Kenshi (Mortal Kombat)

Kenshi was a boastful and proud warrior, fighting only to feed his own insatiable ego. His search for a worthy foe led him to cross paths with a mysterious old man named Song, who had heard tales of Kenshi's fame, but proclaimed that he needed a sword worthy of his skill. To that end, he led Kenshi to a sealed cave and told him to break it open and take the weapon within. Kenshi broke open the seal, but was overwhelmed by a wave of tortured souls and permanently blinded as Song revealed himself to be Shang Tsung and consumed all the souls that had been freed. Kenshi was left to die inside the tomb, but the sword that lay within revealed its true nature to him: it had contained the spirits of his ancestors and the tomb was their final resting place, but now those souls were in Shang Tsung's possession. Kenshi swore revenge against the treacherous sorcerer.

The blind swordsman trained to fight without the use of his eyes and eventually crossed paths with Jax and Sonya, who were recruiting for the Outworld Investigation Agency's first excursion into another dimension. Kenshi was accepted into the Agency and given his first assignment: journey to Outworld and find the missing cybernetic agent Cyrax. Though Kenshi was unable to find him, he did come across the enigmatic Ermac, who was under the control of the brutal Emperor Shao Kahn. The two warriors did battle, but the swordsman proved the superior fighter and defeated the tortured ninja, although he found himself overcome by Ermac's plight and broke Kahn's control. Out of gratitude Ermac taught Kenshi the secrets of telekinesis, as well as using his mind to replace his lost vision, making him an even more powerful force.

After the two parted ways amicably, Kenshi continued his mission and though he didn't find Cyrax, he stumbled upon a much more alarming revelation: the Deadly Alliance that had been forged by Shang Tsung and the treacherous sorcerer Quan Chi. The swordsman hastily tried to warn the Outworld Investigation Agency, but their headquarters had already been bombed into oblivion by Hsu Hao, leaving Kenshi trapped in Outworld and at the mercy of the Alliance, who sent the crimelord Mavadoto deal with Kenshi. Mavado emerged victorious and Kenshi was, once again, left for dead. Only the intervention of another unlikely ally saved his life.

Sub-Zero found the dying warrior and tended to his wounds. Both of them were trapped in Outworld and so decided to form an alliance of their own to look for a way out. It was during this search that the souls of Kenshi's ancestors would return to his sword, indicating that Shang Tsung was dead and Kenshi's quest for vengeance was over. Sub-Zero and Kenshi escaped back to Earthrealm, but Kenshi decided to strike out on his own rather than become a part of Sonya and Jax's the Special Forces or Sub-Zero's Lin Kuei clan. The swordsman took the streets in the night, killing criminals and rooting out corruption in the underworld. It was during this time that he would stumble upon a coded message to Mavado revealing the Red Dragon's plan to capture the Edenian warrior Taven.

En route to their hidden base, the vigilante was approached by Johnny Cage, who was marshaling Earthrealm's warriors to battle the wicked Elder God Shinnok. Kenshi declined, as he had no real stake in the battle and didn't see the point of getting involved. However, his sword speaks to him and tells him that he can't simply sit on the sidelines while he hunts out Mavado and that the forces of Light may need him in the coming battle against the elemental Blaze. Kenshi relents, agreeing to lead the team against Outworld's forces in the final battle.