There are a shocking number of idiots out there who think story doesn't matter in fighting
games, or that Mortal Kombat didn't take its storytelling seriously until 2011. These people
are cretinous buffoons who should be ostracised from society for their stupidity. Series co-creator
John Tobias, who was the lead storyteller from 1992 to 2000, created prequel comic tie-ins
for MK1 and 2 to help set up the plots for those games. This was decades before their
partnership with DC Comics and the rise of online shopping. These were indie comics,
released in full colour, that people had to send away for. There was no big publisher
backing them, no easy online distribution. And yet, they did it. And they weren't made
to go inside some kind of collector's edition because they were made for the arcade releases,
not the home releases.
They went to great lengths to set up the world and its characters, and yet so many "fans"
write them off completely because they got into the series with the godawful Netherrealm
games, and blindly accept what Pat from the Best Friends said about the 3D era being bad,
despite never looking into it themselves, and believe that higher production values
indicate a better story because "more polies is more emotions". Philistines, the lot of
them.
Now that I've got my prerequisite rant out of the way, let's talk about the MK1 comic.
I need to open by saying to anyone who thinks this comic is irrelevant due to MK2011 rebooting
the franchise: 2011 is an in-continuity reboot that alters events from the opening ceremony-onwards,
which begins on Page 13. Everything before that should still be the same. Do not make
me make a video about this.
Now, one detail rarely gone into these days, for some reason, is that the tournament was
run by the Shaolin, hence the presence of said monks in the Courtyard. One of the three
grandmasters died mysteriously and Shang Tsung took his place, before presumably offing the
other two once Goro was established as the champion. Speaking of Shang Tsung, he needs
to devour souls because of a curse put on him by the Gods. Why they did this is never
specified. That detail is rarely mentioned now, somewhat implying that he does it by
choice to extend his lifespan; not because he needs to or he'll rapidly age and die.
It's why the soulnado Quan Chi offered him in Deadly Alliance was such a big deal.
Next, we see Liu Kang asking to compete in the tournament. He received an invitation
to do so, but this idea was never expanded upon. Who invites the fighters other than
Shang Tsung? Why would he invite such proficient warriors? As an offering to Kahn, perhaps?
Kahn isn't once mentioned in MK1, and Outworld only comes up in Goro's bio to say where he's
from. There are no stakes beyond Shang Tsung keeping control of the tournament if he wins.
We get a scene of Johnny Cage with his agent and secretary to establish how sketchy the
tournament is. It's not gone into in the comic, but Johnny's goal is to prove that his moves
are real, which even in the 90's would be pretty easy to do. It's why the movie and
Legacy changed it so that his career is just in the shitter instead.
After that, we jump to a few miles away, where Sonya is pursuing Kano. Kano's goal is to
kill Shang Tsung and loot his island. That's pretty far removed from the more modern version
where he's already working for the sorcerer and planning to sell weapons to him. After
causing an explosion, Kano leaps onto the boat to escape. We then learn that he is a
fan of Johnny's. I think that makes him the only one until Fujin in MK11, if the leaks
are anything to go by.
Shang Tsung invites Raiden to compete because, originally, he was not the protector of Earthrealm.
He was just some arsehole Thunder God. Him competing in the tournament is not longer
canonical, since his retconned role in the storyline.
Liu Kang helps Johnny to fight off Kano and some others, setting the stage for them becoming
the protagonists of the story. It's hard to recall nowadays, but in MK1, all the playable
characters are from Earthrealm. None of them are working for Outworld, suggesting that
no Outworlders actually compete, other than Goro. But with the modern Earthrealm vs Outworld
scenario, they should all be on the same side.
The fight is observed by Sub-Zero, who is here to assassinate Shang Tsung. We never
did learn who hired the Lin Kuei to do this; it's just stated to be one of Shang Tsung's
wealthy enemies, whoever that might be. This has been completely inverted with MK2011,
where Sub-Zero is actively working for Shang Tsung to assassinate Earthrealmers. It's fucking
dumb.
There are actually multiple ships heading for the island here, not just the one departing
from Hong Kong. You have to wonder where they all came from if the closest one to the States
was in Hong Kong, since that's where Johnny gets on. Sonya is captured and has to compete,
or her squadmates will die. They don't show up in the MKII comic, so they probably die
anyway.
As Goro declares a start to the tournament, the story ends and the comic moves on to a
bio section, detailing a number of interesting facts about the characters that were mostly
never brought up again, despite there being quite a lot you could do with these ideas.
So, let's go through these bios one at a time in the only true canonical order.
Kano
Other than Raiden, Shang Tsung and Goro, who are all well beyond a normal human lifespan,
Kano is actually the oldest competitor, at 35. And before the movie, Kano wasn't Australian
or British as Goddard apparently actually played him; he was an American orphan raised
in Japan, hence the Japanese name "Kano". This backstory could still be utilised if
we say the Black Dragon member that originally recruited him was Australian, and Kano lived
there for a few years and picked up the accent.
