Too bad they had to cut the plot right when Scorpion became associated with the Elder Gods! One game with that storyline, then BAM, Armageddon. And now the story is going back to the past. Such a disappointment.

Damn Midway wanting to make a quick buck!
I'm glad you went bankrupt!
Then again, Scorpion could probably do something big this time around.
Like finally fucking kill Quan fucking Chi.
How long can they possibly run that plotline for ?!!

4th son.

-Taven
-Daegon
-Rain

-Liu Kang.

Alot of people could argue that it isnt canon, but I think its pretty safe to assume. Especially with the same kind of ending reveal that Noob-Smoke had ended up being true.
=====================================================

as for Liu Kang...

People are arguing about him being a human. But not even paying knowledge that he transformed into a dragon for his fatality. Im NOT saying that it implies canon reference, but thats something they could use as a tool if they wanted to do this.

The Orphaned story is REALLY interesting here.

ok im just throwing shit out there, dont bash me because im just talking to speculate on the possibilities.

What if Liu Kang (and many others) were created from sorcery and the being of Onaga, to create Royal offsprings to the Dragon King to carry his strength through the realms. Obveously a lizard wouldnt be accepted in Earthrealm so he would have to be a hybrid or have the ability to change.

They could also bring Hornbuckle into it here. He could ahve been of an outworlder instead of an Earthrealm human, thus he would look similar. He would remain in Outworld and become one of Onaga's holy men which around MK2, would end up on the bridge to capture blaze (being a huge trusted task for his "father")

Now i dont know pre-MK1 mythos good enough to understand Liu Kangs origin, I dont know if this is being re-written to ahve him as an orphan, but the shaolin descendants cant be biologically related to him unless theres a factor I am unaware of. the word "Orphaned" gives a state of no connection. For the Shaolin to save him from being Orphaned, I would immagine his origin would be from somewhere else, Perhaps a smuggling into earhtrealm by Onaga?

Strategically, A Shaolin temple to learn Kombat would be a PERFECT place for Onaga to want him placed. Raised with Kombat potential. Experimental yet tipping the odds in his favour to be strong.

I would lose it if they did something like that. Would actually play as him alot.

Great ideas, Cassel.

I think be much more interesting if they pulled a Star Wars and revealed that Shao Kahn is one of Liu's ancestors (not necessarily his father, just an ancestor). Of course, it's never mentioned that Kahn has any biological offspring, but who knows. a 10,000+ year old emperor is bound to have had a few illegitimates somewhere along the line ;)

Kahn: Liu K-Ang, I am your father!
Liu: NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Raiden: Now this plot twist has NOTHING to do with me!
lol

You know what would be a cool twist at this point?

Just telling a conventional, sensical, serialized story.

That's, looking more like a pipe dream, I'm afraid.

haha seriously. People always criticize Annihilation for its confusing story and random characters, but how could anyone expect them to do any better with the 'canon' from the games up to that point?

Personally, I'd prefer this just be a reboot/re-imagining as I hate ALL time travel based plots as a rule. But I don't really get into the games for the overall story anyways (though I do like to see cool endings).

For the record, Liu being an orphan isn't new. His original MK1 bio gave the names of his parents (Lee Kang and Lin Kang) and listed them both as deceased. The movie, non-canon though it may be, also established that his parents died when he and his brother were young.

Personally, I think giving Liu a special ancestry as the source of his powers is a dumb as hell idea.

At this point, half the cast got their powers from who their parents or ancestors were. That's COMPLETELY unnecessary.

Shaolin Monks have powers because they believe in and study chi. That's ALL you need.

Nightwolf gets his powers from being super-religious. He taps into "the spirits".

Well Liu Kang is also super-religious, why can't he be tapping into the Elder Gods and their dragon-ness for no other reason than his own goddamned spiritual strength?

Delia wasn't Rain's mom, just wanted to quickly point that out. So Liu Kang would be their 3rd son together.

After I posted, that came to mind as a possibility. But Argus was the father?

Sry tetra

No prob Cass. Yes, I was referring to the fire themed sons of Delia.



Ka-Tra

According to Rain's Armageddon ending, Argus refers to him as "my son" and as "half-brother" to Taven and Daegon. So yeah he WAS the father (cue Maury), but Delia wasn't his mother.

your entitled to your opinion, but I think having characters, each with their own legacies adds depth and context. Now they can go to far (Johnny anyone) johnny's new storyline is kinda weird, but whatever.

All I'm saying with liu is that it would add... something. He could still be born from human parents, hell they could have, or better yet THEIR parents could have, been a part of onaga's cult and escaped. Liu would still be liu, super skilled and everything, but he'd have that added potential, some much needed flair.

