—Sindel to her evil self in Mortal Kombat 1. |
Biography
- Mortal Kombat 1: "When Sindel ascended to Outworld's throne, she worried that she was ill-prepared. Adding to her stress: her impending arranged marriage to Jerrod, an Outworld noble. Forced into it to placate a rebellious region, Sindel could only pray that he was worthy. To Sindel's delight, Jerrod proved an ideal partner. Her early reign marked the start of a new Golden Age. Sindel then welcomed her beautiful twin daughters, Mileena and Kitana. She thanked the Gods for her charmed life. But Sindel had counted her blessings too quickly. When Jerrod was murdered, Sindel's heart was broken. Smelling weakness, factions formed to challenge her rule. As her enemies conspire, Sindel fights to protect her family and her empire. She will do whatever it takes to defend her daughters' birthright."
Storyline
In Liu Kang's New Era, Sindel received many deliberate changes. She would no longer be the treacherous queen she had been in iterations past. The tyrannical Shao Kahn had been reduced to the position of Outworld General, becoming Sindel's initially loyal follower. In addition to Kitana, Mileena would become Sindel's legitimate daughter.
Mortal Kombat 1
The Edenian Sindel would become Empress of Outworld, but was greatly stressed by her new position of power and an approaching arranged marriage to the noble Jerrod. Fortunately for her, she was not alone in her endeavor, as Jerrod was an ideal partner and loving husband, and Li Mei, the captain of the elite Umgadi, was a steadfast friend. Though her rule was not perfect (particularly due to her ignorance of the Tarkatan colonies), Sindel was able to make Outworld flourish. She became acquainted with Earthrealm's protector, Liu Kang, and witnessed his and Jerrod's founding of the tournament that would maintain peace between the realms.
Sindel would soon face many difficulties. She had a strained relationship with General Shao, who was less than appreciative of Liu Kang, feeling as though Sindel was far too lenient with the fire deity. At some point, Jerrod was unjustly murdered, and Li Mei was made the scapegoat for her inability to protect the emperor, leading to her deserting the Umgadi and Tanya taking her place. Though Sindel still had her beloved daughters, Mileena's contracting of Tarkat proved to be a strenuous hurdle to overcome, creating a rift between the entire family. However, the arrival of a curious sorcerer named Shang Tsung would seemingly alleviate the last obstacle, as he was able to provide suppressants for Mileena's disease, which Sindel was extremely grateful for. Additionally, she would be introduced to another sorcerer named Quan Chi, whose peculiar prophecies often turned out to be spot-on - though Sindel worried that the prophecy he made about Liu Kang conquering Outworld might also come true.
Sindel first appears in the story on the day of the Earthrealm-Outworld tournament, taking her seat in the throne room and taking a brief moment to remember Jerrod's life before welcoming the gathered individuals, including those arriving from Earthrealm. Liu Kang introduces her to Earthrealm's latest champion, a young farmer named Raiden, who he says embodies the best qualities of his realm's people. Sindel notes that Raiden seems nervous, and assures him that he should be, since he will be facing a string of Outworld's strongest warriors by himself. She then introduces Li Mei, who had become the First Constable of Sun Do following her resignation from the Umgadi, and as such, is traditionally the first Outworld representative in the tournament. Though she publicly lauds Li Mei, when the constable approaches the throne, Sindel coldly reminds her that if not for Jerrod, she would not be allowed anywhere near the throne room. She then watches as Raiden defeats Li Mei, with the embarrassed and disappointed constable quickly leaving the palace amidst deafening silence. For Raiden's next opponent, General Shao introduces his second-in-command, Reiko, whom Raiden also manages to defeat. Invigorated by two victories in a row, Raiden asks Sindel who his next opponent will be, but Sindel chides him, telling him to be patient. She announces an adjournment and hopes that the gathered guests will join her for the evening banquet.
