Place of Origin Netherealm (formerly Earthrealm)
Appearances As Sub-Zero
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero
As Noob Saibot
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate MK3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Advance
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat Gold
MK: Tournament Edition
MK: Deception
MK: Shaolin Monks
MK: Unchained
MK: Armageddon
Species Undead (formerly Cryomancer)
Fighting styles Hapkido (MK:TE)
Pi Gua (MK:TE)
Monkey(MK,MK:A)
Weapons Scythe (MK4, MKG)
Ninja Sword (MK:TE)
Alignment Evil
Portrayers Daniel Pesina (MK, MK2)
Richard Divizio (MK3)
John Turk (UMK3, MKT, MKM:SZ)
J.J. Perry (second film)
Sultan Uddin (MK: Conquest)
Noob Saibot is a character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.
About Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot is a wraith from the Netherrealm and was once the original Sub-Zero and brother to the younger Sub-Zero. He was killed by Scorpion, in revenge for killing him in cold blood. A heartless, coldblooded ninja, Noob Saibot had to earn his place in the Netherrealm and is a deadly force to be reckoned with. He is even willing to kill his own brother, as seen in his ending for Mortal Kombat: Deception, where he partnered with his brother's old ally, Smoke.
Storyline
As the original Sub-Zero
Like his name, clothes, and powers suggested, his character was icy and distant. In all aspects, he was a cold-blooded killer with an utmost dedication to the principles of his clan, and to whomever had paid him to kill. Although essentially neutral, his soul possesses an evil taint brought about by his years as a remorseless killer.
It is unclear how the family line of Sub-Zero came to be part of the Lin Kuei clan, though it is speculated that their family had been a part of the clan for at least several generations.
It is known that the father of both brothers (the fourth man to be known as Sub-Zero in his lineage) was a secret operative for the clan in the United States. He married an American woman and together they had two sons and a daughter. Against the will of their mother, the father took the sons with him to move back to China at a certain time, and as such both brothers became warriors of the Lin Kuei. The mother and the daughter remained in the U.S.
He made his first chronological appearance in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero when the sorcerer Quan Chi hired the Lin Kuei to find an ancient amulet, and he was sent to find the map leading to its location. He did not know that Quan Chi had hired a Japanese ninja, Hanzo Hasashi, for the same task in case Sub-Zero failed. Hasashi and Sub-Zero encountered each other in the map room, where Sub-Zero killed Hasashi in cold blood. After Sub-Zero delivered the map, Quan Chi made good on a promise to the Lin Kuei Grandmaster; the rival clan of the Shirai Ryu were wiped out. This slaughter, combined with Sub-Zero's merciless execution of Hanzo, fueled the vengeful spectre form of Scorpion who would later participate in the Mortal Kombat tournaments.
After Sub-Zero delivered the amulet to Shinnok and Quan Chi, he was sent back to retrieve it by Earthrealm's protector, Raiden, who explained to him that the amulet was the key to releasing Shinnok. Sub-Zero stole the amulet from Shinnok and escaped the Netherealm, refusing an offer from Quan Chi to join the Brotherhood of the Shadow and worship Shinnok. Whilst in the Netherealm, he was warned by Quan Chi that he was able to enter the Netherealm only because his soul had been tainted with evil; apparently troubled by this, Sub-Zero asked Raiden if it were true. Raiden confirmed Sub-Zero's fears, but informed him that only he could alter his own destiny.
The original Sub-Zero, before his transformationUpon returning to the Lin Kuei headquarters, he learned that he had been invited to the Mortal Kombat tournament; he was also hired to kill the host of the tournament, Shang Tsung, by one of Tsung's wealthy enemies (it is assumed by some fans that this enemy was Quan Chi). During this tournament, the elder Sub-Zero faced the murderous spectre of Hanzo Hasashi (still using his Shirai Ryu codename of Scorpion). In a malicious reversal of fate, Scorpion murdered Sub-Zero, and the latter's soul was sent to the Netherealm. There, he became Noob Saibot.
