isn't a cannibal because he isn't human.

Let me teach how fictional essence works. In order for a character to transfer different adaptations or interpretation, you must capture all the essential qualities that make the character who he is. Things you can change are status, contingent experiences, maybe even important parts of their setting. For example, it's not essential to Luke Skywalker that he is born in Tatooine. He could have been born on Endor, unlikely as that is.

Being a Zatterian creature IS ESSENTIAL to Reptile. That define who and what Reptile is. Just like Tigger from Winnie the Poo is essentially, a tiger. These qualities cannot be changed. The same applies to Baraka. He is a Tarkatan mutant. If you strip him of that quality, he ceases to be Baraka.


That's not what defines Baraka. Norman Bates from the movie "Psycho" is also a blade-wielding psycho.
Baraka's not even really a psycho. He's just an angry dumb carnivorous bastard.


Statue pretty much covered this.


I'll give you Scorpion, who at least was an assassin. I'm not giving you Jax and Sonya because other than being a black guy and a white woman who vaguely deal with government defense, there really were no other qualities that made it in.


Either you didn't understand what I wrote, or you didn't read it.

Seeing as mostly all Hollywood adaption of video games suck, I really would expect more people to have a positive outlook on this. I understand you being upset that they aren't following everything to the very last detail, but after what I saw in the first two MK movies, I'll gladly accept a new rendition of the game.

And look at it this way, for all you nay-sayers, at least if you think it sucks, they didn't ruin your Mortal Kombat.

One last thing. For all the people who are saying "I'm never going to watch this", you can stop bullshitting yourself now, because your going to pop on this section of the forum and see people on here talking about it, your curiosity is going to trigger, and you're going to watch it so you can give up that whole spiel now.

I'm not sure I believe that. You CAN totally change things, even so-called "essential" things, about a character and so long as they retain certain characteristics, however remote, they can exist as variations of a theme for a new and different setting.

For example, I pose to you this scenario. Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a normal ninja assassin, a robot, a mutant freak, a clone, an alien slug, and a buffoonish moron, and yet he has always been "Shredder" in every incarnation.

Is being a Zaterrian truly "essential" to Reptile? Reptile's bios never even mentioned Zaterra until many games later. We only knew he was a humanoid, reptilian creature that could disguise itself as a man... and isn't that what the MK Reborn version is? A reptilian man with reptilian characteristics and animal behavior, yet still retaining a twisted human side?

I think much of it is all a matter of perspective. To me, Sub-Zero is a character that has to have mastery over ice... but he could be Chinese, American, a younger brother, an older brother, unmasked, masked, a cyborg, good, evil, in armor, in ninja clothing, etc.... the spirit of Sub-Zero has endured through many iterations, yet the one consistent is his mastery over ice. That's what makes him stand out and makes him special.

Reptile stood out before we even knew he was a Reptile. Jax stood out before he ever got metal arms. Mileena stood out before pulled back her veil. Kano stood out before he ever got his Australian accent. These things can shift and sway, but who the character is and what they stand for isn't determined by cosmetics, circumstance, or even what fans know or expect. Tim Burton's Batman was seen by fans of the campy Adam West show as a betrayal at one point, thinking that Batman should only be that joyous, colorful goof with his "chum" Robin and his cavalcade of colorful spandex baddies to battle. And yet here we are with Oscar-winning Heath Ledger touting a version of the Joker so far removed from Cesar Romero's giddy version that the only thing connecting them is a white face and green hair. That's it. And yet both are equally tried and true "Jokers".

People need to just have an open mind, I think. You never know what you may like if you give it a try.

Fuck a duck. We are all gonna watch it. I'm prolly gonna dig it.

I hate sonya. With ferver. But the attitude she possessed in the old trailer made her interesting to me. Characterization. Something MK needs to consider.

Thats not the point tho. I'm not sure what is. I'm not sure if it's worth stating my opinions cuz Razor's retorts are so good. Congrats Razor. You've driven me to apathy.

Literally, his entire plot and motivation, is driven by the fact he's Zaterrian. He serves Kahn and Shinnok hoping that they'll resurrect his race as they've promised. His whole de-evolution is due to him being separated from the matriarch of his people. Seriously, his entire character hangs on him being Zaterrian. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty stoked for this whole thing, but Reptile is battle you just can't win.

