I thought this was obvious. In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero it was kinda clear Bi Han had morals

Can my man Bi-Han not get slandered by the devs every time as this evil cruel bastard?

I always had the head canon that after Bi-Han’s death in MK1, Shinnok personally tortured him in the Netherrealm as revenge for how the Lin Kuei inconvenienced him, burning away pieces of his soul until all that was left was a literal shadow. Then Noob was born as an exaggeration of all Bi-Han’s worst traits, while retaining all of his skill.

It's actually comical how evil and how much of a dick he is in story mode.

Bi Han deserves better, he's more than just "Evil Edgelord"

The main point of Scorpion's story was about how quan chi's lie made scorpion kill an innocent man. Making bi han evil would contradict a lot of what makes scorpion a tragic character

I always viewed bi-han as pretty stoic, but not outright evil. I really hope they don't fuck him up and just make him an asshole in the new game because this is the first time we've really gotten to play as bi-han in a while

Bi-Han never hated his brother, Noob Saibot did.

In one of Bi Han's MK1 lines with Liu Kang, he also shows remorse for apparently trusting Shang Tsung. He didn't know about Shang Tsung's experiments, and shows remorese for going along with them. He might actually be more complex than just a pure bad guy. This is especially because in the story footage we can see he doesn't hate his brother, and even tries to convince Kuai and Smoke that leading Earthrealm is a greater purpose than protecting it. He clearly has distrust for Liu Kang, but trusts his comrades (even if he doesn't show it as much as his brother).

You gotta feel bad for Bi-Han dying in both time-lines

In my view, I've always thought of Bi-Han as a tough brother, the kind that very clearly loved and cared for him, but was tough on him to make sure he could endure the life they were being brought into. As a longtime fan of the Sub-Zero brothers, I've always wished and desired to see Bi-Han acting like the brother we should believe he was. He was never a bad brother, just probably a stern one.

Bi-Han didn't seem like an evil character, maybe a relatively cut throat character but not evil. Even in MK9 while he was still alive he was a hired killer but objected to being accused of killing innocent families. Partly because he didn't do it but also it's probably not something he would proudly do. Cyrax, Kuai Liang, and Smoke were willing to make moral stances putting them odds with their clan and leading to their heroic alignment, we just don't get a chance to see how Bi-Han felt or would've reacted in these cases because he's dead and under mind control throughout the vast majority of the series.

A lot of people forget that Netherrealm isn't exactly the same as hell. It's implied that dying sends you there regardless of if you were good or evil, as characters like Stryker, Jax, Nightwolf and others were sent there while being on the good side. They just assume that going to the netherrealm means going to hell = bad

Finally someone who actually understands Bi-Han’s character and his relationship with his brother. Bi-Han is my favorite character, and to see him get constantly slandered by everyone is frustrating. Really hope he’s not getting corrupted again. Great video.

I'm glad you made this. In Mythologies, he literally rejected the Brotherhood of Shadow. It'd be weird if he all of a sudden chose to willingly serve it.

So disappointed they made Bi Han evil again in MK1 😵‍💫

Hard to ever forget Bi-Han's morality if you're familiar with Sareena

You’d think people would already assume that Bi-Han isn’t really a bad guy after knowing that it was Quan-Chi who killed Hanzo’s family. But for some reason, the fandom and Nether Realm treats Bi-Han as if doesn’t make a difference if he did kill Hanzo’s family or not.

I get that it was probably retconned in Mythologies with Bi-Han sparing Sareena, but wasn’t Kuai Liang’s willingness to spare his opponents the reason Scorpion figured out that the two brothers aren’t the same back in MK2?

I've always felt like Bi-han had to be a good brother for Kuai Liang considering the young Sub-Zero went through the trouble of avenging him in both continuities. My headcanon is that Bi-han wanted to kill Shang Tsung in MK1 so that he would get that bounty and run off with Kuai Liang and provide him a peaceful life through the money and reputation he has made for himself

Unbelievable Snake. Obviously everyone is talking about the live action evil version of Bi-Han smh XD

Fucking Bi Han is now more like Shao then Shao Is in 1

Bi-han fit the anti-hero alignment but a much darker version. Motivated by self-preservation, though was capable of heroic deeds. Combined with his abrasive and a few redeeming personality traits as well.

