Frankly, I don't believe Liu Kang was ever the "Ryu" of Mortal Kombat.
Obviously, from a marketing/popularity standpoint, MK's "Ryu" has been Scorpion and/or Sub-Zero....but from a standpoint of "Ryu" in the sense of he's the character whose journey we follow and it's really his story that is the core of everything.......still not Liu Kang. I would point towards Sub-Zero on that one.

Yeah, Liu Kang was main hero....in perhaps the simplest and most basic definition of the term: he was the dude who saved the day in the end. Ideally, the character or characters regarded a primary protagonists in a story are the ones who encounter the most conflict and receive the most development....or even, their presence inspires conflict or development in other characters.

And in the department, Liu Kang has only ever been the bare minimum. His backstory is shallow, development minor, conflicts small, and interaction with other characters one-dimensional. In this department, Liu was easily overshadowed by characters such as the aforementioned Sub-Zero or Kitana, Scorpion, and even Kung Lao & Reptile.

He comes across as a plot device. We follow characters like Sub-Zero and Kitana on their journeys and watch as they grow and develop.....then Liu Kang saves the day in the end.
And that's just the thing, characters like Sub-Zero or maybe Kung Lao....they're ready to "the hero." They've grown into the role. Their story's built up towards it. If Liu Kang was ever needed...he isn't anymore.

Now maybe people would've accepted Liu Kang as "the hero" and central protagonist of the story if he HAD some development or complexity, but he really doesn't.
He originated as a Bruce Lee homage and was assigned a very basic and dull "pure chosen hero" role. And that's it. What creators are supposed to do when they base their story or characters on something is develop that basic idea and make it their own. Yes, Sub-Zero started as just a ninja who shot ice and Raiden was just a homage to Big Trouble in Little China...but the MK team made them their own.

They failed to do that with Liu Kang. It's been almost twenty years and he's STILL just a Bruce Lee homage who plays the typical boy scout "hero" role. Oh yeah, except he's a zombie now....which still hasn't given him any development.

Liu Kang's time as "the main hero" is done and really that was all he brought to the table. I say leave him dead, let him be remembered in the story as a great fallen hero like the Great Kung Lao, and make way for new heroes.
EDIT:
Oh, and before I get people responding with "But it's a video game, who cares about story, blah blah my ass...." I'd like to point out the topic creator argued Liu Kang should stick around because he's the "main hero"...and that's a STORY argument.
And for the record, I can make a case why Liu Kang is no longer needed from a gameplay perspective, too.

I don't share the disdain for Liu Kang that some do. I think his storyline could have really been something. It just gets a little tired him always being the one to save the day. It holds up the development of some other important characters (Sub-Zero and Kung Lao being big ones), and that is a negative. Although I don't completely agree with the brilliant Xia, in that I believe Liu Kang being the one to save the day does, by default, make him important. His storyline being bland and his worth to the series do not go perfectly hand-in-hand, in my opinion.

That being said, they should have left him dead after Deadly Alliance. His fall at the hands of the Deadly Alliance was shocking, and it gave that evil force the "rub" it needed to give them a certain gravity. It all went to waste, but whatever.

I say give Liu Kang one more game. Either as Raiden's corrupted ally, not really seeing how detached his former mentor is from reality, or have Kang be the one to defeat Raiden, and hence Fujin takes Raiden's place as an Elder God, while Liu Kang is granted a new station as "Protector of Earthrealm." Either way, I would make him a character you need to unlock, so it doesn't feel like the spotlight is so much on him. This is the game to retire him, in my opinion. But I think he should be killed off again, as he has been too dramatcised as an important figure to just disappear into the sunset for no good reason.

And hey, maybe if he gets a brilliant story, people's tunes on him will change a little, and he can return without holding up the series.

I actually like Lui Kang, and I like his role in MK. In any series there is always one guy who is the best and always saves the day such as, Superman from Justice League, Optimus Prime from Transformers, and Goku from DBZ. Lui Kang is the savior of Mortal Kombat thats all.

