Scorpion is an iconic character from the Mortal Kombat franchise. A vengeful spirit and cunning warrior, he has repeatedly clawed his way out of the infernal depths of the Netherrealm in search of violent retribution against all those who had wronged him in life.
History[]
Pre-game history[]
The infernal revenant known as Scorpion was once a mortal man who went by the name of Hanzo Hasashi, a Japanese ninja warrior of the Shirai Ryu clan. He even had a wife and son.
A few years before Shang Tsung's last Mortal Kombat tournament, Hasashi was murdered by Sub-Zero, an assassin of the Shirai Ryu's bitter rivals, the Lin Kuei. His soul was cast down into the Netherrealm and laid to waste, but he would find himself resurrected by the necromancer Quan Chi. Quan Chi commanded his new servant to enter Shang Tsung's tournament as one of the warriors representing Outworld and informed Hasashi that his old foe Sub-Zero would be attending. Hasashi, now going by the name Scorpion, would take part in Mortal Kombat and have his revenge.
Original timeline[]
Scorpion succeeded in slaying Sub-Zero in the tournament, but some time after the tournament concluded with Earthrealm's victory, he discovered that Sub-Zero had somehow returned to life and was taking part in a new tournament hosted in Outworld. Scorpion followed and observed Sub-Zero's battles from the shadows and after seeing him spare the life of an opponent, realized that this individual was not the man who had once murdered him. This new Sub-Zero was, in fact, the former's younger brother and was not to blame for the crimes of the former. As recompense for killing his brother, Scorpion chose to watch over this new Sub-Zero and protect him, all the while keeping himself hidden from the ice ninja's notice.
For many months, Scorpion acted as Sub-Zero's secret guardian until Quan Chi showed him a vision of Sub-Zero hunting down Scorpion's wife and son and participating in the slaughter of the Shirai Ryu. His rage re-ignited, Scorpion sought vengeance against Sub-Zero once more. Quan Chi informed him that Sub-Zero had once more allied himself with the champions of Earthrealm to battle against Shinnok and his Army of Darkness.
Scorpion hunted Sub-Zero and eventually cornered him, challenging him to battle. Scorpion would win their duel, but before executing his foe, Quan Chi appeared and gloated, revealing the truth behind the massacre of the Shirai Ryu. The necromancer had been behind the destruction of Scorpion's clan and had killed Hasashi's family personally while disguised as Sub-Zero. Quan Chi then prepared to banish Scorpion back to the Netherrealm, but the vengeful spectre charged at the sorcerer and dragged him down to Hell with him.
Scorpion would spend years hounding Quan Chi throughout the Netherrealm, dispensing great suffering and torment upon the sorcerer. However, Quan Chi would escape from the Netherrealm with the aid of the two Oni, Moloch and Drahmin, going on to form the Deadly Alliance with Outworld sorcerer Shang Tsung. Scorpion refused to let Quan Chi go and managed to follow him to Outworld, but emerged in a different region. He would eventually track the sorcerer down at Shang Tsung's palace, but was ambushed by Moloch and Drahmin and thrown into the Soulnado within the palace. The countless trapped souls within the vortex seemingly ripped Scorpion apart, but the spectre managed to escape into the Void. He found himself standing before the Elder Gods who showed him the return of the Dragon King Onaga and the sacrifice of the thunder god Raiden, informing him that he had been chosen as the Gods' champion tasked with destroying Onaga before he could restore the One Being.
Scorpion agrees to become the Elder Gods' champion when they promise to resurrect his family and clan, and so he ventures into Outworld once more to find Onaga and slay him. However, the human warrior Shujinko, on a quest of his own, defeats Onaga himself. Scorpion no longer considers himself bound to the Elder Gods' will and refuses to serve them any longer, but the Gods punish him by resurrecting the Shirai Ryu as horrific undead revenants like himself. Outraged by this betrayal, Scorpion vows revenge against the Elder Gods themselves.
As Armageddon looms, Scorpion decides to hunt down the two Edenian demigods Taven and Daegon. Their quest is vital to restoring balance to the realms and so Scorpion intends to kill them in order to spite the Elder Gods for their betrayal. During the Battle of Armageddon, however, Scorpion -along with all the other kombatants- is slain. He is killed battling against his longtime rival Sub-Zero.