Are you really telling me that you hate the idea of liu NOT being bland, one demensional hero?

When everybody else is descended from a god or fucking magic cult, god-children and magic cult descendants IS the blander of the two backstories and Liu getting his powers from monk training is the more original and more dimensional one.

A character's definition doesn't come from their ancestry, it comes from the strength of their OWN actions and beliefs.

It wasn't that his dad and bro were Lin Kuei or that ancestors were cryomancers that made Sub-Zero interesting, it's what SUB-ZERO HIMSELF did with that information, that he chose to honor his family legacy by using his bro's name, reforming the Lin Kuei, wearing the cryomancer armor.

And being all about his family legacy is SUB-ZERO's story. Giving Liu Kang the same story wouldn't make him better, it would make him a copy of another character. Liu is his OWN man and he has his OWN power source already, the strength of his spirit and his faith in the gods.

There's Taven, Deagon, Rain, and all other Edenians who are related to the Gods. With pretty much all the ninjas and now Cage being related to a cult of some sort. If I missed someone fill me in.

Kang having a special lineage, not of the gods, and STILL being Shaolin vs just being shaolin and an out of nowhere wonder is neither unoriginal or unbelievable, and to me, not unwelcome either.

If he was related, it really wouldn't change his past at all, just like the revelation that subzero was a cryomancer didn't. It might, however, give better context to the skills that he possesses (just like sub) rather than just letting the fact that he is able to summon fire at will and turn into a dragon just hang out there.

I understand what you are saying, that you like the explanation that he is able to do those things due to his training and the content of his spiritual self, but being connected to the DK doesn't change that at all either. Those things would just have a more grounded reasoning. Liu would still pray, he'd still have to train, he's still have his freinds and all that stuff. Liu would still be Liu. In my proposition, the only change would be that he KNOWS his lineage and how he reacts to it.

You said it, it is what a character does that defines them. If in the new storyline, if at the critical moment liu drew upon the knowledge of his ancestry instead of his faith in the gods (which is stupid in MK anyway), that would be a welcomed change and a potentially interesting one.

Imagine the end of MK3, Outworld's forces are on the brink of taking Earthrealm, and it is only Liu and Kahn left...one on one. Mortal Kombat in it purest form. The gods can't interfere, liu's friend can't interfere, and so the MK champ and the Outworld Emperor fight. Imagine if at the critical moment, the "rage" that Kang goes into is of DK origin. Liu unlocks something, a new level that meets Kahn head on and is able to defeat him.

In the original story, Kahn falling was always a combination of things with Liu Kang being the key. I really liked that. IMO, it is the highlight of the franchise. But in this new story, it could be explained it was all Liu Kang. his training, faith, and lineage all wrapped up into one neat package, a true "Chosen one" character.

Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but the old story is done...Bring On the NEW!

Oh, and for the record...cryomancers are BS. The DK route is WAY better in my opinion as the DK is an established entity of the MKU where at the time when the crymancers were introduced they came completely out of left field. Liu being related to the DK could be a fresh start for his character.

If you don't mind spoilers, read Liu's new ending and then approach this proposition again.

Oh yeah #2. Clear this up for me. Are you thinking that I'm saying that if Liu was of the DK that he just naturally could spew fire and go into dragon mode? If so, I'm not. I like the having to training bit. I like Liu having to be centered in order for him to be able to perform the things he does. The DK thing is merely a lineage thing that could provide a alternate path which Liu could follow.

This is your problem right here. In your head, people can only be special if they were born that way, I guess? If they have something special in their bloodline? That's bullshit. "Shaolin monks use chi" IS a perfect context for a man who shoots fire and turns into a form that looks like the avatar of his gods.

Adding anything more than that is needlessly convoluted.

Another thing, you keep thinking "He turns into a dragon...that means Dragon King!" What you're not thinking about is, they're not even the same kinds of dragon. Onaga has wings and a man-shaped body. The kind of dragon Liu turns into is the long serpent kind like in the MK logo. The kind the Elder Gods look like in their true forms.

But hey, while we're overcomplicating peoples' origin stories and saying they're not the source of their own powers, why not say Nightwolf's ancestors were werewolves? Werewolves with Green Lantern rings!

And Sonya's dad was Oberon, King of the Faeries, that's where she gets the pixie dust for her Kiss of Death from.

And Kano's parents were circus performers, that's why he's a human cannonball.

And Stryker doesn't have an infinite supply of grenades just because he's a cop, he has them because he inherited a giant munitions factory from his rich uncle Steve!
Here's a fun thought experiment: Let's say Kung Lao didn't get his powers to spin and teleport and make his hat reappear out of thin air by chi. Let's say The Great Kung Lao could do all those things and it runs in the family...well where did the Great Kung Lao get his power, then? Who did he inherit it from, eh? He was awesome enough to defeat Shang Tsung, what made him so great? He was a Shaolin Monk, just like Liu Kang and the current Kung Lao are. Sooner or later, you have to deal with normal humans having awesome potential all on their own and not being the sons of wizards or dragons.

