Nightwolf is a character that has grown on me. There was something "shallow" about him in MK3, but Deception grew him into a human being who was willing to make great sacrifices for what he believed in. In any true sequel to Deception, I think his character should have returned or had some sort of influence.

One idea I had for Nightwolf post-Deception, was that his soul would be stuck in the Netherrealm, having ventured there to make sure Onaga never returns. Whilst down there, he saves Sub-Zero from an attack by Noob Saibot and Smoke, but Ashrah swoops in to strike the final blow on Saibot. This purifies her, and she finally achieves her goal of attaining humanity. Her soul is rejected from the Netherrealm, along with Sub-Zero's, and Nightwolf then serves a spiritual mentor to both (more so a mentor to Ashrah). As a tribute to her newfound guide, Ashrah could done a more "furry" attire, and use Tomahawks focused by her inner-energy as weapons (a technique entrusted onto her by Nightwolf). Meanwhile, Nightwolf uses the Kriss to try and purify himself, and return from the Netherrealm and fight alongside Sub-Zero and Ashrah.

FINISH HIM!!!!!!

he was lame and his MKD remake was terrible as was his alt costume

i did not like his new look either...like as mentioned previously. i think that he should get another chance and bring back his classic look because the mohawk crap is stupid. also i think he needs to be more spiritual and earthly rather than having lightning abilities. i liked the spirit bow an arrows and the shoulder charge...they should bring him back as a werewolf or something to spice things up. i dunno...he needs a better plot and story. once he has that i think he would have a larger fan base. so my answer for him is Mercy! Keep em' around for another go.

The thing is, though, there are a lot of characters in the Mortal Kombat universe who had so much potential that they never lived up to. Characters like Jade, Smoke, Sektor, Stryker, Bo' Rai Cho, Li Mei, Mavado, Nitara, Hotaro and Havik all come to mind. I would probably rank them a bit higher in priority than Nightwolf, too.

I wouldn't mind seeing Nightwolf remain in the story somehow, or eventually fighting his way out of the Netherrealm to aid Earthrealm again (although possibly being permanently tainted). Perhaps they could set it up with a little 3rd person action "Konquest" style game where you play as the Shaman hacking up demons on his way out of hell. Now that could be cool.

I must respectfully disagree. I've always liked Nightwolf, moreso in MKD than the previous games. I loved his outfits and thought his story was much better than before and fit with him perfectly.
In regards to him coming back, it should only be if he is needed and if his story will work with the new plot. I don't want characters in that are 'forced' and only there to appease fans.

Nightwolf = Meh

I have to agree with tgrant. His story in MKD was much stronger than it was in MK3. I personally loved the idea of him having visions of Onaga, and coming out of "retirement" (so to speak), absorbing the sins of his tribe so he could sacrifice himself to the pits of hell to ensure Onaga never threatens the realms again.

To be honest, having typed that, I realise that this would be a fantastic way to write Nightwolf off. For now, anyway. He's done his part for the story.

If he came back what would you like to see him do? Feud with who? Or team up with? I just don't like him always being a loner. I wanna see more action out of him. I love the character but there isn't enough to him.

Before they want all hyper-zealot with Ashrah's character, I think an alliance between Nightwolf and Ashrah could have been cool. Nightwolf could have met her in the Netherealm while he was tying up Onaga, or something. I like the idea of him being so in-touch with the realms that he can sense big threats and such. Nightwolf doesn't seem the kind to get involved in petty grudges. That is why a relationship with Ashrah would have been interesting to me. If she were purified (which no longer seems to be part of her "Vampire Slayer" story arc), she could be something that Nightwolf admires. A being that rises from hell so pure that the humanity around her will pollute her soul.

Nice one You-Know-Who. If Nightwolf teams up with Ashrah where would you wanna take thier storyline?

Nightwolf < FINISH HIM!!!!

I've always hated Nightwolf because, in my opinion, his character has no place in the story.

It just always felt like he was some random token native American character, put in the game just for the hell of it. To me, MK is awesome when it's about martial arts, dark environments and asian-style mythology.

I don't buy Nightwolf, the Native American with bows and arrows and tomahawks, as a martial arts fighter.
His weapons had a bright green glow, he dressed in bright blue and had red marks on his face. Not dark at all.

And the fact that I'm supposed to take his religion seriously but also believe the MK religion just throws everything off. It doesn't make any sense for both Nightwolf's spiritualism and the MK religious mythology to exist simultaneously. It's just a mess.

He's just pure MK3 trash. MK3 was garbage in my opinion, with a couple of exceptions like the Lin Kuei and Sub-Zero storyline development.

Well, I would have done it in a proper sequel to Deception (I feel it is too late now). But with Nightwolf heading to the Netherrealm to make sure Onaga remains there forever, they could have had Nightwolf sense Sub-Zero's presence in the realm. He finds Sub-Zero being restrained by Noob Saibot and Smoke. He makes the save for Sub, but the Shaman and Lin Kuei Grandmaster are aided by the surprise appearance of Ashrah. She kills Noob Saibot, and thus earns the right to leave the Netherealm.

On her journey between the realms, she finds Nightwolf talking to her "spiritually," and informing her that he cannot leave the Netherrealm until he has purified himself with the Kriss that she used, but in the meantime he would guide Ashrah. Being a sort of naive character, Ashrah accepts Nightwolf's guidance, and perhaps even gets some more "shaman-like" special moves.

I like Nightwolf in MK3 cause he had a story being one of Earthrealm warriors spared by Raiden to fight against Shao Kahn invasion, but in MKD he really didn't have much character connections he just saw a vision of Onaga coming into power and decided to defeat him. His storyline was weak in MKD, but I would mind seeing him again in a better storyline. Maybe he can be partnered up with Kai after all at the end of MK4 he went on a journey for self-enlightenment where he could have met Nightwolf.

I have a soft spot for Nightwolf, too. His moves are all pretty badass, and I think he has a ton of potential as a hero sorcerer. I also agree that his storyline from Deception was pretty weak, though, due to the whole loner schtick. The members of the Deadly Alliance are perennial boss characters because of the threat their sorcery possesses, so Nightwolf should be a lot more prominent than he's portrayed. I'd love to see him actually interact more with the established characters and perhaps see an Outworld/Shang Tsung connection in how the shamans of his tribe obtained their powers. He could be a very interesting anti-hero if played right.

As far as his looks, though, I thought the mohawk look did him no favors and seemed like an unnecessarily radical change for no better reason than to make him look like a totally different tribe of Native American (can we at least define which tribe he's from to give him an authentic look and background?) or maybe a little less like T. Hawk. I always thought he pulled off T. Hawk's look better than T. Hawk ever did myself. The MK team should go ahead and flaunt it--what's Street Fighter gonna do?