Mortal Kombat 2’s Ending Sets Up A High-Stakes Sequel
Shao Kahn has been defeated, but an even greater konflict looms in the distance.
Most people unfamiliar with Mortal Kombat would think that the overarching narrative of the series is just ninjas and sorcerers and thunder gods fighting each other ad nauseam, but they’d be surprised to know that it has one of the most convoluted storylines in all of gaming. The original era was pretty straightforward, if not a little shallow — from the original MK through MK3, the series revolved around the sinister forces of Outworld trying to invade Earthrealm, at first by winning tournaments that would decide the fate of our world, and then through deceitful manipulation of the rules.
The 3D games killed off main character and shaolin champion Liu Kang and introduced generic Big Bads to replace Outworld tyrant Shao Kahn until 2006’s Mortal Kombat: Armageddon culminated in a massive, apocalyptic final battle... that was retconned by 2011’s Mortal Kombat 9, a time-bending reboot of the series that led to the modern games taking place across multiple timelines.
The recently released movie, Mortal Kombat 2, is clearly pulling from the original canon of the games, especially MK2. Earthrealm’s champions have to face off against warriors who serve Shao Kahn to win the tournament and prevent a full-scale invasion of their realm. However, the film also borrows some inspiration from later games, and based on those deviations, we might have a good idea of what to expect when Mortal Kombat 3 inevitably hits theaters in a few years.
While mostly a throwback, certain aspects of MK2, like Baraka’s surprising hero turn, share more in common with the reboot games.
Mortal Kombat 2’s Ending Explained
Unlike in the games, where Shao Kahn is a near-insurmountable obstacle all on his own, he’s impossible to beat in the film thanks to Shinnok’s Amulet, a plot device that allowed the scheming sorcerer duo of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung to steal Raiden’s godly powers and transfer them in a manipulative plot involving the resurrected and corrupted revenant version of Kung Lao. Recognizing the impossible odds they face, Earthrealm’s champions concoct a plan to destroy Shinnok’s Amulet so they can fight Shao Kahn on even footing, a plan that backfires when they’re caught and the amulet is sent off to the Netherrealm with a resurrected Sub-Zero, aka Noob Saibot, for safekeeping.
Johnny Cage and Kano are forced to follow Noob to the Netherrealm, where they recruit Scorpion to help them vanquish his longtime foe. Meanwhile, Sonya Blade, Jax, and Liu Kang attempt to fight Shao Kahn anyway, to disastrous results: Jax is slaughtered, Sonya is beaten to near-death, and Liu Kang ascends on a whirlwind of fire to the heavens after he’s defeated.
Taking a page from Mortal Kombat 11, Kitana is the one who ultimately defeats Shao Kahn on-screen, an honor that traditionally goes to Liu Kang.
Meanwhile, after an extended battle that ends with Noob being bisected down the middle by Scorpion, he, Johnny, Kano, and former Shao Kahn loyalist-turned-ally Jade destroy the amulet, restoring Raiden’s powers and allowing Outworld’s despot to be challenged by the only one who deserves to defeat him. That would be Kitana, the princess of Edenia, who became his “adopted daughter” after he murdered her father and brainwashed her mother.
As Kitana and Shao Kahn face off, Raiden easily defeats Shang Tsung, who was only moments away from killing him while he was still vulnerable. Kitana finally takes revenge on her abuser by unmasking him in front of his subjects and splitting his head with her razor-bladed fans, earning her the title of Queen of Edenia. When the dust finally settles, only Johnny Cage and Sonya are left alive of Raiden’s Earthrealm champions, with Princess Kitana promising to help them rescue their deceased comrades from the Netherrealm.
What’s Next For Mortal Kombat?
If the films stick to the canon of the original games, then Mortal Kombat 3 will see Earthrealm besieged by a full-on apocalyptic Outworld invasion. In the games, that invasion is led by Shao Kahn himself; after his defeat at the hands of Liu Kang, he resurrects his corrupted Queen Sindel on Earth, which (for some reason) allows him to bypass the tournament rules and invade Earthrealm to reclaim her. Considering that he’s very dead on-screen, however, that makes things difficult.
The movies could merge the plots of MK3 and Mortal Kombat 4, which introduced the villainous fallen Elder God Shinnok. That seems likely, considering his amulet is Mortal Kombat 2’s major plot device. There’s another game that would probably make more sense to merge with an Outworld invasion plot, though: 2002’s Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, which involves Shang Tsung and Quan Chi teaming up and murdering Liu Kang in pursuit of resurrecting the mythic Dragon King Onaga and his army. Their lethal partnership is teased in the movie when they work together to absorb Raiden’s power into the amulet, and it would make sense to have them take over Outworld in Shao Kahn’s wake and plot the invasion of Earthrealm for their own gain.
Considering MK2’s body count, it’s all but guaranteed that Kung Lao won’t be the only character to get the evil revenant treatment.
Raiden and his team are down four champions, but a key part of MK2 is Kung Lao’s resurrection as a Revenant and Liu Kang’s guilt over not being able to save his soul. Revenants have existed as far back as the original game (Scorpion is technically the first), but were recontextualized in 2015’s Mortal Kombat X, when most of the champions who died in the climax of MK9 were resurrected under Quan Chi’s control. If Quan Chi and Shang Tsung are the main antagonists of Mortal Kombat 3, it’s all but guaranteed that characters like Jax and Cole Young will be resurrected under their control, and a big part of the film will be dedicated to Raiden searching for a way to rescue them.
As controversial as the new games and their multiple timelines have been with fans, it’s good that the films can stick to the original trilogy’s simplicity while also borrowing interesting concepts from the later games. Mortal Kombat 2 isn’t a perfect movie, but one thing it does well is expand the scope of the cinematic world. Hopefully, Mortal Kombat 3 will build on it and add fan-favorite characters and even higher stakes while further refining the brutal martial arts combat that has made the series such a beloved gaming mainstay.
