Mortal Kombat's Reptilians Are Fascinating
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- What do Reptile, Onaga, Chameleon, Khameleon and Shujinko all have in common?
This video.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:08 Chameleons
03:08 Soul
04:38 Common Ancestry
05:36 Onaga & Shujinko
06:59 Evolution of Reptilians
#mortalkombat #reptile #onaga #chameleon #shujinko #lore #powersystem #dragons #reptilian 
Игры
What no mention of how current reboot Shang studied reptiles shape shifting so he could do it himself furthering that soul based connection
Reptile's dual form is evolutionary, not Soul-based, so I didn't consider it. But then again, it's likely connected to the Chameleon Saurians' own shapeshifting, which might be Soul-based, so yeah, good point.
Khameleon: I must spend tons of time around some of the most attractive women of the realms! Chameleon: To gain their powers right? Khameleon: Yeah sure let’s go with that.
Khameleon: 😏
Based
Chameleon: *I* must spend tons of time around some of the most well-endowed ninjas in all the realms.
@@CynicalWarlock 😏Chameleon 🤝🏾 Khameleon😏
@@jvmeel7454 Chameleons of culture.
It's crazy how diverse and versatile the application of the Soul element is. The Heroes analogy took me back... almost forgot about that show.
Yeah, good times.
Until they ruined it.
The real reason why Syzoth is exiled from his people is because he sucks at soul mimicry lmao.
Brilliant.
@@CynicalWarlock Does the same soul magic + evolution thing also applies to reptile as when he first appeared he used scorpion and subzero moves and I think mimicking weapons and stuff can be explained by soul magic thing as Shang stung and other soul users can also do that as I don't think using illusion along with mimicking abilities using soul mimick thing would a bit too far fetched , I think it's soul magic mimick thing and evolutionary thing , so what do you think ? And also as always you delivered quality content 😎😎
@@vishaldutta4375 Glad you enjoyed it. It's funny how everyone instantly thought of Reptile's OG appearance and applied this theory to it; so I guess we'll run with it.
I'm still a fan of the Soul + Illusion theory because a) it justifies various characters pulling swords and poles literally out of their asses, and b) it's consistent with other Illusion techniques, like Quan Chi's swords and whatnot.
Now of course, I guess you can technically explain it the other way, with just Soul - since it's all 4 elements, you could technically use it to make all sorts of constructs. But I don't see Soul as this free pass to conjure whatever you want. It's not 'magic', so much as it is biological matter and lifeforce.
But yeah, many ways to skin a power system cat.
@@CynicalWarlock Your timing of uploading this video was perfect as the reptile invasion season in m1k just dropped, I would like to know your thoughts on the intro and ending scenes as it included all zettarans do the copycat thing and also I think I just saw a new ability of fire god liu kang , just search "mk1 season 6 intro and ending"
@@CynicalWarlockYour timing of uploading this video was perfect as Reptile season just dropped in m1k and in its intro and ending scenes it has all zettarans being able to do that copy cat thing and also I think their is also a new ability of fire god liu kang in it when he kills reptile so what power was that , i would love to know your thoughts, just search "mk 1 season 6 intro and ending " you would know what I am talking about
Fun fact: in Heroes Ando Masahashi was played by the same actor who voiced Shang Tsung in MKvsDC
I did not know that. Wow more people knew about Heroes than I thought. 🤜🤛
You forgot to mention that in Reptile's first appearance, he mimicked Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and those implications.
Is he a lesser mimic? More confident in his own abilities? Does he fight with his own abilities rather than a roulette wheel of skills? Or as Deadly Alliance infers, since he is devolving, did he lose his mimicry? Maybe his first appearance was him using his copycat powers one more time before he forgot them.
Also, remember: Onaga's new body is Reptile's. Is that him wanting a body close to his own or is there another reason?
I didn't consider Reptile's abilities, during his first appearance to be canon, but now that you mention it, it's more accidental brilliance, cause yeah, it does feed into the mimicry theory perfectly. Well done.
Also, one more reason to make Reptile, Scorpion and Sub-Zero bros; only reason why he'd have copied their moves. :D
Great observation. It's like he's a weaker version of Chameleon who only learned Scorpion and Sub Zero.
SonicHaXD is gonna have a field day with this one.🦎
^this tbh
A true man of culture.🦎
@@CynicalWarlock Of scaly huspando culture.🍷🦎
Was never a reptile fan but I have to admit what they did in MK1 is the most interesting version of Reptile
True I hope they do the same for tremor
I am and strongly disagree
@@rayhoyer4829 Which version is your favorite?
Definitely a step in the right direction, in several ways.
@@CynicalWarlock the ogs
It's kind of fascinating how we can start from the same observation (the power Onaga bestows on Shukinko is like what Chameleon and Khameleon do), but arrive at different conclusions. Warning, pure fanon follows.
My take is that Onaga was once a Saurian living in Earthrealm, and that he was similar to Shang Tsung with his Flesh Pits, that is he conducted experiments with flesh and soul, creating new lifeforms, modifications and hybrids of the existing ones. He got exiled for it, but not before creating a Saurian sub-species, with the ability to copy powers of others. It wasn't perfect, Chameleon and Khameleon are seemingly limited to copying people of their own gender (and whatever classifies you as ninja in MK-verse).
Even Reptile has a bit of that in him. He copies Sub-Zero and Scorpion in MK1, though afterwards it peters out (maybe tying to his degeneration plotline?).
When he was exiled, Onaga came to Outworld and continued his research. He was interested in enhancing himself with dragon nature, but before he could do that, he needed to test the process. One of the results of his tests was the Shokan species, hybridized from Outworld's people and dragons. They don't show it in their appearance, but there is dragon nature in them. And they paved the way for Onaga to similarly enhance himself.
