Mortal Kombat: Hanzo of the Shirai Ryu

 Throughout the history of my time with the Mortal Kombat franchise, I have been a staunch supporter of Scorpion. The leader of the Shirai Ryu, Hanzo Hasashi, has a tragic backstory where his entire clan was slaughtered because of the threat they proposed. When I was a child, my draw wasn't the empathy I felt for this murderous spectre. It was the design, the actions, the iconic voice lines. And I think those things don't have to be tied to the mask that is Scorpion. Kuai Liang is now Scorpion in the new Mortal Kombat game and I think that is fine. But I am also worried that Hanzo will be left off the roster for the first time since Mortal Kombat 3. A game that was replaced by the much better Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. So, I want to spend some time going over some of the things that have made me appreciate the character over the years.

The Mortal Kombat brand has become ingrained with these characters that sit at the top. Your Scorpions, Sub-Zeros, Liu Kangs, the faces of the franchise. As for the ninja characters, they mostly use codenames. So it's easy to discount them and only be worried about the mask. Bi-Han has only been Sub-Zero twice before this new game while being heavily featured as Noob Saibot in most of his appearances and Ermac is a collection of souls. They are expendable and the recognizable parts are their abilities and color schemes. It is easy to just replace them for a new face and run a new storyline while shelving the previous one or finding a new outlet for that character. This is not exclusive to MK, but it is relevant in regards to this Hanzo situation. I think he can still fit into the fold, yet I'm not sure how you would go about it. The complexities of  the character all fall into place with a handful of factors and those just happen to be showing up in the new game, so we'll see. 

Getting back on topic. The first title I played was Mortal Kombat 4 on the N64 and every now and again I 'll play it for a bit. This game is my favorite in the franchise. I love the goofiness of the game and the rush-down playstyle. It is not a game for everybody and hasn't aged particularly well, yet I find comfort in the familiarity of it. And that is where I met my main for life. 

The character select screen has fifteen choices and my eyes gravitate to the brown-skinned, yellow ninja with the purple background and skull-like face. One of the things I miss are these portraits that were popular in the 1990s. Even though his expression is blank, it exudes this coolness and intrigue. Being a child, I obviously pick the cool looking character. An easy choice that I have been making ever since. 

The fire breath, the spear, the teleport, and the iconic "Get Over Here" bring the package all together. I even have a core memory of his Scorpion fatality. Seeing it for the first time left me in awe because it was so cool and wild to see this character transform into this giant bug and rip someone in half. Just one of those things that solidified my love for the character. My love for this game even extended to watching all of the FMV endings on one of the MK sites in the 2000s on the family computer. It might have been Mortal Kombat Online (It was this one!) or Mortal Kombat Secrets. This was before the popularity of YouTube as well, so it was what I had to see them online. While I love Scorpion's ending in that game, I think the character is better served by Sub-Zero's ending where he kills Quan-Chi and saves Kuai Liang, even reconciling with him. 

But I didn't really start paying close attention to Hanzo until the reboot of the series in 2009. This new Mortal Kombat timeline almost gave Hanzo a new lease on life, but for story reasons that just didn't happen. His arc mostly stayed the same in this game. It wasn't until MKX that Hanzo would finally get to show that his character is much more than this angry revenant hellbent on ending the Lin Kuei. 

Hanzo would become the Dad that stepped up for Takeda. A boy abandoned by his blind Father, Kenshi, that clearly needed a parental figure. And Hanzo fulfilled that role so well that in MK11, Jacqui and Hanzo have multiple exchanges about Takeda. Showcasing the close bond between Hanzo and Takeda that feels more familial than Takeda's relationship with Kenshi.

That doesn't mean that Hanzo was this perfect beacon in that game though. He ends up killing Quan-Chi in the storymode which sets the heroes back quite a bit as they needed him to get a step on Shinnok. In that moment, I was so excited and felt vindicated alongside Hanzo despite the repercussions. The killing was not going to bring back his clan and family, yet it was one of the only things that would bring him a reprieve. 

To all the people that criticize this part as to why Hanzo is not that great. This was all the character had in this moment. Seize the chance when you have it or you may never get another opportunity. Him seizing that small window makes me cheer for him moreso than if he restrained himself. Hanzo deserved this more than most characters and I'm glad he was finally able to slay the monster that ruined his life. 

This pretty much ended his character arc as his purpose just came down to supporting others at the end of MKX and in MK11 for the most part. While I am disappointed that he died in MK11, there wasn't much for him to do in that storyline. I hope that Hanzo comes back in MK1. He doesn't have to be Scorpion. I just want to see Hanzo of the Shirai Ryu step onto the scene.

The Ninja turned Spectre turned Family Man was a novel idea and great transition for a character that was angry for most of his life, undead or not. It would pain me to see that character go away because he isn't wearing his yellow garb and codename anymore. Hanzo Hasashi has been one of the brightest spots throughout the good and bad history of MK. And he deserves that recognition more than most characters in this series. May Hanzo and the Shirai Ryu live on.