Lin Kuei
The Lin Kuei are a clan that feature in Mortal Kombat.
Contents |
History
Original Timeline
The Lin Kuei (Chinese language: 林鬼; pinyin: Lín Guǐ; literally "Forest Ghosts") were a clan of warriors that operated from China that established themselves long ago. They operated as assassins for hire where they offered their services to others in exchange for some form of gain. At some point, they developed an enmity with the Shirai Ryu that were a Japanese clan of warriors. Years ago, the Lin Kuei were contracted by the sorcerer Quan Chi who sought a warrior to acquire a special Amulet for him. In exchange, he agreed to eliminate the Shirai Ryu for the Lin Kuei with the clan sending their warrior Sub-Zero the Elder. Sub-Zero was responsible for killing the warrior Hanzo Hasashi during the acquisition of the map that led to the location of the Amulet. The Amulet was situated in the Himalayans at the Temple of the Elements where Sub-Zero defeated the elemental godly guardians assigned there by the Elder Gods. He gave the Amulet to Quan Chi but later learnt from the thunder god Raiden that he had inadvertently brought a threat to Earthrealm due to his actions. Thus, Sub-Zero journeyed to the Netherrealm to take back the Amulet from the fallen god Shinnok. He succeeded in his task and returned the Amulet to the care of Raiden. By this point, the Lin Kuei were sought for their services by a new client that was the sorcerer Shang Tsung who sought warriors for the Mortal Kombat Tournament. At this time, the Lin Kuei had recruited a young talent warrior by the name of Shujinko who joined the order as an initiate. The Lin Kuei were involved in a conflict with the Red Dragon clan over an artifact known as the Kamidogu that Shujinko acquired for his mysterious master Damashi.
During the Mortal Kombat Tournament, Sub-Zero participated in the battle but was killed by the demon Scorpion. Afterwards, his brother adopted the mantle of Sub-Zero and fought in a new tournament held in Outworld that was being held by the Emperor Shao Kahn. By this point, the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei had initiated the Cyber Initiative that sought to transform their warriors into cold cyborgs. Some of its warriors volunteered for the procedure with this producing the cyborgs Sektor and Cyrax. Others among its ranks opposed to the Initiative and sought to escape with these including Sub-Zero along with his friend Smoke. During their attempt at escape, Smoke was captured and he was transformed into a cyborg whilst Sub-Zero went on the run from his own clan. At this time, Emperor Shao Kahn had conducted a forceful invasion of Earthrealm as he sought to conquer it only to be defeated by its champions once more. Sub-Zero managed in this time to evade his pursuers and managed to reach the Lin Kuei stronghold itself. Once there, he attacked and defeated the Grandmaster allowing him to take control of the clan. By this point, the cyborg Sektor had arrived and sought to become the Lin Kuei's master with him battling Sub-Zero only to lose to him. In the aftermath, Sektor escaped whilst Sub-Zero gained possessed of the Dragon Medallion that denoted leadership of the Lin Kuei. In this time, Sektor established a splinter clan that consisted of cyborg warriors with these forming the Tekunin.
Under Sub-Zero's leadership, the Lin Kuei were re-organized and moved their headquarters to a new stronghold in the Arctika. He then looked to recruit the best warriors to be part of the new clan with him holding a tournament to find such fighters. The winner of the tournament was a mysterious female fighter known as Frost who had ice abilities similar to his own with Sub-Zero breaking tradition by personally overseeing her training as his apprentice.
During this time, their temple was approached by the Edenian deity Taven who came before Sub-Zero himself. Grandmaster Sub-Zero managed to reach an accord with Taven at which point the temple came under attack from the Brotherhood of Shadow. Noob Saibot along with the usurped cyborg Smoke had struck at the temple as they began to transform the Lin Kuei warriors into demons. With the aid of Taven, Grandmaster Sub-Zero managed to defend the temple from the intruders. In gratitude for his help, Sub-Zero decided to aid Taven in the completion of his mission.