Someone hire this guy as a story editor

Human Bi-Han was always intended to be a morally grey character even in the original MK from 1992.

Midway: Bi-Han is a complex character Player: How So? Midway: He's got (backstory 1) and (backstory 2)... not to mention he (Shujinko ending 1) and (shujinko ending 2). He also has a troll hammer -20 years of retcons later NRS: Bi-Han hates his brother Player: How so? NRS: Because I said so. We write the canon Player: Based on what? NRS: Our shitty Shao Kahn Armageddon ending x Funny Kronika fanfiction

At the very least, I now have an appreciation for Bi-Han as a complicated guy who really needs a redemption arc

So, as someone who watched the story... you're gonna be dissapointed about Bi-Han, Snake, just so you know.

Im gonna wait for the inevitable "Bi han wasted potential video "

Let's hope for a redemption arc for bi-han in a dlc or something, but only if ed bum don't go full anti sub-zero and destroy his character ever more

Scorpion: "You took everything from me!" Bi-Han: "I don't even know you?"

#JusticeforBiHan

Was saying pretty much this to Fantim on our recent Tarkatan Bitesized episode, albeit in much lesser detail! People assume Bi-Han was always evil but just that scene alone in Mythologies of him being concerned when hearing he had evil in his soul demonstrates the exact opposite for me. He is corrupted upon death and resurrecting in the Netherrealm as the tainted Noob Saibot, not prior!

Funny how the current MK fanbase seems to love reducing awesome characters to 1 dimensional black and white jobbers e.g 'evil' Bi Han, 'evil' Sindel. I dunno, personally I like my fan favorite characters to have some level of depth to them when they can

This aged well. Mk1 Bi Han is not only evil, but really dumb, douchy and naive to believe deadly alliance and betray his brothers in a span of like 10 minutes. This, ladies and gentlemen, is on par with Sindel mk11 retcon

So basically, some people take corrupted Bi-Han's words as his true feelings.

Bi-Han was an assassin. He bore grudges against a rival clan, he had a willingness to commit horrible acts of violence, and he was willing to serve dubious characters on the orders of his masters. These are not the traits of a good man, and in regards to the MK franchise aren't even that notable insofar as wicked traits are concerned. Obviously not pure of heart, which is again why he dies and goes to HELL. But for the devs and some fans to treat him like he was always a monster when every character in the franchise can perform brutal murders on each other, and yet nobody says Scorpion's a villain, is very telling. They simply want Scorpion to be right in murdering Bi-Han, they don't want there to be a nuance to the relationship of Kuai-Liang and Hanzo in the future, they simply want there to be a villain that both can agree to reject.

I actually have A LOT to think about Bi-Han's potential in the MK universe so bear with me for a moment. One thing that I always found it fascinating about Noob Saibot was his Arcade Ending in MK9 I always liked the implication where he betrays both Shinnok and Quan-Chi to rule the Netherrealm himself because it works with the idea that Noob is just the worst emotions of Bi-Han taking form. He now hates his brother, relishes on killing, wants more power than ever, serves people that are clearly evil with genocidal and not just mercenaries that kill some people for money, but most importantly, his hatred got stronger, and what are the people he hated the most when he was alive? The Shirai Ryu, Quan Chi and Shinnok. Which is why he ended up betraying them and taking control of the Netherealm (He says in the trailers that they could lead Earthrealm meaning he possibly feels a bit like he could genuinely makes things better and now as Noob he is distorted to believe he can do that by force, which is why he took over Netherealm as opposed to just leave it there after defeating Shinnok and Quan Chi.) This can also apply to his corruption still not fully erasing his old self but just realizing what Bi-Han wanted in the wrong way, now that he conquers the Netherrealm and it's friends with Havik maybe he can revive Sareena, maybe he can also turn his brother into a Wraith so he can be with him again, the Netherealm are the source of Scorpion's power, maybe now he can make Scorpion weaker and kill him definitely, and he may even be able to finally stop killing after all his conquest is done. Another way this could be interpreted is that the Wraith transformation is flawed because it keeps corrupting the revived corpse making him more and more evil which is why Noob betrayed Quan Chi despite being a supposedly more loyal servant than Scorpion, which could also explain why Quan Chi kept changing ressurection methods until he finally hit it gold with the Revenants who couldn't be lead astray by sympathetic moments like Specters and wouldn't get so evil they would plan to betray him like Wraiths. Bi-Han's current positon could also make for some pretty interesting relationships with characters like Ahsrah and Sareena, Ahsrah could start the story hating Bi-Han and deciding to terminate him but later learning about what happened to him and end up feeling sympathetic for him since he was basically forced to be a demon like creature like her once was and maybe she could try to help him get better, there is also Sareena who was spared by Bi-Han once and almost got saved by him so now she can save him to finally thank him properly, hell there is dialogue in MKX that hints that she may even love Bi-Han so this makes the whole thing more interesting. Both Ahsrah and Sareena can even team-up for a while (which could result in other great interactions on it's own but we will talk about that other time) Overall Noob Saibot corruption has so much potential and I hope M 1 K can capitalize on that because it's genuinely fascinating.