Alternate timeline[]
In the alternate timeline established in Mortal Kombat (2011), Scorpion is once more a participant in the Mortal Kombat tournament, this time accompanied by his master Quan Chi. During the tournament, the infernal revenant demands that Shang Tsung allow him to fight Bi-Han (Sub-Zero), though the sorcerer dismisses the spectre's barking, stating that his opportunity will come in due time. While waiting for his chance at revenge, Scorpion is approached by Raiden who urges the spectre to spare Sub-Zero's life. If he does so, Raiden promises to address the Elder Gods and request that they resurrect the Shirai Ryu clan.
Scorpion later has his match against Sub-Zero, dragging the Lin Kuei assassin down into the hellish depths of the Netherrealm. There, Scorpion fights and defeats Sub-Zero, deciding to honour Raiden's request and spare the ice ninja's life. Quan Chi, however, intervenes and shows Scorpion a vision of the Lin Kuei butchering the Shirai Ryu, with Sub-Zero personally executing Hanzo Hasashi's wife and infant son. Sub-Zero pleads that he was not the one who carried out the murder, but the enraged Scorpion does not listen and incinerates Sub-Zero with his hellfire breath. He then returns to Shang Tsung's palace holding Sub-Zero's charred skull and spine.
Later in the tournament, Scorpion fights alongside Quan Chi against Liu Kang. Both master and servant are defeated by the Shaolin monk, who then goes on to defeat Goro and Shang Tsung, thereby winning the tournament.
During Shao Kahn's tournament, Scorpion was summoned by Quan Chi to face Sub-Zero's younger brother,Kuai Liang, who had taken over the mantle and was trying to avenge his elder brother, Bi-Han. Scorpion emerged from the Netherrealm and quickly realized that the Sub-Zero before him was not the same that he fought and killed before. The two fought and Sub-Zero prepared to finish the spectre, but he was suddenly captured by Lin Kuei cyber-ninjas who took him back to Earthrealm to undergo cyberization himself.
During Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, Scorpion was confronted by Raiden in the Netherrealm. When Raiden expressed disappointment with Scorpion's decision to remain at Quan Chi's side, Scorpion scornfully told him to save his pity. Raiden requested an audience with Quan Chi, but Scorpion refused. Annoyed by this, Raiden accused Scorpion for not saving his family, enraging the spectre. Scorpion then battled the Thunder God, but lost and swiftly teleported away as Quan Chi appeared.
Months following the Outworld invasion, the dark god Shinnok was freed from his confinement within the Netherrealm and launched his own invasion of Earthrealm. Fighting under his command was Scorpion along with the revived warriors who had previously fallen in battle against Shao Kahn's invasion, corrupted by Quan Chi's sorcery to serve the evil deity. While the Netherrealm War ends with Shinnok's defeat and imprisonment within his own amulet, his remaining forces fall back to the Netherrealm.
Hanzo Hasashi is restored to humanity
Some time after Shinnok's defeat, Raiden, Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage investigate Quan Chi's fortress. There, they are attacked by Quan Chi and the revenant Jax, Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Johnny is mortally wounded and as he bleeds out, Quan Chi immediately gets to work creating a new revenant. Sonya is able to defeat the sorcerer and his underlings while Raiden works to save Johnny. He disrupts the spell and saves Johnny, and in doing so he also restores Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Jax to their mortal selves, cleansing them of Quan Chi's corruption.
After being freed from Quan Chi's control and restored to life, Scorpion returns to Earthrealm under his true name Hanzo Hasashi. In the years to come, he works to rebuild the Shirai Ryu clan as a force for justice, taking in orphans and outcasts to build up his ranks, among them being Takeda Takashi, son of the blind swordsman Kenshi Takashi. He also settles his long rivalry with Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei, agreeing to work alongside them in protecting Earthrealm. While human once more, Hanzo has nonetheless retained most of the spectral abilities he had gained. He is now capable of shifting between his human and spectre form, though not entirely at will. His demonic side emerges during periods of heightened anger and vengeful rage.
When the Titan Kronika began re-engineering the timeline to suit her own ends, she enlisted the aid of several warriors that been temporally displaced, including Scorpion's revenant self. Kronika promised Scorpion that the Shirai Ryu clan and Scorpion's family would be restored in her New Era, but this was only meant to ensure Scorpion's compliance. In reality, she was unconcerned with fulfilling any of her promises to her recruits.
