Kung Lao


Kung Lao is a fictional character in the media franchise Mortal Kombat. A major hero in the Mortal Kombat series, introduced as a player character in the fighting game Mortal Kombat II in 1993. He is a former member of the White Lotus Society who stands in the shadow of his ancestor, the Great Kung Lao. Kung Lao is the brother-like friend of the series' male protagonist named Liu Kang and together they were the main characters and heroes of the spin-off game . He gained considerable popularity and favorable critical reception, in large part because of his famous hat, which doubles as a weapon.

Appearances

Video games

Introduced in Mortal Kombat II, Kung Lao is one of the last known descendants of the Great Kung Lao, a Champion of Mortal Kombat who lost the title and his life to the Shokan Prince Goro 500 years previously, resulting in the start of corrupt sorcerer Shang Tsung's rule over the tournament. Kung Lao was originally chosen to represent the Shaolin in the Mortal Kombat tournament, but he declined due to the consequences of becoming champion. As a result, his friend Liu Kang was chosen and emerged as the winner. When a portal leading to the otherworldly dimension Outworld was opened and the Shaolin temple was attacked by Baraka and his Tarkatan soldiers, Liu Kang and Kung Lao resolved to travel through the portal themselves and avenge their fallen Shaolin brothers. Kung Lao's ultimate goal however was to rebuild the White Lotus Society at the Wu Shi Academy in order to train a new generation of warriors for the coming ages. Following Liu Kang's victory over the Outworld tyrant Shao Kahn, the monks returned to Earth and began training the next generation of Shaolin warriors.
When Shao Kahn invaded Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat 3, Kung Lao had to temporarily scrap his plans for reforming the White Lotus Society. While Kung Lao faced the Kahn in battle, he was ultimately defeated and believed to have died. Enraged by his friend's apparent death, Liu Kang challenged Shao Kahn and defeated him a second time.
With Outworld driven back during Mortal Kombat Gold, Kung Lao decided not to return to the Shaolin; allowing everyone to believe that he was dead so he live a life of peace in respect to the beliefs of his ancestors. This would not last long however, as he was drawn away from his newfound peace to help fight against the fallen Elder God Shinnok's forces when word reached him that Goro was still alive. After Shinnok's defeat, Kung Lao attacked Goro with a ceremonial strike of vengeance for the Great Kung Lao's death. With this act, the two warriors shook hands, ending their conflict.
After enjoying peace for a few years, ', when Shang Tsung allied himself with fellow sorcerer Quan Chi to murder Liu Kang. Kung Lao found his corpse and after the thunder god Raiden brought up him up to speed on what happened, an enraged Kung Lao vowed revenge; abandoning his pacifist Shaolin beliefs once more. However, he believed his current skills were insufficient to defeat the Deadly Alliance after meeting with several other Earthrealm warriors and traveling to Outworld. Along the way, Kung Lao sought out advice and training from Outworld martial arts teacher Bo' Rai Cho. However, this would not be enough, as Kung Lao and most of his allies fell to the Deadly Alliance before they were resurrected by the dragon king Onaga to become his slaves during the events of '. He and the rest of his brainwashed allies were later released from Onaga's spell by Liu Kang and reformed ninja Ermac.
In the action-adventure game ', an alternate depiction of the events between the first and second Mortal Kombat games, Kung Lao's character was explored to a greater degree than had been shown in previous titles. In this game, he is portrayed as feeling almost resentful of Liu Kang's victory in the Shaolin tournament. Though they are shown to be friends, Kung Lao constantly baits his fellow Shaolin monk, especially regarding Princess Kitana, and the tournament that Shang Tsung disguised as Raiden has sent them to compete in. A rivalry between the two monks was hence established for the first time. As the two fighters defeated Shang Tsung's warriors, they formed a race of sorts to become the Champion of Mortal Kombat. Kung Lao, especially, took time to gloat about how he will win. This rivalry escalated until the two warriors become convinced that the other has been corrupted by Outworld.
The wind god Fujin's bio for ' describes Kung Lao as having joined forces with him to bring their former comrades Raiden and Liu Kang under control, with the God of Thunder becoming "as ruthless as Shao Kahn" and Liu Kang's corpse selectively slaying various people. Fujin then goes on to state in his bio that if no solution was found to revert the two corrupted warriors back to normal, both he and Kung Lao would be forced to finish them. During the course of the game, Kung Lao kills Baraka in battle, but is slain by Shinnok's clone.
In the rebooted continuity of Mortal Kombat, Raiden has been given foreboding visions from his future self and attempting to change the timeline of events that lead to Armageddon. He allows Kung Lao to fight in the second tournament, believing that he is the one who must win. Kung Lao defeats Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, and the Shokan Kintaro, but he is killed by Shao Kahn. This enrages Liu Kang, who mortally wounds the tyrant in retaliation. Following Shao Kahn's failed invasion of Earthrealm, Kung Lao was resurrected as one of Quan Chi's undead revenant slaves. Kung Lao's non-canonical ending shows him at his ancestor's burial site with Raiden, where he is given a vision of the past that reveals he is the reincarnation of the Great Kung Lao.
Kung Lao returns in Mortal Kombat X, continuing to serve Quan Chi and Shinnok in the Netherrealm. His younger cousin, Kung Jin, appears in the story as a thief turned Shaolin archer and member of the Special Forces after his family fell on hard times following Kung Lao's death.
In Mortal Kombat 11, past iterations of Kung Lao and Liu Kang were brought to the present due to the machinations of the keeper of time Kronika. After learning the Shaolin Temple was attacked by Kronika's forces, they headed out to investigate, only to encounter their revenant selves and fail to stop Kronika's henchman Geras from stealing vials of Earth's lifeforce. They later helped Kitana defeat Shao Kahn and lead the surviving Shaolin monks alongside the combined Earthrealm/Outworld armies in assaulting Kronika's Keep while their revenants attempt to stop them. In his non-canonical arcade ending, Kung Lao used Kronika's Hourglass to save the Great Kung Lao from his defeat at Goro's hands. Within years, the Great Kung Lao became the undisputed Mortal Kombat champion. Millions of people later join the White Lotus Society and inspired rebels to mutiny against Shao Kahn, bringing peace to the realms. By the time Onaga awakens, he is no match for Kung Lao's power.

