Noob Saibot

The character's name comes from the last names of the creators of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Ed Boon and John Tobias, spelled backwards.[1] During his first appearances, Noob Saibot's design was focused around an all-black exterior, with the staff stating "that's what he's all about". They found difficulties in making some versions, without him appearing to look into bondage.[2] For Mortal Kombat: Deception, Noob Saibot was the first character drawn and designed by Steve Beran.[3] Beran attempted to make him a more distinctive character, focusing less on his all-black exterior. One design depicted him with a hood, but the idea was later moved to the new character Havik.[2] An early alternate outfit depicted Noob Saibot in a black, red and blue outfit with a Japanese translation of "darkness" on the front flap. He was also shown unmasked, but this design ended up being used as Havik's alternate outfit.[4] The use of a two-on-two combat was meant to be introduced in this game as well, but was only used with Noob Saibot and Smoke. Both characters were models for the use of such a concept and were intended to work together in the player's Fatality finishing move.[5]

Bi-Han as the original Sub-Zero was introduced in the first Mortal Kombat game (1992), in which he participates in the eponymous tournament as he was ordered by the Lin Kuei to kill the host Shang Tsung and take his treasure. Prior to Mortal Kombat, Bi-Han was commissioned by the sorcerer Quan Chi to obtain an amulet. Quan Chi used this to manipulate both Bi-Han and Hanzo Hasashi of the rival Shirai Ryu clan in order to take possession of both of their souls for his undead armies. Early on in the quest, Bi-Han kills Hasashi, allowing Quan Chi to further manipulate the latter into becoming his undead slave Scorpion. After Bi-Han delivers the amulet to Quan Chi, he is sent back to the Netherrealm by the thunder god Raiden upon learning it is the key to releasing the fallen elder god, Shinnok. Sub-Zero regains the amulet while fighting Shinnok and returns it to Raiden. After Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, Bi-Han fails to accomplish his mission, and is killed by Scorpion, who sought to avenge his own death. Succeeding in his plans, Quan Chi enlists Bi-Han's soul into the undead Noob Saibot.

Noob Saibot was then first introduced in 1993's Mortal Kombat II as a hidden nonplayable opponent whom players fought in a secret battle in the "Goro's Lair" stage from the first game after winning fifty consecutive matches. He was a solid black palette swap of Sub-Zero who fought with increased speed and Scorpion's spear.[6] He returned as a secret character in Mortal Kombat 3 with the same attributes, but was instead a silhouette of Kano, since there were no human ninjas in the game, and in the Sega Game Gear port, he additionally had Kano's special moves and his "Eye Laser" Fatality. Upon being made playable in the console versions of UMK3 and the 1996 compilation title Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Noob Saibot returned as a palette-swap ninja, and one of ten human ninja swaps in the game overall.[7] Although early versions of Mortal Kombat 4 featured him as a playable character, he was changed back to being hidden in the final arcade release.

Noob Saibot is playable in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks in the "Versus" mode if both players select Sub-Zero; the last player to select him will play as a variation of Noob Saibot. He is colored black but he has Sub-Zero's frozen forearms and retains the latter's moves and Fatalities.

Prima Games considered Noob Saibot to be one of the most "overpowered" Mortal Kombat characters; they state "he had an unblockable projectile attack, fought side-by-side with Smoke and even had ridiculous zoning in MK9."[8]

Noob Saibot was ranked twelfth in UGO Networks' 2012 ranking of the top fifty series characters. "Mortal Kombat is all about the secrets and hidden characters—starting with Reptile and continuing with Smoke ... our favorite is the ludicrously-named Noob Saibot."[16] Den of Geek placed him eighth in their 2015 ranking of the series' 73 playable characters. "Noob Saibot represents the dark sickness that comes from the cycle of violence. As explained in the reboot, by giving into his thirst for vengeance, Scorpion unleashed something horrible onto the world."[17] Complex listed him as the fifth-most underrated series character in 2012. "MK is known for having some of the best secrets to ever be hidden in a videogame."[18] Noob Saibot joined the series' other male ninjas in being ranked third on GamePro's 2009 list of the best palette-swapped video game characters,[19] but Game Informer, in 2010, was not high on seeing these same characters, aside from Scorpion and Sub-Zero, in any future series installments.[20] The Trilogy version of the character was included in GameSpy's 2009 selection of unbalanced fighting game characters. "Noob Saibot has the 'Disabler.' It's a fireball ... which stuns you, which is as broken as it's possible for a fighting move to get without becoming allergic to electricity."[21]

Noob Saibot's "Make a Wish" Fatality from the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, in which he and a shadow clone of himself rip their defeated opponent in half from the crotch upward by pulling their legs apart, received much critical attention due to its graphic content. In July 2011, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show played a video of the finisher while he explained the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the ESRB could regulate video games without government intervention.[22] Kirk Hamilton of Paste commented, "Not only did [Stewart] pick a scene from what is arguably the most ridiculously violent game on the market, he also picked the most gory and painful-looking fatality."[22] Complex ranked the Fatality as the series' best in 2013.[23] Michael McWhertor from Kotaku called it a "highlight" of the game,[24] and though the finisher was not included in the site's 2013 feature "The Most Gruesome Video Game Deaths," it served as its introduction. "It’s so ridiculous it stands out despite Mortal Kombat‘s already high level of gore."[25] Robert Workman of Prima Games ranked it ninth in his 2014 countdown of the Mortal Kombat series' top fifty Fatalities.[26] FHM included it among the reboot's nine "most brutal" finishers.[27] Cameron Koch of TechTimes ranked it fourth in his 2015 selection of "The 10 Best Finishers in the Franchise's History," calling it "one of the most gruesome fatalities" of MK2011.[28]