The fucking comic is one of the reasons I hated the story mode so much. They turned Kotal from a brutal, yet kind leader into a power hungry savage.
This was the dopest shit EVER to me. Seeing Outworlders treated like they're actual people. Kotal's bond with Reptile, Torr and D'Vorah was something we never got to see from Villains. I loved D'Vorah because it was so rare to see actual loyalty from an Outworld character, they're always trying to betray eachother. It legit seemed like D'Vorah cared about Kotal. But then of course MKX comes out and D'Vorah joins the Brotherhood of Shadow because . . . . . .because. The comic continued on after the game launched and I was hoping they were going to explain it when Reiko killed D'Vorah by saying Quan Chi revived her, but nah, she just revived herself.
That's the thing though, Kotal Kahn was never a villain, nor was he a "good guy." Kotal Kahn is a great character because he's very human. He has strengths and weaknesses that are both very glaring, and he has goals and ideals, some of which conflict with one another. It's a wonderful, and believable, contrast.
Both in-game and in the comics, I felt this came across very well. He was an excellent soldier, general, and good at inspiring his men and followers when it came to battle, but he was not a strong Kahn or political leader. He made very obvious leadership errors throughout his reign, and it cost him, and it was quite evident that control and power were his goals based on his reasoning for deposing Mileena (her not allying with EarthRealm against NetherRealm. Something he himself then proceeded not to do).
He truly believed that he was in the right though, and that his "all together so fall in line" mentality of rule was what was needed to keep Outworld safe and strong.
D'Vorah I believe did care about him, at least at first, but after seeing the power of Shinnok's Amulet and what it could do, she switched sides because as she described in the comics herself, her race is solitary and tends to be one of survivors. She betrayed all her people for Shao's favour, remember. Her doing a double cross, even to someone she respected, is quite believable.
