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This article is about the Mortal Kombat character. For the Singaporean artist, see Liu Kang (artist). For the Chinese football player and coach, see Liu Kang (football manager).

Liu Kang
Mortal Kombat character
File:LiuKangconceptart.png
Liu Kang as drawn by John Tobias
First appearanceMortal Kombat (1992)
Created byEd Boon
John Tobias
Designed byJohn Tobias (early games)
Luis Mangubat (MK:D/MK:A)
Mark Lappin (MK:SM)[1]
Atomhawk Design (MK9)[2]
Marco Nelor (MKX)[3]
Portrayed by
expand
Voiced by
expand
Motion capture
expand
  • Ho-Sung Pak (MK, MKII)[4]
  • Eddie Wong (MK3, UMK3)[4]
  • Carlos Pesina (MK:D/MK:A)
  • Lawrence Kern (MKvsDCU, MK9)
  • Nick Toussaint (MK11)
In-universe information
WeaponDragon Sword (MK4, MKG)
Nunchaku (MK:D, MK:A, MK11)
OriginHonan Province,
 China
(Earthrealm)[5]
NationalityChinese
Fighting stylesPao Chui (MK:D)
Jun Fan (MK:D, MK:A, MK:SM)[6]
Choy Lay Fut (MK:SM)[6]
Monkey (MK:SM)[6]
Dragon (MK:SM)[6]
Shaolinquan (MK:SM)

Liu Kang[note 1] is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Depicted as Earthrealm's greatest warrior and champion, he is generally the main hero of the series. He debuted in the original Mortal Kombat (1992) as a Shaolin monk. Across the first timeline, Liu Kang fights against several types of beings who wish to take him down, eventually the protagonist of the action-adventure beat 'em up spinoff game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005). In the second timeline, Liu Kang faces despair as a result of his allies being killed, rebelling against his mentor Raiden who accidentally kills him. In Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), Raiden faces the corrupted and undead Liu Kang, redeeming him by passing his godhood in the process. Liu Kang has appeared in various alternate media outside of the games, including as the hero of the 1995 film adaptation and its 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation where he was played by Robin Shou, while Brian Tee and Ludi Lin played the role in webseries, and the 2021 reboot film, respectively.

Midway created Liu Kang as a pacifist warrior based on Bruce Lee, symbolized by his fatality finishing move not killing his foe. Both he and fellow fighter Kung Lao were written to contast one another despite being friends who trained together. His appearance changed in following games alongside his moves, signifying his darker portrayal and more brutal killing moves. Designers Ed Boon and John Tobias struggled with his proper development across the next games until deciding Mortal Kombat 11 would close his character arc.

Reception of the character has been initially positive due to his fighting style and character arc in early games. However, the character's death in Deadly Alliance and eventual return as a berserker zombie led to mixed responses by the media for the former event being done in shock value and the latter due to how his body is poorly treated. In regards to Liu Kang's role in the second timeland explored by Netherealm, there was also mixed responses to the way the staff treated him though Mortal Kombat 11 earned more favorable response for how Liu Kang is redeemed by Raiden and becomes the hero of the title.

Creation and design

Bruce Lee
Minamoto Yoshitsune
Bruce Lee (left) and Minamoto Yoshitsune (right) were the two main influences of Liu Kang's character

Original concept sketches for a proposed Midway Games fighting title by artist John Tobias featured a Japanese character named Minamoto Yoshitsune.[9][10] However, during production of what would become Mortal Kombat, the Midway staff "just couldn't deal with the name," according to Tobias, the game's lead character designer.[4] The character was renamed Liu Kang as a nod to actor Gordon Liu, who starred in the 1978 film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin,[11] and with his ethnicity subsequently changed to Chinese, he "was originally going to be a traditional monk — bald and in robes".[12] Liu Kang was played by Korean actor and martial artist Ho-Sung Pak in the first two games, but Pak's refusal to shave his head[4] resulted in the character instead being modeled after Bruce Lee and depicted as "a renegade monk [who] grew his hair back".[4] Tobias additionally drew inspiration from the 1973 film Enter the Dragon in developing Liu Kang's backstory.[13]

