Smoke



"Where there is Smoke, there is fire!"

- Smoke's Battle Cry from Mortal Kombat (2011)

Tomas Vrbada, also known as Smoke, is a ninja assassin who was turned from a human into a cyborg in the original timeline of the Mortal Kombat series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat II as an unplayable secret character in human form, and first became playable in Mortal Kombat 3 in cyborg form. He appears in the franchise's reboot, now retaining his human form in canon for the first time in almost two decades.

About Smoke
Smoke debuted in Mortal Kombat II as a hidden character to fight against, along with Noob Saibot and Jade. He was often spotted in the Living Forest stage in which he (along with Jade) peeked out of the trees. Like Reptile when he made his first appearance, he was simply a palette-swap of Scorpion with puffs of smoke surrounding him, but would move extremely fast. He would appear randomly before matches, offering clues that would enable the player to fight him, as Reptile had in the original Mortal Kombat.

Smoke would not have his own storyline until he was featured in Mortal Kombat 3, where he was once again a hidden character, but accessible to players with the use of a code. In this appearance, he would be a tortured, human soul trapped in the body of a cyborg. His most defining feature is the fact that he constantly emits smoke. This, combined with his power to teleport and turn invisible, once made him one of the Lin Kuei's top assassins.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), it's revealed that he has long, flowing silver hair that covers his face (although it is shown been blown back in renders and artwork).

Powers and abilities
Of all the three cyborg ninjas, Smoke appears to specialize in stealth and speed. His powers as a human were unknown for the most part, but in both forms, his body emits a constant smoky fume, probably to obscure his movements from the opponent. In MKII, he was depicted as moving at extremely high speeds, much faster than the other two hidden ninjas. From Mortal Kombat: Deception onward, Smoke is seen using smoke-related attacks, such as causing his opponent to cough as well as teleporting. In later appearances, due to Smoke's cybernetic "upgrades", his body appears to effectively be made out of smoke, or at least his nanomachines emulate the appearance of it. Whatever the case, due to further modifications made on his body by Noob Saibot, he has become a demon nonetheless. In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, he is seen to be able to mind control other people by inserting his gaseous mist into them.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), Smoke remains in his human form and his abilities are explored deeper. It is revealed in his ending that he is in fact an enenra, a demonic creature composed entirely of smoke and vapor. As such, he is able to not only actively utilize his namesake as an extensive weapon, but he is also able to morph his entire body into a cloud of vapor, allowing him to move swiftly around his opponent as well as escape from enemies or potential captors. As shown in his Fatalities, his smoke also emits extreme levels of heat.

In the second live-action film, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Smoke is armed with rockets, like Sektor, and has the ability to transform himself into smoke in order to ambush his enemies.

Signature moves

 * Spear: In MKII, Smoke would send out a rope tipped with a Kunai at the end to impale the victim and pull them through the air towards him for a free hit and would cause minor damage, identical to Scorpion. In his cyborg form, Smoke would catapult a trident-like spear from his chest rather than his arm. Smoke uses the spear in his secret fight in MK 2011. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT)


 * Teleport Punch: Smoke teleports behind his opponent, punching them in the head. This is taken from Scorpion. (MKII)


 * Leg Takedown: Smoke trips the opponent with a leg scissor takedown. This is also taken from Scorpion. (MKII)


 * Smokeycut: Smoke goes underground and then teleports under the opponent, performing a vertical uppercut, hitting them on the way up. This attack was borrowed from Sektor. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A)


 * Air Throw: While in the air, Smoke grabs the opponent and throws them back on the ground. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK 2011)


 * Invisibility: Smoke disappears while a puff of smoke helps him become invisible. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Vanish and it turns him completely invisible.


 * Smoke Away/Smoke Towards: Smoke turns into a cloud of smoke and dashes forwards or backwards. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced versions are Phase Away and Phase Towards and dash at a longer distance with increased invincibility.


 * Teleport: Smoke disappears, then reappears punching the opponent in the back and in front of them. This is done similarly to Kobra's Tele-Punch. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Smokeport. In addition to the two hits, Smoke will jump down from above and attack the opponent.


