Mortal Kombat features the iconic ice ninja Sub-Zero as its primary villain, and the character uses a number of classic special moves and finishers from the video games throughout the course of the film. Joe Taslim’s performance as Sub-Zero/Bi-Han is one of the definite high points of the film, especially during his tense fights with Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada). Those fights also include a number of fun Easter eggs in a number of recognizable moves.
Sub-Zero is one of the original fighters playable in the first Mortal Kombat arcade game, along with Scorpion, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kano, Johnny Cage, and Raiden. The ice ninja has also consistently been one of the franchise’s most popular and frequently recurring characters. As such, he’s assembled an impressive arsenal of moves, including a number of ice spells, weapon-based attacks, and brutal fatalities.
A lot of those moves make their way into the Mortal Kombat reboot, and while many were teased in the film’s trailers, the final cut still had some surprises in store. From beginning to end, Sub-Zero proved himself a fierce antagonist, and it should be interesting to see how he plays into future movies after his defeat by Cole Young and Scorpion. Here’s every classic move Sub-Zero uses in the Mortal Kombat reboot.
Ice Freeze
The foundation of all his other ice powers, the ice freeze makes many appearances over the course of Mortal Kombat. Bi-Han first uses it to brutally kill Hanzo’s wife and son, leaving them as icy corpses. He later uses the move in his battle against Jax, freezing the special forces soldier’s gun from the inside out. The rest of the film sees a number of ice freezes from Sub-Zero, ranging from up-close blasts to longer-range projectiles (often called an “ice ball” in the games). It’s the character’s most basic and longstanding move, and it’s only right that it plays such a major role in the new movie.
Ice Shower
Bi-Han goes after Cole Young early on in Mortal Kombat, and his method of attack harkens back to classic move – the ice shower. A bit different this time around, Sub-Zero uses the move to launch a large-scale first strike against Cole and his family while they’re eating out at a restaurant. The ninja conjures snow over the whole street, then turns the flakes into razor-sharp shards of ice and hurls them down from the sky. In the video games, the move is a bit simpler, with Sub-Zero blasting ice up into the air above, then bringing it down on a single targeted spot. The movie version is a cool variation, amplifying Sub-Zero’s powers and showing how much of a threat he really is right from the start of the film.
Ice Shatter
Because Sub-Zero loses his final duel in Mortal Kombat, Scorpion is the one who gets to deliver an iconic fatality – specifically, his classic fire breath finisher. However, Bi-Han still gets to execute one of Mortal Kombat's fatalities of his own earlier in the film. After quickly besting Jax, Sub-Zero performs a variation of one of his classic fatalities – the ice shatter. Grabbing Jax’s fists, Bi-Han freezes both of his arms solid and then shatters them in a bloody and brutal display of his cryomancy. Though Jax survives the ordeal thanks to Liu Kang, it’s still a move worthy of the fatality title, paying homage to several similar finishers used by Sub-Zero in the Mortal Kombat games.
Ground Freeze
Another classic Sub-Zero move, the ground freeze technique, makes a couple of appearances in the Mortal Kombat reboot. Its flashiest use comes during the climactic battle between Bi-Han and Scorpion, where, at one point, Bi-Han conjures a sheet of ice along the ground and up into a wall, then throws Scorpion along the ground ice and through the wall. Sub-Zero also uses variations of the technique to freeze the environments around him, in order to create an arena more suited to his natural advantages. This is also seen in his final duel against Scorpion and Cole. The ground freeze of the Mortal Kombat games is a bit more circumstantial and is usually used to plant a foe’s feet in place with ice to open them up to an attack.
Ice Sword/Kori Blade
After Scorpion gets the jump on Sub-Zero in their rematch, the ice ninja pulls out one of his higher-level techniques – the ice sword, or Kori Blade, as it’s called in the games. Sub-Zero conjures the sword out of thin air near the start of the battle, then engages in some intense blade-to-blade combat. It’s an impressive display of skill on the part of Sub-Zero given he spends most of the film fighting hand-to-hand. The Kori Blade is most prominent in the PlayStation 2 era of MK games like Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat: Deception, but it’s continued to appear in later entries of the series as part of Sub-Zero’s various combo attacks.
Blood Dagger
Though most of his moves in the Mortal Kombat reboot come from the games, Sub-Zero also shows off some new techniques. The most notable by far is his blood dagger move, which he uses on Scorpion during their final fight. The technique involves Sub-Zero stabbing Scorpion, spraying blood into the air which he then freezes into an icy blade, grabs, and uses to stab Scorpion a second time. The move is very much in the vein of Sub-Zero’s game attacks, and it’s a flashy addition to his frozen arsenal.
Ice Clone
The last signature move Sub-Zero pulls out in Mortal Kombat is another classic, the ice clone. In the games, the ice clone is a defensive move, where Sub Zero creates a frozen statue of himself where he previously stood, leaping away from that spot in the process. Any foe who attacks the clone by mistake absorbs its ice magic and is thereby frozen, leaving them open to a follow-up by Sub-Zero. The ice ninja uses the move against Scorpion near the end of their climactic duel, though it doesn’t slow his rival down much. In the end, Hanzo manages to claim victory with Cole’s help, sending Sub-Zero to his death. However, the villainous Lin Kuei assassin is likely to return in future Mortal Kombat films, bringing a new array of deadly moves along with him.