First of all, why? And second of all... why?

The fastest way to make an over-the-top playboy not funny is to make him NOT an over-the-top playboy

How about stop posting this shit?

Yeah, the whole "everyone should be homosexual trannies that stick weapons in each others back doors" thing is getting really old SF. You seem to spam every thread with this crap. I won't speak for everyone, but just for my sake, please cut it out.

i missed out on Jax and would just like to say for some reason i want him back.so i say stay for him.

Cage...i really do like him as a fighter in game but his story is a mess. sorry cage but i think you need to sit out of MK9...gone.

As others have pointed out the good and bad for Cage, I won't repeat it all. I will say I've liked him as a character but always hated his story and uselessness. His MKA story was a brilliant step in the right direction but it could all be too little too late for him. If he returns, then he needs to continue on the serious path they gave him in MKA whilst still retaining his more comic moments. Overall, I'd say I'm indifferent to Johnny Cage. If I had to choose though, I'd say stay - solely for the chance to see his more serious side exposed more to the fullest of its potential.

I'm really biased on this decision cause i have always hated Cage... with a passion. So, of course, i say go. I just don't think he fits into MK anymore, nor do i ever think he did.

Nooooooo... Do not fade in to oblivion fun thread of enjoyment and time wasting at job.

*BWOMP*

Damnit... Sorry... Okay... Hold on a sec... There we go!

*BUMP!*

Okay, instead of all that, I probably could've just asked... Who's the next character? Is it Kabal?

STAY. i love kabal. might be the most unique and interesting fighter out of mk.

I originally thought I'd want him to return but I don't know anymore.
I wouldn't be bothered if he didn't return.
He was cool in MK3 and MKD but kinda bland IMO.
His trademark dash that makes his opponant spin around could be done by anyone really.
His story has never really interested either. All these Black Dragon's and Red Dragon's stories are kinda confusing.

I'm gonna say GO.

You know, it seems to me that Kano and Kabal are huge, important members of the Black Dragon, but are hardly seen at the same time working for the Black Dragon. I think that by Mortal Kombat III, Kabal had already left the clan? Really, I would like to see Kabal return only if he and Kano form an alliance and really push the Black Dragon story to a new level. I think that could be something interesting.

I'll admit, I've got a soft spot for Kabal. With no Scorpion and no Kitana in MK3, he became my go-to guy. And he was a lot of fun to use.
But I don't know about bringing him back.

One thing I think they've lost with Kabal is his speed. What was fun about him was he was fast and his combos were easy to use. Now, he's just another character with generic combos. I suppose the fighting engine is more to blame for that than the character, but unless they find some way of giving Kabal his speed back, I'm not that interested in using him again.

Story-wise though is something else.
I wasn't surprised he came back in Deception. They kind of telegraphed in Deadly Alliance he probably wasn't really gone for good....saying he was "apparantly killed by Mavado" and he was "believed to be dead." So I had no problem with his coming back and I actually don't mind his becoming an anarchist. It kind of suits him...seeing as in MK3 he was described by Boon & Tobias as being an unpredictable wild man....and everyone was expecting him to come back as another good guy, so that was a nice switch.

My problem with Kabal coming back though was the complete burial of Mavado & the Red Dragon and unnecessary dragging on of the Black Dragon. They built Mavado up so much in MK:DA only for him to get punked out in the background of Kabal's Deception bio. And for what? So Kabal could bring back the fucking Black Dragon? Aren't we done with that piece of shit clan yet?

They knew it too...that's why they have Kabal keep insisting that his new Black Dragon will be nothing like the old one. But it's still the Black Dragon. It's still the same worn out, useless clan it always has been. I'm okay with Kabal being an anarchist and if he recruits a partner or two, that's fine. But the Black Dragon should've stayed dead. We already have too many clans and factions as it is.

The whole thing with the Black Dragon and burying Mavado left a bad taste in my mouth, story-wise. Gameplay-wise, Kabal isn't as fun as he used to be. I might be willing to accept Kabal coming back if they dropped the Black Dragon and found some way to make him fast again. But even then, there are a lot of other characters I'd rather see back before him.

So I'll say go.

Kabal: I always liked Kabal since I was a kid. There is just something cool about a guy with a respiratory helmet, and he kicks ass. He looks cool, and seems like he fits well with the rest of the roster. (At least for MK3). His story could be better. I liked his story in MK3 better than the MKD story, because that made him a black dragon agent again. I would like to see him get back to his roots of being a rogue who just got sucked in by a terrible accident.
As far as his looks they need to change it. The helmet is good, but they should give him a cosutme like Kenshi's with Kabal's tech, and black and tan colors.

However, I don't know if they'll have room for him. Oh well I'll say stay for the whole series, but maybe not every game. SO STAY.

I love Kabal. I hate what they did to him.