I'd forgotten how much better Noob's default MK9 look was over that of MK11.

Its why i dislike it when people say they want Bi-Han full evil in this timeline. If NRS makes him a completely unredeemable prick, whats the point of noob?

I’m glad someone finally mentioned that weird mention of Sektor in Kuai’s MK11 ending. The best I can get from that is that Bi-Han approved of the Cyber Initiative and Sektor planning to become a cyborg before he fought Scorpion, because the Cyber Initiative was planned weeks to months in advance, and Cyrax was only finding out about it right when the first tournament started. Not sure if Bi-Han would’ve approved of being a cyborg though.

Miss how Bi Han used to be this multi-dimensional character, he used to have so much mystery as to exactly what his character was and so much untapped potential for who he could have been if he had not become Noob Saibot, and there was so much potential for a Kuai Liang seeking to save his brother from his horrible fate. But then the writers just kept ignoring him and only dragged him into games cause fans love him.

I think a great way to better address this in MK9 would’ve been to have Bi-Han defeat Sonya. Raiden then intervenes, preventing her death, and scolds Bi-Han, reminding him of his potential fate, to which he would reply that he is earning Tsung’s trust in order to betray and assassinate him for his last mission, thus earning his retirement. It would tie into his MK1 ending, give reason for the Lin Kuei fighting on Outworld’s side in the first tournament, and it would be a development of Raiden and Bi-Han’s interactions in Mythologies. It would show the grey area, where he is willing to commit cold-blooded killing in the name of his mission but also knowing he has to eventually change in order to save his soul; his death after this would be all the more in line with the tragic downfall. And, it would rectify the stupidity of having Sonya defeat him at all. The chapter system was stupid but that was one of the more egregious examples.

Alive Bi Han was an assassin for hire. It was simply his living. Had Raiden hired him, he would’ve done his job. The only people who think he’s always been evil are the popular shills who probably weren’t around for the early midway games.

I don't think this Bi-Han is evil his intro "it is better now that we serve ourselves" suggest that he cares about his clan he wants them to be self reliant and strong of couse it also suggests that he wants more power enough power to stand above the rest but obviously cares about his people

In Mythologies isn't he a sort of anti hero not a 100% villain?

THANK YOU. Bi-Han pre Noob was neutral more than anything and he was a dickhead not an edgelord cartoon villain. I fear they are going to make Bi-Han into a one note villain who only craves power (yawn) in this new timeline though which is only going to further people’s misconception of this character… If I was the writer I would find a way to make him oppose the main group, but isn’t necessarily evil. I don’t mind a Sub-Zero that chooses his own path but isn’t objectively evil. Would probably make for a more interesting plot.

Imagine they pull Twindel all over again but with Bi-Han, saying "he looks evil so he is evil and caring about brother is not what evil person would do"

In MK Mythologies, Bi-Han went into the NetherRealm on Raiden's command to steal back Shinnok's amulet, and that's what he does. If he was always meant to be an evil bastard, why did he turn down Quan Chi's offer to join the Brotherhood of Shadow and serve Shinnok in that game? Bottom line, Bi-Han only starts being evil AFTER he is transformed into Noob Saibot. Quan Chi simply told him the evil deep down is what allowed him to enter the NetherRealm, but as you said, he's an assassin, a trained killer; of course he has some evil in him!

