Reptile

Reptile
Real Name	Syzoth
Gender	Male
Origin	Zaterra
Resides	Outworld
Species	Saurian
Alignment	Neutral
Weapons	Battle Axe Kirehashi
Fighting Styles	Crab
Games	Mortal Kombat
Portrayers	Marz Timms

Syzoth, more commonly referred to as Reptile, is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is one of the few original characters, debuting in the original Mortal Kombat arcade game as a secret character. He became playable in Mortal Kombat II.

About Reptile

Reptile is a green garbed, humanoid reptilian creature that embodies the archetype of the unhappy underling. Said to be physically hideous and repulsive, he is renowned for his great stealth and unquestioning loyalty. Unlike many other henchmen, Reptile does not strive for power. He is caught in a delusional state of mind, obsessed with finding the last remaining member of his race, or freeing his homeworld of Zaterra from Outworld's grasp. Thus, he always remains loyal to Shao Kahn, only obeying other masters to survive and reach his goal of returning Zaterra to its former glory. While well-meaning and sincere, his obsession is so important to him that it causes him temporary fits of insanity.

Reptile was hidden in the original Mortal Kombat and thus holds the distinction of being the very first secret character to appear in a versus fighting game. Before battles with an opponent he would make his appearance and jump in the middle of the screen in a Sub-Zero win pose. Above his head would be clues on how to find him, such as "Look to la luna" ("the moon" in Spanish or Italian and hinting The Pit stage), "Alone is how to find me" (denoting that he is only unlockable in single player mode), "Perfection is the key" (directing towards the double Flawless victory), or "Tip eht fo mottob" ("Bottom of The Pit" spelled backward). Once in a while he will say "I am Reptile, find me!". This concept was repeated with Smoke and Jade in Mortal Kombat II and Khameleon in Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

He was a merge between the original Sub-Zero and Scorpion characters, capable of using both of their moves. Mortal Kombat co-creators John Tobias and Ed Boon admitted in an interview that the "birth" of Reptile was when they took Sub-Zero and Scorpion and fused the two into one and colored him green (yellow + blue = green). They christened this character "Reptile" due to his green color and their reference to lizards. While he wasn't given a lot of character depth at the time, he was worked on before the release of Mortal Kombat II. Reptile returned for the second tournament with his own special moves, available from the outset.

It is not quite clear how old Reptile is. Estimates run in the tens of thousands of years or even millions. What is known, however, is that the Earthrealm was nearly destroyed by a battle between the gods millions of years ago. Reptile's race of raptors, or Saurians, escaped to another realm, Zaterra, where it was then invaded and annexed by Outworld's emperor, Shao Kahn. As was the usual process for Kahn conquering another world, most of the Zaterrans were killed in the ensuing battles, only leaving a handful of people left. Among those, or among those descended from these survivors, was Reptile. Unlike the others of his kind, who were forced into slavery, Reptile was trained to be a servant of both Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung.

Appearance

In each Mortal Kombat game that Reptile appears in, his design changes. In MK-MKT, he appeared in a human guise (this form is available in Shaolin Monks if he is selected by both players in versus mode). In MK4, he is a reptile and human hybrid. In Deadly Alliance, he is in his most animalistic form yet. In Deception, Reptile appears in his human guise in Konquest and Sindel's ending; however, this is possibly an oversight. In Armageddon, he re-uses his Deadly Allianceand Shaolin Monks design. In MK 2011, he has another reptile like design. In MKX, he was given a two-piece mask that allows him to open his mouth and spit acid without taking it off.

Kombat Characteristics

Power and Abilities

At his debut, Reptile's powers were borrowed from the cryomancer descendant, Sub-Zero, and the hellfire specter, Scorpion. By the time of MKII, he is given his own powers (albeit they shared slight similarity to Sub-Zero's, like his power slide and force ball). Reptile appears to take abilities from several reptilian creatures. As a Saurian, Reptile remains mostly human in appearance.

However, like Scorpion, the mask and the skin behind it are merely a thorough guise to his true lizard form (whereas Scorpion's mask reveals a flaming skull). However, he appears to remove his mask more often than Scorpion. His saliva is composed of powerful, corrosive fluids that can easily burn right through steel, much like acid. He also can fire concussive blasts of homing energy.

Reptile's distinguishing trait is his ability to render himself completely invisible. As revealed in one piece of art for Deadly Alliance, a Saurian's appearance is human-like for the most part. However, the longer they are separated from one another, the more their human guises degrade and vanish over time until their true forms are revealed. The change is more than skin deep as it also can affect the mind as well. Saurians who lose their disguises completely will begin to regress into primal fits of blind rage, attacking both friend and foe.

