New Sand-Based Character Idea: Sonora
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posted07/25/2018 04:56 AM (UTC)by
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Esoteric
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04/10/2011 01:28 AM (UTC)
SONORA

GENERAL STATS:
Middle Eastern-American Male
Unknown
5’7
156lbs.
Earthrealm; Origins Unknown
Ninjitsu, Southern Kalaripayattu, Black Arts & Manipulation of Sand
Alliances; formerly of Lin Kuei, Neutral

SONORA’S COSTUME & ALTERNATE:
Sonora can have the traditional ninja palette swap from MK1but with a brown color. The costume can have a black hood with a brown clothed masked loosely wrapped around the lower part of his face with it being tucked into the sides of his hood. He also can have a brown belt with a brown loin cloth to hang down in the front of his costume. He also can have a sleeveless black undergarment in the traditional Mortal Kombat palette swap of the rest of the ninjas and finally he can have a v-shaped vest in brown with the brown sash like belt wrapped around his waist to secure the v-shaped vest. He also can wear loose fitting ninja pants to allow ease of movement within the lower section of his body. Also he can wear black plastic wrist guards covering his forearm and the back of his hands. Another accessory he can wear would be brown shin pads in the same exact fashion that the rest of the ninjas in the Mortal Kombat game wear. His alternate can be a light brown color in the same garments and fashion.

SONORA’S FIGHTING STYLE:
Sonora is characterized by a very discrete/secretive yet aggressive style of fighting when in the open that tends to throw his opponent’s off from their misreading of the situation. He has been noted for his mastery of Ninjitsu principles in combat such as his mastery of Taijutsu for his hand to hand combat skills. He also has proven to be effective in his espionage methods and assassination techniques taught to him by the Lin Kuei. Towards the end of his tenure Sonora learned the secrets of Lin Kuei Black Arts program specializing in manipulating sand. It is with his combination of hand to hand combat and Black Arts training that transformed him into a lethal weapon for the Lin Kuei before his exile. It was in this period that Sonora was to honor the oath he took upon when joining the Lin Kuei by being sworn to secrecy and discretion and to never speak upon the existence of the Lin Kuei Clan. Shortly after his exile, Sonora wandered about the world as a drifter and was hired on by an international organization as hit man against corrupt dictators and tyrannical leaders in underground rings and governmental agencies. It was in this newly appointed position that Sonora learned an ancient form of martial arts of the region he relocated to called Southern Kalaripayattu. It is described as having quick and short close quarters punching and grappling techniques and offers a variance to his Ninjitsu training he had learned from the Lin Kuei in his past.

SONORA’S BACKSTORY:
Originally born in America, Sonora was often times ostracized by his fellow countrymen for his ambiguous racial identity often being accused of being a wannabe, sellout or having no knowledge of himself. When revealing his ethnicity as a Middle Eastern American, he then would be looked upon or treated as a terrorist or religious extremist. So finding that he would be shunned away from general society, Sonora sought after the induction of the Lin Kuei, a legendary clan of ninja assassins. It was here he would find acceptance for who he was and learn through rigorous training, the methods and principles of Ninjitsu and Black Arts. Sonora would train very hard each and every day six days a week and quickly progress through the stages of his teachings under the direction of his Grandmasters and Elders. Eventually, Sonora’s drive and passion rubbed Lin Kuei officials, teachers and elders the wrong way towards the latter stages of his teachings having a reputation of being too impatient and brash with their scheduling. It was the record of brash and abrupt conflict that forced his banishment from the Lin Kuei. The next few years he would then wander throughout the nearby lands as a drifter until catching the attention of a prestigious international agency for his talent of fighting. It was here that he would be hired on as a hit man for special assignments and because of his proven skills he would be given moderate leverage to refuse and accept assignments based on his set guidelines and principles, working whenever he chose. One day, the director of this international agency contacted Sonora, as his code name was given, to investigate a strange disturbance occurring at a communicated location in a discrete and obscure area a few hundred miles away. Receiving and reading over the information files about the case, he quickly briefed himself about an aged old tournament called Mortal Kombat involving the world’s best fighters involving one his agencies’ most infamous targets. The director then informed him of the lucrative incentive that would be rewarded for a successfully completed assignment. Sonora, pondering over the case for few days eventually decided to take on the mission and enters Mortal Kombat as a neutral yet independent agent against his company’s highly sought after target.

