Publish date: 2024-01-26
He and Liu Kang went off to talk to the Elder Gods, who did absolutely nothing, claiming that technically, Kahn hadn’t done anything wrong…yet. While that was going on, the Earthrealm warriors fought off the Lin Kuei. That was easy enough, but prior to the attack, Kahn decided to kill Shang Tsung and use his life forces to enhance Sindel. Single-handedly, this stronger version of Sindel killed Jade, Stryker, Sub-Zero, Kabal, Jax, Smoke, and Kitana. Nightwolf sacrificed himself to finally stop her. Raiden and Liu returned to find Kitana dying. Liu had finally had enough of Raiden’s foolish decisions and called him out on it.
Desperate, Raiden went to the Netherrealm to suggest a deal with Quan Chi. Quan Chi had no need as he already had a deal going with Shao Kahn: in exchange for his services, he got to keep the souls of the warriors who fell during the war between Earthrealm and Outworld. He then had the undead versions of everyone from Sindel to Kung Lao attack Raiden. Raiden left empty-handed, but Quan Chi did make sure to give him some inspiration to figure out how to stop Kahn.
“HE MUST WIN!” meant Shao Kahn. If Liu Kang fought him, Kahn would be warded off, but he’d survive to fight another day and eventually kill them all. If Kahn simply merged the realms like the egomaniac he was, the Elder Gods would finally have reason to act on it. Quan Chi had set him up to fail all along! Liu thought the plan was nonsense and went after Kahn anyway. Raiden got in Liu’s way and accidentally killed him. Begging for forgiveness, Raiden was horrified when Liu cursed his name before dying from the wounds.
Kahn merged the realms and became stronger. The Elder Gods powered up Raiden and helped him defeat Kahn. They then tore his soul to pieces. Shao Kahn was dead. Finally. In response, Raiden’s amulet fixed itself.
It came at a terrible cost. Of the good guys, only Raiden, Johnny, and Sonya survived. As they left, Quan Chi appeared to admire Kahn’s destroyed helmet. Everything was going according to plan. Shinnok would escape the Netherrealm soon and there would be barely anyone to oppose them this time.
The Netherrealm Invasion Redux (Mortal Kombat X)
The odds were worse than the original timeline’s war against Shinnok. Not only were the good guys reduced to just Raiden, Fujin, Johnny, Sonya, and Kenshi, but the bad guys had a bunch of resurrected and corrupted heroes on their side. Despite all that, Johnny Cage still defeated Shinnok. It turned out that Johnny was part of a special bloodline of Mediterranean warriors bred and trained to kill gods. When Sonya was in peril, Johnny’s genetic powers kicked in and he was able to overpower Shinnok and imprison him into his own magical amulet.
Quan Chi mortally wounded Johnny and tried to recreate him as one of his revenant soldiers. Raiden used his own magic to combat it and not only did it save Johnny’s life, but it returned all the other revenant warriors in the room to regular human form. This included Jax, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang, in his human form). Raiden finally had a way of saving his fallen friends from damnation. Unfortunately, Quan Chi escaped, so nuts to that.
After the war, Johnny and Sonya got married and had a daughter, Cassie. The union was short-lived and they got divorced, mainly due to Sonya’s Special Forces duties. Jax was too haunted by his memories as a demon soldier and settled down with his psychiatrist. They also had a daughter, Jacqui. Sub-Zero killed Sektor and rebuilt the Lin Kuei from the ground up.
Scorpion didn’t know what to do with himself, but Kenshi reached out to him and helped him reconnect with his humanity. A man once again, Scorpion decided to rebuild the Shirai Ryu, recruiting those who also lost loved ones.
Raiden hid Shinnok’s amulet away from reality by use of the Kamidogu pieces, now in the form of daggers. He gave them to different people to protect against evil.
