The new era ofMortal Kombat 1brings with it plenty of fresh character designs full of small details for players to notice, one of which can be seen on the new staff Rain brings into battle this time around. Ed Boon has already given some teases as to what Liu Kang’s new timeline will mean for some characters' relationships, such asSub-Zero and Scorpion, and the larger impact these may have on the universe. However, players haven’t been shy about digging into every little detail in the new character designs to see how different they are from previous incarnations.
Mortal Kombat 1is the second reboot in the long-running fighting game franchise, with the previous being 2011’sMortal Kombat. The new game takes place following the events ofMortal Kombat 11and Kronika’s defeat, leaving the newly anointed Fire God Liu Kang to rebuild the timeline from scratch. This new era has resulted in drastic changes to theMortal Kombatuniverse, ranging from Edenia never falling under the rule of Outworld to Scorpion and Sub-Zero becoming brothers.
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In the latesttrailer centered on the Lin Kueininja clan, it was revealed Rain and Smoke would be joining the core roster of fighters with some fresh new looks to fit the new era. Rain, in particular, got players talking on social media as he appeared to be a more mage-like character and may be leaving his original ninja design behind. To fit this new design, he brings a staff which features three frogs adorned on the top of it to fit with his water-based powers.
The detail had some users questioning if the frogs are just a small detail to giveRain’s redesignsome flair or if there is some additional meaning behind it.
It is just another example of how far NetherRealm appears to be going with givingMortal Kombat 1’s new timeline a distinct feel from previous entries in the franchise. It can already be seen in aspects such as Raiden being mortal andJohnny Cagelacking some of his distinct powers. As more characters are revealed, players will be able to see just how different this new era will be from the ones the studio has left behind.
Mortal Kombat 1is scheduled to release June 18, 2025, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
