I think it's always been bad. The only good parts were Kotal's back story.

It's like I've been saying the whole time - by the time I was half way through the game I realized that the comic and the game are practically unrelated. I don't even acknowledge the comic's existence. Since it became clear that the game wasn't going to follow anything that happened in the comic, other than (barely) the Kenshi/Takeda/Scorpion storyline, it just stopped mattering entirely. And since it's nowhere near well-written enough to warrant continued purchase, there's no real reason to ever look at it again.

The continuity has been off since the very beginning, when Kenshi was supposed to have brought Scorpion back to his senses, which there is no trace of having happened in the game. Cool story, and I kinda wish it was true, but Kittelsen just pulled it out of his ass. And the story structure and pacing has always been shaky too (it's been a common point of criticism since the first chapter) but to be fair, awkward story flow and spastic bursts of Deus ex Machina are fairly normal pitfalls of the comic format, and continuity flaws are pretty much inevitable in any kind of "expanded universe" work. When we take this for exactly what it is -- a tie-in comic based on but separate from the game -- the shortcomings become... well, not quite forgivable, but at least not terribly surprising.

Part of the problem is that a lot of folks around here put the comic on too high of a pedestal, mostly because of how many forgotten/neglected characters came into play. People were so excited for the characters that ANY use of them immediately counted as a "good" use, despite the fact that when you really look at it, it was all just a slapdash marathon of "And this guy was there, and this guy was there, and surprise! Everyone's favorite character, This Guy? He was there too!" Too many characters participated in the story to serve the fans, not the narrative. And a lot of fans were okay with that because DUDE IT'S HAVIK is pretty intoxicating to a Havik fan, even though this version of Havik is very not the way Havik is supposed to be.

TL;DR This story is basically MK Armageddon all over again.

The high point of this comic is really in the character explorations: Reiko's and Kotal's histories and personalities and the Cage family dynamics have a lot of impact. Kittelsen seems to be really good at crafting characters with internal integrity, even if they don't always match up with the source material.

I think it's interesting how all of this highlights the fact that, despite some people's frothing ravings about how much the in-game story sucks and saying Kittelsen should have written the whole business, there are some things that the game writers did much better than the comic. Like, when Sareena and Li Mei and Frost make their cameos in Story Mode, they actually act in character and their roles, while small, contribute to the story. Their involvement is natural and meaningful. Meanwhile, the comic's use of certain characters like Shujinko are just so wrong and out of place that it's distractingly obvious that they were thrown in just to check off a box on the cameo list.

You need to reread the chapter where Fujin gave Takeda his stuff, because he didn't give him the tech suit, just his whips--which he did indeed have while he was with Scorpion.

Yeah. The fact that nothing in it is connected to or even acknowledged in the game makes it feel completely pointless.

And now I am even more confused about characters because the game and comics at the moment contradict one another.

Like with Scorpion.

I don't know what the fuck is true. Was his humanity restored but he is still a hellish specter but represses that side of himself. Or! Is he as the game portrays him..fully human with no supernatural abilities, and just as stupid as he was when he was dead..

What was the point in a comic if it wasn't going to tie in with the game at all.

Actually, I think that you need to re-read it. It even mentions the mask. But even supposing you're right, that weapon sure seems high-tech.

I'm glad I'm not alone about my feelings toward the comic. I felt I was being too hard on it.

Despite a fee issues with continuity there's nothing wrong with the comic. It's funny that you guys expected the comic to be about the game story which it is not. It doesn't set up the main portion of story, mode, not yet anyway. This takes place 15 years after MK2011. MKX is 10 years after the events of the comic. Cassie and Jacqui need to grow and join SF. Takeda grows up and gets the suit. Scorpion story isn't over yet. Neither is sub zeros a lot can happen in 10 years. And complain that about the event blood code? Why? it's telling an original story within the continuity of the game. The battle against Havik. I like the comic it's fun. In print it's gonna run,12 issues that's it. I less DC gives it a year two.

Spot on!

And people who think it contracts the game story - not really, there's a lot of story still to tell, some things are not as they seem.. e.g. Fujin giving Takeda the mask and no doubt infusing his whips with the power.

I dislike the comic because it's trying to tell a specific portion of the MK story in comic book form but it will likely not even be mentioned in the next game, or it will contradict certain things heavily. It also ruins the likelihood of ever seeing Havik, Reiko, Mavado, etc in another game. Sure, they could come up with some bullshit reason for them being back, but I doubt they'll actually follow the story, because NRS just doesn't care enough. They figured that because they're not using those characters for MKX specifically that Kittelsen could have free reign to do whatever he pleases with them. Maybe there will be a day where NRS is trying to come up with new ideas and they think "Hey, what about Havik and Reiko? Oh, they got killed in the comic" They'll probably say fuck it and call the comic non-canon and just go ahead and throw them in the story anyway. Or maybe they'll come to their senses and realize that they threw away two awesome characters who had a really good chance of becoming fan favorites for a shitty one time comic. I really tried to like the comic, and it isn't bad by any means, I do love certain aspects of the comic. The characters actually have personalities, and that's great. I also really like that kittelsen TRIES to make the comic consistent, and even includes things from the older games that no one would remember, like Reiko having a spiked club from MK4. I just don't think that it will mesh well with the future games, and i'm guessing that they'll ignore it as an actual part of the story.

