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Biomedical Informatics Research, Liu NSF Fellowship... bmir.stanford.edu | Medicine Anti Cancer Herbs and Dr Liu Chinese Herbs Cancer Therapy... huldaclarkzappers.com | Quiet Contemplative (Liu Wei Di Huang Wan) calvindale.com | CMV retinitis by Dr. Lo Sheau Kang... sarawakeyecare.com |
For the Singaporean artist, see Liu Kang (artist).
Liu Kang is a video game character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. First appearing in Mortal Kombat Liu Kang is portrayed as a Shaolin monk who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to save his world, Earthrealm, from being destroyed due to having lost nine consecutive tournaments. Since his victory in the tournament, Liu Kang acts as defender from the Earthrealms along with the Earth's warriors and his mentor, the thunder god Raiden. In later games, Liu Kang is killed by the sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, but his soul continues protecting Earthrealm by using his body reanimated by Raiden. Liu Kang appears in most games as a playable character, and is also the lead character from Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks along with Kung Lao. He has also appeared in the live-action films from the series and the comic adaptations. Liu Kang's character was created to be the hero from the series, with most of his moves being less violent and easier to perform than the ones from other characters. Video game publications have commented on his character with some of them criticizing his gameplay and shouts while others noted him to be entertaining.[1][2] He has also been featured in pieces of merchandising based on the Mortal Kombat series including action-figures.
[edit] Conception and creationLiu Kang was originally going to be called Minamoto Yo Shin Soo. He was a Japanese mythological character, but John Tobias stated that they could not deal with the name.[3] One of his fighting styles is Jun Fan (which is Bruce Lee's real birth name), As stated on his MK: Armageddon bio card, Ed Boon mentioned that Liu Kang was designed to be the most easily "accessible" character, meaning that both casual and experienced gamers could play as him with little difficulty.[4] Liu Kang was the only character in the first game whose Fatality did not explicitly murder his opponent, and also without the background dimming. This was because Liu Kang was depicted therein as a Shaolin monk, who in general have strict beliefs regarding killing and murder. However, starting with Mortal Kombat II, he was given gory fatalities as he was thereafter depicted as a renegade monk who decided to grow his hair back, and who had "strong Shaolin beliefs, but was no longer a part of the Shaolin monks." In response to rumors that Liu Kang would die in Mortal Kombat II and therefore not make it into Mortal Kombat 3, Boon said, "It'd be like doing part three of Star Wars and not having Luke Skywalker in there. You don't do that."[3] His eventual death caused Dan Forden, the music composer of the series, to make a "funeral song" for Liu Kang as he felt saddened for his death. The soundtrack, named Liu Kang's Tomb, would be used in Deception in the arena that shows Liu Kang's tomb.[5] [edit] DesignIn the first game, Liu Kang was modeled after Bruce Lee, as he had short hair and went shirtless, with a threadbare outfit of only black pants and white shoes. In Mortal Kombat II, his outfit was enhanced with red stripes, and now included a red headband, black shoes, and studded wristguards. In Mortal Kombat 3, his hair was considerably longer, with the only alteration to his outfit being thin black leg strips wrapped above his ankles in order to give him a "sleeker" look for the game.[3] He was given a red tank top in addition to his usual costume in Mortal Kombat 4, but his alternate outfit was blue and featured him shirtless again.[6] His wardrobe from the third game was carried over into Deception and Armageddon, but due to his resurrection, his skin was ash gray, and he wore hooked chains around his wrists. In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, he sported a slightly altered version of his third costume, in addition to a championship belt adorned with the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem. [edit] In video gamesIntroduced in the first Mortal Kombat game as a Chinese Shaolin fighting monk, Liu Kang enters into the Mortal Kombat tournament in order to protect Earthrealm from being destroyed for having lost several tournaments.[7] During the tournament, Liu Kang defeats the host Shang Tsung, emerging as the new champion of Mortal Kombat.[8] In the sequel, Mortal Kombat II, Liu Kang finds many of his Shaolin killed in a vicious attack by a Tarkatan horde. Enraged, Liu Kang decides to travel to Outworld, backed by his friend Kung Lao to seek revenge.[9] At the tournament, he and Kung Lao meet Kitana, and Liu Kang begins to fall in love with her. After the matches that took place, Liu Kang fights Shao Kahn, eventually overpowering the emperor.[10] In Mortal Kombat 3, Liu Kang and his friends fight against Shao Khan's men which invaded Earthrealm.[11] Liu Kang eventually defeats Shao Kahn again, causing him and his forces to retreat back to Outworld.[12] By Mortal Kombat 4 Liu Kang discovers that Kitana has been captured by the Elder God Shinnok's forces and begins gathering Earth's warriors to defeat Shinnok.[13] Eventually, Liu Kang confronts Shinnok and once again emerges victorious with Kitana and her people having survived to the attack. However, he is unable to commit himself to a relationship due to his duty (protecting Earthrealm as the Champion of Mortal Kombat) while Kitana has to stay in Edenia/Outworld as reigning princess.[14] In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi join forces to kill Liu Kang, who is unplayable in the game.[15] By Mortal Kombat: Deception, a now corrupted Raiden reanimates Liu Kang's body and sends it on a rampage, causing his soul to attempt to control it.[16] The undead Liu Kang appears as a character that can only be unlocked through the Konquest Mode.[17] In the PlayStation Portable version of Deception, Mortal Kombat: Unchained, he is directly playable as the staff noted that it was very difficult to unlock him in Deception.[18] From there, Liu Kang enlists with the ninja Ermac to try and save his friends from Onaga. He accomplishes this task in Deception,[19] but by Mortal Kombat: Armageddon he is still unable to fully control his body.