Cyrax Official Character Trailer!

[Kiss the Missile]

Antagonists typically have motivation for what they do, which is what we see in MK1.

Motivation sure, but in MK1 they have justification.
Shao Kahn didn't have a just reason for wanting to merge the realms, he was just an asshole. HeactuallywantstomergetherealmsbecauseofinfluenceoftheOneBeingbutshitheadDominicruinedthatpieceofMKloreforeverhahahahahaha

 

[Lin Kuei93]

I pray you're 12 years old

Nope I’m a 31 year old male virgin who never had sex before. My penis has never been inside a woman before.

 

[Vulgar]

Motivation sure, but in MK1 they have justification.
Shao Kahn didn't have a just reason for wanting to merge the realms, he was just an asshole. HeactuallywantstomergetherealmsbecauseofinfluenceoftheOneBeingbutshitheadDominicruinedthatpieceofMKloreforeverhahahahahaha

They have nuance, yes. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're "good" or morally correct in their justification.

An antagonist can have a reason to be an asshole and still be an asshole.

Rare is an antagonist that has 0 reason for doing what they do.

Good Antagonists are the ones that think they're the good guys.

 

[Kiss the Missile]

Nope I’m a 31 year old male virgin who never had sex before. My penis has never been inside a woman before.

 

[PrinceGoro]

Fighting game character vs JCPenny Men's Fall Fashion catalogue

Cage's MK1 look is just bland & generic AF (which is a disservice to his good gameplay and the great performance given by his VA)

Mkx mk 11 and mk 1 johnny devolved into a spinless bitch and an annoyance,he doesnt have the charm and personality he used to have,he is relgetade to a resident pop-cultre refrence machine.

This is peak johnny cage right here in terms of visuals

 

[Eji1700]

They have nuance, yes. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're "good" or morally correct in their justification.

An antagonist can have a reason to be an asshole and still be an asshole.

Rare is an antagonist that has 0 reason for doing what they do.

Good Antagonists are the ones that think they're the good guys.

You're reaching. Shao in previous games and Shao now is a totally different character who fills a totally different narrative purpose. The same with the rest of the classic "i will literally eat you" become "i'm fighting for my people" villain list.

At the end of the day there's something to be said for M Bison or Shao Khan being stupid levels of Evil. Nuanced plots aren't well suited to fighting games (at least as they tell them now). I'd actually argue that the scorp/sub plot spanning MK to MK4 is actually a GOOD way to do the nuance (frankly better than it deserved to be given how they handled things back then), but if you make EVERYONE like that it gets old fast if you can't seriously dedicate time to their motivations.

GoT does a great job at this because it's a fucking book series that's willing to do major arcs for all sorts of characters with all sorts of motivations pulling at everyone. Mortal Kombat is a series first and foremost about literally punching your opponent in the dick and ripping their head off.

Watching shao/goro/whoever show up in a cinematic and wreck the thunder god along with several other fighters sets enough stakes for the time they have, and makes it feel like a big deal when you kick his head in. Having literally everyone be given some justification for fighting just gets boring becuase there's fuck all way to build the depth or the stakes to make anyone care.

What's more annoying is that they KNOW this, and that's literally why we also got "evil" universes, which while mostly eye rollingly stupid does bring up some interesting interactions (liu shang vs titan shang), but again, this is for a very breif part of the plot, and worse, doesn't make it to the pre fight dialogue.

I can't stress that last part enough, because MK is miles ahead of the competition there, and almost all the fun has been stripped from that this series becuase they have to stick to the liu verse version of everyone.

Finally, yes Bi Han is the ONLY legit bad guy in the base roster, and it's fucking weird. Yes it seems Quan and Shang are destined to be evil, and they don't really go into the more interesting arc of "you mean to tell me fucking GOD put me in the mines?" (which is like, the one "justification" that this narrative actually brings that might be interesting to explore). Bi Han is just an asshole, but a pretty boring/low stakes one. It seems that might change a bit when he gets murdered into Noob, but some of the best parts of MK1 are the arcs involving him becuase he's simple enough that it works.

