MK having a cyclic timeline is a very clever idea as it explains a lot of the inconsistencies between the two timelines and creates a much more interesting mythology for the series. Under this theory you could even argue that ALL arcade endings are Canon, but in different cycles. My theory, based on this video, is that the MK Universe begins with the dissolution of The One Being and ends with It's pieces being reunited. Then a new cycle starts with The One Being being torn apart again, but every time the cycle resets some details of the timeline(or "timecircle" in this case) change. Kronika exists outside of this cycle, her main purpose being to make sure that nothing disturbs this cycle. Raiden, not fully aware of how this cycle is meant to work, disturbs it by sending his memories to his "past" self, which leads to him "killing" Shinnok later. Shinnok's "death" causes an "unbalance between good and evil" which prevents The One Being from being properly reassembled at the end of the cycle. This explains why Kronika is so furious at Raiden for disturbing "her vision" and goes to such great lengths to return to the beginning of time(their current cycle) and wipe Raiden from history. Or maybe we're just overthinking the Lore of a fighting game series that never made much sense anyway.
So, I believed that the term "Kamidogu" was more of a general term for "instruments of the gods", implying that any tools used by the gods to accomplish a single goal, could hold the lable.
In the new timeline,mk mythologies:sub zero still happens,since it's before raiden receives his visions,and mk9,11 makes references to it,Raiden in mk9 mentions to cyrax,to how bi han defeated quan chi and shinnok,mkx sareena mentions bi han,freeing her from shinnok's hold,and fujin in mk11 mentions of the time he fought bi han,at the sky temple,the only plot hole the new timeline had,concerning mk9 is the fact that quan chi had shinnok's real amulet,and out in the open on his belt
@@MKTemple right,you'd think raiden would be alarmed that the servant of his long time enemy,is wearing said enemy's power artifact. And shinnok himself shows up in mk9 and never asks why quan chi has his amulet.
SupportGaming 2020 In The Armageddon Timeline, Quan Chi was a deceiving opportunist pretending to serve Shinnok, as in the mk9 timeline, he is a true loyal servant to Shinnok!
I love your channel man plz for god sake post more storylines of mk plz bro like I know u have little subscribers but you still explain it we’ll keep it up.
The switch of timelines between the midway n nrs era resulting in an alternative raiden recieving his message becomes totally clear when u go by a timetravelling logic,as it is explained in avengers endgame.As they explain,timetravels even into past r for fact allways ahaed-or in other words to future because the reality must b seen fom the subjects perspective as soon he leaves his objective reality n time,the traveler would still go towards his future wich now leads into his past wich would b a paradox.Time travel backwards doesn't create different timelines by the travelers acts changing past,as i see it.The reality,following that logic,would probably shift into an aditional reality/timeline as soon the traveler arrives at his targeted past-destination,wich would have "shortcircuited"objective reality with his subjective reality.When there r more beeings than one .it's impossible that there is no objective-to his subjective,therefor a new needs to start cuz the old is bound to his past self as long that not decides to timetravel.-of course raiden didn't entered his past only his thoughts did...But he helps us out with perhaps time effects gods "differently".As game,movie or comic nerd there is an universal thing to learn...Stop judgement about logic and plotholes as soon as timetravel and/or multiverses get involved into a story.That're autors tools to say "allways one more than u said..." -like ur overview cuz all the fillers coming from the old comics i never knew even knowing mk from the start-imagine how enlightening it was to watch all this.Big thx.
It's a smart idea in this canon however the explanation is just that it depends on what team is working with it. When it comes to Writing Books, Films, or Card and Board Games the canon is developed by annalists for example Vince and Larry might want Curtis Stryker to come back as a revenant. While the Music and Sound people tweak it and iron out the kinks Curtis Stryker to come back as a defender of Earth Realm. Only the motion capture person playing it says, "I want him to be a pacifist now." this process becomes at the end a mix of what can we legally do that differentiates a character like is it too similar to Maniac Cop? Will fans want to include a storyline with it? and Is it worth the effort to explain continuity?
I was playing through MK11's story mode last night and I think this theory is further confirmed by some dialogue between Kronika and revenant Liu Kang. Liu Kang asks Kronika, after she expresses to him and Kitana how Raiden has irreversibly corrupted the current timeline, "What can be done? The past is the past is it not?". To which she responds "It need not be, I intend to wind time back to its beginning and restart history". This to me is Kronika confirming that the past of an active timeline in the MK universe can't be changed. The timeline can only be rewound and restarted from scratch. However there is obviously an exception to this and that exception is of course the basis of Aftermath's story. This is described, by Shang Tsung, as the keeper of time being able to "send travelers back into the current timeline" so as to change events in the past in order to alter the present. However this option is evidently not something that Kronika favours doing. It is clearly demonstrated in Aftermath's story that the keeper of time has no control over the outcome which results in taking this course of action. This is because of it being the actions of those sent back in time who determine how the present is altered and not the keeper of time. Fire God Liu Kang (the new keeper) is seen to have been hiding in the void throughout the events of Aftermath. He clearly did this as he was shown by the hourglass that if Shang Tsung were to be sent into the past then the three components that make up Fire God Liu Kang (his past self, revenant self and Raiden) would all be kept separated and individually defeated. Thus wiping the Fire God keeper from the timeline. This would leave the hour glass for the taking once Kronika in the past was defeated. Overall, with the vulnerability the keeper of time is exposed to when he/she sends travelers into the past, I believe Kronika opts for the far safer rewind and restart option and stears well clear of the past-changing option explored in Aftermath. In conclusion I feel that Kronika's response to revenant Liu Kang's question is further confirmation that unless she chooses to send travelers into the past, the past can't be changed and therefore Raiden's "he must win" message somehow travelled from the Midway/original timeline into the NRS/new timeline.