Liu Kang's design in the first game had him shirtless with short hair, while wearing only black pants and white shoes.[12] Starting with Mortal Kombat II, his outfit was enhanced with a red palette by way of single vertical stripes on his pants and a matching headband, in addition to black shoes and studded wrist guards. Mortal Kombat 3 contained minor changes of longer hair and thin black leg strips wrapped above his ankles in order to give him a "sleeker" look.[14] According to Daniel Pesina, Liu Kang's later design from Mortal Kombat II onward was modeled after Marvel's character Shang Chi.[15] Lead series programmer Ed Boon said in a 1995 interview of the development team's decision to include Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 3: "It'd be like doing part three of Star Wars and not having Luke Skywalker in there. You don't do that."[14]

Liu and fellow fighter Kung Lao were meant to compliment each other. One as the present day chosen one and the other as a reflection of a failed past, yet it was their sense of righteous purpose that bonded their friendship.[16] The 1995 Mortal Kombat film producers chose to combine Liu and Kung Lao's characters, making Liu the descendant of The Great Kung Lao in the films, and causing confusion in our games for years to follow. Any mention of Liu Kang as descendent of The Great Kung Lao in the games was a mistake.[17] According to Tobias, there have been deviations in different media to serve their purposes, but the truth of Liu's hero's journey and the root of the character’s inspiration usually seemed to find their way.[18]

Liu Kang was one of Tom Choi's first roles in his career. When recording his lines, Ed Boon told to Choi about his idea of making several nonsensical lines very quickly in his special moves, most notably the Bicycle Kick. Choi found it strange how the character comes back from the dead but still saw him as "cool"[19] Additionally, found unique the character of Liu Kang for being an Asian lead despite the game being made in the West. However, he noticed the creative teams change leading decisions involving changes in the story. Before the games' releases, Choi likes rewatching material he created, including not only Mortal Kombat but also Fallout. He was also proud Liu Kang appeared in other media and portrayed different actors, making him iconic.[20] Voice actor Matthew Yang King was fond of Liu Kang and Kung Lao's friendship, comparing them to brothers who have a tendency to compete several times, especially in Mortal Kombat 11. When first voicing him, the actor noticed nobody had ever played that largely because they were hiring Caucasian actors and they felt a lot of the time those Caucasian actors so uncomfortable sort of doing that. He felt that Liu Kang was an "ode" to Bruce Lee and wanted to keep that appeal in the games. He also enjoyed the Mortal Kombat 11 character arc for the protagonist due to how he becomes a god and the amount of dialogue he had to record in total.[21]

This design was carried over into Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, but due to his resurrection therein as a zombie, his skin was ash gray and he wore hooked chains around his wrists, while his alternate costume featured him as a living person in order to contrast his undead form.[22] The character's death in the previous game, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, inspired the composition of a "funeral song" by series music composer Dan Forden, titled "Liu Kang's Tomb" and included in Deception in the arena containing his tomb.[23] After the developers had received feedback that unlocking him in Deception had proved difficult, Liu Kang became a regular playable character in the PlayStation Portable port Unchained.[24] Like all the characters from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Liu Kang was selected to be a playable character based on his popularity.[25]

Liu Kang again retained his Mortal Kombat 3 design in the 2008 crossover fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, accentuated with a championship belt adorned with the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem.[26] Tobias, who departed Midway in 1999, said in a 2012 interview that had he continued to work on Mortal Kombat, he would have kept the plot centered around Liu Kang and then his son.[27] According to Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat 11 was written in order to end the story arc of Liu Kang.[28] For the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1, Ed Boon decided to use Liu Kang for the game's cover as it signifies the change to a new story arc even if fellow characters Scorpion and Sub-Zero are better known as poster childs.[29]

Gameplay

A screenshot of Liu Kang's recurring Chinese dragon Fatality from Mortal Kombat II, as seen in the canceled HD remake version for Mortal Kombat: Arcade Kollection

