Smoke (Mortal Kombat) – DEATH BATTLE! Analysis

Note: This analysis for Smoke will focus on his time as a cyborg, though equipment, abilities, and feats from when he was human will be included, as it makes sense for him to be capable of using the same tools or performing similar feats while roboticized. Both Mortal Kombat timelines will be included, as well as Smoke’s appearances in the television shows, movies, and comics. Lastly, abilities related to Smoke that are used by Triborg in Mortal Kombat X will be included, as Triborg uses those abilities thanks to him having data on Smoke. However, abilities that only Triborg has shown, such as detaching his head or creating electric shocks, will be excluded, as those seem to only be related to his robotic body, which is clearly different in comparison to Smoke’s.

Background

Born in the capital of the Czech Republic in Earthrealm, Prague, Tomas Vrbada was a normal human boy living a normal life. However, one day, he was kidnapped by a cult, who sacrificed him as a tribute to a demon. After being burned alive, he soon returned to the mortal realm as a different being called an Enenra, a creature made of smoke and vapor created from the souls of slain humans. While in this shapeless form, Tomas murdered his captors. He soon returned to his human form, but lost all memory of his previous life. At some point after this event, he joined a clan of assassins called the Lin Kuei. Adopting the code name “Smoke”, he became one of the clan’s finest ninja due to his smoke-related abilities. Smoke’s future from then on would depend on the timeline.

In the original timeline, Smoke and his close friend Kuai Liang, better known by his code name “Sub-Zero”, returned to their clan after failing their mission of killing the sorcerer Shang Tsung. To their surprise, they found the Lin Kuei were converting all of their ninja assassins into cyborgs. Wanting to keep their mortality, Smoke and Sub-Zero defected from the clan. While Sub-Zero successfully escaped, Smoke was unfortunately captured and automated by his clan. Programmed under the grandmaster’s will, he was forced to hunt down his former friend Kuai, though he eventually broke free from the Lin Kuei’s control and helped defend Earthrealm. Despite his regained freedom, Smoke was eventually captured and deactivated, though he was reactivated and reprogrammed by Noob Saibot, who used him for his own plans. After both were defeated by Sub-Zero and Taven, Smoke once again was freed from his programming and helped the Forces of Light in the Battle of Armageddon, dying in the process.

In the new timeline, he helps Sub-Zero in his search for his older brother, but later becomes ambushed by the Lin Kuei to forcibly turn him into a cyborg. After being saved by Raiden, he joins the thunder god’s effort in defeating the evil emperor Shao Kahn. Despite his best efforts, Smoke was later killed by Sindel during Shao Kahn’s invasion of Earthrealm. After his death, he was resurrected by the sorcerer Quan Chi and turned into a Revenant that served him along with his other fallen allies. This is the current fate of Tomas Vrbada: a slave to evil, never to be freed.

More Info

• Real Name: Tomas Vrbada
• Age: 34
• Height: 6’01” | 185.4 cm
• Weight: 555.0 lbs. | 251.7 kg
• Unit Number: LK-7T2
• Lin Kuei assassin
• Has been corrupted by evil in both timelines
• Ironically is a strong advocate for not smoking

Equipment

Kunai Spear

A kunai attached to a rope that Smoke can throw at opponents to impale them before dragging them toward him for follow-up attacks. It is also useful for deadly slashes.

Axe

A basic double-edged axe that Smoke can chop opponents with.

Cyborg Body

Smoke’s cyborg body grants him numerous tools and abilities that he doesn’t possess as a human. Hidden in his chest contains many types of equipment such as time bombs, missiles, a capturing rope, and tridents or a spear that he can fire while connected to him to drag opponents in. It also has a huge horn to make friends with others, and he can store other things in his chest as well. His shoulder contains a grapple claw mainly used to drop normal bombs, while his wrists can shoot out energy blasts. Also, his body in general contains nanobots that constantly repair and alter it. Lastly, he can self destruct his body by inputting the command into his wrist.

Powers & Abilities

Fighting Styles

As a ninja assassin, Smoke is a master in the art of ninjutsu, making him extremely skilled at survival, gathering intel, escapology, and remaining unseen while misdirecting others. He is an expert in evasive maneuvers, and his other abilities only make him a more skilled ninja, but he has also trained in two types of martial arts. The first is Mi Tzu Quan, a Northern Chinese martial art centered around quick, long-ranged movements and multi-directional strikes. The second, judo, involves subduing opponents with throws, pins, locks, and choke holds, as well as defensive strikes with hands, feet, or even weapons.

Smoke Manipulation

As his name would imply, Smoke is capable of manipulating smoke due to becoming an Enenra. He can fire bursts of smoke, enhance his physical strikes by imbuing them with smoke, create an explosion of smoke all around him, shroud himself and others in smoke to stay hidden, make clouds of smoke that intoxicate and stun others, or alter the temperature of his smoke, allowing him to heat it up so intensely that opponents melt when exposed to it.

Teleportation

By disappearing and reappearing in a cloud of smoke, Smoke is capable of teleporting around. He can do this to execute surprise attacks against his opponent, or even just to get behind them in general. He can also perform it instantly after blocking an attack to counterattack opponents, do it to more easily continue his chain of combos, or teleport others by covering them in a cloud of smoke.

Invisibility

By briefly shrouding himself in smoke, Smoke can turn himself partially or fully invisible, which he does to make himself harder to hit and perform sneak attacks.

