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The 2021 Mortal Kombat movie draws its inspiration from the series of video games of the same name, including the deadly nature of the battles. The final confrontation between Raiden’s alliance of Earthrealm warriors and Shao Kahn’s Outworld army sees casualties on both sides. But based on the stories each character has in the video game series, their narratives may not be done just yet. The video game lore suggests that each character still has more story to tell, and in the Mortal Kombat universe death is not that permanent.
Like the movie, the video game series features battles between warriors of different realms for supremacy in the Mortal Kombat tournament. The first game has a similar plot set-up to the film: Earthrealm, the world of humans, has lost nine straight tournaments, and if it loses its tenth it will fall under the control of Shang Tsung. In the video game, players can take control of a character of their choice and battle through the tournament before confronting Shang Tsung. However, the official, canonical story of the video games has Liu Kang as the main hero, winning the tournament in the first several games. The series initially attracted controversy over its bloody “fatalities,” and this violence was recreated in the movie, with several gory deaths.
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Mortal Kombat Explained: What You Need To Know Before The Movie
The movie diverges from the video games canon almost immediately, however, most notably in the introduction of a new protagonist in the form of Cole Young. Unlike the game, there’s also an extensive battle between the two sides before the tournament even begins, which is set to take place in a possible sequel. This battle sees several fighters who took place in the video games’ tournaments killed before the battle even begins, including fan favorites like Sub-Zero, Mileena and Goro.
Based on these changes, examining how the dead characters’ stories ended in the video games may not provide a preview of what’s to come in potential future Mortal Kombat movies, but it does give a glimpse into how their narratives could have ended differently. Some elements of these stories may turn up again in the future. With all of his champions killed at the end of the movie, Shang Tsung will need to regroup, which could involve revisiting his previous servants’ homes and pasts, if not reviving them entirely.
Syzoth
Syzoth is an assassin sent by Shang Tsung to prevent Cole’s group from reaching Raiden’s temple, and also the first to be killed in the movie. He is a large lizard-like creature with an extendable tongue and a seeming resistance to flame. Kano kills him by ripping his heart out of his body.
In the video games, Syzoth is better known as Reptile, who first appeared as a green “palette swap” of Scorpion and Sub-Zero before developing into his own character. In the original Mortal Kombat, he was a surprise character who required the player win in very specific circumstances to fight him. Reptile later appeared as Shang Tsung’s bodyguard. In Mortal Kombat X he is finally given the name of Syzoth and plays a role in a dispute over the throne of Outworld. While Mortal Kombat has multiple avenues to bring back characters, his early death suggests that the current franchise doesn’t have much interest in Reptile.
Goro
Goro appears in the 2021 Mortal Kombat as a descendant of the dark elder god Shao Kahn, akin to a prince in Outworld society despite his bestial nature. He attacks Cole’s family, which causes Cole to finally manifest his arcana and obtain his family’s golden armor. Cole kills Goro at the end of their fight.
In the video games, Goro first appears as a nonplayable boss character at the end of the first game, who the player has to beat before challenging Shang Tsung. He is a member of an ancient race called the Shokans, and is the one who has won the previous nine tournaments for Outworld. Mortal Kombat 4 saw Goro aligning himself with the heroes. In the movie timeline, his death is unlikely to sit well with Shao Khan, who could be even more powerful than Shang Tsung.
Nitara
Nitara is one of the more minor characters in the movie, appearing as a bat-winged envoy and warrior on the Outworld side. During the assault on the temple, she is the first one killed, sliced up by Kung Lao’s bladed hat.
In the video games, Nitara has a bit more depth to her. She originally hailed from a different realm, that of Vaeternus, and is trying to find a mysterious orb that binds Vaeternus to Outworld. She is eventually successful in destroying the orb and granting her world independence. Nitara’s role is quite different in the movie universe, but the concept of realms besides Earthrealm and Outworld (in the video games there are at least eighteen realms) could be relevant if the movie launches a larger franchise.
Kung Lao
Kung Lao is the only Earthworld fighter to be killed in the movie. He is already at the temple with Raiden when Mortal Kombat (2021) begins, and helps to train Kano and Cole to awaken their powers. Kung Lao uses a bladed hat as a thrown weapon, which earns him mockery from Kano but proves to be effective. He sacrifices himself to allow Cole to escape from Sub-Zero and ultimately has his soul eaten by Shang Tsung.
The character of Kung Lao first appeared in Mortal Kombat II, as a descendant of a warrior killed in the first Mortal Kombat tournament — referenced in the movie as “the Great Kung Lao.” Kung Lao was originally selected to represent his Shaolin temple in the tournament, but passed, leading to Liu Kang, played by Ludi Lin in the movie. entering. Kung Lao and Liu Kang later work together to repel an Outworld invasion and rebuild the White Lotus Society to train the young in martial arts. He was presumed to be killed in Mortal Kombat 3 but was later revealed to have survived. He was ultimately killed in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, but came back in the 2011 reboot of the franchise, only to be killed again, and resurrected again. Given this history, it would be hard to say that Kung Lao is gone for good in the movie universe.
