Following Mortal Kombat 11’s first render of Sindel revealing that she was still a Revenant, many thought it was safe to assume that Nightwolf would be as well. The tomahawk and Nightwolf’s boot was all that had been revealed to that point, seemingly aiding the consensus, yet creative director Ed Boon recently revealed a new MK11 Nightwolf image that showcased him in his human form, leading many to ask whether or not Nightwolf is still a Revenant.
The simple answer is that we won’t know until Nightwolf is officially released in Mortal Kombat 11, but several ideas floating around on the Internet offer some insight or explanation into the dilemma. First off, it’s worth mentioning that Nightwolf was turned into a Revenant by Quan Chi after he sacrificed himself to defeat Sindel, so when Quan Chi is killed in Mortal Kombat X, it stands to reason that Nightwolf reverted back to normal. However, the flaw in this explanation is that Quan Chi also brought Sindel back as a Revenant, who was showcased as such in her render reveal.
The next likeliest explanation is some misdirection on Mortal Kombat 11’s part. Kitana wasn’t portrayed as a Revenant in her trailer, yet that is her default in-game nonetheless. It’s possible, then, that the same is happening for either Nightwolf, with Boon choosing to showcase his human skin over his Revenant default when he joins the roster of MK11 DLC characters.
A few other possible explanations have also been circulating around the Internet. It could be that Mortal Kombat 11’s Nightwolf is one brought forward in time, prior to being changed into a Revenant. Others think that, since Nightwolf is essentially a mantle, that this is a new one and not the known Grey Cloud version (the standard Nightwolf’s real name).
Most likely, the fate of Sindel and Nightwolf are closely tied together due to their history and their time as Revenants. The default version of one will likely be the default version of the other, but until Boon decides to show more of his hand, Mortal Kombat 11 fans will just have to wait to have their questions answered.
Mortal Kombat 11 is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.
Source: Reddit (1) (2)