I think something else in MK11's story directly references/confirms your theory about the original continuity (MK1-Armagedon) being in a seperate timeline to the NRS continuity (MK9, MKX and MK11). When Raiden's confrontation with Liu Kang, in MK11's story mode, unlocks memories from timelines that came before, we see what is clearly a reference to Mortal Kombat Armagedon. I refer of course to Liu Kang fighting Raiden on top of what is clearly the pyramid of Argus. Of all the past timelines Raiden remembered, this one stood out for me the most! All the other stages Liu Kang and Raiden had fought in were stages that had been seen in both continuities! Theese included the subway, Shang Tsung's Island and the acid bath as well as others. However the Pyramid of Argus hadn't been seen in the 12 years between MK Armegdon and MK11! There is also a stage shown which is very similar to the Deadly Alliance palace soulnado stage. This could be interpreted as another nod to the original continuity. I always believed the timeline showing the pyramid of argus was put in by NRS for a reason and was meant to stand out more than the other timelines. And your theory about the old continuity being set in a different timeline I believe was the reason!!
And then of course Raiden refers to these memories as glimpses at old timelines. Provided that flashback he had was indeed the pyramid of Argus from MK Armegdon (which it very obviously is), it can be confirmed that the old continuity was indeed in a different time line to the new one. If only you get confirmation from one of the story writers 😅🤣
@@MKTemple If we could just get official confirmation from an NRS story writer that what we saw in Raiden's memories was indeed the same pyramid of Argus we saw in MK Armagedon....Your theory would be proven beyond any and all doubt!!
@@MKTemple Absolutely!! Even if the skins aren't identical to their Armagedon outfits, the MK11 skins worn in that flashback are those which bear the closest resemblance.
This is a Sliders Episode Main Character Slides to a universe and thinks they traveled back in time... He ends up changing 1 event and the ripple effect altered a few details
I think MK may have a multiverse. Each with their own keeper of time, their own versions of the elder gods, their own versions of the one being, etc. In our MK universe, Kronika ruled time before Liu Kang took her place. In MK legends snowblind, we see Kano controlling the hourglass. When Kenshi mirror matches in MK1, one of the Kenshis references Kano as his keeper of time. If that interaction is canon, then that must suggest the fact that every character ending is canon. Even the guest characters.
@@MKTemple And MK9 and 11 are supposed to be the exact same timeline. So what you have here is a huge contradiction in her backstory in 9 and 11, when both are supposed to take place in the same timeline.
Here's my take on it: When Kronika resets time, the other timeline is gone for good, even she can't restore it, right? I believe MK 11 states something along those lines when she is going back in time during her fight against Liu Kang pointing out that his friends are beyond saving. Anyway, as you said, these universes don't exist simultaneously, but although nobody, not even Kronika, could restore these universes, there's evidence that their history is still "recorded" somewhere. Think about it, Raiden gets visions from past alternate timelines, which is weird right? If they were removed from existence, that should be impossible. Those visions are proof that they still "existed" in some way. Whats more, the way Raiden interacts with time is different than everyone else. When his past self shows up, his present self disappears because there can't be two of him simultaneously. It's possible that this is the same property that allows Raiden access to those visions of other timelines and therefore how he gets to send a message to his "past self" who, in his case, could totally be a Raiden from another timeline, since his existence is a continuous one instead of an "instanced" one like mortals'. In other words, Gods, Elders Gods, Titans and The One Being don't just cease existing, their memories may get wiped with each universe reset depending on how they witnessed it, but they remain the same and continue to exist, while mortals get erased and may come to exist once more if the events of the new timeline leads to it. So Raiden's past self could be any Raiden from any previous timeline. In fact, since previous timelines can't be restored, their events having already unfolded however they took place, it'd probably be more accurate to state that Raiden sent a message to his future self, but a future self who was at a "past" point of his timeline in relation to the version of the Raiden who sent the message, hence the new timeline being the "current" one Kronika was still shaping.... Ok, that was hard to explain but hopefully you get my point. I agree with you 100%, the klassic timeline still existed and probably went on after Raiden sent the message, possibly resulting in it's end with Kronika reseting it to avoid the return of the One Being while being unaware that Raiden had sent a message that would eventually reach himself in the future.
I have a theory idea for another mk11 story dlc,that Shang tsung's ending In aftermath leads to him becoming the one being after merging all of the realms and fire god liu kang(from the timeline where he beat shang tsung),restores his old allies,kung lao,kitana,bo rai cho,kitana,raiden,fujin and they become the six elder gods,they defeat the one being/shang tsung by recreating the kamidogu and using to shattered his consciousness back into becoming the realms
This would make sense! But what if there was a Dark Multiverse in the Mk universe/Multiverse (Timeline/Timestream), as there is in the D.C. Universe! Fears and hopes come from the Dark Multiverse, so a version of the One Being could be there! This idea wouldn't be canon, but still scary
The One Being is a subconsciousness, until Shang Tsung merges the realms, but Tsung would be a vessel for him, technically destroying Tsung and returning to his true and omnipotent form!
Good video, but I'm now wondering if MK vs DC universe does have a place in the MK universe since it can be considered a different timeline altogether. (Also I'm just getting into the MK series so trying to follow these timelines is putting my brain into a blender.)
If Kronika doesn’t want the one being return. Why is she mad at Raiden stopping shao kahn? Because his ending showed that he merged all the realms, which would mean he would have to become the one being or cause him to return m.
I don't think Kronika is mad at Raiden for stopping Shao Kahn, she's mad because he's messed with time and time is her thing. By him sending a message through time he went against her plan. She says something along the lines of "do you think this is the first time this has happened" indicating that Raiden may have sent a message through time in previous timeline. MK11 confirms that Kronika consistently restarts time and Armageddon has happened in many of the timelines so this is my theory.
In mk11 kronika stated she wanted shinnok to win,his mkx arcade ending implies that if he had succeeded in conquering earthrealm,he would then merge all of the realms,bringing the one being's return ,and if kronika is trying to prevent the one being's return,then shinnok gets in the way of her own goals
@@MKTemple I'm gonna go off speculation here,but maybe if shinnok's ending had been canon,him bringing back the one being could've been a giant final f you to not only the elder gods but to kronika as well for making him go through centuries of events always repeating. And remember when shang tsung realized liu kang allowed him to win and take kronika's crown,shang tsung only saw him taking kronika's crown successfully,he didn't expect fire god liu kang to go after him Maybe kronika only saw the possible outcome of shinnok winning and conquering earthrealm,not ending all of existence and bringing the one being's return
This would make a lot of sense actually. There's a big possibility that Kronika didn't know the outcome of Shinnok winning. Although Shinnok has always sought revenge on the Elder Gods for banishing him so she had to have known he would have attacked them.