Kabal
Kabal is introduced in the movie as a foul-mouthed former associate of Kano who now serves Shang Tsung. He is instrumental in convincing Kano to defect and lower the barrier, allowing the Outworld forces to attack the temple. Kabal wears a mechanical suit and mask to help him breathe, as a result of an incident involving Kano, but his actual power is super speed. Kabal is killed by Jax Briggs and Liu Kang in the first part of Earthrealm’s counterattack.
In the Mortal Kombat games, Kabal is actually introduced as a hero, having abandoned Kano’s Black Dragon organization to become a defender of Earthrealm. He later helps to reform the Black Dragon group but ends up returning to the side of the good. There is a reference to the Black Dragon in the 2021 movie but it isn’t fully explained and could be explored in a future installment.
Reiko
Played by former pro wrestler Nathan Jones, Reiko is another one of the more anonymous members of Shang Tsung’s force. He wields a powerful weapon known as the Cael Hammer. Reiko teams up with Kabal to take on Jax and Liu Kang but is ultimately defeated, being on the wrong end of Jax’s bloody Mortal Kombat fatality.
Reiko is also something of a goon in the video games, where he was initially introduced much later in Mortal Kombat 4 as a general of the villains Shao Kahn and Shinook. The 2015 Mortal Kombat comics series, however, depicts Reiko as a proud warrior and rightful heir to Shao Kahn’s throne and shows him eventually taking his place as one of the foremost villains of the Mortal Kombat universe. After his gory death in the 2021 movie, this future doesn’t seem very likely for Reiko.
Kano
Kano is one of the major characters in the new movie, appearing at first as a reluctant ally to the forces of Earthworld. His sarcastic attitude to the ancient tournament provides comic relief until that cynicism turns into treachery, with Kano switching sides and fighting for Shang Tsung. Kano and Sonya clearly dislike each other from the start, and Sonya volunteers to take him down. She ultimately kills Kano and takes his dragon mark, making her a full combatant in Mortal Kombat.
The rivalry between Kano and Sonya is taken directly from the video games, where the two have clashed since the first Mortal Kombat. Kano is the leader of the international Black Dragon criminal group. He is trapped in Outworld after the first tournament and ultimately becomes one of Shao Kahn’s generals, helping his army to use Earthrealm weapons. Kano and Kabal’s past in the Black Dragon could be material for a prequel or other entry in a larger Mortal Kombat franchise.
Mileena
Mileena is a vicious, cannibalistic Outworld creature that serves Shang Tsung. In the movie, she clashes with both Sonya and Cole, proving a difficult opponent until the two heroes team up and are able to defeat and kill her using Sonya Blade’s revamped, vicious fatality and fighting style.
In the Mortal Kombat video games, Mileena has a much larger role, having undergone numerous changes over the years. Mileena was first introduced as a purple-clad female ninja. She was a clone of the princess Kitana, but due to a flaw in the cloning process, she was created with a monstrous mouth. Mileena grows jealous of her “sister” and fights on the side of evil, ultimately being killed. In the 2011 reboot of the game series, she has a similar backstory, but a more animalistic appearance and vicious attitude. Being important to the plot of the later games, Kitana could appear in future Mortal Kombat movies, which could explore her connection with Mileena.
Sub-Zero
In the 2021 movie, Sub-Zero is an immortal assassin, also known as Bi-Han, with the power to freeze seemingly anything. He is immediately established as the most powerful of Shang Tsung’s warriors, dismembering Jax and killing Kung Lao. But Sub-Zero’s ancient rivalry with the ninja Hanzo Hasashi proves to be his undoing, as Hasashi returns from the dead as Scorpion to help his descendant Cole defeat his ancient rival. Sub-Zero is immolated at the end of Mortal Kombat and seems pretty convincingly dead, but given how central Scorpion and Sub-Zero are to the Mortal Kombat franchise, they likely aren’t out of the movies forever.
Sub-Zero has a similar rivalry with Scorpion in the first Mortal Kombat video game, one that also ends with Scorpion killing Sub-Zero. In Mortal Kombat II Bi-Han’s younger brother Kuai Liang takes up the mantle and ice powers of Sub-Zero trying to avenge his brother’s death, but ultimately ends up in a more friendly relationship with Scorpion. Bi-Han also later returns under the name Noob Saibot. The new Sub-Zero becomes a heroic character, fighting on the side of Earthrealm. Introducing Kuai Liang could be a way for a potential Mortal Kombat movie sequel to have a Sub-Zero character without undoing Bi-Han’s death.
Understandably given the length of a single movie, all of these characters’ stories are more abbreviated in the 2021 Mortal Kombat than they were in the original game series, with some appearing without any context or backstory. However, the first character killed in the movie, Hanzo Hasashi, has already come back to life, with his status as alive or dead unclear at the end of the film. The plot of the Mortal Kombat games features plenty of resurrections and fake deaths, so it’s possible that any of these characters could return in future Mortal Kombat movies to more further explore their stories.
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