Elsewhere, with Shao Kahn gone, his daughter-of-sorts Mileena took the throne in Outworld. Kotal (Buluc), who had worked as Shao Kahn’s underling over the years, convinced others to follow him and forced Mileena into hiding during a sudden uprising. Baraka was one of the victims of this little episode, killed by D’Vorah, a creepy bug lady. Now named Kotal Kahn, the new emperor’s inner circle included D’Vorah, the mercenary Erron Black, Ermac, Reptile, and the bloodthirsty savage duo of Ferra and Torr.
The Reiko Accords (Mortal Kombat X Comic Series)
Kenshi was undercover as a member of the Red Dragon, but his cover was blown. The Red Dragon knew more about him than he did, including how he had an illegitimate son with an old flame named Suchin. Kenshi was too late to save Suchin, but was able to protect their son, Takeda. Kenshi handed Takeda to Scorpion to protect and raise while Kenshi went off to destroy the Red Dragon himself.
Havik orchestrated a plot that cursed the Kamidogu daggers and possessed certain warriors. Using Reiko and others as pawns, Havik worked to summon Shinnok’s amulet and use it for himself as a way to spread chaos through the realms. His machinations caused the deaths of Mavado, Kintaro, Reiko, Goro’s father, Kotal Kahn’s father, and the entire Shirai Ryu (barring Scorpion and Takeda).
While Havik’s threat was great enough that even Kotal Kahn and Mileena decided to work together against him, he was done in by Takeda and Scorpion. Scorpion decapitated Havik, teleported into the Netherrealm with the still-alive head, and handed it over to Moloch and Drahmin for the sake of torture.
After the adventure, Kotal Kahn and Sonya agreed on a pact known as the Reiko Accords that made them uneasy allies.
The Kombat Kids (Mortal Kombat X)
20 years had passed since the Netherrealm War. During that time, Sub-Zero made amends with Scorpion and proved to him that their entire rivalry was based on the manipulations of Quan Chi. To atone, Scorpion dedicated himself to making Quan Chi suffer.
Johnny Cage organized a task force of youngsters to train so that they could take over for the old guard. This included Takeda, Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs, and Kung Lao’s cousin, Kung Jin. Meanwhile, Kano got his hands on Shinnok’s amulet and sold it to Mileena to help her regain her spot as empress of Outworld.
Cassie’s team went to Outworld to get aid from Kotal Kahn. Kotal got the wrong idea and tried to have them killed, but cooler heads prevailed and the two parties worked together to apprehend Mileena. D’Vorah executed her. Afterward, Kotal Kahn refused to return Shinnok’s amulet as Raiden had failed to keep it safe twice over. Little did Kotal realize that D’Vorah had been working for Quan Chi and Shinnok all along and this was part of her plan.
Thanks to Jax coming back from retirement, the Special Forces were able to apprehend Quan Chi. Scorpion then appeared and forced everyone to watch him beat and torture the sorcerer, not caring about the fate of others. D’Vorah showed up and handed Quan Chi the amulet. His final words were a spell that would resurrect Shinnok…just before Scorpion chopped Quan Chi’s head off. Not only was Shinnok back, but the fallen heroes could never be turned human again. Only then did Scorpion realize his folly.
Shinnok took over the Jinsei Chamber and poisoned the energies with his evil, all while torturing Johnny Cage. Cassie’s crew, alongside the Lin Kuei, fought through Kotal Kahn’s forces and Shinnok’s revenant warriors. Jacqui even avenged her father by defeating Ermac.
Cassie faced Shinnok’s true form. Seeing her father in peril caused her powers to kick in and she was able to win just like Johnny did 20 years earlier. To purify the Jinsei, Raiden had himself placed within its energies. Shinnok was defeated, the world was saved, and Johnny and Sonya reconnected.
But it wasn’t all a happy ending. Raiden’s sacrifice caused him to become corrupted and he started wielding Shinnok’s amulet as a weapon. He became like his darker self from the original timeline, ready to wipe out anything he considered a possible threat to Earthrealm. To show he meant business, he traveled to the Netherrealm and warned the new rulers – the revenant versions of Liu Kang and Kitana – by throwing the living and suffering head of Shinnok at their feet.
