10 Most Popular Mortal Kombat Characters
2. Sub-Zero
First
Appearance: Mortal Kombat (Bi-Han), Mortal Kombat II (Kuai Liang)
One of the original pair of palette swapped ninja’s, Sub-Zero is the blue ninja who wields the power of ice. A version of the character has been playable in every Mortal Kombat game. Sub-Zero is a member of the Lin Kuei, an ancient clan of ninja assassins.
In the original Mortal Kombat, the identity of Sub-Zero is Bi-Han. However, during the events of the game, he is killed by Scorpion. In all subsequent games, the identity of the character is Kuai Liang, the young brother of Bi-Han. Bi-Han would later reappear as the character Noob Saibot, the black palette ninja.
Bi-Han, while using the identity of Sub-Zero, would ally himself with the necromancer Quan Chi and destroy a rival clan to the Lin Kuei called the Shirai Ryu. Scorpion is a member of this rival clan, and hunts down both version of Sub-Zero throughout the different Mortal Kombat games. Despite this, Kuai Liang and Scorpion eventually become close comrades in the new timeline.
As with Reptile, the different ninja’s are some of the most
popular characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise. Sub-Zero’s ice powers often
make him a deadly addition to the roster, being able to freeze the opponent
with a variety of projectiles and having a variety of movement options to allow
the characters to easily navigate the screen. Sub-Zero also has access to the
franchises most iconic Fatality: the Spine Rip.