Another subject he took interest in was resurrection. One of the experiments to breach the boundary of life and death was the creation of hybrids of living (Outworld people) and dead (Netherrealm demons). Thus the Tarkatans. Thanks to that and other experiments, Onage etched the power to resurrect others into his very soul. You attribute this to Onaga's knowledge of soul, but it's seemingly innate to his being now. Others could gain this power by consuming his heart, like in Havik's Deception ending. And that's not even Onaga's original heart, he's possessing Reptile at this point. So that power to resurrect is something that his soul bestows on whatever body it occupies, which then can be taken further.
He also continued to develop the power to copy skills and abilities of others. He refined it so that there is seemingly no patterns that would imply limitations. Shujinko can copy powers and skills of people of any nature: living, dead (whether ghost or demon), divine. No gender limitation, no ninja limitation.
But Onaga can't give himself that power. He modified himself too much already, his souls is kind of at the limit, and without another breakthrough in his research he can't alter it further without damaging it.
Side-note: I originally just wanted to make stronger ties between Onaga and his two vessels: Reptile in old timeline, Goro in the aborted continuation of the MKX comic (also referenced in MK11 pre-battle intros) in new timeline. The rest kind of fell together like this.
9:38 Isn't that how they are in MK:Armaggedon?
Now that's some wild worldbuilding.
I always imagined that the Shokan were a genetic experiment, and your theory explains it nicely.
Also, plot twist: since Onaga was using Reptile's body, in Deception, turns out it was Reptile who had the power to resurrect people all along, which would be the most Soul-crushing (pun) irony of the series: he was always capable of resurrecting his race, he just didn't know it.
You're right, the Chameleons do have their own move set in Armageddon. Had forgotten that.
Wow I dig the idea of Onaga creating these different types of sub species and the shokan. It would explain further where they came from and how they are part dragon
Teach me oh wise warlock
Gather round the bonfire.
Reptile’s true form finally looks like a hulking intimidating savage lizard just how it should be
He looks like a battletoad not good!
@@rayhoyer4829 with teeth claws and a huge tail, the victory animations look awful though
@@UlfhednarAxe yep
Ehh I feel like it could've used another pass in the conception phase
@@zackxeno1019 yes
I like how with this chart 4:51 it shows how earthrealm carries traits of all realms as it is in the middle and how the closer a realm is to the heavens or netherrealm the more like it, it is
12:07 the parallels between Onaga and The One Being reinforces this idea
at least that's how i see it
Yeah, was thinking about that myself. It's like a hierarchy of dragons: elder gods -> Onaga -> One Being. And it parallels real prehistory, cause reptilians are some of the oldest creatures we know existed.
-'Heroes' was a DEEP cut. The original victim of the Writers' Strike 😭😭😭 I loved that janky show so damn much. Also they nerfed Peter's power in S3 so he could only copy one power at a time and only by touching that person; in both cases he never harmed the person he was copying from (unlike, say, Shinnok or Rogue).
-What if: Onaga's powers - his necromancy, giant upright stature, etc. weren't originally his own? 'Dragons' being forebearers of modern Saurian warriors, did not look humanoid until one of their number, Onaga, eventually copied a necromancer from a humanoid race of Outworld and copied even more powers from then on, such as the other applications/expressions of the Soul element, and retained them, until he no longer needed more or he reached his limit of having enough powers without losing his own identity. In a 'Heroes' analogy, he'd be the Arthur Petrelli to the young K/Chameleon's Peter Petrelli and Shang Tsung's Sylar.
--Martian Manhunter and martians in general from DC comics are said to reflexively shapeshift into other beings they meet not only to better understand them but also as an evolutionary defense mechanism to counter their fighting styles.
-From a lore perspective, K/Chameleon cycle through these personas and powers randomly much like Rogue from the X-Men Evolution episode 'Self-Possessed' because altering your soul to imitate others is tantamount to shattering it, giving you a literal fragmented sense of self; extreme schizophrenia. Would they use They/Them/Theirs pronouns in this case? M1K Khameleon looked stable enough to hold down a job as an Umgadi, but she does have that haircut...
-Dragons having the 'meta' element compound of Soul and Shujinko receiving that power from one is *intentional* brilliance since his name MEANS 'protagonist'. What could be more interesting than a protagonist whose abilities are so dynamic they can dramatically change based on who or what is around them? NRS, make him the hero next time!
I had a feeling you'd be a Heroes connoisseur. I did *not* have a feeling you'd also reference X-Men: Evolution - my second favorite show. That's exactly what I meant when I said the personality impressions imply some juicy story possibilities for the Chameleons; like.. verbatim. In extreme cases, it almost becomes the plot of Memento, where you no longer know who you are, who to trust, which thoughts are your own, where you end and the mimicked personalities begin. It's quite sadface.
Yeah, they likely nerfed Peter to save money and make the writing easier - tough to write around a character that has 100 powers and can do almost anything. And goddamn, that Onaga origin and Heroes analogy is compelling. Fills in the blanks as to why Onaga looks the way he does and became the ruler of an entire realm.
And Shujinko is totally underrated, by the devs themselves. It's funny cause someone commented that NRS should make this innovative create-a-character protagonist that evolves and changes, learning from all the other characters, and affecting this sprawling open-world environment, and I was like "that character exists - his name's Shujinko".
@@CynicalWarlock
Evolution was the X-Men show I grew up with, teen drama and all. It's a shame the equivalents of G1 fanboys in the fandom always seem to write it off. But it really gave me everything I wanted because I always thought Rogue would kick the asses of all the X-Men at once if she could use all of the powers she's ever absorbed, which is basically what Shujinko does in his own Deception tower ending. A modern HD 4K remake of that could have the plot germ of like; Shujinko learning the copy ability from the K/Chameleons but having to constantly battle the shattering sense of self as he travels for years among the realms and when Onaga reveals, 'I deceived you,' he goes into madness, rendering him out of commission for a long time. After all of the heroes get raidwiped by Onaga, Shujinko finally straightens up and goes full 'Self-possessed', giving the most cathartic beatdown in MK history. Cue the K/Chameleons witnessing this and realizing that they may be hope for them after all. No Endgame theme required.