Liu Kang's first Fatality (a finishing move that executes defeated opponents), titled "Shaolin Uppercut" was created by his actor Ho-Sung Pak.[30] It has him perform a butterfly kick (often mistaken for a cartwheel)[31] on his opponent before landing an uppercut that knocks them offscreen before landing.[32] According to Tobias, the background not darkening during the finisher was a glitch that was kept in and rationalized as symbolizing Liu Kang's noble motivations.[33] While the "Shaolin Uppercut" was carried over into Mortal Kombat II, Liu Kang was otherwise given more graphic Fatalities thereafter as he was depicted by Midway as having "strong Shaolin beliefs, but was no longer a part of the Shaolin monks." He was additionally designed as a character that both casual and experienced gamers could play as with little difficulty.[34]

Liu Kang specializes in kicks, with his most common move a flying kick that launches him across the screen to connect with his opponent's torso.[35] Mortal Kombat II introduced another of the character's signature special moves, the "Bicycle Kick", which again propels him across the screen with a flurry of kicks targeting the opponent's midsection and resembling the pedaling of a bicycle.[31] A different kind of his signature abilities is the "Dragon Fire": with it Liu Kang sends a fiery flame in the shape of a Chinese dragon across the screen out of his hands at his opponent.[32] After Mortal Kombat II, he gains the ability to perform the "Dragon Fire" while crouching and in the air, also for Deception and Armageddon.[36] In contrast to the Shaolin Uppercut, the Dragon fatality is meant to instantly kill his opponent to convey his new sense of revenge against his nemesis, Shang Tsung, who had killed his fellow Shaolin partners in Mortal Kombat II.[37] The series' composer and co-designer John Vogel noted it to be his favorite Fatality due to how much Liu Kang's appearance changes.[38] Another famous Fatality of Liu Kang has him vanish and a Mortal Kombat arcade game machine drop down and crush his opponent.[36]

Appearances

Mortal Kombat games

In Midway Games

Introduced in the first Mortal Kombat game as a Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu monk, Liu Kang enters the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament in order to protect Earthrealm from being destroyed. He defeats Grand Champion Goro and the tournament host, the nefarious sorcerer Shang Tsung, and emerges as the new Mortal Kombat champion.[39] However, by Mortal Kombat II (1993), Liu Kang finds many of his Shaolin brethren were killed in a vicious attack by a horde of nomadic mutants led by Baraka under orders from the evil Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung's master. Enraged, Liu Kang travels to Outworld to seek revenge, backed by a friend and fellow Shaolin monk Kung Lao. At the tournament, Liu Kang defeats Shao Kahn.[40] Liu Kanga once again faces Khan in In Mortal Kombat 3 to stop the Emperor during another invasion.[41]

In Mortal Kombat 4 (1997), Liu Kang discovers that his lover, Princess Kitana, has been captured by the disgraced Elder God Shinnok's forces, and begins gathering Earth's warriors to defeat him.[42] Liu Kang confronts Shinnok and once again emerges victorious. Kitana then invites the winner to Edenia, but he is unable to commit himself to a relationship due to his duty as Earthrealm's champion.[43]

Liu Kang becomes unplayable for the first and only time in the Mortal Kombat series in 2002's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, in which the titular partnership of Shang Tsung and fellow sorcerer Quan Chi join forces to kill him in the game's introductory sequence.[44] In Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004), an unknown party reanimates Liu Kang's corpse and sends it on a murderous rampage, leaving his soul to attempt to regain control.[45] He returns as a playable character in this game, albeit in an undead form and as a secret character that can only be unlocked by completing the game's training mode.[46] His spirit enlists the reformed ninja Ermac to try to save Kitana and his Earthrealm allies from the Dragon King Onaga.[47]

Liu Kang is still unable to fully regain control of his body in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006), where he is playable along with the entire series roster, and in which it is revealed that his superior, the Thunder God Raiden, had revived Liu Kang's corpse in Deception.[48] Liu Kang's bond with Kitana had succeeded in keeping his power in check, with Nightwolf then assuming her position as Liu Kang's "spiritual anchor" in an attempt to find a way to reunite his body and soul.[49]

Along with Kung Lao, Liu Kang is the lead character in the 2005 spin-off action-adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, which serves as a retelling of the events leading up to Mortal Kombat II and features the two Shaolin monks traveling to Outworld to find and defeat Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, rescuing Kitana along the way.[50][51]

