For quite some time, fans have waited for the first trailer for Mortal Kombat 12 to be released. As it turns out, the game will be called Mortal Kombat 1, acting as a reboot of the entire series, although It stems from the ending of Mortal Kombat 11, wherein Liu Kang became the Fire God and used Kronika's Sands of Time to rebuild a new timeline.
The trailer is promising a lot of explosive fights, and even more exciting, a new narrative. Liu Kang's world is fresh, with the likes of Mileena and Kitana looking out for each other in what seems to be an era of peace. However, it's worth noting that as incursions (which might include Peacemaker) come to upset the order, this game could end up revealing the best version of Scorpion yet.
Mortal Kombat 1 May Eliminate the Hellspawn
In the new trailer, Liu Kang talks about how rivals like Scorpion and Sub-Zero may choose to live in peace together. Thus, it looks like Liu Kang didn't have their clans warring. This would make sense because the Shirai Ryu and the Lin Kuei had a rivalry that Quan Chi capitalized on in the past incarnation of the Mortal Kombat world. Quan Chi used this feud to take Hanzo Hasashi's family out, turning a vengeance-seeking Hanzo into the dynamic wraith known as Scorpion.
With Quan Chi not having been revealed to be part of this world, Scorpion may not have gone to hell and been converted by the necromancer. It adds a new edge to iconic characters, with many already familiar with the yellow ninja and other roster staples such as Johnny Cage, who may feel overused. This creates a unique narrative with the fire and ice ninjas potentially united, allowing Scorpion to use a new array of moves. When Hanzo was revived in MKX by Raiden, he still had his hellspawn powers, which carried through to MK11. Now, fans may get insight into him using more than flames and teleporting, which did feel like a cop-out at times. This way, more tradition, culture, and technique can be incorporated rather than supernatural elements such as hell portals and summoned flaming skeletons.
Mortal Kombat 1 Could Bring Forth More Shirai Ryu Secrets
Such an approach would highlight the Shirai Ryu and how elite these human warriors could be. Admittedly, it's an explosive spectacle seeing Hanzo using his flames and brimstone, burning up the ground and opponents, but back-to-basics would work best to show a new world. A template has already been seen with Kenshi's son, Takeda, whom Scorpion helped train for Earthrealm's Special Ops team.
Takeda had teleporting skills, coils he used as a spear, and other attacks that seemed like Hanzo's without the demonic power. Hanzo can embrace this side, using his spear and chain the way Takeda did, attacking from different angles and such. He can also deploy more swords and short blades, which creates a more primal and grounded Hanzo.
Scorpion has always been a weapon, but scrubbing the mystical side allows Hanzo to really be redefined. That's not to say he can't harness power like telepathy, as Kenshi did, but this way Hanzo can rely more on chi and chakra. It has more honor to it as well, which feels like something the Fire God would want. Of course, when invaders like Shang Tsung come, this sort of Hanzo would be underestimated. Ultimately, that's when Scorpion can remind folks that even this new version -- human as can be -- is as deadly and destructive as the old wraith.