Dude, haha. You are a thread creating Junkie.

Anyway... Fujin & Noob. Fujin serving as the earthrealm god, such as Raiden did. Noob continuing, or possibly, starting a new rivalry. I don't really know, what i would like to see noob do. As long as it's constructive.

Reptile:
He's been around since MK1 and we still don't really know jack shit about him. Forget all about that lame servant stuff. I'd like to see him start a path of his own. Introducing Khameleon as a partner or servant of Reptile, is to me the best way to go.

They really need to return him back to his original human-hybrid ninja look. As you may well know, his MK4 and MK:DA appearance caused the loss of a lot of his fan base. Yes, it's different but it takes away that whole stealthy, Zaterian assassin ninja thing they had going for him since MK1.

Khameleon:
She would be a great help to Reptiles struggling story. Without her, it's hard to see where they can take Reptile.

i think they should use him but if they do use a look like the mksm but better detail maybe like the upgrades they do 4 subzero and scorp

Sareena, most definitely. She's a fresh face with massive potential and can very easily be a star. She has a solid base concept....a Demon who wants to be good in spite of herself. Sets her up as an interesting and sympathetic character with a potential journey to make, with numerous possibilties...

If she's a Demon, and Demon's are naturally "evil" creatures, how/why is Sareena good? Will she try to rid herself of her evil taint? If so...how will she try to do this, what will she have to go through, and will she succeed? Does she have some kind of history with Ashrah? If they meet, will they be allies or enemies? Will Sareena get involved with Ashrah's issue with Nitara? Did she and the older Sub-Zero really have feelings for one another? How will she react and what will she do when she learns he's become Noob Saibot? Will he want anything to do with her or will he just want her killed like his brother? Can she maintain Sub-Zero's trust despite her Demonic nature? If Frost returns, will Sareena have to deal with her? Was Drahmin one of her torturors when she was banished to the 5th Plane? If so, will she ever get him back for it? Will she ever stand up to Quan Chi? Does she and Reiko really have some sort of connection with each other? If so, what is it and how may it come into play if he returns?


I'd also wouldn't mind Kitana come back. A personal favorite and one of the series most developed characters. She's already come this far, I find myself wondering why throw her away?

Considering the mounting stress that Kitana's been experiencing recently and her growing frustration with protecting Edenia...maybe it'll take one final crushing blow for her to finally abandon the realm? And if so, where would she go from there? How would she respond to her life being shattered for a second time? Perhaps she'll become a darker and more bitter character...maybe reverting more to her assassin-like ways? Now suppose the next big evil or threat emerges and Kitana finds herself forced to fight against even if she doesn't really want to anymore? Would she be able to put her life back together again? Would she find balance and make peace with herself?


There are other characters, but that's all I feel like typing at the moment.
BTW, I think this should probably be in the Future Games forum.

I'd want a pretty healthy selection of new characters that don't suck with a few originals, mostly filling in unlockables and hidden characters. I'd always want Shang Tsung in it. He's MK image of the bad guy. He was the original and has never slacked in any game. Really I'd want MK to be a completely new cast with him as the last boss being able to morph into a fan favorite selection of prior kombatants.

Who I would bring back and why:

Scorpion - A favorite of mine, and you can't have an MK game without him. Granted, I would retcon his role in Armageddon and have him still acting as Champion of the Elder Gods. Wanting revenge on the gods makes him look like a stupid, petty villain. Wanting revenge on Quan Chi is old news, that guy should be dead already. And leading his resurrected clan is a Happy Ending, which no character should ever get until the end of their days. And Scorpion's eventual Happy Ending should be Heaven, anyway. He should go to his family, they shouldn't come to him. So yeah, still Champion of the Elder Gods. Retcons are a cheap trick, but this way he gets to be a good guy, and that's the way I prefer him.

Sub-Zero - The other guy you can't have a game without. I'd kinda like to see him and Scorp partner up as the main heroes of the game, just this once. I know there's a portion of the fanbase that's already sick of these two hogging the spotlight, but It's something I've always wanted to see. I'd also make something of the fact that with Subbie getting older and Frost having been a failure as a pupil, he's running out of time to find (or sire) a successor.
Raiden - As the villain. Maybe not the main villain yet...maybe he slowly ascends to the role, becoming Final Boss in a later sequel...but the threat of Dark Raiden should definitely be on the rise.

Cyrax - I feel Sonya and Jax have run their course, but someone should still represent the Special Forces/OIA. And it would be just wrong not to have at least one cyberninja in the game. Dude needs the classic moves back, though. And I don't just mean the net. I mean people need to remember what the dreadlocks are there for. Bring back the helicopter-head.