I think the only reason people didn't like him is, becuase it was so predictable that he was going to win. I would argue that, that isn't the characters fault, but rather the writers who made the story that way. I wouldn't mind having Lui Kang for the next gam, but maybe somebody else should save the day. (And no not Shujinko.)

i think maybe lui kang could come back as a mentor or trainer. maybe replace raiden(he goes back to being a elder god in heaven or whatever). then lui kang could be like morpheus searching for the choosen one to take his place. giving us a new hero and lui kang at the same time......

i like Lui and i think he is a soul part of the MK franchise. i think that he should have some kind of role in future MK games but maybe give him a break in MK9. i was thinking after Armageddon...Blaze is gone and if the scenario were to ever happen again...the gods would need another character to fill Blazes position as the flaming force atop the pyramid or dragon egg protector. just an idea but basically make Lui the new Blaze. another idea is to make him a partnered character like they did with Noob/Smoke...maybe Zombie Lui/Meat for example.

Is Liu Kang really that hard to spell??

say it with me!

L!

I!

U!


L!

I!

U!


I can spell it, now you can too!

my excuse it that i was humoring the poster to not feel stupid lol. i was actually waiting to see how long it would take some one to notice. not a big deal lol.

Luey Kang.

lol, sorry, it just gets annoying seeing it all the time

I want a new hero to look somehow like these pics:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3183672008_a45040cdc3.jpg

http://www.celebritywonder.com/wp/Jay_Hernandez_in_Torque_Wallpaper_2_1280.jpg

http://myph.us/pics/23288_3.jpg

http://normannorman.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/aljur-abrenica2.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BpgCc7fXp28/Snc-NgFQZ_I/AAAAAAAADLo/hEmOXlkzxrw/s400/Aljur+Abrenica.JPG

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BpgCc7fXp28/Sp65Okq-VGI/AAAAAAAAEBY/KxzUNg5_B6M/s400/Sexy+Hunk+Shirtless+-+ALJUR+ABRENICA+-+Cosmopolitan+Magazine+Centerfold+Hunks+for+2009.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BpgCc7fXp28/Sq4DpEi3QfI/AAAAAAAAESA/NLUy0trdIpw/s400/ALjur+Abrenica+-+Cosmo+Bash+Hunk+2009.JPG

http://www.spot.ph/files/2009/09/aljur-click.jpg

http://www.fiveknuckles.com/assets/images/articles/josh-thomson.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/gay%20fighter/Davekent/Soul%20Calibur%20IV/Other-HardGay-1.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_UWW-QkhDBPQ/SgCHMu2HQ-I/AAAAAAAAAIM/HVRdtXu1uUc/s512/Leather%20Fighter.jpg

You know... someone who looks HOT and not another Bruce Lee.

I think that many people were so shocked by Liu Kang getting killed in MK:DA's intro. It was a great moment that the MK team later ruined by bringing him back as a freakin zombie. That and the fact that to me, MK:DA sort of separates the past from the present...

You add those up and I kinda feel like Liu Kang, while being a good character at the time, should just stay dead. Alot of people are also sick of the MK team going back on their own plot and changing things. If a guy is dead, he should stay dead. No more of this "well no one really stays dead in Mortal Komabt" garbage.

If you die in the intro, or your death is somehow referenced somewhere in something that's not simply a what if ending, then you should not be allowed to come back.

That's just my two cents anyways. But I think that I also care a bit more about the story that many others do.

I took a look at the first one and just gave up... Heroes don't look like that. They're supposed to look honorable, someone who's got repsect, someone people can actually look up to rather than looking like some Playgirl Freak (despite that I've never really looked at one.) I've never seen a male hero look like that.

Still, there shouldn't really be a hero for the next game. And with Liu, I wouldn't even have him become a spirit or anything. He should be put to rest and stay there since they didn't do it with Deception.

As far as strong protagonists go, I would love to see Li Mei take up a more important role to the series. Through Deception, she really grew on me as a character. Her training under Bo' Rai Cho should put her in live with some other warriors like Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana and Shujinko as far as her storyline tier goes; and we've seen her go from being a naive girl to a warrior with a taint on her soul.

