No, I just think that adding that to THIS character's design will result in a cartoonishly bad depiction of the subject matter.

When you say "sexually aroused by violence" about a guy who mostly fights dudes and who's most famous trait is walking around shirtless with a mustache and a cop hat, you're playing into several harmful stereotypes that exist about both bondage and homosexual men. Even if you redesign him and take out the hat, people will still REMEMBER the hat. They will always remember the hat, just like they'll always remember when Stryker wore his backwards and was a chubby, Chief O'Brien-looking schmuck, no matter how cool he looks now. Hsu Hao is ALREADY "Village People guy" to some of the fanbase. You're not making it better and that fact is a big reason you're getting no traction for your idea. People only want to see bad characters revamped and brought back if they're turned into something cool and appealing.

I don't mean to mock you, but what concerns me is motivation.

Since I don't see how this fits or improves Hsu Hao, I have to start looking for reason in the person suggesting it, y'know?

Here's the thing about this "sexual" element you're suggesting adding: Whether you mean to or not, bringing sexuality up at ALL, ESPECIALLY bringing up BDSM, and ESPECIALLY in the context of a male character...it automatically brings up pre-existing undesirable connotations in people's minds that you can't help or avoid.

So let's talk about why it needs to be "sexual" at all? What reason is there to bring that element to it?

For MOST characters, the only reason to even bring sex up is in the context of them having a relationship with another character, i.e. Sonya x Johnny, Liu x Kitana, etc.

For others, you can develop their personalities by acknowledging their desires, but you do have to explain the motive for that desire or else it would just feel random. For example, with Mileena, her acting as a sexual being, without having her HAVE sex...it didn't really make her more interesting in MK9, it was just kinda THERE. The end result just felt exploitative and trashy like MK wanted to have a slutty character for the more juvenile fans, same reason why Sonya's dressed more like a stripper than a soldier...or like they wanted to have a "Tira"/"Juri"/"Harley Quinn" character in MK and picked Mileena to be it.

But they COULD have used it to give more depth to her personality, IF MK9 had been set in the old timeline where Kitana was the favorite and Mileena was "flawed", by saying the REASON she does it is "she's insecure about her ugly face so she distracts people from it with the rest of her body".

There's also subtler tacts, like saying "Reptile and Khameleon need to repopulate their species" or "Sub-Zero would like to have a son to pass his name onto, the way it was passed onto him, or to keep the cryomancer line going", the latter of which doesn't even necessarily name a mate or say he ever actually has to HAVE a relationship with anyone in the games...although it's a bit of a dead end as a character trait if he never does anything about it.

So...what does getting aroused by hurting people add to Hsu Hao exactly? Is there a reason WHY he's like that? Is it going to motivate him to do a specific thing in a specific story?

Or do you just want there to be an S&M character? 'Cause if so...I can suggest better. Hell, Mavado works better for it than his henchman does 'cause he's even more of a blank slate you can assign any traits you want onto. Drahmin's whole character is about how much he enjoys torturing people. Kira dresses a bit dominatrix-y and is into strictness and discipline. Quan Chi HAS to have something kinky going on with the zombie slave ring and the harem of goth chicks, and sure as hell doesn't feel any empathy for the people he hurts so he's probably enjoying himself quite a bit. The way Skarlet enjoys splashing people's blood all over her face and body is somewhat provocative...

And those ropes...

I saw Hsu Hao as potentially an extreme character.

He is a proudly murderous soldier with no regrets, and I think he was that way prior to any of his expirements. Considering your confirmation that he willing gave himself to science, I raise the question of why.

This goes beyond his loyalty to Mavado and the Red Dragon. He loves what he does, more so than anyone else, and he will accept any edge that enables him to continue doing what he loves. This is my conclusion.

His desires can prove problematic for anyone. His need to feed his sexual obsession can become a strong threat to enemies of the Red Dragon, and as the experiments continue, it becomes easier for him to exact his obsession. Conversely, his lust can lead him to kill one of his own.

His loyalty to the Red Dragon is fueled by what the clan brings him: bodies. Above all else, Mavado is the prime source of this 'blessing,' though he doesn't know it. Hsu Hao will forever be loyal to Mavado so long as his obsession his fed.


Either that or Mavado gets pissed and turns him into a drone.

Looking in retrospect, I don't quite hate Hsu Hao though I'm still not a fan of him. He's just a really underdeveloped character intended for appearing in MK: Deadly Alliance. As I said at least once before, Hsu Hao is one of those characters that would be very interesting to revamp in terms of gameplay. He could be a cool grappling character using moves from arts like Shuaijiao (Chinese wrestling) and Bokh (Mongolian wrestling) while using striking and kicking techniques from the military version of Sanda/Sanshou.

For his appearance, he should have more to his uniform to give him a very militant look. I personally like the idea of him having that sort of cold, robotic personality that was intended for him. I imagine him speaking in something of a monotone voice, much like Bone from The Lookout. He should come off as both menacing and creepy, the character that doesn't say much but is still able to get under someone's skin.

So he likes killing people. Great. I guess he belongs in MK now....

Sorry sir but this isn't really too interesting of a story. I commend you for your attempt but it's not working. The story he had as an undercover agent was...something. This doesn't really change much.

Again, this is not meant to replace his original story, but add to it.

I never stated he is no longer infultrating the OIA; I am merely adding depth to the character. Seriously, how is this going over everyone's heads? What gave you the impression that I am terminating everything else about him?

What happend to you Riyakou? Your avatar and sign are gone? Were you banned or something? Or did you give up on this site?

Hope not, you may ignore me, but I kinda like your ideas.

Anyway, there are many forms of sadists and murderers, Hsu could be one of the many forms.

Yes Please!

Hsu Hao is one of the most randomly designed characters... nothing about him makes sense.... he looks like male stripper/mr slave lookalike rather than a serious villain....

He has a heart transplant that shoots lasers in his fatality only (until MKA) but all of a sudden he has a wind powers too??? That wind clap move that should have belonged to Fujin yet he has this kind of move.... ummmm okay random.

They should make moves that suit his aesthetic and background. if they can make a design and moveset that can resonate well with fan, even Hsu Hao can be saved.

Kira would have been received well had she been given original moves... cause her design was cool

Kobra would have been received better if his design wasn't a Ken knockoff.


Nothing can save Dairou or Darrius however..... bland characters.

Actually, his clothing is pretty straight-up just a Chinese army uniform without the jacket, so there's nothing about it that doesn't make sense except maybe why the heart implant has so much armor attached to it.



The clap isn't a "wind power", it's a superstrength trick that Superman and the Hulk do all the time.