Good thread. Anyway here's how I see it:

Through MK1-MK3 (which was a trilogy of events) Liu Kang is of course the "Chosen One" who can defy all odds and defeat the big evil. In MK1, he's the youngest warrior, so he's only a kid at this point, now upon learning of the Mortal Kombat Tournament and the curse on the champion that is bestowed on the one who wins the tournament, I imagine he's a little reluctant to go through with it, but he ultimately does and as we all know, defeats Shang Tsung.

Then in MK2, he meets Kitana, who becomes his love interest, (every main hero needs a love interest after all) thus sorta tying him into the main villian, Shao Kahn, Liu Kang fights Shao Kahn for her, while I'm sure he wasn't fully into being Champion, Kung Lao and Raiden were there to help guide him.

In MK3, as we all know, Shao Kahn apparently kills Kung Lao (and supposedly) defeats Raiden, this enrages Liu Kang and it leads it into his final showdown with Shao Kahn. Ultimately, Liu Kang achieves his great destiny by defeating Kahn and becomes full circle as a person.

That's how I see it, but I did come up with an idea for that before Shao Kahn killed King Jerrod, Jerrod prophesized the coming of a warrior who would defeat Shao Kahn. (Who turns out to be Liu Kang) And when Shao Kahn loses to Liu Kang, the two stare at each other and for a moment, instead of seeing Liu Kang, Shao Kahn sees Jerrod in Liu Kang's place. Just my idea though. I'll do some others later.

Anyway, if there was a main trio of Mortal Kombat, I think it would be:

Liu Kang (the hero)
Kung Lao (the hero's sidekick )
Kitana (the hero's love interest)

Hmm, would you have say classified Kitana as the main heroine of Mortal Kombat, XiahouDun84? (Even though you say her overall importance to the main storyline is going down)

Liu Kang is always a big part of the storyline, even in MK:DA, his death was definately a big plot point. Ok, maybe in MK:D, he wasn't, but in MK:A, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a big part of the story as well, alive or dead.

Personally, I see MK1-MK:A going down as the "Liu Kang saga" and Liu will be the one who passes it on to a new generation, regardless of what happens, I imagine that Liu Kang will be this legendary hero by the time the next-generation fighters roll in. (Like for instance, there's a statue of him in a background or something)

(Well I did something different with him in my storyline where Liu Kang went from a goody-goody to being pissed off, sometimes near insanity, and depressed, I thought it would be interesting to do, don't you? )

Scorpion, well he was the anti-hero of the story for sure, neither good nor evil, but he'd side with the good guys when he had to.

Sub-Zero, well I don't see him becoming the main hero now, he's more or less getting a lot of build up because he's an icon (unlike poor, poor Scorpion)

Well Scorpion and Sub-Zero are kinda just meant to be the mascots, who are not really the central characters in the overall story, are the most popular with fans (ex. Vegeta in DBZ) Although I do like using them as the stars in any of my wacky, crazy parodies.

More coming later.

I don't think there is a main star of Mortal Kombat, but a realm.

The MK universe is mainly told throughout Earth realms point of view. It revolves around it plus all the sub-plots.

If I say yes, I know a lot of people will get mad at me and accuse me of only saying that because I'm a Kitana fan.....so my official reply is "No comment."


Yes and no. Just because Scorpion and Sub-Zero aren't necessarily central characters in the main plot...the story is largely about them.
Use X-Men as an example. The main plot of X-Men is about Xavier's dream about mutants coexisting with humans. Now look at Wolverine. He's not very important in the overall story, but "X-Men" is also largely about Wolverine's own struggle and journey.
Liu Kang is the "main hero," but Sub-Zero and Scorpion are large factors of the story. Mortal Kombat, like X-Men, is more of an ensemble story. It's not just about one or two characters and everyone's relationship with them. It's about many characters with their own problems and struggles thrown together in this large epic war.

In response to the first one: OK, fair enough. But it gets kinda obvious, doesn't it?

Yeah I can see what they're saying, and you're right. Scorpion and Sub-Zero's stories were tied together until MK4, and I wouldn't be surprised if they met again in MK:A (It would be awesome if they teamed up) Yeah, I guess I do agree with that, that's the main thing I'm worried about with MK:A's story. There's so many things going on and this one game will tie everything up. I'm worried that the story will be way too compact, is all.

