What's new

Kombat Pack 3, 4 and 5 Leak From the Guy That Leaked Aftermath

This so much. She looked like a fucking stripper who is about to go to a bachelor party.
And THAT'S the outfit she wears all story mode demanding to be taken seriously at the start of the game and tearfully talking about casualties in war at the end of the game. The one where she's wearing a tank, shorts, shades and a hat is never seen in Story Mode lmao.
 

Temptress

Edenian Empress
Also you must be out of your mind if you think the only things sexy on a guy are his cheeks and his package, if muscles didn't factor to a man's appeal then Bara wouldn't be a thing.
And you must be completely and utterly devoid of any intelligence if you continue to compare a man’s naked chest to women in what is essentially lingerie. Men, historically, have fought while shirtless. See: the gladiators of Rome, boxers, UFC fighters, Bruce Lee, etc.
Name one female fighter who wears attire similar to that of MK9 Mileena or Sonya? I’ll wait!

Let me type it in all caps to really, really try and get the message through because no amount of rational thought seems to do the trick. THERE IS NOTHING SEXUAL ABOUT A SHIRTLESS MAN. NADA. NIENTE. STOP REACHING.
 

Gaxkang

Banned
And you must be completely and utterly devoid of any intelligence if you continue to compare a man’s naked chest to women in what is essentially lingerie. Men, historically, have fought while shirtless. See: the gladiators of Rome, boxers, UFC fighters, Bruce Lee, etc.
Name one female fighter who wears attire similar to that of MK9 Mileena or Sonya? I’ll wait!

Let me type it in all caps to really, really try and get the message through because no amount of rational thought seems to do the trick. THERE IS NOTHING SEXUAL ABOUT A SHIRTLESS MAN. NADA. NIENTE. STOP REACHING.
Historically wrasslin' was done by naked men....providing a very direct route to dirty pool. :D

In Street Fighter I'm sure Urien and Gill would fight nude, but because of obvious reasons in making video games, they wear speedos.

It's too far to say topless males or muscles doesn't equal sexual, otherwise why Fabio imagery? :D

1794517946

But in the world of MK you'd be right that no male muscle man is made to appeal to women, but to appeal to guys' admiration of beefy power like a superhero. While female designs are meant to appeal to males especially in MK9.

Tho no doubt Sonya's outfit allowed her freedom of uh...movement and feeling cooler in higher temperatures. :p
 
And you must be completely and utterly devoid of any intelligence if you continue to compare a man’s naked chest to women in what is essentially lingerie. Men, historically, have fought while shirtless. See: the gladiators of Rome, boxers, UFC fighters, Bruce Lee, etc.
Name one female fighter who wears attire similar to that of MK9 Mileena or Sonya? I’ll wait!

Let me type it in all caps to really, really try and get the message through because no amount of rational thought seems to do the trick. THERE IS NOTHING SEXUAL ABOUT A SHIRTLESS MAN. NADA. NIENTE. STOP REACHING.
You've lost the plot entirely.
 

Krankk

Smoke & Noob & Rain
You're all using the wrong word in your discussion: it's not about sexualization – it's about idealization.

When I go outside, I don't see women, who look like MK9 Jade or Kitana. But I also don't see men, who look like Scorpion or Jax.
Just like it's not that typical for women to have pitch perfect big boobies, that are not affected by gravity at all... It's not typical for men to look like they've been on a diet consisting out of chicken breast, broccoli and all the steroids on the planet their entire life.

Games, comics, movies... they're all a visual medium. There is a reason why every actor needs to get in great shape (with some of them most likely using steroids for better and quicker results). Look at Chris Hemsworth and what he did to his body to pull off a proper representation of Thor. When the steroid junkie Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson puts on the mantle of Black Adam, he'll be towering over every other superhero actor ever (besides Lou Ferrigno).

And in the end of the day, the cold hard truth is... that games and comics are mainly there for guys. You want to look like the muscular larger than life Scorpion, you want to act like the brave badass Scorpion and you want to be together with a stunning beauty like Jade (from MK9 - not a big fan of the MK11 look).

So it's not all about showing skin or not. There are simply different ways how the general public perceives men and women. And no amount of identity politics from single individuals is going to change that, like it or not. The typical idealized state for men is big, strong and powerful. The typical idealized state for women is kind and sexy.

