It's difficult to conceive of a gaming industry without the Mortal Kombat series. The franchise is one of the most popular as well as one of the most controversial video games ever created. Mortal Kombat was originally intended to be a star vehicle for Jean Claude Van Damme. When those plans fell through, the game was in danger of becoming a poor Street Fighter knockoff.

Instead, the creators struck out i♓n a bold new direction. They introduced a never-before-seen gameplay mechanic full of blood, gore, and an innovative new fighting system. It was a marked departure from previous fighting games with their cartoon animations and fighting moves that never showed any actual damage to the charaꦡcters.

Despite a large cast of fighters, Sub-Zero has emerged as one of, if not the most popular character in all of Mortal Kombat. The ninja with the ice powers has proven his fighting prowess in every fresh installment of the game to date. His rivalry with Scorpion has also become one of the highlights of the game since it can never be predicted when those two will become enemies again or go back to bein𓂃g friends.

While Sub-Zero was never meant to be the main character in the games, popular fan demand eventually led him to becoming one of the characters with the most elaborate backstories among all the fighters that inhabit the world of Mortal Kombat.♒ Here are 25 facts that you may not have known about the body of the blue ninja known as Sub-Z♒ero.

23 🗹 He Once Turned Cyborg

Mortal Kombat 2011 offered an alternate timeline story for the long-running gaming franchise. One of the bigge𒐪st departures from tradition in this storyline was that Raiden makes an attempt to stop the ninja Smoke from being transf✤ormed into a cyborg.

But along the way, Sub-Zero himself ends up undergoing the same process of... cyborgifiction, I guess we can call it.

Now simply renamed Unit LK520, cyb⛄org Sub-Zero becomes a slave to the Lin Kuei and 🥂is pressed into service assisting Shao Kahn with his invasion of the EarthRealm. Jax and Sonya finally manage to turn him good again.

22 The Origin Of The Scarಞ 𓄧

The scar over Sub-Zero's eye has always been his most distinctive feature, in a game which used color-swapped sprites with the same general design for several characters. But the history behind how he got the scar is as confusing as that of The Joker from The Dark Knight.

In one version of the story, the scar was inflicted on Sub-Zero by the Linඣ Kuei. In another version, he got the scar as the result of getting hit by Kung Lao's razor-sharp hat during a battle. Alternately, it is shown 𒉰in the comics that Kano gave him the scar.

21 🌞 A Boost To His Powers

Sub-Zero has one of the most interesting powers sets in all of Mortal Kombat, and he can wield his ice powers in a variety of ♉creative ways depending on the situation. But as it turns out, what we have seen of Sub-Zero's powers is only a fraction of what they can do.

In the original timeline for the game, he discovers an ancient artifact known as the Dragon medallion. The piece of jew🍷elry can only be controlled by a skilled warrior. Sub-Zero uses it to push his power ♔levels to greater heights than ever before.

20 𒀰 Cyborg Sub-Zero Transforms Even Further

We've talked🐎 about the cyborg version of Sub-Zero, but the story doesn't end with him getting past his brainwashing with the help of Earth warriors and joining the resistance.

A much darker fate awaited poor Sub-Zero.

In Mortal Kombat 9, playing as Cyborg Sub-Zero presents you with a particularly chilling ending for your character. After Shao Kꦅahn is defeated, his ghostly spirit takes possession of Sub-Zero's robot body. Khan proceeds to take full control of his new physical shell, upgrading his cyborg body and once again becoming the ruler of his realm. Unfortunately, we never got to see a follow up to the story in the sequel.

19 🅰 He Once Became Batman

Let's face it. Every comic book reader wants to be Batman. There's something cool and compelling about being a bi𒊎llionaire who moonlights as a ninja vigilante at night. It seems even Sub-Zero could not resist the desire to be as much like Batman as possible🐼.

The events of Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe end with Sub-Zero deciding to follow Batman's example of living a life of battling evil. To that﷽ end, Zero adds a long black cape to his costume. The final shot of him is standing atop a building watching over his chosen city.

18 The Two Sub-Zer🌠os

What many people don't realize is that the mantle of Sub-Zero has been worn by two members o♔f the Lin Kuei. They are both brothers named Bi Han and Kuai Liang.

The ninja persona of Sub-Zero was first adopted by Bi Han.

After he was defeated and his life taken by Scorpion, his younger brother Kuai Liang took over the mantle as a way to honor his brother's memory. The new Sub-Zero was known to be kinder and more compassionate. He was also defeated by Scorpion, but his life was spared after Scorpion realized he was a d🐟ifferent man.

17 His New Identit🍨y 🌞

The new Sub-Zero took some time tꦺo become worthy of the title of legendary fighter Sub-Zero, but he eventually learned🍃 to step out of the shadow of his brother. But that did not mean his brother's story was over.

The former Sub-Zero was defeated in battle, but after his demise, he was resurrected in the form of a wraith. And that wraith is none other than Noob Saibot! Fans had to wait until Mortal Kombat: Deception came out to discover the startling truth about Saibot's ch✅aracter. Too bad he is now definitely sinister and a worshipper of Shinnok.

16 A Troubling Soul ಞ ♚

🌳Now, tღhe original Sub-Zero was supposed to be a good guy. So how did he later become the super sinister Noob Saibot? According to the game creators, years of fighting in the tournament, and years of watching the most horrifically brutal matches in the world irreparably corrupted Bi Han's soul.

When that soul was brought back to life by Quan Chi, the experience had an even worse effect on Han's psyche. When Quan Chi offered the resurrected wraith the chance to serve the dark god Shinnok 🍌under him, 📖Han was only too willing to accept.

15 ๊ God Of Ice 𝓡

Sub-Zero is arguably the most popular character in all of Mortal Kombat. Since fans are always clamoring to see more of him, the game's creators keep finding new ways to take his story forward an🍰d make him pr🀅ogressively more powerful.

This trend reached its zenith when Sub-Zero became the literal God of Ice.

This was during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. That's right. At one point Sub-Zero did ♛not only possess ice powers, but he possessed complete power over all ice, ever! There really isn't more you can do with a character after turning him into a g🦹odly being.

14 His Powers 🐼Are Genetic

A lot of the characters in Mortal Kombat have come to possess their powers after years 𒊎of hard work and practice. But when it comes to his ice powers, they weren't something that Sub-Zero had to struggle to possess. Rather, he was born with them.

Sub-Zero belongs to an ancient race from Outworld known as the Cryomancers, 𓆉who have the ability to shape and control ice. The entire race of Cryomancers is believed to have been exterminated by Shao Kahn in the past. The two Sub-Zero brothers and their apprentice Frost are believed to be the last surviving members of their race.