Revenants are a type of undead creature that appear in the Mortal Kombat franchise. These beings were once mortals who had died, only to be resurrected via necromancy and turned into inhuman warriors. The creation of a revenant requires the soul of the deceased subject to be bound to a magically-forged body; the body of the revenant generally appears much how it used to in life, but with glowing eyes and withered, gray skin covered in scars.
Revenants are bound to serve whomever created them, carrying out whatever duties are assigned to them. They may exhibit behaviour similar to their former living selves, but their thoughts and personalities are corrupted by their transformations. They possess whatever abilities they had in life, but are greatly amplified. If a revenant's master should die, then the revenant may act independently without being influenced by another, but still maintain their corrupted personality from when they were transformed.
All of the revenants to appear so far in Mortal Kombat were created by Quan Chi.
Sub-types[]
Other types of revenant also exist that differ significantly to standard revenant described above. The first is the Spectre, which not only possesses the skills it did in life, but also commands the power of hellfire.
The other revenant variant, the Wraith, is a dark, sinister entity that holds power over darkness and shadows.
Known Revenants[]
- Scorpion (Spectre) - A warrior of the Shirai Ryu ninja clan, Hanzo Hasashi was murdered by Quan Chi while the latter was impersonating Sub-Zero of the Lin Kuei. Driven by rage and a desire for revenge against Sub-Zero, Hasashi became Scorpion so that he could exact retribution. He killed Sub-Zero during the Mortal Kombat tournament, only to find out the truth later on. He has since regained his humanity and taken revenge on Quan Chi.
- Noob Saibot (Wraith) - In life, he was known as Bi-Han, a warrior of the Lin Kuei clan who also bore the codename "Sub-Zero". He was killed by Scorpion in Mortal Kombat only to be resurrected as Quan Chi's servant and spy. Since Quan Chi's death, Noob has sought to take over the Netherrealm and establish himself as a new god of death.
- Liu Kang - Earthrealm's reigning champion of Mortal Kombat. Originally regarded as a hero, this Shaolin monk lost faith in Raiden during Shao Kahn's invasion of Earth. When Raiden decided to allow Shao Kahn to merge Outworld and Earth, Liu Kang attacked him. Raiden fought back, but in doing so killed his former pupil. Upon his death, Kang was recreated as a revenant by Quan Chi and would serve the Brotherhood of Shadow for many years. After Shinnok was defeated by Raiden, Liu Kang took the former Elder God's place as ruler of the Netherrealm.
- Kung Lao - A member of the White Lotus Society along with Liu Kang, Kung Lao had been selected by Raiden to represent Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat. During the Outworld Tournament, Kung Lao fought in the Koliseum and defeated Shao Kahn's champions. Outraged by Lao's success, Shao Kahn stepped up to the Shaolin monk after his match with Kintaro and suddenly snapped his neck. Lao was then reborn as a revenant in Quan Chi's service. During the temporal crisis instigated by Kronika, Kung Lao sided with Kronika in order to take revenge on Raiden. He was defeated by Liu Kang, who had become a Fire God, who then reset the timeline.
- Sub-Zero - The younger brother of Bi-Han, Kuai Liang took up the mantle of Sub-Zero after his brother was killed in the tournament. During the Outworld Invasion of Earthrealm, Sub-Zero was killed in battle and resurrected as a revenant by Quan Chi. A few years later, he was restored to his human self by Raiden.
- Jax Briggs - A Major in the U.S. Special Forces, Jax was killed during Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm. He spent the next five years as a revenant in Quan Chi's service before being restored to normal by Raiden, but would suffer from lingering guilt and trauma over his actions during that time.
- Kitana - Shao Kahn's adopted daughter and former Crown Princess of Edenia. She sided with the warriors of Earthrealm and fought with them during the invasion, only to be killed by her resurrected mother Sindel. She was then turned into a revenant by Quan Chi and served him until his death, after which she became Liu Kang's queen when he took Shinnok's throne.
- Jade - An Edenian warrior and close friend and bodyguard of Kitana. She was killed during the invasion of Earthrealm and turned into a revenant by Quan Chi. After Liu Kang reset the timeline with Kronika's Hourglass, Jade's revenant self was erased from history.
- Enenra - Formerly known as Smoke, a ninja of the Lin Kuei clan. He was killed during the invasion of Earthrealm and turned into a revenant by Quan Chi.
- Sindel - Former Queen of Edenia who was taken as Shao Kahn's bride when the Outworld emperor conquered her realm. She would die some time later, but would be resurrected thousands of years afterward in Earthrealm by Quan Chi. Her resurrection allowed Shao Kahn to breach the dimensional barrier between Earth and Outworld in order to reclaim her and she would become the emperor's most lethal weapon in his attempt to conquer Earth. Sindel was ultimately killed by Nightwolf and resurrected by Quan Chi as a revenant. After Quan Chi's death, Sindel became subservient to her daughter Kitana, who ruled as Queen of the Netherrealm beside Liu Kang.
- Kurtis Stryker - A New York City riot cop who was killed during the invasion of Earthrealm.
- Nightwolf - A shamen of the Matoka Tribe. During the invasion of Earthrealm, he sacrificed himself to stop Sindel's murderous rampage. He was later resurrected by Quan Chi and served the Brotherhood of Shadow for years until the timeline was reset.
- Kabal - A former member of the Black Dragon who sided with Earthrealm's heroes against the forces of Outworld. He was killed by Sindel and later resurrected as a revenant.