Liu Kang

Creation and design

Original concept sketches for a proposed Midway Games fighting title by artist and lead game designer John Tobias featured a Japanese character named Minamoto Yoshitsune. However, according to Tobias, during production of what would become Mortal Kombat, the Midway staff "just couldn't deal with the name". The character was renamed Liu Kang as a nod to actor Gordon Liu, who starred in the 1978 film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. His ethnicity was subsequently changed to Chinese and he "was originally going to be a traditional monk – bald and in robes". Liu Kang was played by Korean actor and martial artist Ho-Sung Pak in the first two games, but Pak's refusal to shave his head resulted in the character instead being modeled after Bruce Lee and depicted as "a renegade monk [who] grew his hair back". Tobias additionally drew inspiration from the 1973 film Enter the Dragon in developing Liu Kang's backstory.

Liu Kang's design in the first game had him shirtless with short hair, while wearing only black pants and white shoes. Starting with Mortal Kombat II, his outfit incorporated a red palette by way of single vertical stripes on his pants and a matching headband, in addition to black shoes and studded wrist guards; the MKII introduction cutscene shows a background fight of him in his original attire defeating old Shang Tsung while in the foreground he is shown in his updated costume. Mortal Kombat 3 contained minor changes to the character's depiction, with longer hair and thin black leg strips wrapped above his ankles in order to give him a "sleeker" look. In a 1995 interview, lead series programmer Ed Boon, discussing the development team's immediate decision to include Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 3, said: "It'd be like doing part three of Star Wars and not having Luke Skywalker in there. You don't do that."

This design was carried over into Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, but due to his resurrection as a zombie, his skin was ash gray and he wore hooked chains around his wrists; his alternate costume featured him as a living person. The character's death in the previous game, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, inspired the composition of a "funeral song" by series music composer Dan Forden, titled "Liu Kang's Tomb", and was included in Deception in the arena containing his tomb. After the developers had received feedback that unlocking him in Deception had proved difficult, Liu Kang became a regular playable character in the PlayStation Portable port Unchained. Like the other characters chosen for the 2008 crossover game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Liu Kang was added to the game's roster because of his popularity. He retained his Mortal Kombat 3 design that was accentuated with a championship belt adorned with the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem.

Gameplay

Liu Kang was designed as a character that both casual and experienced gamers could play with little difficulty. He specializes in kicks, with his most common being a straight flying kick that launches him across the screen to hit his opponent's torso. Mortal Kombat II introduced another of his signature special moves, the "Bicycle Kick", which propels him across the screen with a flurry of kicks that resemble the pedaling of a bicycle and again target the opponent's midsection. His projectile attack sends a fireball, in the shape of a Chinese dragon shooting from his hands toward his opponent. This move was adapted in future games to allow use of it while crouching or jumping.

His first Fatality (a finishing move that executes defeated opponents), titled "Shaolin Uppercut", has him perform a butterfly kick (often mistaken for a cartwheel) on his opponent before connecting with an uppercut that knocks them offscreen, and then landing. According to Tobias, the background not darkening during the finisher was a glitch that was kept in and rationalized as symbolizing Liu Kang's noble motivations. The "Shaolin Uppercut" appeared only once more in Mortal Kombat II, as Liu Kang was given more graphic Fatalities thereafter because he was depicted by Midway as having "strong Shaolin beliefs, but was no longer a part of the Shaolin monks". In contrast to the "Shaolin Uppercut", the "Dragon" Fatality was designed to instantly kill the opponent in order to convey the character's sense of revenge against his nemesis Shang Tsung, who had killed his fellow Shaolin monks in the storyline of Mortal Kombat II, and has become his signature finisher. Series co-designer John Vogel called it his favorite Fatality because of how it changed Liu Kang's appearance. His second Fatality in Mortal Kombat 3 has him vanishing and then dropping a Mortal Kombat arcade machine onto his opponent, crushing them.