Design and gameplay

As stated in Kung Lao's bio card that after the first Mortal Kombat game, the creators wanted a monk character other than Liu Kang. According to Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias, Kung Lao's hat was inspired by the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger, in which a villain Oddjob threw his special derby hat as a deadly weapon. Kung Lao was portrayed by Anthony Marquez in Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3; Ed Boon said Marquez was as "one of the best martial artists we worked with."
Kung Lao can be seen in Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3, and Shaolin Monks wearing the Chinese character which means military/wu shu/martial arts. However, when asked about this character, John Tobias stated that it is Chinese for "war".
Kung Lao's attacks are based on wind-type moves. His most notable attack is the Hat Toss, which could be directed in Mortal Kombat II, but could not be directed since Mortal Kombat Gold, until Mortal Kombat . Many of his Fatalities involve the use of his hat to some extent, such as slicing the body in half and decapitation.
According to Prima Games, Kung Lao is one of the cheapest Mortal Kombat characters, where they observe "He can combo almost any jumping attack into his Dive Kick. He even has multiple projectile attacks, one of which he can aim up or down, meaning you can't reliably crouch under or jump over it. In Mortal Kombat 3, he even had one of the longest dial-a-combos, because his damage clearly wasn't high enough already."

In other media

Kung Lao made several appearances in Malibu's' Mortal Kombat comic series. His story is slightly altered, stating he is an exile in Outworld due to the failure of his ancestor, and the fall of his lineage. During the comics, he shares a very close relation with Kitana. During the Blood & Thunder miniseries he has a minor participation rescuing a near-death Liu Kang after he was stabbed by Kano. In the Battlewave miniseries, he joins with Kitana, Baraka and Sub-Zero in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor Shao Kahn. He was also featured in his own one-shot issue from Malibu in the summer of 1995. The comic, entitled "Rising Son", showed his struggle against Shang Tsung and his shapeshifting mind tricks, using his friends' forms as well as his ancestor's form to kill him.
Kung Lao is mentioned by name in the first Mortal Kombat film. When Liu Kang challenges Shang Tsung to Mortal Kombat, he calls himself a "descendant of Kung Lao." The Great Kung Lao briefly appeared in the film's animated prequel ' during a flashback sequence detailing his battle with Goro and ultimate defeat at the hands of the Shokan warrior.
Kung Lao was also the centerpiece of Jeff Rovin's novelization of the first Mortal Kombat game, but his description therein completely differed from that of the games. In the novel, he is depicted as being tall, bald save for a queue of long black hair, barefoot, and wearing a long white robe.
Kung Lao appears in ' as of season 2, portrayed by Mark Dacascos.
Max Huang, a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, will portray Kung Lao in the upcoming Mortal Kombat film reboot, which is set to be released March 5, 2021.