Having Havok, Nitara, Baraka, and arguably Reptile all trotting out the same "for my people!" arguments when they don't even have time to show us anyone but the "tarkat" victims is weak writing. Doubly so because once again the rather interesting arc here is MK is now a game where you can literally beat the shit out of god for letting bad things happen to good people, and they don't use that in the slightest.

 

[Vulgar]

You're reaching. Shao in previous games and Shao now is a totally different character who fills a totally different narrative purpose. The same with the rest of the classic "i will literally eat you" become "i'm fighting for my people" villain list.

At the end of the day there's something to be said for M Bison or Shao Khan being stupid levels of Evil. Nuanced plots aren't well suited to fighting games (at least as they tell them now). I'd actually argue that the scorp/sub plot spanning MK to MK4 is actually a GOOD way to do the nuance (frankly better than it deserved to be given how they handled things back then), but if you make EVERYONE like that it gets old fast if you can't seriously dedicate time to their motivations.

GoT does a great job at this because it's a fucking book series that's willing to do major arcs for all sorts of characters with all sorts of motivations pulling at everyone. Mortal Kombat is a series first and foremost about literally punching your opponent in the dick and ripping their head off.

Watching shao/goro/whoever show up in a cinematic and wreck the thunder god along with several other fighters sets enough stakes for the time they have, and makes it feel like a big deal when you kick his head in. Having literally everyone be given some justification for fighting just gets boring becuase there's fuck all way to build the depth or the stakes to make anyone care.

What's more annoying is that they KNOW this, and that's literally why we also got "evil" universes, which while mostly eye rollingly stupid does bring up some interesting interactions (liu shang vs titan shang), but again, this is for a very breif part of the plot, and worse, doesn't make it to the pre fight dialogue.

I can't stress that last part enough, because MK is miles ahead of the competition there, and almost all the fun has been stripped from that this series becuase they have to stick to the liu verse version of everyone.

Finally, yes Bi Han is the ONLY legit bad guy in the base roster, and it's fucking weird. Yes it seems Quan and Shang are destined to be evil, and they don't really go into the more interesting arc of "you mean to tell me fucking GOD put me in the mines?" (which is like, the one "justification" that this narrative actually brings that might be interesting to explore). Bi Han is just an asshole, but a pretty boring/low stakes one. It seems that might change a bit when he gets murdered into Noob, but some of the best parts of MK1 are the arcs involving him becuase he's simple enough that it works.

Having Havok, Nitara, Baraka, and arguably Reptile all trotting out the same "for my people!" arguments when they don't even have time to show us anyone but the "tarkat" victims is weak writing. Doubly so because once again the rather interesting arc here is MK is now a game where you can literally beat the shit out of god for letting bad things happen to good people, and they don't use that in the slightest.

I'm going to have to disagree with you, but first:

Yes, Shao in MK1 and Shao in the rest of the series are different characters. Congratulations, you've discovered the premise of the "New Era," where classic characters are re-imagined in different ways. Congratulations. Welcome aboard. It only took you nearly a year.

Now, it's a bit more nuanced than "fighting for my people." General Shao, for example, is a war-mongering isolationist and - for lack of a better term - Outworld nationalist. Or "realmist" if you prefer. It's all over his rhetoric and his actions. Dude literally tries to stage a coup and overthrow Sindel because he thinks he can do it better.

That's just one example. Quan Chi and Shang Tsung are big mad that Liu Kang gave them shitty lives which is an understandable motivation, but what they do with that motivation is not okay. Like...at all.

Pretty much every antagonist in the game is like that. They have reasons for doing what they do(as a developed character should), but what they're doing is pretty awful.

Now sure, they're not as fleshed out as they could be, but they're working within the limitations of the format.

It's not weak writing at all. It's about as good as you can get within a fighting game where you have multiple characters that could all be the, "main character."

MK1 is not lacking for Antagonists or violence or darkness simply because it is not executed in a way you enjoy.

 

[Vulgar]

Mkx mk 11 and mk 1 johnny devolved into a spinless bitch and an annoyance,he doesnt have the charm and personality he used to have,he is relgetade to a resident pop-cultre refrence machine.

This is peak johnny cage right here in terms of visuals

I'm guessing you don't play the game either. Saying he has no charm or the personality he used to have is just blatantly wrong.

