Bi-Han





You will join me or you will die!

-- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Noob Saibot to Taven in Konquest Mode

Noob Saibot is a character from the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. He is one of the few original characters, debuting in the original Mortal Kombat arcade game as Sub-Zero, older brother of the current, younger Sub-Zero. He first appeared as Noob Saibot as a secret character in Mortal Kombat II, first becoming playable in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. He holds the unique distinction of appearing, in one form or another, as a fighter in all of the first seven main fighting games.

Biography
As Sub-Zero, his name, clothes, and powers would suggest, his character was icy and distant. In all aspects, he was a cold-blooded and violent assassin absolutely dedicated to his clan, the Lin Kuei. While essentially neutral, his soul was darkly corrupted from years of violence and remorseless killing.

It is unclear how the family line of Sub-Zero came to be part of the Lin Kuei clan, though it is believed they have served the clan for several generations. Previous to that, it is speculated that they were descended from Outworld cryomancers. It is known that the father of both brothers (the fourth man to be known as Sub-Zero in his lineage) was a secret operative for the clan in the United States. He married an American woman and together they had two sons and a daughter. Against the will of their mother, the father took the sons with him to move back to Japan at a certain time, and as such both brothers became warriors of the Lin Kuei. The mother and the daughter remained in America. Reincarnated in the darkest of all realms, the Netherealm, Noob Saibot is the very incarnation of evil. Before becoming a wraith, he was once Sub-Zero, a ninja among the most powerful of the Lin Kuei.

When he died in the first Mortal Kombat tournament at the hands of Scorpion, his soul, corrupted by years of violence, descended to the Netherrealm's Fifth Plane. The evil within his soul was unleashed, stripping him of pride, compassion, and everything else "human." He wishes not only to remain in the Netherealm, but to conquer and rule it. Though he has been seen in the service of conquerers such as Shinnok and Shao Kahn, his ultimate allegience is to himself.

Saibot's real birth name, before his death, is unknown.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
In life, Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei were hired by the Netherrealm sorcerer Quan Chi to retrieve an ancient map in a Shaolin temple. However, unknown to Sub-Zero, Quan Chi also hired the Japanese ninja, Hanzo Hasashi - codename Scorpion - of the Shirai Ryu clan, and the Lin Kuei's ancient rivals, for the same task in case Sub-Zero failed.

Sub-Zero fought past the warriors and obstacles guarding the temple where the scroll was held. Upon arriving at the chamber where the map was contained, Sub-Zero encountered Scorpion. A violent battle for the map ensued with Sub-Zero as the victor and coldly, savagely killing Scorpion. Sub-Zero escaped with the map.

Sub-Zero returned to the Lin Kuei mountain fortress with the scroll. As compensation, Quan Chi made good on his promise to the Lin Kuei Grandmaster, as well as the absolute and utter destruction of the Shirai Ryu. Quan Chi also revealed his hiring of Scorpion - something that didn't settle well with Sub-Zero.

The map Sub-Zero had retrieved showed the way to the legendary Temple of Elementals. Concealed inside was an amulet that was said to contain great mystic powers. Quan Chi, having crossed the gods of Earthrealm in the past, was sealed from entering the temple. Thus, Sub-Zero was dispatched to retrieve the amulet. From the moment he arrived, Sub-Zero faced incredible danger from lethal traps and elite guards. The temple was also protected by four elemental guardians including Fujin, a god who would play a future role in the events to come. Sub-Zero, however, in addition to possessing mastery over cold, was among the most cunning and powerful warriors in Earthrealm. Neither the temple's obstacles, nor the guardians were able to stop him. With the defeat of the last temple guardian, in the chamber containing the amulet, the mystic seal thwarting Quan Chi from entering was lifted. As Sub-Zero was about to retrieve the amulet, Quan Chi mystically materialized and took hold of it. He revealed the true nature of the amulet: it had belonged to Shinnok, a fallen Elder God who was banished to the Netherealm millenia ago for attempting to conquer all of creation. The amulet would fully restore Shinnok's power and he would be poised to again unleash havoc upon the realms.

Quan Chi vanished, and Sub-Zero stood in the chamber alone. Moments later, Raiden, the god of thunder and protector of Earthrealm, appeared. Displeased with Sub-Zero and his clan's greed and ignorance, Raiden commanded Sub-Zero to recover the amulet, as the god had no dominion there. Conjuring a portal, Raiden sent Sub-Zero to the Netherrealm.