Turning Kabal into a chaos priest made no sense. None. Fucking... ugh. He was a reformed criminal. Sure he was a wild man, but being wild does not mean chaotic. It means unpredictable, extreme, without hesitation. IT DOESN'T FUCKING MEAN BECOME A CHAOS PRIEST!

And it's such a waste! He could have been the first "wreckless" good guy the MK universe had. Full of conviction like Subzero, but doesn't take any shit and doesn't compromise. Ever. He'd be a hardened reformed criminal with large plentiful balls.

But no, he adopts a philosophy with arbitrary values. And probably for no reason other than Vogel or Boon didn't think MKD had enough villains. There's actually a typo in the original MKD manual where Kabal's alignment is listed as "good." Makes one wonder.

And the worst part was that it was all done in the name of bringing back a dead part of MK history. Did anyone miss the Black Dragon!?!? It felt contrived even in MK1, and the whole situation was painful by the time MKD hit the streets.

I want him back, I want him fixed, and I want him to make sense! Let's just throw down that when Havik healed him, he filled his wounds with stupid dust, he has now recovered, and we can forget about all this black dragon horse shit.

Stay. AND FUCKING FIX HIM!!!

EDIT: XiahouDun said it all for the most part, but gameplay wise, he played terribly. Stiff as a board when he should have been one of the fastest characters. Kabal was my #2 most anticipated character before Deception came out; I used him a total of 2 times when it finally did.

yeah he did play bad and stiff just like all the other fighters in that game.

KABAL...MUST.....STAY!!

I loved his special moves, all of them are very unique. I loved his Hookswords. They are one of the most unique weapons designwise and fighting wise. Story wise, well, he's not that great. I don't find him much of a bad guy. Kabal's Black Dragon trio (Him, Kobra, and Kira) seem like the Jesse, James, and Meowth of Mortal Kombat. Yeah, they're "evil" but not evil enough to worry about. His look is unique as well.

Kabal is a stay, just improve his story.

He is original so he must stay. His signature weapon is good and I think he should keep those hookswords.

I like Kabal, always have...but I'm all about streamlining and he just wouldn't fit into my future vision, if I were writing the games.

See, Kabal isn't the ideal character to stand for what his new clan represents. His background makes him look too weak and indecisive to be the leader of this...fanatical terrorist movement that the new Black Dragon is supposed to be. He's featured in two games and BOTH of them start out with him being maimed to the point of near-death and after he survives, having an epiphany that changes his whole personality and motivation as a character. How is someone so easily influenced and prone to radical changes fit to lead a faction?

Now...the character that DOES best represent the new Black Dragon? That would be Kira. Kira is a living personification of the "disciplined anarchy" idea. The only logical leader of the Black Dragon is her. She's got a future. She's got potential. So I say sacrifice the one who is old and broken to strengthen the one who is young and fresh.

I always imagined that because all the "chosen ones" met at Nightwolf's reservation and became a team in MK3, and because Kabal was a guy who was a Black Dragon and reformed to fight crime, he and Sonya probably got to know each other, and maybe she and Jax were an influence on his decision to turn over a new leaf and fight crime as a vigilante. So if Sonya were to run into Kabal again during Armageddon, and discover the son of a bitch had turned his back on being a good guy and reformed the clan she spent her whole career destroying, she'd be pretty fucking pissed. I keep imagining this badass scene in my head where she just coldly rips the fucking hose out of his respirator and watches him choke to death.

Now let's say this happens right before Kira's eyes. They're all there warring at the pyramid and it's crazy and she can't make it in time to save him. Her leader is dead, which means she's the leader now, or maybe the clan falls apart and she's the only one left...either way, now she's got a really strong place to go in future games: revenge on Sonya. "Character A hates and wants to destroy Character B because they killed Character C" is the classic Mortal Kombat character backstory. Also, she was created to be, like, the Bizarro Sonya in the first place, this rivalry is due.

(Mind you, this whole plan is assuming Kira gets a whole new moves list, because everyone agrees her stealing moves from Sonya and Kano was lazy and lame)

Kabal makes me angry. As has been said, Kabal became my go to guy when Scorpion was left out of MK3 (reason #458 why MK3 is the worst MK in the series). I liked his moves, his combos, the way they used the hookswords, especially in his throw. Hell, I even liked the way the announcer said his name. I just thought overall that he was a fun character to use.

I'll agree though that his ground grinder made absolutely no sense for his character. I mean, the guy has hook swords... They couldn't have thought of a special move that used those?

But I liked him a lot. He had a great weapon and a very unique look. Then they bring him back in MK:D, with a horrendous story, that dumb ass backpack with the floppy antenea on it, an alt costume that's just absolutely hideous, they pair him him with tweedle ken and tweedle red, they put Havik in his storyline with him "having a task for Kabal" like he's some freakin lap dog...

If he was starting his own clan, why is his group running stupid errands for Havik?

I'm not sure where everyone gets that Kabal himself becomes a cleric of chaos though. Nowhere in his story does it say that. Unless someone is getting this from somewhere outside of the original source material like a comic book or something.

