I cannot agree more.

Everyone knows where I stand with the Smoke-man, and you pretty much took the words from my mouth. He's his own character for the first time, and not just a plot accessory for Sub. He got a bio, background, personality which were all wonderful....and, yep, nothing came of it. But it was still a tremendous reward to finally know what he as a person was all about.

I'm predicting a mass or at least partial revival for next game. No way in hell will the forces of Light consist of solely Johnny, Sonya, and Raiden. The likes of Bo' Rai Cho and Kenshi are pretty feasable, but we still lost a lot of big names this go-around. Willing to bet more than a few will be back. Hope Smoke gets his chance then. With how well he's been received on the whole, I think his chances are great.

I vote for Shang Tsung next.

NRS could have done alot for him, but no they kill him off. He could have been on a jornay where he tries to revive sub mortal body. Even his death was lame. He could have ecaped Sindel with ease onless there some unwritten rule to where he can't teleport if someone is touching him or some supid thing like that.

I'm actually quite happy with him in this game! His outfits (both Primary and Alt) are well designed, his move set is interesting, his ending was superb and his personality was very endearing and relatable. I love the way he was one of the only characters in the Story to show weaknesses. He was brash and dismissive, with a hot temper, a sharp tongue, and his interactions with both Sub-Zero and Sektor where really insightfull into his character. I got the sense of him that he was an emotional character, which I found refreshing in comparison to how monotonous Raiden was.

The only thing that I think should have been changed was his death. Had Sindel just broken his legs and tossed him out the Cathedral window with her hair, it would have been a much better exit from the Story Mode rather than killing him. That way, he'd still be alive, but too weak to battle Shao Khan. His incentive for the next game could have been to help Raiden, Sonya and Cage restore their fallen allies souls from the Netherrealm, with his own motivation being to restore and save Sub-Zero.

Since he's dead however, that can never happen. Whether the Enenra's spirit becomes corrupt or malevolent in the next game though is yet to be seen, but it would be interesting. I'd hope he stays a good guy, and never goes down the Cyborg route again. Whatever NRS have in the pipeline for him though, it will be interesting to see. I've waited years to see what Smoke would be like as a human and something tells me that if he does emerge from the Netherrealm still intact as a good person, that his storyline has potential to evolve in very interesting ways.

I have to disagree on the Tommy thing. That makes him badass, not the opposite.

Here's Tommy now, you know, just for comparison's sake.

tats and nice body, Me likely the New Tommy.

Mmm... *slurpydrool*

LMFAO! That would have been so crazy, I love it!



As for our Smokey, oh well...

This was the first game that made me like Smoke. I was always indifferent towards him, but in this game I really liked his friend loyalty towards Sub-Zero. My favorite bit was hearing his voice calling Sub-Zero while this one was just waking up in the cathedral after being knocked out earlier. You could feel the care in Smoke's voice.

And then they killed him *rolls eyes*...

As for his gameplay, I like it. He has his own style now, I like the Akuma teleports and his shake special, the rest is fine too. His smoke bombs remind me a bit of Hotaru's projectiles, but whatever, no biggie. I just wish his normals were a tad bit faster and I wish there was more room for creativity in his combos. I like his x-ray animation and I love his gibberish! Overall, his gameplay is a definitive plus and I really like watching Aris play as Smoke, he does so well.

As for his looks, I like the primary costume, it's simple and it reminds me of UMK3 costumes, however I'm still not crazy about the hair. His alternate, I don't know, it's the head part that I really don't like, I hardly ever select this costume. His MK2 costume works because its gray so it doesn't look as cartoonish as it does in Scorpion's, Sub-Zero's and Reptile's case, their costume colors just don't work for me.

Overall, Smoke gets a PLUS from me for his MK2011 overall package. I used to prefer the cyborg version, however I don't miss it one bit.


Next character suggestion: KUNG LAO (the Evo2011 winner)

Ive always been a big fan of Smoke, and loved his moves. In MK9 I love his smoke away+forward escapes and his smoke bomb and teleport punch moves. I felt that he could've used more combos in this game however because he has only six I think?