Appearances

Mortal Kombat games

Liu Kang is introduced in the original Mortal Kombat game as a Chinese Shaolin kung fu monk, representing his fellow Shaolin to defeat tournament host, nefarious sorcerer Shang Tsung. In the sequel Mortal Kombat II (1993), Liu Kang seeks revenge against Shao Kahn, emperor of the otherworldly realm of Outworld and Shang Tsung's master who had his comrades killed. Although Liu Kang is victorious, he is forced to face the Emperor again as he invades Earthrealm through in Mortal Kombat 3 (1995). In Mortal Kombat 4 (1997), Liu Kang fights against the disgraced Elder God Shinnok's forces to save Princess Kitana, with whom he is in love. Following Shinnnok's defeat Kitana then invites Liu Kang to Edenia, but he is unable to commit to a relationship due to his duty as Earthrealm's champion.

Liu Kang becomes unplayable for the first and only time in the Mortal Kombat series in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002), when the titular partnership of Shang Tsung and fellow sorcerer Quan Chi take his life. In Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004), Raiden reanimates Liu Kang's corpse and sends it on a murderous rampage, leaving his spirit to attempt to regain control in with Ermac's help and help his undead allies. The renanimated Liu Kang form is playable but as a secret character unlocked by players only during a specific time and date in the game's training mode. Although Liu Kang has not fully regained control of his body in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006), he is still playable.

Along with Kung Lao, Liu Kang is the lead character in the 2005 spin-off action-adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, which serves as a retelling of the events leading up to Mortal Kombat II and features the two Shaolin monks traveling to Outworld to find and defeat Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn while rescuing Kitana and other allies along the way.

Liu Kang is among the eleven characters representing the Mortal Kombat franchise in the title Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008), which features fights between characters from the Mortal Kombat and DC Comics universes. In this game, Liu Kang appears as the protagonist of the first chapter of the Mortal Kombat story mode. Tobias said he wanted to see the fight between Liu Kang and Batman, as he noted their backstories are very similar because both had attempted to help their respective leaders regain their senses.

In the Mortal Kombat reboot (2011), which is a retelling of the first three games, Liu Kang reprises his role from the first three tournaments as one of Raiden's chosen warriors. Although Raiden's visions of his death and end of the realms make him believe Liu Kang has to kill Shao Kahn, he later realizes Kahn must win to be punished instead. Liu Kang loses his faith in Raiden's visions after his friends' deaths and is accidentally killed in combat by his mentor. Liu Kang returns in Mortal Kombat X as Quan Chi's undead revenant, serving Shinnok to enact revenge on Raiden and the Elder Gods. Following Quan Chi's death and Shinnok's defeat, he and Kitana become the new rulers of Netherrealm. In Mortal Kombat 11, Liu Kang appears as both as undead and as a younger Shaolin created by the antagonistic keeper of time, Kronika. Upon realizing they are meant to be enemies, Raiden fuses with both Liu Kangs, giving him divine powers and redemption. The new Fire God Liu Kang storms Kronika's keep and kills her in battle. In the DLC story expansion Aftermath, Liu Kang erases Shang Tsung who seeks to create his own era. The God decides to train the Shaolin.

Other media

Liu Kang was the hero of the comic book adaptation of the Mortal Kombat series by Malibu Comics. In the first miniseries, Blood and Thunder, his backstory was mostly kept intact as a Shaolin monk attempting to restore the tournament to its rightful owners. The miniseries dirverged from the videogames in not making Liu Kang the chosen one to defeat Goro, which instead fell on twin monk brothers named Sing and Sang, two original characters created specifically for the comics. After they are killed by Goro in the third issue, Liu Kang becomes the Shaolin's only hope in defeating Shang Tsung. The following miniseries, Battlewave, has Liu Kang win the first tournament after defeating Goro. He then returns to his normal life as an architect in Chicago, having left the Order of Light before the events of the first series. However, he suffers constant attacks by an unknown force of ninjas and later receives help from Johnny Cage's bodyguard Bo when Goro ambushes him in an office building. Eventually, he decides to travel to Outworld, realizing that he cannot avoid Mortal Kombat.

