Mortal Kombat: 30 Absolute Best Easter Eggs You Need To See
11. There Is Only One Ninja In Mortal Kombat
As hard as it is to believe, Hanzo Hasashi AKA Scorpion is the only ninja in the entire MK series.
At first, this sounds ridiculous. Of the 80+ characters in the games, about 20 of them are referred to as a ninja at one point or another.
Rain, Ermac, Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Noob, Smoke. I mean, Reptile and Sub-Zero started off as a palette-swap of Scorpion for crying out loud! How come they aren't ninjas when they look and act the same?
The word "ninja" is synonymous with "martial artist" even though it means "Japanese mercenary". Since Scorpion is Japanese and a member of the Shirai Ryu clan, he can be classified as a ninja.
Characters like Kitana and Reptile can't, since Japan doesn't exist on their worlds. Although they may have a similar fighting style and costume, Scorpion is the only true ninja in all of Mortal Kombat.
When fans pointed this out, it was incorporated into the series. In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, the titular hero corrects people when they refer to him as a ninja. (Sometimes, Sub-Zero is erroneously called a ninja because even the developers get confused.)