SONORA’S SPECIALTY MOVES:
Sand Drift – Sonora executes a full standing body twists perpendicular to the plane of the ground. He then dissolves into a twisting pile of sand to where the sand skates across the ground like as being blown by a gust of wind to the feet of his opponent. Once in close range, he then materializes into his human self to execute a spinning rising uppercut or jump reverse kick on his opponent. He then transitions back into his fighting stance. It can look like Michael Jackson’s video “Remember the Times” when he dissolves down into a pile of granules in front of the Pharaoh and Queen.

Cloud of Sand – Morphs into a human size gust of sand laterally across the plane of the ground through his opponent. This causes them to go temporary blind from sand in their eyes. It also provides an opportunity for Sonora to execute a series of combos on disabled opponent. It can look like Smoke’s teleport except it would have a blinding effect on his opponent’s eye sight.

Wave of Mirages – Cocks back his hands to backside hip as in a throwing motion. He then unleashes a wave of invisible wave of heated energy towards his opponent that blows them backward in the air and drains them of their life energy and causes them to descend down slumped down to their knees as if to be dying of thirst temporarily disabling his opponent. It would also give Sonora the chance to execute a series of combos on his disabled opponent.

Sand Capsule – Sonora extends his forward hand diagonally upward towards the sky with open palm facing towards the sky as if to be reaching for an out-of-reach apple over his head. The mechanics of his motioning can be exactly like Ermac’s Aerial telekinetic choke or a swarm of bees flying in streamline formation. He then shoots and morphs into a stream of sand and dirt in a rainbow like motion on to his opponent’s upper extremities eventually incasing their whole body in sand and heating up to the point of causing steam vapors to rise off the incased sand figure and also causing heat exhaustion on his opponent. The incasing causes his opponent’s life energy to drain down moderately. His opponent then falls over on their knees in a slumping décor with their body beaming in a dark red as if to have a severe tan. It can work like a suffocation move with sand. Blocking the maneuver would cause the stream of sand to scatter about the air and on the ground.

Quick Sand – Cocks back forward arm to backside shoulder and flings it diagonally downward towards his opponent’s feet. This causes a hole to open up in the mid-size hole filled with sand to open up causing his opponent to gradually sink down to their waist locking them in a position of vulnerability as the try to push against the ground trying to get free. Sonora is then able to proceed to land a series of lower-based kicking combos to opponent’s upper extremities and face before kicking them out of the trap. It can look similar to Noob Saibot’s fatality except without the crushing their lower torso or Sub-Zero’s ground puddle except it would generate an opening in the ground filled with quicksand.

Invincibility – Much like Reptile, Sonora fades into an invisible image of himself with flames rising and incinerating from his invisible image like seeing a heat wave from a mirage or the invisible image in the Predator movies. Touching Sonora while invisible causes a severe burn to his opponent such as touching a rock that’s been left out in the sun too long during a heat wave of weather. In his mode it would also leave a burning imprint to all of his physical attacks leaving flares of fire imprints upon contact. This would be a temporary affect before he fades back into his human self.

Cacti Imprint – Sonora strikes a pose in either a traditional Ninjitsu or Southern Kalaripayattu stance causing cactus needles to project outward from his skin and clothing garments. Touching Sonora in this pose causes opponent to pop backwards, falling on their back from the impaling needles and to lose a moderate amount of life on their energy bar. It can serve as a defensive function similar to Cyber Sub-Zero’s reverse freeze except it would result in the injection of cactus needles in his opponent’s skin to overly aggressive opponents.

Sands of Time – Sonora would kneel down on one knee and swings his intersecting arms back past his waist generating a crescent shaped wave projectile towards his opponent and causing his opponent to reverse their motions for a span of a few seconds as if to reverse time. It can look like a rewound film or tapes where his opponent would reverse their actions for a span of five to seven seconds. This would beneficial to Sonora by allowing to ward of any successfully landed combos or hits his opponent has landed by reversing the blows landed and also reabsorbing the portion of energy lost back into his life meter, and it can also allow him to obstruct any oncoming attacks by reversing their course of action and disabling their opponent temporarily. Translatability to a gaming format might be questionable.