@@LOWBORN-the-LOATHSOME "most cathartic beatdown in MK history" sounds perfect.
The G1 fanboys dismiss Evolution because they don't understand what X-Men is about. Teens unlocking and learning to deal with their powers, finding their place in their respective groups/tribes, highschool being such an effective proxy for the bullying, bigotry and abuse elements that are so near and dear to the original show/comics' hearts, splitting up the cast into teenagers and teachers, turning Logan into more of a parental figure, rather than a horny hobo who wants to bang Jean for no reason, making Cyclops cool and giving him a badass arc where he naturally steps up and becomes the leader - Evolution embodies all of the best elements of this franchise and none of the worst.
Also, it tells a cohesive story, from start to finish, without bloat or mishaps, each season naturally bigger and more impressive, building on the stakes of the previous one, *and* having a satisfactory ending (as opposed to the original Animated Series, and its shit final season, X-Men '97 notwithstanding) - all of which are a fucking rarity, in serialized storytelling.
I could go on, but I assume there's an eventual character cap on a RUclips comment.
Reptile was the first character I played, when I picked up my first mk game, which was mk 2011. In front of all the humans, the ninjas, robots and strange looking human/monsters (Baraka, Freddy Goro), Reptile was the only one who clearly stood out among the other fighters. Ever since, he was my favourite character/fighter. He may have ever been the best character, but I had without a doubt that he looked cool as heck when playing him.
He's my main
Same.🙌Except for me, it was MK4. Took one look at the roster, and instantly picked ol' lizard brain. MK 2011 refined his gameplay and made it iconic.
@@CynicalWarlock nice
Same story, but MK2. I was one of those dinosaur nerd kids.
@@umbrascitor2079 I still am
I always had an idea for Onaga with C(K)hameleon and Reptile. From the dawn of time, Orderrealm actually created Onaga to be strong enough to kill Baraka's ancestor, who became the first lesser god of Outworld like Raiden is for Earthrealm. Orderrealm is basically the most advanced realm and a bigger threat that Outworld if they ever decided to become hostile to the other realms with their North Korea levels of obedience and great technological advancements as a result of their order, but they are usually dealing with their own rebellions before messing with other realms. Onaga is created with the Kamidogu, using a random Saurian they found as a base, to be a sleeper agent meant to control Outworld for them. They accidently capture both the Chameleons before the Saurian, realizing they can't make Onaga with the Chameleons but still keeping them around as Orderrealm servants. The Chameleons are basically siblings with Khameleon taking charge for her brother, kind of like those villains from the Trolls 3 movie. Onaga rules Outworld for a very long time until he is poisoned and killed by Shao Kahn, who never know about the alliance with Orderrealm, not even knowing Orderrealm existed. By the time regular Reptile is chilling in Outworld, Shujinko is close to reforming the Kamidogu, so Onaga's soul commands the (still alive since the dawn of time itself) Chameleons to kidnap Reptile so when Shujinko puts the last Kamidogu in place, Onaga can be created once again and Reptile is basically turned into Onaga. Shujinko basically gets his revenge at the end of the day but this was kind of my idea of inserting all of these characters in a story, maybe the Chameleons can betray Orderrealm with a restored Reptile and restore their race, I haven't really gotten that far yet and I might add something about your Saurian soul manipulation to explain Shujinko's and the Saurians' powers.
And all of this comes full circle when Hotaru allies himself with the resurrected Dragon King, which is a nice reversal: instead of Orderrealm controlling Onaga, Onaga now controls Orderrealm. Yeah, I know Hotaru's not like the supreme ruler of the realm, but it's still symbolic.
@CynicalWarlock Honestly, I made Dairou the Kim Jong Un of Orderrealm with Hotaru as his main enforcer and general, the unkillable samurai with his legendary Tombstone Drop who unified all of Seido into the "supposed" utopia it is now. Onaga's soul has just been chilling in Orderrealm, basically chatting with Dariou as that ball of light Damashi, waiting for some random person to get another Kamidogu. He asked a bunch of kids, but they all kept dying trying to get the Kamidogu except Shujinko, who is just taking an excruciating amount of time collecting each Kamidogu. Seriously, by the time Shujinko is straight up handed the Orderrealm Kamidogu, Cassie Cage is in the Special Forces. Onaga can be restored anytime as long as they capture a lizard man, but Onaga refuses until he knows he has the Kamidogus and can be invincible again. I don't even think Onaga has enough time revived to betray Seido before Shujinko and the Kombat Kids kill him, but your idea is too interesting not to squeeze in somehow.
@@GamerTimeNinja Onaga: Shujinko, bring me the Kamidogu.
And thus was decided the rest of that poor fucker's life.
Great video. I have a few ideas/theories for this.
For Chameleon/Khameleon what if their powers works like Darwin from the X-Men books where it's more like adapting to the situation by switching to a certain person's power. If Chameleon is fighting Scorpion what if his body reacts by using Sub Zero powers, etc. also maybe they need to be in proximity of that person to copy their genes to use that power. Lore idea what if Chameleon was Onaga's first attempt of perfecting this ability, but consider him a failure due to let's use your idea of him not being able to hold so many genes or identities in one body. Chameleon is now a wanderer trying to figure out his purpose. Khameleon could be a natural descendant of Onaga but wants nothing to do with him since he allowed the Zaterran race to suffer the way they did.
