Mortal Kombat Komplete Story Recap
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VOICE OVER: Adrian Sousa
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
Mortal Kombat's story spans a lot of games, but despite time travel and multiple dimensions, isn't as complicated as you think it is. So before you dive into Mortal Kombat 11, check out our Mortal Kombat story summary.
Mortal Kombat Story Recap
“Mortal Kombat 11” is right around the corner, and judging from the opening cutscene...shit’s about to go down! But, what has happened in the “Mortal Kombat” storyline? Well, if you need a refresher, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to MojoPlays, and this is our “Mortal Kombat” Story Recap!
Now, a lot has happened in “Mortal Kombat since the franchise started back in 1992. Although, thanks to a certain Thunder God retconning an entire timeline, we’ll briefly go over what [generally] happened between “Mortal Kombat 1” and “Mortal Kombat: Armageddon”. Gather ‘round, kiddos, there will be a test on this!
“Mortal Kombat 1” - Earthrealm participates in a fighting tournament. Liu Kang whoops Shang Tsung’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat II” - Earthrealm must defend itself from Shao Kahn. Kung Lao defeats Shao Kahn only to be killed immediately after. Liu Kang whoops Shao Kahn’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat III” - Shao Kahn invades Earthrealm, breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat. However, the Elder Gods have forsaken Earthrealm. Liu Kang whoops Shao Kahn’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat 4/Gold” - The fallen Elder God Shinnok has kidnapped Princess Kitana. Liu Kang is pissed and gathers Earthrealm’s greatest warriors to help him. Liu Kang whoops Shinnok’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” - Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have had enough of Shao Kahn and Liu Kang’s bullshit. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi whoop Shao Kahn and Liu Kang’s asses.
“Mortal Kombat: Deception” - Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have defeated all who oppose them but now turn on each other. Quan Chi whoops Shang Tsung’s ass...and also awakens the Dragon King Onaga. A dude named Shujinko is tricked into gathering Kamidogou for Onaga, gets pissed, and whoops Onaga’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat: Armageddon” - All hell has broken loose! Everyone is fighting each other, Liu Kang is a freakin’ zombie, there’s a lava guy on a pyramid, some guy is walking around skinless with his eyeball hanging out, and there’s a random mo-cap guy who has no idea what the heck is going on.
Now, forget everything we just went over because virtually, it doesn’t matter anymore; Raiden jettisons this entire timeline. This is where the current timeline takes place in the opening of “Mortal Kombat” (2011), aka MK9.
Our NEW story begins at the end of “Armageddon”. Everyone - and we mean EVERYONE - is dead, reduced to limbs and piles of viscera. Only two remain - the Thunder God Raiden and Outworld emperor Shao Kahn. Unfortunately, things aren’t looking good for our protector of Earthrealm. Just before Shao Kahn finishes him off, Raiden uses his amulet to send a message to his past self - “He must win”, thus jettisoning the entire timeline and taking us back to the first “Mortal Kombat”.
Upon receiving the message, Raiden notifies Liu Kang, believing the Shaolin monk is the one who must win the tournament. Much to their dismay, the timeline remains unchanged. Raiden continues to ponder what his alternate self may be referring to. Although, when Earthrealm must face Shao Kahn in the second tournament, Raiden decides to have Kung Lao fight the emperor instead of Liu Kang. While Kung Lao emerged victorious, he was swiftly killed by Shao Kahn. Liu Kang whoops Shao Kahn’s ass...and the timeline remains unchanged.
At this point, we have now entered “Mortal Kombat III”; Shao Kahn has invaded Earthrealm, and the Lin Kuei have proceeded with the Cyber Initiative. Sub-Zero is a killer robot, Sindel is revived, and Kabal turns into...well, cyberpunk Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, Raiden continues to question the meaning behind “He must win”, and he is out of answers. While the Earthrealm warriors try to assemble a plan to stop Shao Kahn, Raiden and Liu Kang visit the Elder Gods. Unfortunately, they claim that Shao Kahn has not violated the rules of Mortal Kombat and dismiss Raiden’s beliefs. When they return, the mentor and monk find most of their friends killed by Sindel. The only remaining survivors are Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. Their only hope lies in figuring out the meaning behind “He must win.” After a confrontation with the sorcerer Quan Chi, Raiden finally figures it out - “He must win” refers to Shao Kahn! Raiden must allow Shao Kahn to merge the realms in order for the Elder Gods to intervene. The Thunder God travels back to Earthrealm and tells his revelation to Liu Kang. Unfortunately, Liu Kang wasn’t too keen on surrendering to the Emperor of Outworld. After seeing his dead friends, it was clear to the Shaolin monk that his mentor had gone mad. In a fit of rage, Liu Kang attacks Raiden but is consequently killed. Just as he planned, Raiden surrendered Earthrealm to Shao Kahn, and just as the emperor was about to merge the realms, the Elder Gods intervened, imbuing Raiden with their powers. Raiden...whoops...Shao Kahn’s ass.
It is then revealed that Quan Chi had been working for someone else - the Fallen Elder god Shinnok, who plans to conquer both Earthrealm...and Outworld.
