Noob Saibot

Noob Saibot is a character in the Mortal Kombat video gaming franchise.

Background

Noob Saibot was introduced in Mortal Kombat II as a secret, non-playable character about whom nothing more was known than the fact that he was completely black: his clothes, skin, face, everything. Later, it was revealed that he was a creature from the Netherealm, and more precisely a member of the Brotherhood of Shadow. As such, Noob Saibot's total darkness is both a symbol of his soul and his origin. He is an agent of purest evil, and it could be argued that he was instrumental in the demise of both Shao Kahn and Goro. His fanatical devotion to his purposes makes him a feared opponent.

Storyline

Warning: plot details or spoilers follow
In his previous life, Noob Saibot was an assassin for the Chinese ninja clan, the Lin Kuei, and he was known by the codename Sub-Zero. In a perilous quest that would lead up to many events in the Mortal Kombat universe, Sub-Zero was to deliver an amulet to the necromancer Quan Chi. On his way, he encountered Scorpion, a ninja from the rival Shirai Ryu ninja clan, and killed him. Scorpion returned as an undead warrior with an unquenchable thirst for revenge, and killed Sub-Zero in the first Mortal Kombat tournament. Sub-Zero descended to the Netherealm, where he was stripped of his last vestiges of humanity, pride and compassion. There he continued following orders from Quan Chi as the shadow warrior Noob Saibot.

He was sent to Outworld to spy on the events between Outworld and Earthrealm at the command of Shinnok, a Fallen Elder God who had been banished to the Netherealm millions of years ago. He was at first ordered by his superiors to side with Shao Kahn during the invasion of Earth. However, as the tables turned in favour of the Earthrealm warriors, Noob Saibot switched allegiances and joined the Earthrealm warriors in defeating Shao Kahn. Sensing that his time had come, Shinnok was freed from the Netherealm by Quan Chi and conquered Edenia. Noob Saibot was now in direct service of his overlord. However, despite all the careful planning, Shinnok was once again defeated by Raiden's forces the Brothers of the Shadow were disbanded.

Roaming across the realms, Noob Saibot found Shao Kahn again and was enlisted in his army. A few years later, in the events leading up to Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, he appeared out of nowhere during a battle between the armies of Edenia and the Shokan (lead by Kitana and Goro) and the Outworld army (lead by Kano). He attacked Goro, and after a fierce fight, the Shokan prince was mortally wounded and later died. The war ground to a stalemate.

Noob Saibot slowly changed from a pawn into a player. The Deadly Alliance rose and fell, and Onaga returned to Outworld. Although Noob Saibot showed allegiance to Onaga, in secret he was amassing an army to conquer under his own flag. He was aided in this by Smoke, whom Noob Saibot had discovered in the bowels of Shao Kahn's fortress, and reprogrammed to become a template for an army of cyber-demons.

Movie appearance

Although he was never mentioned by his name, Noob Saibot emerges from Ermac's body to double team on Sonya in the final battles. In the end he's killed by Jax who comes to her rescue.

Trivia

Noob Saibot is actually 'Boon' and 'Tobias' backwards, named so after the original creators of Mortal Kombat, Ed Boon and John Tobias.

In Mortal Kombat 3, Noob Saibot is not just a fully black 'ninja' palette swap, but is actually a completely black version of Kano, because there are no 'ninjas' in MK3. In Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Noob Saibot is one of the many palette swaps of ninjas found in the game (the ninja frame is also used for Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Rain, Ermac, and Smoke.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, "Saibot" is dropped from his name. He plays alongside Smoke. A player who chooses the team of "Noob-Smoke" can switch between the two, but they share the same health.