Games
Reptile is one of the last members of his race of Saurians. The Saurians used to live on Earth but 150 millions years ago during a battle between gods, they were forced to flee the Earthrealm to another realm called Zaterra. But an unknown amount of time later, Shao Kahn invaded Zaterra and conquered it. Reptile serves Shao Kahn as his personal bodyguard and is willing to serve Shao Kahn in any way hoping that Shao Kahn will help restore his race.
Shao Kahn sent Reptile to watch over, and watch Shang Tsung during the Mortal Kombat tournament on Earth. After Shang Tsung’s defeat, Reptile returned to Shao Kahn’s side. When Kitana escaped custody, Shao Kahn sent Reptile and Jade to capture the renegade princess but Jade betrayed Reptile and they defeated him. After Shao Kahn was defeated, Reptile was brought back to Edenia as a war criminal and imprisoned. When Shinnok later overthrew Edenia, he freed Reptile who agreed to serve Shinnok in return for him reviving his race. But Shinnok lost and Reptile went back to Outworld to serve Shao Kahn.
Shao Kahn sent Reptile to request Shang Tsung’s presence, but upon arriving he overheard Shang Tsung’s and Quan Chi’s plans and went to warn Shao Kahn, but he was halted by Nitara whom had knowledge of Reptile’s race and gave him a sword crafted by his people. Reptile then started towards Shao Kahn again but he was too late, Reptile saw Shao Kahn’s corpse. He blamed himself for Shao Kahn’s death, believing that if he got there in time he could had aided his master. Reptile started wandering aimlessly until he came across Nitara again and agreed to serve her. She had him attack Cyrax whom was investigating Outworld for Earth’s Special Forces and damaged the device that would allow Cyrax to return to the Earthrealm. Nitara’s plan was to use Cyrax to retrieve an item for her which neither she nor Reptile could get themselves with the promise of returning Cyrax home. Reptile started to realize that Nitara played him the entire time, stopping him so that the Deadly Alliance could kill Shao Kahn. In the lava caves where the item Nitara sought was, Reptile stumbled upon a very large egg. When it started to crack, Reptile was struck by a light and was possessed by the Dragon King, transforming Reptile’s body into a humanoid dragon.This was only temporary however as he was eventually defeated.
The series reboot, Mortal Kombat 9, features an alternate timeline in which the story of the first Mortal Kombat is retold with slight changes throughout. Here Reptile is shown once again as a loyal servant to Shao Kahn and he willingly battles his enemies for his master.
His Arcade ladder ending for MK9 is as follows:
“Having defeated Shao Kahn, Reptile was feared by all. He forced Shang Tsung to regenerate his raptor race. The process took agonising months but soon Reptile heard the snarls of young broodlings throughout the fleshpits. Eventually Shang Tsung had created an army of raptor warriors bred to serve Reptile. They stormed the realm, killing any tarkatan, shokan or centaur who opposed Reptile’s rule. The intoxicating feeling of reuniting with his people blinded Reptile to the suffering of his former comrades. Reptile was home once more.”
Comics
Reptile is a pretty unknown character. He is a servant of Shao Kahn. One of his greatest actions in the comics is when he brainwashed Sonya into marrying Shao Kahn. He did this through a Hypnosic power with his eyes.
Characteristics
- Height: 6′
- Weight: 189 lbs
- Nationality: Outworlder
- Martial Art: Hung Gar,Crab fist,Pao Chui.He is skilled with kunai,battle axe and kirehashi weapons.
Powers
- Acid Spit: Reptile takes off his mask and spits acid at the rival from his mouth. The acid melts the rival; in a slow and painful death.
- Power Slide: Reptile slides across the floor, attacking the rival sending the rival flying into the air.
- Chameleon: Reptile uses his Chameleon powers to disappear and and reappears attacking the opponent.
- Running Serpent: Reptile runs very fast and elbows the rival in the face.
- Slow Force ball: Reptile makes a green ball of energy, it slowly moves to the rival, when the rival is hit he is forced to move toward Reptile.
- Dash Punch: Reptile slides across the floor and punches the rival.
- Creepy Crawl: Reptile in a fast state crawls under the rival’s feet and knock the rival on the ground.
