Garlador Wrote:
Hmm. Okay, this is my opinion, and simply my opinion.
I adore the younger Sub-Zero. To me, he is the absolute most fleshed out character in the series with by far the best character evolution, character connections, and untapped potential. His journey has been downright amazing as he's struggled to step out of his brother's shadow, to defy his clan, to battle against soulless hunters and gods, to defeat his foes and purge the corruption from his society, to mature into a respected warrior and leader, to become a friend and mentor to those under him, and to ultimately draw the eye of the Elder Gods themselves.
But what I adore most about him is, no matter how much he triumphs over his adversaries and succeeds in doing the impossible, his battles never end and his sorrows never waver. Every good deed he does is countered with an act of evil against him. He attempts to train Frost, only to have her turn against him and lust for power. He defeats Sektor, only for Sektor to attempt to build an army in Japan to challenge him. His best friend Smoke is forced to hunt him down and try to kill him. He stands against Onaga, only for Hotaru to determine him a threat to "the balance", while his kindness to Kenshi ultimately saves him from extermination. He finds himself unjustly hunted by Scorpion due to Quan Chi's lies. He offers Sareena friendship and sanctuary, and yet her demonic nature nearly kills him at some point. And most importantly of all, his older brother, the man he respected and loved as family, returns from the dead as a dark and evil wraith that enslaves his best friend and declares war against him, and yet he cannot bring himself to kill Noob Saibot.
Younger Sub has ALL that story, and yet he STILL feels like he's just getting started and barely scratching the surface of his potential and even his ultimate destiny.
I'm very uncomfortable with the idea that he is in any ways supplanted by his older brother, and even more uncomfortable of the notion that he becomes a soulless cyborg like Smoke. The reason Sub-Zero has been a favorite to so many people is more than just some cool (no pun intended) moves, violent spine-rip fatalities, and trendy blue uniform. My personal opinion is he was and remains Mortal Kombat's absolute best character story-wise, with an overall story arc that puts everyone else to shame, and I'd hate to see almost two decades of fantastic character evolution and maturation undone in one Back-to-the-Future-esque history rewrite.
For me, older Sub-Zero's journey resulted in him going down a darker path and warping mind and body to the point of nonrecognition as Noob Saibot. Both brothers existing as counters to one another, of dark and light, good and evil, kindness and ruthlessness, with the likes of Smoke, Sareena, and others caught in the middle.
I don't want to see that drama disappear or that storyline altered one bit, mainly because it's also an unresolved conflict. It would feel wrong to have years of lead up with these compelling characters only to negate everything for the sake of "rebooting" their histories. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Exactly. The Sub-Zero story arc put every single other arc to shame. Most of MK's characters are very static, or have poorly written giant leaps in personality change. Sub-Zero quietly evolved over the course of six games, and to throw that out and make the character that i consider the most compelling in MK history, a robot supporting character, is incredibly lame.
