Thanks to the recentMortal Kombatfilm, fans of the acclaimed fighting game franchise finally have a new look into the Mortal Kombat Tournament. This time around, newcomer Cole Young gets dragged into the fight for Earthrealm’s freedom as Shang Tsung and his minions threaten to pave the way for conquest once and for all. With this film more or less adapting the firstMortal Kombatgame, fans old and new will appreciate this new take on the franchise.
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However, eagle-eyed fans and lore lovers may not necessarily appreciate the newMKfilm for its story. After all, not all of its details - despite their glorious gore - make sense for the narrative it sought to convey.
10Why Haven’t The Shirai Ryu Heard About The Lin Kuei?
When Hanzo Hasashi catches up to the man who murdered his clan, he had no idea who he was or what language he spoke. However, audiences know that Hanzo spoke Japanese while Bi-Han spoke Chinese. This made sense, given that Hanzo’s Shirai Ryu is based in Japan, whileBi-Han’s Lin Kueiis based in China.
Thing is, Hanzo not recognizing Bi-Han and his cryokinesis wouldn’t make sense, if from the perspective of hard canon. Remember, inMortal Kombatlore, that the Shirai Ryu looked at the Lin Kuei as fierce rivals. More importantly, this rivalry stemmed from the fact that the Shirai Ryu is a splinter group separate from the Lin Kuei.
9What Did Slaughtering The Shirai Ryu Give The Lin Kuei?
When Bi-Han kills Hanzo for the first time in the Feudal Era, the former declares he did this “for the Lin Kuei.” However, viewers soon see Bi-Han as a fighter of Shang Tsung a month prior to the Mortal Kombat Tournament. What purpose does exterminating the Shirai Ryu serve the Lin Kuei, when even Hanzo didn’t seem aware of their existence?
One might say the Lin Kuei wanted Bi-Han to exterminate Hanzo and his family. However, it’s the prophecy that stated the unification of Earthrealm’s Championsvia the Hasashi Bloodline. In turn, it’s Shang Tsung that would benefit most from killing Hasashi’s line. That is, of course, unless Shang Tsung himself contracted the Lin Kuei to eliminate the Shirai Ryu for him.
8Why Was Liu Kang Waiting For The Champions?
According toLiu Kang, the “gatherer” of Champions, it’s his duty to find and train the remaining Earthrealm Champions. And given that he’s already aware of their reducing numbers, one would think Liu Kang would’ve expedited the effort in finding warriors with Dragon Marks. Instead, it seems Jax and Sonya had a better job of finding other Champions - and somehow, they’ve discovered Mortal Kombat by chance.
Granted, Liu Kang’s possible inaction could be forgivable given the secret nature of Mortal Kombat. However, one would think that Liu Kang would do his due diligence in trying to at least explain what’s at stake to the new fighters he keeps on discovering.
7Wouldn’t Earthrealm Always Have Champions?
It seems Shang Tsung’s plan failed not because of bad luck, but because the idea causes a paradox. First, according to Liu Kang, only few Champions remain in Earthrealm. This statement implies that a set number of Dragon Marks are in circulation. Moreover, Marks always get transferred - either to a bearer' next-of-kin (in the case of Cole), or to its bearer’s murderer (in the case of Jax).
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Secondly, consider Shang Tsung’s plan. He wants to force Earthrealm to default the Tournament by not having Champions, opening the Realm to conquest. However, a Realm can only become conquered after losing ten Tournaments, meaning it has to participate. In short, Earthrealm “cannot” have a lack of Champions. Shang Tsung can’t just assassinate Earthrealm’s Champions, as the Dragon Mark will always choose new bearers.
6Wouldn’t Kabal Be An Earthrealm Champion?
Despite the already hazy rules regarding Dragon Marks and Chosen Ones, something remains abundantly clear: all of Earthrealm’s Champions reside in Earth. In turn, it should make sense for the other Champions of other worlds to represent their native Realms, regardless of their allegiance.