- Lizard Ball: Reptile curls himself into a ball like shape, rolls forward forcefully, knocking the rival over.
Deadly Fatalities
- Tasty Meal: Reptile takes off his mask and reveals his Reptile face. He opens his mouth and stretches out his tongue. Attaching it the the rival’s head. Reptile rips the rival’s head off and eats it. Reptile in other fatalities can also eat the rival’s waist, legs, after swallowing the head.
- Hidden Chop: Reptile uses his Chameleon powers to turn invisible, then rips or cuts the rival’s waist up.
- Acid Puke: Reptile gets close to the rival, opens his mouth, and pukes acid all over the rival, melting the rival in a slow and painful death.
- Weight loss: Reptile turns invisible, slits the throat and stomach of his opponent, then places an acid force ball deep into the gap of their stomach, and their torso explodes, he hisses in delight.
Appearances in other media
Reptile appeared in Mortal Kombat. In the movie, he was a bipedal lizard humanoid. Initially disguised as a statue, Reptile received orders from Shang Tsung to keep Liu Kang and the other humans away from Kitana. In one instance, he manages to lurk in a cavernous structure and watch Liu Kang before spitting acid into his face. During Liu Kang and Johnny Cage’s journey to rescue Sonya in Outworld, Liu Kang encounters the reptilian creature and throws him into a statue. The statue consumes Reptile, transforming him into a human ninja form and, after a brutal fight, is defeated by Liu Kang when he performs his trademarked bicycle kick. Liu Kang then crushes the de-transformed Reptile to death as he squirms out of the destroyed statue. The nature of Reptile’s consumption by the statue and transformation is not explained, because the camera moves up to the statue’s face as the consumption is occurring. Like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Reptile shared the same ninja outfit, but with a green color, and his mask had a jaw built into it. He was played by Keith Cooke, who would play the younger Sub-Zero’s role in the sequel. In his lizard form, Reptile had the ability to spit water-like acid and blend into his surroundings like a chameleon.
In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, three ninjas dressed similar to Reptile confront the Earth warriors. Due to their similar costumes and powers, these three are supposed to be of the same species as Reptile. Raiden fights and defeats two of them, while the third is noticeably absent.
Richard Dorton plays Reptile in Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. Reptile is depicted as a cannibalistic criminal who eats his victims’ heads after killing them. While not an inhuman ninja, he has been diagnosed with a real-life disease known as Harlequin type ichthyosis, giving him scale-like skin and eyes grown inward.
Television
Reptile was portrayed on Mortal Kombat: Conquest by martial artist Jon Valera, primarily in his guise from the Mortal Kombat films. Hailing from the rainy, barren world of Zaterra, Reptile and the thousands of his race have the ability to shift into a camouflaged lizard form that makes visual detection difficult. Their humanoid forms command formidable martial arts abilities, and they have the ability to spit corrosive acid through their fanged masks. This acid is so corrosive that it can even kill Zaterrans themselves, as demonstrated a few times in the episode In Kold Blood.
Reptile’s debut was an attack on behalf of Shao Kahn, which left civilians and an ally of Kung Lao dead. It was later discovered that he had been selected as a mate necessary to propagate the Amazonian race of Queen Kreeya with Zaterran features, and betrayed the Emperor. The Zaterrans allied with Kreeya as the guardians of her breeding hives while they matured. Reptile was shunned by Vorpax when she slew Kreeya and became the new Queen. He was narrowly defeated in combat by her chosen mate, Shang Tsung, and died at the hands of Shao Kahn’s invading Shadow Priests. The demise of the rest of the Zaterrans is unknown, although one, Kiri, whom he developed a sexual relationship with in Balance of Power, was slain simultaneously with Reptile.
Comic books
Reptile is a minor character in the Malibu Comics series. He remains the loyal servant of Shao Kahn, and never loses a chance to make those around him remember he doesn’t respond to Shang Tsung. Reptile appears in the Goro: Prince of Pain miniseries as a member of a team lead by Kitana to find the missing Goro. He also appears in the Battlewave series, most of the time alongside Mileena in a sort of love/hate relation. His most noteworthy action on the comics is when he brainwashes Sonya into marrying Shao Kahn by means of eye-induced hypnosis, an ability never found in the games.