Earthrealm just got a whole lot more dangerous. #MK11 https://t.co/cf3EngbLmz pic.twitter.com/c9H80CuE3J
— Mortal Kombat 11 (@MortalKombat) August 21, 2019
I have been deeply enjoying Mortal Kombat 11, and with the exception of one deeply underwhelming voice actor, the game has been a great cathartic escape for me. It was announced earlier in the year that characters like Spawn, Sindel, and others would join the game as DLC. When soul daddy Shang Tsung and bamf Nightwolf made their appearances in the game, I was waiting eagerly to find out when Sindel was coming, and the answer is November 26—which is much too long to wait, but fine. In addition to Sindel, The Terminator (October 6), the Joker (January 28), and Spawn (March 17) will all be joining the game.
What makes Sindel’s return so interesting is that she’s the mother of main character Kitana. For those who don’t know, despite her dark and dead appearance, Sindel, when she was alive, was a kind and benevolent figure who ruled beside her daughter in Edenia, with the power of levitation and also to emit sonic screams a la Black Canary. Shao Kahn, one of the major antagonists of the series, invaded her realm, enslaved its people, killed her husband, Jerrod, and took her daughter, Kitana, as his own, in addition to having Shang Tsung make a clone of her in the form of Mileena.
What’s interesting is that Mortal Kombat 11 is doing a bit of retcon in terms of Sindel’s backstory. Now, rather than being brainwashed and an unwilling participant in Shao Kahn’s destruction, it’s being said that she willingly traded Jerrod’s life in exchange for being Shao Kahn’s consort, because she loved power—which is a mood. She does still eventually die by suicide in order to protect Earthrealm, but this new information does change the way the character has been written for some time.
I’m just looking forward to the reunion between Sindel and Kitana, who is now thriving as Queen of Netherrealm. How is she going to react to knowing that her mother played a role in her father’s death? Plus, with Shao Kahn resurrected, what is that reunion going to look like?
Beyond that, I’m excited to see what the Joker will look like in an M-rated fighting game, since Injustice is toned down in comparison to Mortal Kombat. Besides Sindel, the character I’m looking forward to seeing return is Spawn. As I recall from the old Soulcalibur games, he’s a fun character to fight as, but it’s a pity we have to wait so long to get him.
(image: NetherRealm Studios/Screengrab)
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