"Spineless bitch" Johnny Cage, the guy who beat the shit out of a fallen Elder God in MKX.

That's what spineless people do.

Stupid.

 

[Kiss the Missile]

I'm going to have to disagree with you, but first:

Yes, Shao in MK1 and Shao in the rest of the series are different characters. Congratulations, you've discovered the premise of the "New Era," where classic characters are re-imagined in different ways. Congratulations. Welcome aboard. It only took you nearly a year.

Now, it's a bit more nuanced than "fighting for my people." General Shao, for example, is a war-mongering isolationist and - for lack of a better term - Outworld nationalist. Or "realmist" if you prefer. It's all over his rhetoric and his actions. Dude literally tries to stage a coup and overthrow Sindel because he thinks he can do it better.

That's just one example. Quan Chi and Shang Tsung are big mad that Liu Kang gave them shitty lives which is an understandable motivation, but what they do with that motivation is not okay. Like...at all.

Pretty much every antagonist in the game is like that. They have reasons for doing what they do(as a developed character should), but what they're doing is pretty awful.

Now sure, they're not as fleshed out as they could be, but they're working within the limitations of the format.

It's not weak writing at all. It's about as good as you can get within a fighting game where you have multiple characters that could all be the, "main character."

MK1 is not lacking for Antagonists or violence or darkness simply because it is not executed in a way you enjoy.

I think it is bad writing tbh. They never should have done the stupid Kronika pumpfake. They should have shown us Shang from the beginning, and shown him actually orchestrating the changes in characters. It would have been so much cooler is Shao actually was an honorable respectable soldier, but Shang enticed Shao with visions of him in previous timelines as an all powerful god.

Because it doesn't make sense for these characters to be evil. Liu apparently can change people's personalities. Tanya's #1 most identifiable trait used to be that she was a backstabbing traitor. She betrayed almost every character she ever worked with. But now she's the most loyal character in the series. Shao is still powerhungry on his own tho? Shang is still a schemer?

 

[Vulgar]

.[/QUOTE]

I think it is bad writing tbh. They never should have done the stupid Kronika pumpfake. They should have shown us Shang from the beginning, and shown him actually orchestrating the changes in characters. It would have been so much cooler is Shao actually was an honorable respectable soldier, but Shang enticed Shao with visions of him in previous timelines as an all powerful god.

Because it doesn't make sense for these characters to be evil. Liu apparently can change people's personalities. Tanya's #1 most identifiable trait used to be that she was a backstabbing traitor. She betrayed almost every character she ever worked with. But now she's the most loyal character in the series. Shao is still powerhungry on his own tho? Shang is still a schemer?

Shang became a "schemer" after being taught magic and finding out that his shitty life was Liu Kang's fault. This was explained. Shao only became "power hungry" because his vision for Outworld was drastically different from Sindel's. There's a whole conversation about this. Shao doesn't like what he perceives to be "lapdogging" for Liu Kang.

This isn't even subtext. It's just text that people seemingly ignored.

 

[Kiss the Missile]

.

Shang became a "schemer" after being taught magic and finding out that his shitty life was Liu Kang's fault. This was explained. Shao only became "power hungry" because his vision for Outworld was drastically different from Sindel's. There's a whole conversation about this. Shao doesn't like what he perceives to be "lapdogging" for Liu Kang.

This isn't even subtext. It's just text that people seemingly ignored.
[/QUOTE]

Shang was a schemer before he met "Kronika". When we first see him he's wearing disguises and selling fake elixirs, then after he gets run out of town he meets Shang Shang.

Shao having a reason doesn't mean he isn't the same power hungry Shao. The reason his vision differs is because he is the same racist, hateful mf he always was

 

[PrinceGoro]

I'm guessing you don't play the game either. Saying he has no charm or the personality he used to have is just blatantly wrong.

"Spineless bitch" Johnny Cage, the guy who beat the shit out of a fallen Elder God in MKX.

That's what spineless people do.

Stupid.

He aboslutly does not,he used to be a badass kinda of a prick,confident and charismatic.
What they have turned him into is a classroom clown,a laughing stock.