I don't know, I'm kinda with Garlador. It's kinda like Kitana, she's edenian, 1,000's of years old entirely motivated for the same reasons. If they got a beautiful girl with fan motifs and totally got rid of the Edenia, she would still be recognized as Kitana. I'm sure they're going to substitute Edenia and Zaterra with something more realistic, so their motivations won't change too much. But to each their own, I'm definitely going to watch this with popcorn in my hands on the edge of my seat!

So was Reptile "Zaterrian" in the original Mortal Kombat movie? Was Reptile "Zaterrian" in the Malibu comics? Are these mediums any "less" Mortal Kombat because these parts of his history are never mentioned or existent at all? They changed Sub-Zero and Scorpion's "motivations" too. Even official games, like Special Forces, changed Jax's motivation, and Shaolin Monks had vastly different personalities and origins for many characters, and is that any less of a Mortal Kombat game?

You're thinking too small. Sometimes, lesser characters have to change or their backstories ignored for a bigger story. That's why the "deadliest of rivals" for some inexplicable reason serve Shang Tsung in the movie, even though Sub-Zero was hired to kill him and Scorpion was only after Sub-Zero. That's why Jade is evil (and asian?) in Annihilation, Shaolin Monks, and the Malibu comics. That's why Nightwolf is some computer tech expert in Defenders of the Realm. Are any of these "less" Mortal Kombat because of these differences? Even the games are subject to retcons and changes.

Saying Reptile "has" to be Zaterran is no different than saying Sub-Zero "has" to be from Earth... even though he later discovers his heritage is from Outworld. Point is, things change, and sometimes the things you think are important really aren't in the bigger picture.

I figured I made it clear that I wasn't just talking about his story when I specifically said that his entire character hangs on him being Zaterrian, but that's my bad. Anyway, I don't think you fully understood what "Zaterrian" entails in my post or maybe even Temp's. Zaterrian also means he's a lizard-man. I thought it was commonplace to refer to Reptile as a Zaterrian because that's also the name of his race; not just the realm. So was he Zaterrian in the Malibu comics and the movie? Well, yes, he was. Him being a humanoid, reptilian creature isn't what the MK Reborn version is, because he's in fact a human with harlequin ichthyosis in MK Reborn. There's no equivalency there because it's completely divorced from what Reptile is essentially about and what he is. One's a man with a skin disease and the others a member of an ancient, reptilian race. It's a pretty ham-handed relation to try and make.

Keep in mind, this all follows what you proposed to Temp: "Is being a Zaterrian truly 'essential' to Reptile?"

Going by the character that is Reptile and my and (what I assume) Temp's definition of Zaterrian is: Yes

There's a pretty substantial difference between "Reptillian from another dimension who can take on a human form when needed" and "Man with a skin condition".

Yeah, or I could watch things that are actually interesting.

When I watch all of the ten episodes and play the new MK game coming this April, then I can die happy

As I mentioned before in my "Shredder" analogy, there's a pretty big difference between his incarnations as well.

A human buffoon.


An alien slug-creature.


A robot cyborg.


A Japanese demon.


A human crime-lord.

He's gone through extremely different origins, variations, and even WHAT he is has changed dramatically, and yet he is always "Shredder". In the same way, I don't think Reptile "needs" to be a reptile in this version of MK. He could be an alien or a robot for all I care, but so long as he acts and behaves in a way that is appropriate for the series, I'm okay with that.

Where is that cyborg version of Shredder from?

From the "Back to the Sewers" TMNT series (which was after "Flashforward").

That looks quite cool.

Anyway, as big of a fan of MK as I am, despite some cheesy characters, retarded decisions, and the bat fuck crazy logic that goes into the back story, I've enjoyed the atmosphere and "story". But I'm also always open to seeing something new done with the series. A new interpretation is really nothing to be afraid of. It certainly feels much more edgy, and grimy, and dirty, and real than the old movies. I can't help but feel that the MK series has always strived to achieve some of that to a degree, despite having instance where arcade machines drop on people and Smoke blowing up the world to win a match.

If this is how you feel, you're on the wrong site, dude.

To be honest it was entirely possible for Reptile to earn that code name due he cold blooded ness. without him being an actual Reptile.

Just watched the teaser again. Still really enjoy it.

Brutal fight, a bridge between MK and this universe's version.

Just really looking forward to this.

