Although I DESPISE the fact that he replaced Cyber Smoke (my favorite cyborg), and I don't like the fact that he borrows a little too much from other characters moveset-wise, aesthetically, I'm gonna be honest: this is the best design I've ever seen for a cyborg in Mortal Kombat. And storywise I feel like this could be the best direction yet for Kuai Liang.
While it isn't even a question that human Sub-Zero needs to be brought back in some form, turning Kuai Liang back into a human and then back into Sub-Zero is not the solution to that, in my eyes. Kuai Liang is not the true Sub-Zero. He only assumed the identity to honor his late brother. But Kuai Liang isn't anything like Sub-Zero while the latter was still living; Sub-Zero was ruthless and cold-blooded. He continued to serve the Lin Kuei out of pure, unwavering loyalty and carried out his tasks without any of sense of morality. Kuai Liang has a greater sense of morality and ultimately decided to fight for Earthrealm instead of serving the Lin Kuei so I feel that he should retire the "Sub-Zero" name and stand for something much greater than what Sub-Zero stood for in life. In fact, I don't think it would be a bad idea for him to return to his original identity as "Tundra".
I feel that he should stay as a cyborg as a reminder to himself and others that even if some tragic event were to rear its ugly head over someone (in Kuai Liang's case, being converted into a cyborg), this doesn't stop them from living life just like they used to before their "transformation". Kuai Liang at face value may appear to be a hollow, mechanical shell of his former self, but his actions and belief in the greater good would quickly prove otherwise to those skeptical. Instead of dwelling on what he used to be before he became a cyborg or spending his life attempting to regain his fully human form, he should focus on bigger goals like becoming the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei restoring honor to the once great Lin Kuei like in the original timeline. This, in my opinion, would ensure that the decision to convert Kuai Liang into a cyborg this time wouldn't just be a cheap way to change up an established character, but a decision that actually ends up furthering his character development and making him a stronger man than he was even as a full human.
Now to solve the human Sub-Zero problem, I feel like the best way is bring Bi-Han back somehow. One theory I've heard is that when Noob got kicked into the Soulnado by Nightwolf, this could've split up the consciences of Noob Saibot and Bi-Han, therefore making the two seperate entities. It may not make much sense, but that's a minor sacrifice in my eyes, as we would get human Sub-Zero back while at the same time keeping both Cyber Sub-Zero and Noob Saibot.
With all that said, I still want Cyber Smoke back :laugh: