The Mortal Kombat franchise has been going strong for almost 30 years and, in that time, has developed a complex narrative spanning several games and multiple time periods. The story follows a group of powerful warriors, ranging from ninjas to cyborgs to demigods, as they battle each other across various realms. While some battle to take control of the other realms, others fight to protect them from dark forces such as evil sorcerers, power-hungry emperors and vengeful gods. The story has been adapted into several different mediums, such as movies, comics and television shows.

With 11 games in the main series, jumping into the franchise's lore can be overwhelming considering that there's more than one timeline of events to follow. Here is a rundown of the series' timelines and what major events happened over the course of the franchise.

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In the Beginning...

There are two major timelines within the Mortal Kombat games: the original timeline covering the events of the first seven games of the franchise between MKI and MK: Armageddon, and the current timeline covering the rebooted trilogy of MK9, MKX and MK11. Despite being labeled as the eighth game in the series, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is not considered canon.

Both timelines take place in a universe that spans multiple realms presided by the Elder Gods, the creators of the universe. Though there are many realms presented within the series, the main realms that appear most frequently are Earthrealm (our world), Outworld, Orderrealm, Chaosrealm, Neatherrealm and Edenia. If one realm wishes to conquer another realm and merge it with their own, the Elder Gods decided that the only way to do so is to defeat the defending realm's greatest warriors in 10 consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments.

There are two major recurring villains in the series throughout the series: Shao Khan and Shinnok. Shao Khan is the emperor of Outworld who already conquered several other realms, including Edenia, and created a powerful empire. Shinnok is a former Elder God who sought to take over Earthrealm. His biggest obstacle was Raiden, the God of Thunder appointed by the Elder Gods to protect Earthrealm. After a long war spanning several years, Raiden defeated Shinnok, took away his source of power, and sealed him away in the Netherrealm for all eternity. It is here that he assumed control of that realm with the help of his loyal servant, Quan Chi.

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After Shinnok's defeat, Shao Khan set his sights on Earthrealm. He gathered a powerful army of warriors that have won several Mortal Kombat tournaments and defeated Raiden's best fighters. With the 10th and final tournament looming, Raiden gathers a new group of warriors to fight in Earthrealm's last stand, which is where the original timeline began.

The Original Timeline

Sub-Zero and Goro in Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat I followed the final tournament for control of Earthrealm. The tournament was hosted by Shang Tsung, who worked for Shao Khan. Raiden's chosen warriors consisted of Liu Kang, Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage. Also entering the tournament were Kano, a mercenary being hunted by Sonya; Sub-Zero, an assassin from a ninja clan called the Lin Kuei; and Scorpion, a formerly dead ninja from the Shirai Ryu, the Lin Kuei's rival, who claimed Sub-Zero killed him and his family prior to the tournament. In the end, Liu Kang and the others defeated Shang Tsung and the rest of Shao Khan's champions and won the tournament, while Scorpion killed Sub-Zero in an act of retribution.

In the aftermath of Shang Tsung's failure, Shao Khan decided to lure Earthrealm's warriors into Outworld for another tournament in Mortal Kombat II. This plan failed, and Liu Kang was able to defeat Shao Khan again and gain some new allies including Shao Khan's adopted daughter, Kitana. By the time Mortal Kombat III came around, Edenia and Outworld had fully merged, and Shao Khan had resurrected Kitana's mother, Sindel, which allowed him to cross over into Earthrealm to attempt to conquer it without a tournament holding him back. Thankfully, Liu Kang defeated Shao Khan again, and Edenia is freed from his control and ruled by Kitana.

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With Shao Khan defeated once more, Shinnok reentered the story in Mortal Kombat IV, who escaped the Netherrealm and planned to conquer Edenia with Quan Chi by his side. Once again, Liu Kang won and sent both Shinnok and Quan Chi back into the Netherrealm. Tired of losing, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung teamed up in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and killed both Shao Khan and Liu Kang. Their rampage continued in Mortal Kombat: Deception, where they killed most of Earthrealm's warriors before turning on each other. They eventually put aside their differences and teamed up with Raiden to defeat Onaga, the Dragon King and Outworld emperor prior to Shao Khan.

Long story short, Onaga was defeated, but his defeat brought about a prophesied end of the world in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. All the past characters came back and battled each other, which caused the realms to destabilize. In the end, only Shao Khan and Raiden were left alive. With Shao Khan victorious, Raiden made a last ditch effort to save humanity by sending a message to his younger self saying, "He must win."

Related: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - Every Major Character Death

The New Timeline

scorpion-sub-zero-fire-ice-mortal-kombat

Raiden's message to his past self created a new timeline that begins with Mortal Kombat 9, retelling the events of the first three games. Many of the same events still occurred: Liu Kang won the tournament, Sindel was resurrected and Shao Khan invaded Earthrealm. Raiden's attempts to interpret his past self's message lead to several deaths, including Liu Kang, but Shao Khan was still defeated. Quan Chi used the chaos of the Shao Khan/Raiden conflict to bring Shinnok back.

Mortal Kombat X is where the timelines diverge. A new group of warriors, led by Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, stopped Quan Chi and resurrected some of their old friends. In the decades that followed, many of the characters got married and had children, Scorpion and Sub-Zero reconciled and became allies, and former heroes Liu Kang and Kitana became rulers of the Netherrealm after Shinnok was defeated for a second time. Realizing Raiden's meddling with the timelines has caused too much chaos, the god of time, Kronika, merged past and present together to create a new timeline in Mortal Kombat 11. After several battles with both past and present characters, Liu Kang won and restarted time once again, creating another new timeline that will be explored in future MK games.

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