Liu Kang is among the eleven characters representing the Mortal Kombat franchise in the title Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008), which features fights between characters from the Mortal Kombat and the DC Comics universes. In this game, Liu Kang appears as the protagonist of the first chapter of the Mortal Kombat story mode.[52] Tobias said that the fight he expected to see in the game was between Liu Kang and Batman as he noted their back-stories are very similar, as both attempt to help their respective leaders regain their senses.[53][54]

NetherRealm Studios titles

In the Mortal Kombat reboot game (2011), which serves as a retelling of the first three games, Liu Kang reprises his role from the first three tournaments as one of Raiden's chosen warriors.[55] Raiden starts having visions of Shao Kahn killing everybody and with the dying Raiden wondering who should win.[56] When Shao Kahn prepares to invade Earthrealm following the second tournament, all of Liu Kang's allies are murdered by a soul-infused Sindel. When Khan invades Earthrealm, Liu Kang tries to face him, only to Raiden accidentally killing Liu Kang in the process.[57]

Liu Kang returns in Mortal Kombat X as Quan Chi's undead revenant.[58][59] Following Quan Chi's death and Shinnok's defeat, he and Kitana become the new rulers of the Netherrealm. They are visited by Raiden, who brings them Shinnok's disembodied head as a warning for them not to attack Earthrealm.[60][61]

In Mortal Kombat 11, Liu Kang plans to invade Earthrealm. After Raiden and the Special Forces destroy his castle in the Netherrealm, Liu Kang and his allies join the keeper of time, Kronika.[62] While making preparations however, she brings a younger version of Liu Kang to the present.[63] Despite learning of what happened to him, Liu Kang continues to trust Raiden and aligns himself with Earthrealm's warriors to combat Kronika.[64] When he clashes with Raiden after the latter uses Shinnok's amulet to strengthen himself, the thunder god discovers that Kronika manipulated them into fighting. Kronika kidnaps the past Liu Kang so his revenant can absorb his soul. Raiden merges with the revenant and younger Liu Kang, transforming them into "Fire God Liu Kang".[65] With Raiden's godly powers and his revenant counterpart's knowledge of Kronika's plan, he storms Kronika's keep and engages her in battle. Liu Kang defeats Kronika and is either joined by a mortal Raiden or Kitana in shaping a new timeline.[66] In the DLC story expansion Aftermath, Liu Kang and Raiden attempt to restart the history, only to be interrupted by Shang Tsung, Nightwolf and Fujin, who tell them they need Kronika's Crown of Souls in order to do so. The sorcerer has the Fire God send him, Fujin, and Nightwolf back in time to retrieve a past version of the Crown.[67] While Shang Tsung is successful,[68] he discovers that Liu Kang had manipulated events to ensure his victory. Liu Kang erases Shang Tsung from history and, in the process of forging his New Era, visits Kung Lao's ancestor to give him special training for his future battles.[69]

Liu Kang will appear in the upcoming 2023 reboot game. It is a reboot of the series and is set in the New Era timeline created by Liu Kang after he attained godhood in Mortal Kombat 11.[70]

Other media

Printed media

Liu Kang was the hero of the comic book adaptation of the Mortal Kombat series Malibu Comics. In the first miniseries, Blood and Thunder, his backstory was mostly kept intact as a Shaolin monk out to restore the tournament to their righteous owners, with the only difference being that he was not the chosen one to defeat Goro, which instead fell on twin monk brothers named Sing and Sang, two original characters created specifically for the comics; after they are killed by Goro in the third issue, Liu Kang becomes the Shaolin's only hope in defeating Shang Tsung.[71] The following miniseries, Battlewave, stated that Liu Kang won the first tournament after defeating Goro, which never appeared in the first miniseries. He returns to his normal life as an architect in Chicago, having left the Order of Light before the events of the first series. However, he suffers from constant attacks by an unknown force of ninjas and later receives help from Johnny Cage's bodyguard Bo when Goro ambushes him in an office building. Eventually he decides to travel to Outworld, realizing that he cannot avoid Mortal Kombat.[72]

Film and television

While Robin Shou portrayed Liu Kang as an Earthrealm hero in the live-action films, Brian Tee played him as an antagonist. Ludi Lin portrayed the character in the 2021 film..