As shown in the Mortal Kombat Future comics, Reptile can render anyone in an area invisible, as he managed to sneak himself, D'Vorah, Ferra and Torr behind Red Dragon soldiers bodyguarding Goro, allowing a surprise attack.

Reptile's Noxious variation makes him exhale a green poisonous gas from his body, which damages the opponent if him/her simply stands close to him. In the Nimble variation he gains the ability to move and attack at incredibly fast speeds, much like some sorts of lizards.

Movelist

Signature Moves

• Acid Spit: Reptile removes his mask and spits acid at the opponent. Sometimes, the jet of acid spit would hinder the opponent for a very short time as the steam from the acid burns away at the opponent's skin.
  • In MK, the enhanced version is called Acid Stream. Reptile spews a stream of acid.
  • In MK:DA, the enhanced version is called Acid Puddle. Reptile spews acid in front of himself to form a puddle of it. The opponent will take damage over time as long as they stand on it.
• Power Slide: Reptile slides across the floor to the enemy, hitting them and sending them flying into the air. In Shaolin Monks, Reptile secretes a trail of slime when he slides similar to the ice trail the one Sub-Zero leaves when he does.
  • In MK:DA, the enhanced version is called Slime Trail. Reptile slides at a further distance and will hit the airborne opponent with two kicks.
  • In MK:D, the enhanced version is called Slippery Slide, which has armor.
• Klaw Pounce: Reptile leaps and slashes his opponent with both claws to knock them back. This was once a combo ender in MK. In MKvsDC, there are close and far versions of this move, which strike opponents at sweep and jump distances respectively. If timed right, he can also avoid certain projectiles by going above them with this attack's leap.
  • The enhanced version Klaw Bounce has armor and knocks the enemy in the air when it hits, allowing for a juggle.
• Klaw Swipe: Reptile swipes one of his claws at the opponent to knock them back.
  • The enhanced version Klaw Slash has armor and knocks the enemy in the air when it hits, allowing for a juggle.
• Running Serpent: Reptile swiftly runs behind the opponent and delivers a successful elbow into their face.
  • In MK, the enhanced version is called Reptilian Elbow. Reptile follows up with an uppercut that knocks his opponent down.
  • In MK:DA, the enhanced version is called Reptilian Smash. Reptile follows up with an uppercut that knocks the opponent in the air, allowing for a juggle.
• Slow Force Ball: Reptile projects a green ball of energy or acid that slowly moves toward the opponent. When it hits the opponent, he/she is propelled toward Reptile. In Shaolin Monks, the green projectile homes towards opponents.
  • In MKI:DA, the enhanced version is called Slow Mega Ball. The size of the ball is larger, causes more damage, and travels slower.
  • In MK:D, the enhanced version is called Creeping Slimeball, which travels much slower than the original one. Both the Slow Forceball and the Creeping Slimeball can also be enhanced into a Floating Ball after they've been fired. This will stop them in place at any point of the arena, where they'll will stay for some moments to block the opponent's way.
• Fast Force Ball: A faster version of the Slow Force Ball.
  • In MK:D, the enhanced version is called Fast Mega Ball. The size of the ball is larger, it travels faster, and causes more damage.
  • In MK:U, the enhanced version is called Fast Slimeball, which travels even faster than the normal version. As with the slow variant, both the Fast Forceball and the Fast Slimeball can be enhanced into a Floating Ball after they've been fired.

Noxious

Gains a persistent noxious cloud that inflicts unblockable damage. A green, insect polluted noxious cloud surrounds his body.

• Poison Gas: Reptile increases the size and density of the noxious gas cloud he has around him, which causes it to do more damage more quickly and at a wider area for some time.
  • The enhanced version Toxic Fumes inflicts twice the damage of Poison Gas and forms an even greater poison cloud.

Deceptive

Gains various stages of invisibility. Mask is removed.

• Chameleon: Reptile disappears or reappears in a puff of smoke.
  • In MKvsDC, the enhanced version is called Vanish. Reptile will turn completely invisible, leaving no light distortion to help determine where he is as well as a better damage boost.
  • In MKvsSJ, the enhanced version is called Invisibility and armors Reptile while he gets invisible. He will turn completely invisible instantly, without the need of the button being held down.

Nimble

Gains the ability to increase speed and slow the opponent. A snake is enfolded around his waist.

• Basilisk: Reptile will concentrate for a second to move at great speeds, being able to perform many combos that were previously impossible. Time and his opponent will slow down while Reptile will move and attack much faster, and the screen will become green. However, he will lose his ability to block as long as the effect lasts, and it will end instantly if he gets hit or if he does his Throw attack. After Basilisk wears off, it will take some time for Reptile to be able to use it again.
  • The enhanced version Basilisk Runner makes the effect last longer and decreases the time Reptile takes to concentrate and activate it.

