Obviously, adaptations tend to deviate from the source material, right? I was thinking of Liu Kang's plot where he defeated Goro. I did a rewatch of the Mortal Kombat (1995) movie on Netflix before it was taken down. I thought about the lore of Mortal Kombat and the fact that Goro was the undisputed champion of the tournament for NINE GENERATIONS. Yes, Goro was unbeatable until Liu Kang defeated him. However, why don't we ever see Goro getting defeated by Liu Kang outside the video games canon? Did the writers ever forget the rules of the tournament?
Goro was the undisputed champion. Goro defeated the Original Kung Lao 50 years after the latter defeated Shang Tsung. The Shaolin Temples tried to raise a champion but failed. Liu Kang, a descendant of the Original Kung Lao (perhaps from his mother's side), was raised to be that champion. For Liu Kang to become the champion - he must defeat Goro. Goro was defeated and hence Liu Kang became the new champion. Shang Tsung quickly intervened since he was a former champion. Liu Kang defeated Shang Tsung as well. This also became true for the reboot Mortal Kombat (2011) with how Liu Kang maintained that role but it was Kung Lao who defeated Kintaro. I guess Kintaro will always be second class, right? Liu Kang was the one who defeated Kintaro in the second tournament from the original timeline.
However, the 1995 movie actually copied a few plots from Enter the Dragon starring the late Bruce Lee. Liu Kang even starts out as a Bruce Lee clone before becoming the Chinese Ryu. Instead, that honor went to Johnny Cage. Johnny Cage mirrors the white guy Roper that defeats the tournament champion Polo in Enter the Dragon. Han was killed by impalement like how Shang Tsung was killed by impalement. So, by the game canon, Johnny Cage should be the new champion when he defeated Goro. That's why Shang Tsung insisted in challenging Johnny Cage. Did Liu Kang defeating Shang Tsung but not Goro fail to close the portals? I guess that's why Mortal Kombat Annihilated happened which was a disaster. That movie should've tried to use the second tournament plot since the second game is more popular than the third! Though, the plot has been referenced as a joke in both Mortal Kombat X when Johnny Cage fights Goro and in Mortal Kombat 11 when Johnny Cage fights Sheeva. So did Goro crush Johnny Cage's sunglasses off-screen during the attack at the Wushi Academy in the reboot?
Goro was the undisputed champion. Goro defeated the Original Kung Lao 50 years after the latter defeated Shang Tsung. The Shaolin Temples tried to raise a champion but failed. Liu Kang, a descendant of the Original Kung Lao (perhaps from his mother's side), was raised to be that champion. For Liu Kang to become the champion - he must defeat Goro. Goro was defeated and hence Liu Kang became the new champion. Shang Tsung quickly intervened since he was a former champion. Liu Kang defeated Shang Tsung as well. This also became true for the reboot Mortal Kombat (2011) with how Liu Kang maintained that role but it was Kung Lao who defeated Kintaro. I guess Kintaro will always be second class, right? Liu Kang was the one who defeated Kintaro in the second tournament from the original timeline.
However, the 1995 movie actually copied a few plots from Enter the Dragon starring the late Bruce Lee. Liu Kang even starts out as a Bruce Lee clone before becoming the Chinese Ryu. Instead, that honor went to Johnny Cage. Johnny Cage mirrors the white guy Roper that defeats the tournament champion Polo in Enter the Dragon. Han was killed by impalement like how Shang Tsung was killed by impalement. So, by the game canon, Johnny Cage should be the new champion when he defeated Goro. That's why Shang Tsung insisted in challenging Johnny Cage. Did Liu Kang defeating Shang Tsung but not Goro fail to close the portals? I guess that's why Mortal Kombat Annihilated happened which was a disaster. That movie should've tried to use the second tournament plot since the second game is more popular than the third! Though, the plot has been referenced as a joke in both Mortal Kombat X when Johnny Cage fights Goro and in Mortal Kombat 11 when Johnny Cage fights Sheeva. So did Goro crush Johnny Cage's sunglasses off-screen during the attack at the Wushi Academy in the reboot?
The non-canon Malibu comics (another thing I'd rather abandon) is the fact that Liu Kang was never addressed to have defeated Goro either. The short-lived web series Mortal Kombat Legacy never addressed Liu kang defeating Goro either. Instead, it was said Liu Kang beheaded Shang Tsung in the first tournament as mentioned in a later scene.
I think Scorpion's Revenge is probably nothing more than cheese. Seeing it, I think Ed Boon's blatant favoritism of Scorpion is all over it. I mean, why do you think Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was released to override the previously failed release? I think it had to do more with Boon than the fans. Though, Scorpion is a popular character since he's a morally gray character - an anti-villain when he's a villain and an anti-hero when he's a hero. The movie has Scorpion KILLING GORO. Liu Kang looked so wimpy I felt like I wanted to do Liu Kang's dragon fatality on the writers. Liu Kang was nearly killed by Goro if Scorpion didn't arrive. WTF what was wrong. Good thing I don't intend to watch the sequel movie even if Liu Kang is the hero this time around. Both Scorpion's Revenge and Battle of the Realms are best ignored IMHO. They only focus on the violence. If anything, what I like about Mortal Kombat isn't the violence but the interesting lore. Violence is all but secondary since a movie devoted to too much screen time on torture makes me go dizzy. That's why I don't intend to watch films like SALO which the late Pier Pasolini had his untimely demise coming IMHO.
Well, the violence for violence's sake movie, Mortal Kombat (2021) came and Cole Young (Scorpion's descendant) defeats Goro instead. I felt it was a total insult AGAIN to the plot that Liu Kang was the one who defeated Goro. I still think about the funny inside jokes of Johnny Cage regarding Goro. Though, Goro did fight Johnny Cage some time MUCH LATER. Johnny Cage's nut punch didn't stun Goro at all until the movie gave the idea. Just think that Johnny Cage was now able to nut punch Goro in later games. Even Kintaro and Shao Kahn were no longer spared from it while it didn't work in Mortal Kombat II. Though, I still feel it's total disrespect to the character of Liu Kang that he never defeated Goro outside the actual canon.
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