MK Temple 1. Do you think Raiden is aware of the existence of The One Being? You said in the video that he, because of his visions, saw different timelines created by Kronika? But isn't she against The One Being or not?! Because basically in aftermath final boss was The One Being vs Kronika! 2. According to Raiden, Kronika used each timeline to perfect her plan of balance between good vs evil! 3. So Titans, Elder Gods, and Gods jammed in One Realm, in which Kronika rewinds every time, but why enslave her fellow Titans and the Elder Gods if the bigger enemy is The One Being, since she must have been involved when her children were involved with The One Being as well?! (And when she rewinded time to change the way of the Kamidogu?!) But since Shang Tsung defeated Kronika and Liu Kang, The One Being is at the top, right?!
Earthrealmer 1 to Earthrelmer 2: After this life, our soul goes to the Netherrealm for forever Raiden to Fujin: Actually the world is an ever rewinding loop orchestrated by a Kronika Elder Gods: There are multiple timelines and universes with foreign beings in them OneBeing: The universe is just a simulation on some kid's computer
Just a quick question on something you said in the video. Why exactly does the new timeline require Raiden to recieve his message from "the past" in order to exist?
Because MK9's main story focuses on the message Raiden receives from the past timeline which means it needs to exist for to change the current timeline.
If the new timeline is meant to be a truly new timeline that Kronika restarted and not a branching off of the original timeline, then there is still time travel involved with Raiden's message. He would be sending it to the future, not the past. The timelines do not coexist; rather, when one ends, Kronika restarts it from scratch. That would mean that Raiden is sending a message to his future self in the next timeline. The images seen between "He must win" and "past" Raiden receiving the message, however, show scenes from the MK universe progressing backward, indicating that he is indeed sending the message backward through time. I think that was probably the original intention before all the Kronika stuff retconned it. A good way to reinterpret these images might be as representations of Raiden's last thoughts before his death, the things he is trying to prevent from happening.
@@GeonusKaikun It’s not really a Retcon tbh. Because how it works is during Titan Shang Tsung and Liu’s battle they accidentally created alternate timelines because of the mammoth energies they produced.
Hmmmm I think everything you said is pretty much on point but that being said I kinda feel like MK 11 was a lazy cop out to reboot the timeline like there was litteraly no hints or anything about somone resetting the timelines over and over and then here we are with MK 11 out of no where all of this stuff happens just I feel that it's just a bit lazy and they had no true ideas on how to end the timeline it makes sense but just I feel as it's a lazy way to go about it like all the MK games were all made happen cause of one character controlling the timelines but that was never said in the past or hinted to build up or anything just I feel this way cause of how all of sudden this game was with pushing everything in your face.
I agree to an extent, I think they had a solid storyline building with MKX and then they went this route, which just brought up even more questions than answers. With this theory I'm just trying to make sense of how it can all fit in together.
@@MKTemple yeah I agree with your theory but I just feel like you can't do things in such a way and then change it without any build up or hinting to that fact it's just like you said it leads to more questions than answers that will probably never be answered in game and probably will have to wait for a interview with Ed Boon to figure out those questions
There is no question if multiple universes or timeline...In my opinion at least,a universe is the same like a reality wich consists of room n time.So by creating an other of one u automaticly have the other as well.Without time nothing can happen in a certain room-without room nothing is nowhere to happen in a certain timeline...
Man!! Brilliant explanation about Raiden from a different time line receiving "He must win". Never thought of that! You are smart!! But...Can I ask you for your opinion on something? In an MK11 intro for Raiden, with Nightwolf I think, he says the cracking and subsequent healing of his MK9 amulet was just another scheme of Kronika. Does this possibly mean that Kronika crafted the sands of time so that Raiden would send a message to himself and result in the events of MK9? Ie. Was Raiden "interfering" with time her plan?
Hmmm, I've never thought of that but it's possible. I remember Ed Boon saying in an interview that Kronika makes her presence known in MK11 because Raiden messed with time, going against her will. So I would think that him sending a message to a past version of himself was something Kronika was not anticipating.
@@MKTemple Yea that would make sense alright. I would love to see a video where you elongate on your theories on this particular topic! Your channel is now my new favourite one to watch :)
@@kybone25 thanks! I would love to do more theories, a lot of times tho with the timeline stuff it's hard to come up with a theory and not find something contradict your theory. I have a few more videos written in the pipeline, and they shouldn't take me that long to get out. My last one (Reiko Accords) took me over a month because of its length and it was a lot of cropping.
@@MKTempleYea you are right about often finding something to contradict any theory in MK lore, but if you state something as a theory you are entitled to your opinion. Its only when people start stating things that aren't confirmed I lose interest, thats a big a no no in my book. You don't do that so it's all good! Anyway you are my favourite ML lore guy now and you did and are doing a fantastic job with making your videos! Keep em coming!!
And,what no one ever issues...Counting the different versions of jerrods death,there r hints for 3 different past-timelines,just in mk11 alone,plus one become possible by combining it with mk legacy:U have the krypt where it says shao khan killed him,d'vorrah says she did it for shao khan,sindel reveals she did it.With ermac to b like in legacy described,he possibly did cuz that took his victims souls as well and shang tsung says in an intro dialouge he has jerrods soul by defeating ermac.Off course ermac could've gotten it together with the other 999 that r him,by shao kahn too,wich is more logic,but i like ermacs legacy nature so... ;-)
The theory doesn’t work. Kronika supposedly brought the people from the MK9 timeline and yet we get altered backstories, people that weren’t present, different looks for the characters that were there. It’s still widely inconsistent and continuity being thrown out the window.