Liu Kang is the main protagonist of 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, in which he is played by Robin Shou. Director Paul W. S. Anderson wanted Liu Kang's character to be "really engaging" and cast Shou, noting his skills with martial arts.[73] Anderson compared Shou with Jackie Chan due to how both actors did not rely on stunts for their movies.[74] In the first film, he takes part in the tournament out of guilt over his brother's death at the hands of Shang Tsung. Raiden recruits Liu Kang on the journey to Shang Tsung's island where he helps him get over his brother's death while defeating the sorcerer.[75] As a result of the film's style the relationship between Liu Kang and Kitana is more of a metaphysical than a romantic nature.[76] Shou said that in the original script he "was supposed to fall in love with Talisa Soto [Kitana]. I was looking forward to it, but they thought we have so much action, we don't want to add romance to it. They cut it out."[77] Shou stated that the fight against Reptile was the most memorable, as he had suffered a rib injury shooting a scene in which Liu Kang is thrown backfirst into a pillar. The take in which he was injured was used in the final cut, as Shou felt that viewers would notice his pain during the fight. In retrospective, Shou commented that the production team managed to "find Liu Kang" during the making of the feature, with Shou's facial expressions fitting their criteria.[78] Randy Hamilton voiced Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, a straight-to-video animated prequel released four months prior to the film.[73]

Shou and Talisa Soto (Kitana) were the only two actors to reprise their roles from the first film in the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. In the sequel, Liu Kang joins the Earthrealm warriors to stop Shao Kahn's menace.[79] Shou expressed pressure in recording of the movie due to trying to find a style between American and Hong Kong artists such as Jet Li or Steven Seagal.[80] According to Chris Conrad who plays Cage, "Robin and Talisa were very, very cool. It’s a fun, well developed franchise. Robin and Talisa and the entire cast was just so pleasant and fun to be around."[81] Thai actor and martial artist Tony Jaa was a stunt double for Shou.[82]

Brian Tee played Liu Kang in the 2013 second season of director Kevin Tancharoen's web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.[83] Tee was not fond of the character so when was offered the role, he complained about it. He said he instead preferred Sub-Zero, claiming there are more suitable actors available for Liu Kang's Bruce Lee's like persona. He elaborated Liu Kang "was this one note caricature of a martial artist/kung fu guy. I wanted someone with a lot more depth and a lot more feeling and character struggle." Upon reading the script, Tee was surprised by this take on the character as he found him more fascinating as an anti-hero, especially when seeing his rivalry with Kung Lao. He did a majority of stunts with the help of the stunt coordinator, Garrett Warren, and choreographer, Larnell Stovall, with the help of his stunt double, Kim Do, all in collaboration to make Liu Kang what he needs to be. He was satisfied with such action sequences.[84]

Jordan Rodrigues aimed to properly portray Liu Kang's sensitive side in the animated films most notably when interacting with Raiden.

Liu Kang was played by Ludi Lin in the 2021 reboot film Mortal Kombat.[85][86][87] An orphaned street child now living as a warrior monk and protege of Raiden, Liu Kang guides Earthrealm's warriors towards discovering their abilities. After his friend and shī xiōng[88] Kung Lao is murdered by Shang Tsung, he avenges him through killing Kabal.[89] Ludi Lin regards Liu Kang as a lone wolf archetype of character but still "alpha male in search of his pack" having enjoyed playing as him in the video games. As he was kind of a vagrant his life, Ludi Lin relates to the character mostly due to his life as a shaolin monk. While finding Liu Kang as a pacifist, he believes the character also finds the moment needed to execute violence. He also studied most of Bruce Lee's works when preparing for the movie since he served as a major influence for Liu Kang.[90]

Liu Kang is one of the lead characters in the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and was voiced by Brian Tochi. He is not the protagonist as opposed to the games' storyline, instead sharing this role with several other Earthrealm heroes.[91] Jordan Rodrigues voiced the role of Liu Kang who appeared as one of the lead characters in the 2020 animated movie Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. He, Cage, and Sonya Blade reprise their roles from the first Mortal Kombat game with Scorpion's aid. Rodrigues reprises his role in the sequel Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms as the film's central protagonist.[92] For this film, the staff worked to properly conveyed the father and son relationship Raiden and Liu Kang share that was not shown in the games as his parents are revealed to have been killed during the protagonist's early days. The depth Raiden is given helps to Liu Kang surpass his own doubts and become the champion he was trained to be. Rodrigues stated that Liu Kang’s patience paid off and the trauma only added "fuel to the fire to Liu Kang’s burning heart."[93]

