Liu Kang’s Dragon Power Explained: Mortal Kombat’s Deadliest Fatality?

The new Mortal Kombat movie features Liu Kang’s brutal dragon fatality – one of the franchise’s most iconic finishers and possibly its most deadly. In keeping with the video games, the Mortal Kombat reboot will feature a wide array of bloody signature moves, many of which have already been teased in the trailer and other promotional footage. Liu Kang is set to play a major role in the new Mortal Kombat, alongside other veterans characters like Sonya Blade, Jax, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Shang Tsung.

Typically the main hero of the games, Liu seems to be taking a bit of a backseat to newcomer Cole Young this time around. However, the Shaolin monk will certainly still be key to the overall story, and the Mortal Kombat trailer has already hinted at some major battles coming his way. It’s also revealed he’ll be unleashing his most powerful move in battle.

Overall, Liu Kang seems much the same in the reboot as he’s been in the majority of the game franchise. His background, fire magic abilities, and combat garb are all true to the source material, though a few changes have been made too. Liu and Kung Lao will be cousins this time around, rather than merely friends, for instance. Liu’s signature dragon fatality is a bit different in the reboot as well.

The History Of Liu Kang’s Dragon Power

The dragon fatality first appeared in Mortal Kombat II, where Liu Kang would transform into a tall, coiled, green dragon and bite his opponents in half. The finisher was much more gruesome than his signature fatality in the first Mortal Kombat, which simply uppercut the other fighter off the screen. Though animal transformation fatalities, or animalities, later became commonplace in the franchise in Mortal Kombat 3, Liu Kang was pulling off the impressive shape-shifting feat much earlier, suggesting his dragon ability could come from a separate, even stronger power.

Over the years, different versions of the dragon fatality have featured in the MK franchise. The classic green dragon gave way to a silvery, fire-breathing version in later entries, which more closely resembled the one seen in the iconic MK logo. Eventually, Liu started summoning a flaming dragon to fight alongside him, rather than transform his own body. He still wields the power to shapeshift, but there seems to have been a fusion of his fire abilities with the dragon power at some point, allowing him to summon a flaming ally in battle.

Mortal Kombat Reboot’s Dragon Power

It would seem that the latter, flaming dragon will be the version of Liu’s famous fatality seen in the new Mortal Kombat reboot. The trailer shows him facing off against a mysterious foe who, given his hooked swords, could be Kabal. At the end of the fight, as his enemy is on the ground, Liu channels his fire power around him and punches it into the earth, creating a sort of summoning circle out of which a fiery dragon rises. The scene cuts away before the final blow is struck, but if the movie version is anything like the fatality seen in the games, Liu Kang’s opponent is likely about to be chomped in two by the beast’s flaming jaws.

How Mortal Kombat Changes Liu Kang’s Original Power

Not much has been revealed so far about how the actual magic in the Mortal Kombat reboot works, though some details have leaked out. The new film will focus heavily on arcana, an internal source of magical energy unique to each fighter. Liu’s takes shape as fire, presumably, Sub-Zero’s as ice, and so on. The source of these arcana is unknown, but the fact Cole Young is born with the MK logo on his chest suggests only certain people have access to these abilities, and that they are bestowed upon birth.

This arcana explanation is new for the Mortal Kombat series. In the games, each character has always had their own unique explanation for their supernatural abilities – Kano had cybernetic implants, Liu Kang channeled ancient magic, Scorpion wielded hellish abilities after his resurrection, etc. By giving the whole cast (or at least, many of them) a common origin point for their abilities, the reboot is setting up a more consistent mythos from the start.

How exactly all that fits into Liu Kang’s dragon fatality isn’t entirely clear, though it seems reasonable to assume the new dragon is made of fire because all of Liu’s abilities will tie back to his arcana abilities. That makes some of the games’ more ridiculous moves – like babalities and animalities – unlikely to appear this time. It also doesn’t look like Liu Kang will be doing any shapeshifting in the reboot, which, given how that went in 1997’s reviled Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, might be for the best.

Is Liu Kang’s Dragon Bite Mortal Kombat’s Deadliest Fatality?

Obviously, every Mortal Kombat fatality is deadly by nature – otherwise, the name wouldn’t make any sense. But that doesn’t mean they are all equal in their power. So, is Liu Kang’s dragon fatality the strongest finisher in all of Mortal Kombat lore? There’s certainly a case to be made. Liu is one of the strongest fighters in the entire franchise, having been the champion of the titular tournament multiple times. He has often been among the most feared warriors in the series, as seen in Mortal Kombat 11 when the ancient goddess Kronika counts him and Raiden as the biggest threats to her plans.

Liu’s fighting skills and magical aptitude are both incredibly high, but they aren’t the only reason his finisher might be the strongest Mortal Kombat fatality. Most killing moves in the series are single-target oriented, as makes sense for one-on-one combat. However, Liu Kang’s dragon has potential far beyond simple duels. At peak power, the dragon fatality would likely lay waste to most challengers handily, and could even take on large groups of opponents at the same time. It will be exciting to see how that power manifests in the new Mortal Kombat.

About The Author

Rick Stevenson
(1221 Articles Published)

Rick Stevenson is a writer, editor and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s written on TV, film and games for over six years, in addition to assorted stints in bookselling, carpentry, and TV production. Rick studied writing at the College of William & Mary and Oxford University, and can report with some authority that they are both old. He lives and dies for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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