Mortal Kombat's roster boasts an expansive roster of imaginative fighters, from elemental ninjas to military experts to fantastical four-armed creatures. Star Wars is its own force of pop culture, with each of its original characters considered iconic in their own right. While Mortal Kombat and Star Wars may not have intersected with each other in any actual instances, one Reddit user points out the shocking similarities between Noob Saibot and Darth Vader.
Mortal Kombat has been heavily featured in the news lately, due to the reboot film's theatrical release a few weeks ago. While the character of Noob Saibot didn't actually appear in the movie, Sub-Zero/Bi-Han actor Joe Taslim teased his existence in an interview. Given Taslim has signed on for four more Mortal Kombat films, fans will likely get the chance to see Noob in live-action, just not opposite the famous Star Wars Sith Lord.
The viral post in question comes from Reddit user u/Large-Wheel-4181, which draws some very interesting parallels between the shadow wraith ninja and dark side Force user. The first panel compares the acts from both characters that confirm to the viewer they are "evil," with the slaughtering of innocent women and children under the guise of it being a necessary action.
Both Noob Saibot and Darth Vader are later burned alive by a warrior who sought them out to stop them, although the latter is confirmed to be getting a rematch on Disney Plus. Each character is then reborn as a monochrome black servant to a more powerful evil entity, unrecognizable compared to their prior identities.
Another similarity the post doesn't mention is that Noob and Vader both wear masks, and possess voices heavily altered from their original ones. Once all of the similarities are laid out, it's surprising to see just how much the Mortal Kombat character seemingly has in common with the famous Star Wars antagonist. While the Noob Saibot's original form (Sub-Zero) is currently in theatres, Darth Vader's last live-action on-screen appearance was in 2016's Star Wars: Rogue One, where it was recently revealed an additional Rogue One Vader scene had been cut from the movie.
While the two characters will likely never meet, it isn't necessarily 100% out of the question. There have been recent rumors about Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios creating a Marvel fighting game, a first for the franchise beyond the long-running Marvel vs Capcom series. Given that Marvel and Star Wars are both under the Disney umbrella, there's a tiny, tiny chance gamers could see Noob Saibot and Darth Vader in a showdown to see who can out-brood the other, but that's highly unlikely.