Sub-Zero

Sub-Zero is the name of two video game characters from the Mortal Kombat series.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Both Sub-Zeros, who are brothers, are blue-garbed ninja. They are descended from cryomancers, an Outworld race possessing the ability to generate and control the powers of ice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Biography

The elder Sub-Zero made his first chronological appearance in '. Like his name, clothes, and powers suggest, his character is icy and distant. In all aspects, he is a cold-blooded killer with an utmost dedication to the principles of his clan, and to whomever has paid him to kill. Although essentially neutral, the elder Sub-Zero possesses an indelible seed of evil.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Storyline

It is unclear how the family line of Sub-Zero came to be part of the Lin Kuei clan, but it is known that they family had been a part of the clan for at least several generations; each member in the lineage was named "Sub-Zero," and the brothers in the Mortal Kombat timeline were Sub-Zeroes 5 and 6, respectively.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is also known that the father of both brothers (the fourth man to be known as Sub-Zero in his lineage) was a secret operative for the clan in the United States. He married an American woman and together they had two sons and a daughter. Against the will of their mother, the father took the sons with him to move back to China at a certain time, and as such both brothers became warriors of the Lin Kuei. The fate of the mother and the daughter are unknown.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, the sorcerer Quan Chi hired the Lin Kuei to find an ancient amulet, and Sub-Zero was sent to find the map leading to its location. He did not know that Quan Chi had hired a Japanese ninja, Hanzo Hasashi, for the same task in case Sub-Zero failed. Hasashi and Sub-Zero encountered each other in the map room, where Sub-Zero killed Hasashi in cold blood. After Sub-Zero delivered the map, Quan Chi made good on a promise to the Lin Kuei Grandmaster; the rival clan of the Shirai Ryu were wiped out. This slaughter, combined with Sub-Zero's merciless execution of Hanzo, fueled the vengeful spectre form of Scorpion who would later participate in the Mortal Kombat tournaments.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After Sub-Zero delivered the amulet to Shinnok and Quan Chi, he was sent back to retrieve it by Earthrealm's protector, Raiden, who explained to him that the amulet was the key to releasing Shinnok. Sub-Zero stole the amulet from Shinnok and escaped the Netherealm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Upon returning to the Lin Kuei headquarters, he learned that he had been invited to the Mortal Kombat tournament; he was also hired by to kill the host of the tournament, Shang Tsung, by one of Tsung's wealthy enemies. It is generally assumed that this enemy was Quan Chi. If Sub-Zero accomplished his mission, Quan Chi would be rid of a rival, and in case Sub-Zero failed, this would compensate the necromancer for the loss of the amulet. During this tournament, the elder Sub-Zero faced the murderous spectre of Hanzo Hasashi, (now known as Scorpion). In a malicious twist of fate, Scorpion murdered Sub-Zero, and the latter was sent to the Netherealm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Speculation still exists, but it is now rather clear that Sub-Zero the Elder did become Noob Saibot upon being sent to the Netherealm, where he reprogrammed the cybernetic Smoke to fight at his side.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kombat Highlights

• Lin Kuei warrior.
• Scorpion's murderer and later victim.

Movie appearance

Sub-Zero appears in the first Mortal Kombat movie as one of Shang Tsung's guardians, and is killed by Liu Kang (Kitana provides advice that allows Liu Kang to win; this is regarded by some as unfair). This happens when he is impaled on a stalactite of ice. His relationship to Scorpion is all but ignored; aside from their obviously similar costumes, Shang Tsung only remarks that they are the "Deadliest of enemies, but slaves under my power."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Memorable Fatalities

• Head Rip: the first fatality that Sub Zero had in the series involved ripping out an opponent's head and spine off their shoulders. It was also one of the most infamous fatalities (with Kano's Heart Rip Fatality), which later spun a web of controversy around the violence factor in the game (MK).
• Face Jab: In Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Sub Zero had a fatality where he grabbed the face of his opponent and the screen would go dark. You'd only hear screams, Shao Khan's evil laugh and a bloodcurdling sound. While at first sounds horrific, it's a very cheap fatality as you cannot see anything. Also known as the Eye Gouge (as Sub-Zero's fist would always be at his opponent's eye level) and later confirmed to actually be the Head Rip fatality (without the additional graphics added) (UMK3).
• Ice Spike: Sub Zero uppercuts an opponent and creates a sharp ice spike on which his opponent is impaled (UMK3).

Trivia

• The official comic books of Mortal Kombat showed Sub-Zero and Raiden to have a certain friendship with each other; at one point Raiden vows to protect Sub-Zero from the clutches of Scorpion.
• Raiden was the only one who witnessed Sub-Zero's brutal death at the hands of Scorpion in the first tournament.
• In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero, Quan Chi informs him that Sub-Zero has an undeniable seed of evil that could be released anytime (perhaps when he reenters the Netherealm after death).
• Despite being classed as "neutral" in Mortal Kombat (and even having a seed of evil implanted inside of him), many fans regarded Scorpion as the "bad guy" and Sub-Zero as the "good guy." The Mortal Kombat comic books emphasize this, depicting Scorpion to have worked for Shao Khan and was a force of evil and Sub-Zero a force of good. In fact, the concept of Sub-Zero's evil seed seems to have been ignored, especially in the Mortal Kombat: Blood and Thunder and Battlewave comic book series. However, in the official collectors' comic book of Mortal Kombat II (in which was released before the game's actual release) the story seems to have been restored to order, which sees Scorpion return from the dead to protect Sub-Zero (the younger) during his fight with Reptile. With this, Scorpion explains: "I was killed by a Lin Kuei known as Sub-Zero, and I killed my murderer, thus my journey for revenge is over. This however, is not the same Sub-Zero, so therefore I return with a new mission: I have taken a life, thus I shall now protect one" (which makes sense in Scorpion's atonement of taking Sub-Zero's life, as it was intended in the game). Because Sub-Zero unfairly killed Scorpion in "cold blood" (as Scorpion often puts it) Scorpion is supposed to be seen as the "good guy" and Sub-Zero vice versa.
• His close friend was a young ninja named Hydro, who although never made it into any Mortal Kombat game, was seen in the official Mortal Kombat comic books. He was killed by Scorpion as Scorpion vowed not only to kill Sub-Zero himself, but to also kill his clan and family one by one.
• He does not like being called a "ninja." Because Sub-Zero is a loyalist, he referred to himself as a "Lin Kuei warrior" and distinguished the difference between a Lin Kuei warrior and a ninja.
• The Chinese Lin Kuei were the forerunners of the Japanese ninja since a Japanese-born Lin Kuei warrior named Takeda left his clan for Japan and started a new band of assassins known as the Shirai Ryu.

Video game character: A video game character is a fictional character appearing in a video game or computer game. In the early days of gaming, most characters were little more than generic figures with little in the way of personality, depth, or likability. The first game character to gain massive popularity was Mario i...

Mortal Kombat: :This article concerns the fighting game. For the movie based on the game, see Mortal Kombat (movie)....

Blue: :For other uses, see Blue (disambiguation)...

Sub-Zero related Images and Photos (experimental)

Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero (DVD) (Snapper)	Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero (DVD)	Mortal Kombat Sub-Zero 6-Inch Action Figure	Batman: Mask of Phantasm Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero (DVD)
Zero-Nine	Zero Hour (DVD)	Zero Effect	Zero Effect (DVD)
Zero Fog Blaster	Zero Board Game	Zero 7: The Garden CD	Zero 7: The Garden CD