Much to Sindel's irritation, the banquet goes less than smoothly. Despite Mileena's best efforts to hide her sudden bout of illness, Sindel notices her stress. Deciding to change the focus, she calls for an open dialogue between the realms as a sign of courtesy. Raiden speaks up, having come to realize how similar their realms' people are moreso than different, but General Shao retorts that they couldn't be more different. Indignant by his response, Sindel stops him before he can make matters worse and dismisses him on the spot.
Later that night, in her private dining hall, Sindel berates Shao for his behavior at the banquet. Though she is disappointed Outworld has already lost twice, she is more upset with Shao for staining her honor, as well as that of Shao's family. Shao requests to speak freely, much to Sindel's chagrin. The general believes they should act quickly in the best interests of the empire, due to a prophecy set forth by "the sorcerer", which claimed that Liu Kang would conquer Outworld. Sindel states that she would not act without proof of this and reminds him that his father always made war the last result, not the first. Following this, Shao leaves and her daughters enter, where Sindel tells Mileena she saw what happened to her at the banquet and that Kitana will be taking her place in the tournament, despite her protests that she's fine. She even reminds her that if her affliction would become public, she likely would end up in the wastelands with the other infected. Mileena protests, stating that many Outworlders already consider Kitana the heir, however Kitana takes Sindel's side, stating she is only looking out for Mileena. This results in her daughter storming off.
The tournament resumes the following day. Sindel spectates as Raiden continues to excel, defeating numerous opponents (including Kotal, Motaro, and Sheeva). With only two fights remaining, Sindel introduces Kitana as Mileena's substitute, an unprecedented move to the Earthrealm guests. Liu Kang questions the choice in fighter, but Sindel makes the excuse that Mileena is away on a pressing imperial matter. Liu presses his concern, stating that he has not prepared Raiden for Kitana, but Sindel counters by wondering if Raiden can simply improvise, considering how far he has already made it in the tournament. Thus, Liu relents, and Raiden proves his mettle by defeating Kitana and then General Shao afterwards, securing an Earthrealm victory.
Sometime later, Sindel is informed by Kitana of an incident in Shang Tsung's laboratory, where Mileena's Tarkat treatment was disturbed by the other three Earthrealm champions, who were after Shang Tsung and mistakenly believed he was the reason for Mileena's disease. This information seems to confirm the prophecy about Liu Kang, so when Sindel is approached in the throne room by not only Liu Kang but the accompanying Li Mei (who had defeated and captured Tanya prior to their arrival), she is irate at the intrusion and supposed betrayal. Li Mei attempts to talk her down, reminding Sindel that she was also disheartened by Jerrod's death and that she only wishes to protect the empress, but she is interrupted by Tanya, who puts her in a chokehold while she is distracted talking.
The entire throne room erupts into kombat, with Kitana joining the fray, but Mileena is stopped by Sindel, who warns her that her condition could manifest should she overexert herself. Kitana and Tanya are defeated and Sindel still won't allow Mileena to fight. Mileena slaps her hand aside in protest, saying that she isn't worthy of being the throne's heir if she isn't willing to lay her life down for it. Unfortunately, Sindel's worries are proven when a front kick from Li Mei causes Mileena's Tarkat to resurface. Sindel attempts to stop her from harming Li Mei but is caught off guard when Mileena turns on her, tackling her to the ground and nearly mauling her on the spot before Li Mei manages to wrestle her away from Sindel. The empress watches as Li Mei defeats Mileena, giving Tanya the opportunity to inject her with the suppressant. Their relationship repaired, Sindel thanks Li Mei, stating that she is in the constable's debt, but Li Mei reassures her that there is no debt between friends.
Liu Kang has yet to regain Sindel's trust, and Sindel initially believes Quan Chi's prophecy completely. However, Liu Kang in turn brings up the possibility that her trust is more misplaced than she realizes - that Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, General Shao, and others all conspire against her in order to compromise both Earthrealm and Outworld. With such a serious charge, Sindel demands Liu Kang provide evidence, so Liu Kang suggests they visit Shang Tsung's real laboratory, and that if she is not convinced by what she sees, he will surrender Earthrealm willingly.