Reboot Timeline
During the Armageddon, Shao Kahn ultimately proved to be the victor of the conflict allowing him to gain ultimate power. To avert this timeline, the thunder god Raiden sent his experiences back in time to his younger self in the form of visions. With these, Raiden became responsible for altering the timeline as he sought to stop this future. Many of the elements from the previous timeline continued such as the mercenary nature of the Lin Kuei along with their enmity with the Shirai Ryu. In this history, the Lin Kuei had long been considering the creation of their Cyber Initiative and dispatched Sektor, Cyrax along with Sub-Zero to Shang Tsung's island for the Mortal Kombat Tournament. During the tournament, Sub-Zero was killed by the undead Scorpion who avenged his clan for their seeming death at the hands of the Lin Kuei. Meanwhile, Sektor and Cyrax had been assigned to eliminate other Earthrealm champions in order for them to lose the tournament only for them to be defeated. By this point, the clan was proceeding with their Cyber Initiative that sought to turn their warriors into soulless cyborgs. Some among their warriors such as Cyrax opposed this plan of the Grandmaster but were forced to undergo the process. In the next Mortal Kombat Tournament in Outworld, Lin Kuei warriors Tundra and Smoke journeyed to that real in order for them to learn of Kwa Liang's brother Bi-Hans fate. Tundra adopted his brothers name Sub-Zero where he fought numerous foes during his quest. Smoke was nearly captured by Lin Kuei cyborgs but they were knocked offline by Raiden who intervened. Later on, Sub-Zero confronted his brothers killer Scorpion and won in kombat but was then captured by Lin Kuei cyborgs. In exchange for Sub-Zero, the Lin Kuei pledged their services to Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn.
Following its reformation by Sub-Zero, the Lin Kuei were reorganised as defenders of Earthrealm.
Afterwards, the realms faced a new threat from the Titan Kronika who intended to restart the universe and create her more balanced New Era. This saw her reviving the Tekunin with Sektor restored in order for him to revive the Cyber Lin Kuei initiative to serve as her warriors. Upon being reformed, they set about kidnapping warriors from Sub-Zero's Lin Kuei temple and converting them into fighters against their will. Sub-Zero alongside Scorpion then made their way to the reactivated cyberization factory in order to shut it down and avenge the deaths of the kidnapped slain Lin Kuei warriors.
Overview
In appearance, the Lin Kuei were a clan of trained warriors and assassins. This clan of warriors were regarded as a legendary group of Chinese Assassins. As a clan of warriors, members of the Lin Kuei garbed themselves in martial artist uniforms with them typically masking their faces. Though dressed in a similar attire as ninjas, the members of this clan grew angry when called a ninja and preferred to be called Lin Kuei. Only the best of Warriors were capable of joining the ranks of the Lin Kuei. By the time of Sub-Zero's rise as Grandmaster, the initiates of the Lin Kuei clan began to practice the use of ice manipulation abilities. Members were bound by sacred codes of honor that prevented one from leaving the clan with those that did so being marked for death.
The Lin Kuei was led by the Grandmaster who served as its leader. Leadership of the clan was denoted by the Grandmaster holding the Dragon Medallion. A saying of the clan was, "We are the Lin Kuei. More stealthful than the night, more deadly than the dawn."
The reformed clan made their home at the Lin Kuei Palace that was a temple situated in Arctika.
Members
- Sub-Zero, the Elder - the elder Sub-Zero who worked for Quan Chi and Shang Tsung until his death in the first Mortal Kombat Tournament by Scorpion's hands, he was transformed into the undead wraith Noob Saibot and served in the Brotherhood of Shadow.
- Sub-Zero, the Young - Sub-Zero's brother who managed to avoid being cybernetically altered and gain leadership of the Lin Kuei clan.
- Cyrax - a warrior transformed into a cyborg assassin, he was defeated and regained his soul after which he became a member of the Special Forces.
- Sektor - a warrior transformed into a cybernetic soldier but gained a desire to be leader of the Lin Kuei but was defeated by Sub-Zero, he formed the cybernetic Tekunin clan.
- Smoke - former friend of Sub-Zero who were transformed against his will into a cybernetic warrior.
- Frost - a young female warrior that joined Sub-Zero's reformed Lin Kuei, she has ice powers as well as a desire to become Grandmaster.
- Shujinko - this young warrior was initiated into the clan as an honourary Lin Kuei assassin.