And with all of that being said... Here is the ACTUAL problem with women being idealized in a different way than men in a medium, which mostly caters to men: They're bound to be less successful. Think about the most popular female characters in pop culture and why they work so well: Ripley from Alien, Sarah Connor from Terminator, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Wonder Woman from DC comics. They all borrow a lot from badass male characters. Most of them could be replaced by a guy and it would make no difference at all (obviously looking past the story based stuff like Wonder Womans Amazonian backstory yadda yadda).
 

Temptress

Edenian Empress
You're all using the wrong word in your discussion: it's not about sexualization – it's about idealization.

When I go outside, I don't see women, who look like MK9 Jade or Kitana. But I also don't see men, who look like Scorpion or Jax.
Just like it's not that typical for women to have pitch perfect big boobies, that are not affected by gravity at all... It's not typical for men to look like they've been on a diet consisting out of chicken breast, broccoli and all the steroids on the planet their entire life.

Games, comics, movies... they're all a visual medium. There is a reason why every actor needs to get in great shape (with some of them most likely using steroids for better and quicker results). Look at Chris Hemsworth and what he did to his body to pull off a proper representation of Thor. When the steroid junkie Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson puts on the mantle of Black Adam, he'll be towering over every other superhero actor ever (besides Lou Ferrigno).

And in the end of the day, the cold hard truth is... that games and comics are mainly there for guys. You want to look like the muscular larger than life Scorpion, you want to act like the brave badass Scorpion and you want to be together with a stunning beauty like Jade (from MK9 - not a big fan of the MK11 look).

So it's not all about showing skin or not. There are simply different ways how the general public perceives men and women. And no amount of identity politics from single individuals is going to change that, like it or not. The typical idealized state for men is big, strong and powerful. The typical idealized state for women is kind and sexy.

And with all of that being said... Here is the ACTUAL problem with women being idealized in a different way than men in a medium, which mostly caters to men: They're bound to be less successful. Think about the most popular female characters in pop culture and why they work so well: Ripley from Alien, Sarah Connor from Terminator, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Wonder Woman from DC comics. They all borrow a lot from badass male characters. Most of them could be replaced by a guy and it would make no difference at all (obviously looking past the story based stuff like Wonder Womans Amazonian backstory yadda yadda).
MK9 women are the textbook definition of sexualised. Try again.
 
Stop using this thread for y’all’s serious discussions about something half probably has no clue about and the other half too “cool” stubborn or afraid to admit they’re wrong.
 

MetBart

Noob
I am not denying the fact of sexualization/idealization (I think both words are applicable here). Just wanted to point out that women are not the only "vitcims" of that aspect, even though the scale or the reasons may not be the same.

It's also true that historically men have fought while shirtless (although I doubt about gladiators, like, didn't they wear something called ARMOR?). I am not saying they haven't, I am just wondering WHY it was/is like that.

What if shirtless gladiators are mostly the effect of modern popculture so that this concept of ideal body could be followed by regular guys AND in order to attract women as well?

Also, a muscular male body was a popular concept in ancient Rome and Greece and its purpose was surely not only to show power and strength. One thing doesn't have to exclude another, since, in general, women are attracted to strong and powerful men, aren't they?

Please, let's not act like men's physical appearance is not important (in general) to women. That would be not only the denial of reality, but also just plain hypocritical and insulting for both sexes/genders.

Besides, on one hand we have box, but on the other also judo, taekwondo and many more fighting styles in which people don't fight half naked. I'm not sure about the reason for boxers or MMA fighters to step on a ring while shirtless, but whatever. It's just an observation.
 
Last edited:

Stanlos

Noob
Stop using this thread for y’all’s serious discussions about something half probably has no clue about and the other half too “cool” stubborn or afraid to admit they’re wrong.
Yeah! It sounds like mom watching old talk show vids.

Anyway, I hope Tanya returns in the next Komba t Pack!
 

Art Lean

Noob
Has anything about Sareena ever come from one of the more reliable sources?

The poor girl deserves to finally be in a proper fully fledged title, instead of a GBA game and a half-assed compilation of anyone-and-everyone.

Sareena, Ashrah, Reptile and Smoke would be my four pillars of happiness, but for the sake of someone who felt both new-yet-familiar, Sareena's the one I want most. The fact that Lia Montelongo still looks amazing, still loves her time with Mortal Kombat and is even doing a 'Kombat Komback' photo session this weekend following on from Kerri Hoskins' own 25th Anniversary Sonya photo sessions the other week (the character of whom has just been honoured with the movie skin recently after all), would be a wonderful way to treasure her work across her three MK characters (Sindel, Sareena and Tanya).

