In giving context to the continuously growing roster of characters, yes, perhaps.

As a story, and a stanalone mythopoeia, definitely not. But MK is never intended to stand alone on it's own merits as a piece of literature. And that is why the movies better cut down to essentials.

Maybe he was a god who sided with Shinnok when he tried to take over the Earthrealm.. Now he s freed from Netherrealm.

Outworld has a sun... At least according to "Kahn's Arena" it does.

I would like to point out that, at the beginning of the trailer, they spell Kotal's last name as KHAN...not Kahn.

Yeah, I noticed that too; kinda lame especially for such a publicized event as the reveal. They probably didn't even realize it until it was too late.

I think they might have changed it to avoid people thinking they're related.

@Oracle..I agree.

I'm thinking it has something to do with Kotal's variation being on Sun God. If that's the case, there's probably going to be more intros than we're all thinking.

I'm personally hoping that he is protector of Outworld or something of the sort. Like how Raiden is protector of Earthrealm. I've always kinda thought hmm, why don't the other realms have "protectors"?

I think that maybe Kotal was or is like Raiden. Raiden stepped down as Elder God in Deadly Alliance. Maybe Kotal was once protector of Outworld and now that it is in disarray Kotal decides to step down from his position as elder god?

Who knows? What I do know is Kotal will probably be one of the more important characters in this games story. Hell everyone kept saying they wanted more "Gods" playable. Raiden, Kotal, and most likely Fujin. Wonder if we will get a Goddess as well?

Everyone seems to think that Kotal is evil. However, his and Raiden's interaction didn't seem hostile IMO. I know that doesn't mean he's good. However, let's not jump to conclusions and say he's evil either. He's possibly an Elder god who is just neutral in nature, but sides with Good to beat Shinnok's ass.

Exactly what part of "Elder Gods have never been the same thing as Lesser Gods, so they're all-powerful reality warpers while Lesser Gods are limited to element-portfolios" or "it's right there in Shinnok's origin how he was stripped of his powers and had to get new ones" doesn't make sense and sounds like "making up bullshit" to you?

Yeah, you can't just give him that last name without it meaning something regardless of whether it was misspelled. I've been wondering what his deal is since the moment I saw him. Love the look, but the move list hasn't been too exciting this far, though it's his background I'm most concerned about right now.

Not sure about that. Why even bother calling him "Kahn" (when he was introduced) or an alternate spelling, then? The name is too distinct in terms of the series.

According to an ambigous dialogue between Shujinko and Damashi in Mk Deception Shao Kahn was supposed to be the guardian god of Outworld. A similar reference is made in the official mk1 comic book of John Tobias, where it is stated that Shang Tsung was trying to conquer Earthrealm by account of his "Outworld gods".

The way I see it Kotal Kahn was one of the many enemies of Shao Kahn that has resurfaced after the emperor demise.

D'vorah is another one hiding from Shao Kahn.

Kotal is based on Huitzilopochtli, the aztec god of sacrifices (blood), war and briefly the owner of sun.

For the same reason they changed Kublai Kahn's name to Hsu Hao in the past.

"Kublai Khan" was never going to be Hsu Hao's final name because it's the name of an actual real world historical figure.

It was just a placeholder that meant "mongolian guy" like Ketchup, Mustard, Sandman, and Muchacha.
I'm sure that in Kotal's case, the video just has a typo.

I think hes a Sun God.

I think Blood God means cruel god, not literally The God of Blood.

Can we talk about how bad ass the line is when kotal kahn says "temporarily"
He jumped to my favorite new character in that instance.

Also, it is interesting that Raiden is in the P1 spot and Kotal speaks first is it not? Do you think NRS censored the conversation when Raiden speaks first on purpose? Maybe it reveals too much of the story? Raiden clearly is familiar with Kotal and there seems to be some bitterness/rivalry (perhaps points to Kotal being the god of sun too)

Kahn is a term to describe a leader, Not a last name. I think it is alluding to Kotal being the ruler of outworld, or at least the current regent of Outworld after Shao's demise.

The problem i have with Kotal is the name's authenticity. He is based off Aztec mythology tradition, yet after a quick scan on wikipedia, there is one glaring obvious problem. KOTAL KHAN is too pronounceable.

Let's take a look at some real Aztec god names and see the difference.

Tonatiuh, god of the Sun
Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire
Tlaltecuhtli, god of the earth
Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water,
Mictlantecuhtli, god of the Underworld
Quetzalcoatl, god of wisdom, life, knowledge, morning star (etc)
Xolotl, god of sunset, and brother to Quetzalcoatl
...to name a few.

I'm not saying they should have copied anything, but when referencing the source material it becomes obvious that there were SO MANY options, and using a name as confusingly familiar as 'Khan' was really stupid.

Even the Simpsons had a more convincing sounding name for their Olmec head statue; Xt'Tapalatakettle.

All this Kahn talk doesn't question me if this Kotal Kahn is related to Shao Kahn because I hope both Kahns are not related to one another. I kinda hope Kotal Kahn isn't related to Shao Kahn just for the sake of him not having a chance to be around again. Time for Shao Kahn to finally take a break from the series for once.

In Soul Calibur and DOA you can pick which side you want to start on so even though Raiden was on the left he might still have been P2.

That's a typical NRS-ism. Them hos not authentic.
But yeah his name should be Kotaltechutli or something but they probably changed it so the lowest common denominator could pronounce it.

He's not Aztec, he's just based on the Aztecs.

"Kotal" is probably based on "Coatl", as in Quetzlcoatl, but spelled more simply and easier to pronounce.

Kotal looks amazing. I can't wait to discover his story. Maybe he is from a different realm, one we have not heard of yet. I do think though that he has some past with Raiden.

But like so so heavily. Like more so than the other characters who are based off stuff that they actually aren't.

Well I definitely can't agree with that.

It's just that all the other characters based on something have been based on Chinese or Japanese stuff and that aesthetic been so common, for so long, that you no longer think of the original culture when you see it, you just think "generic Mortal Kombat"
Kotal sticks out to you because he's not based on something Asian for once.