I hope he pulls a SZ and waits it out long enough for sektor to kill the grandmaster. I don't think sektor really cares about automation or SZ would have been captured long before MKA.

So..
What now?

Huge reaction post later on tonight that I've been putting off goes here.

look forward to it..

I'm in the minority I think but I like Smoke's new look. It's made me interested in playing as him as I was never a fan before.

Im sort of in two minds over the new human smoke, i like some bits about him but dislike others.
I like the fact that he is human again (FINALLY!) an this could be a great chance to make this character alot more interesting an take off on a different story rather than just being captured & automated an then under the whip of noob. What i dislike is his hair which alot of people dont like an i understand that this is going to make him look alot more unique but why is his hair that long? I'd have to see it in gameplay to make my final judgement on it. I dont like his stance in his 'Vs' picture, its only the hand that bugs me, i hope to god his fighting style isnt like that, i just dont like it.
But all in all i think he looks preety good-ish, im interested in what his alternative costume is going to be, maybe its his Cyborg version, maybe its not.

I'll be back to read you reaction man.

Looking forward to it.


My reaction? I'm happy Smoke's in the game and human, though this is contrary to my history as I started liking Smoke after he became a cyborg. He was so fun to play. Then I delved into his history and its tragedy and just started liking the character more and more the more backstory he got.

If Smoke is to remain human in this new game, then I pray it's to further his story. Even if it's the general conversion to cyborg, I want characterization with him going on. Since UMK3 Smoke's been striving to become human again and it's a turning point for the character. I want to see what can be done.

I think the hair will look better during gameplay, I reckon it's meant to be all flowy and smoke-like. I hope we get to see some gameplay of him and Sheeva soon.

didn ́t anyone noticed that smoke appears fighting in the demo?
at the background of the pit 2 arena... sometimes fujin appears too

We dont know for sure it was Smoke, it did seem to look like a gray ninja look-alike but one thing is for sure, he certainly didnt have flowing white hair which suggests it wasnt him.

well, it ́s grey, looks like a ninja, and have troll hair... let ́s wait to see

Man.

What a tumultuous week for Smoke fans, eh? Everyone's finally seen what he looks like, at least from the waist up. Reaction's been really, really mixed. We know why. I'll get to that in a bit. This isn't a post designed to try and convince anybody reading to accept the hair; just my own take on everything we've seen so far. A visual analysis that probably reads way too deep.

First off: DAT SUIT.

Holy shit. I guess we know who got the most old-school influence this time around, huh? The segmented plates with the thin breaks in between them totally bring back that UMK3 ninja aesthetic while taking on a look of their own.

The whole of the outfit is very smooth and streamlined. There's a very 'artificial' quality about it that's added to and heightened by the presence of those tiny circles at the corners of each segment, which could easily be construed as screws. They haven't forgotten at all about his history as a cyber-ninja; the design seems to be totally intended to remind us that this is a character who's spent the majority of his time as an artificial being of sorts.

The mask , while retaining a flowing organic quality, definitely speaks as much to the character as Scorpion's and Reptile's do for them. Scorpion's is patterned after bones and his namesake arachnid's legs, and Reptile's is all squirming, shifting scales, very alien, and suited to someone of a different realm entirely. The ridges on Smoke's mask are gently curved but symmetrical, like a car's chrome exhaust pipe, and are hard-edged rather than being rounded - again, a contrast between smooth and ridged. It's a great blend.

The forearm gauntlets are very much an update of the UMK3 versions. They're very form-fitting here, sleek, not bulky, and I love how they taper downward to a near arrow-point over the back of his hand, just before his knuckles. A great stylistic choice.

Now...I do the 'do.

I was given a heads-up that he'd have some kooky hair a little while back, before anybody else here (that I know about) had even seen the select screen pic. I was frigging worried. When I actually did see it myself, I had the same reaction as many of you folks out there. I wanted to know when the hell Christopher Walken knocked up a snowy owl and sold the offspring to NRS. You think some of you dislike it? Shit, I was gnashing my teeth for a good hour.

But I had a bit of extra time with it. And the more I've looked at it, the more I've become lenient with it. You know why? Because thematically, it fits for who the character is right now. It is absolutely wild and crazy; clashing with the steely feel of his suit. It's almost a thing alive, and that's what Smoke really is right now, for the first time in the almost twenty years since his inception. Alive. Human.