Upon entering Shang Tsung's real laboratory, the truth of the sorcerer's abhorrent experiments leaves Sindel horrified. She wonders how she could have misjudged her "allies" so poorly, but Liu Kang assures her that she is not completely to blame for their descent into villainy, and that despite his best efforts, they have turned out that way. Sindel is confused by the statement, since Shang Tsung and the other Outworlders aren't Liu Kang's problem, but Liu Kang surprises her further with another revelation: he was once a Titan and the Keeper of Time, and their reality was crafted by his hands. Though Kitana thinks him mad, Liu Kang reinforces his claim by summoning another individual named Geras, who guards the timeline-regulating artifact called the Hourglass. Sindel can only watch in awe and disgust as Geras and Liu Kang explain past circumstances - that a previous Titan called Kronika had gone mad and was responsible for the previous timelines and the empowering of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, and that Sindel used to be a traitorous empress who dispatched her Jerrod in favor of an even more ruthless Shao. Additionally, Geras mentions that an unknown entity is the true culprit being the aforementioned villains returning to their ruthless statuses. Sindel wonders what should be done after this revelation, asking Liu Kang if he expects worship, but Liu Kang reminds her that he only used to be a Titan, and explains that he gave up his near-omnipotence to avoid experiencing the same madness Kronika did.
The conversation is cut short by General Shao, who has finally made his move to overthrow Sindel with the help of Reiko, Nitara, and Rain. Sindel is justly infuriated with Shao's actions, but Shao could care less, stopping them from pressing an attack by revealing his possession of an amulet bristling with red lightning and holding it at them. Liu Kang explains that Shao holds the Amulet of Shinnok, a powerful artifact that shouldn't even exist due to Liu Kang neutralizing Shinnok as a threat and serves as further proof of outside interference towards the timeline. Shao uses the amulet to ensnare Kitana, Mileena, Tanya and Geras, seemingly disintegrating them. A fight soon breaks out, and Sindel defeats Nitara before regrouping with Liu Kang, who explains that their allies are simply trapped within the amulet and can be rescued. Li Mei lands a surprise kick on Shao, causing him to drop the amulet and allowing Sindel to snatch it. As they escape the laboratory, they are pursued by more of Shao's guard, so Liu Kang keeps them at bay with his pyrokinesis while Sindel impedes them with a wall of ceiling rubble, dislodged by her sonic scream.
Sindel and her group proceed upstairs into Shang Tsung's false laboratory, where they are confronted by Reiko, who is more than willing to sacrifice his life in Shao's name, viewing it as an honor. Sindel defeats him and proceeds to battle Rain, whose betrayal hurts her most, as she viewed Rain as a surrogate son. Rain, however, claims he's outgrown her, and that Shang Tsung opened his eyes to the real depths of his potential. Still, Sindel manages to defeat him and declares Rain dead to her for his treason. Finally, she turns her attention to General Shao, who had recovered from Li Mei's strike and had begun decimating several Umgadi with his battle axe. Sindel recalls to Shao how feeble he used to be as a boy, how his father had trained him to overcome his weakness, and how he now spits on his father's ideals. She manages to best him in kombat and declares him relieved before handing Liu Kang Shinnok's amulet, watching as the fire god uses it to return Kitana, Mileena, Tanya and Geras to reality, Sindel hugging the former two. Liu Kang interrupts, urging that they must make their next move quickly in order to save the realms from their remaining enemies' ploy. Sindel asks him if that is a command from her creator, but Liu assures her that it is simply a request from a friend.