Mk special forces is canon its set before mk1-2, In the old timeline The fact that tremor,tasia and no face appear in the mkx comics in the new timeline shows its still canon
In short: Special Forces takes place before the first MK Game. Jax had no knowledge of other realms until MKII, yet in SF they go to Outworld. It directly conflicts with Jax & Sonya's canon story from MKII & 3. But more importantly, Jax doesn't get metal arms until MK3 but in MKSF he has them. John Vogel (MK designer and story contributor) also confirmed in a 2016 tweet that it wasn't canon.
@@MKTemple oh ok. I actually never understood what was bad about the game but than again I have never played it nor do I ever will because I don’t own a PS1.
I hate timeline... All those events (return of onaga, formation of deadly alliance, kidnap of lee mei family, cyrax found by special force, smoke captured by noob saibot, Reptile and cyrax fight, kenshi almost killed and saved by sonia etc) of original timeline never happened in second timeline...
It's true, but according to MK11 there were a bunch of timelines before even that timeline so it's just ever changing. In order for MK9 to occur, we need MK Armageddon to happen, so in a way the original timeline still happened in order for the new timeline to happen.
I mean there are statements and proof that realms exist in different universes and if we take what Ed says seriously there's multiple timelines and yes we can take what he says seriously since he's creative director.
The realms aren't different universes in my opinion they are just different dimensions,them being different universes would mean they would all be similar to earthrealm.
True, but most "different universe" story beats are considered non-canon. When Ed and the team made claims of some games taking place in a different Universe (like MK vs DC) this was before MK11, so it could also have been retconned. I think there is the possibility MK could have different Universes, but it just gets super confusing then because does multiples universes mean multiple Titans? Multiple One Beings? Since the One Being has been confirmed as the crux of existence I feel like it might contradict the beings origin if it exists in multiple universes.
And yes what SupportGaming2020 said, the realms are described as dimensions. A different universe would mean these 6 realms exist in another universe, so there would be multiple Earths, multiple Outworlds, etc...
There isn't really a good reason why there can't be unconnected universes floating out there in hyperspace. Sure, we know that Kronika is continually resetting the timeline of the one universe over and over again, but nothing about that, specifically, rules out other universes completely. In fact, as an explanation, it makes far more sense to say what we see in MKA and at the beginning of MK9 are actually completely different universes. You didn't really give a satisfying explanation for why the 1992 that Raiden's message went to looked so different from the 1992 of the original game, and this is really the only way I think you can pull it off. But on a conceptual level, your idea of a single universe with everything fitting into the different timelines spun off of that can't work because it's just demonstrably false. You handwaved all the evidence for it as "non canon," but, buddy, listen... I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Mortal Kombat is *NOT* a religion. There *IS* no "canon," it's a story, it's fake, it's not *REAL*, man, it was all made up by a bunch of nerds. Robocop being a cyber-ninja and fighting the Joker is exactly equally real as anything else from any of the other games. The 8th main game in the series is explicitly about two universes colliding, and sure that story may not have anything to do with the timelines seen in the other 10 games, but it doesn't *matter* if it does or not. You can say that, as an explanatory model, the main story of most of the games takes place in this one distinct universe with constantly rewinding timelines, but as soon as you go to explain anything *else* from the games or any other media, you come up against a wall. Sooner or later, one of these interpretations of these characters and stories is going to have to have multiple disconnected universes in order to make sense of things, and of course that is made explicit within the main series multiple times. The question then becomes, do these versions of the story and characters actually intersect with this constantly rewinding universe? I would argue that they absolutely do, and some evidence for this comes from the fight intro dialogues, especially mirror matches, where some versions of the characters are clearly meant to be those of the current timeline of MKX/MK11, who are addressing other characters and other versions of themselves as if there has been some multiversal fuckery going on. Hell, the MK guest characters in Injustice seem to be versions from similar timelines as well. That doesn't of course mean that those iterations of characters ARE specifically the ones from the main story of those games, but it does mean that there are universes where the MK9/X/11 timeline is happening where those iterations of the characters do leave their universes and enter into unrelated timelines. That means that Kronika's time rewinding schtick is a factor in multiple universes, and many of those universes have the same outcomes as what we see in the story mode of the Netherealm games. Basically, it doesn't matter if the one particular universe you posit here crosses over into others or not, because there are two many examples of other cross-universe pollination within the franchise to completely ignore the fact that this stuff is happening.
I’ve never found a channel that I really liked with so little subscribers, mad respect, keep up the good work
Thank you so much!
Agreed
Finding out this is a different timeline vs the past somewhat eases the hurt of sindel heel turn... but no, it still shouldn't have happened
How do you know enough bout mk to give that much of a shit about sindels story but not that it’s a different timeline
MK having a cyclic timeline is a very clever idea as it explains a lot of the inconsistencies between the two timelines and creates a much more interesting mythology for the series. Under this theory you could even argue that ALL arcade endings are Canon, but in different cycles.
My theory, based on this video, is that the MK Universe begins with the dissolution of The One Being and ends with It's pieces being reunited. Then a new cycle starts with The One Being being torn apart again, but every time the cycle resets some details of the timeline(or "timecircle" in this case) change. Kronika exists outside of this cycle, her main purpose being to make sure that nothing disturbs this cycle. Raiden, not fully aware of how this cycle is meant to work, disturbs it by sending his memories to his "past" self, which leads to him "killing" Shinnok later.
Shinnok's "death" causes an "unbalance between good and evil" which prevents The One Being from being properly reassembled at the end of the cycle. This explains why Kronika is so furious at Raiden for disturbing "her vision" and goes to such great lengths to return to the beginning of time(their current cycle) and wipe Raiden from history.
Or maybe we're just overthinking the Lore of a fighting game series that never made much sense anyway.
Yep I completely agree. Our theories are very similar. We're both probably overthinking, but it's fun to try and make sense of everything.
Idea for a video:top 10 most powerful mortal Kombat charakters
The legend has risen to make another banger! I always look out for one of your new videos!
Glad you're enjoying them. Trying to upload more consistently
So, I believed that the term "Kamidogu" was more of a general term for "instruments of the gods", implying that any tools used by the gods to accomplish a single goal, could hold the lable.