For ages upon ages, almost longer than I can remember, I have been waiting and foaming at the mouth for Smoke to get his humanity back. MKD pretty much killed that possibility outright. But a reboot gave me this saving grace; to see for myself what the character would be like untainted by the trauma of forced mechanization. This is why the hair works for me; there's absolutely nothing mechanical or predictable about it.

And hell, think about his MK3 ending. He was bald in that; perhaps shaving the subject's head was part of the preparations for the conversion process. How often do you see that done to a prisoner in a movie when they're condemned? Looking at his hair as representative of the freedom he's currently got as a living, breathing human (I know how ridiculous that last sentence sounds by the way - believe me and bear with me, for I've been dissecting books and characters for years now), shaving his head could be entirely symbolic of the ruination his character goes through, what he loses.

Anyway, on a surface level, there's two ways to look at this thing. You can say he looks like a troll, or Don King, and call it a day. Go nuts; I don't blame anyone in the least for disliking it. It took a while for the hair to grow (LOLZ) on me.

Or you can say that he brings to mind, say, Rikimaru from Tenchu, or, hell, even that dude in Naruto. Ninjas both, regardless of their form of media, and hairstyle. People, myself included, have been imagining this traditional 'smoke bombs, evasion, stealth and darkness' feel for Smoke for a good long while now. From what I know of his gameplay style and special moves, we're getting it in spades. He may finally be MK's first legitimate 'stealth ninja'. though Lin Kuei and not actual ninja he be (ah, the ironies). I can live with some crazy hair at that cost. Even if it's white as an anime character's. It's not that big of a shock to MK's grim feel. In fact, I think it fits right in.

NRS had balls of steel to give this character this hair. I respect them for taking a risk. It's not what I would have gone with, and I'm not completely convinced. I'm more in love with the suit at the moment, but damned if it's not growing on me day by day, little by little.

And for those who are not at all buying into his current look; I reiterate - his alternate outfit should make you happy, by the way it's been described to me. Just wait for it.

All said and done, I'm ecstatic, much, much more than overjoyed with how he's turned out, questionable hair included. I have tried my damnedest to forget those arcade bios and spoilers I read almost a month ago - and I've actually done a reasonable job with most of the details. I remember the gist of it, among the details I recall are his given name and place of origin - and those have contributed in a major way to how much I'm enjoying him now. I'll enjoy them even more once I see and remember the rest again.

Good god guys, don't tease me anymore. Give me some gameplay footage. Just an X-Ray, I beg of you! Or at least a render. Let me put his shin-guards under a magnifying glass!

Not even a month left before there will be smoke bombs all over this bitch. Can't wait. NRS, it really does seem to me like you've hit this one out of the park.

Wow. Just one thing I don't know (relativly new) who do you know who's telling you about the game?


And anyway, I only ever liked Cyborg Smoke, after seeing his look in this game though... Well he might be my favorite ninja. But after reading your post? I think I'm sold.

Been waiting on you to chime in all day. Great Post!!!

I was glad that he was human this time around and built up a decent back story for him...
My complaint was he look like the Doc from Back to the Future and he wore THICK METAL plates on his outfit? And retrofied it to the MK3 style. Yuk....
Having revealing hair isn't had idea but that hair was lame.. if he had hair like lets say Virgil from Devil May Cry 3.. i would be like thats kinda cool.
Again.. my main complaint is the thick metal plates on his outfit and that stance.

Now if Smoke look anything like his MK Shaolin Monks form i woulve been the happiest person alive.

I just hope his story is finished and perfected since the demo that got release last month. i like to think that demo was the last years one and had alot updates since then,

This is a real MK fan. A real Smoke fan. I applaud you for this very intuitive, entertaining and passionate post.

*buddies Shadaloo*

Well said, my friend. Well said. Wish I could have expressed my opinion so logically. Good show.

Good demonstration there, Shade. Human Smoke concept art revealed:

Well put shadaloo

Good picture, I think everyone will change their tune about his hair when they see it in motion, it was obviously never gonna stick up. I'm very interested in seeing some gameplay of him now, I really love his look so I hope his moves are just as good.

I for one am glad to see smoke back in his human form and I like the new look.
Smoke and reptile were two of my favourites from mk 1-3 and I always felt they both got a really hard time storywise. Hopefully in the new continuity they both have a bit of better luck.

smoke and reptile did get the raw end LOL

I like his hair in the above image, I just feel it has too much volume. The colour and style is fine, it's really grown on me, but it just seems like there is too much.

He looks kinda badass with that hair.