- Hydro - a blue clad male who was a young warrior that was close friends with Sub-Zero, had the ability to manipulate water to the point that it froze on contact. Appeared in the comics only.
- Tremor - a muscular former Lin Kuei wearing brown clothing, he was capable of creating powerful shocks through his feet. Appeared in the game Special Forces.
- Oniro - he was the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei at the time of their transformation into cybernetic warriors, he had the ability to change into various animals. Appeared in Defenders of the Realm.
Notes
- The Lin Kuei featured in the setting of the Mortal Kombat universe.
- In Mortal Kombat X, the Lin Kuei were one of the factions the player could join in the multiplayer system.
In other media
Television
- In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, the Lin Kuei appeared in the setting of the animated television series. In the episode "Old Friends Never Die", it was shown that the Grandmaster of the clan was a shapeshifting ninja assassin named Oniro who was one of the individuals responsible for launching the initiative that converted warriors of the clan into cyborgs. Sub-Zero and Smoke attempted to flee the clan but the latter was captured where he was transformed into a cyborg warrior for the Lin Kuei.
- In Mortal Kombat: Conquest, the Lin Kuei appeared in the setting of the live-action television series starting from the episode "Cold Reality". They were described as an ancient sect who operated murderers for hire with stories of children being kidnapped by the clan who taught them how to kill in a secret compound. The Grand Masters were noted to had trained their warriors in dark ways. Their training was noted to be a deep secret and only matched by their code. Lin Kuei assassins were said to be silent, swift and always lethal with them being formidable fighter who had struct terror in the hearts of others. Their strength was said to lay in their power, secrecy, skill and discipline. Friendship was said to be forbidden in the Lin Kuei as they considered it a warrior's flaw, and thus trust was only given to the clan. Any move to leave the clan was the equivalent to treason and punishable by death.
- In Mortal Kombat: Legacy, the Lin Kuei made an appearance in the live-action web-series. They were stated to had trained the most fearsome assassins in the world. The Lin Kuei were said to had operated for over 800 years and since the Tang Dynasty they had kidnapped and brainwashed children as new recruits with complete submission to the Grandmaster demanded whilst disobedience was not tolerated. In the modern day, the Grandmaster had ordered that the Lin Kuei warriors be transformed into cyborgs though a few in their ranks opposed the Cyber Initiative. Following a testing period, Sektor and Cyrax of the Lin Kuei were transformed into cyborgs.
Films
- In Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, the Lin Kuei appeared in the setting of the 2020 direct-to-video animated film. They were shown as being a rival clan of the Shirai Ryu with the two being bitter enemies. Quan Chi came to disguise himself as Sub-Zero and tricked the clan into ambushing the Shira Ryu as well as massacring its members. Hanzo Hatashi along with his son Satoshi returned to their home where they were attacked by the warriors. Ultimately, 'Sub-Zero' killed the last of the Shirai Ryu thus leading to Hanzo becoming the spectral wraith called Scorpion. The Lin Kuei later participated in the Mortal Kombat tournament where many of its members were killed by Scorpion who sought revenge against Sub-Zero with the warrior ultimately being slain by the undead warrior.
- In Mortal Kombat, the Lin Kuei appeared in the setting of the 2021 live-action film. They were shown as being a clan of Chinese assassins that had a longstanding rivalry with the Japanese-based Shirai Ryu. During the 17th century, a group of them headed by Bi-Han came to infiltrate the Shirai Ryu land where they proceeded to massacre their opponents. This saw Bi-Han personally killing Hanzo Hasashi along with his wife and son where he seemingly believed that he had exterminated the bloodline but was unaware that his foe's daughter had survived the massacre. By the modern day, the clan was allied with the sorcerer Shang Tsung where Bi-Han as Sub-Zero was assigned to him as his chief enforcer in ensuring Outworld's victory in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. To bring about this outcome, Bi-Han set about eliminating Earthrealm's chosen champions before the tournament with one of them being Hanzo Hasashi's descendant who was a fighter named Cole Young.
Appearances
- Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero:
- Mortal Kombat: Deception:
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon:
- Mortal Kombat X:
External Link
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