Onaga probably does have the mimicry power but maybe he can't use it since it's like either you use the power of keeping your army alive or use the mimic powers. So what if when he bestowed this power to Shujinko he magically manipulated his genes to be able to hold all of these fighting styles and abilities. It's not the first time we have seen this, Shang Tsung played mad scientist but in a fantasy type of way. Shujinko is the success of what Chameleon failed.
I think honestly it's a mix of magic and genes. There's a genetic mutation or element to it, but I think it's the magic in their genes that allows this power to happen.
I love the Darwin idea. I now envision a badass fight scene, where Chameleon is up against several fighters, and keeps surprising them, by pulling the correct counter to their powers outta nowhere and humbling them. Speaking of, I also like the wondering Chameleon idea; there's something very tragic about a guy with shades of multiple personality disorder, that doesn't even know if he has one of his own, and your idea of making him a failed experiment drives this point home.
@@CynicalWarlock Yeah I think instead of going so deep into his history we work with the fact he's mysterious. That's why I figured he's a wanderer who's trying to figure out who he is exactly what's his purpose etc. I think this would allow him to be a wild card in personality as well since he's dealing with different personalities
@@kobebrewster2549 His arc could then have to do with going from all those personalities clashing (Scorps, Sub, Ermac, Smoke) to them allying, thus giving him a purpose.
@@CynicalWarlock ooo now that sounds really cool I like that
Lets hope Chameleon gets explored further
I remember seeing ads for "Heroes" on TV years ago,never did watch the show but if youre recommending it,i just might.
If you can stomach some of the more dated effects, it's got a lot of cool worldbuilding on offer.
Oh im not worried about effects,i grew up watching movies that came out in 80s to early 2000s than continued rewatching them in my teens cuz modern movies didnt interest me.
Imo the limited special effects made the movies better cuz the creators couldnt just green screen half the thing,dont get me wrong the first time i saw Avatar i was floored,but once you see how they make those effects you just cant unsee it,and that rly brings it down for me tbh.
@@Джекет Based. People didn't realize it at the time, but the minimal effects/technology on offer thrust the script and characters front and center - in both movies and video games - and so those had to be airtight.
And Avatar is overrated.
The blue one, anyway.
Cynical Warlock video, about the scalies, and I'm here within two hours? Now I know how it feels to find that holy grail.
Fitting video for a copperhead.
Hot take I think D’Vora is the most underrated character in mk her design is dope visually and gameplay wise she got done dirty by the fans cause she “killed” off some favorites. I would love to see you talk about the kytin in general and how she fits on the power chart im thinking it’s all biological much like how the cyborgs mostly use technology but she also has some moves where it seems like shes using wind kinda?
She uses the bug element.
@@CynicalWarlock Hang on, is that the one that lets you get away with being Fatalitied without having to turn everything greyscale? Maybe Reptile's still got that mimicry game after all.
@@CoralCopperHead Yeah Reptile's is green, while D'Vorah's more of a turquoise, if I remember correctly.
You make MK content I wanna see. Best find I can think of recently.
Yeah this theory also goes crazy when you realize MK1 Reptile can copy Scorpion and Sub Zeros moves.
Something I didn't consider canon, but makes more and more sense, when you think about it.
I always look forward to a new video to drop 💪 keep going big homie
My headcanon adds Vaeternus vamps into this group. Although they don’t possess the same soul mimicry, their vampire bat wings, claws and fangs could have draconic origins. When they suck blood, it buffs them. Meaning that they may be draining the raw chi/energy from one’s soul and absorbing it into their own. Nitara’s got that soul suck.
Like I said, everyone has the same ancestor, so technically, yes. But other than that, it seems vamps are about as related to reptilians, as bats are to reptiles.
Now a days everyone’s a dragon. hey kinda like Pokémon
Indeed!
Your voice sounds familiar. Aren't you from the AstroJack youtube channel? If not, then I'm sorry for asking.
I've been exposed..
R u gonna make a vid on guest characters?
Dunno what to say about them.
characters with combination of abilities in fiction are always cool to me, i think my favorite video game one is seth from SF4/5? It's cool how he has a bunch of specials and homages to other/older characters with also unique gravity moves.
Dayum, just looked Seth up. Such an interesting concept for a character. Too bad it's not a mainstay; I'm somewhat annoyed that SF tends to get saddle with the same boring-ass characters.
@@CynicalWarlock i mean? yeah hes not guarantee to be, but he was in the last 2 games before the newest one. If hes called by popular demand he might become a mainstay. i prefer the SF way where characters get cycled in and out, but also prefer the way Mk usually has all interesting characters, i u get me
@@InTheKitchenWristStirFry It's admittedly hard to do this roster thing.
Excellent video as usual man!
Thank you, young Jedi.
Great video as always, Edenians or Gods/Demi Gods videos when? 👀
I just did a 15 min jumprope workout wirh this highly entertaining vid in the background! Thank you mr Warlock 💪👌
Can’t wait until you have to cover bo rai cho and the power of alcoholism
I'll have to drink too, for that one.
What if the Saurian soul copy ability is unique to the humanoid forms?
Since both C/Khameleons have only been depicted humanoid and Reptile was able to do it in the first game before he had any lizard form.
So they're evolutionarily more advanced than the more bestial Zaterrans? Checks out.
I like that idea. Perhaps the 2 subspecies evolved down different pathways, and this feeds into my own thoughts about historical implications of these abilities: the Louie C/Kmeleons wouldn't need to evolve mimicry powers unless a) they had super-powerful natural predators to content with, or b) they were conquerors in their own right, infiltrating themselves into other realms, copying powers, impersonating key people, assassinating them, and destabilizing governments. It would shed light on why both types of Saurians have infiltration abilities (like cloaking), but one type is far more advanced in this sense than the other - Chameleons specialized in it, while regular Reptiles retained less such abilities and more bestial, indigenous qualities.