Ermac - Outworld needs a hero, and I will always need more Ermac. I am in love with his Venomesque plural-speech, and I don't even know why because I'm not a fan of Venom.

Reiko - Outworld also needs a villain, and Shang and Kahn had their day. I know everyone hates it when they make Reiko more like Kahn, but I don't see it as a "weird helmet fixation" or a copycat matter. The helmet is just a symbol of power. What Reiko really wants is to be emperor, and I'd like to see how he might rise to power, how he'd be a different leader of the forces of evil than we've seen with all the angry, growling brute villains of the past. Reiko's calm and analytical, he doesn't have to raise his voice. I like that in a bad guy. He shouldn't be a Final Boss, though. He needs to earn some power and gravitas.

Fujin - Finally in the role he was supposed to have after MK4: taking Raiden's place as the guy who leads the heroes. He could use a little work, though. I feel like the reason he hasn't caught on the way Raiden has is that there's nothing that really stands out about him. He plays kinda like a Kung Lao clone, for instance. To start with, I'd narrow down his color scheme a little. Raiden stood out in the 2D games because he just wore all white with a blue vest. Two colors. Then I'd bring back the MK4 crossbow as a projectile special move, because nobody else does that. Then I'd try to give him an interesting personality/dialogue in cutscenes. Something memorable like the "I'm gonna pick on and tease you until you figure it out" movie and TV version of Raiden...but not the same. I always sorta figured the difference between Raiden and his brothers was that he cared more about the mortals than any of them did and that's why he was protector in the first place. So maybe I'd make Fujin an outright miserable asshole who berates his charges...but in a likeable way. Like Dr. House, lol.

Kenshi - I'd rather have him as "the Special Forces guy" than Cyrax, but they had him leave the group in Armageddon, and I can kind of see why. Kenshi's a loner by nature and there are advantages to having a "mysterious wandering samurai" sort of character.

Drahmin - So much character potential. All he needs is a bit of a visual and special moves revamp and I say Noob, Quan Chi, and Shinnok should all be dead and this should be your new top Netherealm villain.

Kira - Representing the criminal element of past games. She's the only Black or Red Dragon member I'd like to see return.

Sareena - Honestly, she's just one of my favorite characters and, like Ermac, the more of her there is, the happier I am. I think XiahouDun pretty well covered why she's such a great character and what can be done with her.

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Characters I'm on the fence about. Might make good secret characters:

Kung Lao - It sorta seems natural for him to take Bo' Rai Cho's place as the old teacher, training new Shaolin/White Lotus characters. Mind you, if it came down to the wire and I had to cut someone, I'd drop Kung first since Fujin and Kenshi can easily fill the same role.

Kitana or Jade - Kitana's one of my favorite characters, but I feel like Edenia's use as a setting has run out. How many times can the same realm be conquered before it's defenders look like losers? Anyway, if you're going to retire Kitana, the most fitting way to do it is to have Sindel die and Kitana become Queen. That gives her a logical reason to no longer be able to leave the realm and go fight at the drop of a hat. She'd have too many responsibilities to the kingdom. In which case, she would send Jade in her place.

Smoke - I think the interesting thing about his time in the Netherealm and his body now looking like it's actually made of smoke is that it makes him sort of like a ghost. So I see him returning as a "ghost of the past" in the symbolic sense. He's free of Noob, but he's lost his humanity and so much of his soul. He was Sub-Zero's best/only friend, and he failed him, and I think that should still haunt Subbie...literally. Not that I see Smoke as a villain. More like a tortured soul begging to be saved, set free or redeemed.

Tanya - Deception dropped the ball by taking away her "sit on the opponent's shoulders, wrap thighs around his head, and twist" grab/Fatality, but I will always see Tanya as the "seductress" character of Mortal Kombat, that one female villain in every franchise who uses sex appeal as her weapon of choice. Well...Mileena's one too, but I'm just tired of Mileena.

Hsu Hao - No, no, I know. Everyone hates him. I hate him too. He's a TERRIBLE character. BUT...hear me out for a second. His Armageddon ending got me thinkin' (it was the ONLY one to do so, lol)...what if his utter lack of emotion DID cause him to become an Oni when he died? That would lead to a complete overhaul of the character. In theory, he could be the next big monstrous brute sub-boss type. He'd make a great henchman for Drahmin, in Moloch's absence. I could really see him and Drahmin connecting, actually, on the basis that they're the only two Oni who started out as mortals, rather than being born demons. And they'd make a great contrast if, as Drahmin becomes more powerful and regains more of his intelligence and humanity, Hsu Hao at the same time is always sinking deeper and deeper into demonhood.

