From the beginning,Mortal Kombat’s Sindel has been a fan favorite. Her wild hair and her tragic backstory really gave fans of the series something to love in her. Her story began inMortal Kombat 3, went through several revisions, was briefly shown in theMortal Kombat: Annihilationmovie, lasting all the way through until the release of theSindel DLC forMK11.
Sindel has been through a lot, and many fans of the lore behind the hyper violentMortal Kombatgame aredisappointed with the way Sindel’s story has been retconed. But does this big change make sense given the evolution of her character?
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Sindel inMortal Kombat 3
InMortal Kombat 3, the ending story reveals that Sindel was a mother and wife before Shao Kahn shattered her life. She killed herself rather than live with Shao Kahn as a husband. However, Kahn resurrected her and forced her into a life of servitude to him. With her memories corrupted, she fights alongside him. During the game, however, she regains those memories before defeating Kahn, using her whip-like hair andbanshee powers that Sindelis well known for.
This was just the beginning of Sindel’s story, however, and the future would bring a lot of twists and turns. But back in 1995, she was a good guy that had lost her kingdom, her family, and her memories all at once, giving her an incredibly interesting and tragic backstory that drew fans in. Many wanted to know more of the displaced Queen and how her story continued.
Sindel as a Good Guy
Sindel is considered on the side of good for most of the games, comic books, and even movies from the 1990s. In the movieMortal Kombat: Annihilation, Sindel is once again brainwashed by Shao Kahn, but regains her memories and her daughter at the end of the movie.
InMortal Kombat4, she returns to her land of Edenia on a quest to rebuild after its separation from Outworld. Between4andArmageddon(these games are considered the “old timeline”), Sindel helps to battle against the forces of Shao Kahn, rebuild her homeland, and keep her daughter safe.
However, in the apocolypticMortal Kombat: Armageddon, nearly everyone is killed including Sindel. Shao Kahn wins the Kombat, giving him the powers of a fire god and condeming the world to live under his boot for eternity. In desperation, Raiden attempts to send a message back in time to himself, hoping to warn everyone against this horrible fate that has befallen the world.
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Thus the new story line begins. The next timeline, which begins with 2011’sMortal Kombat 9,features aretcon of Sindel’s storythat had some fans scratching their heads.
Sindel inMortal Kombat 9andX
Once again, Sindel is evil inMortal Kombat 9due to the influence of others. Shao Kahn bestows the powers and the souls of Shang Tsung on the resurrected, mind-controlled Queen, giving her nearly limitless powers and an evil that cannot be touched even by Kitana. She murders her daughter in the end, only being defeated as Nightwolf uses his own life force to destroy her.
InMortal Kombat X, which many may consider one of thebest fighting gamesin the series, Sindel is still dead, but her corpse is resurrected as a Revenant. Players get to see her being controlled once again, brought back to life by Quan Chi. Although she doesn’t seem to be in control of her actions, much like many previous games, she might be a good guy hiding under all that control magic that Shau Kahn, Quan Chi, and others have lain on her. This character is such a perfect blend of sad and intriguing that made fans interested in what would happen next with her.
Sindel asMortal Kombat 11DLC
Sindel is considered one of theA+ tier charactersfor competitive play forMortal Kombat 11. Her impressively gory Fatalities and sassy attitude against her opponents has won many hearts. However, how does this Sindel’s story match up with the others from previous games?
Sindel’s character is billed as a greedy, manipulative woman who killed her own husband to gain Shao Kahn, someone she considered a stronger man and “better lover.” In it for the power, Sindel’s winning ending scenes really drive home her new and sudden dive into the realm of the evil.Sindel’s bio in the DLCis extreme too:
“The former Queen of Edenia will stop at nothing to keep her place. When threatened with the loss of her throne when Shao Kahn conquered her realm, Sindel betrayed her husband, and her people, to keep her privileged position. Now Shao Khan’s wife and Queen of the Outerworld, she enjoys power and wealth beyond most people’s imagination. Good luck to anyone who tries to take it from her.”
That doesn’t sound much like the Sindel fans have come to know and love. AlthoughSindel’s a DLC characterand has little to do with the main story, players can make a few conjectures after seeing Sindel’s cut scenes. Sindel’s main look is her Revenant look, her skin is broken, and her eyes glow with an eerie light. Her powers appear to be about equal with her pre-Shang Tsung soul power she gained inMortal Kombat 9.
So who is Sindel inMortal Kombat 11? It’s difficult to say, but there are two possibilities. Either Sindel has been retconed into a character that is no longer deeply sad and incredibly interesting. Or she is still a Revenant (although players canunlock Sindel’s human formin the game) reawakened from death, and perhaps being controlled once again, however unlikely that seems. Interactions between Sindel and Kitana, as seen below, could suggest the latter.
In previous games, she’s an interesting enough character that NetherRealms could give her her own movies and comics, but many no longer consider that the case. All anyone can hope for is that Sindel will be able to stand on her own two feet for theMortal Kombatmovie that releases March 2021, if Sindel appear as a character in it at all.
Mortal Kombat 11is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
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