As Noob Saibot
In the Netherealm, Saibot would become a member of the Brotherhood of the Shadow, the very thing he had resisted becoming whilst alive. In a darkly ironic twist, Noob Saibot would now pledge allegiance and loyalty to Shinnok. One of his first tasks for his new lord would be to observe and report on the events taking place on Earthrealm and Outworld; to this end, he remained in the shadows during the Outworld tournament, faithfully monitoring the situation for the fallen Elder God.
Noob Saibot as he appeared in Mortal Kombat 4At Shinnok's behest, Saibot aligned himself with Outworld's emperor Shao Kahn during Kahn's invasion of Earth. However, as the tables turned in favor of the Earthrealm warriors, Noob Saibot was ordered to switch allegiances and join the Earthrealm warriors, unknown to Kahn. After Kahn was defeated, Shinnok, sensing his time had come, was freed from the Netherealm by Quan Chi, and conquered Edenia. Noob Saibot now served his overlord directly. But despite the Elder God's careful planning, Shinnok was once again defeated by Raiden's forces and the Brotherhood of the Shadow was disbanded. With Shinnok defeated utterly- Noob Saibot later refers to him as simply "gone"- Saibot returned to the service of the still-weakened Shao Kahn.
A few years later, in the events leading up to Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, he appeared during a battle between the armies of Edenia and the Shokan (led by Kitana and Goro) with the Outworld army (led by Kano). He attacked an exhausted Goro, mortally wounding him. The war ground to a stalemate.
With Kahn having been thought slain at the hands of the Deadly Alliance, and Shinnok vanquished, Saibot slowly changed from a pawn into a player. Free to pursue his own interests, and uninterested in the affairs concerning the rise of Onaga, he plotted to create his own legion of assassins. While searching Kahn's abandoned fortress, he discovered the inert body of Smoke. Reprogramming the cyborg to remain loyal to him, he reactivated his nanotechnology, and formed plans to create an army of cyber-demons, using Smoke as a template (see Noob-Smoke).
Possible future
Noob Saibot and Smoke's ending in Deception depict them as being pursued by Sub-Zero, who they murder as Saibot's first act as ruler of the Netherealm. Alternatively, Saibot is defeated by Ashrah in her own victory scenario as Smoke malfunctions. Whether any elements from these endings will occur remains to be seen, but both Saibot and Smoke will return in the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. However it was hinted by MK game creator Ed Boon in an E3 interview that they may possibly be separated in Armageddon as separate fighters, and may no longer be a team. The sepration of Noob and Smoke has subsequently been confirmed in a recent magazine article showing a different character select screen in which Noob and Smoke are separated.
As Sub-Zero
Freeze: He could send a ball of ice and freeze the opponent in place. (MKM, MK, UMK3, MKT)
Lin Kuei Slide: He could slide across the floor and knock the opponent off their feet. (MKM, MK, UMK3, MKT)
Ground Ice: Freezing the floor so anyone touching it would slip on the ice. (MKM, UMK3, MKT)
Ice Clone: Sub-Zero can create a statue of himself anywhere he wants to, and anyone who touches it will freeze. (MKM)
Polar Blast: Sub-Zero gathers all the cold energy in the room with his hands held as if he would throw a traditional fireball and causes the contained cold energy to explode, freezing everything in the room. (MKM)
As Noob Saibot
Disabler: Sending out a ghostly fireball that will disable the opponent for free hits. (MKT, MK4, MK Gold, UMK3)
Teleport Slam: Disappearing, then reappearing behind his opponent, he would grab and slam them on the ground. (MKT, MK4, MK Gold, UMK3)
Teleport Attacks: Similar to the Teleport Slam only he could attack the opponent besides slam them. (MK4, MK Gold)
Air Fireball: From the air he could shoot a fireball down at opponent. (MK4)
Shadow Throw: Noob could send out a shadow that would grab and throw his opponent into the air. (MKT, UMK3)
Dark Assassin: Summoned by Smoke, he would toss shurikens into the opponent. (MKD)
We Live: Along with Smoke, the two would charge punch the opponent. (MKD)
Death From Above: Smoke would summon Noob Saibot from the air, who would then appear and kick the opponent in the face, taking over the battle. (MKD)
