9 Best Heated Character Rivalries In Gaming History

1. Scorpion Vs. Sub-Zero

The fact it started as a palette swap way back in the original Mortal Kombat. The fact so many of us as players gravitated to picking Scorpion or Sub-Zero thanks to a mix of preferring a specific colour or just fire over ice.

The fact that over the years, NetherRealm have fleshed both of these warriors' backstories out, explaining that the original Sub-Zero's Lin Kuei clan went after Scorpion's family, only for Scorps to kill Sub "Bi-Han" Zero in return, and Bi-Han's brother Kuai Liang to emerge as the new Sub-Zero.

Following all this, Mortal Kombat 10 put the pair on the same page, revealing it was Quan Chi's illusions that blinded Scorpion to the reality of what happened with his family, thereby making Sub-Zero innocent.

MK 11 had Scorpion and Sub-Zero team up for what is genuinely the most fun martial arts buddy cop energy you've ever seen, but if we're talking about a multi decade-long rivalry that spanned consoles, arcades and pop culture, even if they're getting along fine right now, it has to be Scorpion and Sub-Zero.