Awesome thread.

I think that the Main character is Liu kang (or atleast was for a decent amount of time). But MK has been running for a long time and it can't focus on just one character anymore. In deception it's obviusly shujinko, but that just proves that there probably isn't a MAIN character anymore. They gotta keep it interesting. This is from my standpoint.

Well, everyone says Liu Kang, so I'm gonna be different and say Raiden. He's the protector of Earth, he's plays major roles in all the MK games, even in 3 and Ultimate 3 because he saves the Earth warrior's souls from being taken....So, Raiden as a central character.

Other than that, its basically Scorpion who keeps comming back. Whether or not his important to the central story line. And by the way, is there a central storyline? Is it right to have a "central" storyline? Everyone has a different story.

I think when it all comes down to it, Sub-Zero and Scorpion are the main characters of Mortal Kombat. I mean, Ed Boon said there would never be an MK game without them, calling them the "Ken and Ryu" of Mortal Kombat. I mean, Liu Kang may be the hero right now, but who's to say he'll not one day disappear?

Yet Subbie and Scorpie will still be going on.

In the Street Fighter storyline, neither Ryu or Ken defeats Vega at the end of SFA3 or SFII. And yet, they are still called the main characters. Get me? The heroes will pass, but in the end.....two warriors will always be there and their goals will become more and more focused than the other characters as time goes by until all along people will realize that the story was about them all along.

In a way, I see MK's primary focus being Shao Kahn. Or whoever controls Outworld at the time.

He personally wasn't involved in MK1, but his presence was surely felt for Shang Tsung's failure in MK2.

i only care for the the arcade games so i think its:

MK1 - Goro and Liu Kang mostly, then in background always Shang Tsung is mentioned.

MK2 - Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung, Liu again is one of the "stars" but in background here.

MK3/UMK3 - Shao Kahn and Sindel, then you have in background again the Liu/Lao, Jax/Sonya/Kano and Sub-zero stuff

MK4 - Shinnok and Quan Chi definetly.

I think that's debatable. Especially lately, the story seems to be more about Outworld than Earth. Earth may be everyone's goal, but the plot focuses on Outworld a lot more.



I agree in that Scorpion and Sub-Zero...for better or worse...will always be in Mortal Kombat. And I agree, a character doesn't have to be the "hero" to be a or the protagonist.
However, I feel Mortal Kombat is just as much about other characters as it is about them. In regards to Street Fighter, I think it can be argued the story is as much about Chun Li and maybe Cammy as it is about Ryu and Ken.
In that case, I think Reptile does deserve mention. He may not be the poster-boy Scorpion is, but he has been a consistent part of MK's storyline since the beginning. Sonya, like her or not....like her story or not....she and the Special Forces/Black Dragon storyline has been a part of the story from the beginning. Not a protagonist on the level of Sub-Zero maybe, but worth mentioning.
The thing with Liu Kang is he's the "hero" but more by default. He was introduced as the "hero" from the start. And anothr thing wrong is the lack of developement. The thing was he didn't get as over with the fans as Sub-Zero or Scorpion.
And yes, I feel Kitana is the main heroine of Mortal Kombat(prepares for Sonya fans and/or Kitana haters to bite my head off). She may not be in every game, but Mortal Kombat is also her story. Perhaps not on the same level of Sub-Zero, but easily more than most others...maybe even Kang. If And like I said, Mileena has the potential to gfrow outside Kitana. Boon did say, Kitana and Mileena were the "female Scorpion and Sub-Zero."

But then it becomes a question of who's the more/most important protagonist.



But he's the villain. All stories are about the villains in some way. I'm speaking more about the protagonists.
But maybe Kahn could someday become a protagonist. Darth Vader is a perfect example of how a character can change from simply a villain to a protagonist. In the early Star Wars movies, he was the villain, end of story. Then with his redemption at the end of Return of the Jedi and the addition of the prequels, the Star Wars story becomes about Darth Vader's corruption and redemption. He becomes a protagonist.

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Hmm if that were the case, I would say that MK could be both Liu Kang and Kitana's stories since they're each other's love interests and such. To be fair, we don't know a whole lot of what transpired during the past games, so it's not that fair to judge one's development. This is why MK:SM's story is such a waste, they could've developed characters like Liu Kang more, but instead it turned out to be a horrible story...