Dark Shadows: Smoke would summon Noob Saibot who would appear and punch the opponent from behind, taking over the battle. (MKD)
Darkness: Noob Saibot could vanish, and reappear at will. (MKD)
Fatalities
Head Rip: The first fatality that he (as Sub-Zero) had in the series involved ripping out opponent's head and spinal cord from their shoulders. It was also one of the most infamous fatalities (with Kano's Heart Rip Fatality), which later spun a web of controversy around the violence factor in the game. (MK, UMK3, MKT)
Teleport Slam: Noob Saibot repeats his special move of teleporting and slamming the opponent into the ground. However, in the fatality, he holds on and slams the opponent repeatedly until he or she explodes. Rarely, on the N64 version, it was possible for the computer to perform this fatality without winning (resulting in a game freeze). (MKT)
Shadow Spin: Noob Saibot lifts his arm to summon a spinning cloud identical to the one that surrounds an opponent affected by his attack-disabling projectile. It drops onto the opponent, lifts him or her into the air, then spins until the victim's bones fly out of the spinning tornado. (MKT)
Torso Kick: A secret fatality for a secret character, this fatality only occurs when one-button fatalities are turned on. It is copied wholesale from Reiko, Noob Saibot's would-be replacement in MK4 and MK Gold. (MKG)
Ice Shatter: Another secret fatality, this one is copied from Sub-Zero. This one is quite the foreshadowing, considering Noob Saibot's at-the-time unrevealed origins. (MKG)
Shuriken Barrage: Another secret Fatality, again copied from Reiko, where he tosses many shuriken at the opponent rapidly. (MK4 (PC Version only))
Shuriken Slam: Noob holds a stack of shurikens in one hand and throws them at his opponent with the other, then pulls another stack of five out, and throws them at the opponent's head. (MK)
Other finishers
Brutality – (As Noob Saibot) Beats a long, fast and powerfull combo to his opponent, ending it with a destructive upper-cut. (UMK3)
Friendship – (As Noob Saibot) Bowls a bowling ball at some pins. (MKT)
Animality – (As Noob Saibot) Turns into an anteater and swallows the opponent whole. (MKT)
Hara-Kiri – Having taken to using shurikens in this game, Noob Saibot simply throws them upwards and lets them fall back down on his head. (MK)
Movie and TV appearance
Sub-Zero's appearance in the Mortal Kombat movieSaibot's former identity of Sub-Zero (played by François Petit) appears in the first Mortal Kombat movie as one of Shang Tsung's guardians, and is defeated by Liu Kang in their matchup; Kang hurled water at Sub-Zero the instant before the ninja used his freezing power, creating a stalactite on which he was impaled. His relationship to Scorpion is all but ignored; Shang Tsung only remarks that they are the "Deadliest of enemies, but slaves under my power."
Noob Saibot (played by J. J. Perry) appears in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, emerging from Ermac's chest to attack Jax and Sonya Blade. He is shortly thereafter slain by Jax.
Noob Saibot (played by Master Sultan Uddin) also appeared in Mortal Kombat: Conquest. In the eponymous episode, Saibot was an imprisoned Outworld warrior mistakenly released by Siro and Taja; Saibot was then recruited by a sorceress to assassinate Kung Lao, a task at which he failed. In this incarnation, Saibot was completely black and covered in oil, and able to extrude weapons (at least a baton) as well. At the time of the show's airing, the revelation that Saibot was a descendant Sub-Zero had not yet been established, Deception being released years later.
Trivia
Noob Saibot is actually "Boon" and "Tobias" backwards, named so after the co-creators of Mortal Kombat, Ed Boon and John Tobias.
It is a commonly held misconception by fans that since John Tobias left Midway Games, the "Saibot" portion of the name had to be removed for legal reasons. Tobias does not own the rights to the name of "Saibot". While the character's name does read simply "Noob" on the lifebar when fighting him alone in Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest mode, this is more than likely the result of the development team splitting up the name Noob-Smoke, and not writing in "Saibot" for purposes of efficiency. Noob is still referred to by the additional name of Saibot in Noob-Smoke's ending, and Ashrah's. He is also clearly stated as Noob Saibot by his brother in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, which was made long after Tobias left.
