These are the events that took place during the timeframe of the first Mortal
Kombat fighting game. While the majority of it is from the game itself, some of
it was contributed by elaborations in later games making references to what is
supposed to have happened during it.
1-1-1. Word of the Mortal Kombat tournament, which would potentially be the
setting of Goro's tenth victory (0-6-4), was spread around the Earth realm.
1-1-1a. Shang Tsung issued a personal invitation to Raiden, the thunder god
appointed by the elder gods to defend the Earth realm (0-1-2b). Raiden accepted
the invitation and took on a human form to take part in the Mortal Kombat
tournament.
1-1-1b. Liu Kang, a former Shaolin monk, was a member of the supersecret White
Lotus Society. Strong in his beliefs, he despised Shang Tsung. He also received
training from the master known as Bo'Rai Cho (0-1-4f). After receiving an
invitation to the tournament, he quit the White Lotus and got permission to
represent the Shaolin temples in Mortal Kombat. He boarded the boat in hopes of
returning the tournament to the Shaolin temples (0-6-3).
1-1-1c. Johnny Cage (real name John Carlton) was a skilled fighter who was
trained by martial artists from around the world. He used his talent as an
actor in Hollywood, and was constantly bombarded by critics' comments that he
was not a legitimate martial artist. Upon hearing of Mortal Kombat, he boarded
the boat to Shang Tsung's island, on a personal mission to prove that he was in
fact a legitimate warrior.
1-1-1d. Kano, a member of the Black Dragon (0-5-4), was being chased by a unit
of Special Forces (0-5-5) agents led by Lt. Sonya Blade. They chased him until
he had no choice but to jump onto a boat that was leaving the shore. Little did
he know the boat was headed to the site of the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Sonya's unit slowly followed the boat as well.
1-1-1e. Johnny Cage and Kano met on the boat and nearly started the Kombat
early. The more clear-headed Liu Kang quickly broke it up, and Kang and Cage
then became acquainted. (Classic) Sub-Zero (0-6-4b) and Scorpion (0-6-4c) also
faced eachother on the boat, meeting again for the first time since their first
encounter a decade earlier (0-6-4b). Scorpion simply promised that he would get
his revenge at the tournament.
1-1-1f. Beneath a bridge that would serve as one of the venues for the fights in
the tournament, lived a reptilian creature of a near-extinct race from the
Outworld. Known to humans only by the name of Reptile, he hid behind a disguise
that covered his reptilian form. He served as Shang Tsung's personal protector.
1-1-2. When the boat arrived at the island, Shang Tsung's personal army captured
Sonya Blade's Special Forces unit and forced her to participate in the
tournament. He promised her that if she performed well in battle, he would free
the other members of her unit. The tournament began, and the warriors engaged
in many vicious battles.
1-1-2a. Scorpion defeated (Classic) Sub-Zero and subsequently took the life of
the Lin Kuei warrior to exact his revenge, just as he had entered the
tournament to do. However, he began to blame (Classic) Sub-Zero for causing him
to have to make the decision that has disallowed him from knowing his family
ever again (0-6-4c).
1-1-3. Liu Kang defeated Goro and took the Mortal Kombat championship from the
Shokan prince. Goro disappeared shortly after his loss. Kang then proceeded to
defeat Shang Tsung as well, and ended Tsung's control over the Mortal Kombat
tournament (0-6-3). At this point, Liu Kang's master, Bo'Rai Cho (0-1-4f),
decided to return home to the Outworld, believing that Mortal Kombat was safely
returned to the hands of the Shaolin.