Also note, sindel, who was more powerful than bi han, did not get the same corruption. She was left as a revenant

My only problem with the story of Bi Han is they turn him into a different character and don't expand on it at all. They make him into another henchmen for the bigger villains, but it's obvious that his has motivations of his own. He's not like the others. He's always been seen as a very powerful and mysterious character but nothing ever happened. If the writers won't make Noob follow through with his goals and just make him a background character even though he has so much potential to be bigger, than at least follow through with Kuai Liangs story to cure Bi Han to get his brother back. In his mk11 dialogue, he talks about the circumstances that made him into Noob. Let him pursue his goals: Getting revenge on Scorpion for killing him, getting revenge of Quan chi for framing him. There is so much potential for development to make a great story for Bi Han and it pains me to see this character go to waste.

Its wrong how quan chi is more used in the story, but the original sub zero is tossed aside.

the idea that Bi Han is evil because of what he said in MK11 is also dumb because the same character in intros shows the human element trying to break free like when he talks about how Scorpion killing him and looking for justice, only to get told to get fucked by the good guys. Bi Han wasn't always a good person but to claim he never had any good parts or had some kind of love for his brother is absurd.

I think Kuai Liang also rejecting his brother in MK 11 and labeling him as a lost cause also contributed to the unfair judgement of Bi-Han's character. But that's just bad writing in MK 11's story

Sure is hell is evil now unfortunately. Boon has to get his scorpion style eternal revenge on bi-han

Bi-han was a ruthless assassin and probably cared more for for the future of the Lin Kuei than for the good of Earthrealm. However, I find it hard to believe he would be needlessly cruel to his brother, his expected heir. Hard, certainly, but he would want him to excel, to showcase the best of their clan's strength. I can see them arguing over the future of the clan, Bi-han worrying over his brother's morality making him weak, but not him actively hating him from the start.

I always found Bi-Han more so as an anti-hero who is willing to gets his hands dirty for his benefit or the greater good. It would make sense since he comes from the Lin Kuei, a clan that decided cyborg themselves because of their leader and abandon their humanity. But the new timeline seems to merge his Sub Zero and Noob Saibot personas into one.

Unfortunately Ed Boon with his bias reasons made Bi-Han's new MK 1 variation more into Sektor instead of the Bi-Han from the last 2 timelines. Once again he stripes everything that made the Zero brothers stand out & awesome in their own way & gaved it all to Scorpion in this variation. People don't understand Bi-Han wasn't evil to begin with from the last 2 timelines he had morals but with him being an assassin there's always going to be impurity from that line of work. Bi-Han when he was transformed into Noob was stripped from any emotions & brainwashed by Quan Chi which destroyed any little amount of good & compassion within him. People really need to do their homework because non of these ninjas were by any means innocent since majority of em were assassins especially Scorpion isn't so innocent as well. Too bad the writing in MK has gone down ever since John Tobias is hardly involved with game lore because Boon & his writers clearly can't stay consistent but only with certain characters Scorpion being one smh.

Developers only made Bi-Han (prior to becoming Noob) evil just so Scorpion would come across as “the good guy”. Which is total BS considering Scorpion was actually a villain who would cause problems for the protagonists. Ed Boon is a big Scorpion fan, so that’s why Hanzo is all of a sudden a hero.

It’s worth noting that in MK11 Kuai Liang interacts with him as though Noob Saibot was Bi-Han’s true personality, rather than someone who’s been manipulated, which contrasts with how the revenants or even Sektor are regarded. In his eyes, Noob Saibot is his brother’s “true” form. Otherwise he wouldn’t have told him “we are not brothers”. It seems that from a writing perspective at least, the writers decided Bi-Han would have Noob Saibot’s personality from the get-go in MK1. It seems that if Bi-Han ever was anything else, perhaps everyone, not just the fans but the writers as well, have forgotten it.

I come from the future! They spit in your essay buddy 😅

While this is obviously just a headcanon, I think it could be interesting if Quan Chi turned Bi-Han into Noob Saibot as a form of revenge for foiling his plan in Mythologies, deliberately stripping him of his identity and literally making him a shadow of his former self. I'm also suspicious that part of Bi-Han's flanderization is due to the need for the MK writers to make Scorpion a protagonist in the story to match his popularity, and therefore requiring the man who killed him to be painted as the "bad guy", when having the two be nuanced characters both equally in the right and wrong (perhaps by making it clear that both clans have blood on their hands, rather than making the Shirai Ryu seem like the better of the two). Perhaps even establishing that Hanzo would have killed Bi-Han had the roles been reversed in Mythologies would go far in clarifying that not only is Hanzo also an assassin with blood on his hands, but also that Bi-Han was somewhat justified in killing him, since they're mortal enemies.