Details of Lia's Kombat Komback over on the Realm Kast (there's a competition for it too):
 

Art Lean

Noob
I hope Reptile is back, I miss my MKX main :(
Gameplay aside, my only issue with Reptile is he became such a jobber by the end. I hated the more snivelling and reptilian they made him throughout the 3D era, that by the time of MKX I was actually a little sick of him. :(

He was my absolute boy in MK2, whilst MK1 had made him a terrifying enigma of mythical proportions. But from MK4 onwards he was just this little scurrying runt instead of the ultimate ninja beast (ironically enough, the literally-once-mythical Ermac seemed to take over the mantle)

I want Reptile back, he's still in my top 4 returners wishlist, but really hope they give him some proper physical presence and gravitas-of-character again.

Geeky question, probably not the right thread for it, but in case anyone knows whilst we're on the subject of it; did MK Conquest actually invent his realm's name of Zaterra or had it existed in canon before that?
 
Last edited:
reptile for me in mk1 was like a male mileena, who just like her, used a ninja disguise to hide his true form, of a monster. now he just up there being a giant lizard man
True though the MK2 ending basically showed his Deadly Alliance face, a lizard. I think the artist who made the og movie mask is my favourite look, though MK4 is the perfect bland of Reptile and ninja. MKX came close to that.
 
I prefer the MKX/Shaolin Monks version of Reptile personally. I think the humanoid lizard in ninja garb is a cool look, not MK4 and not bestial primal Reptile.

If I recall early into his MKX development NRS wanted to give him a tail with attacks (they then gave it to alien) and some concepts had him spitting out his forceballs. Those would be good Custom Move gimmicks.

Say he hypothetically comes in, keep the human look to the Klassic outfits and maybe a few shaders on regular skins that change his scale color to a humanish skintone like his P2 from Shaolin Monks.
 

Kiss the Missile

Red Messiah
I'd be completely fine if they just ported over Reptile from Shaolin Monks. That was easily his best look imo. Bring back his giant snake too
 
This to me is prime Reptile (from MK2 commercial). Reptilian ninja mask, reptilian skin - still in humanoid/ninja form.


To pull this off, his face cannot look like MKDA/MK2 ending, as his snout/nose protrudes too far, which couldn't be covered by his mask. So something with a flattened snout (as seen in his Sideshow Collectibles statues) makes the most amount of sense when completely unmasked:



Cosmetics aside, not a huge fan of when his posture goes too far down the cartoonish reptile rabit hole. In MK9, his super crouched/hunched posture negated the somewhat return to ninja form, and I'd still say his mask/face were far too reptilian/birdlike in MK9 and MKX. Just give us MK2/MK3 Reptile, NRS - it's been, what, 25 years since we've seen Reptile in his original form?
 
He was my absolute boy in MK2, whilst MK1 had made him a terrifying enigma of mythical proportions. But from MK4 onwards he was just this little scurrying runt instead of the ultimate ninja beast (ironically enough, the literally-once-mythical Ermac seemed to take over the mantle)
100%. I think the uninspired designs we saw not only for Reptile but most characters in MK4, esp the new ones, are a good indicator of Tobias's diminished or strained role at Midway. As he either lost inspiration or influence, the MK franchise took a nosedive with each release beginning with MK4. 3D gameplay mechanics aside, the new characters and new takes on existing ones suffered overall, leading to many forgettable installments that only appealed to the most hardcore of lore fans. On top of that , MK no longer had a monopoly on gore, and gore was a gimmick that could not sustain the franchise.

I would say the series has yet to introduce an interesting new character since MK4, except maybe Havik. I think NRS is trying to undo some of that by revisiting less popular characters like Tanya, Fujin, Frost, and Bo Rai Cho - but it's hard to polish a turd. Most franchises can only introduce so many iconic characters (be it Simpsons, Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man, X-Men, etc.). The pressure to reinvent each character with each new game seems exhausting on the studio, and I don't think fans take well to it either.

As "boring" as it may be, sometimes it's best to just update the hits and let them continue to live on in the present, which is why I think Reptile needs to be dialed back down to his ninja origins (at least as far as appearance and presentation).