It's difficult to conceive of a gaming industry without the Mortal Kombat series. The franchise is one of the most popular as well as one of the most controversial video games ever created. Mortal Kombat was originally intended to be a star vehicle for Jean Claude Van Damme. When those plans fell through, the game was in danger of becoming a poor Street Fighter knockoff.

Instead, the creators struck out in a bold new direction. They introduced a never-before-seen gameplay mechanic full of blood, gore, and an innovative new fighting system. It was a marked departure from previous fighting games with their cartoon animations and fighting moves that never showed any actual damage to the characters.

Despite a large cast of fighters, Sub-Zero has emerged as one of, if not the most popular character in all of Mortal Kombat. The ninja with the ice powers has proven his fighting prowess in every fresh installment of the game to date. His rivalry with Scorpion has also become one of the highlights of the game since it can never be predicted when those two will become enemies again or go back to being friends.

While Sub-Zero was never meant to be the main character in the games, popular fan demand eventually led him to becoming one of the characters with the most elaborate backstories among all the fighters that inhabit the world of Mortal Kombat. Here are 25 facts that you may not have known about the body of the blue ninja known as Sub-Zero.

23 He Once Turned Cyborg

Mortal Kombat 2011 offered an alternate timeline story for the long-running gaming franchise. One of the biggest departures from tradition in this storyline was that Raiden makes an attempt to stop the ninja Smoke from being transformed into a cyborg.

But along the way, Sub-Zero himself ends up undergoing the same process of... cyborgifiction, I guess we can call it.

Now simply renamed Unit LK520, cyborg Sub-Zero becomes a slave to the Lin Kuei and is pressed into service assisting Shao Kahn with his invasion of the EarthRealm. Jax and Sonya finally manage to turn him good again.

22 The Origin Of The Scar

The scar over Sub-Zero's eye has always been his most distinctive feature, in a game which used color-swapped sprites with the same general design for several characters. But the history behind how he got the scar is as confusing as that of The Joker from The Dark Knight.

In one version of the story, the scar was inflicted on Sub-Zero by the Lin Kuei. In another version, he got the scar as the result of getting hit by Kung Lao's razor-sharp hat during a battle. Alternately, it is shown in the comics that Kano gave him the scar.

21 A Boost To His Powers

Sub-Zero has one of the most interesting powers sets in all of Mortal Kombat, and he can wield his ice powers in a variety of creative ways depending on the situation. But as it turns out, what we have seen of Sub-Zero's powers is only a fraction of what they can do.

In the original timeline for the game, he discovers an ancient artifact known as the Dragon medallion. The piece of jewelry can only be controlled by a skilled warrior. Sub-Zero uses it to push his power levels to greater heights than ever before.

20 Cyborg Sub-Zero Transforms Even Further

We've talked about the cyborg version of Sub-Zero, but the story doesn't end with him getting past his brainwashing with the help of Earth warriors and joining the resistance.

A much darker fate awaited poor Sub-Zero.

In Mortal Kombat 9, playing as Cyborg Sub-Zero presents you with a particularly chilling ending for your character. After Shao Kahn is defeated, his ghostly spirit takes possession of Sub-Zero's robot body. Khan proceeds to take full control of his new physical shell, upgrading his cyborg body and once again becoming the ruler of his realm. Unfortunately, we never got to see a follow up to the story in the sequel.

19 He Once Became Batman

Let's face it. Every comic book reader wants to be Batman. There's something cool and compelling about being a billionaire who moonlights as a ninja vigilante at night. It seems even Sub-Zero could not resist the desire to be as much like Batman as possible.

The events of Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe end with Sub-Zero deciding to follow Batman's example of living a life of battling evil. To that end, Zero adds a long black cape to his costume. The final shot of him is standing atop a building watching over his chosen city.

18 The Two Sub-Zeros

What many people don't realize is that the mantle of Sub-Zero has been worn by two members of the Lin Kuei. They are both brothers named Bi Han and Kuai Liang.

The ninja persona of Sub-Zero was first adopted by Bi Han.

After he was defeated and his life taken by Scorpion, his younger brother Kuai Liang took over the mantle as a way to honor his brother's memory. The new Sub-Zero was known to be kinder and more compassionate. He was also defeated by Scorpion, but his life was spared after Scorpion realized he was a different man.

17 His New Identity

The new Sub-Zero took some time to become worthy of the title of legendary fighter Sub-Zero, but he eventually learned to step out of the shadow of his brother. But that did not mean his brother's story was over.

The former Sub-Zero was defeated in battle, but after his demise, he was resurrected in the form of a wraith. And that wraith is none other than Noob Saibot! Fans had to wait until Mortal Kombat: Deception came out to discover the startling truth about Saibot's character. Too bad he is now definitely sinister and a worshipper of Shinnok.

16 A Troubling Soul

Now, the original Sub-Zero was supposed to be a good guy. So how did he later become the super sinister Noob Saibot? According to the game creators, years of fighting in the tournament, and years of watching the most horrifically brutal matches in the world irreparably corrupted Bi Han's soul.

When that soul was brought back to life by Quan Chi, the experience had an even worse effect on Han's psyche. When Quan Chi offered the resurrected wraith the chance to serve the dark god Shinnok under him, Han was only too willing to accept.

15 God Of Ice

Sub-Zero is arguably the most popular character in all of Mortal Kombat. Since fans are always clamoring to see more of him, the game's creators keep finding new ways to take his story forward and make him progressively more powerful.

This trend reached its zenith when Sub-Zero became the literal God of Ice.

This was during the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. That's right. At one point Sub-Zero did not only possess ice powers, but he possessed complete power over all ice, ever! There really isn't more you can do with a character after turning him into a godly being.