I wouldn't make it "her story," but I think she would make a great female from Outworld to stand alongside a male from Earthrealm. And, no, I wouldn't have them fall in love.

The only thing I have an issue with this is her ending in Deception. She turned against her fellow teammates just to fall in love with Onaga, which was by far the DUMBEST FUCKING ENDING I've ever seen for a character to have, especially from one who died in the very first ending, aka her DA ending.

Yes, Li Mei has the potential on becoming a hero, but I can see clearly (now the rain is gone HA!) that she's probably not the type of character the writers want her to be. It's like this, she died in her ending in DA only to be saved by Bo' Rai Cho then in her ending she turns against her teammates and joins with Onaga, whether it's cannon or not, still, so far from what she has gone through (by her character alone I am not including other character's endings that includes her in it) she looks like she is being made out as a person you all think will have something good to come out of, but then it just falls into a hole and is just either stupid or messed up.

But yes, she can be a hero, it's the fact that she's not even given a chance to be one is the problem.

Liu Kang started out as an homage to Bruce Lee, and with so little variations throughout the years, he's condemned to never really be that interesting. Though there's always the possibility of giving him a large overhaul, but I don't think the creators are ever going to do it. I was really disappointed they canned his Green spiritual alternate in MKD. That would have really breathed new life in the character, but I guess they weren't comfortable with the metaphysical implications of a ghost fighting kombatants (because MK is never illogical, right?). Either way, they can leave him out forever. He's still boring as fuck to me.

As for Li Mei, I hope there's a bright future for her. She was one of my top contenders in both MKD and MKA. As for her story, I'm not particular towards the details, but lets hope they actually empower her character. She went from being outworld slave to Dragon King whore (if canon). Why not just chain her to Jabba the fucking Hutt? They should give her SOME advance in status. Also, the slutty look isn't so terrible, but they should make it more interesting. More colors at least.

I agree with this. Her story in MK:DA was a pretty interesting concept that was not executed well. It's good that they brought her back for the second game, where visually she became a more impressive character, and she got some more substance. I feel that there is a certain amount for Li Mei there, even if it is not to the scale I would ideally like it to be.

I like the idea of her being tainted, but I do not like the idea of her giving in and turning evil. Li Mei always fighting that dark nature inside her could be a very cool "Dexter Morgan" like story for her.

The slutty look could definitely be updated -- I agree with that. The purple colour theme still reminds me of Mileena a bit. Hopefully she pulls out of that.

Huh, interesting.

Alot people people think that Liu Kang is bland, but think that Li Mei has potential. I remember when MK:DA came out, people were pissed because Li Mei wore, purple, her name sounded like Mileena, and oh yeah, she had frickin sais.

I also liked the potential of her story as an outworld slave. It was something different and unique in MK. Now all the MK team has to do is make her look better (not skankier, but make her look more like a woman), give her a new color palette, her own unique moves and really capitalize on the potential of her original story.

See, people always seem to say "I can follow the story" but Li Mei is a PERFECT example of why these "what if" endings are so godawfully stupid. Does she actually have "evil" in her or whatever since her MK:D ending presumably never happened?

How much do you infer about her before you're just assuming crap that never happened?

I REALLY hope the MK team can string together a coherant story where you know what each character has done in the tournament. Again, you can still put in cliffhangers for the next game, and you can have a million and one reasons why a character doesn't win the tournament (they lose to someone else, they die, they get captures, they're kidnapped, there's a catastrophic event during the tournament etc etc etc etc).

I'm okay with her story, but as a complete character, I'm not really sure why everyone's so high on her. She's alright, but she absolutely should've had her own look, colors, moves, weapons etc. Oh, and that flying girl fist repeaty thing is one of the dumbest moves I've seen in an MK game. It looks like a glitch lol.

Liu kang dying in mkda was the most satisfying and best thing ever to happen in the mk series. brought instant dark atmosphere and an amazing feel to the story.

too good for mk in too many ways. leave him dead. if another number one surfaces, it should be ... hmmm

i wanna say shujinko but it doesnt seem right givin onaga is not in rule or i would guess. Taven i feel should go in a darker rection. involve daegon and rain. maybe kung lao, but i feel he should maintain his attitude, kind of a badass kang with honerable yet blindly shrouded in ambition.

kang=dead=good=leave it


-Casselman

Plus he looks like dull boring shit and has lame generic moves.

