Scorpion Moveset
Joining from the classically acclaimed and eternally brutal Mortal Kombat series, Scorpion has come to Smash to show just how deadly a scorpion can really sting. Scorpion uses moves directly inspired by those featured in the plethora of Mortal Kombat titles in battle, with the spirit of utter violence and brutality being encapsulated while still toning down the overall gore to be more suitable for wider audiences. This allows Scorpion to truly showcase the spirit of Mortal Kombat while still meshing wonderfully with the world of Smash.
Scorpion’s actual stats while in battle are extremely similar to his stats in the Mortal Kombat games, with him having an all-around pretty average weight, a somewhat slow speed, and a below average jump height. Scorpion makes up for these subpar stats with his quick yet powerful attacks and strong recovery, allowing him to deal damage at a quick rate while still having the launch power necessary to get a swift victory.
Scorpion also possesses a special form of Final Smash known as a Fatality. Essentially, Scorpion has a total of 4 different Final Smashes that he can unleash depending on what direction the control stick is tilted. This allows Scorpion to surprise his foes in a variety of fun an exciting ways and ensures to always be a blast to play when having Final Smashes available during battle.
Specials:
Neutral Special: Fire Ball- Scorpion sends out a ball of hellfire towards the opponent, functioning much like it does in the Mortal Kombat games. The ball deals multihit damage and can be canceled. By charging the attack, it becomes Hell Ball, a larger, more powerful fireball that deals even more damage and knockback.
Side Special: Minion Summon- Functioning somewhat similarly to Greninja’s side special, Scorpion controls a portal of flames that slides across the stage, with Scorpion having control over where the portal ends up and when the actual attack starts until a few seconds has passed. Once the attack begins, one of Scorpion’s minions from the MK games quickly crawls out of the portal and attacks opponents in different ways. If the minion is near an opponent it will perform a Minion charge and strike the opponent, dealing massive damage if done in the back. If the opponent is in the air near the minion, it will teleport above the opponent and drop into them, having a possible meteor effect. If the minion is summoned directly beneath the opponent, it will grab onto their legs and hold them in place while dealing steady damage, allowing Scorpion to follow up with an easy counterattack. By charging the attack fully before releasing the minion, it will become powered up and deal more powerful versions of whatever attack it is currently performing. Overall an incredibly versatile move that can easily change the flow of a battle.
Up Special: Teleport Punch- This move is a very unique recovery move in that it’s completely dependent on where his opponent is positioned at the given moment. The attack involves Scorpion instantly teleporting to wherever the opponent and performing a punch attack that deals below average damage. To prevent the move from being overpowered, there are several stipulations on the attack. For one, the move will always put Scorpion into a helpless state after performed, meaning opponents can pretty easily bait Scorpion into wasting his recovery while off stage. In addition, to prevent the move from being easily spammable while on stage, the move does have a 7 second cooldown before it can be used again. To make up for these restrictions, the move can be used to teleport to absolutely any location on the stage that an opponent is present, regardless of range. Like his other specials, the move can also be charged to perform a Flameport, an additional flaming uppercut that deals significantly more knockback and damage, at the cost of taking longer to charge and thus being more easily punishable for opponents. The move must be used very carefully despite its initial sense of power in order to make best use of its incredible recovery and potential launch power.
Down Special: Inner Flames- Scorpion bursts with flames that surround his entire being, greatly powering up his attacks temporarily. While in this state, all of his attacks are powered up and deal a fire attribute in damage, and his specials will take less time to reach their charged up state. By charging up this move, Scorpion will unleash Flame Aura. This will cause all of Scorpion’s attacks to be even more powerful, and all of his specials will be automatically in their charged up state upon use. However, to balance out this immense power, the Flame Aura will deal 3% of recoil damage every second while in use, meaning the attack should only be used when in an advantageous state in battle.
Normals:
Jab: Using his swords, Scorpion performs a Doom Blade move, rapidly slashing at his opponents while dealing good damage.
F-Tilt: Scorpion performs a Doom Slice with his sword, slicing upward and allowing for easy follow-up combos to occur afterwards.
U-Tilt: Scorpion performs a similar sword-type move, slicing upwards from one side to the other, dealing slight damage but being great for follow-ups.
D-Tilt: Scorpion slides into his opponents, performing a Hellish Slide. The move is good for tripping opponents and is very useful overall despite not dealing much damage.
Dash Attack: This move is a modified version of his Teleport Punch move, with Scorpion bursting forward at an incredible speed and punching the opponent at the end of the attack. The attack doesn’t deal any damage until the actual punch, but is great for increasing mobility.