[20] Liu Kang is also the lead character from the action game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks along with Kung Lao. The game is a retelling from the storyline of Mortal Kombat II and features the two Shaolin Monks travelling to Outworld to find and defeat Shang Tsung, later ending in a fight with Shao Khan.[21] Liu Kang also stars in the crossover Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which features fights between characters from the Mortal Kombat and DC Comics universe. In the game, Liu appears as the protagonist from the first chapter of the Mortal Kombat story mode.[22] Co-creator from the series, John Tobias, commented that the fight he expected to see in the game was between Liu Kang and Batman as he noted their backstories to be very similar.[23] [edit] GameplayLiu specializes in kicks, with his most common move being flying across the screen and connect with a kick to the opponent's torso.[24] He also has a "Flying Forward Bicycle Kick" in which Liu Kang flies across the screen with a series of multiple kicks to the opponent's torso resembling pedaling a bicycle, hence the name. Another of his signature abilities is the Dragon Fire. With it Liu Kang sends a fiery flame in the shape of a dragon across the screen out of his hands at his opponent.[24] After Mortal Kombat II, he gains the ability to perform this while crouching and in the air, save for Deception and Armageddon.[25] Liu Kang's first finishing move is the fatality Shaolin Uppercut. With it Liu Kang performs a butterfly kick on his opponent, before hitting an uppercut that knocks them into the air for several seconds.[24] In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, there were two versions; one where the victim explodes to pieces upon impact and the original, in which the opponent is torn to pieces upon falling to the ground. In another signature fatality he morphs into a large dragon, chomping the upper body of his opponent.[26] Developer John Vogel noted this fatality to be his favourite since he comments people never expect to see something so big in the fighting games.[27] This Fatality was turned into an Animality in Mortal Kombat 3 and back into a normal fatality in Mortal Kombat 4. In the Game Boy and Game Gear versions of Mortal Kombat II, he torches the opponent with a fireball. He also has a fatality in which he disappears and then a Mortal Kombat arcade game machine drops down and crushes his opponent.[25] [edit] Cultural impact[edit] In other media Mortal Kombat Liu Kang is the main hero in both Mortal Kombat movies, and was played by Robin Shou. In the first film, he takes part in the tournament out of guilt over his brother's death, and defeats Shang Tsung in final combat.[28] Shou, along with Talisa Soto, was one of only two actors to reprise their roles in the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (Keith Cooke, who played Reptile, came back as well, but as the new Sub-Zero).[29] Liu Kang was one of the lead characters in the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and was voiced by Brian Tochi. He was not the main protagonist therein as opposed to the game storyline, instead sharing this role with several other Earthrealm heroes.[30] In the animated film Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, Liu Kang appears as one of the main characters.[31] Liu Kang was the main protagonist of Malibu Comics' adaptation of the Mortal Kombat series. In the first miniseries, Blood & Thunder, his backstory was mostly kept intact as a Shaolin monk out to restore the tournament to their righteous owners, with the only difference being that he was not 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. They were capable of fusing their bodies and minds into one being called Siang. After they are killed by Goro in the third issue, Liu Kang becomes the Shaolin's only hope in defeating Shang Tsung.[32] The following miniseries, Battlewave, stated that Liu Kang won the first tournament after defeating Goro, which never appeared in the B&T miniseries. He 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 from 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.[33] [edit] Promotion and receptionIn 1996, Toy Island published a Liu Kang action figure which had a white shirt.[34] Two Liu Kang action figures from Shaolin Monks were released by Jazwares. Apart from being flexible, both figures included different types of weapons such as swords and axes.[35][36] GameSpot featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero".[37] Video game publications have commented on his character, adding praise and criticism. Liu Kang was ranked number ninety-four on UGO.com's "Top 100 Heroes of All Time" list, noting his role in the Mortal Kombat series as well as character depth.[38] IGN writer Douglass C. Perry wrote in his review of Shaolin Monks that he preferred Liu Kang over Kung Lao as a playable character because of his "intuitive fighting moves,"[2] adding that his shouts were "annoying" yet "strangely pleasing."[39] Robert Workman from GameDaily also complained on his voice, saying that "Liu Kang screams out like a chicken". He added the music from Shaolin Monks was as good, "and a bit more soothing on the ears that Liu Kang's war cries".[40] Like all the characters from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Liu Kang was selected to be a playable character based on his popularity.[41] Eurogamer reviewer Tom Bramwell commented that Liu Kang's kicks are ridiculous, while their intensified versions from Shaolin Monks are demented.[1] His redesign in Mortal Kombat: Deception was praised by GameSpot for being one of the best ones from the title.[42] As the main character from the series, IGN's Jesse Schedeen noted that "it just wouldn't be right having a game without him". She also liked Liu Kang's resurrection in the series, noting that him to be as fierce as the DC characters from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.[43] [edit] References
Categories: Mortal Kombat characters | Fictional martial artists | Fictional Buddhist monks | Fictional undead | Fictional Jeet Kune Do practitioners | Fictional wushu practitioners | Film characters | Fictional characters based on real people | 1992 introductions | Fictional Chinese people | Zombies and revenants in fiction | Male video game characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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