I see your point, you don't want to over complicate liu character.

My point. Liu has no character to over complicate. He is a blank slate.

Yeah liu is a shaolin master who has unlocked his chi. That doesn't explain anything. Why can fire manifest from his hands rather than kung lao's? isn't kung a master too? Does he not do it because he just chooses not to? does chi manifest differently in different people?

Wait! Kang is the avatar of the Gods (you say), that is a good enough explaination. We don't want to over complicate things, we should stop asking questions now. Bull Shi!t

The dragon thing. I honestly didn't even give ANY thought to them being different. I guess there could be any number of reasons though for them to be different but still related. But beyond that, lets explore the accepted reason for liu's dragon transformation. He's like the Elder Gods.

The Elder Gods aren't even a part of our reality. They watch from outside it only as WATCHERS ONLY! The power that ALL! kombatants tap into, the power through which people's chi, or faa jing, is created it the ONE BEING.

Oh wait. There I go again convoluting things.

Faith in the gods (in MK) is stupid. They care nothing for mortals, Raiden is the only one and it is because of him Armageddon was allowed to happen.

Avatar of the Gods. LOL! Liu's faith needs to be grounded, and faith in himself makes more sense. If his power was grounded more in the MK reality, it would make more sense as well.

It wouldnt make sense.

If it where reptile = Onaga.....

Your point is wrong. Not being a fan of the character's personality does not give you permission to lie about whether or not they have one and it does not provide a good enough reason to change their backstory.

In fact, your entire argument is all based on "I don't like this about Liu", "I don't like that about the gods", at no point are you being "scientific" about answering the question "where does Liu get his powers from?", you're just saying "This is what I'd like to CHANGE Liu into because I don't like the Liu Kang we already have." Well, you can't always get what you want. Liu has an origin story. "Liu Kang was raised by Shaolin monks, who taught him the way of the spiritual warrior."



Yes. That's exactly what it does. Kung Lao's chi manifests in wind element-like moves. Liu's manifests in fire element moves and the ability to morph into a spirit-animal. Even Sonya and Jax have chi, her's takes the form of those pink rings and his allowed him to make earthquakes and send ripples through the air even before he got his strength enhancing bionic arms. Everyone's chi is different based on what fighting moves they've been trained in and what their personalities are.
Liu has powers the others don't because he's more spiritual and more highly trained than the others who, especially in Sonya and Jax's cases, may not even have any formal training, just raw talent.
Liu Kang isn't even the only one who can turn into a creature. Nightwolf's "animality" is actually a canon power he possesses. And like I said, where does Nightwolf get HIS powers? From his religion and training, not by inheriting a magic Outworld bloodline.

You guys are no fun :)

I dig this thread. @NS 922 I know what you mean! For the longest time I thought Scorp was the new champ of the Elder Gods. I wad pretty let down when I discovered its non canonical...ness.

Oh no, that's canon. Scorpion is indeed the Champion of the Elder Gods in Deception (and Armageddon though he sorta rebels against them).

I was also terribly disappointed they didn't do anything further with that plotline as it was nice to see Scorpion moving past revenge (mainly 'cause Quan Chi was dead at the time, so there was no revenge for him to get, I suppose) and getting to do something somewhat heroic for a change.

OK you got me. Liu does have a personality...as much personality as a dead body.

In every story he has been in he's been a hollow shell going through the motions and playing his part. You show me, in game, an example of Liu's personality. You show me WHY he is special. Link it and I'll read/watch it. For being arguably the most powerful and influencial character in MK he sure has nothing to show for it.

And you got me wrong about being on the liu kang hate train. Regardless of what picture you think the above statements may paint of me, I love Liu, which is why spicing up his story, and in turn the overall MK story, isn't a bad thing. He IS the blandest and most predictable 'high profile' MK character...period. He's been around since MK1 and is still the same...boring.

Its funny to me that you are ragging on me about changing his character, and I'M NOT CHANGING HIS CHARACTER!

His Lineage isn't his character!

I say add to his lineage which gives his character a deeper well of ideas to pull from. re-read my previous posts. Liu is still Liu. read his new bio and ending...



re-read my posts again.

I have to agree with you here. I think they dropped the ball and missed a great opportunity to do something unique with scorpion.

but hey, at the end of the day we did end up with a hellspawned , elder god power infused, ninja spectre bent on destorying everything. that's cool right!