Very valid theory
In the new timeline,mk mythologies:sub zero still happens,since it's before raiden receives his visions,and mk9,11 makes references to it,Raiden in mk9 mentions to cyrax,to how bi han defeated quan chi and shinnok,mkx sareena mentions bi han,freeing her from shinnok's hold,and fujin in mk11 mentions of the time he fought bi han,at the sky temple,the only plot hole the new timeline had,concerning mk9 is the fact that quan chi had shinnok's real amulet,and out in the open on his belt
Yes MKM is still canon in the new timeline, I do hate that Quan Chi just wears the amulet in MK9 and no one says anything about it.
@@MKTemple right,you'd think raiden would be alarmed that the servant of his long time enemy,is wearing said enemy's power artifact.
And shinnok himself shows up in mk9 and never asks why quan chi has his amulet.
SupportGaming 2020 In The Armageddon Timeline, Quan Chi was a deceiving opportunist pretending to serve Shinnok, as in the mk9 timeline, he is a true loyal servant to Shinnok!
@@MrThadLC Yep! MKX confirms that 100%! If not then why would Quan Chi's main objective be to free Shinnok?!
Really Good theory I hated that they gave Taven's win to shao kahn and the rebooted timeline is wack compared to the Orginal
What you think of my theory?
I love your channel man plz for god sake post more storylines of mk plz bro like I know u have little subscribers but you still explain it we’ll keep it up.
Or hell do history on the mortal Kombat character’s lore story and etc
The switch of timelines between the midway n nrs era resulting in an alternative raiden recieving his message becomes totally clear when u go by a timetravelling logic,as it is explained in avengers endgame.As they explain,timetravels even into past r for fact allways ahaed-or in other words to future because the reality must b seen fom the subjects perspective as soon he leaves his objective reality n time,the traveler would still go towards his future wich now leads into his past wich would b a paradox.Time travel backwards doesn't create different timelines by the travelers acts changing past,as i see it.The reality,following that logic,would probably shift into an aditional reality/timeline as soon the traveler arrives at his targeted past-destination,wich would have "shortcircuited"objective reality with his subjective reality.When there r more beeings than one .it's impossible that there is no objective-to his subjective,therefor a new needs to start cuz the old is bound to his past self as long that not decides to timetravel.-of course raiden didn't entered his past only his thoughts did...But he helps us out with perhaps time effects gods "differently".As game,movie or comic nerd there is an universal thing to learn...Stop judgement about logic and plotholes as soon as timetravel and/or multiverses get involved into a story.That're autors tools to say "allways one more than u said..." -like ur overview cuz all the fillers coming from the old comics i never knew even knowing mk from the start-imagine how enlightening it was to watch all this.Big thx.
luv the channel...happy somebody making videos about MK that actually understand the lore
Thanks dude!
They made this shit like a Blade Runner timeline 🙃
You are awesome and one of my fav mk RUclipsrs with backstory explanation on lores! Keep up the amazing work! Love this video 😻💖💕🥰
Thank you!
why isn't this channel blowing up....great content ....
Thank you!
It's a smart idea in this canon however the explanation is just that it depends on what team is working with it. When it comes to Writing Books, Films, or Card and Board Games the canon is developed by annalists for example Vince and Larry might want Curtis Stryker to come back as a revenant. While the Music and Sound people tweak it and iron out the kinks Curtis Stryker to come back as a defender of Earth Realm. Only the motion capture person playing it says, "I want him to be a pacifist now." this process becomes at the end a mix of what can we legally do that differentiates a character like is it too similar to Maniac Cop? Will fans want to include a storyline with it? and Is it worth the effort to explain continuity?
All this content is great , you’re underrated af
Thank you!
I was playing through MK11's story mode last night and I think this theory is further confirmed by some dialogue between Kronika and revenant Liu Kang. Liu Kang asks Kronika, after she expresses to him and Kitana how Raiden has irreversibly corrupted the current timeline, "What can be done? The past is the past is it not?". To which she responds "It need not be, I intend to wind time back to its beginning and restart history". This to me is Kronika confirming that the past of an active timeline in the MK universe can't be changed. The timeline can only be rewound and restarted from scratch. However there is obviously an exception to this and that exception is of course the basis of Aftermath's story. This is described, by Shang Tsung, as the keeper of time being able to "send travelers back into the current timeline" so as to change events in the past in order to alter the present. However this option is evidently not something that Kronika favours doing. It is clearly demonstrated in Aftermath's story that the keeper of time has no control over the outcome which results in taking this course of action. This is because of it being the actions of those sent back in time who determine how the present is altered and not the keeper of time. Fire God Liu Kang (the new keeper) is seen to have been hiding in the void throughout the events of Aftermath. He clearly did this as he was shown by the hourglass that if Shang Tsung were to be sent into the past then the three components that make up Fire God Liu Kang (his past self, revenant self and Raiden) would all be kept separated and individually defeated. Thus wiping the Fire God keeper from the timeline. This would leave the hour glass for the taking once Kronika in the past was defeated. Overall, with the vulnerability the keeper of time is exposed to when he/she sends travelers into the past, I believe Kronika opts for the far safer rewind and restart option and stears well clear of the past-changing option explored in Aftermath. In conclusion I feel that Kronika's response to revenant Liu Kang's question is further confirmation that unless she chooses to send travelers into the past, the past can't be changed and therefore Raiden's "he must win" message somehow travelled from the Midway/original timeline into the NRS/new timeline.
Great comment. It makes a ton of sense and also still supports my theory.
I think something else in MK11's story directly references/confirms your theory about the original continuity (MK1-Armagedon) being in a seperate timeline to the NRS continuity (MK9, MKX and MK11). When Raiden's confrontation with Liu Kang, in MK11's story mode, unlocks memories from timelines that came before, we see what is clearly a reference to Mortal Kombat Armagedon. I refer of course to Liu Kang fighting Raiden on top of what is clearly the pyramid of Argus. Of all the past timelines Raiden remembered, this one stood out for me the most! All the other stages Liu Kang and Raiden had fought in were stages that had been seen in both continuities! Theese included the subway, Shang Tsung's Island and the acid bath as well as others. However the Pyramid of Argus hadn't been seen in the 12 years between MK Armegdon and MK11! There is also a stage shown which is very similar to the Deadly Alliance palace soulnado stage. This could be interpreted as another nod to the original continuity. I always believed the timeline showing the pyramid of argus was put in by NRS for a reason and was meant to stand out more than the other timelines. And your theory about the old continuity being set in a different timeline I believe was the reason!!