Mkx??? You mention that abomination of a story? Where the the fallen elder god is defeated by the power of... wait for it....Love LMAO.And not once but twice,the master manipulator falls for the same trick twice.

Thats just the base level,i do not want to even get into what a travesty the games entire story and crux was as well as how pathetic they made johnny in it.And defeating shinnok through the dumbest plot armor ever imagined doesnt excuse that or change how he behaves and how his dialogue is written.

Its hilarious to watch you squirm and attempt to excuse NRS for everything,i hate to break it to you but alot of the changes in terms of story and chracterisation are major flops and complete garbage compared to past games.

 

[SaltShaker]

On that Cyrax topic, after watching the trailer another 12 times lol, I'll definitely be running the Cyrax/Cyrax first. Haven't seen the others yet but I don't think anything is going to match the creativity of the double Cyrax.

Of course main character Cyrax will not be allowed to ever wear yellow and kameo Cyrax will always be mandatory to wear yellow, but that's beside the point.

 

[Marinjuana]

There are good scenes that they have fun with(the whole Bo Teahouse scene was great) but the conceit of Liu Kang being from previous timeline and playing god was too much for them not to write it away, which brought us back to timeline/parallel earth/multiverse stuff. Which leaves us in the boondoggle of "none of this shit matters" storytelling.

I think Khaos Reigns will have some fun stuff too but they need to find a way to put the genie back in the bottle.

 

[YagamiFire]

And the character assassination of Quan is crazy. He went from the baddest mf in Mortal Kombat's mythos to a henchman for Shang.

The reality is that the games have never had peak Quan Chi cuz this is peak Quan Chi (it also had peak Raiden & Shao)

anyone but the "tarkat" victims

In regards to them, I found MK1's character/story stuff particularly hilarious for it ignoring what an absolute piece of garbage it makes Sindel and her whole royal family. They are literally packing up and exiling into ghetto's the peasants with tarkat...but when the princess gets it? MASSIVE COVER-UP! Gotta find her a cure! No one mention it! And definitely let her keep being around people and fighting them even though supposedly we've got to concentration-camp the lower class infected so they don't spread it!

And this is never addressed at all. Sindel, Mileena and Kitana are giant hypocritical piece of crap authoritarians. I hope Shao beheads them after revealing their abuse of their power (this will never happen tho because the writers are likely totally ignorant of the implications of what they've written)

 

[Kiss the Missile]

The reality is that the games have never had peak Quan Chi cuz this is peak Quan Chi (it also had peak Raiden & Shao)

View attachment 21893



In regards to them, I found MK1's character/story stuff particularly hilarious for it ignoring what an absolute piece of garbage it makes Sindel and her whole royal family. They are literally packing up and exiling into ghetto's the peasants with tarkat...but when the princess gets it? MASSIVE COVER-UP! Gotta find her a cure! No one mention it! And definitely let her keep being around people and fighting them even though supposedly we've got to concentration-camp the lower class infected so they don't spread it!

And this is never addressed at all. Sindel, Mileena and Kitana are giant hypocritical piece of crap authoritarians. I hope Shao beheads them after revealing their abuse of their power (this will never happen tho because the writers are likely totally ignorant of the implications of what they've written)

Stop it. Don't make me go on a whole rant about how Conquest Shao is the best portrayal of the characters that no game, movie or comic has ever touched since

 

[SaltShaker]

Stop it. Don't make me go on a whole rant about how Conquest Shao is the best portrayal of the characters that no game, movie or comic has ever touched since

"Dead."

#NeverForget

 

[YagamiFire]

Stop it. Don't make me go on a whole rant about how Conquest Shao is the best portrayal of the characters that no game, movie or comic has ever touched since

I see you are a man of taste as well

"Dead."

#NeverForget

The thing that makes this Shao just perfect is Jeffrey Meek changes up his smug arrogance one time and one time only during this when he reaches Kitana. Goes from gloating to a hint of regret...but still matter-of-fact like it had to happen. There was no other way it could have ended once she betrayed him. Adds just that touch of making Shao not one-dimensional while still being pure evil.

 

[Eldriken]

"Dead."

#NeverForget

This shit was hard to watch.

 

[Kiss the Missile]

This shit was hard to watch.

