Futuristic science and cutting-edge technology have as much of a presence in Mortal Kombat as mysticism and magic. While Outworld is ruled by warlords and sorcerers, Earthrealm is entrenched firmly in more modern pursuits for waging war. The finale to the 2015 Mortal Kombat X comic series features Sub-Zero personally confront one of the most dangerous technological foes in all of Earthrealm: the Cyber Lin Kuei.
The Cyber Initiative was created by the Lin Kuei, the secretive organization of warriors and assassins that Sub-Zero is a member of, in an effort to achieve perfection. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster believed that the transition from flesh to machine would eradicate issues of insubordination, elevate the Lin Kuei warriors to super-human levels, and secure the Lin Kuei as the deadliest fighting force on the planet. The Cyber Initiative can be found as far back as Mortal Kombat 3 with the introduction of the characters Cyrax and Sektor, two cybernetic warriors created from the Cyber Initiative.
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But not every member of the Lin Kuei agreed with this transformation. Many believed the forced step into a singularity robbed the warriors of their free will and humanity. Among those that dissented with the Cyber Initiative was Sub-Zero, most famous of the Lin Kuei warriors. While known chiefly as the warrior that killed Scorpion and his family, Sub-Zero has evolved into a character strong enough to stand on his own two feet apart from the rest of the MK cast. The Sub-Zero in this tale is the brother of the original Sub-Zero that Scorpion killed during the first Mortal Kombat tournament.
As the battle against Havik for the Kamidogu winds down and the plethora of characters, both heroes and villains, return to their respective homes, Sub-Zero continues on with a new mission. Locating the manufacturing headquarters of the Cyber Initiative, Sub-Zero enters the facility with the intention of uploading a virus to the Cyber Initiative mainframe in order to reprogram the Cyber Lin Kuei and restore their humanity. Expecting ample defensive measures, Sub-Zero battles his way through the facility and successfully uploads the program in an amazing homage to his solo adventure, Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero.
Despite his best efforts, Sub-Zero is overwhelmed by the cloned ninja cyborgs and taken to Sektor and Cyrax. As Sub-Zero’s fate begins to look grim, Cyrax is able to regain his lost humanity at the last second and allows the virus to fully integrate into the Cyber Initiative. Sub-Zero defeats Sektor and reassures Cyrax that the future of the Lin Kuei rests in the hands of the freed cyborgs.
While the Cyber Initiative didn’t receive very much attention during the course of the Mortal Kombat X comic, it was still a great way to end the series. The story of Havik and the kamidogu was over. As Sub-Zero returned to the Lin-Kuei Palace to meditate, he is approached by Frost and a great many other warriors all seeking to become Lin Kuei. This was a great way to open up possibilities for brand new stories to be created. Incorporating the Cyber Initiative into the comic was a fun dive into Mortal Kombat lore that included plenty of nods and winks to the games. Such attention to detail is definitely something that needs to be emulated again if more Mortal Kombat comics are created.
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