The events of “Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind” follow the ending of “Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms.” At the end of “Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms,” we see how Liu Kang defeats the One Being and saves all the realms from merging, which would result in universal destruction. At the beginning of “Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind,” we see that Earth Realm has been defeated, and a group known as the Black Dragon is wreaking havoc in the remaining villages; those that survived after the attack of the revenants. “Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind” doesn’t waste time getting into the gruesome action that we all know and love from traditional Mortal Kombat. There is a backdrop that adds to the plot very well without over-exploiting it. Strong action sequences, as well as strong characterization of fan-favorite characters, demonstrate that Warner Bros. is better off creating versions of the animation titles than live-action versions.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The ‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind Film?
Earth Realm has been destroyed by the revenants. Headed by Kano, the notorious Black Dragon gang, whose members are Kabal, Kobra, and Kira, is going from one village to another, offering what they call “protection” in return for taxes, thus expanding their control. They come across an aged Kuai Liang (Sub-Zero) during one of these tours. They robbed him of his vegetables and let him go. Then they arrive at a village with Kenshi Takahashi, a proud and overconfident warrior, as one of its residents. The gang takes a hit and warns Kenshi of the consequences.
The gang returns to their leader Kano who orders Tremor to join the gang and get hold of Kenshi’s village. Kano also tells Tremor to help the gang. They go back to the village, and it is Kenshi who takes a hit this time. However, he is saved from death by Shang Tsung (another member of Kano’s gang), who is already in the village. He intends to use Kenshi’s powers to unlock the Well of Souls that will allow him to unleash the One Being. Once he finds the well, he betrays Tsung, throwing him into the well, and reclaims his former strength by absorbing all the souls of the well. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the well, a blind Kenshi finds a sword, Sento, and somehow pulls himself out of the well. He struggles to walk but manages to cover some distance before passing out. Unbeknownst to him, he has reached Kuai Liang’s territory. Back at Kano’s headquarters, Tsung returns to kill Kano and usurp his throne, but he is killed by Kano, who is too powerful.
Kuai Liang provides Kenshi with shelter. After much persuasion by Kenshi and finding out about the sword and how it is connected to Kenshi, Liang trains him to use his senses and the powers of his sword to fight and survive. He also tells Kenshi about how he gave up his will to fight after he had inadvertently killed innocent people as well as his own clan with his uncontrollable powers. Days pass like this, when one day, Kenshi smells smoke from somewhere nearby. It is the result of a fire that Kano set in a village. Watching Kano kill an old man that led to the village’s surrender, Liang decides to walk away. Kenshi doesn’t like this at all and tries to remind him of his teachings. Realizing that his words have no effect on Liang, he decides to go to the village and confront Kano and his army all on his own. Kenshi arrives at the village and starts piling up the dead bodies of Kano’s army. He even kills some members of the Black Dragon gang. But when Tremor gets his hands on Kenshi, the latter isn’t able to take it. Kenshi is ultimately captured by Kano, who then takes him to his hideout. Back at Liang’s home, he brings out a magical spear and summons a Scorpion from Hell to Earth Realm. It is clear that he has decided to take the fight to Kano, and he isn’t willing to pull punches. The ice thus reunites with Fire.
Kenshi is tied to a cross and put up on display as an example to all those who even think of going against the Black Dragon. Kano tells Erron Black to finish Kenshi but to take his time doing so, inflicting as much pain on Kenshi as possible. Erron is about to kill Kenshi when Liang, aka Sub-Zero, arrives in an ice storm. He takes on Kano while Scorpion tends to Kenshi, freeing him from the cross. One by one, Kira, Ferra, Torr, Error Black and Drahmin are all killed. Then Kenshi, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion take on Kano, but he is too strong for even all three of them, thanks to his cyborg implants. He manages to escape underground, followed by our trio.