Tell you the truth, there's other examples like Kung Lao's story has always been (usually) "I must honor my great-great-great-grandpappy!", now don't get me wrong, I like the character too, but being the last descendant of the original Kung Lao is one of the only things he's had going for him in terms of story. Now, I admit he did have a good story of trying to get revenge on Shang Tsung for killing Liu Kang, but it wasn't to set him up to be the main hero, he fit that role because he was Liu Kang's best friend.

Despite that, I think he should really just go after Goro next game, perhaps meeting the spirit of his ancestor, then after that, dies a hero's death or retires from fighting. Either ending would work for him. Tell you the truth, even if Kung Lao has gotten (slightly) more development than Liu Kang, they both need more.

I think you're over-estimating Kitana and Liu Kang being each other's love interest, though. I don't say Kitana's the main heroine simply because she's Liu Kang's love interest. Kitana being Liu Kang's girlfriend isn't her defining role in the story...it was just something that happened along the way. Vaguely at that. We didn't even really know they had feelings for each other until MK4.


I agree. That's why, as of now, Kung Lao is still just a supporting character in Liu Kang's plot thread. In MK:DA, it appeared they were beginning to move Kung Lao up and make him more than that...but they immediatly shot it down with Deception. So, as of now, I say Kung Lao is still just a supporting character in Liu Kang's story.

There's still a small chance that could change though. As I said, the storyline is always evolving and changing. If Armageddon is Liu Kang's last game, but not Kung Lao's...we may see him step up as the central character of the Shaolin Monks plot thread. Like if this is to be Kitana's last game...we can see Jade become the new center of the Edenia plot thread. We just have to see what happens.

In regards to the first one (I can't break between quotes like everyone else can, I'm sorry to say. ) That wasn't exactly what I meant, I meant that in a way, the struggle against Shao Kahn was really their struggle that they shared together, I could've sworn that I explained this once before, but... oh forget it, it's too complicated for me to explain. But I do agree with your points there. (Though there was a slight hint to Liu Kang and Kitana possibly being "interested" in each other in Liu's MK3 ending, not really a big one, but it could be intrepreted as such.)

While you are right that Liu Kang and Kitana's relationship isn't one of the better developed relationships (ANOTHER thing MK:SM had the potential to improve upon, but didn't) it is better developed than oh let's say, Johnny Cage and Sonya, which isn't even 100% canon. (yet anyway) (While it's been implied that Cage likes Sonya, I don't know if the same can be said for her liking him.)

The second one, well I don't know about you, but I liked the "Deadly Alliance killed Kung Lao, Kitana, Johnny Cage, Sonya and Jax and only Raiden was left to fight them" twist that Deception introduced. In that aspect, I always considered Raiden to be the true main hero of MK:DA.

But yeah, you're right. Personally I see "Armageddon" most likely being the last game for Liu Kang, Kung Lao and Kitana. (At least until the next time they do an "every fighter ever in one game" scenario) They've had good runs. Of the 4 mentioned in your post, the only character who I think NEEDS to carry on to the next generation is Jade. But that's just my opinion.

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To most rookies the ninjas Sub-Zero,Scorpion,Reptile are the heros but
In reality I think it is Raiden.He was the real hero despite what most have
said.Yeah he fried Shujinko in his ending and dressed all in black for MKD
but that doesn't NOT make him the real hero of MK.I view Liu Kang and Kung-Lao and MAYBE Johnny as the main heroes but Raiden has always
been there since day one and nobody can to take his place.Nobody will
EVER take his place.Ther can be 100 generations of MK fighters but everyone will still remember Raiden.

Excellent thread.

It’s a bit similar to another thread I saw so I will post a similar answer but with more depth:

**THE MAIN TRIO and MENTOR**

Liu Kang:

**He is the hero of Mk, and since day 1 he has defeated the main forces of evil. His role is great in the story. No matter how dull he might had seemed in the past, and how very underdeveloped he has been (till MKD), he is and will always be important.

- The leader of the team, he has heart and soul.
- Being Earths greatest warrior gives his friends hope and inspiration.