Aesthetically I love his primary! Im a big fan of long haired warriors so I was thrilled when I saw Smoke had long whitish hair. Its pretty badass, and I hope Smoke keeps that look for this entire timeline. His alternate costume is nice but its a bit too bulky and armored (and excuse for people who hate the long hair to use it haha!)

I really want Smoke to stay human, and that's the form 'I'm the biggest fan of. Cyber Smoke would be ok but I wouldn't dig it too much probably. Maybe as a DLC costume possibly.

All in all hes one of my mains and my favorites. Love his intro and ending for fights!

Stay down!

Oh and, it's Vrbada (not Vrbata) -> a typo below the first pic in the original post.

One last question: Are people happy with Smoke's special moves? Is this a set of specials that can carry forward and become a standard repertoire for him in future appearances?

Personally very happy with ALL moves,especially this teleport move (especially his enhanced version,where he lands from the above in ninja-style,that's so cool) and smoke away and in moves,so characteristic to him. Didn't like his invisibility,I think it doesn't make sense with his powers,it is more of Reptile's area.

I think they can change some of these moves into more cool looking specials(but the ideas will stay the same). I would actually love to see some more smoke move,for example,Smoke turns into the smoke and goes through the opponent into the other corner and the opponent starts to cough,which gives you free hit.

Lord god, yes. I'd like for him to additionally get some sort of anti-air - maybe the stinky cloud from MKD could make a modified comeback - but his new moveset is awesome.

Yes, I've come to like this moveset quite a lot. It somehow did the inconceivable: it expanded UMK3 Human Smoke's move set into an unique playing style (minus the spear and 1 forgettable dial-a-combo). NRS made a very fun play style that while different to recent MK games still feels very familiar. Definitely would want to see the MK9 Smoke playstyle built upon.

Though Smoke did get turned into a punching bag in later story chapters and was part of the "Sindel incident" I like most everything else he about his MK9 story. Great bio, ending, and story chapter. At worst like Reptile/Baraka/etc should he be stuck to a lackey role he at least now has a personal story to work.

I like your discussions, but man, it saddens me to see you get this wrong. The Official MK 2 Comic, sold to coincide with the appearance of MK2 in the arcade, shows Smoke and Sub-Zero together, as members of the Lin Kuei. Sure, all he does is pilot the plane, but as the first secret character to ever be depicted in the comics, they give him more detail than "Shang's spy/assassin."

What your referencing is a Malibu/Battlewave comic's depiction of Smoke.
Anyway, I like Smoke. I only really paid attention to him when I was younger because a friend had told me he was MK2's equivalent of Reptile in MK1 (all the ninja's powers and stuff). Boy, was I ever disappointed when I found out he was just a grey Scorpion, especially when I learnt that Noob was a black Scorpion. Was it that hard to make him have another attack? When he came back in MK3 though, I thought it was an interesting twist to have such a tragedy happen to him. I was especially intrigued when UMK3 came out and had two portrayals for him, one cyborg, and one human, and I absolutely LOVED human Smoke's ending not coinciding with his cyborg form. It led me to wonder, what would happen to him? Would he be set free of his metal bondage or remain a robot? Then ten years passed and everybody forgot about Smoke, even the characters in the series. Some friend Sub-Zero turned out to be, right? Adding insult to injury, Cyrax became the main cyber good guy, while we had to wait until Deception to find out that Smoke was just chilling in Kahn's basement, playing Pong.
I hated his depiction in Deception. Noob Saibot's bitch was the best they could come up with? They had to make him playable with Noob too? I was really annoyed with this, despite his looking pretty bad-ass in his costumes.
For how he was in this game, I have to say, well, he sucked. He shows no discipline, no patience, and no skill when he fights. Unless he's controlled by the player, he's always depicted as losing (has his ass saved by Raiden, loses the MK2 tournament, loses to Sektor, and killed by Sindel). Worst bit? They gave CYRAX his story! Cyrax was the second prototype, and he was cool with being a cyborg until he was fucked up by Sub-Zero. In any case, we knew that Smoke would be human this time anyway, so I guess they couldn't let go of having at least one tragic cyborg...
Speaking of cyborg Smoke, I abhor how people seem to think that cyber Smoke and human Smoke are two separate characters; this isn't Street Fighter people, they are one-in-the-same and only existed like that in UMK3 when Midway wanted to make more ninjas than ever before, even if it didn't make sense. They are the same character, and as far as I'm concerned, Smoke is Smoke, regardless of what his costume looks like.
The whole demon thing residing in Smoke's body makes me wonder, why give him such an interesting back story that could possibly hint at him having awesome power, only to have him killed so effortlessly by Sindel? Are his Smoke powers that bad that even he doesn't use them while he fights? I agree with you on this 100%; why even bother keeping him around if he was going to be ineffectual and die later anyway? That's the tragedy that surrounds him now, will he be forgotten once again now that we've actually seen him kick the bucket? I do hope that this MK story mode depiction of him is about as canon as most of the random shit that happened in the previous Konquest games...

