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Meet Mortal Kombat's First Gay Character
- Thread starter Shizuka
- Start date
Jawmuncher
Member
Handled very well since it wasn't up in your face with the revelation.
akidnamededdy
Banned
Gaytality
That's neat. Diversity in games is always good.
Delusibeta
Banned
Indeed. Fair play to Neverrealm.
Glad they went the "subtle" way about this reveal. It could have been really clunky and they managed to do it right.
Would be quite unfortunate.
Would be quite unfortunate.
Vinsanity.
Member
Not that there's anything wrong with that....
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
I figured since he's a Shaolin monk, he's not supposed to have desires male or female anyway, but than again MK Shaolin monks are sort of weird anyway.
I guess if they wanted to be completely offensive about it and burn the good will they just generated, sure.
He wouldn't be a very good descendant of Kung Lao if they held fast to those kind of ideas.
Hours Left
Member
Kudos to NetherRealm for this. Not a MK fan personally, but I think this is pretty great.
That would of been fine too. The series already has overt straight sexuality on display. There isn't one "right" way to show diversity.
Chie Satonaka
Member
I totally missed this line.
Regardless, good to hear.
Regardless, good to hear.
lui kang had an extensive history dating kitana. kung lao is a descendant of the great kung lao. clearly, in mk, seeing other people isn't a big deal for shaolin.
Mr. Pointy
Member
I didn't even get the line was about this until someone mentioned it.
Jawmuncher
Member
That's true I don't want to come off as saying it can only be said so subtly.
captainpat
Member
Is it really good representation when it's just gonna fly over most people's heads?
It's really cool of Netherrealm to do this. I know some jackholes will squeal about "doing it the right way" or some bullshit, but it's high time gay men receive proper representation in games.
Shit, is there a single gay dude in a fighting game who isn't a completely awful stereotype? Kung Jin's a fucking trailblazer just by virtue of being treated with the same dignity and respect his peers get. Adding to this, MKX being a game with only 3 white dudes in the entire cast, a main female lead, a biracial relationship featuring a Japanese/Vietnamese male and African-American female, and several non-white, non-male characters being featured in prominent roles, and we have a game that sold gangbusters while also being incredibly diverse. Like, somehow, actually featuring non-white dude protagonists didn't fucking implode the universe. Fancy that.
Shit, is there a single gay dude in a fighting game who isn't a completely awful stereotype? Kung Jin's a fucking trailblazer just by virtue of being treated with the same dignity and respect his peers get. Adding to this, MKX being a game with only 3 white dudes in the entire cast, a main female lead, a biracial relationship featuring a Japanese/Vietnamese male and African-American female, and several non-white, non-male characters being featured in prominent roles, and we have a game that sold gangbusters while also being incredibly diverse. Like, somehow, actually featuring non-white dude protagonists didn't fucking implode the universe. Fancy that.
This is the same game where Scorpion and Sub-Zero resolve their several-decade blood feud by
sitting down with some tea and talking to each other about their problems like reasonable adults.
yes, because he's a character like everyone else, rather than a stereotype.
helps too that the guy is seriously one of the best characters in the game. I've been whooping ass with him since launch.
Nothing at all.
captainpat
Member
Is it not possible to explicitly show a characters sexuality without making them a stereotype?
Mr. Pointy
Member
IIRC, Zangief (depending on the game), Eagle from SF1 and CvS2, Venom from GG.
Venom and....? Most fighting games are Japanese. That's why.
hammertomb
Banned
Oh, that's what he meant. Completed missed the true meaning of that line.
KojiKnight
Member
There is no one way to do it, but for Mortal Kombat, I think the way they handled it was best. It is a fighting game and the focus should be on that, not who each character finds sexually attractive.
Still, this is proof that it really doesn't take much to have a positive influence on gamers in these kinds of situations. You don't need to turn the issue into a "very special episode" as the old 80 and 90's sitcoms did.
Still, this is proof that it really doesn't take much to have a positive influence on gamers in these kinds of situations. You don't need to turn the issue into a "very special episode" as the old 80 and 90's sitcoms did.
PfantzyPantz
Member
What's wrong with displaying his sexuality? It'd be optional so you don't have to use it if you don't like it!
/s
But seriously, pretty awesome. They really did good with X in terms of representation, lots of respect.
I totally missed this line.
Regardless, good to hear.
That's the thing.
They don't give you a lot of time to dwell on it. I remember saying to myself, "wait does that mean Takeshi is ga-" and then I was fighting Kenshi.
But yeah, for a game where the focus is slaughtering everyone in horrible ways, it is a masterclass on being inclusionary.
Part of me feels the same way, but at the same time, how they didn't isn't bad, it just doesn't carry a lot of weight.
Unless you're absolutely clueless that dialog is pretty clear. Having him stating it outright would be really clunky and expositional.
akidnamededdy
Banned
Just goes to show we're all, deep down, capable of brutally murdering each other.
in a game like mortal kombat? no, not really.
captainpat
Member
And yet there are people in this thread who missed it.
KojiKnight
Member
God bless us, every one!
Zomba13
Member
I think that's the point. His sexuality doesn't doesn't matter.
pinkurocket
Member
I don't care for Mortal Kombat, but that is a very nice inclusion of a gay character with a very interesting reveal of the sexuality. The character having issues accepting his feelings, but getting acknowledgement that those feelings don't matter in the grand scheme of things without making a big deal out of it. This is very inspirational and well done! Props to the writers.
there are people in the story spoiler thread who missed
that lui kang and kitana are now the new rulers of the netherrealm despite raiden directly saying to them, "you two are now the new rulers of the netherrealm."
so, no matter how explicit you are, some people will miss stuff.
To be fair, that whole scene is weird for a lot of different reasons.
Majukun
Member
it's good EXACTLY because it's gonna fly over most people heads
"you have a history of self loathing"
"but the shaolin would never accept a--"
"the shaolin care only about what is in your heart, not whom your heart desires."
How does "Whom your heart desires..." relate to being a thief? It's clearly talking about a person or people that Kung Jin feels might be frowned upon. Fortunately not, though.