Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge is a Mortal Kombatthemed animated movie, distributed by Warner Bros Animation and animated by Studio MIR (Voltron: Legendary Defender); it was released in April 2020 both digitally and in DVD/Blu-ray. Its artwork style resembles The DCAU, only Bloodier and Gorier, and its story more or less re-tells the first game from the point of view of the titular Scorpion.

At the beginning, Hanzo Hasashi is a ninja leader who lives a more or less quiet life with his wife Harumi, their son Satoshi, and his Shirai Ryu clansmen. However, as he and little Satoshi are out in the country, tragedy strikes - and when they return, Harumi and the Shirai Ryu have been all slain by their sworn enemies, the Lin Kuei. Hanzo desperately tries to save himself and Satoshi, but despite all his efforts, the two are killed, then he's sent to Hell itself. But his badassery impresses a high-ranked demon named Quan Chi, who gives him an offer that he cannot refuse.

At the same time, the newest Mortal Kombat tournament is about to begin. The Thunder God Raiden has chosen three Earth warriors for it: serious Shaolin monk Liu Kang, brave Action Girl Sonya Blade, and flighty actor and martial artist Johnny Cage. From his part, the Evil Sorcerer Shang Tsung has the Shokan Prince Goro, the Earthrealm Arms Dealer Kano and the elusive Reptile. And at the same time, Scorpion shows up in Shang Tsung's island for his own goal: to find the remaining Lin Kuei, said to be in the island itself, and slay them all. . .

It is the first film in the Mortal Kombat Legends series of films, with a sequel titled Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms being released in 2021.

Tropes used in Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge include:

• Adaptational Badass: While Scorpion is a really tough motherfucker in-games, as the main character of the movie he's shown as even more badass.
• Adaptational Wimp: Holy shit, poor Jax. Though to be fair he does get a good badass moment via using his legs to finish off Kano.
  • To a degree, Liu Kang. Who actually loses against Goro and would've had his arms ripped out if not for Scorpion. . Somewhat justified in-story: Liu is The Chosen One] to defeat Shao Kahn, not Goro.
• Alternate Universe: The movie has similarities to the first live action one but also features several important changes to the story, like Goro tearing off Jax's arms, rather than Jax himself deciding to get enhancements (original timeline) or having it done to him by Ermac (new timeline), or Scorpion learning that Quan Chi killed his loved ones still in the tournament itself and from Quan Chi himself, rather than decades later and from Kuai Liang/the second Sub-Zero (new timeline), or Liu Kang losing to Goro and needing Scorpion to help him (when in the original timeline he defeated Goro on his own). . .
• Amazon Chaser: Johnny finds Sonya sexy. Then he sees how powerful she is AND gets two Groin Attacks from her. And he thinks she's even sexier.
• Animated Adaptation: In movie format this time.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Not exactly in MK terms (though it does include their own versions of the X-Rays and VERY disturbing close-ups to gory decapitations and mutilations), but one is likely not used to see something made by Warner's Animation and Studio MIR get THIS bloody.
• Break the Cutie -> Kill the Cutie: Poor, poor, POOR Satoshi. He was an adorable little kiddo who loved his family very much. Then near everyone he loved, including his mom, was murdered. THEN, the poor kid was killed in front of his dad.
• Death by Adaptation: Kano, Goro, Reptile and Quan Chi.
• Downer Beginning: It begins with the massacre of the Shirai Ryu plus Scorpion's family, so. . .
• Fan Disservice: A pre-Scorpion transformation!Hanzo is shown tied up and near naked, and he's a massive Hunk. There are several wrong things about this, however. First, he's being restrained - in Hell itself. Second, he has several daggers piercing his limbs. . .
  • The very Hunky Jaxhas his arms horribly ripped off on screen.
• Forced to Watch: First, Hanzo was forced to witness how Bi-Han/Sub Zero killed his son Satoshi though it was Quan Chi in disguise. Some time later the three Earthrealm warriors (and especially Sonya) experience this when a magical barrier separates them from Goro and a captured Jax and cannot do anything as the second gets his arms torn out by the first.
• Good Parents: Hanzo really loved Satoshi, and they got along very well. And then...
• Groin Attack: Rather hilariously, Johnny is at the receiving end of two of these, both delivered by Sonya. And later he does get the chance to dish another to Kano's Giant Mook.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How Scorpion kills Bi-Han / the first Sub Zero - via hurling the two of them into a gigantic spike in what's supposed to be a Mutual Kill. Supposed, because Scorpion lives through.
• Impromptu Tracheotomy: How poor Satoshi is killed.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Raiden deliberately lets Johnny believe that the tournament is an act. Why? Because he thought it'd be funny (And to give him more motivation when the truth sinks in.)
• Loophole Abuse: Both Shang Tsung and Raiden sneak around the rules of Mortal Kombat to give aid to their factions without cheating (Tsung) or intervening directly (Raiden). ie, when Jax is forced to fight Goro and ends up mutilated, Raiden steps in to cauterize his wounds and keep him from bleeding to death; Tsung objects since Raiden is supposed to not intervene in the matches, but Raiden counteracts that in Shang Tsung's own words, the match wasn't an official match but just an exhibition one.
• Men Can't Keep House: Johnny certainly can't!
• Out-Gambitted: Quan Chi tries to poison Shang Tsung via tampering with the contents of his goblet. Too bad Shang Tsung was Genre Savvy enough to guess this move.
• Perspective Flip: The film basically retells the story of the original game from Scorpion's point of view. While this doesn't change much, it makes the righteous Liu Kang come across as Innocently Insensitive when he accuses Scorpion of never caring about anything, not knowing that he's trying to avenge the deaths of his clan, wife and son.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Johnny, until almost the end.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Wonderfully genderflipped by Sonya and Johnny.
• Sequel Hook: The movie finishes with Shang Tsung facing the pissed off Shao Kahn, setting up the plot for Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms.
• Villain Ball: Caught spectacularly by Quan Chi, who REALLY should have neither tried to poison Shang Tsung nor willingly revealed to Scorpion that he was the real killer of his family. These two extremely dumb actions would cost him dearly.