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MK11: Most Wanted Returning Classic Characters, Classic Stages and Liu Kang Retrospective

Charybdis

Charybdis

We are returned! Death to the False Emperor!
Another few days go by, another bevy of top quality Netherkast content!



Good god men, give me a break. The spirit is willing, but the fingers and ears are spongy and bruised.

It's fair to say that the Netherkast's most recent ventures into shorter videos has been nothing but a stunning success, with these videos racking up thousands of views and sparking debate across the entirety of the community. This is no surprise to those of us who know the talent and drive of these guys, and their latest videos are no different, as Cyborg returns with two more awesome videos looking forward to MK11!

One of the Netherkasts major contributions to the community has come in the last few weeks, with the survey of the most demanded returning characters for MK11. There's been a couple of videos on that survey and here Cyborg jumps back into the topic, addressing some of our most beloved characters and their chances of coming back.

Please God not Cyrax.

Stages in MK are absolutely iconic. From the Pit to the Tower to the Deadpool to the Wasteland to the Courtyard, stages and their aesthetic form some of the most important parts of MK to many people, the backdrop for the brutal battles between our favourite characters. Which ones ought to come back? Check out the video to find out?


Finally, on the more traditional podcast front, we have the return to the Netherkast stage of....The Lost! The return of the beloved lore-cast, featuring two of the communities' leading lights on the matter of MK lore, @Shad and the one and only, Razor, a man whose knowledge of MK lore is rivalled only by his disdain for '****ing casuals'.

In the past, Shad and Razor have dealt with a Raiden character retrospective totalling over 5 hours, examinations of MK The Journey Begins, the MK Novel, the MKX comic series and.....Batman v Superman.

Huh.

For their grand return, they address the lore, inspiration and everything and anything to do with everyone's favourite Bruce Lee clone, the Chosen One himself, Liu Kang! In particular, Razor points out that Liu Kang, far from being the 'boy scout' with little development he's often painted as, actually has a hugely rich story in the lore. Or did, before MK9, where he becomes the straight man to Raiden's incompetence.


*Insert turkey noises here


It also has the best theme tune of all podcasts, composed by the inimitable @JangoGM


As always, check back to TYM for all the latest news on Mortal Kombat, Injustice and everything NRS!
 
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GreatKungLao

GreatKungLao

LiuTana
Liu Kang is my Mortal Kombat's Superman.

I thought MK9 would have been a good opportunity to do Man of Steel, but with Liu Kang. Make MK world closer to realistic one with our daily problems and test fictional character's strength in a world where politics, racism and other ugly stuff exist. Show how Liu Kang, while struggling, still comes out on top, but also don't be shy to show that he can kill when situation calls for it as the very last resort. This is why I love ending of Man of Steel, it puts Superman in a situation he never was before and it forced him to make a difficult decision and then live with it, he killed Zod because there was nothing else to be done, unless you want him to keep killing people while Superman thinks about how to defeat him without killing. But killing Zod didn't made Superman into a tyrant maniac, it just showed that he has the guts to do what needs to be done unless there is no other option at hand, after all he saves Lex from Doomsday in BvS, so he is not a merciless murderer, he just did what had to be done in MoS ending. Man of Steel gave Superman situation where he doesn't have magical Deus Ex machina option that saves every single one and he made the right decision, but he didn't felt good about it which is indicated by his cry after killing Zod.

I would have loved to see that same approach with Liu Kang, show why he would defend Earthrealm after witnessing the worst of humanity, show how he accepts his role as a hero as something he wants to do, not what he must do out of obligation. Show us how Liu Kang fights for the good that Earthrealm provides, make his arc about redeeming Kitana as a reason why he keeps fighting. Something like "You see, Kitana, I fight for people like you, who might've made mistakes, but are willing to change for the better. I fight for potential of every person to be a force for good.". That would have been beautiful. My love for Man of Steel and Batman v Superman comes from how it showed the reasons behind Superman being Superman despite how ugly our realistic world is, that he fights for good people like his parents and for love like his for Lois. It showed that if Superman struggled against problems of our world, he would still be Superman. Heroes like him can still exist, we just need to have the courage to do good for everyone.

As for Dualist, I have a headcanon that this is how he comes back to life and becomes something like Revan from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Revan was a Jedi, who became Sith Lord and then Jedi again. Dualist Liu Kang is a character who was on both sides of the Force and came to conclusion that there are no evil or good powers, there are only evil intentions, so he utilizes energies of both Light and Dark to use them for good of the world. I would love to see MK11 Liu Kang to use Fire, Light and Dark in his special moves. That would have been amazing.

I also hate with passion when heroes are made into villains and it hurts when you see your favorite character act out of character. Liu Kang's arcade ending in MKX sucks balls. BUT, I can see him being Revenant as an opportunity for him to return as even a better hero. You put the character at his lowest in order for him to come back as even a better hero than he was before, who witnessed evil from the other side and embraced his heroic self even stronger than before. If that's the approach they are taking for him, I wouldn't mind that. Just don't let him die as a villain, that would be a character assassination.

I'm surprised that you haven't discussed Liu Kang's victory animations, I think they progressed a lot and if there is one thing that MKX did right with Liu Kang is his default aged design rules and victory animation is badass, which might be the best victory animation in fighting games history.

I hope Liu Kang and Kitana will live long enough to rule Edenia together, as was meant to be.

P.S. Also, you are mistaken, Mortal Kombat does kill characters without bringing them back ever again. One of them is Great Kung Lao =P

P.S.S. I'm not against Liu Kang killing as long as it affects him same way it affected Superman in Man of Steel, that it would hurt him afterwards, even though if there was no other option, he shouldn't enjoy killing at all.
 
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