New players of Mortal Kombat 11 might be scratching their heads with the talk of time travel and the merging of the past and present. After all, when gamers usually hear talk about Mortal Kombat, it's all blood and gore. However, eagle-eyed fans of the franchise may notice some storylines that need settling after the conclusion of the recent Mortal Kombat 11.
Moreover, with the Aftermath DLC coming in a few days, fans will likely want answers to some of the questions the series left them in the aftermath (pun intended) of MK 11. Here are some of those questions.
10 Let's Ask: Why Didn't The Elder Gods Move Against Kronika?
Kronika, the Titaness, confirms the existence of some godhood hierarchy in the Mortal Kombat universe. It turns out the Elder Gods aren't as "all-powerful" as Raiden sees, given Titans have come before them. However, if Kronika and Raiden can find ways to manipulate the timeline, won't Elder Gods have the same power? Moreover, why didn't the Elder Gods make a move against Kronika, when their supposed-Supreme Rule was for gods never to intervene in the lives of mortals?
Granted, the Elder Gods decreased in power due to Kronika's intervention. However, some of them could at least have made a last stand. After all, the Elder Gods could have a better chance of facing the Titaness instead of Raiden, a mere god.
9 Let's Not Bother: Who Are The Other Gods?
Godhood remains one of the more obscure concepts in the Mortal Kombat franchise. In the series, players see Thunder God Raiden and Wind God Fujin fight sorcerers, ninjas, cyborgs, and humans. However, if the Elder Gods tasked gods with protecting various realms, who else received this responsibility? After all, with Shao Kahn spending generations subjugating minor realms as his own, other gods should've made their presence known to Raiden and the others.
This inquiry about godhood will remain as wishful thinking, especially since other gods will likely spark questions about their allegiances. New Mortal Kombat games will probably feature these new gods anyway. However, it seems interesting to have some concrete ideas as to how gods work in the Mortal Kombat universe.
8 Let's Ask: Wouldn't Armageddon Still Be Possible Without Liu Kang And Raiden?
Raiden's story hook in MK 2011 was stopping Armageddon. In the original timeline (MK: Armageddon), Shao Kahn emerges victorious in the universe's final battle royale, absorbing the elemental Blaze's powers and killing everyone on sight. In a last-ditch effort to save the realms, Classic Raiden sends a message to his past self that will lead to the Elder Gods banishing Kahn in the past (MK 2011).
Raiden and Liu Kang realize it's their "eternal conflict" (MK 11) that leads to Armageddon, which they change by merging their forms. This change supposedly stops Armageddon, but not according to lore. MK: Armageddon explains that the growing power of Mortal Kombatants will lead to the conflict. Ancient Edenians tasked Blaze to contain enough power to either stop or strip the combatants of their abilities. Neither Raiden nor Liu Kang had anything to do with Armageddon unless they resolve this in Aftermath.
7 Let's Not Bother: Do We Still Even Have Mortal Kombat?
It feels incredible defeating overpowered opponents in fights to the death with crowds watching. Players fight M. Bison in Street Fighter, the Mishima clan settle their family drama in the King of Iron Fist Tournament (Tekken), and fighters defend their realms in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. However, recent Mortal Kombat games only have the Tournament as a small section of their stories.
Ideally, players should celebrate this move as this implies there's more focus to the story. However, Mortal Kombat does lose its charm when players have to face opponents in random kombat. After all, why even have the Mortal Kombat Tournament to decide the fate of the realms when villains continuously find ways of subverting its rules?
6 Let's Ask: How Did The Cage Clan Get Their Unique Abilities?
Johnny Cage possessing enough power to fight Elder God Shinnok became one of the highlights of Mortal Kombat X. After all, Cage managed to withstand Shinnok's might that even Thunder God Raiden struggled to resist. How could an actor have that much power? The lore explains this has got to do with Johnny Cage descending from a Mediterranean warrior cult. This power proves useful for Earthrealm's fighters when Cassie Cage also possesses the same abilities.
Johnny and Cassie Cage having these gifts add a lot of appeal to their characters. This element also explains how Johnny managed to survive Kombat despite his lack of actual training. However, the games might want to explore the nature of this Mediterranean cult. After all, how can they possess powers that rival that of gods?
5 Let's Not Bother: How Do Revenants Even Work?
Deities and sorcerers can transform deceased Kombatants into Revenants, undead versions of their previous selves, to fight for them. Thankfully, magic can also revert Revenants into their original forms. Raiden does this by returning Revenant Scorpion and Jax into humans, and Revenant Sub-Zero into his human form despite being cyberized in the events of MK 9.
The story continually using Revenants as a scapegoat to bring back deceased characters makes the "Mortal" part of Mortal Kombat a bit meaningless. Moreover, if Revenants retain some degree of personality, why did Raiden choose to resurrect Liu Kang as a zombie in MK: Deception?
4 Let's Ask: Why Did Kronika Let Herself Die?
Kronika's death remains as one of the most baffling plot choices for Mortal Kombat 11. Since Kronika serves as the title's main antagonist, fans know the heroes will prevail against her. While able to manipulate time, the game implies that her abilities require immense sources of power. What's interesting is that Kronika could've always used her powers to reverse any negative outcomes of her plans.
Moreover, she did tell Raiden and Liu Kang she's foreseen countless timelines of the Raiden-Liu Kang duo failing to defeat her. This statement implies her powers include some degree of omniscience. With that powerset in mind, Kronika should've seen hear death coming. Unless, of course, that's part of the plan.
3 Let's Not Bother: Why Did Geras Let Himself Drown?
Geras shares the same theme of time as the Titaness. As a "fixed point in time," Geras has near-immortality that helps him recover from any wound. Weirdly enough, he doesn't use this during his fight with Raiden.
Instead of annihilating Geras, Raiden binds him to an anchor and sends him to the bottomless Blood Seas. According to Raiden, Geras won't perish by drowning, but he'll be descending forever. What's weird is why Geras didn't just stop or reverse Raiden's maneuver. Honestly, the less time-traveling opponents MK has, the better.
2 Let's Ask: What Happened To Onaga?
The Dragon King Onaga ruled Outworld long before Shao Khan. As the main antagonist of MK: Deception, Onaga proved to be powerful enough to best the Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi. Moreover, Onaga turned out to be so overpowering that no one can kill him. Instead, the combined efforts of Nightwolf and the other Earthrealm's warriors only managed to seal Onaga in the Netherrealm.
However, what happened to Onaga in MK X? Onaga's main drive for his resurrection was to kill Shao Kahn who usurped power by poisoning him. When the Elder Gods banished Shao Kahn in MK 9, Onaga could've seen Outworld as ripe for the taking.
1 Let's Not Bother: Why Did Shang Tsung Suddenly Side With Liu Kang And Raiden?
Mortal Kombat: Aftermath begins with an unlikely premise: Raiden and Liu Kang in the Dawn of Time get interrupted by the arrival of Fujin, Nightwolf, and an aged Shang Tsung. The latter tells Liu Kang that changing history without Kronika's Crown will destroy all the realms. As such, Aftermath's story focuses on Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, and Fujin traveling back in time to get Kronika's Crown before its destruction.
Series fans will likely predict Shang Tsung is only aiding Liu Kang for some nefarious reason. Whether Shang Tsung is doing this for good or for a deal is anyone's guess.