Other Moves

• Throw: Reptile tosses his foe in the air to catch their ankles with his tongue, hanging them upside down in front of himself. While holding them like this, he slashes them twice with his claws and then releases them to knock them away with a punch before they reach the floor.
• Reverse Throw: Reptile grabs his opponent, climbs onto their back, then creates a Force Ball behind their head that explodes, knocking them to the ground.

X-Ray Move

• Tricky Lizard: Reptile jabs a clawed finger into the opponent's eye, then snaps their neck turning them around. As they try to recover, he kicks them in the chest, breaking their ribs while sending them backwards.

Finishing Moves

Fatalities

• Tasty Meal: Reptile takes off his mask, revealing a reptilian face. He then opens his mouth and stretches out his long tongue, sticking it to his victim's head, then quickly retracts it, ripping off the head and eating it.
• Bad Breath: Reptile spits acid into his/her opponents face, melting it, then running up to his opponent, grabbing his or her head and splitting it into two halves.

Brutalities

• Acid Wash: Reptile does an Acid Spit aimed into the opponent's mouth, which then covers it and chokes them.
• Heart Attack: Reptile does a Tongue Slap that is strong enough to open a hole into his opponent's chest and rip the heart out. He then proceeds to eat it.
• Bo Dash: Reptile does a Reptilian Dash at the opponent and delivers a punch before decapitating them with an uppecut. The opponent's body falls over, while the stub leaks blood and putrid green smoke. (Noxious Variation)
• Puke: Reptile grabs his opponent in a Swamp Slam to puke acid onto their face. The acid then melts away the flesh as he slams them against the floor. (Deceptive Variation)
• Knee Kapper: Reptile quickly Slides into the opponent's legs with the Basilisk effect on, destroying their shins with the great speed of the attack. (Nimble Variation)
• Bubble Head: Reptile performs his Acid Spit attack, only instead of choking them, this results in the acid encasing the opponent's head in an acid bubble as it hits their mouth, separating their head from the body, and while the latter collapses, the bubble will float in place with the severed head inside it, rotating the head. (Secret)
• Bubble Burst: Reptile performs his Bubble Head Brutality, only while the head is rotating inside the bubble, the head explodes, changing the acid ball with their blood. (Secret)
• Get Rektile: Reptile simply uppercuts the opponent's upper torso off of their body. Reptile must be invisible in order to perform this. (Secret - Deceptive Variation)

Sequences

Battle Intro

Reptile walks onto the battlefield, invisible. He then makes himself visible and says, “I will rip your throat out!”

Victory Pose

Reptile removes his mask and lashes his tongue at the camera, and then snarls.