Inside the pit, Kenshi fights Tremor, Scorpion takes on Kabal, and Sub-Zero deals with Kano. After quite a long fight, Kenshi slashes Tremor in two while Scorpion burns down Kabal. Sub-Zero follows Kano through a portal into the room that stores the Hourglass. Kano has been using it to alter time and history the way he wants to. He even tries to rewrite it to kill Sub-Zero in the past. Thus, Sub-Zero begins to turn to dust, but at the last moment, he manages to throw an ice burst at Kano, throwing him off. This stops the process, and Sub-Zero returns to life. After another dreadful fight, Sub-Zero throws Kano into the gears that run the Hourglass, crushing him to death. Kenshi and Scorpion arrive and find out that Kano is dead. Then, the trio comes out of Kano’s headquarters and destroys the building.
The wastelands of Earth Realm are finally freed from the chaos that Kano and the Black Dragon had brought. Sub-Zero thanks Kenshi for reminding him about defending what is right and helping him regain his honor. But knowing how dangerous he can be, he passes on the mantle of Lin-Quei to Kenshi, telling him to find others to protect Earth Realm. Sub-Zero then leaves with Scorpion for hell, just as he had promised. Thus, with the spirit of Lin-Quei inside, Kenshi Takahashi thus sets out on a new journey.
A Past Long Due
In “Mortal Kombat: Scorpion’s Revenge,” Scorpion’s family was slaughtered by Quan Chi, disguised as Sub-Zero, the one who was Kuai Liang’s brother. In “Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms,” we come to know that Scorpion killed Sub-Zero’s brother out of revenge. They face each other, and Scorpion manages to temporarily persuade Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang) to help him defeat The One Being. However, Sub-Zero makes it clear that he will never forgive Scorpion for what he has done. The same is the case for Scorpion. In “Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind,” it seems that Liang has made a deal with Scorpion that if he loses his control and uses his powers, he will join Scorpion in the Nether Realm (Hell). And anticipating that he has to take up the mantle of Sub-Zero to save Kenshi from Kano, he summons Scorpion because he might as well use Scorpion’s help now that he knows that he is going to the Nether Realm. As for how Scorpion went to Nether Realm, we know that he was resurrected from Nether Realm by Quan Chi in “Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (Part I).” So, after the events of “Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms”(Part II), he could have returned or been sent back to Nether Realm.]
In addition, Kuai Liang has been having nightmares about his brother fleeing from someone who appears to him. This would make sense, as Liang, somewhere, finds himself responsible for his brother’s death. Also, there is the guilt of his clan killing Scorpion’s entire family (wife and son) and his people. So, his deal with Scorpion extends beyond the use and misuse of his powers and is a debt for the pain he and his clan had brought to Scorpion.
Again, it might also be that his training with Kenshi Takahashi was another step towards his atonement. But there came a conflict between his atonement and his honor when he realized that he had to save Kenshi. And the only way to do that was to summon his destructive powers, a reminder of the massacres he and his clan had caused. But his honor was more important to him, so he knew he had to do what was necessary.
‘Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind’ Ending: What Happens to Kenshi Takahashi and Kuai Liang?
It isn’t Kenshi but Kuai Liang who kills Kano, and rightfully so. It makes sense for a character like him to go up against Kano and defeat him. In this way, the film establishes his character as the film is about him. “Snow Blind” seems to address how he was blinded by his own powers, but he was cured of them by Kenshi. Here, we must remember that in the Mortal Kombat lore, Kenshi Takahashi shared a bond with Scorpion. So, in a way, it was the spirit of Scorpion that had cured Liang. This thus completes the arc of Kuai Liang’s character. At the end of the film, Liang passes the mantle of Lin-Quei (the spirit of Sub-Zero) to Kenshi and joins Scorpion in Hell. The next Mortal Kombat Legends film will probably give us a new version of Sub-Zero in Kenshi wielding his sword Sento. The end of “Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms” showed the body of Shao Kahn gone. So, there is a possibility of his resurrection as a more dangerous antagonist in the next film.
“Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind” is an animated action-thriller film directed by Rick Morales.