Its maximum 90's cheese, but the context of this scene was amazing. This is the finale of the whole show. In the last 2 episodes prior, Shao Kahn had assassinated every single character who went against him. Hero and villain alike. Kung Lao, Reptile, Shang, Kitana, everyone. This was Shao at his fucking best, and he won.

Live action Mortal Kombat is always goofy as fuck, but one thing I do appreciate about it is how they handle Shao Kahn. And yes I am even referring to Annihilation. They make Shao unpredictable. Every scene he's in is tense because you don't know if he's going to just kill someone in the room for the smallest reason.

One of the best scenes in Conquest is when Shang Tsung fails a very important mission. He's beaten, tortured and then brought in front of Shao. Shao is quietly mocking him for his failure. Then Shang asks him to just end this now, Shao fucking explodes, jumps off his throne and screams my favorite line in the show: "HOW DARE YOU BEG FOR DEATH!" and banishes Shang to slavery in the mines.

Or when Scorpion back talks him, Shao force chokes his ass mid sentence and tells him "You can be returned to your agony at any time . . . . . . . creature"
Fuck that shit is good lmao

 

[rifraf]

I think it's good to have a high bar for the lore. All opinions are valid here.

I just want to throw this out there. Imagine being a Tekken fan in 2024. T8 takes the already weak story and makes it a complete meme, and it adapts all the worst anime tropes in the worst way possible. It's bad bad.

 

[Kiss the Missile]

Oof yeah. T8s shit is supreme ass. Tekkens story is so much worse as a cinematic event. It was a lot more engaging when characters got their own personal vignettes.

 

[SaltShaker]

One of the best scenes in Conquest is when Shang Tsung fails a very important mission. He's beaten, tortured and then brought in front of Shao. Shao is quietly mocking him for his failure. Then Shang asks him to just end this now, Shao fucking explodes, jumps off his throne and screams my favorite line in the show: "HOW DARE YOU BEG FOR DEATH!" and banishes Shang to slavery in the mines.

That's one of the best scenes in MK history actually. I think he said something like "How dare you beg for death?!?!? Only the victors can make requests." or something close to that. The line, the context, and delivery for that scene was peak.

One of my other favorite scenes were Shang and Quan when they put their beef aside and talked and brokered the Unholy Alliance (Deadly Alliance lol). That whole scene was perfect for too many reasons to type.

 

[SaltShaker]

I think it's good to have a high bar for the lore. All opinions are valid here.

I just want to throw this out there. Imagine being a Tekken fan in 2024. T8 takes the already weak story and makes it a complete meme, and it adapts all the worst anime tropes in the worst way possible. It's bad bad.

Whenever you hear "Heihachi Mishima is dead" in the Tekken story, translate it to "Heihachi Mishima is buffed" lol.

 

[PrinceGoro]

Its maximum 90's cheese, but the context of this scene was amazing. This is the finale of the whole show. In the last 2 episodes prior, Shao Kahn had assassinated every single character who went against him. Hero and villain alike. Kung Lao, Reptile, Shang, Kitana, everyone. This was Shao at his fucking best, and he won.

Live action Mortal Kombat is always goofy as fuck, but one thing I do appreciate about it is how they handle Shao Kahn. And yes I am even referring to Annihilation. They make Shao unpredictable. Every scene he's in is tense because you don't know if he's going to just kill someone in the room for the smallest reason.

One of the best scenes in Conquest is when Shang Tsung fails a very important mission. He's beaten, tortured and then brought in front of Shao. Shao is quietly mocking him for his failure. Then Shang asks him to just end this now, Shao fucking explodes, jumps off his throne and screams my favorite line in the show: "HOW DARE YOU BEG FOR DEATH!" and banishes Shang to slavery in the mines.

Or when Scorpion back talks him, Shao force chokes his ass mid sentence and tells him "You can be returned to your agony at any time . . . . . . . creature"
Fuck that shit is good lmao

I didnt watch the show,but i just googled that shang scene and damn that was epic.The actor is doing a great job,nice menecing voice too.

I personally am fond of mksm shao kahn.Even though we see little of him, he just has this aura of a god emperor,and steve ritchie delivered one of the most magical voice acting preformances ever.