Mortal kombat really likes killing off characters and then bringing them back through any way possible

I remember a developer once mentioning Goro being dead in MK11, which is why he's dead in his lair XD

That bit when sindel killed everyone had me laughing.

I like that you point out the deaths during MK9's Armageddon intro regarding Scorpion and Sub-Zero but it should be noted how the writers conveniently forget that specters/wraiths cannot die by normal means as it was stated by Scorpion himself in the original timeline that “you cannot kill a dead man, you have defeated my physical form but my soul is eternal” and the only ways for them to die is either by soulnados (even though Noob Saibot somehow survived) or by powerful artifacts like Shinnok’s amulet. I also find it hilarious that Baraka somehow murdered Sub-Zero during Armageddon despite Baraka being one of the biggest jobbers in MK history aside from Kano.

Whenever people ask me why retcons can suck in any piece of media, especially when multiple writers are responsible for making the stories instead of one person, I’m just gonna show them this video.

Y'notice how, aside from Shaolin Monks, the OG timeline wasn't nearly as overbearing in deaths? Both in number, and in how the characters died? Mavado's death in the comics is the best example IMO; killed gruesomely by two characters that canonically wouldn't go that far.

Dang, poor Johnny died three times in the original timeline? My man suffered.

Honestly gotta feel bad for Liu Kang... In literally every timeline Kronika's plan involved Liu Kang dying in one way or another...

Something you forgot to mention,the reason the Elder Gods fought the One Being in the first place was because it consumed them. So in other words,killing them.

Tremor has pre-fight dialogues with Kano that seem to confirm he survived the gunshot from Sonya. He states Kano left him for dead & another saying to Kano he leaving the Black Dragon. Another interesting one being his ending seeming to have happened

"Despite having their souls taken, Raiden and Fujin survive." Yeah I was like "wait what?" when that happened.

Considering how every single one of kahn's deaths ended up being noncannon, MK9 Raiden could have suggested something like "burn the body" instead of he must win. Like just have Liu Kang completely incinerate the body after the MK2 tournament or have raiden destroy it himself to ensure he is actually canonically dead. This could lead to the last portion of the MK9 story being more interesting by having outworld trying a war not for conquest but for revenge and killing more people that way.

Raiden: "Mortal Kombat doesn't mean death, but life." The4thSnake: Shut up, Raiden. Lol!

I imagine Shang Thung said “Havok will keep him entertained” not realizing he was still alive. Fujin said they could view the events of the battle as it but were powerless to interfere so how much they could view beyond that is unclear.

Actually Stryker didn't die by kano lasering him in the chest, he was only knocked out for a little bit because in a few minutes he gets back up and gets blasted off the pyramid by Shang Tsung. Also my headcannon for why Shang Tsung was turning old when Liu grabbed a hold of him was telling us that Shao was killed by Onaga because in Shang's bio it says if Shao died those who served under him would die. (But mk9 retconned that but the Armageddon we see in 9 isn't the same one we saw in the Midway timeline.)

The Water, Fire, and Earth Gods seem to take a lot of Ls even though we only get to see them once.

Corrections and Clarifications: -Stryker appears again after getting lasered to get blasted off the pyramid by Shang Tsung. -Pointing out every time I used a C instead of switching to a K just for the MK gimmick is neither clever nor original. -John Vogel confirmed Kahn killed Blaze.

