Mortal Kombat 1: How the reboot alters the timeline

The Mortal Kombat franchise frequently draws upon its rich backstory, and Mortal Kombat 1 adheres to this tradition. Despite being a direct follow-up to Mortal Kombat 11, it charts a fresh path by resetting the timeline and establishing a completely new world. Familiar characters receive a modern makeover, and even lesser-known ones from the series' history are welcomed back.

Let’s recap previous events that took place in the Mortal Kombat franchise real quick: The Mortal Kombat series' first seven installments ended in a catastrophic event, and Raiden had to use time travel to fix it. Even though the results of his efforts were divisive, they saved the universe. However, they also cost him many of his allies.

The main antagonist of MK11, Kronika, met her fate at the hands of Liu Kang, who took up her position as the Keeper of Time. As the Fire God, Liu Kang seeks to create a flawless world.

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Mortal Kombat 1 timeline guide: How was the timeline altered?

Champions of Light

Liu Kang (Image via NetherRealm)

Liu Kang is now the God of Fire and Protector of Earthrealm. Raiden is a common farmer who excels in martial arts and has the ability to project electricity from his body. The roles are now reversed – Raiden is the Mortal Kombat champion under Liu's guidance.

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Lin Kuei

Mortal Kombat 1 - Scorpion and Sub-Zero (Image via NetherRealm)

The Grandmaster's sons are Bi-Han and Kuai-Liang. As Sub-Zero, Bi-Han has grown weary of playing the guardian and believes that Lin Kuei should govern the entire globe. Unexpectedly, Kuai-Liang is known as Scorpion and has flame-based abilities.

Smoke is their adoptive brother, who lost both of his parents when he was a little child, not far from the Lin Kuei headquarters.

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Outworld

Mortal Kombat 1 - Outworld (Image via NetherRealm)

Tarkat is a sickness spreading over Outworld. It changes its victims into toothy creatures with protruding bones. This famine also struck Baraka, a former merchant. He has decided to defend the afflicted and fight for hope after seeing the condition of his species.

When it comes to the Outworld throne, Sindel, a kind-hearted leader of Outworld, is mourning the death of her spouse, Jerrod.

The Mortal Kombat competition was started by her and Lord Liu Kang years ago. Mileena and Kitana were her identical twin daughters, and Princess Mileena would someday rule as empress because she was born first.

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Earthrealm Allies

Mortal Kombat 1 - Johnny Cage (Image via NetherRealm)

Johnny Cage remains the same, a fantastic hero when he’s not cocky. However, this time, Sonya is nowhere to be found, wiping Cassie's existence. His green glow abilities are also missing.

Kenshi is no longer riding the wave of his family’s past and instead wants to restore the Takahashis’ lost honor. Surprisingly, Kenshi in MK1 has his sight back.

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The Sorcerers

Mortal Kombat 1 (Image via NetherRealm)

Rain rose through the ranks and eventually became one of Shao Kahn's most renowned warriors.

Additionally, Shang Tsung is back as a high-level trickster who could walk his way out of just about any scenario thanks to his shape-shifting skills and his greed for collecting other people’s souls.

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In this new era, roles have been reversed, and some notable characters have gone missing. However, with the title's recent release, we have yet to fully see how the Mortal Kombat franchise will go about the timeline and the fate of other characters.