Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)
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Scorpion is a video game character appearing in the Mortal Kombat video game series.
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[edit] About Scorpion
Formerly a human ninja and member of the Japanese ninja clan Shirai Ryu, Scorpion is now a black and yellow garbed, hell-spawned revenant, inexorably seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his family. Despite the fact that Scorpion has previously allied himself with the forces of evil (when promised either a means of resurrection on Earth or the chance to inflict his wrath against those who butchered his clan), he is not inherently evil.
Scorpion was once manipulated by Quan Chi, who promised him life in exchange for his impressive combat abilities in order to defeat Sub-Zero. Despite such actions, Scorpion is not entirely merciless, as he once spared the life of Sub-Zero's younger brother. As Scorpion is a spectre, sorcery and supernatural anomalies have previously proven slightly more successful in vanquishing Scorpion in combat. Despite this, none have ever succeeded in destroying him in an absolute sense. When masked, Scorpion appears human, although this is merely an illusion. When revealing his true self, only Scorpion's skull remains, which sometimes appears on fire.
Although Scorpion is featured alongside the forces of evil in the opening scene of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, he remains neutral, due to his fierce hatred of Quan Chi.
[edit] Storyline
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"Scorpion" was the code name of one of the Shirai Ryu's finest warriors - a ninja assassin named Hanzo Hasashi. It is also known that his father, a former member of the Shirai Ryu, forbade his son from joining the clan, as he did not wish his son to live the life of an assassin. However, Hanzo joined in spite of his father's wishes in order to provide his wife and son with a comfortable life. During the events of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, he was hired by Quan Chi to find a map hidden in the Himalayas. However, Quan Chi had also requested for the services of Sub-Zero the elder, who belonged to the rival Lin Kuei clan and was Scorpion's personal rival. The theory of hiring two ninja was simple - in case one of them failed, the other would succeed and Quan Chi would be closer to unlocking unknown and ultimate power.
Both Scorpion and Sub-Zero succeeded in getting to their destination, but the two met each other reaching for the same map they were sent out to acquire. The two rival warriors fought, with Sub-Zero gaining the advantage. As Scorpion lay on the ground defeated, Sub-Zero decapitated him and left his corpse where it fell. Scorpion's soul would fall into the pits of the Netherealm itself; there he had to choose whether to remain in the bowels of Hell for the rest of the eternity, or to return to the world of the living as a spectre, but losing any memory from his past and his family. Obsessed with revenge, he became a ninja spectre. Scorpion learned that the Lin Kuei, following his death, had also massacred his entire clan and family. Fueled by an undying rage and thirst for retribution, he vowed to kill Sub-Zero in retaliation for his own murder.
Scorpion would not meet Sub-Zero again until a brief encounter in the Netherealm, where Sub-Zero had been sent by Raiden to regain the amulet from Shinnok and Quan Chi. The two fought, but Sub-Zero defeated Scorpion again and escaped the undead assassin's wrath. Following his return to Earth, Sub-Zero was later invited to participate in Shang Tsung's tournament of Mortal Kombat - unknown to the Lin Kuei warrior, Scorpion had been invited as well. The two met on Shang Tsung's boat, at which point Scorpion grabbed Sub-Zero by the throat and said "You killed me in cold blood exactly two years ago, to this day, but my demons have allowed me to avenge my death. I could kill you at this moment, but I am not a murderer. We will meet at the tournament, and then, Lin Kuei warrior, you will pay with your life."
While Scorpion and Sub-Zero did not meet during the actual tournament, they did meet in the closing moments of Mortal Kombat, and true to his word the hell-bent spectre fought Sub-Zero in another fight to the death. Proving to be too strong and powerful for the Lin Kuei warrior, Scorpion slew his nemesis and avenged his death. With that, he violently burst into flames and ash, returning to the Netherealm.
A year later, Scorpion learned of Sub-Zero's plans to compete in the second tournament. Enraged at the idea that his murderer had somehow returned and his vengeance was incomplete, Scorpion followed Sub-Zero into the realm of Outworld, where Shao Kahn hosted the second tournament. It is unknown whether or not Sub-Zero and Scorpion met, but Scorpion was a witness to one of Sub-Zero's battles, in which he saw Sub-Zero sparing the life of an opponent. Scorpion did not understand why the Lin Kuei warrior had grown so merciful. He later came to the realization that this Sub-Zero was the younger brother of his murderer, who was sent to complete his brother's failed mission. Scorpion then vowed not to harm this new Sub-Zero, as it was not the man who once killed him. He also vowed to be this new Sub-Zero's guardian in atonement for killing his older brother who had become Noob Saibot. Scorpion was then summoned back to the damnation of the Netherealm.