 * Smoke Cloud: Smoke throws a smoke projectile at his opponent. If it connects, they are teleported up into the air and closer to Smoke, where they are vulnerable to attack, similar to Noob Saibot's Black Hole. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Smoke Bomb. The smoke column goes higher, can trap mid-air opponents and hit (but not teleport) opponents when they are laying down.


 * Shake: Smoke stands in place and surrounds himself with smoke, if a projectile touches him, Smoke will counter attack. This can be charged. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Vibration. Not only can it counter projectile but it can now counter most melee attacks with the exception of low melee attacks and X-Rays. It can also be charged.


 * X-Ray Move - Burn Out: Smoke teleport-punches his opponent, then runs behind them and delivers a German Suplex which slams the opponent's head onto the ground, breaking their skull and neck. Then, while they are trying to get up, Smoke kicks them in the face, breaking their skull even more. This can be delayed and dash cancelled. (MK 2011)

Other moves

 * Suplex Throw: Smoke, in human form, grabs his foe, proceeds to roll backwards, brings up a leg as in a monkey flip and launches the foe halfway across the arena. He then does a kip-up. Almost all male ninjas share the Suplex Throw pre-MK4. (MK, MKII, UMK3, MKT)


 * Body Slam: Smoke, in cyborg form, grabs his opponent and slams him/her to the ground as seen in his Air Throw. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)

Fatalities

 * Toasty!: A Fatality taken from Scorpion. Smoke takes off his mask, revealing a flaming skull instead of a face. He then breathes fire on the opponent, making them flail their arms in agony while burning before exploding. Like Reptile in the first game, this is a result of Smoke's moveset being patterned after Scorpion's, and therefore has no bearing on canon. (MKII)
 * Spear Slice: Another Fatality from Scorpion. Smoke takes out his kunai, slashes the opponent's throat and then slices them through their hips, making their torso fall off. (MKII)
 * Deadly Uppercut: A Fatality taken from Johnny Cage and shared with Ermac. Human Smoke delivers a bloody and savage uppercut that tears his opponent's head off. (UMK3)
 * Teleport Punch: A Fatality modified from Scorpion's Teleport Punch, Human Smoke teleports himself to opponent's behind and smashes his/her head. (MKT)
 * Smoke Death: Smoke disappears into thin air, after which, Smoke hits the opponent, causing him/her start to stretch before exploding. In Deception, Smoke hits his enemy in the face, then tears off his/her arms and head before becoming visible once more. (MKT, MK:D)
 * Smoke Bomb: Smoke shoves an explosive bomb in his opponent's mouth in which detonates and explodes, ripping his opponent's body apart in the process. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Armageddon: A series of time bombs spews out of his stomach, which results in Earth's destruction at their (implied) explosion. A "glitch" would occur when used in an Outworld arena, as the Earth would blow up, even though this is in another realm. This Fatality would become Cyrax's Mortal Kombat Gold Fatality, in which the exact same happens. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Killer Harpoon: In the Game Boy version, a giant spear shoots out from Smoke's chest armor, impales his opponent, and proceeds to shake them around. (MK3)
 * Smoked Out: Smoke jams his fingers into the opponent's skull and injects smoke into them. As he lets go, the extreme heat starts to sear the opponent's body from the inside. The excess heat begins to percolate from the opponent's body, they gush blood, and their flesh melts off. (MK 2011)
 * Tremor: Smoke does his Smoke Towards move, and goes through the opponent. When he reappears, the opponent begins to internally combust, then falls to pieces from the endothermic heat, starting with the top of the skull separating from the mandible, and the rest of the body from key joints. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: A huge horn comes out of the chest and sounds off like a loud siren. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Human Form: He drops a "No Smoking" sign and stops smoking. (MKT)
 * Animality: Bull Chase: After turning into a bull, he charges and rams his opponent off screen. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Hara Kiri: Self Destruction: In a move similar to Cyrax's Fatality in MK3, Smoke presses the self-destruct mechanism on his arm console and explodes. (MK:D)
 * Babality: He turns sideways and farts, then falls on his bottom crying.

