In what we can safely say is a big “f**k you” from NetherRealm lead Ed Boon to all the recent leaks, the team dropped a story trailer showing off three now-confirmed returning characters to the upcoming Mortal Kombat 11. All three have survived the chaotic events of Mortal Kombat X and are here to kick ass — and one at least has remembered to pack extra gum.
The returning fighters are arguably the front-runners of the new characters introduced from the last game. Cassie Cage, daughter of series mainstays Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, makes her appearance. So too does her military colleague and the daughter of Jax Briggs, Jacqui. Erron Black, Clint Eastwood’s biggest fan who rocketed to the top early on in the professional circuit, will also be playable.
The trailer itself offers a glimpse of Mortal Kombat 11‘s time-hopping lunacy. Characters past and present have been summoned to fight in a new war for Earthrealm. Kronika, desperate to repair the damage Raiden has done to the timeline, honestly seems to have made things even worse. Dragging series big bad Shao Kahn back into the world of the living seems like a shaky investment.
Future Tense
Of course, he’s not the only character pulled into the fray. Younger versions of Liu Kang and Kung Lao also make an appearance. That’s true too for a younger, more obnoxious Johnny Cage, who stops ogling himself at the Mortal Kombat Database to ask an older Johnny why there are no jetpacks in the future. So yes, the campy sense of humor is also back, for better or worse. Still, the brief interaction between Johnny’s two selves does serve a purpose. It begs the question of how the past and future characters will relate to one another.
The trailer does offer some ideas. We see a past Scorpion clashing swords with Hanzo Hasashi — Scorpion’s true self before becoming a revenant, or wraith. In another scene, Cassie Cage slides into cover next to the past versions of her parents. In fact, the relationship of Johnny and Sonya will be interesting to see played out. Will their younger selves become disillusioned by their older counterparts, who weren’t quite seeing eye to eye during the previous game’s storyline? I doubt it will cause Cassie to slowly disappear, a la Back to The Future, but I can’t help speculating — hell, I love Mortal Kombat lore, in all its goofy, convoluted absurdity.
Highlight Reel
Speculation aside, let’s talk about Mortal Kombat 11‘s three returning faces. Cassie Cage doesn’t really have much to show in the story trailer. She mainly stands around in the background while other characters fight or explain things. However, her Fatality (actually, her Fatal Blow) does get a highlight. It appears she’s gotten a better handle on her hidden power passed down by her father. The green glow wraps around her hands as well as the bullets that fire from her pistol.
Jacqui Briggs, on the other hand, deals out some serious punishment in her brief introduction. She really seems to have come into her own. Stepping out of her father’s shadow, Jacqui is armored to the teeth and shows off some new weaponry. In what is clearly a Fatality, she fires multiple sticky mines from her gauntlets, covering Erron Black. At the press of a button, they explode one by one. Jacqui is clearly enjoying this way too much.
Erron Black, however, wasn’t to be outdone. Still sporting his stereotypical cowboy attire (this time without a bandana!), he fills Sub Zero full of holes. At the end, he flicks two Outworld coins — featuring an image of Shao Kahn — into the air, reflecting the bullets off of them into Sub Zero’s eyes.
There is a lot more going on in the trailer. I’m sure Mortal Kombat fans will have a bloody good time picking it apart frame by frame over the course of the week. Did you notice Skarlet no longer wearing her hood and finally showing off her fiery red hair? Or the green soul-sucking haze that could be coming from Shang Tsung? Indeed, there’s a lot to discover here, and it should give fans plenty to do before Mortal Kombat 11 hits PC on April 23.