When Shao Kahn invaded Earthrealm and unsuccessfully tried to conquer the Netherealm as well, Scorpion was inadvertently set free, and began walking the Earth once more. He pledged allegiance to no one, taking neither friends nor enemies. Shao Khan, however, recognized Scorpion's superior warrior skills, and enlisted the ninja in his forces. Scorpion's allegiance with Shao Kahn quickly dissolved when he discovered that Sub-Zero, whom he had vowed not to harm, was one of Earth's Chosen warriors and a target of Shao Kahn's. He turned on Shao Kahn, and sided with the Earthrealm warriors in their final showdown with the evil emperor. With Shao Khan and his minions defeated, Earth reverted back to normal, causing Scorpion to return to the Netherealm once more.
During the events of Mortal Kombat Gold, Scorpion came to believe that the younger Sub-Zero was also involved with the murders of his family and clan. Quan Chi offered him life in exchange for the spectre's assistance in the war with the Elder Gods, which Scorpion accepted, but only so he could face Sub-Zero in combat- which Quan Chi was not only fully aware of, but had planned on all along. Scorpion eventually caught up with Sub-Zero, and the two began their final battle; as with the elder Sub-Zero, Scorpion's obsession for revenge was too strong and he emerged the victor. As Scorpion stood triumphantly over Sub-Zero, the defeated warrior proclaiming innocence, Quan Chi appeared and revealed that he had arranged for the killing of the Shirai Ryu and Scorpion's family. Before Scorpion could speak, Quan Chi attempted to send him back to the Netherealm. Scorpion grabbed Quan Chi before the sorcerer could complete his spell, sending them both into the dreaded realm.
During the years that Quan Chi spent trapped in the fifth plane of the Netherealm, he would be chased, brutalized, and tortured by Scorpion. Quan Chi had little chance of escape, as his powers were weakened while he was in the Netherealm, and Scorpion's power and strength conversely increased (note: Quan Chi, as Shinnok's second-in-command, had previously resided in the Netherealm. However, this was explained as a new region of the Netherealm where sorcerers retain their power). Quan Chi eventually struck a deal with the Oni Drahmin and Moloch, who fought off Scorpion for him. When Quan Chi escaped the Netherealm through a portal, Scorpion followed him, but the volatile portal did not send him to the same place. He continued to hound Quan Chi in a game of cat-and-mouse until he found himself ambushed by Drahmin and Moloch, who had also escaped the Netherealm. They threw him into the Soulnado, believing that it would kill the ninja spectre once and for all (as recounted in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance).
Scorpion, however, managed to escape into the Void before the purity of the soulnado tore him apart. While in the Void, he met the Elder Gods, in whom he had never believed, and forever became changed from what he saw. He also witnessed Raiden's sacrifice and Onaga's dominance beginning to unfold. The Elder Gods were aware of his presence and enhanced his mortal and supernatural abilities, making him the Champion of the Elder Gods. The Elder Gods gave him a new mission, to seek and destroy Onaga before he unmade the realms. Scorpion emerged from the Void and returned to Outworld.
In MK:A's Konquest mode, Scorpion appears to be no longer willing to serve as the Elder Gods' champion. This is due to the bargain he had made with the Elder Gods to serve them in the first place; they would resurrect the Shirai Ryu clan in return for his services. While the Elder Gods did fulfill their promise, they brought back the Shirai Ryu clan as hellspawned warriors, the same as Scorpion. Enraged at what he perceived as their betrayal, Scorpion vows to gain vengeance on the Elder Gods by removing the two things crucial to their plans- Taven and Daegon. They were the Elder Gods' only means to prevent Armageddon.