And then of course Raiden refers to these memories as glimpses at old timelines. Provided that flashback he had was indeed the pyramid of Argus from MK Armegdon (which it very obviously is), it can be confirmed that the old continuity was indeed in a different time line to the new one. If only you get confirmation from one of the story writers 😅🤣
100% I think this is part of what solidified them as different timelines
@@MKTemple If we could just get official confirmation from an NRS story writer that what we saw in Raiden's memories was indeed the same pyramid of Argus we saw in MK Armagedon....Your theory would be proven beyond any and all doubt!!
It's implied that this is the same. Raiden is in his dark Raiden outfit and Kang is Zombie Kang.
@@MKTemple Absolutely!! Even if the skins aren't identical to their Armagedon outfits, the MK11 skins worn in that flashback are those which bear the closest resemblance.
This is a Sliders Episode
Main Character Slides to a universe and thinks they traveled back in time... He ends up changing 1 event and the ripple effect altered a few details
I think MK may have a multiverse. Each with their own keeper of time, their own versions of the elder gods, their own versions of the one being, etc. In our MK universe, Kronika ruled time before Liu Kang took her place. In MK legends snowblind, we see Kano controlling the hourglass. When Kenshi mirror matches in MK1, one of the Kenshis references Kano as his keeper of time. If that interaction is canon, then that must suggest the fact that every character ending is canon. Even the guest characters.
That doesn't make sense
@@SupportGamin2024according to an accurate leak yes it does
They might be doing that now
You were right
@@SupportGamin2024you were wrong
Evil sindel is a retcon in mk9 Bio it states that she killed herself to create a protection for earthrealm and this happened in the same timeline
Reconned from MK9 but not the OG timeline
@@MKTemple And MK9 and 11 are supposed to be the exact same timeline. So what you have here is a huge contradiction in her backstory in 9 and 11, when both are supposed to take place in the same timeline.
They should've called 11 Mortal Kombat: Infinite Crisis. lol
😂😂
Here's my take on it: When Kronika resets time, the other timeline is gone for good, even she can't restore it, right? I believe MK 11 states something along those lines when she is going back in time during her fight against Liu Kang pointing out that his friends are beyond saving. Anyway, as you said, these universes don't exist simultaneously, but although nobody, not even Kronika, could restore these universes, there's evidence that their history is still "recorded" somewhere. Think about it, Raiden gets visions from past alternate timelines, which is weird right? If they were removed from existence, that should be impossible. Those visions are proof that they still "existed" in some way. Whats more, the way Raiden interacts with time is different than everyone else. When his past self shows up, his present self disappears because there can't be two of him simultaneously. It's possible that this is the same property that allows Raiden access to those visions of other timelines and therefore how he gets to send a message to his "past self" who, in his case, could totally be a Raiden from another timeline, since his existence is a continuous one instead of an "instanced" one like mortals'. In other words, Gods, Elders Gods, Titans and The One Being don't just cease existing, their memories may get wiped with each universe reset depending on how they witnessed it, but they remain the same and continue to exist, while mortals get erased and may come to exist once more if the events of the new timeline leads to it. So Raiden's past self could be any Raiden from any previous timeline. In fact, since previous timelines can't be restored, their events having already unfolded however they took place, it'd probably be more accurate to state that Raiden sent a message to his future self, but a future self who was at a "past" point of his timeline in relation to the version of the Raiden who sent the message, hence the new timeline being the "current" one Kronika was still shaping.... Ok, that was hard to explain but hopefully you get my point. I agree with you 100%, the klassic timeline still existed and probably went on after Raiden sent the message, possibly resulting in it's end with Kronika reseting it to avoid the return of the One Being while being unaware that Raiden had sent a message that would eventually reach himself in the future.
Dude, AWESOME explanation. And yes I def think this makes sense!
I have a theory idea for another mk11 story dlc,that Shang tsung's ending In aftermath leads to him becoming the one being after merging all of the realms and fire god liu kang(from the timeline where he beat shang tsung),restores his old allies,kung lao,kitana,bo rai cho,kitana,raiden,fujin and they become the six elder gods,they defeat the one being/shang tsung by recreating the kamidogu and using to shattered his consciousness back into becoming the realms
That'd be pretty awesome and it would kind of bring the story full circle
This would make sense! But what if there was a Dark Multiverse in the Mk universe/Multiverse (Timeline/Timestream), as there is in the D.C. Universe! Fears and hopes come from the Dark Multiverse, so a version of the One Being could be there! This idea wouldn't be canon, but still scary
Don't forget Shujinko
The One Being is a subconsciousness, until Shang Tsung merges the realms, but Tsung would be a vessel for him, technically destroying Tsung and returning to his true and omnipotent form!
According to Tsung in Mk11 Aftermath, where he says that Kronika betrayed him, what if Kronika betrayed him because she saw The One Being in him?!
Imma abit late but thx for posting this it makes so much more sense
I like your theory, makes sense.
But either you're correct or netherrealm goofed up!
Good video, but I'm now wondering if MK vs DC universe does have a place in the MK universe since it can be considered a different timeline altogether. (Also I'm just getting into the MK series so trying to follow these timelines is putting my brain into a blender.)
Wow, you find out something sensical about kronica's plan
If Kronika doesn’t want the one being return. Why is she mad at Raiden stopping shao kahn? Because his ending showed that he merged all the realms, which would mean he would have to become the one being or cause him to return m.
I don't think Kronika is mad at Raiden for stopping Shao Kahn, she's mad because he's messed with time and time is her thing. By him sending a message through time he went against her plan. She says something along the lines of "do you think this is the first time this has happened" indicating that Raiden may have sent a message through time in previous timeline.
MK11 confirms that Kronika consistently restarts time and Armageddon has happened in many of the timelines so this is my theory.