MK has the most inconsistent lore but the characters make up for it

I think in terms of actual deaths, MK should find a nice balance between Walking Dead and Code Lyoko way of writing death. (I swear I'm going somewhere with this.) Walking Dead's deaths, both for the show and the comics, combine two factors: The fact that the cast is only made of ordinary humans, some with better survival skills than others, so anyone can be gone in the next page or the next episode just like that. (Kinda like Bourbon Kid's style too.) It's their personalities that dictate their fates, but no one escapes death forever. Code Lyoko has only two main deaths in the series, Franz Hopper who represents the past mistakes of a paranoid man, and XANA who is the main threat. However, despite being kids, the heroes are constantly under massive threats that are taken seriously and never trivialized. (In fact, the only times the heroes act cocky, they get their sh** pushed in, hard, and that's why the threat is still effective even if no kid actually die.) (Also the two deaths are extremely big moments, the first being a massive shock and the second being a relief before melancholia steps in.) MK, with all of its rituals and magics can absolutely bring characters back to life logically. (Especially since there is so many ways you can still be around after death in the MK universe.) So that's why I'm talking about fusing Walking Dead and Code Lyoko's ways of writing death. Just like in Walking Dead, heroes need to make mistakes and pay the prices, but don't just bring out Stryker or Johnny Cage to have them die, that's boring, that's too predictable. No. Instead, some of the more well-known heroes should be allowed to make human mistakes, bad judgments or sacrifices to have them die. That could open so many new possibilities for the characters since, like in Code Lyoko, being under constant harm or badly injured, or even killed in this case, doesn't mean it's the end for you. (Which is why I love time loop stories.) So just like Code Lyoko, or DBZ, death can taken into being an actual part of a character journey, like how Scorpion needs to die for his story to progress. Sure in real life we don't have multiple shot at life, but these resurrections can be seen as symbolic, like some characters need to left their old-self behind to continue progressing. Plus it's fiction, we need for it to be believable not truthful. Death is only a tool and it should be used appropriately. For example, a plot point I created and will defend until my last breath: Stryker and Kabal's story could be, in a reboot, a four ways relation with some aged-down Kobra and Kira who are just some petty street kids doing bad things to annoy them but ultimately respecting them. Stryker being one of the more normal fighters of the series, I agree it makes sense for him to die, maybe against Sindel in a more reasonable reinterpretation of the massacre scene from 2011. Here Stryker would die but his death would deeply impact three other characters, the two kids he swore to protect even if they didn't appreciate him enough during his time as a human, and his life-long reformed partner, and all three will react to his death differently. Kobra and Kira could have a massive split-up argument, Kobra becomes obsessed with strength and in grief joins Havik to destroy reality, Kira could either turn to magic or the special forces to find ways with expeditions to resurect the dead, and Kabal could either become a stricter person or find his trust in the police wavering. Considering how neat-tied all of the characters, Midway and Netherealm alike, are to one another, every death shouldn't be about who deserved to live or who didn't, it should be about the impact. Life doesn't work that way, and it could break the immersion otherwise if every deaths felt rewarding or earned. Sure, some deaths could feel disappointing, but if the writers manage to show just how badly it affects the others and make them develop instead of the character that died, then I'd say it's well-written. Also Geras and Erron Black would either be the perfect narrator characters, or the perfect overseers that could show us the audience every possible path for a character. (I think Erron Black stumbling onto Geras and the Hourglass after he seized it from Kronika, on accident, and becoming friends with him would be incredibly interesting.)

I still find the time travel rules in 11 to be stupid. You time travel, you break continuity so whatever happens to you has no effect on any other instance of yourself and vice versa. I think that's what makes sense. That said, MK11's story exactly as presented would fundamentally not work with those rules, with Cassie and Past Sonya being the main reasons. If Sonya broke continuity before Cassie was born and did not come back at any point, then Cassie cannot exist because Sonya did not exist to give birth to her. Time travel is fucked.

Liu Kang in general: I respect all life and do my best not to kill. Liu Kang in Shaolin Monks: Ha ha, murder goes brrr!

God that was a LOT of MK lore to attempt to digest in one sitting.

Given that Havok is a total mystery and very inconsistent in what can really kill him (he breaks his own knees to fire a projectile and somehow bounces back up without a problem), getting his head crushed might not have been the correct way to kill him.

