Mortal Kombat 2 has officially determined the fate of its lead character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan). The Warner Bros. sequel continues its adaptation of NetherRealm Studios' famous fighting game series, this time with exciting new characters, like Johnny Cage and Kitana. While the first film avoided the titular tournament, the sequel dives headfirst into Mortal Kombat, with many fatalities across the board.
Warning - This article contains spoilers for the second Mortal Kombat movie.
2021's Mortal Kombat movie chose to make Cole Young its lead, but this decision sparked significant division among viewers. Fans of the game lamented that an original character was chosen to lead the movie rather than one of the many iconic established fighters from Mortal Kombat's existing roster. Others considered Cole uncharismatic or lacking a compelling story.
Heading into Mortal Kombat 2, the studio appeared to switch tactics, placing Karl Urban's Johnny Cage at the center of its marketing and sidelining Cole. This led many to believe that Cole may be killed off in Mortal Kombat 2, and with the movie now playing in cinemas, it's been confirmed that this is indeed the case.
Cole's story in Mortal Kombat sees the character go from a rookie outsider to one of Earthrealm's chosen champions, after which he teams up with his colleagues, Sonya, Jax, and Raiden, to seek out new warriors for the tournament. In the second film, Cole is immediately relegated to a supporting role as the movie focuses on Johnny Cage and Kitana (Adeline Rudolph). Starting as an established member of the Earthrealm team, Cole weighs in on the events of the movie, but is in no way the focus of them, as he was in the first film.
Once the Mortal Kombat tournament begins, Cole is chosen as one of the representatives for Earthrealm and is pitted against the Outworld leader and major villain, Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford). The duo is sent to fight at the Dead Pool, an underground, sewer-like stage featuring a boardwalk over a pit of acid.
Shao Kahn and Cole Young are fairly evenly matched; however, at this point, Shao Kahn has the upper hand as he's bound to Raiden's power in Shinnok's amulet, making him immortal. Putting all his skills from the first film to the test, Cole manages to slice Shao Kahn's throat–only for it to heal.
Shao Kahn then overpowers Cole and uses his hammer to smash his head in. While it's hard to see Cole go, he is given one of the most brutal fatalities in the film.
The film moves swiftly on from Cole's death, firmly positioning Johnny Cage as its new hero and, in doing so, addressing complaints that the franchise was hanging off a weak lead character. This marks the end of Cole Young's time in Mortal Kombat - both the tournament and the film franchise - though the movie proves time and again that death isn't always permanent in this world, so the door is still open for him to return.
Mortal Kombat 2 stars Karl Urban, Josh Lawson, Jessica McNamee, Tati Gabrielle, Mehcad Brooks, and Adeline Rudolph. It is directed by Simon McQuoid and released in cinemas on May 8.
Every Character Who Died in Mortal Kombat 2
King Jerrod
Mortal Kombat 2 opens with a prologue sequence featuring King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam), the ruler of Edenia and Kitana's father, fighting for the leadership of his realm against Shao Kahn. While Jerrod puts up a good fight, he's ultimately a victim of a Shao Kahn fatality, as he's impaled on the end of the masked tyrant's hammer, ceding his realm's leadership to the masked warrior.
Sindel
In one of the first matchups of the tournament, Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) is paired with Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), the enslaved queen whom Shao Kahn took as his consort after defeating Jerrod. Fighting in a deadly pit of shifting spikes, Sonya eventually defeats Sindel in a brutal sequence that sees her head impaled through one of the sharp points.
While Sindel is killed in combat, she returns shortly after, revived by the nercomancer, Quan Chi.
Kung Lao
Kung Lao, a once close ally of Raiden and Liu Kang, had his soul stolen by Shang Tsung in the first film, which is then put to work for the Outworld in Mortal Kombat 2. The revenant Kung Lao is matched with his old friend Liu Kang in Round 4 of the tournament, where the latter does all he can to avoid killing his ex-buddy. But knowing that his friend's soul is no longer inside, Kang eventually goes for the kill and pulls Kung Lao onto the blades of his own razor-tipped hat.
Should the Mortal Kombat movies continue, this is unlikely to be the last fans see of Kung Lao, as Liu Kang vowed to find a way to bring him back from the Netherrealm.
Jax
Despite winning his round in Mortal Kombat, Jax is another of the heroes who perishes at the hands of Shao Kahn. While trying to recover the immortality amulet from Shao Kahn, Jax goes head-to-head with the Outworld ruler, but his bionic arms aren't enough to prevent Shao Kahn's hammer from impaling him.
Liu Kang
Another victim of Shao Kahn is the fan favorite Liu Kang, who is paired up with Outworld's leader in the final battle. Liu Kang's death is more ambiguous than the rest, as while he's dealt a seemingly fatal wound by Shao Kahn, he warns his enemy that striking him down will only make him more powerful, before his body evolves into a being of flames and disappears. Before going, he vows to find his friends in the spirit world, so it seems like this is a willing surrender rather than a true fatality.
Saibot
After serving as one of the major antagonists in the 2021 movie, Bi-Hun, aka Sub-Zero, is resurrected as Noob Saibot in Mortal Kombat 2, serving as a wraith for the Outworld. However, Saibot faces his own undead enemy in the Netherrealm, as the group team up with Scorpion's spirit, who rises to fight his old nemesis. Scorpion succeeds in besecting Saibot, putting the evil spirit to bed (again).
Shao Kahn
With the blood of several key characters on his hands, Shao Kahn's reign of terror comes to an end by the finale of Mortal Kombat 2. The evil leader is killed by none other than his own adopted daughter, Kitana, who switches sides in the final moments, forcing a final round between the two for the fate of Earthrealm.
When the team in the Netherrealm is finally successful in destroying Kahn's amulet, Kitana is able to deal the fatal blow, using her razor-sharp fans to slice through his head (although it will remain preserved as a novelty popcorn bucket).