Movie appearance
In the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Smoke appears in his cyborg form to find Liu Kang and to capture Princess Kitana, in order to keep her apart from Sindel. However, Smoke is stopped by Sub-Zero, who reveals that Smoke was originally after him before being reprogrammed by Shao Kahn. Sub-Zero does not state anything else of their past connections if they existed in the movie storyline.

Curiously, Smoke was basically a silver-colored (rather than violet blue-colored as in his MK3 appearance) version of Sektor in the film, as he was able to shoot missiles from his chest. Smoke's arsenal in the games included a three-pronged harpoon that shot from his chest, but no missiles. He did, however, exhibit one ability unique to his movie incarnation - being able to disintegrate into a moving cloud of smoke and re-form at will - which he used in a successful sneak attack on Liu Kang and Kitana. This was given to his human counterpart in MK 2011.

Smoke makes a human form cameo in the 2012 Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, as a part of a weekly group therapy session with other video game villains like Kano, Dr. Eggman, Bowser, M. Bison, and the titular character Wreck-It Ralph, though he is never mentioned by name.

TV appearance

 * In the animated series, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Smoke appeared in one episode (titled "Old Friends Never Die"), serving Shao Kahn and seeking Sub-Zero. He is briefly seen in human form in a flashback scene before becoming automated. In the end, Smoke's human soul was able to overpower his programming and he stood to the vow of friendship between him and Sub-Zero. Many fans consider it to be the best episode in the short-lived series.


 * Smoke makes a brief appearance in his human form during the ending of one Mortal Kombat: Conquest episode, following Sub-Zero's betrayal of the Lin Kuei. Smoke is called upon by the clan as the next warrior to be sent to hunt and kill the traitor, at which point he emerges from a mist as a faint, grey figure with glowing red eyes. However, his appearance was not further elaborated on in later episodes as the series was canceled soon after. His appearance was elaborated in the fiction "Mortal Kombat Conquest Aftermaths Part 1", where he faces Sub-Zero in a battle.

Stage Relationships

 * Goro's Lair: The Earthrealm dungeon of Goro. Smoke will challenge anyone who enters through an Outworld portal. (MKII, MKT, MKA)
 * Lin Kuei Palace: Smoke and Noob Saibot invade the new Lin Kuei only to be driven off by Taven and Sub-Zero. (MKA)
 * Living Forest: Smoke would hide behind the trees, keeping an eye on his comrade Sub-Zero. He would also make this his area for Smoke Missions in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKD, MK 2011)

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

 * "You will not escape!"

Mortal Kombat (2011)

 * "Where there is Smoke, there is fire!" (Battle cry)
 * "We should stay together, Tundra. Assuming your brother's identity will certainly draw attention, not all of it welcome." (to Sub-Zero)
 * "Let us proceed then, Sub-Zero." (to Sub-Zero)
 * "If only they had been more forthcoming with the details of your brother's demise. We will find Shang Tsung, he will tell us all he knows." (to Sub-Zero)
 * "And deadly as the dawn." (to Sub-Zero)
 * "Wise though your emperor might be, he was foolish to send his housemaid to interfere with Lin Kuei business." (to Kitana)
 * "Sleep well, princess." (after beating Kitana)
 * "Shang Tsung!"
 * "Stay down. I will have words with your associate." (after defeating Kano)
 * "Tell me what you know of Sub-Zero's death!" (to Shang Tsung)
 * "Assuming his form will not give you his skill, shapeshifter!" (after Shang Tsung assumes the Elder Sub-Zero's form)
 * "Now answer me! What do you know of Sub-Zero?!" (after defeating Shang Tsung and Reptile)
 * "Sektor?!" (after he sees Sektor as a cyborg)
 * "You actually did it... You're a cyborg!" (to the newly-robotized Sektor)
 * "I will never submit!"﻿ (after defeating Sektor)
 * "Thank you, Lord Raiden. I am called Smoke. Why are you here in Outworld?" (to Raiden)
 * "Forgive me, but if Sektor was searching for me, he is hunting Sub-Zero as well." (to Raiden)
 * "The Grand Master intends to turn every Lin Kuei into a cyborg. My friend is in danger."
 * "Then let us go. Sub-Zero's soul depends on it."
 * "Sub-Zero?! NO!" (noticing that Sub-Zero has been captured)
 * "But we will if we must!" (to Kitana, after Johnny Cage attempted to de-escalate the confrontation)
 * "Kitana turns away from Shao Kahn so you attack her rather than join her?!" (to Jade)
 * "You will come no closer!" (to Jade)
 * "He is my friend... What they did to him, it is... hideous!" (about Cyber Sub-Zero)