I think Tremor is still alive after being shot according to the wiki, although it could be off and unfortunately he doesn't have any story time.

top notch as always Snake. although I still think Jon Vogal's quote from Shao Kahn's bio kard really sums up how pointless this series has gotten: "no one really ever dies in Mortal Kombat." and you wonder why I think the game's have been poorly written ever since John Tobias left. on a side note, I'm kind of wondering when we will ever get to see that MKII comparison video you've mentioned doing a while back. when you've mentioned Shaolin Monks, I thought in the back of mind "oh yeah, he was going to make that at some point." well, whenever that video does come out, I'm sure you will put in the same level of quality and thought as you always do. I'm looking forward to it either way whenever that may be. ^-^

So about Havik, he's from Chaosrealm which apparently makes the people from that pretty much immortal because of how messed up it is there. Him getting his head smashed is just an average Wednesday for him.

Never knew how Johnny died, also didn't pay attention to the flashbacks, knowing that he was about to die in MK9 but Raiden saved him, he didn't fail at everything

I always thought tavens arcade ending was canon because it says him killing blaze only powered up the other kombatants making the battle even more fierce, in the end aftee being powered up, shao kahn and raiden are the last 2 fighters

The original timeline didn't have that many deaths (besides the non-canon Shaolin Monks). Also, you forgot one canon death, Jade killing Tanya in Deception. And Reptile was said to have actually survived the end of Deception when Shujinko beat down Onaga and Nightwolf removed Onaga's spirit from Reptile's body.

Oh my god a Kill Count on the Mortal Kombat Games would be amazing, also have you ever thought about doing Playthroughs?

I think it's totally possible that Havik survived (even though it seems stupid) because this is the guy who literally destroys his body for his special moves. So it's totally possible that he could've survived! Love your videos by the way

Liu Lang's ending in MK3 stated that Kung Lao dies to Shao Kahn in MK3, but was retconned in MK:Gold to him surviving the beating. Also, I always thought Shao Kahn's defeat animation in MK3 was meant to represent all the souls he'd taken during earthrealm's merger being released, then Kahn himself being sent back to Outworld. This might make that animation possibly canon.

No one really stays dead in MK. Except for Hsu Hao. He's gonna stay dead, lol.

I always suspected Mortal Kombat isn't "Mortal" at all. Everyone just lives. One might think, given the assume nature of the tournament only the champion of every iteration should survive. But no... Everyone lives. They "kill a double" "somehow survive his wounds" "is saved by someone" "can reform after death" "Writers says it doesn't count" etc... So the word "Mortal" is meaningless, there is no stakes. Just like in the comics only uncle Ben and Batman's parents are allowed to die for real. Only some characters are really really dead, ike for real.... until the reappear in other reboot, retcon, sequel, or what writers say.

Still did kintaro dirty. I guarantee he would beat sheeva

In the original timeline, Shao Kahn manage to live from MK 2 to Armageddon, despite many of us fans thinking that he died in the MK 3, Deadly Alliance, and eventually Armageddon cutscenes. This guy lived longer than the Mortal Kombat Champion Liu Kang. In my opinion, I think the bad guys in this franchise were written better than their future selves, but I'm still not sure how each of them survived in detail since Armageddon was a "Why not have everyone back" game.

It's been ages since DC vs MK came out and I am now just realizing my family name on that gravestone at 0:15 lmfao FUCKING SWEET

A running gag in the Midway timeline alone is "This person died, but this is not the case" or "this was not canonical." Not a complaint, just something I found kinda funny.

This series needs new writers who understand canon and continuity

This video has made MK no less confusing

You forgot to include the death of good storytelling in MK11

The way u say “again” acouple times in this is funny to me

They say death isn't permanent in the series, but for some characters yeah sorry to say that isn't the case

Great video you just earned a new sub my guy keep the content coming🔥

Amazing! That took alot more time than people would think

Mortal Kombat is the only media franchise I can think of where they retconned it so many times that retconning became part of the story.

MkDA earthrealm warriors really took the L in that War.(Ik Onaga revives them but still)

I chalk MK11 Sindel to being a resurrected version of her from when she was enthralled by Shang Tsung's magick into being a thrall to Shao Khan and thus willing to lie to Kitana in a way that would hurt her daughter the most, since that would please her new husband. MK12 could reveal that the "real" Sindel is still inside her somewhere, or have the "real" version of her emerge from another timeline.