Sonya:

**She is the original and only chosen female of earth, she has been around since day 1, and her involvement with so many characters has been part of the story since the start. She is just as important as Liu Kang and the other main heroes.

- The brains and soul. I dare to say she makes the decisions, plans the attacks and the group fallows her instructions.
- Strong and brave personality helps her take care of any dangerous situation.

Johnny Cage:

**Crappy movie story or not, theres no question he was a chosen hero, this makes him important. He survived like the others and has been a loyal ally to the forces of light.

- Heart and soul of the team as well. I too think he is the conscience of the group. Thanks to him there is humor even in the darkest days.
- Johnny manages to keep the situation good and make everyone feel comfortable around him.

Rayden:

**Thanks to Rayden a LOT of things have and will happen. He is psycho now, but lets not forget he challenged the elder gods for earths sake, he gave up his position, fought Shinnok, fought the deadly alliance, joined them VS onaga, etc.

- The real leader and guide. He helps, listens and acts.
- He loves his mortals and considers them a family, he is a powerful force for victory.

**THE OTHERS**

Kung Lao:

** I honestly DONT consider him a major star in the role, but I guess he has his pros.

- More serious then Liu Kang and a lot more confident.
- He is always the referee, he makes sure no one crosses the line.

Kitana:

**Very important character that ties with many plots. Her role in the series has been important, she is the main element of the realm of Edenia, she hasn’t achieved any of her goals, but you can see perseverance in her spirit.

- I think she is the diplomatic of the group.
- A severe member of the team. Her knowledge of Outworld and Kahns secrets is very useful.

Jax:

** He forms part of the main heros now. He is important, but like Kung lao, I DONT consider him as major as the others.

- Funny and serious at the same time. A nice combination that helps the team relax.
- Brains, he also helps to plan excellent strategies to succeed and relies a lot on brute strength.

Sub-Zero:

** Important hero. Might not had done much in the past but MKDA and MKD have shown us that he is crucial for the forces of light, he has evolved to become trully important.

- I think he is the listener of the group. He evaluates the situations and does his best to succeed.

NOT, I repeat...NOT Scorpion.... I honestly don’t see how he can be an important “star” in the game when his role has never been essential for the story, ONLY in MKD he actually DID something that involved him deeply with everyone. But that’s it.

I guess he is the star now, but that was forced. His role was always minor when compared to everyone mentioned above.

**THE VILLIANS**

I wont go into depth because these are way too many, you guys should already know their importance, these villains are definitely part of Mk like the heroes mentioned above:

- Shang Tsung
- Shao Kahn
- Shinnok
- Mileena
- Baraka
- Quan Chi
- Reptile
- Onaga

Excellent thread once again. Good job!

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Thanks man!

Lets see:

About Johnny Cage:

Hmmm, I see what you are saying now and I agree with your views. Its kind of funny though, the way he is not a protagonist, yet he still plays one of the most crucial roles in the story by being a chosen hero that fights for the realms. I see what you mean though.

About The Main Trio:

Being a hero doesn’t mean being protagonist, I agree (like proven with Johnny I guess), but the real reason I call them like this is because they were the original fighters who fought and saved the world from abomination. They are integral as are the others I mentioned (Kitana, Sub-Zero, etc) and I call them like that because its what they have been since mk1.

About Rayden:

Hmmm, I think he is definitely a protagonist. I mean, after MKD...while Raydens role has just actually gotten the light it disserves, we still have to remember his constant struggle to change the rules and minds of the elder gods and how he challenges them all, this affects everything. He is no longer “just a mentor”, he is part of the fighter team.

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I guess that’s all I have to say. What did you think of my Kitana thoughts? I would love for her to be queen, but I fear that Sindel might die in this innevitable process.

But in a way it makes sense and is fiting, because Vogel and the MK team have openly said Johnny Cage is the comic relief of Mortal Kombat. Usually the "comic relief" character is only a supporting character. Keeps things light and raises the heroes spirits and so forth.



It is true, we do at times..actually often...see Raiden step beyond the simple "mentor" role and be more active in the story(which make sense since he's a playable character). Especially in Deception when we see what may be the beginning of his "fall from grace," we just might see Raiden become counted as one of the protagonists. That's why I keep saying "as of now," because the story is always changing.
I'm interested in seeing how the "Dark" Raiden story goes and how it'll affect him and others. For now, I still say he's mentor, but that can change in or after Armageddon. It'll be cool to see where this goes.