KickSand – From fighting stance, Sonora’s backside leg magically morphs into a sandy imprint of his leg. He then motions into a quick front snap kick to mid-level and kicks a streamline gust of sand/dirt in the face of his opponent that temporarily blinds and disables them. This would allow him to execute a series of combos to his disabled opponent.

Rockstar – Sonora would cock back his forward arm to backside hip and launch a series of palm sized pebbles/rocks towards his opponent like ninja stars. The projectiles impact would temporarily disable his opponent causing a brief moment of disorientation.

Aerial Rockstar - Sonora would cock back his forward arm to backside hip while in mid-air and launch a series of palm sized pebbles/rocks towards his opponent like ninja stars. The projectiles impact would temporarily disable his opponent causing a brief moment of disorientation and allow him to execute combos.

Gust of Sand – Sonora, cocks back his forward arm to his backside shoulder and flings his arm across his chest to launch a low rising gust of sand across the screen that steadily rises to the face of his opponent blinding and obstructing their sight. This would disable his opponent for a brief moment allowing him to execute a series of combos on his opponent. It can look like the gusts of sand in an old Western showdown on the main strip.

SONORA’S INTRO:
Materializes in a lateral gust of sand towards the camera and utters the phrase, “I’ve waited for this moment in my mind for years!”

SONORA’S MID-TAUNT:
Dusts off his hands and attire off and utters the phrase, “What a waste.”

SONORA’S WINNING POSE:
Kicks a small amount of dirt on his fallen opponent and turns to the camera and executes a Southern Kalaripayattu stance.

SONORA’S X-RAY MOVE:
Dirty Nap – From close range, Sonora throws a one two jab combo to the ribs of his opponent. The camera showcases the damage. He then claps both of his hands to the temple of his opponent’s head. The camera showcases the damage. He finally, teleports in a gust of sand through his opponent and grapples his opponent’s neck and face from behind in an arm lock like he was holding someone hostage and breaks their neck. The camera showcases the internal damage.

SONORA’S FATALITY:
Neck Brace – As the lights in the scene dim to darkness, Sonora morphs and teleports into a cloud of sand through his disoriented opponent and materializes directly behind him in a grappling move. His hand would be wrapped around his opponent’s neck region and upper part of their head with his opponent scrambling to get free at this point. Sonora motions with his arm to the off-camera crowd as to quiet them from the intense noise from the background. Finally, after a few seconds, Sonora jerks both his hands back to break the neck of his opponent. They then fall to the ground lifeless while he motions into his winning pose.

SONORA’S ENDSTORY:
After winning the tournament and defeating Shao Kahn, Sonora encounters his former clan the Lin Kuei. It is at this point that he is ambushed by multiple members to which a battle ensues with various members. Fighting valiantly, Sonora is eventually overpowered and outnumbered and is beaten into submission. Distraught and unconscious, the Lin Kuei transports his unconscious body to the temple to undergo a psychiatric evaluation from some of its medical staff. He is then strapped down to an operating table inside a padded and secluded room for several weeks before being injected with a serum that erases memories and weakens his muscle mass. Undergoing this procedure would allow the Lin Kuei to rid themselves of his knowledge and physical strength to the point of a normal civilian. With the 48 hour procedure complete, Sonora would be kicked out of the temple and stripped of his former position at the international agency to become scrutinized once more by strangers for his ambiguous appearance. Eventually he would venture into the outskirts of a mid-sized city in America and retire to a life of solitude with no recollection of his former life.


Sonora can be resemble the picture above except that he would wear a brown v-shaped palette swap ninja garment from MK1. He can also wear an alternate costume in a tannish or light brown color to offer a differentiating color scheme.
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http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/Z-123/NounsSIG.pngI do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
05/06/2012 09:34 PM (UTC)
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Interesting ideas, but his name sounds to much like a girls name with the "a" at the end. Maybe Sonoro? Also, i didnt think that he should be a ninja, but if he was, why make him wear the generic ninja outfit.? Im not trying mean though, and i liked alot of it.
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Esoteric
05/06/2012 10:46 PM (UTC)
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Thank you for the feedback both criticisms and compliments alike.

