The following contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat 1.
Summary
- In Mortal Kombat 1, Liu Kang and Raiden emerge as Earthrealm's champions, aided by their fellow Shaolin monk Kung Lao in their battle against Shang Tsung.
- Kung Lao's ego and selfishness are evident in his interactions with his "brother" Raiden and his attempt to train a younger Shujinko, leading to betrayal and the potential threat to Earthrealm.
- Kung Lao may not have the help of Raiden to heal and guide him in the future; Raiden is dealing with his own fate and harboring anger and dark desires. Kung Lao's arrogance and refusal to change could have negative consequences for him and those around him.
As Mortal Kombat 1 promised, many major characters had new destinies. In Liu Kang's new world, Raiden was now Earthrealm's champion and someone the Fire God hoped would help stave off incursions from enemies. Thankfully, Raiden had help from his fellow Shaolin monks, with Kung Lao present as a brother-in-arms.
Both were warriors Liu Kang trusted in the war against the Titan Shang Tsung. Luckily, Mortal Kombat 1's ending has the heroes winning and safeguarding their reality — for now. However, while Liu Kang is leaning on Kung Lao just as much as Raiden, Kung Lao's individual ending teases trouble to come for the alliance.
Mortal Kombat 1's Kung Lao Botches Shujinko's Training
In MK lore, Shujinko was the warrior who could mimic many other fighters' abilities. The old man was duped, however, by Onaga and helped free the Dragon King inadvertently. He wanted to be a hero, but his narcissism got in the way, resulting in the past era going through this mini-apocalypse. While the Kameo feature has the older Shujinko as an assist character, Kung Lao's ending after his tower mode has him training a younger Shujinko.
This is now the prime Shujinko, who can still mimic other folks' talents and who's one of the best warriors Kung Lao has seen. Unfortunately, Kung Lao's own ego takes center stage as he tries to train Shujinko on his own. The fighter develops his own haughty edge, eventually becoming a threat to Earthrealm. It's a nasty betrayal that ends with Shujinko using Raiden, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang's powers against them. The scrap ends on a dark note, with Liu Kang taking his memories and skills away.
As this new initiate, Shujinko has been brainwashed for a restart. As they resume training, Kung Lao accepts his flaws as a teacher and wants Raiden to aid him. But if Shujinko finds out he's been rebooted and stripped of choice and agency, he could become an enemy once more in the Mortal Kombat 1 sequel. He's basically Shang Tsung without the shape-shifting, so hopefully, Liu Kang can pacify things when the cat's out of the bag. Someone so powerful won't like being shackled, even if it's by a Fire God trying to protect this reality. What's more, Shujinko could decide to kill Kung Lao for letting this intrusion and overall lie occur.
Mortal Kombat 1's Kung Lao Isn't the Best Mentor
Over the years, MK has shifted Kung Lao into being egoistical. It showed in the MKX and MK11 eras — a far cry from the Great Kung Lao who won the championship in the old era. Even his descendant in MK2 had respect, honor, and a code. They used the White Lotus to remain humble. But in addition to modern games, the MK movie Warner Bros. recently made had Kung Lao being more chatty and cheeky.
Kung Lao's the same in the MK1 era, growing jealous that Raiden's the champ. He tries to eke out a friendly rivalry with his "brother," but Raiden easily wins that feud to become Liu Kang's Chosen One. Still, it kept gnawing at Kung Lao, with enemies adamant in the opening round's chats that he wasn't all that. The fact Kung Lao didn't lose this prideful edge and came from a place of self with Shujinko doubles down on why he isn't fit to be a teacher.
Kung Lao's just as selfish as Shujinko, wanting power, glory, and, perhaps, fame. This means the mentor isn't a team player, which someone as intuitive as Shujinko would pick up on. Thus, it's easy to see this rubbing off on Shujinko and him thinking he doesn't have to listen to anyone. He'd simply be following Kung Lao as a role model. While it's not intentional, Kung Lao has to shoulder some blame. He ought to have used Raiden because Liu Kang has remained adamant they're a team. For Kung Lao to ignore this and train such a dangerous weapon, he has a lot of maturing to do to scrub his envy and avarice.
Mortal Kombat 1's Kung Lao May Not Have Help to Heal
Fans assume Kung Lao can use Raiden to heal. They've been friends since childhood, so it's understandable to think that. But while Raiden did help guide Kung Lao in MK1, Raiden will be busy in the future. He's not just Earthrealm's champion; he's figuring his own fate out. In the MK1 Raiden ending, he's joined Scorpion and the Shirai Ryu to hone his rage. He's angry Liu Kang changed him from being a god, so he wants to harness the dark side more.
The problem is that a Kung Lao trying to evolve won't upgrade with this bitter Raiden. There's no telling if Raiden will even be around, but honestly, that toxicity and corrosive attitude won't elevate Kung Lao. Raiden could instead poison him by insisting they channel their former selves before Liu Kang's rewrite. If Kung Lao decides to become even more arrogant, knowing how the past iterations were, it's unlikely he'll walk it back. It'll mess up his atonement, as well as the new Raiden who is jealous of the might of the Dark Raiden that Liu Kang had to erase.
It's all domino effects, tumbling that can result in these masters leaving a tragic impression on Shujinko. This can catalyze Shujinko into remembering his mind-wipe, leading to a vendetta. This illustrates actions and consequences, proving the Shaolin warriors are flawed and vulnerable. Ultimately, fans would like it if they all put their narcissism aside. If Kung Lao does so first, he can help Raiden's fury and Shujinko's hot-headed behavior. In the process, he'd wise up and transform into an adult, but as it stands, Kung Lao's indecisive on what road lies ahead. He feels like he's gambling at present, which can sadly backfire and bring down a key section of the Fire God's defense plan.
Mortal Kombat 1 (Standard Edition) is now available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.