Movies

 * Assassin of Shao Kahn in the second movie.
 * Reprogrammed and sent by Shao Kahn to kill Liu Kang and capture Kitana.
 * Frozen by Sub-Zero and killed by Liu Kang.

Trivia
In General
 * Smoke was the first character in the series to become unlockable to the player in contrast to the other hidden kombatants who could only be fought against.
 * In MK3, if the player fought Smoke via the "Winner fights Smoke" Kombat Kode when he hasn't been unlocked yet, they'll fight him at the Hidden Portal stage. If the player did unlock him, Smoke will be fought on a random stage, which renders the Hidden Portal unusable. This was corrected in the N64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
 * As a cyborg, Smoke's color scheme in Mortal Kombat 3 involves a violet shade of blue (preferably periwinkle and/or indigo) rather than gray. Fans had speculated that Smoke is a robotic Sub-Zero (as Cyrax had been looked at as a robotic Scorpion) because of their similar color schemes.
 * John Vogel confirmed it is possible the cyborg body used by Smoke during the original timeline is the same one that Cyber Sub-Zero uses in MK 2011.
 * However, Raiden's vision of Cyber Smoke shows him with a body closer to Sektor's. It is possibly a mistake (like Raiden's vision where Taven appears without his armor fighting Raiden, in that moment, he had it).
 * In Mortal Kombat II, Smoke is excessively fast compared to the other characters. This opened him up for sudden attacks if the player was fast enough to stop him.
 * Of the three cyborgs, he was the first that managed to regain his soul after automation.
 * Of the three cyborgs, Smoke is also the only one that does not leave shockwaves after being killed on the place where he's being finished. Also, when their life has been reduced down to zero, Cyrax and Sektor shortcircuit; this does not happen to Smoke.
 * Unlike Sektor and Cyrax, who volunteered to become automated, Smoke was forced to be a cyborg.
 * Smoke's destiny appears permanently tied to the two Sub-Zero brothers. He accompanies the younger to the Outworld in MKII, hunts for him in MK3, and is restored to life but bound to servitude by the elder Sub-Zero (Noob Saibot) in Mortal Kombat: Deception.
 * In Ultimate MK3, Smoke can change into his MKII form at anytime before a round of a match. This could be done by holding the joystick away as well as high punch, high kick, run and block (though in the Sega Genesis version holding away isn't necessary).
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception, his alternate costume shows his body as being fully composed of smoke (in effect, living up to his name). It sparked debate as to whether this outfit was actually Smoke in his human form, or a cybernetic demon form. Information provided on production art from Deception seems to suggest that it is human; both of Noob-Smoke's appearances are depicted, with the comment that both Ninja Smoke and Robot Smoke have a lot of fans. From a storyline perspective however, it is more likely that this is Smoke's form as a cyber-demon; as Noob-Smoke's alternate bio described Smoke's body being 'reshaped' by his nano-technology.
 * Strangely, Noob-Smoke's primary costume in Deception was actually their alternate costume, which had been a mistake. This was fixed in Armageddon.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Smoke (still in his human form, the game having been intended to take place during the first two tournaments) challenges the player to complete 5 missions. Doing so will unlock Mortal Kombat II. (Ironically, much to the great ire of fans, this version of the game was the same as the one present in Midway Arcade Treasures 2, where due to a control mapping issue it was impossible to fight Smoke, as hitting Start would only pause the game.)
 * His appearance in Malibu Comics' non-canon Mortal Kombat series was something a source of amusement for fans, as he would randomly shout "Toasty!" while speaking, a reference to Mortal Kombat II's means to fight him.
 * Smoke has made two appearances in the cartoon, Robot Chicken, both in human form: once, as a sparring partner to Joey Fatone, and another fighting Sub-Zero. Erroneously, Smoke was shown using fire as his main technique. His Fatality against Sub-Zero was to tear his heart out (which had most likely been a reference to Kano's Fatality in the original Mortal Kombat), kick his body away, set the organ on the ground, pull out a hockey stick, and smack the heart off screen, parodying Mortal Kombat's needlessly long and gory Fatalities, specifically the ones that relate nothing to the character performing them.
 * In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Smoke was placed at #5 of the Mortal Kombat Characters in the Mortal Kombat Series.