Reception

The character has received mostly mixed positive response by gaming publications. Digital Spy compared him with Street Fighter character Ryu, stating they while both are "kind of dull", they develop appealing techniques across their respective series.[94] GamesRadar+ referred to him as one of gaming's various "kickass Bruce Lee clones" citing his similarities with Bruce Lee and with one of his shouts featured in famous quotes.[95] IGN's Douglas Perry wrote that he preferred Liu Kang over Kung Lao as a playable character in Shaolin Monks because of his "intuitive fighting moves,"[96] adding that his shouts were "annoying" yet "strangely pleasing."[97] GameDaily complained about his voice, saying that "Liu Kang screams out like a chicken,"[98] and GamesRadar+ wrote that "the strange squeals he emits during his trademark Bicycle Kick move are unforgettable."[99] Nevertheless, Mary Shearman from 100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture considered that Bruce Lee himself used to make animal noises when attacking.[100] In Game of Death, David Church the writers found Liu Kang and Shang Tsung obvious references Lee and Han from Enter the Dragon. While hardly the only fighting game character to be modeled after Lee, Liu Kang’s high-pitched vocalizations—were linked to David Bordwell, another allusion to his cinematic inspiration, as further confirmed by Liu Kang's Dragon Transformation fatality in MKII and usage of Jeet Kune Do. However, Shaolin kung fu that Lee uses in Enter the Dragon was also exaggerated too in a similar manner to Liu Kang's.[101]

Among other moves Liu Kang's dragon Fatality has been listed as one of the best Fatalities from the series,[102][103][104] while the arcade throw instead was criticized for being ridiculous.[105][106][99] In regards to the crossover, Jesse Schedeen of IGN said that "it just wouldn't be right having a game without [Liu Kang]," noting him to be as fierce as the DC Universe characters in this game.[107] A.V. Club compared relationship with Kitana was compared to the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) due to how the games often give them proper scenes despite the franchise being more focused brutal battles.[108]

Fire God Liu Kang earned praise for his development in the narrative and actions in Mortal Kombat 11.

Upon his death in Deadly Alliance, IGN's Jeremy Dunham noted that Liu Kang was killed as the series needed "'starting over' mentality".[109] Complex remarked that the Mortal Kombat developers "finally found their groove again with Deadly Alliance, which began by snapping Liu Kang's neck."[110] Game Informer was more negative by the handling of Liu Kang's death.[111] His redesign in Mortal Kombat: Deception earned mixed response with praise given to his berserker side.[112][113] while GamesRadar used Liu Kang as an example of a stereotype of gaming heroes who reveal an evil alter ego that ruins the character's appealing traits,[114] and considered him to be "a little like the Shaolin version of Goku, in that he's saved his world countless times and come back from the dead even more frequently."[115] Liu Kang's darker characterization starting with Deception and in the reboot were received with good critical response as Den of Geek enjoyed this aspect.[116] Both Den of Geek and Hardcore Gamer found Liu Kang's possible role in the series after the reboot to be shrouded in mystery due to his possible revival as a villain as well as how he is not available to face Shinnok as in the first games created for the series.[117][118] In regards to his and Kitana's role in Mortal Kombat 11, Escapist Magazine found it confusing as a result of Liu Kang's transformation into a god and the couple becoming rulers of time.[119] GameRevolution enjoyed Liu Kang's ending in the Mortal Kombat 11 and thus wondered which of his two endings where he allies with either Raiden or Kitana would be taken as canonical.[120] PCGamesN found Liu Kang's development in the game touching due to the handling of his character to the point gamers looked forward to his best ending which was difficult to achieve.[121] Upon God Liu Kang's inclusion in the game as playable, GameRevolution compared it with Ryu's evil persona.[122] Shacknews enjoyed the actions Liu Kang makes as a god due to the major direction the narrative takes in the DLC Aftermath as he aims to restart the generation.[123] Den of Geek commented that Liu Kang's role as a protagonist in Mortal Kombat 11 was well handled as he fitted the heroic role through his transformation into the God of Fire and Lightning.[124]