Thank you for this video. All the deaths and who is still alive really got confusing to stay on tracks.

Great video man

dang this was a really cool video I didn't think you were gonna include the comics

Honestly, much as I don't mind the character, all of poor Sheeva's deaths are pretty hilarious: out of the loop enough to trust Kano even though he's Mr. Betrays Everyone (Except Kabal Weirdly) causing her to die Shao Khan, then resurrected to seemingly be the only "bad guy" to visibly get gang-upped on and killed in the original timeline during Armageddon despite being one of the least evil Outworld characters, and then dying to Twindel unceremoniously after being stupid enough to bring her back *and* think her a good person like actual Sindel. Poor bastard. Also I guess this means of canon characters, the only ones without (implied) canon deaths at all--ignoring Kronika wiping the timeline--are the Kombat Kids (though Takeda is dicey), Erron Black, and, heh, the favored cockroach that is D'vorah. I guess maybe Kollector too, but who cares about him?

Netherrealm Studios should have continue with Taven's ending in Armageddon.

Wait I just realized. Does sindel have the highest amount of kills on screen?

Good Lord! So.....many......PLOTHOLES!

You forgot the biggest death of all: The death of the franchise

thanks for the video

There’s a lot of “they die but they survive” moments here which I find very funny

Great video!

When it comes to deaths in XI a thing that someone brought up when I watched the scene where Raiden recalls how Lu Kang and him have fought in many instances when he said "Enough of your madness, If you must die, so be it!" like its been said to him before. We get a show of the two fighting in different areas in different costumes under different circumstances, someone implied that the different variations of outfits the characters wear is related to the different timelines that have passed or haven't yet. And remember, Kronika said to Raiden "Oh Raiden, Do you think this is the first time you've made that vow?" implying that while everyone doesn't recall the other timelines, Kronika was there for all of them

Great video as usual Snake! This is a bit off-topic, but I was reminded about it because of MK1 Liu Kang's bio. Have you ever done a Khronicles on Liu Chow, Kang's brother, and go into detail on why his whereabouts are unknown during the events of MK1?

Well I hope at least MK1 will fix that problem of characters dying and then being alive for the next game

“This character died except not really” is what I almost got from this

One thing that you got wrong. While his Revenant died in Aftermath, Kung Lao didn’t actually die despite being thrown into the Sea of Blood. Kronika explicitly stated that if Kung Lao died, his Revenant would cease to exist, which is of course confirmed when Kano kills past Kano and by proxy, future Kano. And since we see Shang Tsung, Shao Khan, and Sindel fighting Revenant Kung Lao in Kronika’s Keep alongside Revenants Kitana and Jade, we can safely assume that he survived.

This is going to be good !

4thsnake mavado didn't kill kabal but left him for dead until havik came

Doing Gods’ work 🙌

9:42 When you realise that Shang Shung indirectly killed Jerrod as well. TFS Vegeta: Do I hear 4?!? (And yes, I am aware that the "Who killed Jerrod?" meme is about Jerrod's death during the invasion to Edenia, but I still found it pretty funny to include Shang Shung into this. By MK12, Qian Chi, Kronika, Darkseid, that random orphan from Beverly Hills and every single Power Ranger will somehow be involved to Jerrod's death as well and I'm sure The4thSnake is gonna have a field day with that info.)

I believe that one way to see the whole gods dying/not dying dilemma Is as follows: - Raiden, Fujin and the other elemental gods are minor deities and this seems to be something earned rather than being their natural state, as Liu Kang Is made a god In both his MK 9 ending and events of 11, alongside Raiden losing his status as god In Deception and 11. So minor gods can die. - Elder gods like Shinnok, Cetrion and Kronika can't die, at least not In conventional ways, as Cetrion willingly gave her life to Kronika and Kronika was killed by what's essentially MK's version of debug mode. - As for Raiden and Fujin surviving Shang SUCC, eh, he Is a douche and Is playing 5D chess.

