Spoilers: (Highlight to reveal)

Cheap amateur Adobe After Effects aside, the first episode sets up the origins to the Kano/Sonya feud, something only the MK1 comic did during
the first generation (Mk1-MK4) of games. We begin in a warehouse controlled by The Black Dragon whose business is concerning cybornetics. Kano is the central focus of the episode where Sonya is following him. Following the recurring theme of MK where Sonya always finds herself captured, she is captured and tied to hanging chains. Against Stryker?'s orders, Jax and team go to rescue Sonya. They're caught in cross-fire, leaving Jax alive. Kano and Jax get in a little fight that eventually causes a small explosive device to activate as they run away. The impact releases Sonya from the chains tied to the ceiling and "To Be Continued" appears on the screen. The episode has a 12-minute run time but about 2 of those are devoted to bumpers.

The video attempts a video game feel over an actual film feel, which is confirmed by the NRS bumper and WB Games bumper at the ends. As we already know, the series was to setup the games but essentially know almost has become part of the games. Consider MK: Legacy, as I have said before, this generation's The Journey Begins. Only this time the story looks to be more elaborate and avoids repeating footage. The soundtrack is simple and sounds like something you'd buy from a royalty-free music kit. Yet I find myself intrigued into the epsiode, as it also feels like we're getting scenes that can eventually be cut together to make a prequel or even a movie itself. The tone from Rebirth is back but the uniqueness and even quirkiness that made the games so popular is also back, making the deadliest of all kombinations. But the series does not quite match the tone of the new game, as this series has a darker feel than the game regarding its use of dark lights and ominous blacks versus over-the-top fatalities. It definitely focuses on making Mortal Kombat seem real, almost true to life, and establishing the first episode as a crime action not only brings back memories of the 90s fight movies that usually revolved around crime syndication and druglords (another theme that influenced the Kano/Sonya story at the time, as T2 served only an inspiration for Kano's look) shows the theme is still popular in today's world. A 2/5, by the trailer the series looks to be promising, and if it continues to develop a stronger story and elaborate on an existing one, this series has potential and if Season 2 goes even further than before the first tournament, will no doubt knock Conquest, DOTR, and even TJB into the trashbins where they most belong.