Scorpion is rather a morally neutral character as his own personal goals matter more to him than things like the fates of the realms and will serve any side with the singular selfish hope of achieving them. While he his overall appearance gives off a menacing vibe, he is not inherently evil. His hunger for vengeance is so great that he would serve both sides of good and evil only for the sake of achieving his own goals but he is mostly seen within servitude of an antagonistic faction, particularly Quan Chi.
His vendetta against those who have wronged him is what drives most of his earlier motivations in the series. When first seen, Scorpion can be described as the embodiment of vengeance and hatred. He quickly left the Lin Kuei and formed the Shirai Ryu clan, the Lin Kuei's main enemies.
Scorpion's yellow costume is said to have mocked not only Sub-Zero, but also the Lin Kuei, as Takeda (who was a member of the Lin Kuei) developed Ninjutsu, which he considered a superior fighting style to what the Lin Kuei had. The hilts of his swords now resemble the stingers of scorpions, while his shoulder pads and mouthpiece are also molded after scorpions. His costumes incorporate his namesake more and more with each game, especially his latest redesign. This design reappears in the Challenge Tower, fighting Kano in the Netherrealm. Scorpion unmasked is known as Inferno Scorpion. As of MKX, he has regained his humanity and human identity, depicted with a goatee and mustache and can switch between his human and familiar spectre-like appearance at will. In MK4, he is further distinguished by his skeletal motif, mostly in the mask, with bone-like structures lacing his uniform. Without his mask, his head is a (sometimes flaming) skull. He kept this appearance from the first MK to MK4 after which he bore two swords on his back and his kunai attached to a rope tied to his belt. Scorpion appeared as a yellow palette swap of Sub-Zero.