Havik - I tried to think of a use for Seido and Chaosrealm, and honestly, I got nothin'. BUT...Havik never stays in Chaosrealm. Havik goes wherever the hell he likes just to stir up shit for fun. Havik is the fly in EVERYONE's ointment, and I like that.

---

Everyone else, I would say either died in Armageddon or got to retire and live happily ever after. And I mean for good. I really believe future games should have as much fresh blood as possible. Really make Armageddon the end of the old era and the next canon MK game the start of a new one.
And I know I left a lot of factions that are vital to making it feel like an MK game out, particularly the Shokans, but that's what new characters are for.

Jack Burton likes your list...it's pretty spot on to what I want to see. The only things I'd change would be to throw in Kung Lao and Liu Kang's zombie form as playable characters for sure. I've always liked Lao, and started liking Kang when he was zombified (yeah, I made that word up because I can).

And that's what Jack Burton has to say at this time.

You're hardly the first person in the world to use the word "zombified", dude.

How about adding all brand new characters that don't suck. Like what Boon promised the games after Armegeddon would be like.
"No old characters"

A few classic characters and a super upgraded CAW mode.
The original 7 from the first game, Ermac, Reptile,Noob, Smoke.
Kabal, Blaze (in his old form), Jax, Baraka, Shang Tsung, Kitana and mileena.
(then the nonplayable)
4-legged Motaro, Goro, And the final boss should be a Shao Kahn/Onaga hybrid.

The rest are original characters maybe some outsourced to artists like Todd MAcfarlene or H.R. Giger (also doing backgrounds).

So a good cast of maybe 25 or so. not including CAWs.

And an improved CAW slot system. Not one per profile silt from MKA.

First of all, I'd simplify things, and re-confuse things a bit. Symbolizing "start all over", and to make things a lot more interesting again.

========known neutral characters=============

1.)))Scorpion: Mascot. I'd make killing Quan Chi a part of his back story leading up to this new game. I'd also rectify his dealings with the Elder Gods with conditions. I'd have them guarantee his passage into Heaven, but give him an incredibly unlikely feat to accomplish. Send him after Shinnok, or Onaga, or Shao Kahn because they're potential threats to the order of things. Mainly, because it doesn't make sense right off, and lining him up like this sets him up for new possible alignments, new lessons to learn ect..The dynamic here, would be that if he fails to take care of his part of the obligation, he'd be cursed to either roam the realms for forever, or be cursed to Hell indefinitely in the end. Most of all though, it makes him more than just a pansy who gets kicked around alot.

I think what would make him interesting again is to see what he'd do in order to go chill out with his family in Heaven finally, and maybe some new powers? Given to him by the Elder Gods. Shouldn't make him more powerful, should just make him more obviously ambitious, and set him up with a clear goal.

2.)))Noob Saibot: Secret character. I have no idea what to do with him. Maybe have him conflict with Shinnok as overlord of the Netherrealm? I don't like the continuous brotherly conflict either...Mainly cuz, I don't think he'd care so much considering he doesn't remember him or care about him. Sub-Zero seeking Noob out could serve as an annoyance to him if anything. But I think it would take for Sub-Zero to go after Noob in order to produce that conflict. Noob Saibot doesn't care about anything but himself and his own ambitions so, I'd just make sure to make him the coldest, diabolical entity in MK. Very straight forward about killing you if he's interrupted or provoked. Very callus, sneaky, vicious, cold hearted. He'd rectify Quan Chi's absence in this future game. I'd make him an incredible shadow menace along with Smoke. Very "shadow god" like.

3.)))Smoke: Secret character. Ditto Noob Saibot. just have him coincidentally conflict with a character or two and he'd have served his purpose as a secret character aside Noob. Make him cooler via his elemental powers. He got close in MKD-MKA.

4.)))Sareena: Neutral Female. She's kinda forced neutral by design, don't you think? A demon fighting the demon within herself?

She has the ties with Sub-Zero, Ashrah, and Quan Chi. Nice little mixture there. I follow XiahouDun84 all the way on her. idk why I insist on her in the neutral section though.

5.)))Nitara:Neutral Female. I'd make her alot like a traditional Vampire. Loose the silly wings, and make her personality really "empirial arcadic"(sp?). Use folklore and traditional fantasy to motivate her character. I'd follow Sub_Zero7th's interpretation of her. Find it somewhere on this page, Here. Almost to the letter actually. I like what him and his partner did with her alot actually.

