Recently, NetherRealm Studios unveiled a new set of DLC characters that are making their way into Mortal Kombat 11 via the Kombat Pack. and yesterday, they revealed a clip with an interaction of Sindel and Shao Kahn on twitter. The clip tells the back story of both characters.
The important thing to remember here is that Sindel married Shao Kahn. There’s much more to the two of them than just that, but that’s the short version. This conversation happens before the fight.
https://twitter.com/MortalKombat/status/1196512459877539840
The relationships between characters, past and present, is a major aspect — and selling point — of the Mortal Kombat franchise. The number of fighters that have a history with each other is a useful resource whenever a new game comes out. Sindel is one of the mainstay of Mortal Kombat, first appearing in Mortal Kombat 3, which revolved around her. While she has shown up every other game or so, she didn’t become an interesting or even threatening adversary until her reinvention in Mortal Kombat 9. It’s a reinvention that we’ll continue to see in her Mortal Kombat 11 appearance.
Shao Kahn made his debut in Mortal Combat 2 as the final boss, a role he also served in Mortal Kombat 3. Shao Kahn returned as the non-playable final boss in Mortal Kombat (2011), serving as the main antagonist in the game’s Story Mode. He is returning in Mortal Kombat 11 as a pre-order bonus character while also having a role as one of the secondary antagonists in the game’s Story Mode.