Bio:
- Kung Lao
- Height: 5’10”
- Weight: 180 lbs
- Species: Human
- Resides: Netherrealm
- Eye Color: Bright Red/Orange
- Status: Former Shao Lin, Revenant
- Alignment: Evil
- Age: 42
Kung Lao is a former Shaolin monk and a member of the White Lotus Society. He stands in the shadow of his great ancestor, the Great Kung Lao. Unlike his great ancestor, he has no desire to be champion and would rather live a life of peace. In the new timeline he became eager to prove himself equal to Liu Kang. He sought counsel from master Bo’ Rai Cho, a martial arts master. Of the Earthrealm warriors, Lao is the most outspoken pacifist. He will not hesitate to severely punish those who attack him, Earthrealm, or his friends however. His trademark is his Razor-Rimmed Hat, which he can employ quite powerfully and effectively in combat. Many of his fatalities involve the use of his hat to some extent.
Mortal Kombat II
Trained by the Order of Light, Kung Lao is the last known descendant of the Great Kung Lao, a former Champion of Mortal Kombat. Like his friend Liu Kang, Kung Lao is also a member of the White Lotus Society. Kung Lao was originally the one to represent the Shaolin in the Mortal Kombat tournament but he declined. As a result, Liu Kang was chosen and emerged as the winner.
When the Shaolin Temples were attacked by Baraka and his Tarkatan soldiers, Liu Kang and Kung Lao resolved to their fallen Shaolin brothers. Although he joined his friend in his furious quest, Kung Lao’s ultimate goal was to rebuild the White Lotus Society at the Wu Shi Academy. Kung Lao with Liu Kang, ventured into Outworld to battle with Outworld’s forces in the new tournament. Following Shao Kahn’s defeat at Liu Kang’s hand, the monks returned to Earth and began training the next generation of Shaolin warriors.
Mortal Kombat 3
When Shao Kahn’s invasion of Earthrealm came, he had to temporarily scrap his plans for reforming the Society. Eventually, Kung Lao faced Shao Kahn; the Emperor of Outworld. Kung Lao was blasted with a powerful spell and injured him so badly that he was believed to have died. Hearing of Kung Lao’s apparent death enraged Liu Kang, as he challenged Shao Kahn and successfully defeated him for the second time.
Mortal Kombat Gold
With Outworld driven back, Kung Lao decided not to return to the Shaolin Temples. The Shaolin monk instead decided to allow everyone to believe that he was dead, desiring to live a life of peace in respect to his ancestors. Unfortunately, he was drawn away from his newfound peace to help fight against Shinnok’s forces. Word reached him that Goro, the Shokan warrior who had killed the Great Kung Lao centuries ago, was still alive. After Shinnok’s defeat, Kung Lao attacked Goro, who had signed a peace treaty with the Centaurs under the mediation of Princess Kitana. Instead of being an attempted assassination, however, the blow was a ceremonial strike of vengeance for the Great Kung Lao’s death. With this act, the two warriors shook hands, their feud over.
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
The next few years were peaceful for Kung, this ended on a brutal note at the time of the formation of the Deadly Alliance. Sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung united and murdered Liu Kang in a vicious attack . Kung Lao found the body of his longtime friend, and was told immediately by Raiden that Shang Tsung was the assassin. Enraged, Kung Lao vowed revenge upon the sorcerer, and once again abandoned his pacifist Shaolin beliefs. He did not believe his current skills were sufficient enough to defeat Shang Tsung however. After meeting with the other Earthrealm warriors and traveling to Outworld, Kung Lao sought the advice Bo’ Rai Cho. The master martial arts instructor trained Kung Lao for a short time, and taught him Liu Kang’s maneuver. Together, they joined the other warriors in the assault against the two sorcerers. Kung Lao would not rest until Liu Kang was avenged, and Shang Tsung had paid with his life. He then invited Bo’ Rai Cho to join him in going back to Earthrealm and train more warriors at the Wu Shi Academy.
Mortal Kombat: Deception
The assault against the sorcerers did not end well. With Liu Kang dead, Raiden and his companions were fighting a losing battle. Kung Lao and Kitana challenged the Deadly Alliance, with Kung Lao battling Shang Tsung one on one. Despite his improved skills, Lao’s strength was inadequate in comparison to Tsung’s, which resulted in his death. Furthermore, Kitana died at the hands of Quan Chi, leaving Raiden alone to battle the Deadly Alliance. Kung Lao was eventually revived by Onaga as a servant however.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Kung Lao joined forces with the God of Wind to bring their former comrades Raiden and Liu Kang under control. The God of Thunder became as ruthless as Shao Kahn and Liu Kang’s corpse began selectively slaying various people. Fujin would state that if no way was found to revert the two corrupted warriors back to normal, both he and Kung Lao would be forced to finish them.
During the final battle, Kung Lao apparently kills Baraka, but is later killed by Shinnok.
Mortal Kombat 9
The Shaolin had chosen Liu Kang to represent them in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Kung Lao however, believing that he was Liu Kang’s equal, entered the tournament disguised as one of Shang Tsung’s guards. He remained hidden until the introduction of Scorpion in one of the tournament matches. Raiden had received a vision which told him of the masked guard’s true identity. While Shang Tsung asked the crowd of combatants who wished to challenge Scorpion, Raiden approached Kung Lao and told him that he was not Liu Kang’s equal. Determined to prove Raiden otherwise, Kung Lao discarded his disguise and challenged Scorpion. Kung Lao was defeated however, and was forced to watch for the remainder of the tournament. After Liu Kang’s victory over Shang Tsung, Kung Lao joined the others to watch Liu Kang being awarded a medal for his victory at a ceremony held at the Wu Shi Academy.
