The KKK comments are just stupid and asinine. It has nothing to do with "getting a sense of humor that is worthy of the internet" it's just plain tactless.

That out of the way, I acknowledge that Cyrax has the better character development as a whole in the series and is generally fun to play as. However, I have always had a soft spot for Smoke and feel he is an under appreciated and under developed character. Despite his "Don King" hairstyle in MK9, he gets my vote.

I voted for smoke, but in my opinion Cyrax has better fatalities in Mk9 compared to smokes.

Smoke.

Take a really wild guess.

Both spectacular characters this time through however. Actually not a choice I make lightly.

Cyrax because no genitalia.

Shit, I was about to vote for him too.

Smoke it is!

My all time favorite character since I first played MK3......Cyrax.

Cyrax. I hate human Smoke.

I've met self hating black people before. I'm sure that's not the case but you being black doesn't mean you can't hate black people.

If you only knew me personally...

What the hell is with all of the love for Smoke? I've seen a lot of these going back and forth, but this one really hasn't. Kenshi and Shang went back and forth, Jade and Mileena went back and forth, Rain and Kitana even went back and forth. Smoke has been in the lead pretty much the whole time though.

The love is just so friggin strong with Smoke. I don't understand.lol. Really what is so special about him? I have always seen people say he is underappreciated and underutilized, but apparently not because he's still highly asked for and is one of the more popular characters. He's just a grey ninja to me. He's kind of dull, and I still felt NRS had virtually no direction for him in storymode. He was just there to me. He along with Jade, sorry Jade I love you, were some of the most useless chapters in the storymode.

Also let's bring up playability. He has never had a good moveset before this game, yet he was still uber popular and people were always begging for human smoke. I'm not angry that he's popular. I'm angry that I'm not understanding the hype behind him. What the hell is so great about him? Is it his name? Please help me understand this people because I'm just not catching on.

It's because he's a ninja. Cyrax is a ninja too, but he's a robot.

If Cyrax looked like a Gundam, I'd vote for Cyrax. But he doesn't, therefore doesn't get my vote.

I'm going to say you're right. That is definitely a part of it.

I held a vote a while back though that got about 80 sumthing votes. It's not a lot, but it's enough.

Smoke was the third favorite character only behind Noob Saibot and Sub-Zero. I don't understand his popularity at all. He's beastly popular and I don't really get where it comes from.

Story: He's had a lack of direction as a human forever, and it was proved in this game that NRS doesn't know what to do with him if he is left a human.

Playwise: Nothing special until MK9. He's had a few cool moves here and there, but nothing amazing.

Appearance: Grey is the most boring color. Schools paint their walls grey to keep the kids from tearing things apart during the day. It's just dull. Smoke is just a grey ninja. Nothing is really exciting about his appearance besides his long flowing locks of hair.lol. He just comes across as boring to me appearance wise. Also, his raspy voice was somewhat of a laugh to me in this game as it sounded like someone who had been a smoker all their life.lol.

I don't know. Being a ninja I'm sure is a part of it, but their has to be something else bhind his massive popularity.

Flipped a coin. Got Cyrax

Just because YOU think human Smoke made Sub-Zero into cyborg doesn't mean he is dull or shouldn't be popular(I know WHY you hate Smoke,and don't try to deny it).Don't get me wrong,I LOVE human Sub-Zero and I too think NRS fucked up the only character who had a deep and decent storyline going on for him with his cyborg transformation going on,but c'mon man,enough is enough,you are bringing up the same discussion every time,deal with it....And you KNOW,that they are gonna bring Subz as human for next game,no way he is gonna stay cyborg,so what's the deal? Anyone who thinks he is gonna stay cyborg is just nuts,it will cause total fan-rage.

I am just gonna tell you that this guy has SMOKE powers,I mean,out of ALL ninja characters it is the most useful ability for an ACTUAL ninja...You know,to disappear and stuff. The things they did to his gameplay in MK9 is just tip of the iceberg,if they bring him back(hopefully!) there are so much could be done with him. I agree that he didn't have much going on gameplay-wise(although I like that choking cloud and his PLAY DEAD teleport in MK Armageddon,which Sub-Zero stole for himself in MKvsDC),but there is a reason why MK9 is called reboot,to refresh all classic characters.

