 kung lao () is a video game character from the mortal kombat series, introduced as a player character in mortal kombat ii in 1993. he is a former shaolin monk and a former member of the white lotus society who stands in the shadow of his great ancestor, the great kung lao. kung lao is a close friend of the series' protagonist liu kang and together they were the main characters of the spin-off game mortal kombat: shaolin monks. he gained considerable popularity and favorable critical reception, in large part because of his famous weapon, which resembles oddjob's hat. ==appearances== ===in video games=== kung lao is possibly (next to liu kang) the last known descendant of the great kung lao, a former champion of mortal kombat, who lost the title and his life to goro 500 years previously, resulting in the start of shang tsung's rule over the tournament. kung lao was originally the one to represent the shaolin in the mortal kombat tournament but he declined, knowing of the consequences of becoming champion. as a result, liu kang was chosen and emerged as the winner. when the shaolin temple was attacked by baraka and his tarkatan soldiers, liu kang and kung lao resolved to travel through the portal to the outworld and avenge their fallen shaolin brothers. kung lao's ultimate goal was however to rebuild the white lotus society at the wu shi academy in order to train a new generation of warriors for the coming ages. following shao kahn's defeat at liu kang's hand, the monks returned to earth and began training the next generation of shaolin warriors. (kung lao's character bio was not included in the arcade version of mortal kombat 3, but was later made available for the home versions.) when shao kahn invaded earthrealm during mortal kom
Characters_created_by_John_Tobias Fictional_Buddhist_monks Fictional_Chinese_people_in_video_games Fictional_wushu_practitioners Male_characters_in_video_games Mortal_Kombat_characters Religious_worker_characters_in_video_games Video_game_characters_in_comics Video_game_characters_in_film Video_game_characters_in_literature Video_game_characters_in_television Video_game_characters_introduced_in_1993 Video_game_characters_who_can_teleport Video_game_protagonists