The celebration was short-lived as a revitalized Shang Tsung came to the Wu Shi Academy later that night to propose a tournament to Raiden. Raiden rejected Shang Tsung’s proposal which caused Shang Tsung to summon a Tarkatan horde. They destroyed the Wu Shi Academy and kidnapped Sonya Blade. After defeating the Tarkatan horde, Raiden received a vision of Liu Kang defeating Shao Kahn at the Outworld Tournament. Although Raiden accepted the challenge, he believed that he had to change the outcome of this vision, in order to prevent Armageddon in the future.
After the raid of the Wu Shi Academy, Kung Lao travels with both Liu Kang and Raiden to free the shaolin monks who were captured by Baraka’s tarkatan horde. Kung Lao is angered by the raid and the death of master Wen, but Raiden tells him that there are boundaries not meant to be crossed. As Raiden goes to fight Baraka and D’Vorah, Kung Lao and Liu Kang fight off the tarkatan hordes along the way. Raiden defeats both Baraka and D’Vorah, and leaves Kung Lao and Liu Kang to deal with rescuing the monks. He tells them both to join him in the tournament later.
Kung Lao and Liu Kang would meet up with Raiden, Cage and Smoke. They went to the wastelands where they were informed by Jade of Kitana’s pending execution. She was being held captive in the tower of Shao Kahn’s Fortress. Kung Lao and Liu Kang went to the Tower to rescue Kitana, leaving the others to go to the Coliseum to take part in the tournament. Unable to find Kitana at the Tower, the two were confronted by Sheeva and Noob Saibot. They told them that Kitana had been relocated. Kung Lao fought and defeated Noob Saibot. After defeating Noob Saibot, he watched as Liu Kang fight Sheeva. At that moment Goro arrived, wanting revenge against Liu Kang. Kung Lao challenged, defeated Goro and demanded Kitana’s location. Goro explained that she was taken to the Coliseum were he had not doubt she was executed. The Shaolin monks went to the Coliseum, where they saw Kitana chained up.
Liu Kang went to Kitana’s aid, not willing to take part in the tournament. With Smoke and Cage defeated in the tournament and Sonya and Jax no longer in Outworld, Raiden believed that Kung Lao could be the one who should win the tournament and sent him to fight. Kung Lao went up against the combined might of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi and defeated them. Shortly after, he fought and defeated Kintaro. Shao Kahn killed him afterwards, by snapping his neck from behind. An enraged Liu Kang seemingly killed Shao Kahn.
Kung Lao was resurrected by Quan Chi along with the other fallen warriors, as his soul belonged to the sorcerer as payment by Shao Kahn. When Raiden went to Netherrealm for Quan Chi’s assistance to defeat the Outworld invasion. Quan Chi instead sent Kung Lao along with others to kill him, but Raiden defeated them.
Mortal Kombat X
Twenty-five years after his death at the hands of Shao Kahn, Kung Lao now serves as a revenant of Quan Chi. He assists the revenant versions of Liu Kang, Sindel, and Kitana in escorting Quan Chi to his fortress to wait for D’Vorah and Shinnok’s amulet. They are ambushed by the Special Forces consisting of Jax and Kenshi while being aided by Quan Chi’s former servant Sareena. While Liu Kang escorts Quan Chi, Kung Lao faces Jax. The two of the them fight, but Jax emerges as the victor.
He along with the other revenants pledge their allegiance to Shinnok. Raiden attempts to stop Shinnok from entering the Jinsei, but is surrounded by his revenant servants. They tease him at first, but Raiden proceeds to fight them off. Raiden is temporarily overpowered by them, but manages to shock them all away, but Kung Lao escapes. Kung Lao proceeds to fight Raiden, only to be defeated by his former mentor.
As Cassie Cage and her team arrive at the Sky Temple, Kung Lao is seen with Smoke talking to Liu Kang. Kung Lao claims to have found Raiden’s portal to the heavens, but is blocked by protective wards. Kitana says that the seal must break. He with Liu Kang and Smoke should go to Raiden’s portal to destroy the wards. The three of them return later only to find Kitana and Sindel attacked by Cassie’s team. Jacqui and Takeda offer to stay behind to hold off the undead revenants.
After Shinnok is defeated, Kung Lao along with the other revenants retreat to the Netherrealm. It is unknown as to what happened to him after, but it is likely that he continues to be a revenant.
Powers and Abilities
Kung Lao possesses similar abilities to Liu Kang when it comes to strength, agility and martial arts. However, those are not his most deadly weapon. Lao’s preferred weapon of choice is the razor-edged hat that he wears all the time. The hat is usually utilized to instill fatal and amputating blows, mainly in decapitation. Lao appears to have absolute control over the hat as he is able to throw whilst it moves in circular directions instead of straight ahead. The hat also appears to have supernatural properties. No matter how far he throws it or where it will end up, the hat will always materialize back on Lao’s head like an instant boomerang. He appears to also have some degree of teleportation as well.