Story-wise,he is your Sub-Zero's best friend,so at least you should be thankful,that with Smoke's help we can establish,that Sub-Zero is not cold assassin,he can have friends and care about them. And likewise for Smoke. They complete each other in that aspect of character development.

And also,as you said that NRS didn't know what to do with him storywise in his human form,did they know what to do with him in his cyborg form? They just put him in Shao Kahn's fortress after the invasion and,once he was discovered,he was Noob Saibot's bitch. Now he is Quan Chi's bitch,but also many others,including your Sub-Zero. And at least now he has Enenra backstory for him to uncover,which will give some interesting story possibilities to him in the future.

Yes, I will admit that a part of the reason I'm mad at Smoke is because so many Smoke fans cried for Human Smoke, and that unfortunately ended up with Sub-Zero as a Cyborg. That is part of the reason I gripe. However, that's not all I'm talking about here.

I've noticed huge popularity in Smoke, which is just not understood from me. When he gets voted as favorite over so many other characters like Raiden, Sonya, Cyrax, etc... I feel that it is unjustified. He hasn't really done anything to deserve it I don't think. He's just a grey ninja, who's best plot point I felt was becoming a cyborg.

Also, no I do feel that he was beginning to grow in Deception. Granted being left in Kahn's chamber was crap, but that just adds to Smoke's tragedy. Smoke is the definition of a tragic character and it makes you want to root for him.

Smoke was shown to still show signs of good within him in MK:D. He still knew and partly wanted to help Sub-Zero when he saw him in the netherrealm. Even through being turned into a cyborg and then turned into a cyber demon by Noob Saibot he still had good left within him. Which showed that he was one hell of a good person inside. He fought through all of the bad to find that little ounce of good left inside him in the old timeline and I thought that he would finally escape Noob's grip and become his own person again in the old timeline. Sadly that never came to be because this new timeline wiped it out.

So while Sub-Zero plays a part in the reason I dislike human smoke, it's not all of it. I really did like Cyber Smoke. I felt he was moving to bigger and better things. I feel that Human Smoke is a step backwards. It just gives us another ninja, which we don't need. While subsequently erasing one of the best stories they had with Sub-Zero. Plus finding a direction for human smoke seems to be impossible for them.

I also still want to know what makes Smoke, or human smoke, so popular among people. It has nothing to do with Sub-Zero either. I really want to know what makes him popular. I mean Smoke powers really aren't that amazing. Especially considering humans can make smoke bombs today to do the exact same crap that Smoke does. His powers really aren't that fantastic I don't think.

Sometimes I wish I knew what these people are talking about.

I second that.

Okay,so you claim,that Cyborg Smoke had something going on for him for future,tell me,what other direction could he take in future instalments,rather than turn good(which is exactly what Cyrax did) or turn human again(which we return to human Smoke anyways)? Yeah,you can go Nanobot-Demon way too,but again,I had this conversation with some people here,it won't make sense,if he wasn't Demon too.Which is why I like his version in MK9 in terms of having this Enenra backstory,he is NOT ordinary human,he is partly demon too,which can explain his transformation in MK Armageddon and adds TONS of story potential in the future.

While as you said,human Smoke gives us another ninja,for me,Cyborg Smoke gives us another cyber-ninja. And I will take ninja character any day,because at least,ninja character can grow into something that Ermac,Rain,Noob Saibot and even Reptile grew into,completely new,different from each other characters both design,story and gameplay-wise.

I think,BOTH Sub-Zero and Smoke can stay human and have interesting story paths. BUT! Don't make them Sonya-Jax kind of pairing,where they are together everywhere,they need to STAY in touch,but pursue different goals in the story,which gives them interactions with different characters INDIVIDUALLY. But this all gonna happen only after MK10,when zombies are converted back to normal and going back to their routine lives.

That Smoke is part of the reason why Subbie turned into a cyborg is just more of a reason I voted for him. ;)

Well human smoke hates you lol jk

Both of them were awesome in this game! Voted for Smoke though.