Sindel's group joins up with more of Liu Kang's allies in the Lin Kuei ninja Scorpion and Smoke before they make their way to Ying Fortress, the base of operations for Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Infiltrating the battlements, they discover a marching group of soldiers, whom Sindel recognizes as General Shao's most loyal lieutenants, and impossible to have stand down. With kombat inevitable, they split up to tackle multiple soul stealers, eventually succeeding in deactivating them all, and are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of an unprecedented ally in the soul construct Ermac, in whom the deceased Jerrod had taken priority. Sindel has a heartfelt reunion with Jerrod, relishing in her entire family being together again, before they proceed deeper into fortress. They reach the Dragon Army's chamber, sneaking through the inactive warriors' ranks to close in on Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, who observe an active set of warriors training for the battle ahead.
Thanks to Mileena's clever gambit, Sindel and the others are able to ambush the sorcerers. However, the dragon crown Shang Tsung was using to control Emperor Ying's army begins to glow, causing Shang Tsung to laugh as he prepares to turn the tables and introduce his benefactor, Damashi - only to be flabbergasted when "Damashi" turns out to be a completely different Shang Tsung, accompanied by an evil Sindel, as well as an evil Geras and Raiden. Equally confused, Sindel asks who this new enemy is, and Liu Kang and the new Shang Tsung reveal the more of the timeline's history - in a previous timeline, the two had fought viciously for the position of Keeper of Time after the defeat of the Titan Kronika. Both had defeated the other, but unbeknownst to either Titan, their battle had split the timeline in two, resulting in their individual victories. Having discovered Liu Kang's New Era, this new Titan Shang Tsung had manipulated its Shang Tsung and Quan Chi into wreaking havoc for him and amassing a great deal of souls to control for himself. Titan Shang Tsung and his accompanying Geras depart with a haughty farewell, leaving his villainous Sindel and Raiden to massacre the others in his stead.
Mileena manages to control her Tarkatan state and defeat Dark Raiden, but with Liu Kang having shed his divine powers, the fight against Dark Sindel is much more difficult, as she thrashes the gathered warriors in a manner reminiscent of Mortal Kombat. Sindel manages to rise, and Dark Sindel comments on her tenacity. Retrieving a fallen katana, Sindel declares that as long as she can breathe, she can fight, though Dark Sindel rebukes her, claiming her noble sentiments matter little in the end. In a fierce katana duel, Sindel manages to overcome her dark counterpart and attempts to kill her, though she is in turn mortally impaled and tossed aside when Dark Sindel gets in a lethal stab by using her prehensile hair to retrieve her own katana. While a distraught Jerrod-Ermac checks on Sindel, Mileena engages Dark Sindel in kombat, promising that if Sindel dies, she will ensure Dark Sindel does not survive, either. True to her word, Mileena kills Dark Sindel to avenge her mother, then rushes to her side after Tanya delivers another suppressant.
As Sindel lays dying, she is comforted by the notion that she was able to spend a few more hours with the rest of her family, but accepts that her time has come. Before she breathes her last, she bequeathes the title of Empress to Mileena. As she passes away, Jerrod uses Ermac's powers to absorb Sindel's soul, reuniting the couple within the construct.
Various versions and amalgamations of Sindel are seen during the second Battle of Armageddon, including another Sindel allied with Titan Shang Tsung, a version of Sindel with Zaterran physiology called Lizard Queen, and many more. Additionally, a version of Sindel can be selected as the final warrior who aids Liu Kang in defeating the Titans Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, before being sent back to her respective timeline.
Endings
- Mortal Kombat 1 (Canonical): "As the darkness enveloped me, I took a long, last look at my family. I did not expect to see them again until their souls joined mine in the Living Forest. But miraculously my beloved husband delivered me from oblivion. Though he couldn’t save my body, Jerrod had preserved my soul. Like him and countless others, I am now a part of Ermac. Yet ours is not a peaceful repose. The collected souls within Ermac have their own needs and agendas. Before we can speak as one, we must first reach consensus. I had thought as the former rulers of Outworld, I and Jerrod would hold sway. But here we are, two souls among many thousands, fighting for the right to be heard. And if there is one thing we do well together, it is fight. We will win the right to govern Ermac as we once had governed Outworld. And we will rule for the benefit of all."