Sub-Zero arrived and was immediately trapped in the Prison of Souls by Quan Chi's guards. There, he was met by the undead spectre of his archnemsis, Scorpion, who blamed Sub-Zero for the destruction of his clan and family. Although Scorpion couldn't die, he was beaten by Sub-Zero and forced to retreat. Sub-Zero escaped and fought Quan Chi's underlings: Kia, Sareena, and Jataaka. He killed Kia and Jataaka, but strangely spared Sareena. Retrieving their transportation crystals, he was able to get to Quan Chi's fortress and confronted the deceiving sorcerer.

Quan Chi then revealed to Sub-Zero that the only reason he was able to retain his mortality in the Netherrealm was because of the evil in his heart from being the ruthless assassin he had been known as. Suddenly, Sareena appeared and helped Sub-Zero defeat the sorcerer. She then begged Sub-Zero to take her away from the Netherealm, but she was quickly killed by Shinnok, who was now powered by his amulet (unknown to the god, Quan Chi had actually given him a fake, keeping the real amulet for himself). Using his cunning, Sub-Zero grabbed the amulet from Shinnok, who then morphed into a giant demon. Rather than facing certain death, Sub-Zero escaped through a portal created by Raiden, and delivered the amulet to the god.

When Sub-Zero questioned what Quan Chi said to him, Raiden confirmed it, but reminded the young warrior that only he could change his own fate. It was up to Sub-Zero to choose his destiny, but were he to die with his soul thus corrupted, he would descend to the 5th plane of the Netherrealm to face a terrible fate unknown even to Raiden.

Mortal Kombat
Upon returning to the Lin Kuei headquarters, he learned that he had been invited to the Mortal Kombat tournament by Shang Tsung himself. The Lin Kuei had previously been approached with a contract for the sorcerer's head. Sub-Zero would accepted the invitation, with his ultimate designs being set on assassinating Tsung.

To this day, the particulars of Sub-Zero's fate during the tournament remain largely unknown. By Raiden's account, Scorpion had also participated in the tournament and swore to Sub-Zero that he would get his revenege. Sometime after the defeats of Goro and Shang Tsung by the White Lotus monk Liu Kang, and the island's subsequent eruption into chaos, Scorpion confronted Sub-Zero at the island's gates and challenged him to a fight to the death. Fueled by vengeance and the demon energies of the Netherrealm, Scorpion killed Sub-Zero.

Mortal Kombat II
True to what Raiden had predicted, Sub-Zero's soul descended deep into the Netherrealm's 5th plane, where he would become a demonic form what he used to be. He would be given the name of Noob Saibot.

Saibot would become a member of the Brotherhood of the Shadow, the very thing he had resisted becoming whilst alive. In an darkly ironic twist, Saibot would now pledge allegiance and loyalty to Shinnok. One of his first tasks for his new lord would be to observe and report on the events taking place on Earthrealm and Outworld; to this end, he remained in the shadows during the Outworld tournament, faithfully monitoring the situation for the fallen Elder God.

Mortal Kombat 3/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3/Mortal Kombat Trilogy
At Shinnok's behest, Saibot aligned himself with Outworld's emperor Shao Kahn during Kahn's invasion of Earth. It is unknown his role in the battle.

Mortal Kombat 4/Mortal Kombat Gold
After Kahn was defeated, Shinnok, sensing his time had come, was freed from the Netherrealm by Quan Chi, and conquered Edenia. Saibot now served his overlord directly. But despite the Elder God's careful planning, Shinnok was once again defeated by Raiden's forces and the Brotherhood of the Shadow was disbanded. With Shinnok defeated utterly (Saibot later refers to him as simply "gone") Saibot returned to the service of the still-weakened Shao Kahn.

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
A few years later, he appeared during a battle between the armies of Edenia and the Shokan (led by Kitana and Goro) with the Outworld army (lead by Kano). He attacked an exhausted Goro, mortally wounding him. The war ground to a stalemate.

Mortal Kombat: Deception
With Kahn having been thought slain at the hands of the Deadly Alliance, and Shinnok vanquished, Saibot slowly changed from a pawn into a player. Free to pursue his own interests, and uninterested in the affairs concerning the rise of Onaga, he plotted to create his own legion of assassins. While searching Kahn's abandoned fortress, he discovered the inert body of Smoke. Reprogramming the cyborg to remain loyal to him, he reactivated his nanotechnology, and formed plans to create an army of cyber-demons, using Smoke as a template.

He was then seen leaving Shao Khan's fortress with Smoke by his brother, the then Sub-Zero, and Sareena. Saibot and Smoke disappeared into the Netherealm. Sub-Zero ventured after the two. However, Saibot and Smoke knew they were being followed and attacked Sub-Zero in the Netherealm. It appeared the Grandmaster was overpowered and doomed until Sareena jumped in, fending off Sub-Zero’s would-be assassins but not before Sub-Zero was left unconscious, but upon waking, Sareena had reverted back to her demonic form. Dazed and still very confused, Sub-Zero attacked and Sareena fled to the depths of the Netherealm.