Smashes:
F-Smash: Scorpion takes his signature spear kunai, lights it on fire, and quickly thrusts it forward. The move deals incredible fire damage at the tip of the spear.
U-Smash: Scorpion summons a minion to fly upwards out of a flame portal from the ground and attack opponents. By charging fully, the minion will be in a powered up state and deal far more damage.
D-Smash: The mask is quickly ripped off of Scorpion revealing his skeletal features, with him then breathing fire on opponents at a downward angle. The fire deals minimal damage but racks up over time.
Aerials:
N-Air: One of the few moves in Scorpion’s arsenal not based off of a MK move, Scorpion swings his kunai around him in a 360 motion, being a great move for combos.
F-Air: Scorpion summons the giant log from his Judgement attack and swings it forward to hit opponents. The move is incredibly slow but deals insane damage if it hits, having a guaranteed meteor effect. In addition, like how the attack works in the MK series, Scorpion will heal some damage if the attack successfully hits. Very strong attack overall.
U-Air: Derived from his Burning Assault attack, Scorpion spits a fireball into the air, dealing slight damage. Doing the attack again while the fireball is still out will have Scorpion slash his kunai upward, which will catch on fire and deal massive damage at the tip. The second part of the attack is difficult to execute properly but deals great damage if completed.
D-Air: This move is very unique in that it isn’t really an attack, but instead a means of mobility. The move has Scorpion teleport directly downwards without dealing any damage at any point in the attack. The move puts Scorpion into a helpless state and is really only useful to allow Scorpion to escape combos and have more movement options.
B-Air: A very basic attack, Scorpion simply kicks behind him, dealing little damage but being a reliable, quick move for combos.
Grab/Pummel: For his grab, Scorpion shoots out his spear, hooks onto opponents, and pulls them to him while shouting one of his signature phrases. The grab may seem to be a sort of tether, but in the air it can’t be used to grab onto ledges or hit enemies. For the Pummel, Scorpion violently bashes the opponent with his fist.
Throws: Scorpion performs a Knee Launch for his forward throw, punching opponents and then launching them away with a hit to the knee. Back throw has Scorpion impale opponents and sling them behind him (in a very non-gory way). Up throw has Scorpion take opponent into the air and perform an Air Throw, brutally launching foe into the ground. For Down throw, Scorpion performs a Hanzo Hasashi Kombo-Ender 2, with him stomping on opponents’ heads with fire to get in the air and then thrusting downward with his sword to impale the opponents.
Final Smash/ Fatalities:
Neutral: Toasty!- Scorpion’s most famous fatality, he removes his mask to show his skeletal face and then breathes an enormous stream of fire on enemies and leaves them in a cartoony, ashen state, with the phrase ‘Toasty!’ being shouted.
Side: Scorpion Sting- Scorpion morphs into a gigantic version of a real-world Scorpion, tramples over the opponent, and then stings them with the stinger to deal massive damage. Afterward, he reverts back to normal.
Up: Hand from Hell- Scorpion raises his hand, causing a giant, flaming, skeletal hand to burst out of the ground and grab opponents. The hand then takes opponents to the fiery darkness below, serving as an insta-kill if the foe is 100% or higher.
Down: Annihilation- Scorpion does his victory pose from the first Mortal Kombat game as the ground around the stage begins to violently shake, with him and all opponents then being transported to Scorpion’s Lair, where an army of Scorpion clones will completely destroy the opponents with an onslaught of brutal attacks. The screen will then go dark and opponents will be instantly KO’d regardless of percent. The stage and battle will then revert back to normal.
Taunts: Up taunt has Scorpion take out a small Scorpion doll as the text “Buy a Scorpion Doll” flash on screen, reference to Scorpion’s Scorpion Doll Sale friendship move. Side taunt has Scorpion wind a box that has a skull pop out as a reference to the Skull-in-the-Box move. Down taunt has Scorpion wave kunai around while saying one of his famous phrases.
Alts: Scorpion’s 7 alts are all very vivid and unique, being based off of his skins from the 2011 Mortal Kombat. Some skins include Kold War, Klassic, Injustice, and others.
Stage: The Pit- One of the most iconic Mortal Kombat arenas, this stage is incredibly basic overall. The stage is one long stretch of plain land set in a nighttime background, with there being no bottom blastzone. The only special feature of the stage comes from final smashes used on the stage; any final smashes that happen during the stage itself (i.e. non-cutscene final smashes) will be automatically transported to the spiky Pit Bottom, adding an extra flair to the battle. Overall a great stage for competitive play.
Boxing Ring Title: “The Fatal Sting of Death”