Trivia

• The SNES version of MK was updated with Reptile in mind. Players only had to achieve a Double Flawless Victory to face him, and his name was used for the healthbar instead of Scorpion's. This version also fixed the 10 million bonus bug (mentioned below)
• Reptile was listed as #9 of the Top 10 Best Mortal Kombat characters hosted by Screwattack.com.
• ScrewAttack also listed Reptile's Face Chew in MK4 as #10 of the Top 10 Best Mortal Kombat Fatalities, and they listed his Animality in UMK3 as #4 of the Top 10 Worst Mortal Kombat Fatalities.
• In UMK3 for the iPod, there is a glitch where he eats his opponent's head from the opposite direction.
• Fighting him will unlock The "Pit Master" achievement and trophy in Mortal Kombat (2011).
• Reptile is the default choice for player 2 in both MKII and MK4, opposing Shaolin Monks as player 1 - Liu Kang and Kai respectively.
• While Reptile's MK4 bio states that he was banished to the Netherrealm for committing genocide on other species, the MK4 comic shows Sindel (reclaiming her role as Edenia's Queen) banishing Reptile to the Cobalt Mines of Shokan for his crimes against Edenia. This is of note because until that point, the Cobalt Mines of Shokan had only been mentioned in MK: The Journey Begins and MK: Conquest. They have, so far, never appeared in any of the games.
• He, Scorpion and Sub-Zero share their Friendship in Mortal Kombat II, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
• He and Kano are the only characters from the first MK game who don't appear in the animated movie Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins.
• For some odd reason, performing Reptile's "Tasty Meal" Fatality in Mortal Kombat II on the Armory stage causes the floor to randomly slide to the left until the end of the victory screen. Only the floor will be moving, Reptile and his newly dead opponent do not move in the direction of the floor despite them being on top of it.
• In the first two Mortal Kombat games, Reptile bled red blood like the other characters. In Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3and Mortal Kombat Trilogy however, he bled green blood. (Although this is presumed this was put in due to his reptilian nature, the physical complications are off). In Mortal Kombat 4/Gold, his blood was turned back to normal red. In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, his blood was turned back to green, although broken body stubs would appear red. His technical appearance as Onaga in Mortal Kombat: Deception, he bled red blood again. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, he bleeds red blood. Reptile bleeds green blood once again in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, although he bleeds red blood in should he fall victim to a death trap. In Mortal Kombat (2011), he bleeds green blood, but when his fatality is full green. In his classic costume his blood is green but his innards and organs are red. His innards are red from UMK3 to MK:A and blue in MK (2011).
• Reptile was incorrectly called "Lizard" on the rental cases for MK: Shaolin Monks at Blockbuster.
• Although Reptile had a new, non-ninja design in Mortal Kombat 4, a UMK3-style ninja outfit could be unlocked for him. The outfit is a green recolor of Scorpion's MK4 design down to the skull mask and skull buckle, but lacks a loincloth due to his normal costume's model lacking the necessary geometry to create it. In addition, Reptile retains his new scale-covered skin rather than using the fake human skin used previously. He will also not remove the mask for Fatalities.
• He was the only fighter from the previous two games that received a new costume and character model for Armageddon, due to considerable fan demand for his Shaolin Monks design.
• When Liu Kang or Kung Lao find Reptile on the Pit in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, they refer him as "another servant of Shang Tsung", however, he will reply "I do not serve Shang Tsung". However, his MKII bio states he is Shang Tsung's protector and he does serve the sorcerer.
• In Deadly Alliance, his alternate bio presents his first costume, and vice-versa.
• In Mortal Kombat II, Reptile's head was treated as a separate sprite, so his face appeared while invisible if he performed the Acid Spit move. This is also seen if he's frozen by Sub-Zero mid-Spit.
• He is one of three characters in MK: Armageddon to bleed green blood.
• In the original arcade version of Mortal Kombat, as well as the Sega Genesis and Sega CD port, when the player fought Reptile, the name in the health bar said 'Scorpion', this was fixed in the Super NES version.
• Reptile has the ability to create a green smoke wall from his breath in the story mode of MK 2011. This move cannot be used by the player in battle.
• Like Baraka, in the short-film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, Reptile has a different origin. Instead of being a Saurian from Zaterra, Reptile is a human cannibalistic mass murderer from Earthrealm, born with his eyes inside-out due to a condition called harlequin ichthyosis. He also murders his victims by ripping their head off, but with his hands instead of his tongue. He stores the heads in a refrigerator until he is hungry and eats them piece by piece, unlike him in the games, where he devours the heads directly. It also turns out that his age in this movie is 30.
• In the Arcade, Sega Genesis, and Sega CD versions of the first MK, the game recommend the player to win two perfect victories along with a fatality without ever using block whenever they see a shadow flying in front of the moon at the Pit stage in one player mode. If done successfully the player would get an opportunity to fight the secret character Reptile: a combined version of Scorpion and Sub-Zero. In the Super NES version, the game doesn't required players to look at the moon for a shadow to do this, they would fight Reptile regardless of any shadow. If the player defeat Reptile with a fatality, they would be awarded a score of 10,000,000 bonus points.
• In MK 2011 Reptile is one of the only five characters whose victory pose breaks the 4th wall. The others being Sub-Zero, Cyrax, Freddy Krueger and Mileena.
• In MK 2011, Reptile is one of six characters able to do an X-Ray that hits the opponent three times, the others being Noob, Raiden, Kano, Stryker and Kintaro.
• In Challenge #227 of the Challenge Tower, he wears the armor of Unit 5 and appears to be a green palette swap of Cyber Sub-Zero.
• He doesn't speak in MK 2011, barring roars and snarls. He does however whisper inaudibly to Shang Tsung.
• In MK 2011, if his Fatality Acid Yak is used on himself, his stomach is revealed to be blue.
• In MK 2011, if Kabal performs his It Takes Guts Fatality on Reptile, Reptile's guts will be red and have red blood mixed with his regular green blood.
• Khameleon was created to expand on Reptile's origins in Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Said to be the other last remnant of Reptile's race, her only similarity to him was that she was a palette swapped ninja.
• In the game Skullgirls Encore, the character Fukua has a color palette that is based off of Reptile's colors. This is one of her three color palettes referencing Mortal Kombat, the other two being Ermac and Rain.
• Due to an in-game bug (specifically, an error in the in game's assembly instruction), in the arcade version of the game, beating Reptile as player 1 in the original Mortal Kombat will only award 2 million points instead of 10 million. Many ports of the game retain this bug; the SNES version, being updated with Reptile in mind, fixed this bug.
• In MKF, it is revealed through intro dialogue between Raiden and Reptile that Reptile's real name is Syzoth.