Mortal Kombat 11’s Aftermath expansion is just a week away, but what’s been revealed about it is insane. Including MK11 Aftermath’s bonuses, prices, DLC characters, and more, it’s a solid expansion many did not see coming despite prior leaks. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects is how Kombat Pack 1 characters are being brought into the story, giving them more emphasis than just being a fighter.
New DLC characters Sheeva and Fujin take part, while characters like Nightwolf, Sindel, and Shang Tsung are as well. However, the very fact that Nightwolf and Sindel are on the same side may take many Mortal Kombat 11 fans by suprise.
Mortal Kombat 11: Sindel and Nightwolf’s Relationship
In the current timeline, Sindel and Nightwolf can be established as genuine enemies. Mortal Kombat 2011 sees Sindel resurrected by Quan Chi, empowered by Shang Tsung, and killed by Nightwolf. However, she kills most of the Earthrealm warriors including her daughters beforehand, with Nightwolf sacrificing himself to kill Sindel. She later returns in Mortal Kombat X as an an undead revenant NPC, and in her debut in Mortal Kombat 11, Sindel gets retconned.
It turns out, at least in this timeline, Sindel was always evil and ambitious, willing betray her people to become Shao Kahn’s empress. This deeper dive into her evil tendencies, which have always been forced before, really changes her backstory. It also puts her even further away from Nightwolf’s ally, making it even more surprising to see them both in Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath’s Story
The Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath trailer gives fans a couple of ideas of what to expect. It seems to conduct Shang Tsung’s Time Heist, stealing Kronika’s Crown from his Island in the past, players will be recruiting the likes of Sheeva and Sindel to the fight. Shang Tsung’s motives are questionable, due to past allegiances to Kronika and her commentary in the trailer, but it’s clear that Sindel and Nightwolf end up on the same side.
Nightwolf emerges alongside Shang Tsung (something that is equally surprising) and Fujin in the early moments of the trailer, while it is revealed that Sindel is seemingly revived later on. However, that does beg the question of how. In the current timeline, the last time Revenant Sindel was canonically seen was fleeing back to Netherrealm, yet she is being revived by Shang Tsung. Clearly, this is potentially done in the past, well before the events of the last game, and before she is revived by Quan Chi.
That doesn’t negate her background, though. In this timeline, she was evil to the core and so it seems unlikely Nightwolf takes pleasure in her revival. It’s clear her daughter doesn’t after all. It’s possible that Sindel and Shang Tsung betray the main party later on, which seems like the most likely explanation in Mortal Kombat 11, but there is one more possibility.
If Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath travels back in time…to the original timeline, then Sindel may not be evil. It would make sense as a way to bring the good queen back into the fold, potentially retconning Sindel again, for the events of Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath. One can hope to see the queen returned to her former glory, but either way, juxtaposing Nightwolf and Sindel in the upcoming expansion will be a wild ride for fans of the franchise.
Mortal Kombat 11 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