6.)))Havik: I feel he needs to be portrayed better as a chaotic character. He should never align with anyone beyond the mere unexpected factor. He should be our "Joker" // ultimate wild card character. He should be pissing fans off one moment, and then making us love what he does the next. He's almost like, thee most "Mortal Kombat" character in my eyes. Because with him, anything can and absolutely will happen. He should be in there, just screwing with peoples plans for no apparent reason at all. lol

I'd be happy if his bio was cryptic somehow. Like the word search we got not too long ago, but waay weird-er. That's the kinda shit I wanna see from Havik. He's scary, and funny, violent and passionate about his cause all in one. I think he should be the most hair raisingly disturbed character on the roster. Laughing, and killing himself at the same time, then coming back from a fatal wound to befriend some other character...ect ect Just crazy as hell.

========known good characters=============

7.)))Sub-Zero: Mascot. He's got so much going for himself all the time, it's hard to see something actually contributing to his story. So, just a couple elements I'd through into the mix for Sub-Zero. I think I'd give him a true fire elemental to train up. Serve as an interesting irony between this new student, and an old classmate of his elder brother, Sektor. In general though, just make his students take him through a few episodes. I'd like to see him delegating responsibility like a GrandMaster should. We should be seeing Sub-Zero like the boss character of a prestigious dynasty or something. Not like such a "regular character" anymore. Much the same light as Chow Yun Fat in the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower". That whole story reminds me of Sub-Zero's future potential in-story.

His knowledge and wisdom should show through those that follow his teachings and honor him. His mastery of cryomancy should show through his regular abilities, as well as some new fantastic examples of his powers. Maybe he could effect weather, or be able to manipulate even water now? Just some ideas there though i'm not really sure.

8.)))Raiden: "New Character(??)". I don't think we should recognize Raiden right off. Mainly because, as I've expressed numerous times before, he should be punished. He'd be dressed like a peasant mortal. Disgrace and shame should be all over his demeanor in this new game. He might even feel like alienating himself from any formal civilization for sake that some people still might recognize his face.

I'd make the events surrounding his taint a part of his backstory coming to this new game. Punishing Raiden for violations of a "God Code". Mingling with the bad guys, resurrecting the champions corpse (playing with necromancy)...those sorts of things are "against the rules" for a god. Raiden should be made human, and given a challenge. Challenge him to become the champion of mortal kombat without all his god powers. He might have to learn how to use lightning again throughout the progression of this new game. But no flying, no teleporting...that sort of thing.

I figure, there's an interesting dynamic and irony in this path because of his "passion for mortals". Lol So you punish him, by making him one of them. Make him develop more intimate relationships with people of his realm (maybe someone takes him in, in some small village or something..ect and he grows attached to them. Like Jet Li's movie "Fearless"). It'd be interesting to read that Raiden got sick, or hurt and actually need conventional medications.

Far as him being immortal and all that, I'd give him the curse of eternal life. So, like a vampire, he'd be presented with the possibility of watching the ones he becomes close to, dieing. Over and over on a continuum if he doesn't complete his challenge within a respectable time scale. Emotional distress as a mortal...looks like a punishment for a former god. right? Also here, he can be killed....indefinitely, OR if he completes the challenge, he can get his god-hood granted back to him by the Elder Gods. So he'd have to be extremely careful because before, he could be somewhat careless and it wouldn't matter either way. All these things combined are a terrible punishment for a former god.

This could be a game by itself.

I absolutely disagree with making him a bad guy. Doesn't line up right for what's going on in his story right now. Doesn't make sense to do that with him. You'd have to deviate from his very methodical, very specific personality and mission right now, in order to make him be a bad guy. You'd have to re-get rid of Z.Liu Kang and make Raiden essentially, a crazed lunatic in order to make "evil Raiden" happen. He's not evil, he's "by any means necessary, protect my realm"..right now. He's acting without concern for the consequences of his actions. That's not evil, it's careless, and being careless as a god is a "violation" to a moral code while residing over mortals and a realm.

9.)))Fujin:God Character. He should be getting baited by the bad guys in this new game. Much the same as Raiden had been in the past. The difference is his reactions to threats and so on. I liked his moves in MKA, but I can think of some expansions to wind powers. We should see him interacting with the forces of light and so on, maybe an older Kung Lao. Now as a teacher for the Shaolin Monks. Like a serious Bo Rai Cho.