Yeah, I knew he was Subby's comrade in the official MK2 comic... but the Malibu Comic was just so much more... interesting (at in terms of ammo for me to joke about).

Hm, good point, can't imagine what one could make fun of with him being a pilot... Unless they have some hot Lin Kuei stewardesses to provide some in-flight entertainment... "How can I stroke one I cannot touch?!"

Well, I do agree, yet again.

Do Kano next, Please!!

Also...


"NRS have the same mindset as DC Comics where its all about their top characters and everybody else is just decoration. "...


Not really. NRS is selling one game (Which all of their "top characters" are in) so it does not matter if you put anyone in really (Freddy...) as long as Scr0p and subz are still around. With Comic books, they have to give each character his own comic. No one's gonna be buying a Batman comic to see the Green Lantern. There's not a lot of money in comics anyway, Batman and Superman and all them sell well nough, and DC knows it, other comics do not, so which way would you go? Ya see what I mean? MK= An issue of a Batman comic featuring Superman AND everyone else that is not that big but still have some fans. Much easier to sell, even if they are just buying it for Batman.

Regarding the whole Cyrax bit, we never got any real sense of how he felt about being automated during the Cyber Initiative in the original games. He could've very well been against the idea morally but went along with out of fear of betrayal.

That's the way I've always looked at him. When they mentioned that Sektor volunteered but didn't specify about Cyrax, I took it to mean he was the middle ground between Sektor and Smoke; that he was selected and complied out of loyalty despite his own feelings on the matter, that he considered it shameful to flee, or some such.

I can respect those views, especially with the degree of vagueness attached to Cyrax's feelings about becoming a cyborg. To explain my view on it further and why Cyrax's portrayal annoys me so much is that he was the second guy to become a cyborg. Keep in mind that he and Sektor were PROTOTYPES before the Lin Kuei decided to automate everyone. With that, I'm reluctant to think that he did so out of fear for that reason alone; to throw your hat in to become the second guy to do a risky, life-changing surgery shows a real degree of loyalty to the cause. Despite his having a soul now and calling himself human, he's still a cyborg, armour, weapons, and all, and uses them to their full advantage.
Smoke, on the other hand, never wanted to become one. He was the third prototype, and was blatantly captured and forced to do it before Kahn's invasion, and forced to obey his programming. There couldn't have been that much more advancement in the process if he's still considered a prototype, and only the third to boot.
MK9 changed that completely though. Cyrax went from being one of the first participants of the cyber initiative to being completely against it; it's a complete 180o change from what we were told 16 years ago. Heck, his rejecting the clan and the automation process did absolutely nothing for his character either, except, surprise, make him the new tragic cyborg and usurping Smoke's original role. As for Smoke, he's dead. We're back to where we were when MKG came out, with Cyrax taking Smoke's place, and Smoke out of the picture for one reason or another.