It was then that Sub-Zero revealed Saibot to be his older brother.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Saibot was no longer teamed with Smoke intrinsically, though they did work together in leading an invasion of the Lin Kuei temple in order to retake the clan and find and kill his brother, a plot which the Edenian warrior Taven helped foil. Sub-Zero then began to work on cleansing his brother's soul.

In his ending, after defeating Blaze, Saibot is teleported to a dark chamber, where he is confronted by the visage of who he used to be, the original Sub-Zero, come to reclaim his part of their soul. They fought to an absolute standstill. In the end, Noob Saibot was no longer his shadowy self, nor was he Sub-Zero, but had become something different entirely...

Powers and abilities
Before his transformation, Noob Saibot - as Sub-Zero - possessed incredible control over the element of ice, even more so than his own younger brother. He could easily deep freeze opponents to the point of them becoming brittle enough to shatter into pieces. By a single touch he was even able to flash freeze opponents and had the ability to freeze the entire air itself by concentrating all of his ice power into one destructive blast.

Noob Saibot's powers were not revealed until Mortal Kombat Trilogy, having borrowed minute versions of movesets from other ninjas. In Mortal Kombat Trilogy, his powers seem to be revolving around both shadow and phantom. With the phantom powers, Noob Saibot was able to temporarily remove a kombatant's powers using a ghastly force, in the form of projectile attacks as well as being able to lift them in the air. His prominent powers are of the shadowy element, possessing the ability to teleport as well as render himself invisible by blending in with the shadows. His weapons of choice were shurikens. He was initially to have these weapons in Mortal Kombat 4, but was replaced with Reiko. However, he begins using such weapons in Mortal Kombat: Deception.

In Mortal Kombat Conquest, Noob Saibot is shown being able to transform himself into an oily substance to cross vast distances and to teleport. As the show takes place centuries before the first game, no reference of him being Sub-Zero is mentioned.

Memorable moves
(As Sub-Zero)
 * Freeze: He could send a ball of ice and freeze the opponent in place. (MK, UMK3, MKT, MKM:SZ)
 * Lin Kuei Slide: He could slide across the floor and knock the opponent off their feet. (MK, UMK3, MKT, MKM:SZ)
 * Ground Ice: Freezing the floor so anyone touching it would slip on the ice. (UMK3, MKT, MKM:SZ)
 * Ice Shower: He could perform his freeze while in the air. (MKM:SZ)
 * Angle Freeze: He could freeze at an upwards angle. (MKM:SZ)
 * Running Freeze: While running towards his opponent he could freeze them when he touches them. (MKM:SZ)
 * Polar Ice Blast: Concentrating all of his inner powers he could send a blast of cold air freezing anything it would touch. (MKM:SZ)
 * Ice Clone: He could create an ice clone of himself that would freeze anyone who would touch it. Not available in the PlayStation and PC versions of Trilogy. (MKM:SZ, MKT)
 * Super Lin Kuei Slide: Just like the Lin Kuei Slide only it could reach further distances. (MKM:SZ)
 * Deep Freeze: He could freeze an opponent multiple times, making them stay frozen longer. (MKM:SZ)
 * Ice Shatter: Sub-Zero could shatter his opponent after multiple Ice blasts. (MKM:SZ)

(As Noob Saibot)
 * Disabler: Sending out a ghostly fireball it will disable the opponent for free hits. (UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG)
 * Teleport Slam: Disappearing, then reappearing behind his opponent, he would grab and slam them on the ground. The move is called Teleport Grab in Armageddon. (UMK3, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:A)
 * Shadow Throw: Noob could send out a shadow that would grab and throw his opponent into the air. (UMK3, MKT)
 * Teleport Attacks: Similar to the Teleport Slam only he could attack the opponent besides slam them. (MK4, MKG)
 * Air Fireball: From the air he could shoot a fireball down at opponent. (MK4, MKG)
 * Dark Assassin: Summoned by Smoke, he would toss shurikens into the opponent. In Armageddon, Noob performs this move without a partner. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * We Live: Along with Smoke, the two would charge punch the opponent. (MK:D)
 * Teleport Kick: Smoke would summon Noob Saibot from the air, who would then appear and kick the opponent in the face, taking over the battle. (MK:D)
 * Switch Up: Smoke would summon Noob Saibot who would appear and punch the opponent from behind, taking over the battle. (MK:D)
 * Darkness: Noob Saibot could vanish and reappear at will. (MK:D, MK:A)
 * Black Hole: Noob Saibot shoots a dark portal into the air which lands on the ground behind the enemy. Should the enemy fall or be knocked into the portal, he/she will fall from the sky directly above and receive damage from the drop. (MK:A)

