Mortal Kombat protagonist Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is a descendant of Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), but which of the two characters is actually stronger? Because of their blood connection and shared vendetta against villain Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Cole only ever team up in the movie, leaving the question of who would win in a duel between them unanswered. However, after looking at the powers they display in the movies and the video games, there’s a clear winner.

Cole spends most of Mortal Kombat with only his fists and his wits to protect himself. He’s a skilled fighter and one with particularly impressive endurance, but he’s also far from the greatest martial artist on the planet. Later on, Cole gets a power upgrade after awakening his arcana, which allows him to summon a magical suit of armor around himself. The armor appears to absorb the energy of any blows struck against it, which Cole can then redirect into his own attacks. His arcana also manifests a set of tonfa batons – one bladed – for Cole to use offensively. With these tools at his disposal, he earns an impressive victory over Outworld’s monster Goro.

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So how do those powers stack up against Scorpion? Before he died, Hanzo Hasashi was one of the most skilled and feared warriors on Earth – so much so that the Lin Kuei sent an entire squad of assassins just to take him out. Those natural fighting skills only became amplified after Scorpion’s trip to the Netherrealm, where he mastered the fires of Hell as a form of magical weaponry. That boost made Scorpion not just an expert in both hand-to-hand and weapon-based combat, but also a dangerous sorcerer with the flames of the Netherrealm itself at his disposal.

While Cole is certainly strong and a skilled warrior, he can’t really match up against Scorpion’s power. His physical fighting abilities aren’t as strong as Hanzo’s, and his arcana, while powerful, can’t compete with Scorpion’s Hell magic either. Fortunately for Cole, the two end up on the same side, and together they’re able to enact some familial vengeance on Sub-Zero. If it wasn’t for Scorpion’s arrival, it’s doubtful Cole on his own would have won the bout.

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Of course, Cole may become much stronger in future Mortal Kombat films. The prophecy surrounding him says he may win the actual Mortal Kombat Tournament, which suggests there’s a lot more power hidden within him waiting to be unlocked. He may not have Scorpion’s warrior training or his pyromancy skills, but he could become a much larger threat in Mortal Kombat 2 and beyond.

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Rick Stevenson
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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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