Noob Saibot

Noob Saibot is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He debuted as an unplayable hidden character in Mortal Kombat II, in which he was a black silhouette of the game's other male ninjas, and made his first selectable appearance in the console versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. His name consists of the surnames of Mortal Kombat creators Ed Boon and John Tobias spelled backwards.

He initially had no backstory, aside from being established as a demon of the Netherealm worshipping a fallen Elder God in UMK3, until Mortal Kombat: Deception established him as the original Sub-Zero, who had been killed by his nemesis, Scorpion, during the events of the first Mortal Kombat and then resurrected as a wraith/revenant, but a very special wraith/revenant like Scorpion, and formerly Sindel. Originally, Noob Saibot shared moves and graphics with the various "ninja" characters in the games before being given his own unique moveset and appearance.

The character has featured in other Mortal Kombat media such as the 1998 television series Mortal Kombat: Konquest and some official series merchandise. General and critical reception has been mainly positive, particularly in regards to his Fatality finishing moves.

Appearances

In video games

Noob Saibot allies with evil Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, but he secretly observes the emperor at the behest of the Brothers of the Shadow. Although early versions of Mortal Kombat 4 featured him as a playable character, he was eventually changed back to being hidden.^[1] In Mortal Kombat 4 he serves Shinnok. Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition featured Noob Saibot once again as a playable character, this time around serving as one of Shao Kahn's soldiers.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, Noob Saibot is free to command his own group of assassins, who serve him. He makes the cyborg Smoke his servant, with both characters appearing as early bosses, under the name "Noob Smoke". Here it was revealed that Noob Saibot was the resurrected form of the original Sub-Zero^[2] who appeared in the first Mortal Kombat tournament and was killed by his enemy Scorpion.^[3] This revelation is explored further in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks when Noob Saibot is pursued by his younger brother during one of the cut-scenes.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon featured Noob Saibot as a playable character. In the game's story mode, he and Smoke invade the Lin Kuei ninja clan's castle, assimilating most of the defending Lin Kuei ninja and turning them into their own subordinate warriors. Noob Saibot and Smoke are eventually defeated by the warrior Taven, and Noob Saibot is left in the castle, unconscious. Raiden then tries to force Noob Saibot to recall his past identity.

Noob Saibot's latest appearance is in the 2011 Mortal Kombat video game. After being killed by Scorpion, he is subsequently resurrected by Quan Chi and serves as one of his enforcers.^[4] Supporting Quan Chi and Shao Kahn, Noob Saibot is trapped by the Earth warrior Nightwolf in a magical tornado that explodes alongside him.^[5]

Design

The character's name comes from the last names of the creators of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Ed Boon and John Tobias, spelled in reverse.^[6] During his first appearances, Noob Saibot's design was focused around an all-black exterior, with the staff stating "that's what he's all about". They found difficulties in making some versions, without him appearing to look into bondage.^[7] For Mortal Kombat: Deception, Noob Saibot was the first character drawn and designed by Steve Beran.^[8] Beran attempted to make him a more-distinctive character, focusing less on his all-black exterior. One design was removed due to its similarities with a tuxedo. Another wore a hood, but the idea was later moved to the new character Havik.^[7] An early alternate outfit depicted Noob Saibot in a black, red and blue outfit with a Japanese translation of "darkness" on the front flap. He was also shown unmasked, but this design ended up being used as Havik's alternate outfit.^[9] The use of a two-on-two combat was meant to be introduced in this game as well, but was only used with Noob Saibot and Smoke. Both characters were models for the use of such a concept and were intended to work together in the player's Fatality.^[10]

Gameplay

Noob Saibot was first introduced in 1993's Mortal Kombat II as a hidden nonplayable opponent whom players fought in a secret battle in the "Goro's Lair" stage from the first game after winning fifty consecutive matches. He was a solid black palette swap of Sub-Zero who fought with increased speed and Scorpion's spear.^[11] He returned as a secret character in Mortal Kombat 3 with the same attributes, but was instead a silhouette of Kano, since there were no human ninjas in the game, and in the Sega Game Gear port, he additionally had Kano's special moves and his "Eye Laser" Fatality. Upon being made playable in the console versions of UMK3 and the 1996 compilation title Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Noob Saibot returned as a palette-swap ninja, and one of ten human ninja swaps in the game overall.^[12] Noob Saibot is playable in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks in the "Versus" mode if both players select Sub-Zero; the last player to select him will play as a variation of Noob Saibot. He is colored black but he has Sub-Zero's frozen forearms and retains the latter's moves and Fatalities.

According to Prima Games, Noob Saibot is one of the most overpowered Mortal Kombat characters; they state "he had an unblockable projectile attack, fought side-by-side with Smoke and even had ridiculous zoning in MK9."^[13]

In other media

Noob Saibot (played by Kimball Uddin) made one appearance in the TV series Mortal Kombat: Konquest as an imprisoned Outworld warrior mistakenly released by Siro and Taja and then recruited by a sorceress to assassinate Kung Lao. He was completely covered in black oil and wielded an Escrima stick.