MK Mythologies Sub-Zero continues as underappreciated I see

Kinda sucks that for this timeline reboot, they're trying to insist that Bi-Han was always evil. Like in MKM:SZ he had morals, in MK9 it was the same, he was innocent for murder he didn't commit. Only the live-action of the first MK movie and the reboot is Bi-Han portrayed as being evil.

The lady who played Serena back then is so damn fine

Everyone likes Kuai Lang but I always preferred Bi-Han as the original Sub-Zero. He is much cooler to me.

He’s probably gonna be a twist villain traitor or something Hope not tho

I'm actually surprised some people think pre-noob saibot Bi han was always evil, kind of a dick maybe, but evil?

the typical older brotherly rivals was a good way to put it. but Bi-Han was definitely born anew as Noob. his mk deception ending was my taking point. especially with him killing his old "self" and his brother who was his last connection to that.

it always made me sad that ever no one saved bi-han/noob but saved scorpion

FINALLY! Someone with common sense! I’ve already subscribed, and I’m glad I did.

As a big fan of subzero (both) I hate how people keep stereotyping him

I'm glad you're committed to calling the game "Mortal One Kombat"

Thank you for this video, it’s actually staggering how many people think Bi Han is evil. In case you forgot about it Noob’s Armageddon ending is actually a really good example of Bi Han & Noob being different as the two fight for control but they end up being merged together creating something in between (implying Bi Han is good or at least not evil)

Kuai Liang did a lot of good - reforming the Lin Kuei, aiding Earthrealms other champions against threats. However, I always found it tragic that he wasn't able to save his brother or Frost.

*Didn't Bi Han save the Earth? I believe Raiden mentioned this and it was in the original canon. I never thought he was evil based on the original story.*

I am starting to get the distinct impression that NRS watches these videos and dictates the stories of their MK media on occasion for the sole purpose of pissing you off. I am sure that you are already aware of what has been done with Bi-Han in this game that almost feels like an explicit spitting in your face take like MKLegends with Liu Kang fighting the one being: you say it can't happen like that or that's not how it was, they go right and say "yes, it can happen/it's like that now".

I don’t blame people making this misconception when most of Bi-Han’s development occurred in a universally panned game from the late 90s.

What MK1 is doing to Bi Han's personality is just disgusting. They paint him as a villain and an absolute asshole, even though he was never that kind of person. And finally, at least, someone said it. Probably, this vicious concept can be traced already in MK 11, where Kuai accuses his brother of some crimes. But Kuai himself behaves hypocritically, so his words are difficult to take seriously. If they really make Bi Han evil in the flesh, then it's just terrible. He's not the best person, but he didn't choose such a life for himself and certainly wasn't the worst . What is happening now is more like Sector's, not Bi Han.

While joe taslim did a great job portraying him in the new movie, I hate how they basically made him a pawn for Shang Tsung, and completely evil. He’s a conflicted man who at the end of mythologies questions his actions, but like you said it’s too late by the time he can really change

I think Bi Han hated how the Lin Kuei defends Earthrealm but never receives any recognition or respect in return by the rest of Earthrealm aside from Liu Kang and his allies.

never viewed him as evil but just a ruthless assassin. his brother is more human while he is just on the job. he has his own code of honor which is the lin kuei above himself while his brother put family above the clan.

I think he's essentially Neutral, but that neutrality may be construed as being on the darker side due to the setting he's in. I mean, in a world where it's normal to kill someone in a fight, Liu Kang is seen as a paragon while still having a body count

They did him dirty like they did Sindel.

I always saw Bi Han as an asshole, not evil. I do hope this is all a set up for a redemption story.

I've always thought this, story wise it's so much more tragic to see an innocent man brutally slaughtered for a crime he didn't commit, i also find it strange that Kuai Liang doesn't realize his brother is brainwashed, and hates him now and sides with the guy who was blind with vengeance and murdered his innocent brother ? To me the ultimate wasted plotline is Kuai Liang and a reformed scorpion trying to restore bi han. Scorpion should have died at the hands of noob saibot, but is okay with it because he's THE ONE WHO MURDERED BI HAN FOR NO REASON. absolute waste of 3 characters who had such potential for a tragic/heartfelt storyline.