I take the comic for what it is, a fun ride. I don't care about MK's story anymore because it's pretty clear NRS doesn't care either.

@Redman there is no need to mention the events of the comic in MK11 cause the events are before the main game
If anything they will use what is needed when referencing characters. And they only need to use back story from the main part of MKX. It's fine that you don't like it that's your opinion. For me though I love my and it's cannon so I like it lol. With that said I'd love for any character who dies to come back. This is MK after all. People get resurrected all the time. I'd love for Frost, having Reiko Fujii and anyone else from the 3D games to come be playable

I still feel the story is better then the games but they literally completely contradict each other making the comic pointless.

*sigh* I am pretty much right there with you. Though for some reason i forget this whenever a new MK games comes out apparently and then I get frustrated by how much they stumble and fuck things up.

Personally, I would have preferred if the comic focused solely on of fleshing out backstories, I thought those parts where nice and actually added to the game story. Basically a companion to the game rather than it's own story.

The whole blood code stuff is just too much, I feel. You don't get the sense that all this mess happened before MKX. For example, In the game, Cassie and crew visit outworld like it was their first time there...The little continuity errors bother me a bit.

Still, I enjoy reading them.

Now I can't think of the word "blood" without "The Blood God" coming to my head. Way to go Kittelsen for contributing to the tired cliché of reusing the word "blood" to denote something as either cool or badass like those cheesy comic books Linkara reviewed on Atop the Fourth Wall.

Personally I felt both the game and comic sucked. NRS is just doing what Midway done and milking MK to be meaningless. They lack the passion to do anything with it because their fans eat & shit anything that bears an MK symbol and will do so without regards to quality control.

When the fans get together to demand a qualitative product that delivers a consistent, continuity-enabled franchise with real fatality mechanisms, more secrets, and a sense of completeness instead of turning it into a major product position and marketing ploy, then MK will have purpose again.

Until then, we're better off having an HD version of Mortal Kombat 1 and 2. At least those games were complete and purposeful.

I don't even know for sure what "continuity-enabled franchise" or "real fatality mechanisms" are supposed to mean but if you mean an established story and realistic fatalities then they already exist, although the story could be stronger. I defiantly think that secrets, a sense of completeness, and purpose are already here in force.

I agree with you, I feel like NRS has lost its way...though the game has a lot of awesome elements, I still feel NRS have sold out and made the essence of Mortal Kombat Meaningless. I feel MK9 was a much more satisfying product to own in terms of content (not counting online of course) and perhaps it was better off without the pointless comics.

How do they contradict each other?

Cassie and Jaqui not remembering being in Outworld before? Pfff... Being possessed will surely have an influence on their short term memory. I wouldn't be surprised if their parents take them home and they don't remember anything.

The story isn't over. Loose ends will be tied. Kittelsen hinted that we'll see why D'vorah turns on Kotal (being split in 2 by Reiko probably changed her), why Ermac is playing a double game etc.

Yeah, there are some continuity issues, but nowhere near as big as in the game. The game didn't even have the timeline for the flashbacks done properly!!

Yeah, I think let down is the right phrasing.

It just seems so... why do I need to read this?

The main villain is Reiko. The only time Reiko was cool was in Armageddon. And thats because mini Shao Kahn gear.

There isn't a lot they needed to do:
Explain why Shujinko isn't a doofus. Kinda done!
Explain where Cyrax is because his and Nitara's journey in Deadly Alliance leads to the return of the Dragon King.
Explain why Jade isn't with the other revenants.
Sub Zero Vs Sektor.
Explain why character X isn't in MKX.

Its like... Skarlet had her legs smashed off... is she dead? she talks in the next panel and like there seems to be a way for her to be restored but I dunno, maybe?

Then Sheeva (who I love) is the last panel reveal and doesn't appear at all in the next two comics.

I just... what?

I admit I have shit tastes in Mortal Kombat characters. I love Havik, Skarlet, Sheeva and Sareena. I like Mavado, Frost. I can see the potential in Kai etc.

I just want to see blazes of glory.

Has no purpose? Ummm... entertainment. The same exact purpose MK1 & 2 had. What kind of purpose are you looking for?

I can't see how you can think this game has less passion going into it than games like MK4 or Deadly Alliance. Maybe, if you completely ignore the huge effort going into gameplay and the new character concepts. Even still, the first chapter in MKX did a better job with the Netherrealm invasion than MK4 did. The things like the animated series or original comics were completely random and had much much less connection to the games than the current comic. Could you cite some kind of example of were you see no passion compared to before? Because, everything they've done lately seems much more successful and complete than anything else they have done in years to me.