Intangibility

Smoke is capable of turning intangible and passing through things by turning into smoke. This smoke form can even cut through things, grab and throw opponents, or attack others from inside their bodies. He can even only turn the bottom half of his body into smoke.

Mind Manipulation

By filling others’ bodies with smoke, Smoke can corrupt their minds and turn them into dark warriors that assist him.

Flight

By turning the bottom half of his body into smoke, Smoke can propel himself through the air and fly around.

Portal Creation

By swirling smoke up, Smoke is capable of creating portals to other locations.

Shapeshifting

Smoke is able to shapeshift into different forms, such as a bull to charge attack opponents or a porcupine to fire quill projectiles that make them explode. He can also turn into a vicious Enenra monster while lashing out in a blind rage.

Aggressor

A temporary mode Smoke can enter after attacking opponents, which increases his power and speed.

Fatalities

Fatalities are finishers that Smoke can execute to brutally kill off weakened opponents. The following is a list of all the Fatalities Smoke can perform:

• Spear Slice: Smoke uses his kunai spear to slit his opponent’s throat before completely cutting through their hips to make them two.
• Decapitating Uppercut: Smoke delivers a devastating uppercut that beheads his opponent. He can also knock opponents up several feet before they burst into a bloody mess, do it at a distance away from them, and even perform this two more times to somehow pop off multiple heads unnecessarily.
• Armageddon: Smoke releases 20 time bombs that detonate and create a massive explosion that obliterates his opponent and even destroys the entire Earth. The Earth’s destruction can even be done at a minimum of 11 bombs.
• Smoke Bomb: Smoke uses his shoulder grappling claw to shove a bomb down his opponent’s throat and obliterate them from the inside.
• Inviso-Possession: Smoke turns to smoke and enters his opponent’s body before beating and expanding it until they explode from the inside.
• Teleport Smash: Smoke teleports behind his opponent and smashes their head open with a punch.
• Killer Harpoon: Smoke fires a long spear from his chest that impales his opponent before shaking them around.
• Smokey Death: Smoke disappears into thin air before repeatedly attacking his opponent and ripping off parts of their body.
• Smoked Out: Smoke jams his fingers into his opponent’s head and injects them with smoke before the extreme heat from the smoke burns them from the inside out and melts their flesh.
• Tremor: Smoke transforms into smoke and phases through his opponent in order to make them internally combust from the intense heat and fall apart into pieces.

Feats

Strength

• Can launch opponents through stone ceilings
• Can chop through marble
• Restrained Cyber Sub-Zero with the help of Jax
• Destroyed a stone bridge with a missile
• Kept up with Johnny Cage, who survived a Shokan’s attack that caused a huge explosion (calced here)
• Fought with Jade, who defeated D’Vorah, who defeated Rain, who created a storm that blocked out the sun
• Can blow up the Earth using at least 11 powerful time bombs at once

Speed

• Kept up with Liu Kang, who dodged his missile
• Defeated Reptile, who dodged gunfire
• Fought with Jade, who defeated D’Vorah, who defeated Rain, who can utilize cloud to ground lightning
• Defeated Kano, who kept up with Kotal Kahn, who can utilize light (calced here)

Durability

• Took hits from Sektor
• Comparable to Johnny Cage, who survived a Shokan’s attack that caused a huge explosion (calced here)
• Took hits from Jade, who defeated D’Vorah, who defeated Rain, who created a storm that blocked out the sun

Training & Experience

• Killed everyone in the cult that kidnapped and murdered him
• Trained as a ninja assassin in the Lin Kuei
• Took down multiple Special Forces officers with ease
• Ambushed the Lin Kuei Palace with Noob Saibot and their army of mind controlled warriors
• Fought in the Battle of Armageddon
• Defeated Kitana, Kano, Reptile, Shang Tsung while shapeshifted as Sub-Zero, and Sektor

Weaknesses

As a cyborg, Smoke is capable of being reprogrammed by others, as he has been reprogrammed in the past. If he is prevented from firing off a missile from his chest, this can cause it to explode while still inside of him and kill him. Also, wind and other changes in the air can manipulate his movements when he’s turned into smoke. Lastly, while he has bombs powerful enough to blow up the Earth, there’s no evidence to suggest Smoke himself could output that same amount of power with his normal abilities or other equipment, nor could he survive such a powerful blast. This makes his time bombs a last resort, as he would also die alongside his opponent.

Summary

Advantages

• Has multiple ways of getting in against opponents who want to stay far away, such as his kunai spear, tridents, teleportation, invisibility, intangibility, and portals
• Has a minor healing factor thanks to the nanobots inside his cyborg body
• Can intoxicate or melt others by using smoke
• Can teleport, granting him greater mobility and the ability to perform surprise attacks more easily
• Can turn invisible to avoid attacks and surprise attack opponents
• Can turn intangible to avoid attacks and phase through others to damage their insides
• Can manipulate others’ minds by using smoke
• Can increase his power and speed by entering his Aggressor mode after attacking opponents
• Has multiple reliable ways of finishing off opponents through the use of Fatalities

Disadvantages

• Is prone to being reprogrammed by others
• Can accidentally kill himself if he is prevented from firing off a missile from his chest
• Wind and other changes in the air can alter his movements when he’s turned into smoke
• Is incapable of outputting the same amount of power as his time bombs for his normal abilities or other equipment
• Is incapable of surviving his own time bombs