Regardless, to me... Kabal was always like the lone wolf character of Mortal Kombat. He was a loaner, had a mysterious past, and seemed like a good guy with a bad past, someone that you didn't want to mess with.

His story in MK:D starts out with him calling the Black Dragon a despicable organization, which leads me to believe that he was on a path to being that sort of badass good guy.

But no...

If they can disconnect him from basically everything he was and did in Deception, then I'd say bring back without hesitation. He could be a fantastic redemption story. You can either put him with the good guys and make him sort of the Wolverine of the group, but I'd rather just seem him alone.

His outfit needs major work. I dig the trench coat, but the darth vader mask has to go. He needs something that just covers his mouth and the bottom part of his face. Connect that mask/respirator with a tube that goes down to his belt and that's it. No Jansport style back pack.

Give him a big scar that runs from the middle of his forhead down through one of his eyes diagonally to his cheek. His right eye should be closed completely because of this. He should also have three thin scars that come straight up about two inches from his mask on the other side of his face. His hair hould still be long and black and scraggly.

He should talk normally though. No respirator echo or whatever. I don't need Kabal sounded like Mr. Freeze.

VERDICT: STAY. He has a very unique look, but they need to stop ruining him with terrible stories and surrounding him with mediocre characters. He should be a loner and he certainly shouldn't be someone else's errand boy.

Remove his back pack and keep him wearing black, browns and maybe a little green, but put some detail on his costumes as well. Maybe parts of his coat are ripped and torn, put some tattoos on him. Make him look rugged and not like he gets his ass kicked all the time.

It's a lot to change, but I still think that he has the makings of a GREAT character. For that reason alone, I can't just throw him on the scrap heap.

I love Kabal. I liked the mystery about him, his speed, moves (minus the Saw), Fatalities etc. He was highly unique upon his introduce and had great potential. However, as others have said, I hated his story and what they did with him.
As a reformed criminal he became a chosen one and foguth against Kahn's armies. Having him go on to turn evil again and then having Havik persuade him to restore the Black Dragon was stupid. Sure, you can understand it from Havik's point of view but not for Kabal. It seems his stint as a good guy was only fuelled by his rage and quest for revenge. This makes the term of a chosen one a little loose as it seems to be given to anyone and everyone who wishes to fight against the common threat to Earth.
As for the Black Dragon, I agree that the clan is useless and has had it's day. If Kabal returned I would like to see him abandon it and pass on leadership to Kira. I feel Kabal would be better suited on a path of his own without that clan dragging him down. The solitary path on his own kind of like how Nightwolfs MKD story played out could be interesting for him. The build up with Mavado and the wiping out of the clan was a step in the right direction. For Kabal's return to erase that was scandalous.
I'm surprised to see so many saying Kabal was stiff gameplay wise in MKD and MKA. Sure he's lost his speed but that's heavily due to the engine and mechanics. Although, he could have had some faster styles like Mileena's Mian Chuan which would have complemented him well. Kabal was top tier in MKA and still one of the best in MKD so he wasn't bad. You just had to make the effort to adjust to his changes. Restoring him back to his original speedy self would be brilliant though.
I vote that he should stay but only if they fix him and restore him to his former glory.

I'm not a big fan of Kabal. Characters that are designed to be "cool" really piss me off -- especially when all they are is essentially a revenge story. Of all the characters in MK3, he ranked there at the bottom for me. I've just always found him so uninteresting and bland. It also pisses me off to no end that they scrapped Mavado, a character with so much potential and direction for Kabal -- and they fucked up his "cool factor" by taking away the lone wolf thing and having him lead a pack. Fucking stupid.

In retrospect, and being unbiased -- the mere popularity of Kabal should have brought him back for MK4. I think he should have been in there over Jarek. Maybe Kabal's vigilantism decides to take Kabal to Edenia to fight Shinnok -- or maybe Sonya and Jax are actually so tunnel-visioned against the Black Dragon that they want Kabal, even though he has technically left the organisation.

Then they could have brought him back for Deadly Alliance, and perhaps had Mavado kill him in the game. That would have given him a nice run, and puts him out to pasture while enhancing another character.

One twist I think would have been cool for Kabal, is if being mutilated by Shao Kahn's extermination squads damaged his throat, or something, so he had no way of communicating. Or maybe Mavado could have done that to him. It would have added a further "lone wolf" quality to Kabal by making him silent.

i missed a bunch of characters.

hotaru - gone although i did like his look but his moves seemed bland.

hsu hao - gone but i did like his weapon.

jade - gone just for this next game or two.

jarek - gone because he seems really boring.

jax - gone because i never really liked him.

johnny cage - gone i never really liked him.

kabal - stay because his look is sweet and has some interesting moves and such. i always wondered why he had the sawblade move in mk3. is it because of his mask or such. plus his mask he uses to breathe similar to darth vader i find interesting.