In Mortal Kombat: Deception, it is revealed for the first time that Noob Saibot is actually the original Sub-Zero, and states that he has not seen his brother since becoming a wraith. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks contradicts this, by being set in the Mortal Kombat II timeline and having Sub-Zero aware of Noob's identity. It also claims Noob is "possessed by one of the Elder Gods" which does not sit well with his Deception story. However, the majority of events in Monks are regarded by most fans as non-canon due to their contradictory nature.
In Noob's appearance in Mortal Kombat II, his special abilities are simply copied from Scorpion.
In Mortal Kombat 3, Noob Saibot is not a fully black 'ninja' palette swap, but is actually a completely black version of Kano, because there are no 'ninjas' in that game. He also has absolutely no special moves but uses some of Kano's combos. It's funny to note, when Noob wins a round, the announcer says, "Kano shows mercy!" This is an obvious programming glitch.
Noob Saibot was supposed to be a playable character in Mortal Kombat 4 also, but was removed in favor of Reiko. He instead became a secret character.
An early Mortal Kombat: Deception costume design for him became Havik, a different character altogether.
Both versions are as well simultaneously active in Malibu Comics' short-lived non-canon Mortal Kombat series.
These comics ignored Sub-Zero's inherent evil altogether, as they were released before its first mention in Mortal Kombat Mythologies. Sub-Zero is, however, depicted as being the victor of Shao Kahn's tournament, defeating Goro and claiming the Dragon Medallion, even as he is killed by Scorpion.
In Malibu's "Baraka" issue (1995), Noob Saibot appears as a good guy, and offers Baraka his assistance in hunting Scorpion down and saving an infant tarkata (who is considered to be "Outworld's only hope").
During his time as Sub-Zero, he disliked being called a "ninja." A loyalist, he referred to himself as a "Lin Kuei warrior" and distinguished the difference between the two.
Upon their appearance in Deception, there has been a massive outcry by fans that Noob and Smoke were a tag-team, as they felt it cheapened the characters' appearance and pushed Smoke (already an underdeveloped character storywise) further into obscurity. They won't appear as a tag-team again in Armageddon, instead they're separate characters again.
Losing to Noob Saibot in the SNES version of Mortal Kombat II will cause shouts of "You will die, mortal!" and "Toasty!" from Shao Kahn and Dan Forden, respectively. However, in the Arcade version, Shao Kahn says, "Feel the power of -" and is abruptly cut off by Forden's "Toasty!"
Losing to Noob Saibot in the arcade version of UMK3 will cause Shao Kahn to say "It's official, you suck!", instead of Noob's actual name.
Noob Saibot debuted in Mortal Kombat II, by winning fifty victories without losing. The only way players were ever allowed to achieve this, was in two player combat mode. It is possible to have one player lose purposely fifty times, in order to see Noob Saibot.
Noob Saibot is playable, in a way, in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. In Versus mode, if both players select Sub-Zero, the last player who selected him will play as a variation of Noob Saibot. He is colored black, like the real Noob Saibot, but he has Sub-Zero's frozen fore-arms and retains all of his younger brother's moves and fatalities.
Despite being classed as "neutral" in Mortal Kombat, many fans regarded Scorpion as the "bad guy" and when he was Sub-Zero as the "good guy." They seemed to be depicted in this fashion in John Tobias' original Mortal Kombat comic book. However, in the second official Mortal Kombat collectors' comic, Mortal Kombat II (in actuality released before the game) their story is closer to game's. Scorpion is seen returning from the dead to protect the second Sub-Zero, in the comic during the latter's fight with Reptile (this parallels Scorpion's in-game Mortal Kombat II ending.) Because Sub-Zero killed Scorpion in "cold blood" (as Scorpion often puts it), Scorpion is supposed to be seen as the "good guy" and Sub-Zero vice versa.
In the Super Nintendo version of the original MK, in Sub-Zero's ending one of the lines was changed from 'The assassination of Shang Tsung' to 'The destruction of Shang Tsung'. This was of course censorship, given that the words assassin or assassination cannot be used to comply with their 'family friendly' policy of the time.
Noob Saibot (as Sub-Zero) died at age 32 in 1992 (during MK1), but he is now 46 as of 2006. This would suggest that his birthday falls around 1960.
,MK:A)