Mortal Kombat (2021)

Over at Street Fighter, one of the non-II's most popular characters is Juri, who also goes pretty intense on the crazy and sex appeal fronts, even if she lacks the visible monstrous side.

Injustice of course gives you Harley Quinn...

Can we not go off topic about this adaptation with another video games please? There are forums of SF and Injustice if you want to talk about it.

Also I don't get the point of having a Canon Foreigner as a main character. So what's your thoughts on Cole?

Edited by Bubblepig on May 29th 2023 at 10:59:30 AM

I have no idea what they were thinking with Cole.

They allegedly didn't want to make Johnny Cage the main lead (for which there is no precedent anyway) and didn't want Liu Kang as the main lead. But there were other options besides him. Kung Lao or one of the Sub-Zero brothers could have worked. If you really wanted to be bold, use Kenshi; he has an established enmity with Shang Tsung, has more interesting powers, a good arc going from an arrogant swordsman to being humbled after his blindness and having his ancestors' souls stolen and you have disability representation for extra points.

That Lewis Tan said he'd have preferred to play either Kuai Liang, Kenshi or Smoke is even more telling.

That being said, I don't want them to kill off Cole in the sequel. Either find a way to make him more interesting or just retire him. I dislike pointless canon foreigners, but I hate pandering to fandom pettiness even more.

Edited by windleopard on May 30th 2023 at 8:06:40 PM

I thought I read backstory for Armageddon once that with Liu Kang dead and Raiden gone bad, Johnny Cage tried to step up. But I had no idea where this backstory came from, so it might've been bullshit.

That said, Johnny did beat up Shinnok...

No, you're correct. That was Johnny's official bio in Armageddon. However, he wasn't the main character in that game. That was Taven, an Edenian demigod.

The theme with Mileena, reminds me of when Harribel's character (Bleach) was revealed to be a butterface, only to become conventionally attractive in her second form.

There's a split in the fandom, whether making her pretty was the right decision or not.

She didn't really have a butterface. She just wore a scary mask.

Harribel also got shafted like Mileena.

The "sexy because she's psycho" character type is a common one in fighting games, come to think. In addition to Juri and Harley (though the latter isn't from fighting games), you have characters like Angel in KOF or Tira in Soulcalibur.

But Mileena's definitely the most successful example I can think of a monster female character who is both sexy and grotesque, and I agree that this is more a part of her appeal than the psycho part. Mileena is different from the average female character in a video game in a way that makes her stand out.

Though it's also a thing that her modern fanbase exploded in size after X, due to the perception that that game shafted her or something. It's also one of the reasons why, despite hitting a lot of the same ideas, D'Vorah has some traction taking off: the fans (somewhat unreasonably) blame the character for what they perceive as the developers hating on Mileena.

Edited by KnownUnknown on May 31st 2023 at 10:11:11 AM

D'Vorah also literally killed Mileena in that same game.

Killing off a fan-favorite character is rarely a great way to endear a new character to the fandom. Like, Frost isn't a super popular character, but you know what wouldn't have helped? Introducing her in a cinematic where she decapitates Sub-Zero, with the implication that Sub-Zero's old news and this is the new, better Sub-Zero!

In a game where Sub-Zero isn't playable because didn't you hear me? This is the new, better Sub-Zero. Who needs the old loser?

Note that this isn't the first time Mortal Kombat's made that mistake. Trying to get the audience to accept the new "next-gen Liu Kang" characters after killing Liu in Deadly Alliance was an uphill battle that they never quite figured out how to pull off, ultimately resulting in a franchise reboot because nothing was working out.

Older characters come with established fandoms. Everyone loves Scorpion, but that doesn't necessarily translate into liking Scorpion-like characters. That love comes from years of audience investment in the character. You can't just dump Scorpion, make a new Scorpion-like character named Tarantula, and expect everyone to love them even more.

There is a trick to introducing new characters. Sometimes it works out great. Sometimes Mortal Kombat steps into pitfalls trying to pull it off. And there are few pitfalls greater than trying to shill your new character by disrespecting fan-faves.

Edited by TobiasDrake on May 31st 2023 at 10:59:28 AM

Mileena fandom have come in waves, first in MKD were her apparience and bio maker her a favorite, then in MK 9 and finally in MKX were she hit the correct symbosis between beautiful and monster, hell her fatalities in MKX are the most brutal a female chararter have really.

But with Dvorah is more she killed the utterly fan fav in that game(who was a middle boss at best) and her chararterization as backstabbing bitch(that was tanya but it seen MK is retconing that away).

Where do you see them retconning that away?

Niche fandoms are also a thing, the internet has long provided access for people with specific appeals to group together. Sometimes it is strictly from a contrarian attitude, going against common sentiment because of the response you get from it. Mileenas popularity can also ascribed to literally being a warped Kitana clone, a "like Kitana, but different" substitute, and the original surprise when her true face is revealed.

in MKX tanya feel more a morally grey anti hero/villian who wants endenian freedom but will cut throats for it rather than the utterly self serving backstabber like dvorah is now

In a series where Death is Cheap like MK, I never really had a problem with D'Vorah killing Mileena and Baraka in MKX.

Both of them end up returning as playable characters in MK 11 anyway. Mileena's MKX ending even indicater that she could return as a hive mind of clones.

D'Vorah is never presented as new, improved Mileena just because she kills her. They are still quite distinct characters.

The actors playing Shao Kahn, Sindel, Jerrod and Quan Chi have been revealed.

Kahn - Martin Ford

Sindel - Ana Thu Nguyen

Jerrod - Desmond Chiam

Quan Chi - Damon Herriman

Edited by windleopard on Jun 16th 2023 at 3:41:41 PM

Well, they have the size right for the Emperor, if nothing else. The actor does look like someone swinging a giant hammer around.

Bringing up Jerrod is a surprise.

Edited by Blueace on Jun 15th 2023 at 3:19:16 PM

I love Damon Herriman. Guy excels at sinister, scary as fuck villains.

In Cold Case, Mindhunter and Once upon a time in America. He was chilling. Great choice.

Edited by miraculous on Jun 15th 2023 at 12:54:29 PM

If Jerrod's in the film, that probably implies that Kitana's getting some focus. A flashback scene at the very least.

I don't know these actors, so I can't quite judge if they are good choices. Ford is big enough to play Kahn but that alone isn't an indicator of his acting skill. Nguyen looks like she should be playing Mileena not Sindel.

But they all could turn out to be good choices.

Edited by windleopard on Jun 15th 2023 at 11:36:26 AM

Confirmed cast for the sequel.

I take it Kung Lao and Kano aren't staying dead, then?

Unless they are just appearing in flashbacks, it would seem so.

I don't think anyone thought Kano would be staying dead, between Tsung basically saying "I am bringing back my fighters so nyah" and the fact he never got his cybernetics.