In the original Mortal Kombat, Sub-Zero was the Lin Kuei ninja known as Bi-Han. His heart was as cold as his cryomancer abilities, and he killed without remorse. The evil sorcerer Quan Chi would frame Bi-Han for the slaughter of the Shirai Ryu clan and their leader, Hanzo Hashashi, who would be reborn as Scorpion. Scorpion and Sub-Zero's feud would last until Scorpion murdered Bi-Han, finally succeeding in his quest for revenge. While Bi-Han would find a new calling as the deadly Netherrealm wraith, Noob Saibot, Sub-Zero would evolve into a hero of Earthrealm.
Bi-Han's brother Kuai Liang once went by Tundra and first appeared in Mortal Kombat II. Upon learning of his brother's death, he sought justice. While in the tournament, he bested a fighter but chose not to kill him, as he wasn't the same killer as Bi-Han. Scorpion saw this and was initially puzzled at Sub-Zero's refusal to murder. Upon learning the truth, he swore never to harm the young ninja. This would be the first step in what would become a powerful bond between the two fighters.
Liang's next quest would be to reclaim his clan, the Lin Kuei, following the decision to turn most of their ninja into cybernetic warriors. While his friend, Smoke, didn't escape the conversion, Liang did. His decision to leave the clan marked him for death, and he would be hunted by the cyber versions of Cyrax, Sektor and Smoke. Eventually, this culminated into a final battle between the grandmaster, Sektor and Sub-Zero. Upon Sektor's defeat. Liang became the new grandmaster and started a new era for the Lin Kuei.
The original timeline had Kuai Liang working with the heroes of Earthrealm consistently until the events of Mortal Kombat: Armaggedon, where Raiden was forced to reset the timeline. Once that occurred, many of the same events from the past games still took place, but a major change was Liang being turned into a cyborg rather than Smoke.
While a cyborg, Kuai Liang was still a force for good and fought until his death at the hands of Sindel. His soul was later claimed by Quan-Chi and restored to his human body. Now free to live his life, Liang commanded the Lin Kuei in the reset timeline and made amends with this Scorpion. Mortal Kombat 11 later saw the two ninjas teaming up against Kronika's forces as two grandmasters of their reformed clans.
Kuai Liang was able to take the mantle of Sub-Zero and, rather than make it a name that many feared, turned it into the title of a hero. He was able to turn his clan back from their cybernetic initiative and made the Lin Kuei a more welcoming ninja clan. But his biggest achievement was being able to end the age-old dispute between him and Scorpion and even turning the vengeful ninja into a hero as well. Kuai Liang turned Sub-Zero not only into a great ninja but also a powerful force for good.
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