The Mortal Kombat reboot stays pretty loyal to the video games in its depiction of the fire ninja Scorpion, but it still makes some notable changes to the classic character. As the ancestor of new protagonist Cole Young, Scorpion plays a major role in the overall story of the film, even getting the spotlight in the final battle against Sub-Zero. By turning Scorpion into one of Mortal Kombat’s lead protagonists, however, the new movie divorces him a bit from his original game storyline.

In the Mortal Kombat video games, Scorpion is a warrior of the Japanese Shirai Ryu ninja clan – a group that was founded when a Chinese warrior left the Lin Kuei assassins and started his own guild in Japan. After being killed by Sub-Zero as part of their clan’s feud, Scorpion is resurrected by the Netherrealm sorcerer Quan Chi – the one secretly responsible for the Shirai Ryu being wiped out – and tricked into serving the villain’s will. Scorpion exacts his revenge on Sub-Zero, only to realize that it was really Quan Chi pulling the strings the whole time.

Related: How Sub-Zero Is Different In Mortal Kombat 2021

Mortal Kombat 2021 changes that story up significantly. For starters, Scorpion is a modern-day warrior in the games. In the film, by contrast, he dies hundreds of years in the past. His death is different in the movie as well, as Sub-Zero hunts him down personally to assassinate him. In the games, the two meet by chance after being tricked by Quan Chi, and fight to the death. The removal of Quan Chi from the story of the film also changes Scorpion’s resurrection, which is brought about by his descendant Cole Young, rather than by the Netherrealm sorcerer.

Cole’s introduction changes Scorpion’s role in the overall Mortal Kombat story significantly. The movie says that the Hasashi bloodline is directly tied to Earthrealm’s safety, and that the champion’s mark is passed down naturally from Scorpion. This makes him, in a way, the protagonist of the film, as he’s positioned as the ultimate Earthrealm warrior. The Mortal Kombat video games have a similar plotline where Scorpion is chosen as the Elder Gods’ champion in the battle against the dragon king Onaga, but it’s still not quite the same as the leading role he gets in Mortal Kombat 2021.

Still, there are a lot of things about Scorpion that stay the same from the games to the movie. His powers and fighting style are nearly identical, his backstory is mostly the same, and his outfit – while a bit more samurai than ninja in the new movie – stays pretty loyal to the games in its colors and overall aesthetic. It should be fun to see what role Scorpion plays as the new Mortal Kombat film franchise continues.

Next: Mortal Kombat: How Powerful Cole Young Is Compared To Scorpion