I've had a bit of time to think this over, and the more that time passes, the more I come to appreciate MK2011's Smoke. In effect, this game took
almost everything I wanted Smoke to achieve, flipped it on its head, and served me a platter just as delicious. I feel like it actualized the
character, really brought him into being, and rather than simply tossed his old plot off to Cyrax, took the element that made him work for
what little presence as a character that he had, and expanded upon it in a fashion that is, to me at least, satisfactory.

There was nobody more attached to Smoke's original plot and direction than I was. I'm ready to let that go now, though. There are a few reasons why:

-As many agree, almost no attempt was made post MK3 to capitalize on the fact that of the three cyber-ninjas, special mention was made of
the fact that he still had his soul intact underneath there - apart from a cursory mention of hid inherent 'goodness' still being intact
in Ashrah's MKD ending. In effect, Cyrax inherited Smoke's MK3 plotline - it was he who was discovered by Sonya and Jax, who had his
humanity reawakened after almost no buildup. All he needed was a malfunction and a parking space in the desert, and then a twitch that made Sektor give him the stink-eye.

Smoke's big role in the plot was to provide an element of tragedy and an emotional stepping stone for Sub-Zero. The loss of his friend
was a hurdle in his life on the way to becoming Lin Kuei Grandmaster. But his relevance to Sub-Zero's plot took a major backseat the
second the decision was made to retroactively reveal Noob Saibot as Bi-Han, MK1 sub - a major figure in Kuai Liang's life, whose
disappearance was initially the entire reason the character was introduced. We have here another example of a loved one lost, with the
added bonus of the added emotional investment of family ties which also received follow-up in MKA's Konquest, and has still managed to
stay prominent to his 2011 plot.

To sum: With Noob around, I don't see too much need for Smoke to become a cyborg and become lost to Sub again - I get the feeling NRS thinks the same - and I feel the struggle to regain humanity lost can fully become Cyrax's because they practically made it his already in the old timeline anyway. I've never seen Cyrax as the volunteer for the process that Sektor was; he didn't run, but I always figured he went through with it due to loyalty to the clan, and was the middle ground, so to speak.

I'm fine with Sektor and Cyrax alone embodying two perspectives on the process. I don't see the plot-swap between Smoke and Cyrax as too big of an issue; as far as I'm concerned they're just providing a solid foundation to the character we know Cyrax became in the end.

However, that doesn't apply to Smoke-Sub. I'm still irritated by the conversion of CSZ - but that's a matter I'll come to when we get around to his chapter.

Smoke's appeal to me comes from many factors, not the least of which is the fact that he lost his humanity, but the fact that his humanity is the cornerstone of what little he had that passed for plot. His Mk3 ending has him realize he's still got a soul. Ashrah's MKD ending shows it's still buried under there, somewhere.

This is why I applaud the decision to show him as an enenra - he retains the struggle to hold onto that humanity. All that is different is the form and method. He's still very much a human made into something else by others. Whether it's monstrous or not is yet to be seen.

Anyhoo, Smoke is dead, this is true. And it's a shame. But as we all know in the world of MK, death is often meaningless....and after a bit of consideration, I've come to the conclusion that not only is being dead not anywhere near as big an obstacle in terms of character progression as it is for others like Stryker and Kabal...point in fact, Smoke's death may provide the impetus for his realization of his past. He technically died already; maybe being dead again can bring the factors in his ending into being. Quan may find that since he's an enenra, he's harder - or easier - to corrupt to his will. Could go either way. It would be an excellent occasion to bring the strength of his human soul back to the forefront, to show he can't be broken, no matter what he really is or becomes - in this timeline or the old.

I think he's a shoo-in for MK10. If nothing else, he's number five on the character chart on the official site. That's a sign they're doing something right.

More to come in a few days where I'll get down to talking about his gameplay, and then the daunting task of discussing his new physical appearances. Lord knows I'll have my work cut out for me there, heh.