Though noting that the first trilogy provides Liu Kang with a notable character arc represented not only in his moves but also design, His death at the beginning of Deadly Alliance was criticized for being only done for shock value and return as a zombie in latter games made it without any active role. With the eventual reboot in, Liu Kang and Kitana were replaced by Johnny Cage and Sonya as leads and love interest focus which was labelled as whitewashing. While Liu Kang reappears in Mortal Kombat X once again as undead, his dialogues and darker persona were disliked by Medium for coming to aggressive to most of his opponents and having no major role in the main story. However, by the release of Mortal Kombat 11, the writer found that Netherealm finally found a proper role for the former main character and how he supports Raiden while negating the death he was told about his other persona. This comes to a resolution when Raiden tries to save his underling from corruption by combining and erases the undead persona in the process. With Raiden's gambit in action, Liu Kang returns as a superpowered hero who managed to defeat the worlds from Kronika.[125] Polygon believes both Liu Kang and Raiden "fell from grace" in 2000s with the former being killed only resurrect as zombie while Raiden became corrupted after his failure. With the new reboot game from 2011, Polygon once again criticized the handling of these two leads as Raiden kills Liu Kang by accident in the final chapter, leaving Mortal Kombat 11 as the last attempt to redeem the two heroes from their chaotic paths. The eventual reenacment of Liu Kang's agressive words towards Raiden led to praise as through this Raiden realizes how the two have been used to fight one another like in the first reboot, making a drastic change in two heroes at the same time.[126]

Robin Shou's take on Liu Kang was also the subject of analysis as in the book The Deathly Embrace: Orientalism and Asian American Identity he has to face his own fears in the 1995 movie and let go of them by accepting that he is not guilty for his brother's death. His brother is said to have taken his own path which torments the main character. In regards to how the narrative addresses this allowing for Liu Kang to face the past, the writer compared it to a Generation-X justification as Liu Kang is able to prevail over Shang Tsung during the movie while giving a theme of individualism.[127] Medium found Robin Shou's take on the character to be more appealing due to his more complex guilty nature when remembering his late brother or how the film expanded on his relationship with Kitana, something the games incorporated.[126] Bloody Disgusting particularly praised the fight coreography for Liu Kang's fight against Reptile.[128] Den of Geek praised Ludi Lin's acting in the reboot as he now shared scenes with Kung Lao but felt their ending was tragic,[129] to the point of a potential sequel feature his love interest Kitana, comparing them to Romeo and Juliet.[130]

Notes

  1. ^ Chinese: 劉鋼; pinyin: Liú gāng; Wade–Giles: Liu2 Kang1[7] or Chinese: 劉康; pinyin: Liú kāng; Wade–Giles: Liu2 K'ang1[8]

References

  1. ^ "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - Credits". Allgame.com. 2010-10-03. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Mortal Kombat Characters & Concept Artwork". CreativeUncut.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  3. ^ "Concept Art World » Exclusive 'Mortal Kombat X' Concept Art by Marco Nelor". Taable Note. 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Stokes, Mike (1995). "Ed Boon & John Tobias Interview". Official MK3 Kollector's Book. Electronic Gaming Monthly. pp. 6–16.
  5. ^ Tobias, John (1992). Mortal Kombat Kollector's Edition Comic Book. Midway Games. p. 16.
  6. ^ a b c d Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks Instruction Booklet, Midway Amusement Game, LLC, 2005, p. 12
  7. ^ Japanese manual of SNES version Mortal Kombat
  8. ^ Canadian manual of SNES version Mortal Kombat
  9. ^ Ok... I just found thee very first MK related art I ever did!!! You'll never guess which character it was... Archived 2014-01-14 at the Wayback Machine by John Tobias on Twitpic.
  10. ^ More doodles from my ancient MK notebook. JohnnyCage B4 he was JohnnyCage and Yoshitsune Minamoto… Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine by John Tobias on Twitpic.
  11. ^ John Tobias [@therealsaibot] (August 24, 2020). "No. Actually Liu Kang was named after Gordon Liu the actor who played the lead in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" (Tweet). Retrieved August 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
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