He also tried to start a war with Outworld, but Kotal Kahn held him off by invoking Mortal Kombat. Thanks to the help of Bo’ Rai Cho (Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Shujinko’s master), Earthrealm was defeated and Outworld was deemed safe from Raiden’s wrath. Still, Raiden was able to trick Cassie Cage into killing Shujinko, thereby preventing the resurrection of Onaga in this timeline.
Kronika’s Revenge (Mortal Kombat 11)
The Titan Kronika was the mother of Shinnok and Cetrion, the Goddess of Virtue. Kronika controlled the sands of time and wished for reality to favor both her children, meaning endless conflict between good and evil through the ages. In her frustration, Shinnok’s beheading had upset the balance in favor of good.
While Kronika could manipulate the lives of humans, her powers did not work on gods. She had, in fact, been attempting to perfect reality by creating timeline after timeline, only for Raiden to screw everything up for her no matter how hard she tried. In many of these timelines, she manipulated Liu Kang into fighting Raiden, as the two of them together were a potential threat to her.
Meanwhile, Raiden led the Special Forces on a mission into the Netherrealm to cripple Liu Kang and Kitana’s forces and destroy their castle base. While successful, it came at the cost of Sonya’s life. Kronika appeared in the Netherrealm shortly after to rewind the castle back to normal and recruit the revenant versions of Liu Kang and Kitana. Her plan was to create a new timeline where Raiden did not exist. She just needed certain items to help amp up her abilities to make it possible.
To help with her plan, Kronika created a massive time rift and various heroes and villains from the era of Mortal Kombat II came into the present. While many were able to interact with their counterparts, gods exist under different rules and the sinister, modern version of Raiden vanished completely. His younger self was horrified to discover what kind of monster he would become while most of the others were confronted by the tragedies they were destined to endure. The visiting good guys included Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana, Sonya, Jax, Johnny Cage, and Jade. Obviously, the recent death of modern Sonya made things awkward. That and the two Johnny Cages coexisting.
Kronika mainly recruited warriors by promising them a rewarding life in the new timeline, even if her plan was for constant war. In the present, she had her unkillable servant Geras, Cetrion, D’Vorah, Kano, Frost, and Jax (tricked into helping, as Kronika exploited his guilt-ridden PTSD). From the past, she brought in Shao Kahn, Skarlet, Noob Saibot, Kano, Erron Black, Kabal, Scorpion, Sektor, and Cyrax. Frost, feeling that the Lin Kuei had lost their way and Raiden never gave her the respect she deserved, restarted the Cyber Initiative and had herself turned into a cyborg. Many Lin Kuei warriors were kidnapped and transformed into cannon fodder for Kronika.
Turned out that Kotal Kahn and Jade were lovers before all this and this time rift was a welcome reunion. The rift also brought back Baraka and his Tarkatan race, who Kotal had previously wiped out completely. Attempting genocide on them once again, Kotal was stopped by Jade and the two ended up being captured by Shao Kahn.
Needing soldiers to face Kronika’s armies, Kitana rallied Baraka and Sheeva to join her side, as Shao Kahn would only make them slaves. Shao Kahn crippled Kotal Kahn in battle, but the execution was interrupted by Kitana’s uprising. Kitana sliced Shao Kahn’s throat, wounding him horribly, albeit not mortally. Kotal stepped down as ruler of Outworld and gave the spot to “Kitana Kahn.”
Speaking of dead characters, Sektor self-destructed, taking the Special Forces base out with him. Sonya ended up killing the younger version of Kano, which in turn killed the modern Kano. The modern Scorpion died from a poison attack from D’Vorah. The incident inspired his younger, demonic self to switch sides and join the heroes. Cetrion killed all of the other Elder Gods, choosing familial loyalty over morality.
