is eluding you. That is genuinely an impressive amount of media illiteracy.

There is no contradiction. If you read Sub-Zero's bio, he is helping the Elder Gods by fighting Shinnok. This is why Quan Chi wants Sub-Zero dead. Again, children can follow this basic stuff.



JFC this is some weapons grade cringe.

So what you're doing here is an inference, but it was never stated. Based on the lore provided, Scorpion decided to take up his revenge crusade despite having no reason to do so.

Quan Chi bringing Scorpion back to life has nothing to do with the Lin Kuei and everything to do with the Elder Gods. It is explicitly stated in the bio you didn't read

The bio and the ending contradict each other. Anything else is just you filling in the blanks with what you THINK happened. There is no evidence to suggest that's what actually happened.

And of course you're not going to accept the challenge.

Cause you're a pussy.

 

Cause you're a pussy.

"Prove I'm better at this game you stopped playing because you say it's bad! That will prove me right!"

I have never seen a more obvious 'touch grass' moment in my life. Unironically, this is pathetic to a level I've never witnessed before. You're sad.

 

"Prove I'm better at this game you stopped playing because you say it's bad! That will prove me right!"

I have never seen a more obvious 'touch grass' moment in my life. Unironically, this is pathetic to a level I've never witnessed before. You're sad.

This all sounds like cope.

"You're sad" he cries, knowing full well what would happen if he actually played me.

 

You might as well be challenging me to play DDR. I don't play this game. I don't find it fun.

Do you need wins THIS badly that you are ranting and raving to try to get people that don't play it to give you a W? Jesus Christ, bro.

 

That's a pretty ass example and not at all what they've done.

Take Reptile, for example. He's still Zatarran, he still does lizard shit, he's just not a minion anymore. The vast majority of Reptile's backstory from MK2-Deception was him being a lacky or following characters(like Nitara) because he had nothing else going on.

Putting Superman in Spiderman's suit isn't remotely the same thing. That's a pretty fundamental change.

If you're happy with the changes that fine. I agree that with characters like Reptile and Baraka, it's nice to have a bit of depth to them instead if just being jobbers. But then you've got characters like Rain for example, who is a completely different character. Personally I hate the changes they made to ALL of the ninjas. The Superman/Spiderman example was obviously an exaggerated example, but mainly aimed at Sekor and Cyrax, that's a pretty fundamental change. They are different characters altogether, they just happen to be called Sektor and Cyrax.

Again, if you're happy with the changes, good for you man, but I hate most of them and genuinely feel like most of the cool shit got taken away just for the sake of it and Sektor and Cyrax is just the cherry on top for me..

 

I legit don't understand why we couldn't just get two new female ninjas. Make them cyborgs. No problem.

This "[character] in name only" shit has been played out for years at this point.

 

Honestly I think they fucked up Tanya the most. Her entire character before MK1 was that she was a selfish, conniving traitor. And ever since the "Omg Mileena x Tanya" crowd gained traction after MKX, they retconned Tanya so that her entire personality is just "me love Mileena". Its the worst kind of fan service because they took more away from Tanya than they gave her. She's nothing but a loyal guard dog now with no drive to be anything more than Mileena's seat cushion.

 

Honestly I think they fucked up Tanya the most.

The wife really loved MKX Tanya with her Egyptian style and being a total selfish bitch. MK1 Tanya pissed her off pretty bad.

 

Not saying writing for Fighting Games is impossible, just that it poses some unique hurdles compared to writing for an action-adventure game, or a FPS, or compared to a movie or graphic novel.

I think this is very diplomatic, but I get it. The new characterization they’ve given characters is fairly shallow. They gave baraka more of a sympathetic backstory, but they don’t show you it. Mileena is now a tragic figure but you don’t feel for her. She has a new romance with Tanya but it’s never really shown. They did the thing where they say she’s gay now and promptly move on to the next story beat never to acknowledge it again.

I recently started getting the arcade mode endings for some of my secondary characters and I find them quite hokey. They remind me of twisted metal 2 endings but without the edgy dark humor. It’s like 80s cartoon show level writing when I want something closer to Twisted Metal Black.

It’s clear that most people buying MK do it for the characters, the lore, and the gore. Twisted Metal Black is probably the high water mark for me when it comes to dark apocalyptic games. Twisted Metal Black is so cohesive in its character episodes, environment, ending, even its song choices. You want to beat it with the different characters to uncover the mysteries behind the twisted metal tournament. I wish I could feel that way about MK1. That cryptic, mysterious vibe is gone for now and it’s been replaced with a LOT of extrapolation and clunky info dumps in the dialogue.

 

I recently started getting the arcade mode endings for some of my secondary characters and I find them quite hokey.

I've said before that I think the Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realms show unironically has better writing than MK1

 

Just in general, I do think from a writing standpoint Fighting Games are difficult to write for.

and clearly they cant handle the difficulty