I just hope he does play good and unigue.

I'm really intrigued at this "Impostor" variation name. Makes me think they never actually put him in the amulet to begin with; the theories that he'll return at the end to be the big bad certainly hold a hell of a lot of water now.

Omg your right. He can make fakes.

It's named that because he can use others' moves in it... I don't think they'd spoil something like that and with something that's for gameplay purposes, not plot purposes. It'd make no sense for him to be inactive for 25 years when he was on the verge of victory, anyway.

Also I think him being imprisoned in the amulet that serves as the crux of the plot 25 years later, still alive, already gives those theories plenty of water.

I think it's just more that the variation is about stealing the moves of who he's fighting.

You just love disagreeing with me on everything, don't you?

A lot of these variations have story ties and relate directly to the character in question, and not just because of their move properties.. Kitana's variation is named Mourning because she mourns Jade's death and borrows her moves in tribute. Sub-Zero has a Grandmaster variation and we've seen he (very likely) becomes head of the Lin Kuei again (Speaking of spoilers, we saw that one's name what...two, three months ago?). Ermac has a 'Master of Souls' variation not only because of its gameplay properties, but because he's..well...you guessed it. And I'm pretty sure Kenshi's Possessed variation is named as such for obvious reasons which will come across in the plot.

Shinnok's a manipulator, and he's patient. MKA showed us that. He plays peopel against each other. The guy waited thousands of years for a shot at Earthrealm; 25 years is nothing to him.

Anyway, the guy created a doppelganger of himself in MKA. People who don't follow the MK plot religiously might not even get the reference at first, but for those of us in the know, it certainly is exciting and more than feasable.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/13/shinnok-and-kenshi-confirmed-for-mortal-kombat-x

Samurai Shinnok sounds boss

Only because you insist on posting stuff I disagree with.

"This Shinnok can use other characters' moves!" vs. "This Shinnok is a fake!" . One of those is a premise for a moveset. The other is not. Him using Johnny's Shadow Kick against him spells out why that variation has its name pretty damn clearly. Those other variations you mentioned, like Mounrful and Possessed, give potential moves right from the premise. I also don't think abandoning his goal right when he's about to achieve it shows Shinnok's manipulativeness very well at all.

Nope, not at all. The word "Mournful" implies grief; and of itself doesn't relate at all to the specifics of Jade's moveset at face value, and that's not even up for debate. It does relate to Kitana's frame of mind in view of the loss of her friend. You have to look at the word by itself and how it speaks to what you know about the character.

See, the word "Impostor" implies impersonation, and there's a pretty damn thick line between "pretending to be someone" and "stealing what's theirs". Shinnok's borrowing a move; he's not pretending to be anybody. A more apropos name for the variation on the premise you outline would be "Thief".

The funny thing is this is a really minor quibble. Now if I wanted to really pull something out of my ass, I could say that the word "Impostor", combined with the fact that we know he uses Tsung's upward ground fireballs, implies this is really Shang Tsung in disguise, who'll be the real surprise endboss.

But I'm not.

Yet.

>_>

Shinnok is going to be Meat in disguise. I did forget all about Shinnok using the imposter body thing in MKA and only thought of Shao doing that (which I hated) so you could be right.

Muahahahaha. I'm glad I'm not the only one who, however briefly, countenanced that thought. Fireballs everywhere!

And yet, do you think the original premise for Mournful was "Kitana is really depressed about Jade's death" and that her using Jade's moves came later? Because that's just like what you're suggesting this variation's premise is. Ermac's Master of Souls and Sub-Zero's Grandmaster variations most certainly do give hints about what they're about, too; "Imposter" suggests a copycat before it suggests it's a fake version of the character, because the latter isn't a real premise for a moveset.

Shinnok's not just stealing what's theirs, he's using something that is very much part of their identity. Copying someone else's talents does definitely fits into impersonation, it doesn't require him putting on a Johnny or Sonya mask. Heck,
I'd say "Thief" would imply more that he literally steals a move and stops his opponent from using it anymore.

Considering this will be the first time we see Shinnok actually pulling off real gameplay, I wonder how he is going to feel. I'm really, really interesting in seeing how he's going to play.

You’re misreading me. What I’m stating is some that variation names can and do point to plot details more than they do the specials. There’s no “absolute hierarchy”, but the word by itself doesn’t communicate the act of “throwing a glaive”, does it?

Now, some variation names do in fact speak directly to the properties of the special moves and tactics; that’s obvious – see Kung Lao’s “Hat Trick”, “Buzz Saw” etc. for examples. I’m not denying that. But at the same time you can’t deny that names like “Mournful” or “Grandmaster” don’t speak to the character’s personality traits or give hints as to where they’re at throughout the plot, if not direct details. Jade’s dead. Kitana’s miserable at that fact. She’s “mournful.” It’s a description of her state of mind when she uses the fighting style, and sounds a hell of a lot better than “Amateur pole wielder”. it both describes the fighting style and drops a story detail.

All I’m saying is, look at the name of the variation and think about the character. It’s food for thought. That’s all. If you can’t be bothered or don’t think it’s worth reading into, fine.

Yeah, “Impostor” could indeed reference a move-stealing property in this variation like he did in MK4, and it can also reference the fact that he can – and has – created doppelgangers, or could even have a stand-in. It can be both. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

And, no, copying talents isn’t enough to constitute impersonation. You have to be actively trying to pass yourself off as that person. Dictionary definition:

an act of pretending to be another person for the purpose of entertainment or fraud.

Ryu isn’t trying to be Gouken when he uses the fireball his master taught him. :P

Let's talk about Shinnok, baby...let's about him and Quan Chi...

I really don't think Shinnok will be the main badguy at the end... The story is about the Kamidogu and how they played a part in imprisoning Shinnok.. Mileena gets the Amulet, but Reiko wants it for himself (as well as the Kamidogu) to become the Blood God..

I think whoever ends up with it at the end of the game will be The main bad guy.. But I don't believe it will be Shinnok

I am thinking about the character. I am thinking about he copies others' attributes, which is just as much as being an impostor as creating a clone of himself. That's the attribute of Shinnok I think it is more likely referring to alone. "Mournful" and "Grandmaster" do give plot hints, yeah, but they do also fit in with how those versions of the characters play; whereas with "Imposter", you're suggesting that it's referring to two entirely separate things that aren't related. Why would only a fake Shinnok version of the character use others' moves when the real one very much can? It's kind of like, IMO, if Kitana was mourning Sindel in Mournful... and just coincidentally using Jade's weapons. There's not much connection between plot and gameplay there.

And if we're going to use dictionary definitions, here's another one:

to imitate the character, mannerisms, etc, of (another person)

I think fighting techniques can fit into "mannerisms." Also, I'd like to say that with all of the attention on Shinnok's amulet, with the attempts by Raiden, the Elder Gods, etc. to keep him from being released in both the game and comics, that'd all be kind of pointless if Shinnok suddenly popped up and went " jk it wasn't really me." I just... I don't think that'd be much of an amazing twist, especially when the amulet is already serving as the device for why Shinnok is gone for 25 years. I think that's a better reason than convoluted plans. Regardless, I think this is looking like a case where we're going to have to agree to disagree. Now that we know Shinnok is 100% playable, I think believing he's just going to have one battle and then spend the whole story mode stuck in the amulet is a mistake. He probably is the big bad, and I wouldn't count on Reiko and the Kamidogu being in the game.

Thats in the comics. Not story mode. Story mode is about the amulet.