Folks need to really chill out on the bashing of MKRebirth.

It's not like this hasn't happened before in entertainment. X-Men has so many differeny alternate realities it's not even funny. As a matter of fact, the X-Men comic series and the X-Men film series are two different realities.

MK Rebirth does not damage the original MK storyline because it has nothing to do with it. This is a completely different universe, and I love it. I'm down with seeing Mortal Kombat in many different ways.

Come to think of it, Mortal Kombat (2011) is set up as an alternate reality, seeing as Raiden is changing the past. If we can accept that, why can't we accept this?

Well, I am glad I have someone like Garlador who can so eliquently put what I try to say. I'm not the greatest at making everything sound so great, but the thoughts are there. lol Anyways...I agree 100% with everything you said. You nailed how I feel on the whole thing, right on the head. Your analogies were superb, and definitely prove a point using great examples. In the end, some people are just too narrow minded and stubborn to accept anything, regardless if it has the potential to be good. This isn't quite relevant, but it's still along the same lines of judging something before giving it a chance... I instantly think of when Heath Ledger was first announced to play the Joker, fans cried and whined all over the place. What is that "A Night's Tale" and "Brokeback Mountain" guy doing playing the Joker? They thought it was a HORRIBLE casting job. Look how that turned out, every fan boy and his mom ate it up.

Regardless...

I hope some of you DO give it a shot, and learn to just be a bit more open minded about it...for your own sake. I just listened to an interview that was done just recently after the announcement of the series, with Michael Jai White(Jax in the teaser), and he claimed the series is gonna lead to a theatrical version. Meaning, this is just a lead up...likely a "testing the water" type of deal, to see if enough people love it enough for WB to invest more time and money into it. Given that the teaser got over 4 million views, 1 million of those being within the first week or so...and everywhere I looked besides some diehard MK fans on here, people thought it was the greatest thing to happen to MK. So I wouldn't count on this failing. Learning to accept it and like it for what it is, and give it a shot, is your best option.

I can't wait for this to undo everything I love about Mortal Kombat.

Yeah, sounds ridiculous when I say it too.

Fair enough, but what's "appropriate for the series"? If a character's origins and even their species don't matter, why should their actions, personality, or loyalties?

Actually, none of that DOES matter. What DOES matter is whether the incarnation of that character suits the purposes of the overall setting.

Again, I point to the Joker. In the Adam West series, they needed the Joker to be a campy, buffoonish prankster, a fun-loving, mischievous clown. In the Tim Burton film, they needed him to be a classy, psychotic, disfigured freak, yet a man of twisted style and a love for music, art, and pointless terror and death. In the cartoon series, they needed him to be a creditable threat yet not horrifyingly evil due to the nature of its audience. In The Dark Knight, he's a slovenly, greasy-haired psychotic who dresses in ratty clothes and who just wants anarchy because that suits the needs of their gritty and realistic film. Currently in the comics, he's got a bullet wound to the head, cut his tongue in half to resemble a snake's, has been running around shirtless and insane and just killing everyone, because that suits the needs of their story. In Frank Miller's comic, Joker was hinted to be a closeted homosexual with a deep love for expensive suits and fashion.

A good story dictates the origin and behavior of the characters within it for a new take on established characters, not the other way around. In a closed medium like films with a limited runtime and a need to drive the plot forward and imbue it with action, a character's origin needs to be concise and to motivate the action and story. For a book, you can take your time, flesh them out more, expand on them however you want. For a video game series, you can draw that out for decades if you so desired, and they have for many Mortal Kombat characters.

Ultimately, all that should matter is whether Reptile, or Jax, or Sonya, or Sub-Zero, act appropriate to THIS universe's tone and thematic elements. If mysticism doesn't fit, don't make it fit. Just like The Dark Knight Rises probably won't have a supernatural villain like Zatanna showing up to cast magic or an alien like Superman dropping in to help save the day or a villain like Clayface or Mister Freeze with superpowers as Batman's foe. Why? It doesn't fit the tone of the movie. It doesn't make the movie series any "less" a true Batman franchise though.

Well, in case of Reptile, his name suits him just him in this version of MK. Whereas for Baraka, given that his name is a word meaning a "sanctity of blessings," the character should this time around fully live out his name, at least in a twisted sort of way.

All points are moot: interpretation is always up to the viewer, hence no interpretation can be considered wrong.