There was a post on mk subreddit where someone posted a model that (I think at least) looks a lot like Bi Han.
His name's is Ibere Nakamura. If you look for the post you can find the comparison pic
My understanding is he already denied the claim, according to this source:
Screenshot of the source is below the cut, jn case twitter is unavailable. Ibere Nakamura is clearly a gorgeous man, but a scanned computer render of his face would look different from Bi-Han.
I still think it's Stephen Oyoung.
From a technical standpoint, Nakamura is NOT in close physical proximity to Warner Bros/NRS studios. A quick glance shows he is Brazilian and Japanese and his management company is based in Italy. That would make it difficult for him to acquire and accept work contracts in the USA where the game was made. He also has no visible prior videogame or mocap experience.
[Above Images - Characters based on Computer Generated imagery utilizing Stephen Oyoung's facial scan data.]
Oyoung, on the other hand, already has a credit in the game ["kredit," Sektor, MK1.] He has already done motion capture, facial mocap, and sat for 3D face modeling for another major game studio IN Los Angeles where Warner Bros/NRS is headquartered. (Disney/Marvel Spider-Man, as Mr. Negative.) That means he has already done the type of work required to create an angry scary asian video game character, IN the same geolocation as NRS/WB (Disney lot and WB ranch lots are right next door.) WB/NRS would have needed that skillset at that location at that timeframe. AND He already would have been on set/cleared by security to enter the WB premises just for the VO sessions.
[Above Images: A computer generated character based on Disney/Marvel's facial scans of Stephen Oyoung compared to computer generated images of Bi-Han.]
It is understandable if Oyoung does not look like his characters after the computer geometry scan/final render. Even Noah Fleder doesn't look like Kenshi to me, and he is 💯 Kenshi’s model, Konfirmed.
But what I'm seeing is similarities between the sculpts for Mr. Negative [Disney/Marvel] and the sculpts for Bi-Han [WB/NRS]. The 3D faces from the scan can look so different from the actors' faces that it can be near unrecognizable.
[Above Images - Same guy, according to computer geometry]
It would ALSO explain why there's no official kredit to Sub-Zero's face model. The imdb for this game is a clusterf*ck right now. Tony Chung is credited as Sub-Zero's face model for MK11 and we know he's also Scorpion's face in MK1. Both were a version of Kuai Liang. But in ONE game Kuai Liang is Scorpion and ONE game Kuai Liang is Sub-Zero. So it's easy for the folks at IMDB (who probably never played all these games) to assume that Sub-Zero's actor from the last game IS Sub-Zero from the current game, especially considering that there is ONE NUMBER DIFFERENCE between MK1 and MK11.
Known for: Spider-Man 2, Insecure, For All Mankind
Ultimately, if Stephen Oyoung is the face of Bi-Han (Sub-Zero) in MK1, then it is between him, wb, nrs, imdb, his agent, and his management, to ensure that he gets properly credited for his work. And if an agent goes to imdb one day and sees he's kredited as Sektor on MK1, that agent might just check that "Ensure WB have Stephen credited in MK1" off their todo list. This is true ESPECIALLY if correcting imdb's listing means they have to fend off a sea of misinformed beardnecks who can't tell the difference between MK1 and MK11, or who have no idea how to explain the difference between SubScorp(Traditional) from SubScorp(Problematic).
[Above Images: An image of Stephen Oyoung compared to computer generated images of Bi-Han.]
Tony Chung also never to my knowledge claimed to be Bi-Han's (Sub-Zero's) MK1 model: Chung only claims to be Kuai Liang.
But it would be so easy to get misinformed by someone who misread an article. "Tony Chung was Sub-Zero and Scorpion in mortal kombat" is a true statement. But so were other actors, such as John Turk and all the actors who played Scorpion/Hanzo prior to Tony Chung's takeover in MK1. But of course Tony probably wasn't BOTH characters in the SAME release.
It's a headache for people who KNOW Midway Mortal Kombat lore and WB/NRS New Era MK1 lore to explain Sub-Zero, OR Kuai Liang, OR Bi-Han, OR Noob Saibot, OR Kuai Liang's Scorpion transformation to others in the know. Imagine trying to explain it to some office worker who doesn't play these games and doesn't care about them.
[Above Images: Stephen Oyoung's Mr. Negative character has vantablack skin and glowing eyes when using his power. This would be important to WB's casting decision for Bi-Han, as Noob Saibot will theoretically look similar. WB/NRS had to cast someone whose facial features will still track properly and look good when the character is essentially "in dark mode"]
I imagine workers in the departments in charge of doing the kredits can make mistakes with that particular kredit easily.
