Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind

Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind is an animated movie based on the Mortal Kombat franchise, distributed by Warner Bros Animation and animated by Digital eMation; it was released in October 2022 both digitally and in DVD/Blu-ray. It is the third film in the Mortal Kombat Legends series, but despite this it isn't canonical to the previous two films and instead tells a separate original story.

Decades after Earthrealm has been reduced to a desolate wasteland by undead revenants, King Kano now rules with his army the Black Dragon clan and brutally takes control of the remaining settlements of survivors. Meanwhile a young warrior named Kenshi is blinded while acquiring a magical sword, setting him on the path to fighting against Kano's army. He is trained by an older Kuai Liang, who has retired from being Sub-Zero and has sworn to never use his powers again. Together these warriors must fight against the Black Dragons to free the world from Kano's tyranny

Tropes used in Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind include:

• After the End: The film takes place decades after the revenants have turned Earthrealm into a wasteland with only some settlements surviving, with it being mentioned that they are still active.
• Alternate Continuity: Certain comments, such as Kuai mentioning how he once feared becoming his brother, reveal this film has more in common with the lore of the games as opposed to the previous two films in the series. Kano being alive is also notable and is strong evidence to suggest Snow Blind takes place in a separate world to Scorpion's Revenge, which showed Jax killing him. The Reveal confirms that this film is actually canon to Mortal Kombat 11, expanding on Kano's arcade ending from that game where he defeats Kronika and takes control of her Hourglass.
• Age Lift: Kenshi is traditionally around the same age as Sub-Zero and other main Mortal Kombat characters, but here he's significantly younger than Kuai and Kano as he now lives in a Bad Future to the normal Mortal Kombat setting.
• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Kenshi starts out as this, only desiring to be the best possible warrior and proving how great he is. His blindness and Kuai's teaching humble him into a more noble hero.
• Bad Future: The film takes place in one where an army of revenants have destroyed Earthrealm, Kano rules what little has remained as leader of the Black Dragons, people survive in small settlements as best they can, and many of the Earthrealm defenders like Liu Kang are long dead. Sub-Zero appears to be one of the few still left alive, but has retired to live a peaceful life of a farmer after losing control of his powers and causing the deaths of Lin Kuei and several innocents and refuses to fight. Turns out that Kano actually created this timeline using Kronika's Hourglass, remaking the world into something he would enjoy and trapping it in a Groundhog Day Loop that he resets whenever he gets bored.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Surprisingly Shang Tsung of all people ends up as this. In this alternate future he's been reduced to being a henchman for Kano, but after absorbing the Well of Souls it appears he's about to take his place as the typical main villain of a Mortal Kombat story. However Kano actually wins their fight and brutally kills Shang Tsung, firmly placing him in the role of the Big Bad of this film.
• Bittersweet Ending: Kano is killed and access to Kronika's Hourglass is destroyed, preventing anyone from further ruining the timeline. However the world is still left as a wasteland and as part of his promise with Scorpion, Sub-Zero must go to the Netherrealm as a consequence of using his powers. Despite this Kuai states that Kenshi is the successor of the Lin Kuei and tasks him with training others, with Kenshi walking off into the sunset to protect Earthrealm.
• Broad Strokes: Word of God in the commentary has the writer and director state that the events of the first two films happened in "some fashion", even though the film is clearly set in a separate world to those two.
• Darker and Edgier: The previous Legends films could be dark, but this greatly downplays the levity and takes place in an apocalyptic Bad Future to the franchise.
• Death Seeker: Kenshi becomes this after being blinded, with Kuai helping him overcome this attitude.
• Dented Iron: Kuai might be retired and older, but despite this he's still as badass as he was in his prime.
• The Drifter: Kenshi apparently spends all his time wandering from town to town, desiring to improve his skills and fight others. The ending has him return to this, but now with the goal of saving Earthrealm.
• Character Development: Both Kuai and Kenshi experience this as a result of their friendship. Kenshi starts out as an Arrogant Kung Fu Guy who simply wants to prove his greatness and improve his skill, with his blindness initally making him suicidal since he doesn't believe he can achieve that now. Kuai's training and teachings not only help him realise that he can still be a great warrior, but that it's more important to fight for good reasons leading him to become more noble and desiring to protect innocents from Kano. Kenshi meanwhile challengers Kuai's self-imposed exile and retirement, leading him to accept that he can't simply ignore the evil Kano is committing.
• Happy Ending Override: Actually averted, since Snow Blind is an Alternate Continuity to Battle of the Realms and therefore doesn't undo the ending of that film.
• Whole-Plot Reference: In the commentary the writer and director acknowledge this film's similarities to Unforgiven, Logan, Old Man Logan and The Dark Knight Returns. Sub-Zero is now an aged Dented Iron who has retired to live the life of a farmer in a Bad Future Villain World that appears to be a desert wasteland, while being paired with a much younger character who encourages Kuai to come out of retirement to fight the Big Bad.