There are just too many variables to take into account from MK4-MKA to say "That shit ain't no more folks". Not ALL of the plot elements and story arcs from those games were bad. You really think NRS is going to forget about all of that when there's still so many pieces of lore they can use from that era to propel this new timeline? That's almost 10 years of time devoted to MK's story. If it was your creation, would you really want to just toss all that away?

There's still a lot of juicy tidbits in there to touch on. Like I said, not ALL of it was terrible. And I'm positive NRS knows this, and is actually proud of certain portions of the writing from that era. When MK9 was rolling around, wasn't Boon consistently saying "It's not a reboot"? Sounds to me like they were intending to still use pieces of those stories.

The way I see it, the majority of that (excluding Armageddon itself) is still canon until it's officially retconned by NRS.

It was officially retconned, back in 2011. And for further proof, it's happening right before our eyes with this Chapter 10 preview.

A good way of describing what I mean is this;

Imagine the Original Timeline is take 1 of the MK story. It was good, some flaws here and there but it's worth a re-do.

Then imagine that the New Timeline is take 2. Same content, same basic story line just done differently in the hopes that it does better what take 1 couldn't.

That's how I see the NT when compared to the OT. Same Shit, Different Take.

I hope that makes sense. Apologies if it doesn't.

Well, all I can say is tell it to Li Mei and the mention of her village. And that's just from a friggin' trailer.

That right there should tell you that it's not a 100% "clean slate" or that those storylines have been completely trashed. Not only that, but they are STILL integrating parts of the OT into this NT. Both in the comics, as well as MKX itself.

Shinnok also says hello. Edit - swerzy, I hadn't realized that I also quoted your post. I was mainly replying to jimmykricket. I see what you're saying, but ya just have to think about guys - We ate, drank, and slept on the OT for well over two decades. Not only in the games, but multiple sources of media. It's not an easy thing to just "forget about it", and NRS knows this. THAT'S why they're going to integrate certain parts of those stories to help make the transition easier. Otherwise, it's like the biggest middle-fingered FUCK YOU to the fans that you could imagine.

Just to say something else to add to this discussion;

The slate was wiped clean, yes. However, that doesn't mean what happened before still can't happen again in some capacity. They altered the timeline, but that doesn't mean everything was prevented as acknowledged by Shinnok invading, Li Mei losing her village, ect. The Deadly Alliance could still form, just not under the same circumstances or around the same time.

We are essentially now at Chapter 2 in what I'm assuming is a long-term plan. Ed mentioned he's not sure how they plan to move forward, but I think in actuality he's just being coy and using clever PR terms to pique the general audiences interest as to like "oh wow, might this be the last one then?" and increase the possibility of sales.

With comics now an option, they can always dedicate full chapters to explaining back story for the new timeline if its necessary. Hell, they can also use the comics a year or two from now to start setting up the next game, or introduce brand new characters who may or may not be included in MK11 and continue to try and freshen up the 3D cast as well and gauge our reactions on their overall presentation. The future for MK is bright. I know it sucks to accept that a lot of what we knew about the overarching story of Mortal Kombat is gone, but now they are not limited to what had come before and what had been set in stone in the past. They have carte blanche with a lot of characters now, including new twists on the original klassics, such as Scorpion.

They had obviously written themselves into a literal wall with having to escalate things to the next extreme with every game since MK4. I'm glad they now have a reason to slow down, take these characters in new and exciting directions and assess what would be incredibly smart things to set up for these characters instead of the path they took before where it gets so big they end up having to write every character off and start again. If they needed to eradicate some past events to help them set these new ideas up, so be it. If it fails, they can always shrug, admit they tried, and go back to the old timeline or start fresh again.

I make no argument that Shinnok does not exist; his existence began at the end of MK9.

Technically, Shinnok's existence began at the beginning of time, but that's a very long story and best saved for another time. lol

Right there! That's what I'm saying. We don't know Shinnok's backstory, because it hasn't been told yet. All we know is that he is bff with Quan Chi, and that he is apparently stuck in some talisman.

That's it.

If the lore from Mythologies, 4, DA, Deception and Armageddon no longer exists or matters then why is Li Mei in the story trailer talking about her village and what about the Kamidogu's role in the story?