In my opinion, Bi-Han is not Evil, he always do what is the best for his Clan, but he's just a bit of an asshole with a huge Ego haha

It wouldn't be a tragedy if homeboy was already evil.

I've said this for years. People really judge morality black and white. Morality has shades of grey as well. As my favorite character I relate with him. As a bit of a tortured soul. I get his personality 100%.

I also think the biggest hint was after Scorpion was shown the false past of Sub-Zero killing his family and clan, Bi-Han tried to plead with him that he didn't do that at all. If Bi-Han was indeed a total irredeemable person, why would he even try to deny something that he had supposedly had caused? It would go against of pretty much everything of what he had done prior during his life as an assassin, and he would know directly what he has caused and the people he has killed since he is an assassin.

bi han is a child soldier, so darkness was forced on, him... he most likely took on more morally ambigiuos missions simply to protect kuai liang, and all that messes with your mind. is isnt straight evil more of a lawful version. and quan chi just brought that part out to the front like how scorpion is hanzo's darkest emotions....since those 2 became so strong chi didn't do the same to the others

As soon as the game dropped I came here 😂😂😂😂😂

I really hope Bi-Han’s relationship with his brother is represented well in MK1. I’m a sucker for a good brother story and I’d love to see a good one between two brothers and an adopted brother because of how close to home it hits.

Bi-Han is no Saint but he’s not some evil heartless Bastard even the Netherrealm version was sympathetic to Scorpion’s plight prior to his murder!

I sort of like how MK1 is turning Bi-Han into an asshole but not evil. Bi-Han may be self serving but I dont imagine he will betray his family and clan

I’ve never really got people believing the revenants when they say they like being evil. The only corrupted character that didn’t talk about enjoying it was Scorpion. Jax as a revenant said he loved it! But when he’s back to normal that time haunts him, and nobody questions his sincerity. Bi-Han was a ruthless killer, noted for his efficacy. He was one of the Lin Kuei’s best fighters, and the best fighter before his death. He was not a very good person, but he was NOT evil yet. He had arrogance and pride, yes, but also honor, compassion and a capacity for mercy. The new game comes out in a few weeks so we will see if I’m right, but I suspect Bi-Han will be an antagonist in the since his pride and ambition lead him astray. He talks about wanting to do more for Earthrealm than just waiting to protect it. He doesn’t want rule it (yet), but his ego wants a bigger role. This could lead him to the path of corruption and death like previous timelines, or it could be his brother dies instead and he is snapped out of his quest and feels guilt. ( if Kuai Liang becomes Noob Saibot that could be intresting. I don’t mind him being a jerk, but he was NOT evil until his death. Except for the film, he was definitely evil there. And maybe this new timeline.

I always seen Bi-Han like Itachi from Naruto teetering between anti-hero and full on villain, but in MK1 he’s the worse, letting your own dad die, going as far to hurt your brother just to prove a point how much of a asshole you are just to have power, he treated Smoke like shit too. He’s irredeemable

My personal headcanon who Bi Han is as a person is what most people wanted Kuai Liang's arc to be, but with him almost refusing to fully change. Basically, he's a person that keeps the Lin Kuei first and foremost, even if others try to reach out to him and thaw his frozen heart He clearly has compassion for Sareena and concern of things being too late to save his soul. He seems like the type of person that understands where he is in the world and is mostly content with it. Granted, Sareena and the compassion he felt for her may have made him rethink that position, suggesting a thawing heart, but he purposefully keeps his true emotions locked up

And this is why you're one of the few MK content creators i watch & trust. Informative & concrete; which is something majority of MK content creators lack & instead are filled with ignorance.

This is what I've been trying to tell everyone Bi-Han isn’t an evil guy rather a misguided one just like the rest of his clan which includes his brother Kuai Liang, Smoke & Cyrax. In MK9 Raiden states that Bi-han once helped him in protecting the Earth realm. Bi-han deserves a happy ending like Hanzo. It would've been much more interesting if Bi-han gets injured instead of dying & becomes cyber-subzero while Kuai Liang becomes Subzero & both brothers working together.