Mortal Kombatis back on the big screen — or, depending on where you’re watching it, on HBO Max! Based on the long-running, acclaimed, and controversially violent fighting video game series that started in 1992 and has most recently continued with 2019’sMortal Kombat 11, the new film from directorSimon McQuoidand an international cast of martial arts experts promises hard-R action and a faithfulness to the property not seen in either previous live-action feature film (1995’s mostly belovedMortal Kombatand 1997’s mostly reviledMortal Kombat: Annihilation).
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The multimedia franchise is full of eclectic, super-powered characters with outrageous special moves, universe-spanning backstories, and fatalities — finishing moves that bloodily kill their opponent in hyperbolically entertaining fashions. For a newcomer to the franchise, or even for aKombatpro looking for a refresher before the new flick, it can be a lot to keep track of. So we’ve put together this handy-dandy guide of all the kombatants you’ll find in the newMortal Kombatmovie, how they compare to their video game counterparts, and how they function within the larger world of the mythology at large. And speaking of which…
The World(s) of ‘Mortal Kombat’
Mortal Kombatexists in a bit of a multiverse, with different realms representing different planes of existence and foundational philosophies. For the purposes of understanding the 2021 film, we’ll focus on three. There’s Earthrealm, which you may think of as our Earth as we know it, under the protection of an elder god named Raiden. There’s Outworld, a realm marked by evilness, power, decay, and corruption under the rule of an emperor named Shao Kahn. And there’s the Netherrealm, which you can think of as a hellish afterlife.
“Mortal Kombat” is the name of an inter-realm martial arts tournament, in which the mightiest warriors from each realm compete. If one realm wins 10 tournaments in a row, they gain the ability to invade the rival realm with a goal toward domination, submergence, and conquering. At the start of this film, Outworld has defeated Earthrealm nine times in a row, and its highest-ranking champions, including sorcerer Shang Tsung, are primed to win again. But the uncovery of a prophecy gives Earthrealm one final shot at protecting themselves. So as Shang Tsung sends a crew of evil Outworld fighters to Earthrealm to pick off potential champions, we find ourselves zeroing in on the journeys of…
Cole Young (Lewis Tan)
Wouldn’t you know it, Cole Young, the protagonist of ourMortal Kombatfeature film, is actually a new character to theMortal Kombatmythology! So ostensibly, you should be able to get what he’s about from watching the film right out of the gate, since this is his origin story. But for some brief, non-spoilery context, he’s a struggling MMA fighter whose glory days are behind him. His daughter (Matilda Kimber) is his coach and biggest fan despite his constant pummelings. But a destiny beyond what he’s known awaits him — and it has something to do with his curious visions of a fiery ninja, and his curious birthmark in the shape of a dragon…
Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee)
Sonya Blade, a United States Special Forces agent, is single-minded and hotheaded in her goal to eradicate the criminal forces in her way, especially her bitter rival Kano, and usually teams up with her Special Forces partner Jax. Her fighting style involves the usage of her long legs, including cartwheel kicks and handstand feet grabs of opponents' necks, military equipment like guns and grenades, and blasts of purplish energy rings she can supernaturally shoot. Her signature fatality involves a “kiss of death,” a smooch that chars and burns the victim into a dang skeleton.
In this film, Sonya has been tracking the existence and meaning of the Mortal Kombat tournament for some time, and introduces Cole to his place in the puzzle, including the meaning of his dragon mark as someone who possesses special powers known as “arcana” (she notably does not have a mark at the beginning of the film). She also undergoes a curious “alliance under duress” with rival Kano and continues to help teammate Jax.
Jax is another Special Forces agent, the generally more even-keeled partner of Sonya (though he is usually depicted as being responsible for the eye injury that led to Kano’s injury). He’s often seen struggling with the traumas that come from a life of military service, injury, and death. He’s cybernetically enhanced, with a pair of buffed out metal arms part and parcel of his fighting style; he’s one of the onlyMortal Kombatcharacters whose largest superpower comes, truly, from just punching people, though he can also blast out energy waves. Jax’s signature fatality is blunt and hilarious: He uses his metallic arms to “clap” someone’s head, causing it to explode. Can ya blame him?
We’re first introduced to Jax as having regular human arms in the film as he rescues Cole from the clutches of Sub-Zero and points him on his journey to find Sonya and get the meaning of his dragon mark. But the film features, in quite dramatic and bloody fashion, the origin story of the loss of his arms moments later, all leading to a rise from the ashes as he gets his powerful replacements.
Kano (Josh Lawson)
Boasting a cybernetic, glowing red eye and a blunt lack of morality, Kano is one of the franchise’s most reliable, and most traditionally human villains. He’s a mercenary for hire, the leader of the Black Dragon crime syndicate, and the unrelenting thorn in Sonya Blade’s side, sometimes portrayed as being responsible for a death of one of her partners. His special moves emanate from his cybernetic enhancements, including red laser beams shot from his eye shield, and his signature fatality involves the removal and consumption of his opponent’s heart (yum!). Interestingly, his common depiction of being Australian and having a vulgar, devil-may-care sense of humor came not from the video game, but fromTrevor Goddard’s performance as him in the first 1995 movie.
The new film starts with him having already been captured by Sonya, as he seems to have acquired the dragon mark after killing a superpowered person with it. Can he manage to work with Sonya, Jax, Cole, and the rest of the Earthrealm protectors without his damn running mouth ruining everything?
Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano)
Lord Raiden is the goddamn God of Thunder, eternal protector of the Earthrealm, and all around avatar of sage wisdom in theMortal Kombatuniverse. He’s what’s known as an Elder God, a powerful, otherworldly figure who helps keep the multiverse in check from evil figures like Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, who try to take over control from their nefarious Outworld perches. He’s typically portrayed as a father figure and trainer of our more down-to-earth (haha) heroes. As you might imagine, his powers involve the dissemination of lightning against his foes, and his signature fatality involves using electricity to decapitate fools.
In the film, Raiden protects and brings together all kinds of people, from rescuing Scorpion’s daughter in the prologue sequence to reluctantly training the motley crew of Earthrealm warriors in his temple during the middle. He is an observer of tradition, rules, and lineages, which are all shaken up by the events of the film.
Liu Kang (Ludi Lin)
Typically seen as the central character ofMortal Kombat(so much so that he was the protagonist of the 1995 film, played byRobin Shou), Liu Kang is a trained martial artist and Shaolin monk who becomes Earthrealm’s Grand Champion as a result of winning so many Mortal Kombat tournaments against the forces of Outworld, especially Shang Tsung. He’s both grounded but spiritual, a fierce warrior but a kind hearted soul. His diverse set of moves involve fireballs, bicycle kicks, and the personification of the dragon (i.e. theMortal Kombatlogo); so much so that his signature fatality involves him literally turning into a dragon and chomping his opponent for a post-fight lunch.
The film finds Liu Kang already a teacher of sorts, rather than a student. He’s already an Earthrealm champion and trains Cole to help unlock his arcana in Raiden’s temple before springing into action himself when Outworld forces make their bold play.
Kung Lao (Max Huang)
Seen on the right of the movie still with his BFF/sometimes cousin Liu Kang, Kung Lao is a fellow trained Shaolin monk, an eponymous ancestor of the Great Kung Lao, and in recent games, a bit of a rapscallion. In contrast to the humble and kind Liu Kang, Kung Lao can feel like a Han Solo type; he still follows the nonviolent, spiritual teachings of the White Lotus Society, but does so while flirting, smirking, and behaving like a lovable brute. And if you’re wondering if his powers involve his big ol' hat, good news: They do! It’s a razor-edged hat which Kung Lao chucks and hurls at his opponents with magical elan, culminating in his signature fatality which slices his opponent clean in half, hat-style.
The film positions Kung Lao as another teacher alongside Liu Kang and Raiden, helping the newcomers find their strength and arcana. We notably see some of the rabble-rousing tendencies of Kung Lao come out during a heated argument with Kano, and we notably see some of the selfless tendencies of Kung Lao come out during dramatic moments later.
Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada)
Scorpion, aka Hanzo Hasashi, utters the most famous line in all ofMortal Kombat: “Get over here!” He throatily barks this as he shoots a rope-spear out of his hand, plunging it into his opponents' bodies and yanking them over to pummel them. Easily one of the most recognizable moves not just inMortal Kombatbut in all of video game history, its only one of Scorpion’s many powers, which also include the usage of fire, teleportation, and straight up sword fighting. Scorpion was originally perceived as a villain in the original games (and ‘95 film), which tracks with his signature fatality where he removes his yellow mask to reveal a skull-face, and breathes fire onto his opponent, burning them to a crisp. But recent incarnations of the character cast him as a noble, heroic member of the Shirai Ryu clan (Hanzo Hasashi) who is driven to madness, vengeance, and hellish possession (Scorpion) only when his family is murdered.
The film version takes this history and runs with it as a framing device, opening the film with the devastation of his family and life by the evil Bi-Han, aka Sub-Zero. It goes on to present an ancient prophecy that the presence of Hanzo Hasashi’s blood (like, his lineage, though there’s plenty of his literal blood) is the key to uniting a new group of Earthrealm warriors to stop an Outworld takeover. And as Sub-Zero continues his path of destruction and Cole keeps having strange visions of Scorpion appear before his very eyes, it all leads to a cathartic climax for Mr. Scorpion.
Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim)
While the canon ofMortal Kombathas two separate ninjas who have adorned the “Sub-Zero” moniker, for the purposes of how it relates to the film version, we’re just going to focus on one: Bi-Han. A single-minded, remorseless assassin of the Lin Kuei clan, Bi-Han is what we might call “neutral evil”; he kills his targets (including Scorpion and his family) without a second thought, his darkness ultimately corrupting his soul and transforming him into the form known as Noob Saibot (seen above, because to use the Sub-Zero fromMortal Kombat 11would be using theotherSub-Zero, and we simply cannot meld continuities like that!). But under his Sub-Zero moniker, his powers obviously involve the wielding of ice as a power, with his ability to fling ice balls that freeze people in their tracks being his most notable special move. His signature fatality involves ripping a head off his opponent’s body, its spinal cord hanging precariously below. Yuck!
The film, again, starts with Bi-Han finding Hanzo Hasashi and his family, and murdering him. It then presents him as a kind of ice-cold Terminator, hunting after Cole, Jax, Sonya, and any other Earthrealm warriors who get in the way of Outworld domination. Many things come to a head for Mr. Sub-Zero through the film, and he causes many things to freeze and shatter along the way.