Ultimately, I don't see Warner Brothers and Nether Realm Studios bothering to cast Stephen Oyoung, a highly accomplished ASIAN actor with Disney and MARVEL experience in martial arts MoCap purely for some cyborg effort noises. Not when he has *that face* and that experience with crafting a game character for a top competitor.
And not just any type of character - a terrifyingly powerful, charasmatic, murderous leader of an ancient ASIAN clan with top tier martial arts prowess. That's a tall order, and Stephen Oyoung fills it. He filled it in Spider-Man. And I think he filled it in Mortal Kombat, too.
I've been wrong in the past. We may never know for certain the identity of Bi-Han’s face model. For all I know, Stephen took one look at this dickcicle blog and told his agent "On second thought let's *not* announce that I was the face model for that guy." I wouldn't blame him.
[Above Images: Bi-Han and Stephen Oyoung make a point.]
But it could also be that he, like a lot of actors, game creators, mocap specialists, and other creatives, just have their hands full at the moment. The SAG-AFTRA strike is over and there's still a lack of protection for most of the VOs, mocap folk, game folk, and live streaming entertainers. It isn't impossible that he's not on great terms with the studios if he elected to speak out about some of the behind-the-scenes problems of the game-entertainment industry.
He may not even legally be in a position to ask them for kredit where kredit is due.
It's honestly the only explanation I can think of as to WHY the fuck we do not have a clear-ass answer for whose faces we're looking at in these damn games.
Sometimes when I look at TFP Soundwave I just see axolotl gills (or just gills in general?) not sure why tho. Anyways this was mostly some practice and testing with another brush 🤔. I like to call Soundwave’s. Things… mandibles, cuz idk what they are but they definitely look like them 😌 the idea of him grabbing stuff with them even tho he’s got two servos and two data cables is comical to me, he just can’t ever be normal istg
I added rumble and frenzy! (Soundwave to the left for height reference)
Also I aged them down a bit- they’re now 21. (I wanted them to be younger than the seekers by a bit but still legally allowed to drink, which is the only law they follow /jk)
Uhhh I’ll work on the other cassettes eventually, I’m just shit at drawing animals 😭
I've seen far too many fanfics/oneshots/headcanons and art pieces out there completely mischaraterizing Bi-Han to the point he becomes unrecognizable from who he is in canon. For fans who love Bi-Han as he is, it can be quite frustrating to see people misunderstand his character so much. This post is not meant to be criticism, but was rather made with the intention to sort out common misconceptions, educate and help creators of fanwork understand Bi-Han and his personality better.
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS BROTHERS:
Bi-Han doesn't hate Tomáš. There's so much fanart out there depicting him as a bully or bad brother when that's as far from canon as it could be. You can read the in-depth analysis on their dynamic in the post I've linked, but to sum it up, Bi-Han had the option to pick any other Lin Kuei member to accompany him and Kuai Liang to the teahouse or the Ying fortress, but each time he picked Smoke. He could have chosen Sektor or Cyrax, both of which are more experienced and completely loyal to him, and yet he still chose Tomáš instead. He also appears worried when Smoke nearly dies after Nitara's attack. Yes, he snapped at Tomáš once, but siblings fight and say things to each other that are often uncalled for. The relationship between them cannot be meassured by one line that was said out of anger or the intro dialogues that are set after their falling out. According to Smoke himself, Bi-Han was always cold towards him, but that only suggests they were never close, not that there was ever any hostility between them or that Bi-Han was ever harsh/cruel towards him in the past. Tomáš also tries to reunite the brothers and doesn't want Bi-Han to be his enemy, even if he's disappointed in Bi-Han's actions. He even admits he used to look up to him. Some artworks, however, aim to make it look like Bi-Han is oh so mean to poor, sad Tomas, when that's a blatant mischaraterization of both of them, simultanously babying Tomas, a grown man, and demonizing Bi-Han, a tragic and traumatized character.
Kuai Liang and Bi-Han used to be close. Kuai Liang knew about Bi-Han's frustrations, Bi-Han knows all of Kuai Liang's weaknesses, they trust each other enough to rely on each other in combat and both feel equally betrayed by the other because of the close brotherly bond they once shared and because of the trust that existed between them. Kuai Liang was Bi-Han's second in command, Bi-Han respected him. He's never once seen belittling or insulting Kuai Liang, not even after they're no longer on good terms with each other. By the time the story of MK1 starts, Bi-Han has already reached the peak of his frustration, which explains why he snaps at his brothers so often, especially when their father is brought up, but at no time was Bi-Han ever abusive towards Kuai Liang or Tomas. He seems to have put a lot of trust in both his brothers and in return, they trusted him too. If Bi-Han had ever been a violent person with little love and care for his family, Kuai Liang and Tomas wouldn't have been so shocked at the revelation that he let their father die.