In my school vr game Millena is confirmed alive by a quest called pesturminate where she wants D'Vorah dead after almost getting killed and speaking of D'Vorah she was killed by Goalius though theres 2 methods 1 is eating her and the other was him erasing her atoms from existence with his PSI abilities

makes you think how like half the new deaths are going to be retconned immediately in MK12.

I'm just glad Kuai Liang never died until Armageddon in the original timeline.

Mortal kombat becomes pointless when you know the characters are just gonna come back anyway

Pretty cool video. Think I might steal it & translate it into my native language without giving you credit.

"Mortal kombat does not mean death, but life". Well, to the winner, I guess.

I don't understand how they keep coming back over and over again

On the "Shao Kahn lahn explodes but survives" thing, in Deception it is revealed in one of the reversed dialogues that Shao Kahn is the same species as Raiden and Fujin, meaning he can probably reform himself the same way other Gods can. As for why he doesn't come back after MK9 (not including Kronika literally pulling him from the past) it stands to reason the Elder Gods can straight up erase lesser gods

if MK1 (2023) has taught me anything, it's that there are no retcons... only alternate timelines

And now maybe theres the universe where everyone is dead that is canon

Shang Tsung being alive in Kronika's void seemed like a plothole since Shao Khan killed him absorbing his soul to empower Sindel, but he probably came back as a result of Kronika wiping Dark Raiden from history. Dark Raiden's death made any deaths that happened when Raiden restarted the timeline undone.

This video is right on time! I was just wondering how in the hell all these characters keep coming back after dying so many times😅!?

I still have no idea what happened to Kano in Shaolin Monks. He is thrown to an elevator, he goes up, few seconds later he is completely destroyed.

“Shao Kahn explodes but this doesn’t seem to be kanonical” 😂😂 got me every time

So basically to sum it all up. Every mortal Kombat game isn't canon at least until Armageddon because it continues in the intro of MK (2011) and so on

MK11 has such a lazy, broad excuse for continuity errors that it makes fanfics theoretically canon. On that note, how do you feel about MK Chronicles being retconned for not fitting Kronika's vision Snake?

Goro with Shao Kahn’s hammer …… that’s absolutely terrifying

"But muh white privilege" That joke alone made me wanna subscribe but then I remembered I was already subbed

Now I know where Game of Thrones writers got their ideas from

"geras's skull is caved in with the wrath of khan" KHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN

Im Pretty curious. Are you planning to do every non canonical death into a vid as you said you might do or do you have plans on covering that yet?

Take a shot everytime he say "This turns out to not be the case in *insert game here* "

I always just assumed that Shang Tsung died in Armageddon's ending by rapidly ageing to death when hooked by Liu Kang

“Mortal kombat doesn’t mean death but life” Armageddon doesn’t mean destruction but it means creation 😃.

10:08 So does that mean Rains presence in MK11 isn’t canon too? Tbh that would suck since that would make both him and Mileena the only non-guest characters in the roster to not canonically be in MK11 at all, I always assumed that they were brought forwards in time with the time merger but refused to join Kronika and as such were sent to the void thing like Shang Tsung, Fujin and Nightwolf in MK11 Aftermath

Also their is one more debatable death from armageddon Shao Kahn , because someone made a video about things you might have missed in armageddon into and one of them was when Onaga grabbed Shao after Shao said no you can hear a chomp sound if you listen closely. Suggestions Onaga bit Shao face and left possible to much on it more

I feel like in MK9 they killed so many favorites for shock value, and then when writing MKX they were like "Shit all the fan favorites are dead" and then in MK11 they were like "Eh fuck it, theyre back. Also Sindel is evil because fuck you"

I love how Liu Kang''s favorite hobby up until MK11 was being dead

Mortal Kombat is a misnomer. Half the characters are immortal. The mortal characters who die keep getting brought back to life. The series should be named _Immortal_ Kombat.

The "Toasty!" Guy was brutally murdered by Shao Khan 5 mins ago for interrupting his Golden Girls marathon by continually yelling "DORTHY!!" Every time Bea Arthur was on screen.

Doesn’t it say that the realms are all just the dreams of the one being? That implies to some extent he remains right?