To expound on the reasoning for the character's look. I was debating back and forth between a name that would describe his moniker and fighting style. It was between "Sinocco" I think named after a dry spell season from the Meditereanian weather pattern and "Sonora" the small area of desert in The Southwestern region of the United States, such as southern California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. So I chose Sonora because I wasn't in tuned to how to pronounce the other name and Sonora was easier to pronounce. I also kind liked the aspect of him being American based but being treated like an outcast. So I wanted to play with that aspect of it some. Also being treated as outcast, I think ninja brings up a conitation of being looked upon as evil or bad people, so I thought making him a ninja would be good being as how he'd be treated, he could conceal his identity like ninja do.

As far as naming him Sonoro, I don't know if that's supposed to take on the feminine form of the word if it's Latin/Spanish based in origin, but Sonoro would sound too much like Goro or Zorro so I went with Sonora to change it up some.
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http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/Z-123/NounsSIG.pngI do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
05/06/2012 11:51 PM (UTC)
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You have some good reasoning behind the name; i didnt know it was a place. I do like the ideas you came up for him, interesting character indeed.
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Sub-Zero_7th
05/07/2012 02:23 AM (UTC)
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I like the concept of having an MK character with sand-manipulation powers, and I think you have good ideas with some of his special moves. However, there are some things I have to bring up. Let's start with his name and ethnicity. When you say that he's a Middle Easterner and that some people look at him as some kind of religious extremist and/or terrorist, I would assume you are trying to see he's some kind of Arab. It would help to be a bit more specific, because aside from Arabs, you have other kinds of Middle Easterners such as Israelis, Kurds, Iranians, and Assyrians. If Sonora is his actual name, it doesn't make sense with his ethnic background. I would think that he would have taken on a codename when joining the Lin Kuei.

About his fighting styles, I'm not sure about his usage of Southern Kalaripayattu, but I want to really talk about the other style. First of all, it's "Ninjutsu", not "Ninjitsu". Secondly, Ninjutsu (a.k.a. Shinobijutsu) is about military intelligence gathering, and it's really one of many aspects of warfare. Also, Taijutsu was one of the generic terms used for unarmed combat arts within a martial tradition before the term Jūjutsu was used.

Another thing is that in Mortal Kombat's story, Ninjutsu was actually created by Takeda, the founder of the Shirai-Ryū ninja clan, the enemy of the Lin Kuei. It just doesn't make sense for someone to learn Ninjutsu, a Japanese art, from the Lin Kuei, an ancient Chinese clan of warrior assassins. That whole thing in MKDA's Konquest with Cyrax learning "Ninjitsu" from the Lin Kuei is nonsense that doesn't make sense with the established story element given in MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero.

About his story, I don't really find it to be too believable. Although some people may have something against Middle Easterners, I don't see the real transition from him going to the Lin Kuei. Also, him being a Middle Easterner doesn't mean all that much, because he could be a Mizrahi Jew, a Christian, a Mandaean or even an Agnostic or Atheist.

I'm pretty sure there's only one Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. The story doesn't indicate there being other Lin Kuei Grandmasters in addition to Sektor's father. It was Sektor who killed his father in an attempt to obtain leadership of the Lin Kuei, and that's all he needed to kill. The Dragon Medallion that Sektor's father wore was a symbol of the Grandmaster status. I would think that if Sonora caused such problems for the Lin Kuei, they would simply execute him for disobedience.

Overall, I feel that Sonora would have to be reworked on a lot of aspects.
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moneyguy
05/07/2012 09:22 AM (UTC)
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Characters based on ONE "element" or whatever just reminds me of palette swapping.

Instead of creating more characters like this, I say flesh out dynamic characters like Jade or Cyrax instead of creating bland generic ones. Give the characters we have more spotlight before we include others.

If anything I'd like to see Tremor in this kind of role, but not as a ninja. lol
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Noob7Smoke
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big thanks to flameshang for the sig.

05/07/2012 03:51 PM (UTC)
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Sonora, Mexico....hmm there should be a mexican character
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Icebaby
05/07/2012 04:53 PM (UTC)
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Noob7Smoke Wrote:
Sonora, Mexico....hmm there should be a mexican character


We already have one. His name is Mavado.
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Rockchalk5477
05/07/2012 06:05 PM (UTC)
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Icebaby Wrote:We already have one. His name is Mavado.

Though this is irrelevant, I always figured Mavado was Brazilian.
Maybe, it's just because his name is derived from Portuguese, and he's rather dark-skinned, like some Brazilians.
Nephrite wrote:I thought it was derived from the Spanish word "malvado" meaning "evil".