In Scorpion's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending after defeating Blaze , the entire Shirai Ryu clan is resurrected, thousands of them crowding the pyramid below, awaiting his command, along with Scorpion's wife and son. Then the sorcerer Quan Chi appears and kidnaps his son, taking him into the Netherealm through a portal. Enraged, Scorpion commands the Shirai Ryu to find Quan Chi; Scorpion will not rest until his son is rescued and the sorcerer has been destroyed.[1]
[edit] Combat characteristics
[edit] Signature moves
- Bloody Spear: Sending out a rope dart, it impales itself into the victim's chest, allowing Scorpion to pull him or her through the air toward him for a free hit, as well as cause a small bit of damage. This move often follows the words, "Get over here!" This is Scorpion's signature move. In the Mortal Kombat film, Scorpion's spear is depicted as a snake-like creature spawned from the palm of his hand. In the games it was always a simple spear head; while still being launched from the palm of his hand as seen in the newer games such as Deadly Alliance and Deception it is not the snake-like creature as depicted elsewhere. (MK, MKII, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A)
- Teleport Attack / Hellfire Punch: Teleporting behind his opponent he connects with a punch. In Deception and Unchained; Scorpion gained this attack as a kick instead of a punch, however he regained this attack as a punch in Armageddon, whilst the kick form of this attack is given to Chameleon. (MK, MKII, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A)
- Aerial Back Teleport Punch: Scorpion performs his hellfire punch in the air. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)
- Leg Takedown: Scorpion trips his opponent with a leg scissor takedown. (MKII, MK:SM)
- Air Throw: Scorpion throws his opponent while in the air. (MKII, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)
- Breathe Fire: Removing his mask to show his flaming skull, he spews fire on his opponent. (MK4, MKG,MK:SM)
- Hellfire: Scorpion summons the fires of Hell to burn his opponent from underneath. (MK:DA, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A)
- Backflip Kick: Scorpion performs a backflip kick followed by a trail of fire. (MK:DA, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
[edit] Fatalities
- Toasty!: Scorpion's signature fatality, Scorpion takes off his mask, revealing a skull face, and breathes fire at his opponent, burning them alive and causing them to explode (usually resulting in Midway sound engineer Dan Forden squealing "Toasty!"; in Mortal Kombat 4 Dan Forden will say "Toasty! 3D!" owing to it being transferred to a new graphic dimension). For an unknown reason in Shaolin Monks, it was renamed to "Flame", although Forden still says "Toasty!" afterwards at random. (MK, MKII, UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)
- Spear Slice: Scorpion takes out his signature spear head, slices his opponent across the throat, then slices the unlucky individual through the hip, his or her torso falling to the ground. In MK:SM, this was changed to a backhand followed by Scorpion stabbing the opponent with the knife, then ripping his or her body across the blade embedded in his or her stomach. Scorpion rips the torso off, then raises it in victory in this version. (MKII, MK:SM)
[edit] Appearance
Scorpion appeared as a yellow palette swap of Sub-Zero. He kept this appearance from the first MK to MK4 after which he bore two swords on his back and his kunai attached to a rope tied to his belt. Without his mask, his head is sometimes a flaming skull.
In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, a new form of Scorpion is revealed called "Inferno Scorpion". As Liu Kang and Kung Lao battle through the Netherealm, they eventually encounter Scorpion. After defeating Scorpion, the monks attempt to depart, only to be confronted by Scorpion a second time. This version, sans mask and sporting the flaming skull, is a much more powerful version of Scorpion. The concept of Inferno Scorpion's appearance is base on Scorpion's alternative costume in Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Film
Scorpion has a role in the first Mortal Kombat movie as one of Shang Tsung's guardians, who dies in a match against Johnny Cage. His signature spear move was changed to a living metal snake-like entity that shot from a slit in his palm and could fly to a limited extent. He was portrayed by Chris Casamassa, with Ed Boon providing the voice. Though both he and Sub-Zero are shown fighting for the same side in the tournament, their rivalry is briefly mentioned by Shang Tsung early in the film.
He also appeared briefly in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and was played by J. J. Perry. He kidnapped Kitana after dueling the younger Sub-Zero, and his rope-spear move was further modified into two living metal entities that shot from his hand.
[edit] Television
Scorpion appeared in the second episode of Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, titled Sting of the Scorpion, in which he fought and was defeated by Liu Kang. He also appeared in several episodes of Mortal Kombat: Conquest, again played by Casamassa with an origin unrelated to the games. The seductive Vorpax guided Shang Tsung to a hidden recess in Outworld's cobalt mines which held a mystical emperor scorpion called the Scorpio. Shang Tsung unleashed the warrior soul trapped within it, which possessed Takeda, a guard for the Reyland family. Kung Lao was forced to fight the warrior and sent him to Hell once Scorpion killed his love, Geneviere. Scorpion was later resurrected by Shao Kahn, and built an organization of assassins for the Emperor, of whom Siro's brother was briefly a member. His last known deed was a reluctant partnership with the Lin Kuei to kill Kung Lao. It dissolved with the deaths of people close to him and Sub-Zero, and the two warriors ferociously battled each other to a draw, before the intervention of Kung Lao forced Scorpion to flee. He employed the living hand creature from the films rather than a spear. This creature seemed to share a physlogical symbiosis to Scorpion. This was apparent when Sub-Zero froze and shattered his spear. The effect on Scorpion immediately dropped him to his knees in pain as the freezing effect traveled through the creature back to his hand. Scorpion also seemed unable to throw another creature from his palm and teleported away. Whether this was truly the case or merely retreat in due to the fact Sub-Zero was joined by Kung Lao is unknown.