Meanwhile, the present-day human Hanzo Hasashi and his clan were working alongside Sub-Zero, the Lin Kuei and Earthrealm's other protectors to disrupt Kronika's schemes. Partnering with Sub-Zero, he infiltrated a Cyber Initiative factory where Sektor and Frost had been taking captured Lin Kuei warriors to forcibly convert them into cyborg soldiers. The two ninja succeeded in overcoming their adversaries and were able to free Cyrax from his programming, who helped them destroy the factory.
Later into the conflict, while Sub-Zero tried to enlist the aid of Kharon, Hanzo would encounter his undead counterpart from the past. Scorpion explained that he was helping Kronika so that the Shirai Ryu would be restored to their former glory, but Hanzo informed him that their clan had been reformed already. Scorpion disagreed, seeing the current state of the clan as tainted, and so past and present clashed in kombat. Hanzo defeated Scorpion and told him that Kronika's purpose was to resurrect her son Shinnok, the very being responsible for the destruction of his clan and the loss of his wife and son.
Scorpion was convinced by his future self's words, but at that moment D'Vorah suddenly attacked and struck Hanzo with one of her stingers, poisoning him. Scorpion fought D'Vorah off before tending to his future self, but there was nothing to be done. Before dying, Hanzo told his past self that the Shirai Ryu were defined by their heart, not their blood.
With his future self dead, Scorpion decided to join Raiden's forces in his stead, returning to the Shirai Ryu Fire Garden to see it rebuilt. He was then attacked by Sub-Zero, but defeated him without killing him. He was then attacked by Raiden, who was beginning to succumb to the dark power of Shinnok's amulet. Scorpion fought Raiden and defeated him, healing him afterwards with some persuasion from Liu Kang. Realizing that Kronika had been pitting Raiden and Kang against each other in every timeline, the warriors came to a final agreement and assembled their allies for a final assault on Kronika's keep.
During the invasion of the keep, Kronika commenced her reset of the timeline. As a result, Scorpion was erased from existence. However, Liu Kang would then defeat Kronika in kombat and become the new Keeper of Time, using the Hourglass to establish a New Era different from the one Kronika had planned.
New Era[]
In the New Era, the monniker of Scorpion is taken by Kuai Liang, the brother of Bi-Han (Sub-Zero). Kuai remains human in this timeline, although he has learned pyromantic abilities.
While he does not appear in the main story of Mortal Kombat 1, Hanzo Hasashi does exist in the New Era. Following the events of the main story, Kuai Liang and Smoke have abandoned the Lin Kuei after Sub-Zero turned against Liu Kang. Together they form the Shirai Ryu in order to fight back against the Lin Kuei's plans to dominate Earthrealm, with a young Hanzo becoming one of the new clan's first initiates.
Abilities and Weapons[]
- Martial Arts - Scorpion is proficient in the fighting styles of Hapkido, Moi Fah and Pi Gua.
- Teleportation - Scorpion is capable of warping short distances. He can also warp to and from the Netherrealm at will.
- Harpoon Spear - Scorpion's trademark weapon is a spear bound to a rope or chain which he casts at opponents to pull them towards him.
- Mugai Ryu - Scorpion's favoured form of swordplay.
- Hellfire - Forged in the infernal pits of the Netherrealm, Scorpion is capable of manipulating the fires of Hell in battle. Even after being restored to his mortal form, Scorpion can still utilize hellfire, though perhaps to a lesser degree. He has been known to utilize hellfire as fireballs projected from his hands, conjuring flames from beneath the ground, or most famously, breathing streams of hellfire after removing his mask.
Appearances in other media[]
Mortal Kombat live-action films[]
Scorpion appears in Paul W. S. Anderson's live-action films Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. His character closely matches his game counterpart, but none of his history is revealed in either film. His signature Harpoon Spear weapon also appears to be a living creature that emerges from his palm.
In the first film, both Scorpion and Sub-Zero serve Shang Tsung and represent Outworld in the Mortal Kombat tournament. During the tournament, the spectral ninja battles against Johnny Cage and almost kills him with his hellfire breath. Johnny, however, picks up a shield with a bladed circumference and uses it to slash Scorpion apart. As flaming ichor oozes from his hellspawn body, Scorpion violently explodes.