Mortal Kombat II
 * Appears as a secret unplayable character. To fight him, the player must fight in the portal stage and perform a uppercut on their opponent until Dan Forden pops up at the bottom right corner and says "Toasty". By pressing Down + Start, the player would receive a message, and then be transported to Goro's Lair to fight with Smoke. In the Sega Genesis version of the game, they would be transported to a variation of the Portal stage, colored blue.
 * Has the same special moves as Scorpion.
 * Has the same fighting stance as Reptile.
 * He occasionally peeks out from behind the trees in the Living Forest stage along with Jade.

Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3/Mortal Kombat Trilogy
 * Unlockable secret playable character in MK3.
 * In the beta version of the game, the unlock message is shown on a black screen instead having the arenas flash by.
 * While doing his Armageddon Fatality in any Outworld Arena, the screen still shows Planet Earth exploding.

Mortal Kombat: Deception
 * A sub-boss in the game.
 * The first game that Smoke has his own Special moves.
 * His render from the Bio Kard is different from his final costume in the game.
 * Some elements from this early render were used in Chameleon's MKA character design.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
 * When Sektor is knocked out, he gets back up the same way as Smoke. Although Smoke does not do that in this game but only does that in Deception.
 * He uses the Judo fighting style, the same fighting that Jax had in Deadly Alliance and Kenshi had in Deception.
 * Whenever it is time for Smoke to finish his opponent, if his Stinky Fingers special move is used, the opponent will not fall down.
 * Smoke, along with Onaga, Moloch, Motaro, Mokap, and Blaze, is the only character without a weapon style.
 * In the opening of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Smoke is seen fighting Nitara.

Mortal Kombat (2011)
 * This game marks Smoke's first appearance in his human form for nearly two decades.
 * When Cyber Sub-Zero looks at Smoke, his reading says that Smoke's special ability is teleportation.
 * When Smoke does his Smoked Out Fatality, he hits the brain instead of the eyes.
 * On the PlayStation 3 version of the game, whenever Smoke performs his Smoked Out Fatality on Kratos, his Blades of Exile fade away with him.
 * Also, when Smoke performs his Tremor Fatality on Kratos, his mouth will stay closed, but smoke will still come out of his mouth.
 * When Smoke enters the fight in his alternate costume, the cloth on his belt will disappear. This is a glitch, as when he uses the Smoke Toward or Smoke Away moves, the cloth will reappear.
 * Along with Noob Saibot, Smoke received a Klassic Costume in July through DLC. This costume is modeled after his MKII appearance, differing slightly from Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Reptile's MK-based klassic costumes.
 * When using Klassic Noob Saibot's alternate colors, Noob will summon Klassic Smoke as opposed to his usual shadow clone. This appears to be a glitch however, as subsequent matches will again have Noob with his shadow clone instead. The only way to cause Smoke to appear again is to quit and re-select Noob from the character select screen. Even with the glitch active however, Smoke will not replace Noob's shadow clone for his Make-a-Wish Fatality or victory sequences.
 * It is revealed in his Bio Kard that his real name is Tomas Vrbada, and he is from Prague. Though Smoke is Czech, he speaks English in his voiceover without any accent.
 * His fighting stance and some of his moves resemble the snake style used by Shang Tsung in MK:DA and MK:A.
 * Smoke, along with Sub-Zero, are the only characters whose X-Ray Move can be delayed.