According to this new backstory, his father had a wife, two sons, and a daughter while he lived in America to hide his personal role as an assassin for the Lin Kuei.

[15] Midway Games programmer Josh Tsui portrayed the unmasked Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang) in the character's Mortal Kombat II ending.

[17] Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon noted that Kuai Liang's counterpart from DC Comics is Batman as both are "dark, mysterious, brooding characters".

The scar was originally red, and later changed to blue in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as a result of Sub-Zero's enhanced powers.

[13] The new Sub-Zero made his official debut on the cover of GamePro April 1995 issue, with Turk's red outfit tinted blue (as it was for the game), but the photo used was a reversed negative, as his scar was over his left eye.

Concept art from Deadly Alliance depicted him with a graying, receding hairline, and a more pale and gaunt face, while his scar was now blue and his forearms frozen over.

According to Boon, Sub-Zero's Freeze was originally omitted from the game in place of the Ice Shower, but was brought back in the next revision following fan feedback at a local arcade.

[23] Some home versions of the first game replaced the "Spine Rip" with another finishing move due to its violent content, for instance the SNES port had a freeze and shatter finishing move due to Nintendo's "family friendly" policies (this tame fatality received a positive reception so it was added to Sub-Zero's arsenal in the sequels).

A cryomancer and warrior of the Chinese Lin Kuei clan, he is sent to kill Shang Tsung, host of the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament.

[31][32] In Mortal Kombat 4 (1997), Raiden summons Kuai Liang to help him defend Earthrealm against the fallen Elder God Shinnok,[33] encountering Scorpion again who instead turns against Quan-Chi after learning he killed his family.

[34] In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002), Kuai Liang becomes the new leader of the Lin Kuei, takes on an apprentice named Frost who tries to betray him.

[35][36] In Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004), Kuai Liang joins forces with the warrior Shujinko, among others, to combat the Dragon King Onaga and finds his brother.

[37][38] In the story mode of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006), Sub-Zero faces the warrior Taven who aids him with defeating Noob Saibot to heal him in the future.

[44] The sequel Mortal Kombat X (2015), has Kuai Lang restored to life by Raiden, becoming the Lin Kuei's new grandmaster to kill Quan Chi.

Kuai Liang and Smoke escape to help Liu Kang stop Shang Tsung before heading to Japan to found the Shirai Ryu clan and replace the Lin Kuei as Earthrealm's protectors.

[48][49] In the Khaos Reigns DLC, Bi-Han leads the Lin Kuei in an attack on the Shirai Ryu to test Sektor's powered suits, only to be captured.

In an alternate take on the game's events depicted in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005), in which Kuai Liang appears as a boss and unlockable player character, he briefly allies himself with protagonists Liu Kang and Kung Lao while searching for Bi-Han, who had been transformed into the undead Noob Saibot.

[25] IGN's Brian Altano and Ryan Clements chose him as the most iconic character of Mortal Kombat to represent the series against Jin Kazama of Tekken and Ryu of Street Fighter.

[75] TheGamer.com said both Sub-Zero and Scorpion were manipulated by Quan Chi to be enemies and Mortal Kombat X ends the feud when both fighters join forces to kill the sorcerer.

[78] GamePlayBook praised his freeze attacks and "Head Rip" Fatality,[79] His redesign in Mortal Kombat 3 was disliked by GamePro, which they deemed "suspenders" and compared his scar to a red smear.

[80] However, his appearance in Deadly Alliance received praise by Gaming Age's Tim Lewinson noting that "Sub-Zero never looked so good.

"[81] According to GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann, the unlocking of the hidden character Classic Sub-Zero in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was "annoying" to the point that players would not do it.

[82] His ice-projectile technique has been noted by 1UP.com to be one of the best mechanics that changed video games due to how practical it is as it gives players the opportunity of making any move while the opponent is frozen.

[86] On the other hand, IGN staff liked how Sub-Zero was given his own video game, noting him to be one of the series' most popular characters, and that "it offers gamers a new look at Sub Zero.

[89] When it comes to voice acting, critics also found Steve Blum as one of the best actors in the franchise for his take on Sub-Zero and wished he would return in future installments.

[90][91][92] On the other hand, Dimitri Vegas' performance as Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat 11 was the subject of heavy criticism for sounding "truly awful" according to Eurogamer as they noticed the celebrity is more skilled as a dee jay rather than voice acting.

[93] Bleeding Cool noted fan response was negative too, to the point it was as bad as Ronda Rousey's performance as Sonya Blade in the same game.