Scorpion is one of the most important and most popular characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise. A lot of fans find his moves memorable, and even those who aren't avid players of the old and new Mortal Kombat games most likely know of his famous "Get over here!" catchphrase. Fans of the series also know that Scorpion's story is one of the highlights of Mortal Kombat's lore.
When the 2021 Mortal Kombat film was announced with Scorpion as one of the main figures, fans of the games and the character rejoiced. With the films release, most fans agree that it represented the iconic character fairly well — but it also left out a couple of integral aspects about his story and personality.
10 Gets Wrong: Who Really Killed His Family
The beginning of the film dives right into Scorpion's history. It shows him as Hanzo Hasashi, the man he was before he became the unholy specter known as Scorpion. The prologue of the movie shows his family and his clan being eradicated by Bi-Han, also known as Sub-Zero.
In the movie, Bi-Han is completely willful in killing Scorpion's family. It is also hinted later on that the attack may also have been nudged by Shang Tsung. However, according to the game's lore, the actual person behind the murder of Scorpion's family was Quan Chi, and Scorpion was only led to believe otherwise.
9 Gets Right: Backstory
Aside from the point regarding who was responsible, the cruel act at the beginning of the movie is pretty spot on in regards to Scorpion's backstory. The Lin Kuei clan wiping out Hanzo's family and clan is a crucial moment in Scorpion's origin.
The massacre of Hanzo's clan has constantly been a motivator for the character. It is almost impossible to write a story about Scorpion without mentioning this part of his backstory, and the movie did well in showing it.
8 Gets Wrong: Hanzo's Face Beneath The Mask
During Scorpion and Sub-Zero's final confrontation in the movie, the former finally puts his nemesis down with a fatality move almost every single fan of the game is familiar with. He removes his mask, opens his mouth to reveal an emerging flame, breathes a stream of fire, and slowly revealing his skull face. However, after finishing the attack, Hanzo's face just reverts back to normal.
In the games, whenever Scorpion removes his mask, he is also shown to have a skull for a face. This movie, however, deviates from that. It seems Scorpion's skull face will only emerge whenever he uses his "Toasty!" fatality move.
7 Gets Right: The Shirai Ryu
Hanzo's clan, the Shirai Ryu, was a renowned clan during his time, and Hanzo respects and honors this clan. This is also a massive aspect of his character. Throughout his journey, one of his biggest motivations is the resurrection of his clan.
The new movie doesn't undermine the importance of Scorpion's clan to his legacy. The epic rivalry between the Shirai Ryu and the Lin Kuei, Sub-Zero's clan, is also portrayed to a decent degree in the film.
6 Gets Wrong: Scorpion Post-Resurrection
In the movie, after Hanzo gets resurrected as Scorpion, he only has one thing on his mind. He wants only to seek revenge against Bi-Han for the murder of his wife and son. After he succeeds in this task, he thanks Cole and entrusts him on carrying the bloodline with honor.
Those who are familiar with Scorpion's character in the game know that his demeanor didn't simply revert back to his humanity after his resurrection. In fact, Scorpion's transition back into Hanzo is a popular and beloved arc in his story, and the movie didn't do it justice.
5 Gets Right: Him Calling His Son Jubei
In the beginning of the movie, viewers can hear Hanzo addressing his son as Jubei. Those who aren't familiar with the franchise may think that Jubei is his son's name; however, Jubei is simply the pet name he always uses when addressing his son. His son's real name is Satoshi.
It also makes sense for Hanzo to refer to his son as Jubei, considering his character. In Japanese history, Jubei is a famous and highly romanticized samurai in the nation's feudal era.
4 Gets Wrong: Rise From Hell
During Scorpion's final appearance in the movie, he remarks on how he escaped from hell simply driven by desire and vengeance. While this is somewhat true, and most certainly speaks to Scorpion's tenacity, there's a little more to it than that.
In the games, Scorpion didn't resurrect on his own. In fact, Quan Chi, the real perpetrator behind his family and clan's murder, brought him back from the dead. Quan Chi resurrected Scorpion in hopes of manipulating and controlling him — which, of course, didn't turn out well for him.
3 Gets Right: Scorpion's Spear
One of Scorpion's most popular moves is his spear yanking move. Fans have debated whether the spear is something Scorpion summons, or if it's simply an ordinary spearhead tied to a rope.
This debate sparked further with the release of the first live-action Mortal Kombat movie in 1995. The film shows Scorpion using the move, with the spear emerging out of his hand. A handful of fans took this as the definitive explanation, until the newer games showed Scorpion's spear coming from under his wristband. The 2021 movie most leans more towards the game's version of the ability, rather than the "sentient snake that emerges from hand" explanation that the original movie gave.
2 Gets Wrong: His Role In The Story
Prior to the film's release, Scorpion and Sub-Zero remained front and center throughout the movie's marketing run. In the actual film, however, Scorpion's presence is minimal. While this doesn't necessarily make for a bad character portrayal, it's a massive disservice to his legacy in the franchise as a whole.
Scorpion has been there since the very beginning of the series. He is also the character that has had the biggest uplift in the newer games, which is incredible considering his tenure. In the movie, Scorpion is simply used to tie newcomers to the overall lore, and as a deus ex machina during the final conflict.
1 Gets Right: The Fatality Move
Scorpion's move list is one of the most recognized in the Mortal Kombat series, which is understandable considering he's one of the few who appears in Mortal Kombat game. Thankfully, a lot of those moves feature in the 2021, movie, including his iconic Toasty! Fatality.
Leading up to the movie's release, many fans looked forward to seeing the gruesome fatalities on the big screen. A lot of those fans were pleased to see the movie deliver in one way or another, especially with Scorpion's fatality move.