Sub-Zero

Sub-Zero, once known as Kuai Liang,is a Lin Kueiassassin in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is the younger brother of Noob Saibot, who was the original Sub-Zero in the first Mortal Kombat arcade game. The younger Sub-Zero made his debut in Mortal Kombat II. Sub-Zero holds the unique distinction to be the only playable character who appears in every generation ofMortal Kombat games.Sub-Zero is one of the most popular characters in theMortal Kombat series. There are in fact two incarnations of Sub-Zero, and they are siblings: the older brother Bi-Han, and younger brother Kuai. Both are blue garbed warriors that are members of the Lin Kuei that descended from Cryomancers: an Outworld race possessing the ability to generate and control the powers of ice, although both of them were born in Earthrealm. Kuai bears a scar on his right eye which he received from a fight with Kung Lao, in the canonically-disputed Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. However - as of Deception - the scar has faded away, possibly because of a side effect of his Dragon Medallion.

In their initial biography, both Sub-Zero brothers were sons of a Chinese Cryomancer father and a human mother. It is known that the father of both brothers was a secret operative for the Lin Kuei in the United States. He married an American woman and together they had two sons. Against the will of their mother, the father took the sons with him to move back to China, and as such both brothers were trained as Lin Kuei assassins. This was retconned to both brothers being kidnapped by the Lin Kuei.

Bi-Han appeared as Sub-Zero in the first Mortal Kombatand then, after being killed by Scorpion, Kuai replaced him for the rest of the games - Bi-Han later became the undead Netherrealm wraith, Noob Saibot.

The younger Sub-Zero clearly shares many traits with his older brother. Upon his introduction, the younger Sub-Zero was perhaps too similar to his brother. Like the elder, the younger Sub-Zero gives the impression of being a stern, distant and cold man who goes about his business silently, without attracting unwanted attention. However, as time progressed, Sub-Zero evolved - from what fans labeled a "carbon copy" of his brother - into a man of great integrity and self-discipline. The disparities between the brothers, who were once neutral and almost indistinct from each other, have now grown so large that one could speak of the evil twin syndrome.

While the younger Sub-Zero was depicted as a young Lin Kuei warrior who was living in the shadow of his older brother, he has since changed and grown into a warrior who has progressed towards the more humane sides of moral issues. This change in characteristics has not only strengthened him as a man, but has also set him apart from his former Lin Kuei counterparts. This included leaving his clan in disgust and breaking the sacred codes of honor, joining the rebellion against Shao Kahn and assisting Raiden and Liu Kang (along with Earthrealm's other chosen warriors). More recently, he defeated the cyborg assassin Sektor to gain the leadership of the Lin Kuei and become the Grandmaster, where he has grown even stronger and more powerful. He is a dependable ally of Earthrealm who is willing to assist when needed, especially when Raiden gives the call. He is without question one of the greatest and most powerful warriors that Earthrealm has to offer. He, like much of the MK cast, also follows a character archetype, in his case the enigmatic hero that shows up to aid the main hero(es) when needed.