Noob Saibot appeared in the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, as a warrior who emerged from Ermac during the latter's fight against Sonya, and was played by stunt performer J.J. Perry, who additionally portrayed Cyrax and Scorpion in the film. He and Ermac team up to assault Sonya with repeated kicks and punches until Jax comes to her aid and kills Noob Saibot with a fatal punch that he lands offscreen. Noob Saibot was uncredited in the film, but mentioned by name in the script and movie novelization.^[14]

Reception

Noob Saibot was ranked twelfth in UGO Networks' 2012 ranking of the top fifty series characters. "Mortal Kombat is all about the secrets and hidden characters—starting with Reptile and continuing with Smoke ... our favorite is the ludicrously-named Noob Saibot."^[15] Den of Geek placed him eighth in their 2015 ranking of the series' 73 playable characters. "Noob Saibot represents the dark sickness that comes from the cycle of violence. As explained in the reboot, by giving into his thirst for vengeance, Scorpion unleashed something horrible onto the world."^[16] Dustin Thomas of Destructoid rated him as the fifth-best series character for his role in Mortal Kombat: Deception, in particular his ending. "This was such an awesome revelation for MK fans."^[17] Complex listed him as the fifth-most underrated series character in 2012. "MK is known for having some of the best secrets to ever be hidden in a videogame."^[18] In 2011, AlteredGamer ranked Noob Saibot as fifth-best in their selection of the series' ten best characters. "The transformation from an ice-wielding ninja to a dark mysterious entity made Noob deadlier than ever before."^[19] The readers of Dorkly voted him the series' fifth greatest character in a 2013 poll ranking the entire series roster.^[20]

Noob Saibot joined the series' other male ninjas in being ranked third on GamePro's 2009 list of the best palette-swapped video game characters,^[21] but Game Informer, in 2010, was not high on seeing these same characters, aside from Scorpion and Sub-Zero, in any future series installments.^[22] In a 2013 article titled "5 Terrible Fighting Game Characters That Nobody Should Ever Choose," Darragh O'Connor of WhatCulture criticized Mortal Kombat's excessive palette swapping in the two-dimensional games. "This was a trend [that began] in Mortal Kombat II, with characters like Smoke and Noob Saibot, and then got out of hand with various different colorized versions of Scorpion."^[23] The Trilogy version of the character was included in GameSpy's 2009 selection of unbalanced fighting-game characters. "Noob Saibot has the 'Disabler.' It's a fireball ... which stuns you, which is as broken as it's possible for a fighting move to get without becoming allergic to electricity."^[24] 4thletter.net ranked his Deception ending 38th in their 2013 list of the top 200 fighting game endings,^[25] and rated his storyline therein fourth in their selection of "The Top 15 Best Fighting Game Storylines" the previous year.^[26]

Noob Saibot's "Make a Wish" Fatality from the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, in which he and a shadow clone of himself rip their defeated opponent in half from the crotch upward by pulling their legs apart, received much critical attention due to its graphic content. In July 2011, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show played a video of the finisher while he explained the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the ESRB could regulate video games without government intervention.^[27] Kirk Hamilton of Paste commented, "Not only did [Stewart] pick a scene from what is arguably the most ridiculously violent game on the market, he also picked the most gory and painful-looking fatality."^[27] Complex ranked the Fatality as the series' best in 2013.^[28] Kotaku's Michael McWhertor called it a "highlight" of the game,^[29] and though the finisher was not included in the site's 2013 feature "The Most Gruesome Video Game Deaths," it served as its introduction. "It’s so ridiculous it stands out despite Mortal Kombat‘s already high level of gore."^[30] Gameranx rated it as the fifth-top "Holy Shit Gaming Moment" of 2011. "Noob Saibot's Fatality move in particular teaches us the value of sharing."^[31] We Got This Covered, in 2011, included it among the reboot's nine best finishers. "The bones popping and skin tearing is agonizing to listen to and just sounds horrific enough."^[32] Robert Workman of Prima Games ranked it ninth in his 2014 countdown of the Mortal Kombat series' top fifty Fatalities.^[33] CJ Smillie of Game Rant named it the top Fatality of the reboot in 2011. "When I first saw this Fatality, my jaw dropped at just how incredibly brutal and disgusting it was. It was incredibly simple ... yet also very effective in its execution."^[34] FHM included it among the reboot's nine "most brutal" finishers,^[35] while WatchMojo rated it the second-best Fatality in the series.^[36] Cameron Koch of TechTimes ranked it fourth in his 2015 selection of "The 10 Best Finishers in the Franchise's History," calling it "one of the most gruesome fatalities" of MK2011.^[37] His "Teleporting Jawbreaker" Fatality from Mortal Kombat Trilogy, in which he repeatedly performs the move until his opponent explodes, was ranked fourteenth by James Deaux of Earth-2.net in his 2011 rating of the series' twenty "lamest" Fatalities. "The dwindling creativity of the developers and the limitations of the graphics show here."^[38]

References