In mk11 kronika stated she wanted shinnok to win,his mkx arcade ending implies that if he had succeeded in conquering earthrealm,he would then merge all of the realms,bringing the one being's return
,and if kronika is trying to prevent the one being's return,then shinnok gets in the way of her own goals
Unless her purpose is to have existence end only to consistently rewind time. Shinnok winning would be similar to Kahn winning Armageddon
@@MKTemple I'm gonna go off speculation here,but maybe if shinnok's ending had been canon,him bringing back the one being could've been a giant final f you to not only the elder gods but to kronika as well for making him go through centuries of events always repeating. And remember when shang tsung realized liu kang allowed him to win and take kronika's crown,shang tsung only saw him taking kronika's crown successfully,he didn't expect fire god liu kang to go after him
Maybe kronika only saw the possible outcome of shinnok winning and conquering earthrealm,not ending all of existence and bringing the one being's return
This would make a lot of sense actually. There's a big possibility that Kronika didn't know the outcome of Shinnok winning. Although Shinnok has always sought revenge on the Elder Gods for banishing him so she had to have known he would have attacked them.
Maybe Shinnok is a double Sleeper agent, for Kronika, but mainly The One Being, who also hates the Elder Gods
MK Temple 1. Do you think Raiden is aware of the existence of The One Being? You said in the video that he, because of his visions, saw different timelines created by Kronika? But isn't she against The One Being or not?! Because basically in aftermath final boss was The One Being vs Kronika!
2. According to Raiden, Kronika used each timeline to perfect her plan of balance between good vs evil!
3. So Titans, Elder Gods, and Gods jammed in One Realm, in which Kronika rewinds every time, but why enslave her fellow Titans and the Elder Gods if the bigger enemy is The One Being, since she must have been involved when her children were involved with The One Being as well?! (And when she rewinded time to change the way of the Kamidogu?!) But since Shang Tsung defeated Kronika and Liu Kang, The One Being is at the top, right?!
You will cover the MK Malibu Comics in an upcoming video, right?
Hmmmm I could maybe dive into that universe. I haven't read them in a while...
Earthrealmer 1 to Earthrelmer 2: After this life, our soul goes to the Netherrealm for forever
Raiden to Fujin: Actually the world is an ever rewinding loop orchestrated by a Kronika
Elder Gods: There are multiple timelines and universes with foreign beings in them
OneBeing: The universe is just a simulation on some kid's computer
Just a quick question on something you said in the video. Why exactly does the new timeline require Raiden to recieve his message from "the past" in order to exist?
Because MK9's main story focuses on the message Raiden receives from the past timeline which means it needs to exist for to change the current timeline.
@@MKTemple Got it thanks ;)
It deserves more attention
well if the Kamidoge in MK X become daggers may be it is diffrents universe for original MK,so powerful artefacts can be changed just like that?)
If the new timeline is meant to be a truly new timeline that Kronika restarted and not a branching off of the original timeline, then there is still time travel involved with Raiden's message. He would be sending it to the future, not the past. The timelines do not coexist; rather, when one ends, Kronika restarts it from scratch. That would mean that Raiden is sending a message to his future self in the next timeline.
The images seen between "He must win" and "past" Raiden receiving the message, however, show scenes from the MK universe progressing backward, indicating that he is indeed sending the message backward through time. I think that was probably the original intention before all the Kronika stuff retconned it. A good way to reinterpret these images might be as representations of Raiden's last thoughts before his death, the things he is trying to prevent from happening.
Timelines do coexist
@@yodogarou36 Proof?
@@GeonusKaikun mk1
@@yodogarou36 Okay then. That's a change/retcon from what came before, but if that's the new official word, so be it. I stand corrected.
@@GeonusKaikun It’s not really a Retcon tbh. Because how it works is during Titan Shang Tsung and Liu’s battle they accidentally created alternate timelines because of the mammoth energies they produced.
Hmmmm I think everything you said is pretty much on point but that being said I kinda feel like MK 11 was a lazy cop out to reboot the timeline like there was litteraly no hints or anything about somone resetting the timelines over and over and then here we are with MK 11 out of no where all of this stuff happens just I feel that it's just a bit lazy and they had no true ideas on how to end the timeline it makes sense but just I feel as it's a lazy way to go about it like all the MK games were all made happen cause of one character controlling the timelines but that was never said in the past or hinted to build up or anything just I feel this way cause of how all of sudden this game was with pushing everything in your face.
I agree to an extent, I think they had a solid storyline building with MKX and then they went this route, which just brought up even more questions than answers. With this theory I'm just trying to make sense of how it can all fit in together.
@@MKTemple yeah I agree with your theory but I just feel like you can't do things in such a way and then change it without any build up or hinting to that fact it's just like you said it leads to more questions than answers that will probably never be answered in game and probably will have to wait for a interview with Ed Boon to figure out those questions
Today's my birthday man
Happy birthday dude!
@@MKTemple thank you
@@MKTemple this video is extremely helpful for me,
There is no question if multiple universes or timeline...In my opinion at least,a universe is the same like a reality wich consists of room n time.So by creating an other of one u automaticly have the other as well.Without time nothing can happen in a certain room-without room nothing is nowhere to happen in a certain timeline...
Man!! Brilliant explanation about Raiden from a different time line receiving "He must win". Never thought of that! You are smart!! But...Can I ask you for your opinion on something? In an MK11 intro for Raiden, with Nightwolf I think, he says the cracking and subsequent healing of his MK9 amulet was just another scheme of Kronika. Does this possibly mean that Kronika crafted the sands of time so that Raiden would send a message to himself and result in the events of MK9? Ie. Was Raiden "interfering" with time her plan?
Hmmm, I've never thought of that but it's possible. I remember Ed Boon saying in an interview that Kronika makes her presence known in MK11 because Raiden messed with time, going against her will. So I would think that him sending a message to a past version of himself was something Kronika was not anticipating.
@@MKTemple Yea that would make sense alright. I would love to see a video where you elongate on your theories on this particular topic! Your channel is now my new favourite one to watch :)
elaborate***
@@kybone25 thanks! I would love to do more theories, a lot of times tho with the timeline stuff it's hard to come up with a theory and not find something contradict your theory. I have a few more videos written in the pipeline, and they shouldn't take me that long to get out. My last one (Reiko Accords) took me over a month because of its length and it was a lot of cropping.
