WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat, now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
Mortal Kombat's latest film managed to surprise longtime fans by covering the events leading up to the tenth tournament from the games rather than the actual competition. This also led to a character death that no one was expecting. While saving the film's protagonist, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Shaolin Monk Kung Lao (Max Huang) was taken by the sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han). The evil sorcerer took Kung Lao's soul, and his life, extending his own in return. The death was a major blow to his cousin, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), who believed that without Kung Lao, Earthrealm was lost. But his death may have been the beginning of Liu Kang fulfilling his own destiny.
Liu Kang looked up to Kung Lao like an older brother as he was raised with the Shaolin Monk in the Wu Shi Academy. Liu was an orphan discovered by his master, Bo' Rai Cho, and sent to the academy. Due to the path that his life took, he always felt fortunate but nowhere near the level of skill that Kung Lao had, even calling himself a worthless stray when healing Cole Young. But this didn't stop him from training, and together they met Lord Raiden, who took them in, and they had served together ever since.
Liu Kang's inner power, also known as his arcana, was discovered following his graduation from the academy. He was tasked with stopping a man who collected orphans and carried the mark that only those invited to Mortal Kombat could have. Confronting his own past, Liu killed the man and earned the mark, discovering his flame arcana. The flame symbolized the anger he had towards those who chose to harm innocents, but it also represented his burning desire to be a better fighter and human.
In the games, Liu Kang was set up as the franchise's Chosen One, who was destined to bring victory to Earthrealm with the defeat of Shang Tsung. He later went on to defeat the warlord Shao Kahn. In the most recent game, he was granted the rank of Fire God and tasked with reshaping reality for the better, making Kung Lao the new Chosen One.
With the death of his cousin, Liu's confidence was shattered, and a far cry from the hero seen in the games. But with Cole's words of encouragement, he was able to fight for his fallen family, and the fire burning within him took the form of a classic fatality, a dragon that set Kabal on fire. His victory was a symbolic first step for Liu to begin his path to becoming the true Chosen One.
With the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament approaching, Liu Kang has his work cut out to find more fighters while training for the competition. Deep down, he knows that Shang Tsung must pay for his crimes and when he becomes victorious against the sorcerer, he will have begun to fulfill his destiny, which began with the loss of Kung Lao.
Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Bridges, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Matilda Kimber as Emily Young and Laura Brent as Allison Young. The film is now in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max.