When Mortal Kombat 12 is released, the developers will have a chance to fix the recent mistakes that were made with Sindel in Mortal Kombat 11. Previously a rather well-liked character, changes to Sindel’s character, especially in MK11, have made her one of the series’ most disliked figures. This is one of the biggest hiccups the series has made with a character yet – but there is a chance to fix it soon.
Sindel is the queen of Outworld in Mortal Kombat. For most of the series, she was the more heroic and well-meaning monarch of Outworld, although overshadowed by her villainous husband Shao Khan. When she did act, she exhibited much more morality and humanity than her husband could ever hope to, especially when one sees Shao Khan’s brutal reign in Mortal Kombat 2. Although she was not one of the main protagonists, she still carried a sense of hope that things could be much better in Outworld once Shao Khan’s reign came to an end.
The first ripple in Sindel’s character came in Mortal Kombat 9, where she killed a significant portion of the cast. However, this could be explained by her actions being out of her control at the time. However, a much more serious blow to her character came when she was added to Mortal Kombat 11 via the Aftermath DLC. In that game’s story, she revealed that she had been just as evil as Shao Khan all along, and her earlier kindness was solely to manipulate the rest of the cast. She then becomes one of the main antagonists of the Aftermath storyline alongside her husband. When Sindel was revealed as MK11 DLC, it’s safe to assume that this was probably not the storyline that most fans were expecting for her.
Sindel’s Shift To Villainy Was A Misstep That Can Be Corrected In MK12
To say that players were upset by Sindel’s change is an understatement. She had essentially been warped into a villain that bore no resemblance to the previous character aside from her appearance and moveset. Fans started a hashtag, #NotMySindel, to express their frustration with how badly Netherrealm had derailed her character. She had been changed from a flawed yet benevolent queen to a remorseless, backstabbing tyrant for seemingly no reason. It was a massive and unwanted character shift, and many fans believed that MK11’s retcons ruined Sindel’s character. The response to the new Sindel was similar to that of D’Vorah, a character whose role had consisted almost entirely of coldly murdering fan favorites Mileena and Scorpion in two different games while not being punished for either.
With the ending of Mortal Kombat 11 teasing another timeline reset, the opportunity is there to revert Sindel back to her old personality. Her brief run as a monstrous villain did very little for her and proved to be staggeringly unpopular. Sometimes a mistake needs to be corrected quickly, and another mainline Mortal Kombat game shouldn’t go by without returning Sindel to her original incarnation. While many characters have been able to develop in satisfying ways, such as Scorpion and Sheeva, Sindel’s change was a step backwards, not forwards. MK12 should avoid the mistakes of MK11, and that includes the treatment of this formerly fan-favorite character. There is nothing substantive that Sindel’s most recent iteration has to offer, so hopefully Mortal Kombat 12 will find a way to return her to her previous glory.
