New Mortal Kombat 1 Details Hint at a Villainous "Mastermind"

Mortal Kombat fans are still scratching their heads trying to figure out who the villain might be in Mortal Kombat 1, and it looks like NetherRealm Studios is well aware of that. A new biography shared this week for one of the newly confirmed characters, Geras, alluded to the villain of Mortal Kombat 1 by referring to them as a "mastermind" of sorts. That of course could conjure up images of the sorcerer Shang Tsung being the big baddie once again, but some Mortal Kombat characters are hoping that NetherRealm will do something a bit different with this Mortal Kombat game.

Geras was not exactly a hero in Mortal Kombat 11 even if he and Kronika felt their intentions were rightful, but he's got a different role this time around. He works for the new Liu Kang now as the "Sentinel of the Hourglass" who protects the New Era from any events that might throw off the rebooted world's timeline.

"In this New Era, Geras monitors events to make sure that they are faithful to Liu Kang's vision," a preview of Geras' new bio shared by the game's official Mortal Kombat Twitter account said. "When they deviate from their intended path, it is Geras's responsibility to correct them."

So, who might be the one (or ones) who'd want to throw the New Era timeline into disarray? We don't yet know, but the new bio for Geras says that he's looking to get to the bottom of it.

The vigilant protector of peace in the New Era. #MK1 pic.twitter.com/F2Dpt35TX4

— Mortal Kombat 1 (@MortalKombat) August 1, 2023

"As threats begin to mount, Geras works tirelessly to defend reality," the bio continued. "But to succeed, he must first identify the mastermind behind the plot to destroy Liu Kang's New Era."

While this doesn't tell us who the bad guy is, it sure does make it seem like the reveal isn't going to be a big pre-release unveiling. Rather, Mortal Kombat 1 players might actually have to figure out who the villain is themselves via the game's story content. "Mastermind" is a word that'd certainly be used in conjunction with Shang Tsung given the sorcerer's tendencies towards trickery, and it's worth pointing out that Shang Tsung, a pre-order DLC character in this game, has not yet gotten a bio to better explain his place in the New Era.