Disposable, waste of space, shoved down our throats....

There's not one good reason to keep him. If there's any justice, he'll die, and this time, permanently.

How about if they explore kitana and liu kang's relationship story.

He becomes king of edenia. they fight off outworld invaders and bring peace to edenia for a good length of time.Liu kang becomes very arrogant in his abilities during this time because of his sucess.kitana becomes pregnant and liu kang is very happy.

meanwhile raiden has been banned from earthrealm by the elder gods because he turned to "dark raiden" and started destroying the people on earth and its warriors. he did it because he is tired of them not obeying him and failing him. the elder gods tell him him he does not have the right to kill humans, so they double team raiden and ban him to netherrealm.fujin and kung-lao are appointed as the new protectors of earthrealm.

meanwhile quan-chi is visiting netherealm and spots raiden. he then starts to taunt him and laugh how he is powerless now. raiden then strikes him with lighting and tells him he is not to be mocked. quan-chi then ask him if he is so powerful why is he stuck in netherrealm. raiden tells him the story and tells him that his powers will fade if he enters other realms except bad ones. raiden then tells him that he needs another way to teleport, perhaps a portal. quan-chi tells him he will help him only if he help him conquer the all the dark realms. an alliance is formed.

raiden tells quan chi to give him a portal to edenia, so he can get liu kang as an ally. raiden arrives to edenia and goes to liu kangs throne room dressed in a hooded black robe. he tells the guards he is a prophet. liu kang then tells the guards to let him by. raiden bows to liu kang and that pleases kang. raiden ask if they could go in the court yard and talk, kang says yes. kangs does not know that this is raiden yet, then in privacy raiden reveals his self to liu kang.

kang is shocked and ask him about all the crazy things he has heard about him. raiden tells him its true and that even gods sometimes get angry.raiden tells him how the elder gods turned against him and banned him. liu then feels kinda sorry for his old mentor for they have alot of memories togehter and liu beleives raiden is really still good inside. liu then ask him why he has come so long to tell him his story. raiden tells him that he needs his help but more importanly he has had visions of edenia falling and kitana getting raped and killed while pregnant.

liu kang is very sad then gets very angry and ask raiden how,when,who,where questions. raiden tells him he does not have all the anwsers but in time he will and that if kang helps him regain his powers, he will help protect edenia in return. liu ask raiden how can he regain his powers and raiden tells him about "The Crystals of Balance". if raiden gets these he will regain his power. so liu joins raiden and raiden dissapears before kitana walks up.

liu does not tell kitana anything as raiden had told him to do. during the talk raiden had mentioned that liu had not even reached his full power and he could be emperor over many realm instead of just edenia, this also excited liu. liu kang begin to change and his spirit became dark and filled with hate. he changed his name to "The Dragon Lord" becoming "dark" liu kang. dark raiden felt the dark power rising in liu kang knowing that he had succeded in turning liu kang over to his side, he grinned and said to quan chi " its all coming along according to plan,vegence will be MINEE"!!!!!!


so yeah thats just a little story line idea for liu kang if he comes back, tell me what you think.

Oh sweet Jesus no.
I'm sorry, but just no. That relationship has done nothing good for Kitana.

I remember how good I felt seeing Kang killed in MKDA ;P.

He should stay dead and we even have get another video of how hes killed in the next MK.Fuck Liu Kang.

I kinda always thought of Liu Kang and Kung Lao as the Ken and Ryu of MK. Scorpion and Sub-Zero are the BREAKOUT characters and possibly some of the selling points of mk but not the stars of the story. Sub-Zeros story is really starting to be interesting, hes evolved more as a character and he is definately more interesting than Liu Kang. I never cared all that much for Scorpion but i luv Kung Lao and i kinda like the idea of Liu Kang as a spirit or zombie.