With Shao Kahn gone, Mileena became the new ruler of Outworld. However, at some point, she was overthrown by one of her servants, Kotal Kahn. We now enter the events of “Mortal Kombat X”. Alongside Rain and Baraka, Mileena attempts to assassinate Kotal Kahn and his servant, D’Vorah. (The creepy insect lady, remember?) Mileena is easily defeated but manages to escape by using a mysterious amulet. Li Mei, a leader among Outworld’s refugees, visits the Special Forces faction on Earthrealm. Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and Kenshi recognize the amulet from Li Mei’s description; it is the same amulet they used to imprison Shinnok many years ago. (This happened sometime between MK9 and MKX.) With the help of the MKX kids (Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs, Kung Jin, and Takeda Takahashi), Special Forces eventually discovers that D’Vorah has been a double-agent for Shinnok the entire team, and our wasp lady steals the amulet to assist Quan Chi in summoning Shinnok. Special Forces succeeds in capturing Quan Chi, but their base is soon infiltrated by Hanzo Hasashi and the Shirai Ryu clan. Following a few fights with Kenshi, Johnny, and Sonya, Hasashi finally exacts his revenge on Quan Chi, the sorcerer who murdered his family. Just as Scorpion is about to execute him, D’Vorah tosses the amulet as Quan Chi quickly casts the spell. Shinnok has been freed once more.
The fallen Elder God and his traitorous bug lady take a weak Johnny Cage hostage and head to the Sky Temple. Shinnok, then, begins corrupting the Jinsei, an aura that gives Earthrealm its life force. After a run-in with Kotal Kahn and the Netherrealm revenants, Cassie Cage and Kung Jin enter the Sky Temple and defeat Shinnok. Although weak, Raiden manages to restore the Jinsei back to its former state.
In a post-credits scene, we see Raiden talking to Netherrealm’s new rulers, former revenants Liu Kang and Kitana. He warns them that if they ever attempt to invade Earthrealm, they will feel Raiden’s wrath. “There are fates worse than death.” Raiden leaves them with the severed head of Shinnok.
And that all brings us up to speed on where “Mortal Kombat 11” fits in the story. Raiden is pissed, Liu Kang and Kitana are evil, and now there are time-god deities that are angry because the fabric of time being messed with. From what little we’ve seen of MK11’s story, there’s a lot of sh*t that’s about to go down! The opening cutscene shows Raiden torturing Shinnok before decapitating him. Although, this turn of events causes the goddess of time, Kronika, to make her appearance. According to her, this was not how history was supposed to unfold. She knows Raiden altered the timeline, and she ain’t happy, folks! What WAS supposed to happen? Will the timeline ever be fixed? How much blood will spill? Who lives and who dies? We’ll find out when the game releases April 23!
“Mortal Kombat 11” is right around the corner, and judging from the opening cutscene...shit’s about to go down! But, what has happened in the “Mortal Kombat” storyline? Well, if you need a refresher, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to MojoPlays, and this is our “Mortal Kombat” Story Recap!
Now, a lot has happened in “Mortal Kombat since the franchise started back in 1992. Although, thanks to a certain Thunder God retconning an entire timeline, we’ll briefly go over what [generally] happened between “Mortal Kombat 1” and “Mortal Kombat: Armageddon”. Gather ‘round, kiddos, there will be a test on this!
“Mortal Kombat 1” - Earthrealm participates in a fighting tournament. Liu Kang whoops Shang Tsung’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat II” - Earthrealm must defend itself from Shao Kahn. Kung Lao defeats Shao Kahn only to be killed immediately after. Liu Kang whoops Shao Kahn’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat III” - Shao Kahn invades Earthrealm, breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat. However, the Elder Gods have forsaken Earthrealm. Liu Kang whoops Shao Kahn’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat 4/Gold” - The fallen Elder God Shinnok has kidnapped Princess Kitana. Liu Kang is pissed and gathers Earthrealm’s greatest warriors to help him. Liu Kang whoops Shinnok’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” - Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have had enough of Shao Kahn and Liu Kang’s bullshit. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi whoop Shao Kahn and Liu Kang’s asses.
“Mortal Kombat: Deception” - Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have defeated all who oppose them but now turn on each other. Quan Chi whoops Shang Tsung’s ass...and also awakens the Dragon King Onaga. A dude named Shujinko is tricked into gathering Kamidogou for Onaga, gets pissed, and whoops Onaga’s ass.
“Mortal Kombat: Armageddon” - All hell has broken loose! Everyone is fighting each other, Liu Kang is a freakin’ zombie, there’s a lava guy on a pyramid, some guy is walking around skinless with his eyeball hanging out, and there’s a random mo-cap guy who has no idea what the heck is going on.
Now, forget everything we just went over because virtually, it doesn’t matter anymore; Raiden jettisons this entire timeline. This is where the current timeline takes place in the opening of “Mortal Kombat” (2011), aka MK9.
Our NEW story begins at the end of “Armageddon”. Everyone - and we mean EVERYONE - is dead, reduced to limbs and piles of viscera. Only two remain - the Thunder God Raiden and Outworld emperor Shao Kahn. Unfortunately, things aren’t looking good for our protector of Earthrealm. Just before Shao Kahn finishes him off, Raiden uses his amulet to send a message to his past self - “He must win”, thus jettisoning the entire timeline and taking us back to the first “Mortal Kombat”.