Scorpion returns in the sequel, though it is never made clear how this is achieved. This time working for Shao Kahn, the spectral ninja appears shortly after the defeat of the cyborg Smoke. After a brief battle with the younger Sub-Zero, he grabs Kitana and teleports her back to Shao Kahn's fortress. He is never seen again after that.
Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm[]
In the animated series, Scorpion appears in the second episode "Sting of the Scorpion". According to Sub-Zero, Scorpion had been denied entry into the realm of the honoured dead and was forced to wander the Netherrealm. Drawing upon all the powers of darkness, he clawed his way out of the realm of lost souls, amassing an army of the undead with which to take his revenge.
Scorpion attempted to claim the dead from both Earthrealm and Outworld to fill the ranks of his army and also sought to resurrect Shang Tsung, who had been killed by Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat. The Defenders followed Scorpion to Outworld where Liu Kang and Sub-Zero fought him inside a krypt and defeated him. Raiden then cast Scorpion through a portal back to the Netherrealm.
Mortal Kombat Legacy[]
In the live-action webseries, Scorpion's character and history are all but identical to his game counterpart. He had lived among the Shirai Ryu clan all his life, though as a child, he almost befriended Bi-Han, the boy who would become Sub-Zero in the future. Since the Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei clans were bitter rivals, the boys' families forbade them from being friends and taught them to hate the other.
In the future, Hanzo Hasashi's wife and son would be murdered and his entire clan massacred. Hanzo himself would be killed by who appeared to be Sub-Zero, but was actually the demonic sorcerer Quan Chi in disguise. Quan Chi had planned to fool Hanzo into thinking Sub-Zero, his sworn enemy, had killed his family and would use this to manipulate Hanzo's soul into his service as the spectre Scorpion.
Mortal Kombat Legends[]
Scorpion serves as the main protagonist of the first Mortal Kombat Legends film and is an important character in the second installment. While his character and history are largely the same as they are in the games, the films' plots diverge from the games' history somewhat.
After witnessing the brutal massacre of his clan by the Lin Kuei, Hanzo Hasashi is murdered by Bi-Han, the first Sub-Zero. He then awakens within the bowels of the Netherrealm where he is tortured by demons, but his rage over the deaths of his wife and son compel him to free himself and slay his tormentors. Quan Chi watches as Hanzo kills the demons around him before approaching him with an offer: fight for him in the Mortal Kombat tournament and be allowed to take revenge against Sub-Zero. Hanzo accepts, taking on the name Scorpion.
Scorpion travels to Shang Tsung's island where, on Quan Chi's orders, he attempts to steal Shinnok's amulet from Shang Tsung's treasury. Raiden appears before him and tries to persuade him not to go through with the theft, stating that Quan Chi is keeping something from him. Later, Scorpion finally has the chance to take his revenge on Sub-Zero. Their battle ends with both ninja plunging into a spike-filled pit; Sub-Zero dies from the impalement, but Scorpion pulls himself off the spike and heals his injuries.
As the tournament nears its climax, Quan Chi reveals that he was responsible for the massacre of the Shirai Ryu, having assumed Sub-Zero's form. The real Sub-Zero hadn't been involved with the massacre at all. Scorpion is infuriated by this revelation and turns on Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. He interrupts Liu Kang's battle with Goro and kills the Shokan warrior before taking Tsung hostage, forfeiting his status as a fighter in the tournament. By forfeiting, Scorpion secures Liu Kang's victory in the tournament. Shang Tsung escapes Scorpion's grasp and retreats back to Outworld. As soon as the sorcerer is gone, the island begins to collapse and the Earthrealm warriors make their escape. Scorpion, meanwhile, battles against Quan Chi inside the crumbling palace and succeeds in killing the necromancer before allowing himself to die inside the collapsing structure.
Following the collapse of Shang Tsung's island, Scorpion once again finds himself in the blasted pits of the Netherrealm. There, he is greeted by the Netherrealm's ruler, the evil god known as Shinnok. Shinnok orders Scorpion to return to Earthrealm and travel to the Temple of Elements where the Earth Kamidogu is being held. The key that Quan Chi had originally sent Scorpion to obtain had become entwined with the spectre's soul and was now a part of him, so his very presence would open the temple gates. Scorpion refuses to be Shinnok's lackey and flees through a portal, but the Mad God is non-plussed as he already has agents in Earthrealm ready to track the revenant down.