14 His Powers Are Genetic

A lot of the characters in Mortal Kombat have come to possess their powers after years of hard work and practice. But when it comes to his ice powers, they weren't something that Sub-Zero had to struggle to possess. Rather, he was born with them.

Sub-Zero belongs to an ancient race from Outworld known as the Cryomancers, who have the ability to shape and control ice. The entire race of Cryomancers is believed to have been exterminated by Shao Kahn in the past. The two Sub-Zero brothers and their apprentice Frost are believed to be the last surviving members of their race.

13 He Sports Body Art

Every character in MK has a signature costume that gamers associate with them. Sub-Zero's blue ninja costume has become an inextricable part of his identity. With each new game in the series, his clothes have carried more detailed designs. In some of those games Sub-Zero sports body art in the form of letterings on his costume.

In MK: Deadly Alliance, the letters spell out 'Ice Dragon' or alternatively 'Ice Dragon's Ice'. Also, the alternative Chinese characters for Sub-Zero's name translate literally to fast and cool. Two words which pretty effectively sum up Sub-Zero's fighting prowess.

12 Original Sub-Zero's Powers Were No Match For Scorpion

We've spent a lot of time hyping up Sub-Zero's abilities in this article, so we should try to balance that out a bit by mentioning how badly the original Sub-Zero lost to Scorpion. Keep in mind, the original ice ninja was far more brutal and ruthless than his younger brother who later took on his mantle.

And yet, that brutality and all those ice powers were not enough to withstand Scorpion's might.

It is always interesting to see if the new Sub-Zero, with all his newly acquired powers, is able to put up a better show against Scorpion.

11 Younger Sub-Zero Is Stronger Than His Brother

While the original Sub-Zero, Bi Han, was a ruthless and extremely powerful warrior, it seems his abilities were still no match for his younger brother. Of course, in the video games, how powerful a character is depends on the skill of the player, but the canonical backstories for each player do tell us something about their power levels.

So original Sub-Zero lost to Scorpion. The new Sub-Zero fought Scorpion to a standstill. Also, the new Sub-Zero was shown to defeat Noob Saibot, who is the new, more powerful incarnation of his older brother. Clearly, the new Sub-Zero is stronger than the original.

10 Age Taking Its Toll

Mortal Kombat had been around for decades, and yet interestingly enough, Sub-Zero is one of the few characters in the game that show the effects of aging. During the events of Deadly Alliance, we see that Sub-Zero has started getting wrinkles while his hair is turning gray.

Then by the time Deception rolled around, Sub -Zero had actually begun to go bald. His scar is also shown to change with time and eventually disappears entirely from his face. Perhaps the fact that he has part-human ancestry is responsible for allowing the ravages of time to affect his body.

9 His God Powers Earned The Wrath Of The Elder Gods

You would think that becoming the God of Ice would make you effectively invincible. But the world of Mortal Kombat has an entire pantheon of Gods and Elder Gods who maintain the balance of their world.

The Elder Gods were not pleased to see a young upstart mortal claim the powers of the God of ice.

They sent their personal enforcers after Sub-Zero to take him down, and he was forced to defend himself against the literal Army of Gods. Of course, this being Sub-Zero, he must have won eventually. But we have yet to get a definitive answer to that question.

8 His Body Has Taken The Most

Of all the characters to have appeared in the game, Sub-Zero's body has seen the most punishment, at least as far as the players of the games are concerned. That is because Sub-Zero holds the distinction of being the only Kombatant to appear in every iteration of the game from the start.

Even though the Sub-Zero in the first game was a different character than his younger brother who took up his mantle, that is still an impressive number of games to appear in. And the largest number of battles to have taken part in.

7 His Powers Are Extraordinarily Well-Developed

Even before he became the God of Ice, the younger Sub-Zero's powers were extraordinarily well-developed. His ice powers may be a result of being a descendant of the Cryomancers, but even by the standards of his own race, his powers are incredibly advanced.

This was made clear when another Cryomancer named Frost tried to control the Dragon Medallion, and it ended up destroying her. Sub-Zero was able to use the medallion to become more powerful. And of course, he had already proven to have become a more powerful Sub-Zero than his older brother ever was.

6 His Freeze Move Was Considered The Most Useful

For fans of the original Mortal Kombat, the real hero of the game was Sub-Zero, even though Lui Kang was intended by the creators of the game to be the protagonist of the series. Sub-Zero's popularity was because of a particular power he possessed:

The ability to freeze opponents.

This power was an invaluable asset in a fighting game since you could pull off any number of combos while your opponent stands frozen in front of you. The only thing to rival Sub-Zero's Freeze throw was Scorpion's use of the harpoon on unsuspecting opponents.

5 He Was Once A Johnny Cage Clone

Eagle-eyed fans of the original Mortal Kombat game will have noticed that Sub-Zero in his unmasked character description photo bore an extraordinary resemblance to another featured player: Johnny Cage. They also shared the same height, weight and body type.

That is because they were both played by the same actor named Daniel Pesina. The game was going for a photorealistic look, and that meant hiring real people to play the characters. To save money, Pesina played Cage as well as all the ninja characters in the game who wore hooded masks.

4 His Mind Was Messed Up By Shang Tsung

The first Mortal Kombat movie introduced Sub-Zero to a legion of eager fans. Only for their excitement to turn to rage and disappointment. That is because the Sub-Zero who appeared in the movie wasn't the powerful anti-hero they wanted to see.

Instead, Sub-Zero was a stooge of the main villain Shang Tsung.

His mind had been brainwashed, and his first substantial appearance in the movie was him having his behind handed to him by a bucket of water thrown at him by Kung Lao. No wonder fans of the character were annoyed.