John Tobias, the co-creator of Mortal Kombat, recently shared the original concept art for longtime series staple Sub-Zero, as well as providing insight into the inspiration for both the icy ninja and his clan, the Lin Kuei. This proud faction of Chinese warriors has had a long and storied history within the lore of NetherRealm Studios’ iconic fighting game franchise, mostly serving as rivals to Scorpion’s Shirai Ryu ninjas.
The Sub-Zero mantle itself has actually been used by two characters throughout the Mortal Kombat series, both of whom served as Lin Kuei’s most fearsome assassin. The first was Bi-Han, who made his initial appearance in the original Mortal Kombat in 1992. There, he was slain by Scorpion as revenge for killing him prior to the game’s events, but he would later return as the undead ninja Noob Saibot from Mortal Kombat II onward. Meanwhile, Bi-Han’s younger brother Kuai Liang would take up his icy mantle to avenge his death, though he would eventually make peace with Scorpion in the later games and become an ally for the fighters of Earthrealm.
While this is all a fictional storyline, Mortal Kombat co-creator and comic book artist John Tobias recently revealed the real-life inspiration behind the Lin Kuei and its frosty champion in a lengthy Twitter thread. He says that he started reading several books on Asian mythology and martial arts history while developing the characters of the original Mortal Kombat, and from one of these books he learned of an ancient group of Chinese vagabond assassins named the Lin Kuei. From there he made a quick sketch of a masked warrior and a brief bio of the Lin Kuei in his notebook, which was soon fleshed out into the Sub-Zero of the games.
Sub-Zero has since become an iconic sample of the Mortal Kombat franchise, and his long-standing rivalry with Scorpion remains one of gaming’s most famous feuds. Fans will be able to see the Bi-Han version of Sub-Zero in this year’s live-action Mortal Kombat movie, where he will gruesomely sever Jax’s arms and engage in yet another battle with his pyrokinetic arch-nemesis.
Not only that, but the previously-released trailers for the film have shown that several of his infamous moves are being faithfully translated to the silver screen, as director Simon McQuoid promises plenty of Easter Eggs and R-Rated brutality for fans of the series. In the meantime, seeing John Tobias’s original concept art for Sub-Zero is pretty cool, no pun intended. While the real-life Lin Kuei probably didn’t shoot ice from their hands or tear out the spines of their enemies (if they even existed at all), it’s fascinating to learn of the myths that inspired one of Mortal Kombat’s most well-known characters.
Source: John Tobias/Twitter