Character Backstory - The Quest of the Searing Skull

The Season 3 hype train keeps rolling along, and if you recall we are taking an in-depth look at each character’s backstory, and also teasing a new move that will be coming when Season 3 launches. Here’s Spinal’s backstory.

Check out the full article here: The Quest of the Searing Skull - Killer Instinct

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Really cool story - it appears to give him a direct connection to Kan Ra as well, if he’s the same Babylonian vizier in this story. I’m not entirely sure what the hint (or what I take to be the hint) means,
“Spinal’s ability to curse his victims has been diminishing, and he
suspects it is due to the Mask’s loss of power. His control over the
magicks that bind him, however, are increasing. His instinct tells him
to embrace his life as an agent of chaos and to do anything necessary to
master these magicks and grant himself insane new abilities.”

but it almost sounds as though his current curses are going to be adjusted in some way, and maybe he’s gaining some kind of “buffing” abilities as well to make him faster or stronger for a limited time?

Anyway, good stuff, and even more motivation for me to finally start trying to learn Spinal!

YES YES YES I LOVE IT ALL! Yahahahaaa!

So that’s where Spinal is from! Who would’ve thought he and Kan-Ra had a connection.

So Spinal was involved with the vizier trying to steal the Babylonian king’s queen? By launching a raid?

You know how in “The Mummy” how Imhotep became cursed? I picture Spinal and his allies suffering like this…


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The hint makes it sound like he’ll get a new ability in instinct. Or perhaps his instinct will work differently with regards to his curses. My bet is on the former though, which has me very curious as to what he could possibly get.

Great story! I’d really like to see a human skin for Spinal one of these days, and while I’d originally assumed that he was a human pirate at some point, this appears not to be the case, which was a very cool twist on him. Really dig the connection to Kan Ra. Makes me wonder if he’s ever crossed paths with Aganos before too…

I really like where his story started, what lead him to becoming a pirate and how he got to where he is now and his overall mental state. Love the fluidity in his story. Nice word choice as well.

It still kinda makes me wonder if there’s any type of redemption for him given all he’s suffered throughout the years. He’s this insane bad guy with “bad guy” goals, sure, but his cursed life, followed by the time spent in captivity and all the searching… It all projects a more multidimensional character, which makes me like him that much more.

Awesome job, IG. Loving these more and more with each passing week. Can’t wait to read Fulgore’s!

THIS STORY :heart_eyes:

Cool story!:+1::+1::skull::skull::skull::skull::skull::skull:

Epic story. Even when he is insane, Spinal has so much determination to find the mask. As for the S3 hint, it seems like he will getting a new ability for his instinct (as if his current one wasn’t already scary enough). :sweat:

Excellent, thanks for the info. Not sure how bad the diminishing on the curses will be but it sounds like clearly a nerf is on the horizon. It looks like he will get something to counterbalance that though, which sounds interesting.

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I thought ig would unveil Spinal’s real name and why he’s kinda goofy. Irrelevant? I don’t think so. Anyway, good story though.

I like this story, I recently picked up Spinal (who still hasn’t been given a name…) and it’s good to see he has a more interesting connection to other members of the cast like Kan-Ra.

I’m not sure about the hint myself, whether it’s a hint to rebalancing or something else entirely we’ll just have to wait until Season 3 comes out to discover.

Keep the stories coming, quite interested to see where Fulgore’s goes at the very least.

“Spinal’s ability to curse his victims has been diminishing,”

Sounds like Spinal nerfs

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Cool Story!, sounds like he is getting a nerf across the board in regards to his curses. Maybe he can gain shadow/instinct but not absorb it from his opponents, or maybe the other way around, absorb shadow/instinct from opponent but gain none for himself, or in worst case remove cursing completely?!.

I wonder what they will do with his instinct, because at the moment he is pretty good as is, my guess would be that he is going suck until he gets into instinct.

Can sacrifice his life for instinct meter? Maybe just maybe…we’ll see

I am also thinking new moves in instinct to do with his ghostly hand things, traps? new zoning tools? a possible wake up?. looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

That almost sounds like he’s one of the characters getting a rework… OHGODPLSNO. You already ruined one of my favorite characters from the originals, don’t make it 2 IG. Please. I’m begging you do not rework him.

I’ve always thought Spinal was fine as-is. Really hope whatever nerf-buff trade IG presumably has in mind is worth it.

It’s good to see ARIA is a woman/robot of her/it’s word. Keeping the promises by giving him the mask after the tourney, even though it was largely useless to him.

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Wow. IMO this might be one of the best backstories put out so far. It gives us little tidbits about Spinal’s life before he became undead, goes on to explain how the fate befell him, and then explains his character hook (crazy pirate skeleton) in a way that actually makes sense in the context of the lore while supporting his motives–scouring the seas as a pirate because he is actually looking for the Mask-- and it manages all of this while being clear and concise. It establishes him as a presence in the universe without clutter and celebrates his descent into madness. Bravo, guys! I really enjoyed this one. Looking forward to seeing what crazy antics he gets up to in S3!

Insane new abilities??!! Wow.