Scorpion is a one-note character obsessed with vengeance. Without vengeance, there is no character.

Scorpion is only a lackey when it serves his desire for vengeance.

Scorpion is glorified because of Ed Boon.

Here's the thing. You have to accept the fact that with the recent MK games, the characters' personalities are going to be very simplified. Scorpion is no exception. The thing is, he can move away from revenge and move on to other things. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen, at least not any time soon.

He was finally starting to have a story, but then the franchise got rebooted. The same can be said for almost anyone, really.

If the overall storyline can finally evolve into something new for once, then Scorp has a chance of moving past this "glorified lackey" stage.

Scorpion is in his early stages again so he’s going to respect Quan Chi as a father figure and teacher.

Quan Chi is the being who gave Scorpion a second chance, a rebirth into his former existence. The gift giver isn’t always suspected as why I don’t think Scorpion believes that Quan Chi set him up.

The thought that Quan Chi set him up could have entered Scorpion’s mind but he’d likely deny it for Quan Chi helping him.

It’s really not too far of a dynamic than that of Darth Vader and Palpatine right now.


Finding the truth is bound to happen next, with betrayal as the worst possible act. Scorpion deserves the vengeance against the bald pale bastard.

After Quan Chi is slain, Scorpion may have avenged his family and clan, but his dark deeds keep his soul from resting with them.

A redemption plot like the Elder God’s champion seems ideal as the step afterwards.

"Is Scorpion just a glorified lackey?"

Yes.

lol...ditto

Actually, with his MK: Armageddon story, Scorpion pretty much hit rock bottom. They really should have kept him as the Champion of the Elder Gods though in a way, that probably would have made things worse considering that we have this quasi reboot to deal with.

Na.

As evidence from Raiden's Chapter shows, Scorpion is a glorified secretary. Ever since Quan Chi got Noob Saibot all Scorpion does is hang out in the NetherRealm and take messages. Probably gets the coffee too.

No. I don't believe so.

Scorpion is like the word popular.


Popular is hated my many and popular is popular cause of its name.

Looks like being the secretary paid off though, as he is still around while Noob died. Got his ass kicked a lot less often too.

You know, one thing I found very funny about Scorpion is how futile his one victory against Bi Han (the older Sub-Zero) was. He got owned by him twice in the past, and when he finally got a win over him during the events of MK1, Sub-Zero ends up returning from the dead as well, and unlike Scorpion, is actually happy about his fate as a wraith. I wonder if it's the reason Scorpion was given wins against Kung Lao, Nightwolf and Cyrax, who lost to him even with Sektor's assistence. So, you know, he could have actual wins, ones that do not end up benefiting the loser unintentionally.

Going back to Noob losing more often, that too seems like NRS wanting to make up for not making Scorpy looks good enough in the past. Noob was fought more often, and lost to the likes of Sonya and Kabal (while teamed up with Mileena no less), and it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't to give these two any credance as fighters, but to establish Noob as inferior to Scorpion. I'm not saying that's the case, just that it's a strong possibility.

The way they've written him for the past several years, yes. He is a one-dimensional henchman.

Back in the Tobias days, however, the games painted him as NOT being in debt to the forces that brought him back to life. He WASN'T a bodyguard or henchman for Quan Chi, Quan simply gave him power and set him loose on a mutual enemy.

After Scorpion killed Bi-Han, he didn't understand why he was still undead, because he was under the impression that getting vengeance would grant him the ability to rest in peace, so he tried to find his own path. He allied himself first with Kuai Liang, because he thought atoning for killing his brother would make up for his sins so he could go to Heaven, then with Shao Kahn because staying in Outworld meant not having to go back to Hell. But then he betrayed Kahn when he found out Kuai Liang was on the other side of the war because, as a man of honor, he was bound to follow the vow he made to fight with him before.

And then in MK4, Quan Chi got him to give up that vow and fight Kuai by telling him "Well Bi-Han killed you, but what I never told you is...the other Sub-Zero is the one who killed your family! That's why you can't rest in peace, your revenge isn't done.", which tricked Scorpion into joining Shinnok's army and fighting Sub-Zero, because Quan Chi considered Sub-Zero the biggest threat of the good guys because of how his brother beat him and Shinnok before in Mythologies.
But then at the end of MK4, Scorp finds out that Quan is really the one who killed his clan and has been manipulating him all along...which leads into Scorp hunting Quan for revenge in MKDA and Scorpion becoming something new while Quan is dead in MKD. In the old timeline, more often than not, Scorpion was a noble anti-hero. Revenge was only his motive in HALF of the games he was in. Most of the time, he was a sort of anti-hero who just wanted to stop being a hellspawn and rest in peace, reunite with his family in the afterlife.

It is because reboots are designed to shorten and streamline characters' histories to make them easier to understand, that MKvsDC and MK9 completely skip MK 2 and 3 and go straight to "Quan Chi tricked Scorp into working for him". Unfortunately, the result is that it removes all the interesting parts of Scorpion's character and storyline, making him no better than Baraka, Kano, and Sheeva.

"Is Scorpion just a glorified lackey?"