Fatalities
(As Sub-Zero)
 * Spine Rip: The first fatality that he had in the series involved ripping out opponent's head and spinal cord from their shoulders. It was one of the most infamous fatalities (with Kano's Heart Rip Fatality), which later spun a web of controversy around the violence factor in the game. This fatality was later given to Scorpion in Deception. In Trilogy, the screen blacks out before Sub-Zero separates the spine, parodying the controversy that first surrounded the fatality. (MK, MKT)DIE!.jpg
 * Icicle Impale: Sub-Zero uppercuts the opponent and freezes the ground, forming a giant ice stalagmite. The opponent then falls down, impaled on the icicle. (MKT)

(As Noob Saibot)
 * Teleport Slam: Noob repeats his special move of teleporting and slamming the opponent into the ground. However, in the fatality, he holds on and slams the opponent repeatedly until he or she explodes. Rarely, on the N64 version, it was possible for the computer to perform this fatality without winning (resulting in a game freeze). (MKT)
 * Shadow Spin: Noob lifts his arm to summon a spinning cloud identical to the one that surrounds an opponent affected by his attack-disabling projectile. It drops onto the opponent, lifts him or her into the air, then spins until the victim's bones fly out of the spinning tornado. (MKT)
 * Torso Kick: A secret fatality for a secret character, this fatality only occurs when one-button fatalities are turned on. It is copied wholesale from Reiko, Noob Saibot's would-be replacement in MK4 and MKG. (MKG)
 * Ice Shatter: Another secret fatality, this one is copied from Sub-Zero. This one is quite the foreshadowing, considering Noob Saibot's at-the-time unrevealed origins. (MKG)
 * Shuriken Barrage: Another secret Fatality, again copied from Reiko, where he tosses many shuriken at the opponent rapidly. Only available in the PC version of the game. In Deception, Noob takes out a deck of shurikens, he throws around eight of it to the opponent, then thorws all of it to the opponent, which makes them fall on the ground.(MK4, MK:D, MK:U)
 * Ice Bash: A fatality from censored versions of Mortal Kombat. Sub-Zero would freeze his opponent then smash them to pieces. (MK)

Other finishers

 * Friendship #1: Noob Saibot goes bowling, and ends up getting a split. Shao Kahn then says "That was pathetic." (MKT)
 * Friendship #2: As Sub-Zero, he starts winding up a box and a snowman's head bursts out of it scaring off his opponent. (MKT)
 * Animality: Noob turns into an anteater and swallows the opponent whole. (MKT)
 * Hara-Kiri: Having taken to using shurikens in this game, Noob Saibot simply throws them upwards and lets them fall back down on his head. (MK:D)

Movie and TV appearance
Saibot's former identity of Sub-Zero (played by François Petit) appears in the first Mortal Kombat movie as one of Shang Tsung's guardians, and is killed by Liu Kang in their matchup; Kang hurled water at Sub-Zero the instant before the ninja used his freezing power, creating a stalactite on which he was impaled. His relationship to Scorpion is all but ignored; Shang Tsung only remarks that they are the "Deadliest of enemies, but slaves under my power."

Noob Saibot (played by J. J. Perry) appears in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, emerging from Ermac's chest to attack Jax and Sonya Blade. He is shortly thereafter slain by Jax. No reference to him originally being Sub-Zero is mentioned.

Noob Saibot, played by Master Sultan Uddin, also appeared in Mortal Kombat: Conquest. In the eponymous episode, Saibot was an imprisoned Outworld warrior mistakenly released by Siro and Taja; Saibot was then recruited by a sorceress to assassinate Kung Lao, a task at which he failed. In this incarnation, Saibot was completely covered in oil, and he wielded an Escrima stick that he could use as a striking weapon. Fire seemed to make him explode.