Apparently, "malvado" is both a word in Spanish and in Portuguese, both meaning "evil/villain." Seeing as how he was originally supposed to be a matador-ish character, I guess it's safe to assume he's from either Spain, Portugal, Mexico, or Peru.
Kinda wish they'd clarify where the Earthrealm fighters are from exactly...
On the topic of this character, you have some interesting ideas, but other things (like the cactus attack) seem kind of silly or over-thought.
Honestly, I don't want to see more than one new character come MK10.
They need to really focus in on the current roster before throwing in a bunch of new faces. It's not as though MK lacks characters.
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Noob7Smoke
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big thanks to flameshang for the sig.

05/09/2012 06:33 AM (UTC)
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Icebaby Wrote:
Noob7Smoke Wrote:
Sonora, Mexico....hmm there should be a mexican character


We already have one. His name is Mavado.


Really?? Thought he was spanish. Bamm *palm to my face*
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Nephrite
05/09/2012 09:36 AM (UTC)
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Rockchalk5477 Wrote:
Maybe, it's just because his name is derived from Portuguese...


I thought it was derived from the Spanish word "malvado" meaning "evil".

confused
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RazorsEdge701
05/27/2012 10:25 AM (UTC)
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Personally, I got the impression from the medieval armor in his alt costume that Mavado's from Spain. The look comes off more European/Spanish Inquisition-y than Latin/South-American.
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Jaded-Raven
05/28/2012 12:12 AM (UTC)
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I liked everything but this part:

Esoteric Wrote:
Sonora can have the traditional ninja palette swap from MK1but with a brown color.


That instantly turned me off, but I continued reading and you got some really interesting ideas for a character. I just wish he would be alot more original looking than another palette swap ninja.
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Esoteric
07/25/2018 04:56 AM (UTC)
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I like the concept of having an MK character with sand-manipulation powers, and I think you have good ideas with some of his special moves. However, there are some things I have to bring up. Let's start with his name and ethnicity. When you say that he's a Middle Easterner and that some people look at him as some kind of religious extremist and/or terrorist, I would assume you are trying to see he's some kind of Arab. It would help to be a bit more specific, because aside from Arabs, you have other kinds of Middle Easterners such as Israelis, Kurds, Iranians, and Assyrians. If Sonora is his actual name, it doesn't make sense with his ethnic background. I would think that he would have taken on a codename when joining the Lin Kuei.

About his fighting styles, I'm not sure about his usage of Southern Kalaripayattu, but I want to really talk about the other style. First of all, it's "Ninjutsu", not "Ninjitsu". Secondly, Ninjutsu (a.k.a. Shinobijutsu) is about military intelligence gathering, and it's really one of many aspects of warfare. Also, Taijutsu was one of the generic terms used for unarmed combat arts within a martial tradition before the term Jūjutsu was used.

Another thing is that in Mortal Kombat's story, Ninjutsu was actually created by Takeda, the founder of the Shirai-Ryū ninja clan, the enemy of the Lin Kuei. It just doesn't make sense for someone to learn Ninjutsu, a Japanese art, from the Lin Kuei, an ancient Chinese clan of warrior assassins. That whole thing in MKDA's Konquest with Cyrax learning "Ninjitsu" from the Lin Kuei is nonsense that doesn't make sense with the established story element given in MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero.

About his story, I don't really find it to be too believable. Although some people may have something against Middle Easterners, I don't see the real transition from him going to the Lin Kuei. Also, him being a Middle Easterner doesn't mean all that much, because he could be a Mizrahi Jew, a Christian, a Mandaean or even an Agnostic or Atheist.

I'm pretty sure there's only one Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. The story doesn't indicate there being other Lin Kuei Grandmasters in addition to Sektor's father. It was Sektor who killed his father in an attempt to obtain leadership of the Lin Kuei, and that's all he needed to kill. The Dragon Medallion that Sektor's father wore was a symbol of the Grandmaster status. I would think that if Sonora caused such problems for the Lin Kuei, they would simply execute him for disobedience.

Overall, I feel that Sonora would have to be reworked on a lot of aspects


Well, I think that Sonora can have a change in his look as a ninja. The palette swap was too simplified and can be the G.I. Joe Cobra Ninja Collectible Dolls Design in their garments with an all brown color scheme or either the black and sleeveless brown vest color scheme with clothed mask. I think that would be great.
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