Upon returning to Earthrealm, Scorpion travels to the Wu Shi Academy where he meets with Raiden. He asks the thunder god to remove the mystical key bound to his soul, but Raiden can no longer perform such a feat as he had sacrificed his godhood so that he could participate in a new Mortal Kombat tournament being held in Outworld. Scorpion becomes frustrated, but Raiden advises him that he had walked the line between good and evil for a long time and that soon he will have to choose a side. Following his meeting with Raiden, Scorpion finds himself being pursued by the Lin Kuei, whose members had now been transformed into cybernetic killing machines. Sektor, Cyrax and Smoke attempt to capture Scorpion, but their efforts are interrupted by Kuai Liang, the new Sub-Zero, who wants to kill Scorpion so that he can avenge his brother, Bi-Han. Feeling guilty over killing Bi-Han, Scorpion admits his actions to Kuai Liang and is willing to submit himself to Liang's judgement, but requests that the ice ninja first help him in preventing his former comrades from obtaining the Kamidogu. Blinded by rage, Sub-Zero refuses to listen and attacks Scorpion, but is forced to contend with the cyber-ninjas as well.
Scorpion manages to escape from the Lin Kuei for a time, but is ultimately captured and used to unlock the Temple of Elements. With the temple opened, the cyber-ninjas prepare to terminate Scorpion, but Sub-Zero intervenes and freezes the cyborgs in place. Scorpion once again tries to convince Sub-Zero to help him in keeping the Kamidogu safe and Sub-Zero reluctantly agrees, though he states that he will never forgive Scorpion and swears to kill him once their mission is complete.
When the cyber-ninjas break free of the ice, they follow Scorpion and Sub-Zero into the temple. The two ninja warriors fight valiantly, but Sektor, Cyrax and Smoke ultimately overpower them and acquire the Kamidogu. They return to the Lin Kuei Grandmaster with their prize as well as the captive Sub-Zero and Scorpion. They then deliver the Kamidogu to Shinnok, unaware of their client's identity until he reveals his plan to resurrect the One Being. The fallen Elder God summons a horde of demons to slaughter the Lin Kuei, but Scorpion and Sub-Zero break free of their bonds and fend off the beasts. However, they are too late to stop Shinnok from carrying out the incantation needed to unite the Kamidogu and the One Being is restored, using Shinnok's body as its vessel.
Once fully formed, the One Being begins fusing all the realms of reality into one in preparation for absorbing them all into itself. As the merger begins, Scorpion and Sub-Zero teleport away and join Liu Kang and the other heroes of Earthrealm at Shao Kahn's fortress, informing them of what is happening. The Elder Gods appear and bless Liu Kang with their power, transforming him into a divine dragon capable of battling the One Being. While Kang fights the One Being in his dragon form, Scorpion and the others go about trying to protect the lives of the various innocent bystanders caught up in the chaos of the merger. In the end, the One Being is defeated and the merger reversed, with Scorpion finding himself in Outworld standing among the other heroes following their victory.
Mortal Kombat (2021)[]
Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (portrayed by Hiroyuki Sanada) is an intrinsic part of the film's story. Five hundred years before the modern age, Hasashi and his family were slaughtered by Bi-Han and the Lin Kuei. However, Hanzo had left behind an infant daughter who had been hidden from the assassins, and Raiden took the child away to be raised by an unknown party.
In the present, Hasashi's last descendant - Cole Young - is living in Chicago as an MMA fighter and is unaware of his lineage. He later learns of his warrior heritage after joining the other Mortal Kombat competitors at Raiden's temple and is given his ancestor's kunai by the thunder god. When Shang Tsung and his warriors try to kill off the Earthrealm fighters before the next tournament, Cole confronts Sub-Zero. Using his arcana and mingling his blood with Hasashi's blood still on the blade, Cole summons Scorpion from the depths of the Netherrealm to do battle with his ancient nemesis. After helping Cole save his captive family, Scorpion finally takes his revenge by incinerating Sub-Zero with hellfire. He thanks Cole for freeing him and asks him to take care of the Hasashi bloodline before disappearing.
External Links[]
- Scorpion in the Villains wiki.