I agreed with what you said about Kitana, especially the part about her perseverence. To me, her perseverence is one of her most defining attributes...that she keeps pushing herself and fighting despite all the loss and tragedy she endures.
It is unfortunate that we might see the end of Sindel in Armageddon. It would be fitting closure for Sindel to die heroically and pass the throne on to Kitana and be reunited with Jerrod in the afterlife...but it's still a shame we didn't really get to see everything Sindel had to offer.
Same could be said for a lot of characters who will probably meet their end in Armageddon.

I once had a story idea that after Sindel dies, she somehow becomes the new goddess of Edenia and acts as its guardian to make sure no one can invade again, sort of like Raiden for Earth. But that's another topic...

Hmm, well... going on to antagonists here... (for a change of pace)

Shao Kahn: He's obviously the main villian (at least in MK2 and MK3) of the series. In fact, he's got so many enemies that I just don't know who should kill him. Hence one of the reasons I didn't kill him off in my storyline about MK:A. But, I did have this thought that if I were to continue on and write a next-generation storyline, there would be a series of events that would culminate in his return. Despite being exceedly powerful, his arrogance and overconfidence are what leads to his defeats. Basically what Raiden is to Yoda, Shao Kahn is to Palpatine and the what not.

Shang Tsung: He's the "I hate my boss (Shao Kahn) so much that I want to take over." stereotype. But he was the first main villian of the series so that's something. He has a rivalry with the series' general main hero, Liu Kang. Personally, I think he's really just the lackey who wants to take his boss's power type of guy, but he's been in (almost) every game so that makes him an antagonist.

Quan Chi: Now this is guy came to power right under everyone's noses. He's careful, calculating and manipulative. In fact, the only reason Quan Chi's not ruling all the realms by now is because something unexpected always happens at the last moment. So yeah, he's that little lackey who just accelled into being one of the big evils.

Shinnok: He was only really the main villian in MK4 (and MKM:SZ) but he's been shown to be well the only thing I can think of to describe is: intolerable. He commands his minions through fear rather than loyalty.

Onaga: He's only been around for one game, but he's obviously Shujinko's rival and had all this big buildup to his coming in MK:DA. (Somebody tell me, just how DID Onaga communicate from beyond death, was it ever explained?)

Yeah, we all know that their the main antagonists because they've been the final boss at one point or another. But each of their history is rich with detail. (Meaning we know that Kahn took over Edenia, Shang Tsung is from Earth etc. etc.)

This might be a weird approach, but this is how I see their order of importance to the story as a whole in each game individually.

-MK1
Liu Kang
Shang Tsung
Raiden
Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Sonya
Kano
Johnny Cage

-MK2
Liu Kang
Shao Kahn
Raiden
Shang Tsung
Kitana
Mileena
Reptile
Baraka
Kung Lao
Sub-Zero
Scorpion
Jax
Johnny Cage

-MK3
Shao Kahn
Sindel
Liu Kang
Shang Tsung
Sub-Zero
Cyrax
Sektor
Sheeva
Sonya
Kano
Jax
Kung Lao
Kabal
Nightwolf
Styriker

-MK4
Raiden
Shinnok
Quan Chi
Liu Kang
Fujin
Reptile
Tanya
Jerek
Sonya
Jax
Sub-Zero
Scorpion
Kai
Reiko
Johnny Cage

-MK5
Quan Chi
Shang Tsung
Scorpion
Raiden
Sub-Zero
Kenshi
Kung Lao
Li Mei
Reptile
Nitara
Frost
Cyrax
Mavado
Drahmin
Kano
Hsu Hao
Sonya
Kitana
Bo Rai Cho
Jax
Johnny Cage

-MK6
Shujinko
Onaga
Bo Rai Cho
Mileena
Raiden
Ermac
Baraka
Li Mei
Hotaru
Havik
Kabal
Scorpion
Sindel
Tanya
Jade
Dairou
Ashrah
Liu Kang
Sub-Zero
Kenshi
Noob-Smoke
Kira
Kobra
Nightwolf