@@CynicalWarlock Maybe since Humanoids have Mimicry, it would let them learn quickly and become skilled with Diplomacy and political discussions with other races or tribes as well as assassinations.
With the more reptilian ones being Warrior types, with increased Strength and intense Acid (I assume it's unique to them since I haven't seen the others utilize it, and Reptile has to reveal his lizard face to spit acid the old games and MK1) making them strong Gurella fighters.
A possibility is they formed different types of civilizations. Reptilians had more hunter-gatherer tribes spread out over large land areas and hunting grounds with hidden tribes, and Humanoids were more diplomatic and trade-based (they could have rented out their skills as hired assassins to other factions for supplies like hidden ninja villages of old, which I feel is closer to your point b) ).
Either way both have benefited from hiding themselves and their homes, either from predators trying to hunt down Reptilians, or Factions coming for revenge after being on the wrong side of an assassination from the Humanoids.
This was a fun thought experiment. Great video, I look forward to seeing what topic you cover next. 🦎👍
@@CynicalWarlock An idea: The Saurians could've developed different styles of civilizations.
The Reptilians lived in tribes and lived a more hunter-gatherer lifestyle with their increased Strength and Acid spit (I believe acid is unique to the Reptilians since the C/Khameleons haven't done it to my knowledge, and Reptile has to reveal his lizard face to use it in the old 2D games and MK1).
While Humanoids being more approachable in appearance could partake in trade with other realms. Perhaps they sold their skills as assassins for others like old ninja villages, as you say in your point b), their Copy and Infiltration skills would be invaluable for assassination.
@@dodonut99987 Exactly, the Chameleon side of the population was geared towards dealing with other realms.
In his original appearance, Chameleon could use all the moves of all the fighters he turned into, which includes Reptile and his acid spit; but it isn't clear if that's due to his race or due to him copying Reptile.
I ... coincidently, always had a similar headcanon.
Bro moment.🤝
First time viewer. Love your style of story telling and the detail you include. Subscribing for more 👍
Thanks. More on the way.
The New Era timeline further adds to your neat analysis due to how Syzoth's form change is studied by Shang to allow him to copy, heck the current season of invasions deals with invading Zaterrans from a different timeline that all just ended up copying existing fighters.
Yeah, the Invasions season was a stroke of cosmic coincidence. Happened literally after I posted the video.
Heyyyy Cynical! Been a while, sorry for my absence. Been busy with school and finally graduated from college two weeks back!
How you been? Looks like you're still killing it with these MK videos! 👍👍
Jack of specific trades now, then. Congratulations. What did you major in?
Yep, still beating the MK horse. Have a few cool things planned up, both MK and non-MK-related.
@@CynicalWarlock Psychology!
Been also working on my story still, views are okay thus far. I'm having fun with how magic works in my stories thanks to your videos analyzing and theorizing MK abilities haha 😄
I've got some catching up to do with your channel. How have you been this year?
@@jack0f4lltrades28 Busy. This channel's just one part of my activities, and they sometimes butt heads, but successfully juggling everything is satisfying.
Can use that psych degree to write some compelling characters for your story.
@@CynicalWarlock good to keep busy, keeps things interesting. Just try not to burn out, make sure to take care of yourself and treat yourself from time to time.
Looking forward to your future videos BTW!
@@jack0f4lltrades28 Treating myself to some Ben & Jerry's, as we speak.
You deserve so many more views, likes and subs bro, your editing is superb, your videos are well thought out, and very high quality. The first time i saw your channel I thought you at least had half a million subs
Comment like this is damn near worth half a million subs.
At this point you can release a book with all the references and precise examples and call it "Mortal Kombat: The Accidental Genius of the (inofficial) Lore"
Maybe one day.
Your videos and commentary are always so interesting. Any plans to review/play other games?
Yes. Any suggestions?
@@CynicalWarlock Elden ring DLC will be out soon, Witcher lore is always great. I know Xmen97 season 1 is over but show commentary would be interesting too. Just keep to the darker themes, idk I have tons of ideas 😅
@@BloodElfB Big Witcher and X-Men stan, so that part works out. Roasted season 2 of the Netflix Witcher adaptation a while back, on this channel.
This makes sense, we learn and we forget, and that'd explain A LOT of the Chameleons ways on observation during MK Reconciliation, by spying and observing people's powers thus mimicry.
Yep, they're like nature's natural spies and infiltrators.
Okay, long text from me again, please bear with me. :D
So, I must admit, when it comes to K(C)hameleons' power-copying abilities, I tend to view them as nothing but a gameplay feature, just like Reptile's first showing in MK1, or even Noob's and Smoke's early tendency to steal other characters' powers. Furthermore, I also think that making them saurians was actually a poor story decision. To me, one of the very few interesting things about Reptile is that he is supposed to be the last one of his species, and his whole storyline is trying to change that but being unable to. He would be a tragic hero, if not for his tendency to ally with the worst villains to try and achieve his goal. So in my version of the narrative, the only possible ending for him is being tricked into becoming a new body for the resurrected Onaga, whose disciples would promise Reptile something like 'you will bring back what was lost' only to reveal that they were not talking about the saurian race (oh Syzoth, did you get bamboozled again?) but about the Dragon King.
Now, what does that mean for K(C)hameleons? Well, I would make them yet another product of Shang Tsung's experiments. They could be half-saurians, created artificially from outworlders and Reptile's DNA. That could explain why they don't have most of Reptile's abilities (not 'pure' saurians). Also, if we really wanted to, we could explain their having other fighters' power by referring back to Shang Tsung. Who knows what else he could do with those poor souls, pun intended? I also really like the concept of Flesh Pits and I think it should not be limited to Mileena and Meat (and potentially Skarlet).