@@MKTempleYea you are right about often finding something to contradict any theory in MK lore, but if you state something as a theory you are entitled to your opinion. Its only when people start stating things that aren't confirmed I lose interest, thats a big a no no in my book. You don't do that so it's all good!
Anyway you are my favourite ML lore guy now and you did and are doing a fantastic job with making your videos! Keep em coming!!
And,what no one ever issues...Counting the different versions of jerrods death,there r hints for 3 different past-timelines,just in mk11 alone,plus one become possible by combining it with mk legacy:U have the krypt where it says shao khan killed him,d'vorrah says she did it for shao khan,sindel reveals she did it.With ermac to b like in legacy described,he possibly did cuz that took his victims souls as well and shang tsung says in an intro dialouge he has jerrods soul by defeating ermac.Off course ermac could've gotten it together with the other 999 that r him,by shao kahn too,wich is more logic,but i like ermacs legacy nature so... ;-)
The theory doesn’t work. Kronika supposedly brought the people from the MK9 timeline and yet we get altered backstories, people that weren’t present, different looks for the characters that were there. It’s still widely inconsistent and continuity being thrown out the window.
Mk special forces is canon its set before mk1-2, In the old timeline The fact that tremor,tasia and no face appear in the mkx comics in the new timeline shows its still canon
The characters are canon, but MKSF is not canon because Jax is unaware of Outworld until MKII
@@MKTemple I'll still consider it canon due to how John tobias originally wanted that game's story to go.
They Don't.
(First thing that came to mind when I saw the title ;P).
Wait how is special forces not canon?
In short: Special Forces takes place before the first MK Game. Jax had no knowledge of other realms until MKII, yet in SF they go to Outworld. It directly conflicts with Jax & Sonya's canon story from MKII & 3. But more importantly, Jax doesn't get metal arms until MK3 but in MKSF he has them. John Vogel (MK designer and story contributor) also confirmed in a 2016 tweet that it wasn't canon.
@@MKTemple oh ok. I actually never understood what was bad about the game but than again I have never played it nor do I ever will because I don’t own a PS1.
I hate timeline... All those events (return of onaga, formation of deadly alliance, kidnap of lee mei family, cyrax found by special force, smoke captured by noob saibot, Reptile and cyrax fight, kenshi almost killed and saved by sonia etc) of original timeline never happened in second timeline...
It's true, but according to MK11 there were a bunch of timelines before even that timeline so it's just ever changing. In order for MK9 to occur, we need MK Armageddon to happen, so in a way the original timeline still happened in order for the new timeline to happen.
I mean there are statements and proof that realms exist in different universes and if we take what Ed says seriously there's multiple timelines and yes we can take what he says seriously since he's creative director.
The realms aren't different universes in my opinion they are just different dimensions,them being different universes would mean they would all be similar to earthrealm.
True, but most "different universe" story beats are considered non-canon. When Ed and the team made claims of some games taking place in a different Universe (like MK vs DC) this was before MK11, so it could also have been retconned. I think there is the possibility MK could have different Universes, but it just gets super confusing then because does multiples universes mean multiple Titans? Multiple One Beings? Since the One Being has been confirmed as the crux of existence I feel like it might contradict the beings origin if it exists in multiple universes.
And yes what SupportGaming2020 said, the realms are described as dimensions. A different universe would mean these 6 realms exist in another universe, so there would be multiple Earths, multiple Outworlds, etc...
@@MKTemple I said possibly as stated before.
@@MKTemple Also there aren't just 6 realms finding the statement havoc said is hard, but there are 1000 plus dream realm is a realm.
However the fuck the writers want
This
There isn't really a good reason why there can't be unconnected universes floating out there in hyperspace. Sure, we know that Kronika is continually resetting the timeline of the one universe over and over again, but nothing about that, specifically, rules out other universes completely. In fact, as an explanation, it makes far more sense to say what we see in MKA and at the beginning of MK9 are actually completely different universes. You didn't really give a satisfying explanation for why the 1992 that Raiden's message went to looked so different from the 1992 of the original game, and this is really the only way I think you can pull it off.
But on a conceptual level, your idea of a single universe with everything fitting into the different timelines spun off of that can't work because it's just demonstrably false. You handwaved all the evidence for it as "non canon," but, buddy, listen... I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Mortal Kombat is *NOT* a religion. There *IS* no "canon," it's a story, it's fake, it's not *REAL*, man, it was all made up by a bunch of nerds. Robocop being a cyber-ninja and fighting the Joker is exactly equally real as anything else from any of the other games. The 8th main game in the series is explicitly about two universes colliding, and sure that story may not have anything to do with the timelines seen in the other 10 games, but it doesn't *matter* if it does or not. You can say that, as an explanatory model, the main story of most of the games takes place in this one distinct universe with constantly rewinding timelines, but as soon as you go to explain anything *else* from the games or any other media, you come up against a wall. Sooner or later, one of these interpretations of these characters and stories is going to have to have multiple disconnected universes in order to make sense of things, and of course that is made explicit within the main series multiple times. The question then becomes, do these versions of the story and characters actually intersect with this constantly rewinding universe? I would argue that they absolutely do, and some evidence for this comes from the fight intro dialogues, especially mirror matches, where some versions of the characters are clearly meant to be those of the current timeline of MKX/MK11, who are addressing other characters and other versions of themselves as if there has been some multiversal fuckery going on. Hell, the MK guest characters in Injustice seem to be versions from similar timelines as well. That doesn't of course mean that those iterations of characters ARE specifically the ones from the main story of those games, but it does mean that there are universes where the MK9/X/11 timeline is happening where those iterations of the characters do leave their universes and enter into unrelated timelines. That means that Kronika's time rewinding schtick is a factor in multiple universes, and many of those universes have the same outcomes as what we see in the story mode of the Netherealm games.
Basically, it doesn't matter if the one particular universe you posit here crosses over into others or not, because there are two many examples of other cross-universe pollination within the franchise to completely ignore the fact that this stuff is happening.