Mortal Kombatis back! It’s time to get casual fans up to speed and prepare newcomers for the bonkers lore they’re about to experience. Yes, even though the title hints at aMortal Kombatreboot and a new beginning — one that would perhaps simplify the story going forward —Mortal Kombat 1does anything but that.
Mortal Kombat 1is not a reboot, but there’s a lot to unpack here.
Mortal Kombat 1seemingly wants to be a “Requel” rather than a reboot. That’s a term coined by the filmScream Vthat describesa new entry that follows up on a serieswithout providing direct continuation or straight-up erasing the existing timeline. I get that it might feel like too unspecific of a thing, but that’s a good thing. The grey area in which requels operate allows for a combination of nostalgia and experimentation that gets them to shine much brighter than reboots usually do.
Examples of good film requels are the aforementionedScream V, Halloween(the 2018 reboot, not the others), andMad Max Fury Road.
The problem withMK1is that it isn’t a requel, either.
We can easily see the MCU’s influence in NetherRealm Studios’ games. The last we saw of theMortal Kombatcontinuity were the events ofMK11‘s DLC,Aftermath,which played a lot likeAvengers Endgame.That makes sense, as that’s the most successful ensemble story of all time.
What was the big consumer sensation that we got afterEndgame? The multiverse craze that began with both the Miles Morales and Peter Parker multiverseSpider-Manfilms. Naturally,Mortal Kombat‘s already shattered timeline felt like a great place to tell a similar tale.
So what isMK1,really?
It’s actually a sequel spiced up by multiverse elements. Even though it starts in a new timeline that Liu Kang created at the end ofMK11 Aftermath,this is the direct continuation of his tale. Also, timelines quickly begin to cross over, and the whole thing culminates in the biggest battle ofMortal Kombatcharacters ever put to screen. I’m not going to spoil it, but yeah, it’s pretty convoluted — though still very fun to watch.
you’re able to now choose your fighter on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