Liu Kang is the main protagonist of the 1995 Mortal Kombat film, in which he is played by Robin Shou. Director Paul W. S. Anderson wanted Liu Kang's character to be "really engaging" and cast Shou, noting his skill in martial arts. Anderson compared Shou with Jackie Chan, noting that he started his career in Hong Kong working as a stuntman, including with Chan. In the film, Liu Kang takes part in the tournament out of guilt over his brother's death at the hands of Shang Tsung. Raiden recruits Liu Kang on the journey to Shang Tsung's island, where he helps him get over his brother's death and defeat the sorcerer. The relationship between Liu Kang and Kitana is portrayed as more metaphysical than romantic. Shou said that in the original script he "was supposed to fall in love with Talisa Soto [Kitana]. I was looking forward to it, but they thought we have so much action, we don't want to add romance to it. They cut it out." Randy Hamilton voiced Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, a straight-to-video animated prequel released four months prior to the film.

Shou and Talisa Soto (Kitana) were the only two actors to reprise their roles from the first film in the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation. In the sequel, Liu Kang joins the Earthrealm warriors to stop Shao Kahn. Shou stated that he felt pressure while filming to trying to find a style between American and Hong Kong artist, such as Jet Li and Steven Seagal. According to Chris Conrad, who played Cage, "Robin and Talisa were very, very cool. It's a fun, well developed franchise. Robin and Talisa and the entire cast was just so pleasant and fun to be around." Thai actor and martial artist Tony Jaa was a stunt double for Shou.

Reception

The character has received mostly mixed positive response by gaming publications. Digital Spy compared him with Street Fighter character Ryu, stating that while both are "kind of dull", they develop appealing techniques across their respective series. GamesRadar+ referred to him as one of gaming's various "kickass Bruce Lee clones", citing his similarities with Bruce Lee and noting his shouts. The A.V. Club compared Liu Kang's relationship with Kitana to the titular characters in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), noting how the games often give them proper scenes despite the franchise being focused on violent battles. There was also commentary about Liu Kang's moves. GameDaily complained about the character's voice, saying that "Liu Kang screams out like a chicken"; IGN's Douglas Perry wrote that he preferred Liu Kang over Kung Lao as a playable character in Shaolin Monks because of his "intuitive fighting moves", adding that his shouts were "annoying" yet "strangely pleasing". GamesRadar+ wrote that "the strange squeals he emits during his trademark Bicycle Kick move are unforgettable".

Some critics have condemned the Mortal Kombat series racist, especially regarding its Asian characters. Guy Aoki, the president of the advocacy group Media Action Network for Asian Americans, rebuked Mortal Kombat II in 1994 for allegedly perpetuating existing stereotypes of Asians as martial arts experts including Liu Kang. Allyne Mills, publicist for the game's publisher Acclaim Entertainment, answered: "This is a fantasy game, with all different characters. This is a martial arts game which comes from Asia. The game was not created to foster stereotypes." The characters' racial diversity and the inclusion of female characters were also criticized by the psychologists Patricia Marks Greenfield and Rodney R. Cocking in their 1996 book Interacting with Video, writing they "cannot assume that this greater diversity represents a more progressive identity politics, for one could argue that it merely increases the racist and sexist potential of the individual fights." In Mortal Kombat: Games of Death, David Church wrote that Liu Kang and Shang Tsung were obvious references to Lee and Han from Enter the Dragon, noting Liu Kang's high-pitched vocalizations, Fatality moves, usage of Jeet Kune Do, and exaggerated kung fu style. Liu Kang's dragon Fatality has been described as one of the best Fatalities in the series, while the arcade throw has been criticized as a failed attempt at meta-humor. They have also praised his wormhole fatality in the 2023 Mortal Kombat 1, with some even calling it their favourite Fatality in the game, according to TheGamer, due to the notable gore performed on the enemy.