Since its initial arcade release in 1992, Mortal Kombat has created some of the most powerful, terrifying and stylish fighters in the genre. When talking about the franchise, most gamers bring up Scorpion and Sub-Zero's iconic video game rivalry. However, the original Sub-Zero's story didn't end when he was killed by Scorpion at the end of the original game -- in fact, it had only just begun.
Bi-Han, the original Sub-Zero, called down Scorpion's wrath when he massacred the ninja's entire clan and family. From that point forward, Scorpion swore vengeance and even used the powers of the Netherrealm to do it. Bi-Han was one of the deadliest assassins of the Lin-Kuei ninja clan and was as cold as the ice he conjured. When he was killed by Scorpion, his soul fell to the Netherrealm. There, the demon known as Quan Chi hatched yet another dark scheme.
Quan Chi's necromancy powers are best known for resurrecting Scorpion and granting him his fire abilities. The demon also used his power to resurrect Bi-Han as a new and far more deadly entity, Noob Saibot. While he does the bidding of villains such as Shinnok and Shao Khan, Noob lives only to serve himself. Clad in all black, what made Noob different from his past life as Sub-Zero was that his soul was stripped of everything that would've made him human, leaving only the evil he carried within.
When he was reborn, Noob no longer had use for his cryomancy abilities. Instead, he adopted the shadows and darkness as his tools to exact pain on others. Like all ninja in the game, he has the power to teleport, only this time by using shadows. He can also use the shadows to tether himself to enemies, similar to Scorpion's spear. However, his biggest change is the inclusion of a shadow clone. With these clones, Noob has the opportunity to inflict extra damage, as some of his moves have the chance to end with a shadow clone landing a free hit.
Noob Saibot has also gone through many visual changes, as all of the reskinned ninja continue to make themselves more distinct from one another. His most recent appearance in Mortal Kombat 11 appears to have embraced his ghostly roots, as he's shown wearing a hood and carrying a sickle. However, his shadow clone still looks like an homage to his classic ninja garb from his early appearances. As he has become more fleshed out each game, his outfit has made him appear even increasing mysterious and intimidating.
Noob Saibot's story is still being told through the Mortal Kombat titles, which show no signs of easing up on his fear factor. However, while his look and actions are scary, his name may come across as disarming to some players. This is because Noob Saibot's name doesn't have a sinister origin -- it's actually just the last names of franchise creators Ed Boon and John Tobias spelled backwards. Still, even the innocence of his name hasn't stopped him from being one of Outworld's deadliest fighters.
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