While Cole Young is a divisive character among fans, the Mortal Kombat writers shouldn't abandon the story of the new protagonists in the sequel. Mortal Kombat 2 writer Jeremy Slater has promised that he is listening to fan feedback on the original film, meaning the film's lead; however, the film cannot abandon Cole's hero story. Cole Young is the protagonist of the 2021 Mortal Kombat film series reboot and has been quite a divisive character among fans of the series. Cole is new and original to the series, the heroic human figure among the paranormal cast of classic Mortal Kombat fighters, ninjas, and gods of thunder. Some have declared the character boring and unnecessary with little personality. As such, and with the creative team taking feedback on the film seriously, Cole could be expected to take a backseat, but the writers shouldn't let this happen.
Cole Young is set to return alongside Mortal Kombat 2's Earthrealm Champion roster, though there's little word on whether he'll be the central focus of the sequel. Cole was introduced in the first film as a failed MMA fighter. He is an orphan with the mystery of his heritage hanging over him with an unusual dragon tattoo believed to be a birthmark. He meets Jax Briggs, who explains that the tattoo is a sign that he has been chosen to fight. Cole is then introduced to series favorite Sonya Blade Liu Kang, the God of Thunder Raiden, though notably absent from the cast is Johnny Cage, who may appear in Mortal Kombat 2. Cole goes through quite a bit of hero arc training. Generic to unlock his Arcana by uncovering the secrets of his Scorpion descended A lineage and surpassing Shang Tsung and Sub-Zero. At the end of the film, Cole leaves for Los Angeles to pursue a martial arts career in Hollywood.
Part of the problem with Cole is that he is very similar to Johnny Cage, who is not only a human martial arts fighter, but also a Hollywood actor. Cage has always been a charming and charismatic character whose irreverent jokes juxtapose the seriousness of his Mortal Kombat teammates. While a Johnny Cage spin-off of Mortal Kombat has great potential, Cole is ultimately not Johnny Cage. Rather, Cole's decidedly stoic generic good guy characterization has led many fans to find him boring. The creative team behind Mortal Kombat 2 promised to listen to feedback from the first movie and promise to make a sequel that surpasses the original in every way. However, as divisive as it is, abandoning Cole as the central lead by radically altering his character or even making him more like Johnny Cage would not only be hard on the character but also on the actor.
With an original character, the writers are able to take Cole in interesting directions the series hasn't seen before. With his origin story out of the way, Mortal Kombat 2 can explore the bond between Cole and the Scorpions. Cole could even be trained by Scorpion, allowing the two to develop their relationship by improving their fighting skill set and dealing with his identity as a descendant of the undead ninja warrior who has always been an anti-heroic figure. By building on this plot, the writers are able to keep Cole as the hero while exploring Mortal Kombat lore and providing him with interesting age-old motivations.
Mortal Kombat 2's commitment to listening to fan feedback is commendable and may bring the sequel more in line with the games. Improvements, like the promised inclusion of Scorpions' doom and exploring Sonya Blades' character in greater depth, are much-needed changes. However, radically altering its new lead undermines his development in the first film and ignores Lewis Tan's accomplishments as Cole.
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