Will they cover 4, DA and Deception again, remaking them straight up? Of course not. We have a new timeline. However I think it is obvious at this point that the lore from those games isn't going to be completely erased, perhaps just reintroduced in new ways.

BAM! Yet another perfect example. They're obviously proud of that bit, and they should be. That's some great shit right there.

Yeah...probably shouldn't have used Shinnok. Sorry about that one. >.<

Boy has it gotta suck being trapped in your own amulet like a Pokémon.

I always wondered what it was like inside those contraptions....

No worries.

About Kamidogu, again, I make no argument, because the trailer and comic has announced their existence.

But we couldn't assume the Kamidogu existed in say...November 2014, because it hadn't been spoken about then.

For instance, right now, Tanya does not exist. I could literally say, "Who's Tanya?", and my question would not be invalid, because no one would be able to give me a cannon answer. She has never been spoken about since 2011 (AKA "MK1"). Now, will NRS reintroduce her with borrowed plot points from MK4? Possibly! But we can't be for sure, because right now she (and her MK4 plot points) literally do not exist. That's the point I'm trying to make.

Hsu Hao exists!

*For 10 seconds*

Still pretty badass obliterating Sento like that

There we go. Sometimes, I just need an elaboration on someone's perspective. But you have to admit, big names from that era like Tanya and Fujin aren't going to be completely overlooked. Even if it's just a cameo, you can pretty much guarantee it. Especially since, you said it, they've already had one in MK9. Hell, they've even went as far as to throw Moloch's head in the ACTUAL GAME. Woah now. Just a thought, but...

What if Daegon is the one who completely releases Shinnok?

Remember that Daegon and Taven both were loyal followers of Shinnok prior to his corruption. And even after said corruption happens, it obviously still didn't bother Daegon. Daegon has also been mentioned in the comics...which is pretty significant and I'll admit, honestly didn't see that coming.

Quan Chi is the obvious choice to release him, but there's still a possibility he may come back a second time. I mainly say that because I don't understand the point of trapping him again (this time in a talisman vs the Netherrealm) instead of obliterating him from existence.
Unless of course they make it so that Elder Gods don't just fully "die". Like their "essence" still lingers on Diablo Soulstone style or something. Edit - I just realized we're still in the comic preview thread, LOL. So that theory is a bit off-topic. v.v

Yeah you got me. I'm trying to rustle those feathers. I know He left during special forces. The game turned out to be complete shit from what I've heard. Never played it. Mythologies was crap too though from what the consensus says and he was fully on board with that. Some people did like it. I'm assuming you did. I liked it too from what I can remember. I'll admit he laid down a great foundation for MK. He had great ideas but it never came to fruition. I just think that his departure from MK was good for him. Because I didn't like the direction it was going in with him on board. Unfortunately it didn't get better. It peaked around Deadly Alliance and dropped off sharply for me after Shaolin Monks. I know it's all a matter of opinion but that's how I feel.

The point is is Tobias is no longer the mind behind MK. And we have to get past that because it been 15 years now since he left. When WB bought MK we knew we were gonna see some change. This part of the story has only been retcohfucked slightly. Scorpions clan and family still died. Quan Chi is still to blame and Scorpion still blames Bi-Han from what we can gather so far. Let's just read these next two issues or chapter and see what happens.

Wouldn't mind seeing Daegon again.

I'm honestly at the point where i'm kinda over the idea of comparing it to what was and such and all that. I'm just gonna plunk down my cash because i enjoy the concept enough to do so, and enjoy the story for the story. It's like comparing old movies with their remakes....why compare them rather then just enjoy the show. if the show sucks then so be it, shitty show, that happens.....but...i'd rather base it on it's own merits then exhaustively compare it to the past

It wasn't really a reboot. The original stuff still happened, then Raiden realized that shit sucked and decided to send a message to his past/alternate self so things wouldn't end up that way in that one timeline.

It appears timelines and time travel work different in MK compared to most fictions, in a lot of other fictional stories, when something or someone is sent back in time to change something, it effects the time they came from.