10.)))Kung Lao:New Champion? He should be getting treated like the current champion of Mortal Kombat. He just wouldn't have had his chance to solidify it yet. Hence, I think he should be, and look older. He'd be really tight with Fujin, just the same way as Liu Kang with Raiden. BUT, I think these two are more interesting a combination. Because they have both had examples that are now absent from their lives. And I think Kung Lao, Fujin, and maybe Kai should have had something to do with Raiden being punished in their backstories. Maybe they went and caught Raiden for the Elder Gods or something. Fujin can withstand whatever Raiden dishes out, and Raiden doesn't want to kill mortals. So even though Raiden will probably fight these "sub-doers", he'll be overtaken and grateful later on for what they had to do...in their back stories.

Kung Lao should bring a new character or two into the scene as well as have a mirror of himself in Kai. However Kai is more of a threat to being champion of MK to Kung Lao, because Kai, has been trained by both Kung Lao and Liu Kang. And has had council and a close enough relationship with Raiden the same way he has(Kung Lao)

11.)))Kai: New Champion? As stated, he should be a "friendly threat" to Kung Lao for champ of MK. They train together, and so on. What would make Kai interesting though, is if they gave him some oracle-esk powers like suggested in his MKA ending. He doesn't need to be"god-like", like MKA suggested of him, but he could play a huge role in what happens to Raiden, Fujin, and Kung Lao.

12.)))Jade: She'd be my main protagonist for Edenia, and a connection to Argus, Taven, Daegon, Kitana, Jade, and Sindel. I wouldn't want all of them playable though, so I'd just take one or two of them. These one or two, would have healthy stories in this game.


========known bad characters=============


13.)))Rain: He'd be a main antagonist for Edenia, and a connection to Argus, Taven, Daegon, Kitana, Jade, and Sindel. I wouldn't want all of them playable though, so I'd just take one or two of them. These one or two, would have healthy stories in this game.

14.)))Shang Tsung: I'd really beat him up coming to a new game. He'd be the nastiest, most disgusting, more evil than ever before playable villain for this new game. Oh man, I'd drag him through the mud. Thing I don't think people are considering right now for him(or quan chi really) is that these guys were mixing together with Raiden in the ether realm after Raidens sacrifice. Two things could happen to Shang Tsung.

a: He could be effected in the opposite fashion as Raiden, and become a good guy morally, and in mentality. I think this would aggravate his character too much, but it'd be interesting seeing Shang Tsung try to separate himself from the bad guys for once. What if he eventually wanted to be accepted by the good guys? What would he have to do?(/far fetched, but interesting)

b: He could become even worse a bad guy than he has ever been. Imagine a more focused, even more ambitious Shang Tsung. Doesn't get any better that possibility for him. Cuz he might actually accomplish taking over a realm or something. I'd give him like a "arch warlock" complex if this scenario took place. He'd really use those shadow priest, and some really cool "ultimate" sorcery. Kind of envision mixing Quan Chi and Shang Tsung into one...pale-r skin, maybe skin abrasions instead of the tattoos. Really make him like a devil sorcerer.

I also like what NightCrow did with Shang Tsung...find it here. Gives insight into MKC the MK t.v. series' interpretation of Shang, but i think alot of that would be greatly appreciated in the games for Shang. Mainly for a backstory coming to this new game.

15.)))Onaga: What was he like as Emperor of Outworld before? Have Shao Kahn and Reiko his prisoners or something. Something that puts those characters in a radical situation together. At the same time though, I'd love to see Shao Kahn suffer in a similar fashion as Shang Tsung. Maybe Shao Kahn becomes a prisoner to Onaga, but barely escapes with his life..what would Shao Kahn do then? Reiko still has control over the army, so just for that, maybe Reiko could get bumped up in rank somwhere? I mean, he always wanted to be in Shao Kahns place right? What a twisted way for him to get his way...

There it is. Every body else should be new(like a new special forces soldier, or a new evil female character or something), or not playable(like Shao Kahn, Kitana, Sindel, Ermac, any of the clans..ect) imo. Even though I probably forgot some things.

Doesn't really matter. I'd reboot the entire franchise right back to the first Mortal Kombat and revise every single character to spice things up. Kind of like what DC did with Crisis on Infinite Earths or what Marvel did with their Ultimate line.

My List

Liu Kang
Raiden
Sub Zero
Noob
Scorpion
Taven
Onaga
Shao Khan
Reptile
Baraka
Kung Lao

Sindel
Jade
Tanya
Li Mei
Nitara