Great Kung Lao

The Great Kung Lao was raised in the Order of Light, a monastery of Shaolin monks. While he lived happily with his family and friends, he prepared his entire life to fight in the Mortal Kombat tournament. He was trained thoroughly under the monastery’s martial artists, teaching him moves many would think impossible. All of Kung Lao's training made him the monastery’s best fighter. Being the first person from Earthrealm to represent the Order of Light, he would do battle with the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung 500 years before Liu Kang would do the same. Despite Shang Tsung having the advantage of winning nine consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments, Kung Lao defeated him and became the ageless Grand Champion, saving Earthrealm in the process. While it is common for the victor to take his opponent's life, Kung Lao spared the sorcerer. Fifty years later, he was defeated in by the Shokan prince Goro before Shang Tsung returned to take his soul. In Deception the Great Kung Lao's soul was presumed to have been freed after Shang Tsung was killed by Raiden's failed attempt to destroy the Dragon King Onaga, giving the Shaolin monk peace after more than five centuries of torment. In the good ending of the DLC expansion Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, Fire God Liu Kang goes back in time to meet the Great Kung Lao and give him special training for his future battles.
The Great Kung Lao was featured in the television show as the main protagonist and was portrayed by Paolo Montalbán. He is the great-great-great-grandfather of Kung Lao and Liu Kang, who follow his teachings. After becoming Grand Champion, the thunder god Raiden tells him that, because he was the last defending warrior of Earthrealm, Lao is now destined to train new warriors to compete against Kahn's forces for the next Mortal Kombat. He initially rejects this responsibility because he desired to marry his girlfriend Jen, despite her father's refusal. While this took place, Shang Tsung, who was now imprisoned in the Cobalt Mines by Shao Kahn after he failed to beat Kung Lao, sought his revenge and sends the undead warrior Scorpion to kill Kung Lao. Scorpion fails to defeat Kung Lao, but manages to kill Jen during the battle. After losing her, Kung Lao commits to training new warriors to defend Earthrealm and fight in Mortal Kombat when the time comes. He is joined by Jen’s bodyguard Siro and by Taja, a thief who saved Kung Lao's life from Jen’s father. Kung Lao is killed by the Shadow Priests along with Taja and Siro in the final episode of Konquest.

Reception

Despite being stated as a fan favorite by CNET in 2006, he has been referred to as an "obscure" character by CBS that same year. In 2008, IGN listed him as a character they would like to see as downloadable content for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, noting him to be a fan favorite character and praising his appearance and his decapitating moves made with his hat. In 2010, IGN mistakenly noted Kung Lao as Liu Kang's brother and died early in the film and said that Liu Kang and Kung Lao make the franchise "at its best" when they join forces. In UGO's 2012 list of the top Mortal Kombat characters, Kung Lao placed fifth. The readers of Dorkly voted him the series' eighth greatest character in a 2013 poll. The character was parodied by Iron Galaxy Studios with 2013's Divekick female character Kung Pao.
Much of the reception regarded his Fatality moves and his famous hat. In a CNET review of Shaolin Monks, it was stated that Kung Lao's body-dividing Fatality "simply doesn't get old." This Fatality was the only death move from the Mortal Kombat series added to the "Top 10 Death Moves" segment of the GamesMaster Gore Special episode and was voted at number four with a comment that no such list "will be complete without a death move from Mortal Kombat, but with so many to choose from, we ended up with a split decision." In 2009, GamePro listed Kung Lao's hat as the ninth best piece of headwear in gaming. His "Bunny Beatdown" from the same game was ranked as the 43rd craziest finishing move in the gaming by Complex.com in 2010, while the hat slice was ranked fifth. That same year, Kung Lao's hat splice Fatality ranked as the 35th most gruesome finishing move ever by UGO.com. Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon commented that Kung Lao's MK2011 'buzzsaw-on-the-ground' was "probably the most painful-looking Fatality ever made;" it was included by FHM on their list of nine most brutal Fatalities in the game. In 2012, Cheat Code Central's Shelby Reiches included the "Jewel Splitter" Fatality among the four worst cinematic scenes in games, commenting: "Every time he does this to a male fighter, I can hardly watch. I try not to fight against Kung Lao anymore." That same year, IGN ranked his hat as 79th top weapon in video game history.