For example, if I went back in time and killed Hitler when he was a teenager, and traveled back to my time, the holocaust would have never happened, this does not seem to be the case in MK. Unless I missed something or just don't remember nothing ever stated that the original timeline was saved or altered due to MK9's events. The only thing I can think of that would suggest so is Raiden's amulet being fixed.

Anyway IMO MK time travel seems to work similar to Dragon Ball time travel, meaning if you go back to another time and change something, it only changes things in THAT timeline, not the one you came from, the one you came from stays the same.


Now if we assume that this isn't a simple "sending a message back in time" events prior to the first tournament not being the same as the OT make sense, especially if its an alternate timeline all together and not just the past of the original one. If its an alternate timeline all together, then not everything little thing is going to be the same, not even the things prior to Raiden's message.

Or at least this is the impression I get

You're logic is flawed. That is all I can say at this time because I find your comments tragically infuriating.

I was thinking it's almost hypothetical. Like, if we were to completely indulge in a singular timeline without trying to connect the two. In this case, if you totally buy into the NT as the only true canon at this point, then yeah, technically, whatever and whoever hasn't been mentioned in MK9 (MK1-MK3), as well as the comics and MKX, doesn't exist...yet. Although...that's not really all that much at this point, lol.

At least that's the way I wrapped my head around it. But I'm also not exactly in my prime atm.

Moscato <3

So with that said, cheers, and g'night folks!

"Serving as an assassin" implies, y'know, actually doing the job required of an assassin. Probably not just once or twice, but for some period of time. Together. As "sisters," the word that comes up over and over.

Also, Kahn trusts Mileena with the mission to spy on Kitana. Again, this is not a momentary action. The very word implies prolonged, discreet observation over some period of time.


>through her years
>years


Like many other things in the story, it's not really explicitly told you straight up, but if you think about it for a second, it makes sense.

Just like it makes sense that neither of the statements I referenced are in any way applicable to MK9, where Kitana and Mileena are complete strangers who meet each other for the first time in Shang's Flesh Pits.


You mean the same Mythologies that takes place several years before MK1? That one?


I mean, if we're told that Raiden's little time warp only took him as far as the first tournament, common sense dictates that everything that happened PRIOR to that point should still apply, no?

Hell, the entire point of every "trying to prevent a bad future from happening" storyline ever, from Back to the Future to Days of Future Past, is that the starting conditions are the same, and the only reason why the final outcomes are so drastically different is because of one or two changed variables which just happen to have far-reaching consequences.

Until Kittelsen confirmed that sending messages back in time might have had much more serious repercussions than we have originally thought, there was no logical reason to believe that this basic assumption shouldn't apply to MK9.


Can you really claim that when the "clean slate" you're referring to is resting on the foundation of several decades worth of previously established lore?


Point is, we weren't sold on MK9 as a full-on universe reboot, not in the comic book way. We were sold on the premise of MK9 being a time travel story. And like I said earlier, time travel stories typically follow certain rules. You can't really fault people for being upset when they realize that these rules went out the window at some point, because that's not the story they signed up for.


What hardcore fans are having difficulty wrapping their head around is the fact that some of the very best lore in the entire series might be getting rewritten into something that's not nearly as good. That's what it really boils down to.

The fact that this particular part of lore shouldn't logically have been affected by the time travel premise just might add an extra pinch of salt to the wound.

This! This is my logic/my point. I don't try to connect the two timelines, because you cant. One overtook the other. One retconned the other. One canceled out the other. For proof, look no further than this Chapter 10 Preview. To Unleash's point, I'm sure the New Timeline will draw inspirations (kamidogu, for instance) from the Old Timeline, but the New Timeline is the only valid/relevant/true timeline.

Onaga, if I were to ask you, "Who's Tanya?" What could you say? Tanya was not seen in MK9. She wasn't referenced. She wasn't inferred. As of now, she hasn't been seen, referenced or inferred in MKX. She truly does not exist in the New Timeline, so you couldn't factually answer my question.

Another example: Cyber Smoke.

Is someone going to try and tell me he exists today in 2015? He literally got erased from the lore in 2011.

That's fine. Whatever helps you sleep at night, I suppose.

But that won't stop people from looking at the treatment that certain characters and events received in OT and in NT and going "the old one did it better."

He's dead, Jim