Out of desperation, Raiden wielded Shinnok’s amulet and it made him turn more violent and hateful. But then a fight with the younger Liu Kang sparked Raiden’s memories of their multiple battles in previous timelines. Raiden realized that he and Liu Kang working together was the key to victory. Kronika mocked the thunder god and stole Liu Kang away.
Raiden led a siege on Kronika’s keep in the Netherrealm. Kronika’s demons and cyborgs were met by Shaolin monks, Special Forces soldiers, Outworld warriors, and so on. The unkillable Geras was taken out by being wrapped in an anchor and dropped into an endless ocean of blood. Modern Jax realized he was on the wrong side and joined the heroes. Revenant Liu Kang absorbed the soul and power of the younger Liu Kang, only to still lose to Raiden. Raiden grabbed Liu Kang and figured out a solution: he fused his soul to Liu Kang’s. Liu became a god of fire and lightning, not only giving him the power to lead the charge but also making him immune to Kronika’s manipulations.
Kronika rewound the siege, so while Liu Kang was unaffected, his allies were gone. The two battled it out as Kronika brought them back to the dawn of time. Liu Kang won the battle, burned Kronika into glass, and then shattered her. Raiden left Liu Kang’s body, choosing to live as a mortal. Still a god, Liu Kang would be the new keeper of time and would sculpt a new timeline. Mortal Raiden agreed to use the rest of his natural life to help mentor the new god.
Shang Tsung’s Betrayal (Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath)
Before Liu Kang could get too far, a portal opened up, revealing Shang Tsung, Fujin, and Nightwolf. Apparently, the three refused to join Kronika’s side and were banished from time itself. Only Shang Tsung’s sorcery could free them. Shang warned Liu Kang to stop, as he needed Kronika’s magical crown to successfully wield her hourglass. If he did not, all of reality would fall apart. Unfortunately, Kronika’s crown was destroyed in their final battle.
Shang suggested sending himself, Fujin, and Nightwolf into the events of the previous story to steal away the crown. After a private conversation with Fujin, Liu Kang accepted these terms.
The trio appeared around the time Kitana had wounded Shao Kahn and took over as ruler of Outworld. Shang’s master plan involved kidnapping Sindel’s revenant and resurrecting her to counter the eventual fight with Cetrion. While there were bumps in the plan, it all seemed to work out and the heroes even started to lower their guard around Shang a bit more. Fujin was given possession of the crown.
Of course, Shang Tsung and Sindel were scheming together. They rescued Shao Kahn and changed the course of the war. The likes of Sheeva, Kotal Kahn, and Kung Lao were killed as Shao Kahn reclaimed his throne. Shang took Raiden’s form and insisted Fujin hand over the crown. After a pregnant pause, Fujin did so. Enhanced by the crown, Shang absorbed the souls of Fujin and Raiden before betraying his other allies and absorbing the souls of Shao Kahn and Sindel. Shang Tsung then had the power necessary to kill Kronika.
Fire God Liu Kang appeared from a portal. He set all of this up and let his friends take the fall, knowing that it was the only way for this scenario to succeed. The two rivals faced off and Liu Kang won. Shang Tsung turned to dust as Liu Kang placed the crown on his own head.
After creating a brand-new timeline, Fire God Liu Kang appeared before the Great Kung Lao to prepare him to represent Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat…
The New Era (Mortal Kombat 1)
Now we explore Liu Kang’s attempt at a utopian reality. While he cannot destroy the very ideas of evil and injustice, he does his best to manipulate the makeup of the universe so that peace triumphs. A timeline where Earthrealm and Outworld are allies and Mortal Kombat is a celebration of their cultures, like a violent Olympics. A timeline where those who would be monsters are given opportunities to reach fulfillment.
Yet this is a video game based around conflict, so unfortunately for Liu Kang, this house of cards is going to crash to the ground.
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