*cough* Noob Saibot *cough*

Scorpion has a personality, he has a character about him, a goal, a mission... to avenge the death of his clan. This aspect of his character is what creates the tension between himself, both Sub Zeros and the rest of the Lin Kuei. Even after the eventual discovery of Quan Chi's part in the demise of the Shirai-Ryu, Scorpion still had a pursuit, a purpose and his own agenda.

Noob Saibot on the other hand (and I'll start by saying I AM a big Noob Saibot fan) doesn't seem to have a purpose of his own. He has no hidden agenda, no real reason for existance other than to serve Quan Chi, which he does without question.

While I agree that both Scorpion and Noob Saibot are indeed lackies (and indeed good ones) they differ in that Scorpion is more than just, while Saibot seems to be a mindless wraith that takes orders without question and exists only to serve Quan Chi.

And while Scorpion is my favourite character (and has been since the original Mortal Kombat) I do believe that the "glorification" of Scorpion has more to do with the fact that he is Ed Boon's favourite character (quoted) and has always played a large role in the franchise's storyline, marketing, design and media. He has become synonymous with Mortal Kombat.

Noob isn't mindless, he has his own desires, he simply ENJOYS working for the Brotherhood, so chooses to not rock the boat.

It's possible he's under a spell that prevents him from fighting Quan Chi directly, though. In Deception, he specifically states he wants to rule the Netherealm for himself but never went out on his own until his masters were dead (which Quan was at the time) rather than betraying them himself. And the moment Quan Chi shows back up in Armageddon, Noob teams up with him again.

And in his MK9 ending, he hires Havik to fight Quan for him instead of doing it himself. So maybe he wants to kill Quan but can't. Or maybe he just knows he's not powerful enough to win such a fight so he decides to be sneaky instead.

That was a very funny post, given how ignorant you are about Noob. Noob has ceased being a mindless drone for quite some time now. Did you miss MK9's scene before Kuai Liang (the younger Sub-Zero) fights him where Noob clearly states that serving Quan Chi benefits his own objective?

For someone for supposedly has free will, Scorpion sure likes to act like he does not. Hell, it's only after Quan Chi himself told the stupid prick the truth that Scorpion rebelled against him. And he didn't do a very good job obtaining his revenge afterwards. When the Elder Gods recruited him, he trusted them blindly. Scorpion and intelligent thinking aren't the most compatible couple, it seems. Maybe he truly needs someone to do the thinking for him. I mean, Scorpion vs Quan Chi? Talk about being intellectually outmatched!

I take it you've never played Deception/Unchained Noob's true allegiance is himself and since his "Masters" were gone during Deception, he wanted to conquer and rule the Netherealm. Does that sound mindless to you?

Actually, he wanted to rule Outworld, not the Netherrealm.

Noob's Deception ending, note the parts I've bolded:

"With Smoke as his template, Noob Saibot planned to return to the Netherrealm and use Smoke's nanotechnology to create an army of cyborg demons. He was unaware that they were followed by someone Noob had not seen since before he became a wraith. Smoke instantly recognized their visitor. He was an echo of their past. He was Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot's brother.

Noob Saibot was surprised to see how much stronger his brother had become. If he were still Lin Kuei, still human, he would probably have shown some degree of pride. But, as Raiden had revealed during the ordeal with Shinnok's Amulet, his soul had been tainted when he died at the hand of Scorpion. Noob Saibot, the original Sub-Zero, had descended into the Netherrealm free from compassion. He ordered Smoke to assist him in slaying his brother - his first act as ruler of the Netherrealm."

Icebaby, you're way off. Look at Noob-Smoke's ending or look at Razor's post above me

Well sorry for misinterpreting his biography.

Noob Saibot's always been in it for himself. Think of it as Emperor Palpatine, he's just working behind the scenes for his goals.

I know Noob died and all, but come on, like it's gonna stop him from returning in a new game. Along with the fact he already died once.

I'm thinking that if Noob ended up rebelling against Quan Chi, and Scorpion found out the truth about his family and clan (likely from Quan Chi himself again, as Scorpion isn't exactly a detective), he (Noob) could use Scorpion against him. I'd say that it's probably one of the only ways Scorpion will ever get the revenge he craves obssesively. Noob could act as the brains, Scorpion as the brawn. Noob is most certainly the smarter of the two, after all.

I can't see Scorp and Noob ever getting along with one another long enough to make an effective team at anything. Bi-Han's too much of an asshole and Scorp certainly hasn't stopped hating his guts.
They'd probably spend the entire time going "You have no honor." "No, YOU have no honor!" "Well you can go to Hell." "We're already there!" "No thanks to you!" "You're the one who sent me here!" "You killed me first!" and on and on until they just start punching each other in the face.

Who says Noob would have to tell Scorpion who he used to be? By keeping his former identity a secret, I'm sure Noob could very easily manipulate Scorpion. Thing is, if Scorpion found out neither Bi Han nor Kuai Liang killed his family and clan, then he could be able to get along with Noob, having already killed him and avenged his own death, thus being even. Noob did benefit from dying at Scorpion's hands, but just telling Scorpion that he (Noob) regrets what he's done in the past, and that he deserved to die, would result in Scorpion letting his guard down. He might as well be wearing a "use me" sign.

I feel pretty sorry for Scorpion's family and clan, as their revenge is entirely in his hands.