Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge Ending & Sequel Setup Explained

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge‘s ending captures the spirit of the games and wraps up its story, while setting up an inevitable sequel. Scorpion’s Revenge is the first animated Mortal Kombat project since the short-lived Defenders of the Realm project from the 90s. The first reports of a Mortal Kombat animated film emerged back in January of 2019, with the idea being that the film would serve as a separate adaptation of the franchise alongside the James Wan-produced live-action film. The first trailer arrived in January of the following year, confirming the rumors and also shockingly revealing that the film would follow Scorpion as the main character.

The film opens on Hanzo Hasashi (Patrick Seitz), Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu clan, as he and his family are seemingly murdered by rival Lin Kuei Grandmaster Sub-Zero (Steve Blum). After being resurrected by the infamous necromancer Quan Chi (Darin De Paul) in order to steal a mystical artifact, Scorpion is given a chance for revenge in the form of the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, where Sub-Zero will be in attendance. However, complicating the undead wraith’s rampage is the Elder God Raiden (Dave B. Mitchell) and his team of Earthrealm warriors, who are competing in the tournament in a desperate attempt to save their world.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge features a stacked cast of voice actors embodying all the iconic main characters from the first game, including Liu Kang (Jordan Rodrigues), Johnny Cage (Joel McHale), Sonya Blade (Sabrina Carpenter), and even Kevin Michael Richardson returning to the role of Goro for the first time since the 1995 live-action film. However, Mortal Kombat Legends is ultimately Scorpion’s story, recontextualizing the story from the first four games through an entirely new lens.

Mortal Kombat Legends Combines The First Four Games

While both Mortal Kombat Legends and the first game follow the story of the tenth tournament between Outworld and Earthrealm, there are noticeable differences that serve to streamline both the main story and Scorpion’s. In the original Mortal Kombat game, Scorpion enters the tournament seeking revenge on Sub-Zero for the murder of his clan, which he achieves. In the second installment, he meets Sub-Zero’s altruistic younger brother, and it isn’t until the fourth game that Scorpion meets Quan-Chi and discovers that he’s the one responsible for his family’s death.

However, in Scorpion’s Revenge, Scorpion is resurrected by Quan Chi immediately following his death, and enlisted to steal a powerful key from Shang Tsung’s island during the tournament. The key is to free the corrupted Elder God Shinnok, another adversary from Mortal Kombat 4, but ultimately Scorpion fails to retrieve it, blinded by his quest for vengeance. After killing the first Sub-Zero, Quan Chi taunts Scorpion with the knowledge that he was the one to kill his family, a reveal that frees him from his bonds of service and gives him a new target for his revenge. It’s a switch in the story that simplifies Scorpion’s overarching quest, and sets up for more elements of Mortal Kombat 4 to be explored in the future.

How Liu Kang Wins The Tournament

Though Scorpion is certainly the main focus of Mortal Kombat Legends, it also spends a great deal of time on the efforts of the Earthrealm heroes to win the tournament. Particularly, the movie focuses on Liu Kang’s journey of self-determination and his belief that he will be the one to win the tenth tournament and repel Outworld’s attempts at invasion. Alongside the skilled-yet-aloof Hollywood superstar Johnny Cage, and the no-nonsense Special Forces agent Sonya Blade, Liu Kang battles his way through the combatants that Outworld sorcerer Shang Tsung (Artt Butler) has assembled in their way. Finally, he makes it to Outworld’s greatest champion, the four-armed warrior Goro.

Unfortunately, Kang’s match with Goro doesn’t go as well as he’d hoped, and despite his best efforts he’s nearly killed. As Raiden looks on, unable to interfere, Goro begins to tear off Liu Kang’s arms as he did to Special Agent Jax Briggs (Ike Amadi) earlier in the film. However, at the last moment, Scorpion arrives and decapitates Goro, enraged after the reveal of Quan Chi’s treachery.

Shang Tsung, quickly realizing that Goro’s death meant the defeat of Outworld, tries to bargain with Scorpion, and offers him Quan Chi’s life in return for him defeating Liu Kang. Scorpion declines, forfeiting his spot in the tournament to Kang and ensuring an Earthrealm victory. Because of Scorpion’s rejection of Shang Tsung’s offer, Earthrealm is spared from Outworld invasion and Shang Tsung’s temple begins to collapse, leaving him to enact his final revenge on Quan Chi.

Sc0rpion’s Journey Is About Him Finding Closure And Purpose

Throughout the entirety of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, Scorpion seeks some sort of resolution for the crucible that he’s been through. At first the thought of getting revenge on Sub-Zero is enough, something that Quan Chi offers him in exchange for his service. When Scorpion succeeds in killing his perceived rival, Quan Chi reveals his own treachery, once again giving Scorpion’s quest for revenge another extension. Shang Tsung also attempts to manipulate Scorpion’s search for closure, offering him the false promise of revenge and being reunited with his family if he would only kill Liu Kang.

Earlier in the film, however, Scorpion is visited by Raiden, who offers him another way: he’s been resurrected, so he has no reason not to forge his own path. He realizes this when he has a run in with the Earthrealm warriors, and Liu Kang reminds him that their greatest weapon against the forces of Outworld is their willpower. These lessons give him the strength to reject Shang Tsung’s proposal, and he finds purpose in himself and not the bidding of those who would manipulate and use him. In the end, Scorpion does get his revenge against the true mastermind behind his family’s murder, and he’s receives closure by being allowed to return to the afterlife to be with them.

What The Final Scene Means

While on a boat returning to Earthrealm, Liu Kang languishes over the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Goro in the end. However, Raiden comforts him, telling him that his purpose was never to beat Goro, but Shao Khan. Meanwhile, back on Outworld, Shang Tsung is interrogated and tortured by Shao Kahn for his failure with the tournament. Despite their defeat, Shao Kahn orders Shang Tsung to prepare for an invasion of Outworld anyway, breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat.

The ending of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge definitely implies a sequel or continuation to the film, one that more than likely won’t feature Scorpion as a protagonist again. While the obvious choice would seem to be Liu Kang, as he’s been foretold to be the one to defeat Shao Kahn, Warner Bros. Animation could once again pivot to using a different character as the lens for the story. Sub-Zero could be another option, as the game Mortal Kombat 2 introduces the Kuai Liang version of the character, who enters the tournament to find out what happened to his brother Bi-Han, the original cryomancer. Regardless of who the main character is in the sequel, Mortal Kombat Legends: Sub-Zero leaves the door wide open to explore the next few installments in the series in new and exciting ways.

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