#original bi han and kuai liang from games may be both disillusioned but bi han in the oldest comics had more to say about honor

[cienie-isengardu]

Honor: Bi-Han’s disillusion vs Kuai Liang’s idealism

Did you notice how Bi-Han in the previous timeline barely talks about honor in contrast to his younger brother?

Like in Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Bi-Han does not describe himself as honorable man or part of honorable clan, as in his own introduction he calls himself mortal, then thief and assassin before Lin Kuei warrior and Sub-Zero

When accused by Raiden for putting Earthrealm in danger, only says "I was just earning my living" - considering how he balances between death and life, as he either fulfill incredible difficult missions or he will be killed for failure sounds to me more like "I'm trying to survive" kind of argument.

The Elder Sub-Zero mentions honor only when facing the Grandmaster

"Grandmaster, in honor of the Lin Kuei, I bring you this sacred Map of Elements."

as Lin Kuei custom demands and MK11 Noob Saibot's BIO points out Wraith's desire to reclaim the honor that was forcibly taken away from him

Mortal Kombat 11: "Shadow of the Netherrealm. In life, Noob Saibot was known as Sub-Zero. Unjustly murdered by Scorpion, he was resurrected by Quan Chi and granted power over darkness, but as Quan Chi’s slave. Now, Quan Chi is dead. Noob Saibot is finally free to reclaim the honor that was stolen from him."

and that is basically all? None of Noob’s intro dialogue directly uses this word but honor (and honoring someone or something or alternatively, dishonor) is one of Kuai Liang's constant used term, from 

Mortal Kombat 9

"[...] assuming Bi-Han's identity is the best way to honor him."

or

"I am his family and clan! I fight for his honor!"

Mortal Kombat X

"Our honor is indeed stained. Please. Sit."

&

"After you and I were freed from Quan Chi's control, I sought out my clan. I had hoped rebellion from within would have quashed the Grandmaster's plans. But Sektor had realized his father's vision. The Lin Kuei had been fully cyberized. I pledged to kill Sektor and his followers. Reform the Lin Kuei and restore our honor."

&

"When I finally killed Sektor, I discovered the Lin Kuei had not sacrificed its honor with the Cyber Initiative. We had abandoned it long before."

 to Mortal Kombat 11

Erron Black: That's some outfit. Sub-Zero: It honors Lin Kuei tradition.

or

Liu Kang: I admire your discipline, Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero: And I your honor, Liu Kang.

or

Mileena: You're so cold to me, Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero: Because you are utterly devoid of honor. Mileena: Who needs honor when you have power?

or

Sub-Zero: Can Tarkatans be redeemed? Baraka: My tribe seeks no redemption. Sub-Zero: Then it has no honor.

or 

Sub-Zero: You serve Shao Kahn. Kollector: And I am well compensated. Sub-Zero: Wealth without honor is pointless.

to name few examples.

And this seems to be carried out to the new timeline even though the games don't exploit much this difference between brothers, the Bi-Han’s disillusion vs Kuai Liang’s idealism. Previous timeline gives the feeling Elder Sub-Zero was more aware of Lin Kuei's true nature, as he witnessed Grandmaster and Quan Chi's deal that resulted in death of Scorpion's clan but Kuai Liang would not believe Lin Kuei could be responsible until he found a hard evidence how wrong he was. Now, one brother sees Lin Kuei servitude as enslavement while the other blindly believes and chose to honor the tradition passed down for generations.

At the same time I feel like original timeline Kuai Liang, the same as his elder brother, was much more disillusioned about Lin Kuei but I will leave that subject for another time.