Now to Onaga, Damashi and Shujinko. This will probably be a bit controversial, especially as I am somewhat of a 'original timeline' purist, but I actually prefer M1K's decision to make Damashi Shang Tsung's alter-ego over him being Onaga's ghost. I will explain. To me, Shang Tsung IS the main deceiver of Mortal Kombat, and if he's the one posing as Damashi and using Shujinko as his tool, everything becomes streamlined (especially as Deception's main threat is One Being's return and the destruction of realms, and in my version Shang Tsung becomes One Being's avatar or vessel and the very final battle is Fire God Liu Kang vs One Being Shang Tsung, fought on Shang Tsung's island as it is located between the realms and is therefore the best place to start the merging from but also it's a perfect bookend for the whole saga but it's just a coincidence of course, or is it???).
Onaga, in my opinion, would work better as being so assured in his divine right to rule that he doesn't need or want to trick people or lie to them. He IS the rightful king of Outworld. He IS the creature that A FUCKING GOD did not want to fight directly and preferred to poison before slaying. Him posing as some messenger spirit is BENEATH him. Yes, he could be resurrected by his disciples through tricking Reptile, but even they would not lie directly, Reptile would kind of trick himself. Also, I don't really like the idea of Onaga being a more powerful necromancer than THE RULER OF THE NETHERREALM. What I would do with him is that he isn't raising the dead, but is able to always bring in more troops, which to his enemies would seem like his army is undefeatable and therefore unkillable. In reality though, Onaga just has so much control over weak-minded people (doesn't even need to be direct mind control, more like those weak-minded people would simply not question his orders or vision - basically he is a cult leader).
I would also make Onaga being able to resist the One Being's manipulations. I am not sure if you are familiar with the Netherkast podcast, but I really like and agree with Razor and Shad's interpretation of Outworld's history. Onaga would gain control of Outworld, be satisfied with it, and then his advisor/god-protector of Outworld Shao Kahn would be like, 'this can't be it, can it? we can do more!', before taking the throne for himself and starting the inter-dimensional conquest, losing his godhood as a consequence. And if Onaga can resist One Being's will, he should not be collecting Kamidogus and could leave it to Shang Tsung. Also, wouldn't it be fun to have a ruler of Outworld who is as powerful as Shao Kahn but not necessarily a genocidal realm-conquering war-loving maniac?
Now that I think of it, and remembering my comment to the Havik video on Seido and Chaosrealm being better in concept than in implementation, we could make Seido the capital of Outworld in Onaga's time, and Hotaru and other Seidan guards Onaga's surviving disciples planning to resurrect him. Maybe bringing in some Mad Max vibes to Outworld: it USED to be a high-tech society, but then the rightful ruler was slain and a god of war and conquer took over, bringing the realm back into middle ages (but some races like centaurs would still have some remnants of technology, hence their cyber-tails and stuff). If I recall correctly, Hotaru really liked Onaga's approach to ruling so this kinda works for Hotaru's characterisation as well!
Again, sorry for the rant. Love your videos man.
Reptile having compatriots or not is an interesting discussion. He does fit the tragic/melancholy character archetype well, but you don't need to make him the only one of his kind to maintain that; in fact, the Chameleons can actually enhance the tragedy, by having different goals and becoming adversaries. It's easy to craft scenarios where Reptile has to choose between saving Khameleon and saving newfound friends, like some of the other ninja characters, or them turning out to hate each other for various reasons, once they finally get to know each other. Or being tricked into killing them, making it a Greek tragedy on steroids. When it comes to misery, the sky's the limit.
And speaking of Onaga, Reptile's sacrifice could actually be voluntary, in a retelling of those events, him choosing to give up his own life, to resurrect the one being (pun not intended) who can resurrect people, en masse.
The Flesh Pits idea is ok, but I kind of have the opposite view here - I don't want to get into a situation where half fauna and cast are made in the Flesh Pits.
I'll have to think about the One Being Shang thing; it's got pros and cons, one con being that it potentially gives Shang a bit too much importance, in a franchise that arguably has plenty of characters that are more compelling than him. I do like your take on Onaga's personality and philosophy, but then I also think his actions during Deception make sense, for that very reason: Onaga thought himself invincible - the supreme being with the divine right to rule; he checked every box, did everything right, never needed to hide his intentions.. and yet he was killed. That kind of shock to such a godlike ego is gonna leave a mark and make you reflect and shift gears. So my view of Deception Onaga is he's the "no more mister nice dragon" - this time, he will do whatever it takes, he'll be as ruthless, strategic and politically savvy as Shao Kahn, and as deceptive as Shang Tsung. And it's part of why I think he should've lasted more than one game, as antagonist.
I think another viewer mentioned the Netherkast; haven't had time to tune in. But I mostly agree - Onaga should be way different compared to Shao. That's one of the things I like about his history is that even though he was such a powerful ruler, he never overextended, and stuck to governing Outworld. That said, I think the plot of Deception is fine. Rather than make Onaga immune to the influence of the One Being, I'd make him more resilient to it - he'd almost make a big mistake with the Kamidogu, but once that fails, he'd realize he was being manipulated. And you'd get an even cooler character in Deception 2, rather than the lazy board sweeping that was Armageddon.
The Outworld-used-to-be-Seido idea is, by far, the most interesting, and the way it fits with Centaur tech is the icing on the cake.
Good rant, 8/10.
@@CynicalWarlock I mean, if we were to scale up the tragedy we could go for the 'are you really the only male Saurian left alive? I'll pass' on Khameleon's side to make it a full blown roasting of Reptile. Again, I just don't see him as being in any way honourable enough to justify the Greek tragedy level or catharsis. But I guess that's a case of 'to each their own'.
