Mortal Kombat Unveils Their First Gay Fighter
A new era for fighting games… and the LGBT community?
The latest game in the epic Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, Mortal Kombat X was released just yesterday. Does it have all the gore, uppercuts and fatalities (First Slice has you covered there) that made the series so famous? It does, in spades, but reviewers are also praising the depth and quality of the game’s story mode. In that story mode, is a type of character that we have yet to see in Mortal Kombat.
A character worried about something other than his remaining health
In this robust story mode, GayStarNews and Kotaku have discovered dialogue by newcomer Kung Jin referring to some of his inner demons. In the story so far, Kung Jin has proven himself to be an able warrior, defeating all the challenges thrown at him, and contributing his Katniss-like bow skills to a Special Forces group. He is given a peptalk by series original character Raiden, who tells Kung Jin to join a different group, an order of religious monks. Kung Jin states “I can’t…they won’t accept-” as seen in the above capture of a let’s play video by ThePapiGfunkPlays.
Acceptance
Raiden tells him “they care only about what is in your heart, not whom your heart desires.” Kung Jin takes a moment with this. While this may be up for interpretation (although the whom and the religious context of the monk group seems to make it pretty clear), an employee of the company that made the game tweeted: “I see people are picking up on the subtle exposition contained in Kung Jin’s flashback. Glad we have observant fans!”
A powerful warrior with sexuality as a casual mention
Kung Jin is able to hold his own with the other fighters, both in skill and violence. His sexuality is not played up with offensive stereotypes, as it seems has been the case with many past video games.
The situation was handled in a sensitive way, and people voiced their approval
If Kung Jin is gay: awesome
If Kung Jin isn’t gay: awesome
Best part: his sexual situation isn’t even a part of his personality/design.
() (@MINUSTHEFIGHTER) April 7, 2015
Movement in the right direction
As games have moved away from past over-the-top portrayals of gay characters, there is a light on the horizon for complex portrayals of deeper characters. Sure, maybe past technology limited the options for Mario to be a nuanced anti-hero, so our current tech is helping. Pictured above, 2014’s Last of Us: Left Behind is one of the first games that “depicts a meaningful and believable relationship between two adolescent girls.” Game developer BioWare has also included LGBT characters in its games, but the first gay male party member came just last year as well.
Even in terms of representing women more realistically, Moral Kombat has made strides. Pictured below is newcomer Cassie Cage with no exposed breasts or skimpy outfits