Liu Kang
To start with something not too notable, Liu Kang is the youngest competitor in the tournament,
but every real fan knows that thanks to Born in China. What is worth noting, though, is
that he does have a brother, like in the movie. But the brother here is named Chow, not Chan,
and his whereabouts are unknown. More significantly, you may notice the names of his parents and
brother: Lee Kang, Lin Kang and Chow Kang. Liu Kang's name was originally in Western
naming order, with Kang as the family name. This presumably extends to Kung Lao, meaning
that Kung Jin should actually be named Jin Lao. Crazy, right? And what's even more crazy
than that: he catches fish. Shocking.
Raiden
Raiden is seven feet fall. Christ. And he weighs 350 pounds. The ninjas are 6'2 and
they're only 210 pounds. Are his bones covered in adamantium or is he just Fat Thor from
Avengers: Endgame? He also has black hair, which the movie changed to white, which carried
over to the games with Deadly Alliance. "Thunder God" is listed as his occupation. What's the
hourly rate for that, do you reckon? He also has no eyes, apparently. I guess Deadly Alliance
Kenshi got to him.
Johnny Cage
Please welcome Mr. John Carlton, the blue-eyes actor from Venice, California. These are actual
lyrics from Prepare Yourself, the opening track from Mortal Kombat: The Album, from
which the Techno Syndrome theme song originated. It basically covers half of this bio, honestly.
Son of Robert and Rose Carlton, brother of Rebecca Carlton, and ex-husband of Cindy Ford.
There's a lot you could do with this stuff, but no MK media ever brought this up. He never
mentions his previous marriage, his shitty career is never attributed to his bitch of
an ex-wife and her extensive LA connections in the movies, and Cassie never once mentions
her Aunt Becky. Wasted Plotential starring Johnny Cage coming 2020 Probably not, no.
Scorpion
Scorpion's eyes are listed as "varies", despite just being white like Raiden's, which I guess
proves that Raiden actually doesn't have eyes? Maybe it's meant to be like Thor's glowy eyes
from the MCU. Scorpion is also the exact same height, weight and age as Sub-Zero, probably
Reptile too aside from the age. They're close to Johnny's stats, but not quite, so it's
probably more just because they're palette swaps and less a nod to them all being played
by Daniel Pesina. Which makes me wonder if any of these stats are based on the actual
stats of the actors who played the characters in MK1. I don't think Rich Divizio was 35,
but you never know.
Sub-Zero
Much like scorpion, we know very little about Sub-Zero's life here. We don't know his name,
he lives in China and might be Chinese, but no one knows. I get that they're masked assassins,
but why leave so much mystery there? Also, it says he has no family, which proves the
common fan assertion that Bi-Han never liked his brother, even though there has never been
any evidence to support that. ...Fa-fa-fans are dumb.
Sonya
I'm not sure if it's just how her hair is coloured, or if she dyed it, but Sonya is
apparently a brunette. It doesn't say she died it, which you'd think it would since
it says Scorpions eyes "vary" to indicate his eyes weren't always white. This is presumably
not the case anymore, though, given her daughter's presumed natural blonde hair, but it's an
interesting detail. Not quite as interesting as Daniel, her dead twin brother, though.
Why that never came up again, I'll never know, since it could be brought up as part of her
motivation to kill Kano, since the games have never actually given her a reason. Her father,
who is the same rank as Jax, actually (perhaps suggesting he's a friend of Herman's), is
one of the few details in these bios to be brought up again, though his appearance in
her 2011 ending claims he's dead. He could've died in the invasion, but it's probably just
another retcon. Mama Erica goes unmentioned, though. Also, Sonya is apparently from Texas,
and yet she's never been given that godawful accent Erron Black got saddled (ha-ha) with
in MK11.
Goro
Goro is actually a fifth of Kitana's age. You wouldn't think that, you kinda get the
impression that he is ancient. But, in the grand scheme of things, he's not been around
that long; he's seemingly one of the younger Outworlders. King Gorbak was first mentioned
here, along with Queen Mai, who was never brought up again. Even after her husband died
and her son lost his arms, she didn't step up to rule the Shokan and just gave the job
to Sheeva, of all fucking people. He's also got seven wives. Dude has an actual harem
and it's never brought up, even by Woke Netherrealm to demonise that bad man for his sexual deviance.
There are some really interesting details in here that could be mined for plot elements.
I, myself, use them in MK Khronicles sometimes, like Goro's seven wives, Johnny's family and
ex-wife, and I've got a few ideas for Kano and Sonya from this. If this isn't proof that
Tobias cared more about fleshing out the world and characters than anyone who's written for
Netherrealm, I don't know what is. Also, Tobias' comics are a million times better than Shawn
Kittelsen's run. That's just objective fact.
If you liked this video, why not subscribe and support me on Patreon like these fine
people here? If not, then make sure to share it with your enemies so they can suffer along
with you.
Today's recommended video is "Mortal Kombat Sometimes Has More on its Mind" by Jacc, which
touches on a number of subjects regarding Netherrealm's failure to deliver on the potential
of the series' story, with Sub-Zero, the two monks, and the restrictions of game development
as main talking points. Good stuff.