About the Flesh Pits thing, I don't think making C(K)hameleons come from them would turn the Pits into a 'solve-it-all' plot element. We would still have Shokan, Tarkatans, Centaurs, humanoid Outworlders, vampires, Kytinn, Osh-tekk, Ferra/Torr species and Naknadas. I think the right balance is still there.
On Shang Tsung potentially getting more importance than other compelling characters: well, he's already got there. He has now been the final boss in as many MK games as Shao Kahn, and he is arguably more popular then ever. I think him being human actually helps here. Also, many people think that Liu Kang is not a compelling character too, but to me he is (or, he should be) the key protagonist in the overall MK story. He doesn't start as the most powerful fighter in the world, but he gets there (or close to it) over time. And Shang Tsung as his dark reflection does the same.
[Basically, it all comes down to the main conflict of my version of MK narrative: in the world literally created as a result of an act of violence (Elder gods killing One Being), is there a place for pacifism and forgiveness? And for this story, Liu Kang as the absolute pacifist (yes, he should be a pacifist, NRS!) is the perfect protagonist, and Shang Tsung is the perfect antagonist. Spoiler alert: Liu Kang would actually convince One Being (who in my version would not be evil, and it would not be feeding on Elder gods; it would actually create them to keep itself company as it got tired of being (ha!) alone, but the Elder gods would get scared of its power and attack preemptively thus starting the whole mess) not to destroy the universe through showing the example of how people changed over time (Outworld finally being at peace, Kitana and Mileena burying the hatchet, even some of the Elder gods realising they were in the wrong etc.). This is waaaay off-topic but just to explain my reasoning behind a lot of things. I started with the main conflict and the controlling idea and then plotted and structured my story rewrite around it.]
Onaga should have definitely gotten more final boss showings than he has. It is almost a disgrace that he has the same record as Blaze and Khronika (one time is one too many). And yes, I get your take on him changing his modus operandi and to some extent agree, but to me it's just a bit tiresome to have Onaga be yet another schemer. Shao Kahn was one, Shang Tsung was one, Quan Chi was one, Shinnok was one - even Khronika, as much as she sucked, was one. Again, if Onaga always knew he would be able to come back, maybe his death would not have been as much of a shake up to him? 'Tis but a scratch.
[Ironically, in the NRS post-MK9 Shao Kahn has been explicitly made more and more Onaga-like in terms of his looks and origin. He is not a former god anymore and he has full blown scales and horns now. It's a bit similar to some of Hsu Hao's features being given to Kano. There is already a character for that, guys!]
On Centaurs though, I am not sure if you have seen concept art to MK2021, but there is a quadrupedal Goro concept art I really liked but not as a concept for Goro himself, but as a concept for Motaro. The Shokan race looks a bit underdeveloped to me, as they are designed to be a caste-based society but we only see two castes. Now, what if Centaurs were just another Shokan caste and sub-species? What if they were outright hated by Drago due to their 'dishonourable' reliance on enhancements? We would then have three castes - Drago, Tigrar and Centaur - and each would have its own characteristics as well as overarching features like a total of six limbs, giant size etc. Just another thought on the underdeveloped race.
[Link to the concept art for reference: i.redd.it/heres-the-concept-art-for-goro-in-the-2021-movie-thank-god-v0-05670dovckqc1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fcc67785a7427d872fb48747332612c2abbaa5ee]
Netherkast is awesome for those who like in-depth MK conversations, especially on characters. They've got retrospectives, redesigns, playthroughs etc. Do recommend.
@@serhibei Good enough reasoning. As you wrote, it's a 'to each his own' thing. I see MK as an ensemble effort, rather than a singular protagonist-antagonist thing, so I don't agree with Shang being the ultimate baddie anymore than I agree with Liu being the ultimate hero. He's a major hero, but one of many.
@@CynicalWarlock Oh don’t get me wrong, Liu would not be the only guy fighting bosses and solving problems. He would always get help, he would be killed just like in DA and would skip an entire trilogy giving the other characters plenty of time to shine. But in the end, MK is a fighting game franchise and it always leads to a final showdown between two characters.
@@serhibei Meanwhile, NRS: Huge Pyramid fiiiiight!
🔥🔥🔥
My more straightforward explanation to their weapon shift: that's just magic, like if k-chan wanted to copy mileena, kitana and jade fully, she had to use basic illusion or just outworld magic to do so.
I concur, it's the most foolproof explanation.
I wondered when you'd get around to Shujinko.
Yeah, me too.
You know, a video talking about MK’s power scaling would be interesting. Characters who should and always be damn near unbeatable end up losing to someone who is way weaker than them in skill, power and experience in a 1v1 fair fight was always weird in this series. MK1 Liu Kang should be at the top of the food chain but he got bodied by Dark Sindel
That's why the point of a Mortal Kombat tournament should probably be to turn every participant mortal and powerless, during their fights, like in MK: Conquest. That way, you level the playing field. This isn't as much of a problem in a game like Street Fighter where everyone is, you know, human, but in MK, the power levels escalate faster than WW1.
But yeah, good video idea, thanks.
@@CynicalWarlock IIRC, this was the case in the original timeline, too. Raiden had to become mortal to take part in the tournament. But I guess the counter-point here would be that at this point most of MK's conflicts kinda take place outside the official tournament system...
We reached the point where MKvsDC makes more sense due to its use or KOMBAT RAGE :D
@@serhibei Yeah well lasers, swords and fireballs are baked into the game, yet it's also a game where gods compete with mortals in a tournament, so it's a tough puzzle to solve.
You uploaded this when I was still falling asleep at a vtuber convention. Not fair.
Ha. Nailed it.
Also, sounds like a shitty convention, then.
@@CynicalWarlock My friends were drinking like Bo Rai Cho the night before so I couldnt sleep
@@whotalkedmeintothis What are friends for..
Sounds like you're hangin out with the wrong crowd.