Upon receiving the message, Raiden notifies Liu Kang, believing the Shaolin monk is the one who must win the tournament. Much to their dismay, the timeline remains unchanged. Raiden continues to ponder what his alternate self may be referring to. Although, when Earthrealm must face Shao Kahn in the second tournament, Raiden decides to have Kung Lao fight the emperor instead of Liu Kang. While Kung Lao emerged victorious, he was swiftly killed by Shao Kahn. Liu Kang whoops Shao Kahn’s ass...and the timeline remains unchanged.
At this point, we have now entered “Mortal Kombat III”; Shao Kahn has invaded Earthrealm, and the Lin Kuei have proceeded with the Cyber Initiative. Sub-Zero is a killer robot, Sindel is revived, and Kabal turns into...well, cyberpunk Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, Raiden continues to question the meaning behind “He must win”, and he is out of answers. While the Earthrealm warriors try to assemble a plan to stop Shao Kahn, Raiden and Liu Kang visit the Elder Gods. Unfortunately, they claim that Shao Kahn has not violated the rules of Mortal Kombat and dismiss Raiden’s beliefs. When they return, the mentor and monk find most of their friends killed by Sindel. The only remaining survivors are Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. Their only hope lies in figuring out the meaning behind “He must win.” After a confrontation with the sorcerer Quan Chi, Raiden finally figures it out - “He must win” refers to Shao Kahn! Raiden must allow Shao Kahn to merge the realms in order for the Elder Gods to intervene. The Thunder God travels back to Earthrealm and tells his revelation to Liu Kang. Unfortunately, Liu Kang wasn’t too keen on surrendering to the Emperor of Outworld. After seeing his dead friends, it was clear to the Shaolin monk that his mentor had gone mad. In a fit of rage, Liu Kang attacks Raiden but is consequently killed. Just as he planned, Raiden surrendered Earthrealm to Shao Kahn, and just as the emperor was about to merge the realms, the Elder Gods intervened, imbuing Raiden with their powers. Raiden...whoops...Shao Kahn’s ass.
It is then revealed that Quan Chi had been working for someone else - the Fallen Elder god Shinnok, who plans to conquer both Earthrealm...and Outworld.
With Shao Kahn gone, Mileena became the new ruler of Outworld. However, at some point, she was overthrown by one of her servants, Kotal Kahn. We now enter the events of “Mortal Kombat X”. Alongside Rain and Baraka, Mileena attempts to assassinate Kotal Kahn and his servant, D’Vorah. (The creepy insect lady, remember?) Mileena is easily defeated but manages to escape by using a mysterious amulet. Li Mei, a leader among Outworld’s refugees, visits the Special Forces faction on Earthrealm. Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and Kenshi recognize the amulet from Li Mei’s description; it is the same amulet they used to imprison Shinnok many years ago. (This happened sometime between MK9 and MKX.) With the help of the MKX kids (Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs, Kung Jin, and Takeda Takahashi), Special Forces eventually discovers that D’Vorah has been a double-agent for Shinnok the entire team, and our wasp lady steals the amulet to assist Quan Chi in summoning Shinnok. Special Forces succeeds in capturing Quan Chi, but their base is soon infiltrated by Hanzo Hasashi and the Shirai Ryu clan. Following a few fights with Kenshi, Johnny, and Sonya, Hasashi finally exacts his revenge on Quan Chi, the sorcerer who murdered his family. Just as Scorpion is about to execute him, D’Vorah tosses the amulet as Quan Chi quickly casts the spell. Shinnok has been freed once more.
The fallen Elder God and his traitorous bug lady take a weak Johnny Cage hostage and head to the Sky Temple. Shinnok, then, begins corrupting the Jinsei, an aura that gives Earthrealm its life force. After a run-in with Kotal Kahn and the Netherrealm revenants, Cassie Cage and Kung Jin enter the Sky Temple and defeat Shinnok. Although weak, Raiden manages to restore the Jinsei back to its former state.
In a post-credits scene, we see Raiden talking to Netherrealm’s new rulers, former revenants Liu Kang and Kitana. He warns them that if they ever attempt to invade Earthrealm, they will feel Raiden’s wrath. “There are fates worse than death.” Raiden leaves them with the severed head of Shinnok.
And that all brings us up to speed on where “Mortal Kombat 11” fits in the story. Raiden is pissed, Liu Kang and Kitana are evil, and now there are time-god deities that are angry because the fabric of time being messed with. From what little we’ve seen of MK11’s story, there’s a lot of sh*t that’s about to go down! The opening cutscene shows Raiden torturing Shinnok before decapitating him. Although, this turn of events causes the goddess of time, Kronika, to make her appearance. According to her, this was not how history was supposed to unfold. She knows Raiden altered the timeline, and she ain’t happy, folks! What WAS supposed to happen? Will the timeline ever be fixed? How much blood will spill? Who lives and who dies? We’ll find out when the game releases April 23!
