Mortal Kombat 1: thoughts · 1:36am Jun 12th, 2023
Once again it's time to opine in relative obscurity, but it can't be helped. For a new Mortal Kombat game is upon us - to be the first since Mortal Kombat 11, which was released in 2019. Beyond the enjoyment that a new installment is sure to bring, there is an even more compelling reason to blog, and that is the premise of the story.
Fire God Liu Kang, it appears, has recreated the universe since his defeat of Kronika and Shang Tsung, and assumption of Raiden's powers. All of the characters have been reworked according to his design and presumed intention to promote what might be called dynamic balance: peace with the possibility of conflict to allow for free will. This, in my nearly meaningless opinion, is a concept that exceeds the time manipulation motif of the prior game in potential. It allows a fresh start for the franchise: new art, new character relationships, different movesets, etc. More interestingly, however, it forms a connection between the characters and the audience in that Liu Kang is effectively giving us his reading of the universe, much in the same way we read, and ultimately write fanfiction. We get a much more thorough understanding of his character by seeing the life he wants for Kitana and the other warriors who fought against evil at his side.
We also see what he intended for the villains. Scorpion and Sub Zero are now brothers, no longer engaged in clan warfare. Shang Tsung is still at large, spared perhaps, but free to cause mischief. And I would venture, at the risk of being proven wrong by later reveals, that Sindel is now Kitana and Mileena's caring, benevolent mother rather than the brainwashed double zombie she was in the original timeline (or much worse, the insidious traitor she was written to be in MK11).
Could it be that the wrong will finally be righted? Will the dissonance in the narrative be resolved? One can only hope. Whatever the case, someone who has a long-standing connection with the game such as myself (I got a little choked up when I saw Sub Zero performing his original fatality), will be hard pressed not to participate in this new cultural event.
I like the idea.
Can't wait to see.