@@CynicalWarlock I see it more as like Im a Liu kang or MK1 Raiden hanging with a bunch of Kung Laos
@@whotalkedmeintothis Or Bo' Rai Chos, like you wrote.
did this dude just refer to chameleon and khameleon as reptiles... what lol
Yep.
Hmm, Heroes was on my list since... forever... I heard that the 4th isn't that great so thanks for the confirmation - still plenty to enjoy in the first three, mostly the third though :P
Well worth a shot. Good worldbuilding and Game of Thrones-level episode cliffhangers, well before GoT was a thing.
Unfortunately, I'm gonna be late to comment
Said he, as he was commenting.
I'm going with reptilian evolution. (I wanted to stop at this but NO)
(I'm creating my head canon)
So, the soul is an aura (spiritual green jelly(whatever u said) that connects us all(it houses all our energy, knowledge, power, chakra....). The spirit realm(soul realm) is a lobby where everyone can connect their USB cables to other souls, like actual USB cables, the traits of the soul travels from one soul to another, now the soul connecting to another soul can act as a parasite, that sucks the host dry, or can only tap into a minimal quantity of the host's spiritual energy.
In the case of shang tsung he is capable of connecting to several souls at ounce and overriding them adding to his essence. The more souls you connect to the more yours depletes, leaking out so the more you'll need(soul addiction, same thing you said but different).
C & K hamelon (wait!)
There are five levels to the soul
1- appearance
2 -skills
3- knowledge
4 - life force
5- Sweet mama jelly(the shit shang gets high on)
So reptile is only able to tap into the first level while C&K can tap into as much as the 2nd level. They aren't actually observing a person but looking for a slot to plug their usb's into the more time they spend the more they take and immediately they disconnect they lose connection this they loose the powers further supporting your explanation.
I am very angry and disappointed that you didn't use the pun "cool-blood even". How could you do this?
I'm a fraud.
@@CynicalWarlock Glad you are big enough to admit it.
(also good video.)
Onaga not being in MK1 is still so dumb. Instead we get Shang Tsung. Again.
That being said at least Reptile was done well in MK1 and he wasn't a total jobber. Still not a fan of full lizard Reptile though . MK9 and MKX hybrid Reptile/ Syzoth is the best.
Meh
@rayhoyer4829 I mean he was a jobber before lmao
@@JustinJohnson-vc1gr this is true at least in nrs
@rayhoyer4829 Even before NRS, in the arcade games he was cool, got done dirty in MK4 ending and then we had full lizard Reptile in the 3D Era which I hated. MK1 he's finally not taking Ls
@@JustinJohnson-vc1gr I respectfully disagree
One interesting NightWolf intro in MK 11 is him calling Raiden "Haokah" it makes me wonder What is other people from different Country call him then? Is it still Raiden or somethin' else?
So i tied this to the lore
After the Zeteran migration humans heard of a God of Thunder fighting for earth, and many humans from different culture interprated him on how they believe him
Also another one of NightWolf's intro with fujin ask if there's a Wind God in his pantheon
Maybe there's one interprated by him🤷♂️
(The real question tho,is where's the humans come from🤔)
That's the real kicker: both in (my) MK, and in real life, humans come from reptiles.
@@CynicalWarlock imangin' him in Greek
: Hello Zeus 😃🖐
Late arrival but Chameleon in MKA had a single special move from every ninja, if memory serves me right. It probably wasn't aluded to because... well, MKA is kinda crap.
Yeah, they did do away with the randomness in Armageddon, forgot about that.
i would be interested in a past MK game. I thought we were going to get the origins of the Mortal kombat tournament in M1K but the story disappointed me for more injustice multiverses. A game with Goro at his peak, the original Kung Lao (possibly bald and hatless but a time displaced kung lao from mk11 after kronika) a young Shujinko, more dinosaur like reptilian fighter and ofcourse shang tsung & kitana, raiden, mileena
Yet more to add to the list of missed opportunities. There's so much underdeveloped lore to explore with prequels, yet they probably feel pressured to keep prioritizing the conventional sequels.
Question: Since it was suggested that Li Mei had romantic ties to Onaga, if they managed to mate somehow, would the offspring be a Shokan?
Excellent question. And based on the lore, the answer is likely yes, although, if I had my way, I'd redesign the Shokan, a little bit, to more believably resemble half-dragons. Add some subtle, scaly skin, imply that the 4 arms used to be part of giant wyvern-like wings, that broke off and evolved into a more simian direction etc.
Come to think of it, this is a "yes and no" answer, because the Shokan likely evolved that way over thousands of years, whereas there's no telling what a first generation of Onaga-human hybrids would look like, by comparison.
HEROES MENTIONED
You're goddamn right.🤜🤛
2
3?
(I WROTE THIS FUCKING COMMENT EXACTLY (not exactly this) BUT IT VANISHED, NOW I HAVE TO FUCKING WRITE IT AGAIN, AHHHH....)
(YOU KNOW WHAT ? I CAN'T MAYBE SOME OTHER TIME FUCK FUCK FUCK)
Happens to me too. Best way to get around RUclips's stupid censorship is to write it somewhere else, then copy-paste it.
@@CynicalWarlock I actually do that, just didn't for this one.
Thanks for the tip
Also, almost forgot
Great video
@@syki-tp1tn Smart man.
@@syki-tp1tn Well shit, that's the main part of the comment, right there. :D
Virgin Mokujin vs CHAD Khameleon
2:14 Was this really necessary, during the first day of pride month no less?
Ah, didn't know that. Makes the joke even better, really.
This kinda mid
Kinda
Sigh… the transphobia for no reason (inaccurate too) I liked this channel too…
I'm not transphobic.
I make jokes.
Oh.. right wing hate filled talking points in a mortal kombat video.
Neat
...
*block*