Trivia

 * Sub-Zero's original name was going to be "Tundra".
 * Noob Saibot is actually 'Boon' and 'Tobias' backwards, named so after the co-creators of Mortal Kombat, Ed Boon and John Tobias.
 * In every game in the series from Mortal Kombat: Deception onwards, his name is simply written in the lifebar as "Noob". It is a commonly held misconception by fans that since John Tobias left Midway Games, the "Saibot" portion of the name had to be removed for legal reasons. This is false, because Tobias does not own the rights to the name of 'Saibot', in fact the character is still called Noob Saibot during cutscenes and endings. It may be simple the result of the development team splitting up the name Noob-Smoke, but since the character has long been known with his full name, the change seem to come from an arbitrary decision to remove every reference to Tobias, like they have done in every commentary about Mortal Kombat origins in Deadly Alliance and Deception.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception it is revealed for the first time that Noob Saibot is actually the original Sub-Zero, and states that he has not seen his brother since becoming a wraith. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks contradicts this, by being set in the Mortal Kombat II timeline and having Sub-Zero aware of Noob's identity. It also claims Noob is "possessed by one of the Elder Gods" which does not sit well with his Deception story. However, the majority of events in Monks are regarded by most fans as non-canon due to their contradictory nature.
 * In Noob's appearance in Mortal Kombat II, his special abilities are simply copied from Scorpion.
 * In Mortal Kombat 3, Noob Saibot is not a fully black 'ninja' palette swap, but is actually a completely black version of Kano, because there are no 'ninjas' in that game. He also has absolutely no special moves but uses some of Kano's combos. It's funny to note, when Noob wins a round, the announcer says, "Kano shows mercy!" This is an obvious programming glitch.
 * Noob Saibot was supposed to be a playable character in Mortal Kombat 4 also, but was removed in favor of Reiko. He instead became a secret character.
 * An early Mortal Kombat: Deception costume design for him became Havik, a different character altogether.
 * Noob Saibot made an appearance in the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest where he emerged from the depths of an oily hell to fight Siro. At the time of the show's airing, the revelation that Saibot was Sub-Zero had not yet been established, Deception being released years later. His appearance here is henceforth amusing, since both versions of one character are active simultaneously in a non-canon telling of the MK saga.
 * Both versions are as well simultaneously active in Malibu Comics' short-lived non-canon Mortal Kombat series.
 * These comics ignored Sub-Zero's inherent evil altogether, as they were released before its first mention in Mortal Kombat Mythologies. Sub-Zero is, however, depicted as being the victor of Shao Kahn's tournament, defeating Goro and claiming the Dragon Medallion, even as he is killed by Scorpion.
 * In Malibu's "Baraka" issue (1995), Noob Saibot appears as a good guy, and offers Baraka his assistance in hunting Scorpion down and saving an infant tarkata (who is considered to be "Outworld's only hope").
 * During his time as Sub-Zero, he disliked being called a "ninja." A loyalist, he referred to himself as a "Lin Kuei warrior" and distinguished the difference between the two.
 * Despite being classed as "neutral" in Mortal Kombat, many fans regarded Scorpion as the "bad guy" and Sub-Zero as the "good guy." They seemed to be depicted in this fashion in John Tobias' original Mortal Kombat comic book. However, in the second official Mortal Kombat collectors' comic, Mortal Kombat II (in actuality released before the game) their story is closer to game's. Scorpion is seen returning from the dead to protect the second Sub-Zero, in the comic during the latter's fight with Reptile (this parallels Scorpion's in-game Mortal Kombat II ending.) Because Sub-Zero killed Scorpion in "cold blood" (as Scorpion often puts it), Scorpion is supposed to be seen as the "good guy" and Sub-Zero vice versa.
 * Upon their appearance in Deception, there has been a massive outcry by fans that Noob and Smoke were a tag-team, as they felt it cheapened the characters' appearance and pushed Smoke (already an underdeveloped character storywise) further into obscurity. This resulted in the characters once more being split into two seperate playable entities in Armageddon.
 * Losing to Noob Saibot in the SNES version of Mortal Kombat II will cause shouts of "You will die, mortal!" and "Toasty!" from Shao Kahn and Dan Forden, respectively. However, in the Arcade version, Shao Kahn says, "Feel the power of -" and is abruptly cut off by Forden's "Toasty!"
 * Losing to Noob Saibot in the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 will cause Shao Kahn to say "It's official, you suck!", instead of Noob's actual name.
 * Noob Saibot's name is mocked relentlessly because the first part, noob, is internet speak for newb.
 * This is further supported in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon when Noob Saibot gains a weapon of his own: Troll Hammer, with troll being a term for those who cause grief and mischief in order to purposefully extract a negative response.
 * Noob Saibot is the only character to not receive a bio video for the release of Armageddon.
 * It was not until Trilogy that Noob Saibot finally attained a full sprite palette. In addition, before said game, Noob Saibot would turn white whenever frozen.
 * Despite being an unplayable character in the arcade version of UMK3, Noob Saibot had his own Vs. screen portrait.