[edit] Comic books
Scorpion was one of the main characters in Malibu Comics' MK comic series, which portrayed him as an evil entity: a specter consumed by revenge against Sub-Zero who decided to kill those close to him as well before killing him personally. During the first four issues of Blood & Thunder, Scorpion stalked Sub-Zero while reminding him he returned to kill him. Sub-Zero later realized Scorpion's power was fueled by his fears, so he overcame them and used his freeze-shatter ability on the specter, this only forced him to seek more power in the form of the Tao Te Zhan. During the Tournament Edition final issue, he has a short fight with Kitana (who stopped him from murdering an unconscious Sub-Zero) which ends with his demise, and despite his past claims that killing him again would mean the end of his existence, that didn't stop him from reappearing shortly after Goro answers the last question of the Tao Te Zhan.
During the Battlewave series, Shao Kahn returns Scorpion to the living world using a mystical gem called the "Deathstone", which also allowed him to resurrect an army of undead soldiers under his control. Scorpion would turn into Shao Kahn's general, and his army would replace the mutants that engrossed his ranks. Scorpion played the antagonist role in Baraka's single issue Babality, in which he was ordered to kill a baby mutant under his care. The joined forces of Noob Saibot and Baraka stopped his plans and shattered the stone, though he kept one fragment that was still useful.
Scorpion played in Shao Kahn's side during the second tournament for the Medallion. He killed Siang after hearing his story (stating "Only the dead are free") and then confronted Sub-Zero on the finish line. Despite Sub-Zero's speech about winning in a fair fight and that revenge would only serve to downgrade him more, Scorpion threw a scorching flame breath when he turned around, killing him though not before he reached the medallion and the victory to Earthrealm's team.
[edit] Novel
Scorpion is depicted in Jeff Rovin's non-canon Mortal Kombat novel (published in 1995 to coincide with the release of the movie) as being the combination of sorts of a father and a son. The father, named Yong Park, was killed by Sub-Zero before his family. The demigod Yu allowed Yong the opportunity to seek revenge, and Yong's spirit was permitted to merge with his son Tsui Park's body, in order to seek revenge under the form of Scorpion. In the novel, Yong Park is an ex-member of the Lin Kuei, having left the clan and thus betraying them. This is why Sub-Zero brutally kills Yong Park. Scorpion in the novel is more towards being good than neutral. He teams with Raiden and Liu Kang to defeat Reptile and Goro.
[edit] Game information
Scorpion's "Get Over Here!" and "Come Here!" spear taunts, in all of the Mortal Kombat games and movies, were voiced by Ed Boon. When the earlier titles were ported from the arcade to the home consoles, only one of these two taunts were featured in the games due to memory constraints. "Toasty!" first originated in Mortal Kombat II, in which a special input allowed Scorpion's flame skull fatality to be performed anywhere, the message "Toasty!" would appear onscreen. In Scorpion's flame skull fatality in Mortal Kombat 4, Dan Forden screams out "Toasty! 3D!!" in reference to Scorpion's fatality being incorporated in full 3D.
Scorpion was one of four selected characters to appear in the cover for a special edition of MK: Deception released for the Xbox, which included a metallic character card.
[edit] Character development
Boon has openly admitted that his favorite character has always been Scorpion, whom he does the voice for in the 2-D Games and the movies, and that any Mortal Kombat game would feel incomplete without Scorpion. While Scorpion was absent from MK3 due to Daniel Pesina being fired, he was later added to UMK3 after John Turk did the motion capture for the character.
Scorpion's yellow costume is said to have mocked not only Sub-Zero, but also the Lin Kuei, as Takeda (who was a member of the Lin Kuei) developed Ninjutsu, which he considered a superior fighting style to what the Lin Kuei had. He quickly left the Lin Kuei and formed the Shirai Ryu clan, the Lin Kuei's main enemies.
[edit] Popular culture
- In Krypt UI of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the player can buy a video that shows the dead ninja spectre chopping various meats and decorating a cake. This was originally a promotional video for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
- Scorpion appears as an unlockable skin in Midway's Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy.
- He was a secret player in Midway's NBA Jam: Tournament Edition and MLB Slugfest: Loaded along with Sub-Zero.
- Scorpion also appeared in the music video by the band Adema for their song Immortal which was written for the MK game Deadly Alliance.
- Scorpion also appears in episode eight (The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist, Part II) of the animated television show Drawn Together. Scorpion auditions for a part in the show, to replace the presumed deceased Wooldoor Sockbat. Scorpion harpoons Xandir, also a video game hero, screams "Get over here", and performs one of his signature fatalities.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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