There was always a side of Bi-Han that cared about his brothers and his choices indicate that he still does. Apart from the most obvious evidence for this, the scene where he checks on both of them to make sure they're unharmed, there are also other subtle clues that he cares about Kuai Liang and Tomas. In his chapter, Bi-Han is the one who fights off all threats (Nitara, Ermac...) while also giving the easier and less dangerous task of staying outside to Smoke, the least experienced one of the brothers, as he goes to capture Quan Chi himself with the help of Kuai Liang. While he says he wants Kuai Liang dead in some intros, his actions contradict his words. He had the chance to kill Kuai Liang at the Ying Fortress, but chose to spare him. SPOILERS: The leaks for the dlc claim that Bi-Han will be trying to capture his brothers alive. He seems to have no interest in actually harming either of them, just in making sure they can't get in the way of his plans.
PERSONALITY:
Oftentimes, fanfics portray Bi-Han as this hot-headed guy with anger issues who is only capable of one emotion and it's rage. But Bi-Han's anger is not his most defining trait. There are so many more layers to his personality. Just because the story mode only showed us situations in which his anger is triggered doesn't mean that's all there is to him. He's not the kind of person to go around yelling at everyone he sees and getting angry out of nowhere. I also don't see Bi-Han cursing/cussing or insulting others. As grandmaster, Bi-Han represents the Lin Kuei and he's expected to act a certain way. @inflamedrosenkranz wrote a genius analysis on how out of character it would be for Bi-Han to curse and I strongly recommend reading it in addition to this post.
Bi-Han is not a mysogynist. This is something I see all too frequently in reader insert fanfics where Bi-Han is written as someone who doesn't take his s/o seriously or looks down at them because they're a woman. Meanwhile, Bi-Han shows nothing but respect and admiration for strong women. He seems to have looked up to his mother much more than to his father and just listen to his intros with Sindel or Kitana. He admires Sindel for her leadership and even encourages Kitana to take Outworld's throne. He also wouldn't have taken in Frost as his apprentice and wouldn't have allowed Cyrax into the Lin Kuei if he thought women weren't fit to be Lin Kuei warriors.
I know this will disappoint a lot of headcanon writers, but Bi-Han would never degrade/insult or otherwise humiliate his partner, be it through words or actions, especially not during intimate moments shared between them. His significant other directly represents him and his clan. He would not tolerate any sort of disrespect towards them, let alone disrespect them himself. If his partner were to ask him to degrade them, that would be an instant dealbreaker for Bi-Han. He would expect any potential partner to show the self-respect and dignity befitting of their role as the grandmaster's significant other.
I often see drunk!Bi-Han headcanons, but honestly, it would be out of character for Bi-Han to drink alcohol. First of all, he absolutely wouldn't be able to see the appeal of it and secondly, he would hate the way it makes him feel. I imagine he likes being in control of his own body, he likes knowing that he can rely on his reflexes should he need them and alcohol would practically render them useless. As grandmaster of his clan he needs to be an example for all the other Lin Kuei. He would also not want to take the risk of overinduldging and embarrassing himself in a drunken stupor.
People like to write Bi-Han as a grumpy and overly serious guy who can't crack a joke to save himself, but they forget he makes ice puns. Ice puns. Bi-Han definitely has a sense of humor. I just don't think he gets to show anyone that side of himself often.
Bi-Han is a lot smarter than people give him credit for. Yes, siding with Shang Tsung was a bad choice, but it was one he made out of dispair and his frustration played into it as well, clouding his judgement. The way Bi-Han tries to assess his opponents' weaknesses shows his strategic mind. He let himself be fooled once, but he's also young and still has a lot to learn as grandmaster. It's not a sign of him lacking intelligence, like some people claim.
GOALS:
While he's ambitious and wants to acquire power to some extent, Bi-Han is not the power-hungry and selfish character he's often wrongly depicted as. His intentions lie far beyond that and are much more noble. Bi-Han craves independence and freedom for the Lin Kuei. He wants his clan to get the respect and recognition they rightfully deserve after protecting Earthrealm for so many generations. He doesn't want to conquer all of Earthrealm and he has no interest in ruling other realms either. What he wants is a small portion of Earthrealm because he's convinced that the Lin Kuei deserve it. He wants a reward for all their years of loyalty and duty, not to become a tyrant.
To conclude this, I appreciate writers and artists who do their research before writing/drawing a character and I hope this analysis can be helpful to those unsure of how to correctly write Bi-Han.
If I can think of more examples to add to the list, I will make a part 2 of this post.
After enough consideration of my own I have concluded the reason these two are the odd ones out because they are actually bugs that think in very different ways than everyone else 😌 it’s a sound assessment… must be why they just stare at things happening like you just lifted up a rock they, the insects, were under
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