This last phrase is important, as even Liu Kang’s mentor in the games,Bo' Rai Cho from Outworld, loathed Shao Kahn but couldn’t fight Outworld’s participants in the Tournament, as his victories would count as part of Outworld’s. It’s for this reason why he chose to train Liu Kang and Kung Lao, both Earthrealmers, to give them a shot to defend their Realm.
With this in mind, something in theMortal Kombatfilm wouldn’t make sense anymore. The masked Kabal was once a member of Kano’s Black Dragon syndicate before joining Shang Tsung. However, if Kabal got to join the Tournament, the latter winning a match “for Shang Tsung” would still win a match for Earthrealm, right?
5Wouldn’t Shang Tsung’s Plan Just Give Earthrealm More Champions?
Another flaw about the Dragon Marks reveals itself upon further scrutiny. Remember that, aside from being born with it, people can obtain Dragon Marks and become a Realm’s Champion by killing its previous bearer. Assuming, then, that Realm representation isn’t determined by birthplace but by possessing that Realm’s Dragon Mark, then wouldn’t Shang Tsung orchestrate the failure of his own plan?
Remember, his plan is to kill Earthrealm’s Champions before the Tournament even begins. However, if Shang Tsung succeeded, wouldn’t his warriors just get Earthrealm’s Dragon Marks? And if Shang Tsung’s warriors likeKitana’s sister Mileenaalready have their own Marks, would they also get Earthrealm’s? If not, what happens to the extra Dragon Marks?
4Wouldn’t Shang Tsung’s Plan Just Attract More Attention?
Following canon,Shang Tsung’s unnecessary subterfugewill just get more attention to Outworld. Fans might remember that, in canon, the Elder Gods formed the Mortal Kombat Tournament to give other Realms a fighting chance to defend themselves when Outworld grew too powerful.
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If Shang Tsung did this pre-Tournament assassination to force Realms to “lose” by default, this should be something that even Gods like Raiden or the Elder Gods would’ve noticed. After all, if no other Realm but Outworld has Champions, then wouldn’t that be more suspicious?
3Why Didn’t Shang Tsung Just Attack Them All At Once?
Potential ridiculousness of Shang Tsung’s plan aside, if he’s been planning to attack and kill Earthrealm’s Champions in the first place, wouldn’t it make sense to attack them all at once? Of course, fans know that film used this approach to pave way to duels for the sake of the franchise’s hit one-on-one Kombat.
However, in terms of fulfilling Shang Tsung’s characteristic scheming self, it would’ve given him less problems to just outright gang up on Earthrealm Champions to eliminate them right away. Instead, Shang Tsung gave Earthrealmers a fighting chance by pitting his warriors against them mano y mano.
2Why Won’t Shang Tsung Just Wait For The Tournament Proper?
Truthfully enough, Shang Tsung could’ve just skipped the premise of assassinating Earthrealm’s Champions before the Tournament. If Shang Tsung did his homework and had the likes of Bi-Han spy for him, it’s evidently clear that Earthrealm has no clue about the Mortal Kombat Tournament.
Moreover, given that Raiden is already a passive God and Liu Kang isn’t doing his gathering job properly, there’s a huge chance that Earthrealm may enter the competition with no idea of how huge the stakes could be. In theory, Earthrealm could be easy pickings even in the Tournament proper.
1Why Won’t Shang Tsung Just Hinder Training?
The newMortal Kombatfilm would’ve taken an odd turn if Shang Tsung didn’t decide to outright assassinate Earthrealm’s Champions. After all, the plan simply accelerated their growth and forced their Arcana to come to light. Remember, Raiden would’ve still allowed the likes of Kano to compete on Earthrealm’s behalf even with the lack of Arcana by virtue of their Dragon Mark.
Then, instead of killing the Champions, why not just stop them from ever having to train? This would form a rather hilarious film, as fans might see Shang Tsung and his cohorts orchestrate misfortune after misfortune (or maybe,success for actor Johnny Cage?) that would further discourage the Champions for ever competing because there won’t be any visible stakes.
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