Kung Lao

Kung Lao is a character from the Mortal Kombat series.
== Charactah Account ==
A member of the same Shaolin order as Liu Kang, Kung Lao is the descendant of the Great Kung Lao who defeated Shang Tsung many generations before. His trademark feature is his razor-brimmed hat, which he can throw as a weapon.
Kung Lao stands in the shadow of his great ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, but unlike his great ancestor, he has no desire to be champion and would rather live a life of peace. However, this was changed in MK 2011, wherein Lao is now eager to prove himself equal to Liu Kang. As well, he has sought counsel from master Bo' Rai Cho. Of the Earthrealm warriors, Lao is the most outspoken pacifist, although he will not hesitate to severely punish those who attack him, Earthrealm, or his friends.
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, as such that 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.
== Appearance ==
=== Comics ===
* Mortal Kombat
* Mortal Kombat II Collector's Edition
* Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition
* Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition II
* Mortal Kombat X
* Mortal Kombat: Baraka
* Mortal Kombat: Battlewave
* Mortal Kombat: Goro, Prince of Pain
* Mortal Kombat: Kung Lao
=== Video Games ===
* Mortal Kombat (2011)
* Mortal Kombat 3
* Mortal Kombat 11
* Mortal Kombat Advance
* Mortal Kombat II
* Mortal Kombat Gold
* Mortal Kombat Mobile
* Mortal Kombat Trilogy
* Mortal Kombat X
* Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
* Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
* Mortal Kombat: Deception
* Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
* Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
* Mortal Kombat: Unchained
* Ultimate Mortal Kombat
* Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
== Trivia ==
* Kung Lao is the co-protagonist of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, alongside Liu Kang.
* In Mortal Kombat 11, Kung Lao's fighting style is Wing Chun, which is inspired by Ip Man.
* Kung Lao appears in the intro of Armageddon, fighting Baraka in mid-air using his sword.
* Kung Lao can be seen using his Hat Throw and Teleport techniques in the intro of Shaolin Monks, fighting Baraka, Goro and Scorpion separately.
* Despite being a major character in the Mortal Kombat series, the modern Kung Lao was rarely established in most of the MK media including the two films, the live action MK Conquest TV show, or even the USA cartoon series, though he did star in season 2 of MK Legacy.
* Kung Lao's body can be seen in the introduction of Mortal Kombat: Deception, located on the stairs leading to the Soulnado chamber. He is also in Deception's Konquest Mode, where he asks Shujinko to find Kai in Outworld.
* In Deadly Alliance, Kung Lao has a joke image of himself having his own infomercial and selling swords for a limited time.
** In Deadly Alliance and Armageddon, he and Quan Chi use the same weapon, except Kung Lao uses one sword while Quan Chi fights with two.
** Also, in Deadly Alliance, Kung Lao has the same voice actor as Raiden, Hsu Hao, and Mokap.
* In the first episode of Mortal Kombat: Conquest, the original Kung Lao is briefly seen wearing the modern-day Lao's attire, including his iconic hat, prior to defeating Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat.
* The White Lotus Society had meant for Kung Lao to be their champion in Mortal Kombat, but he refuses; only wanting peace and nothing to do with the dangerous and brutal tournament, so they sent Liu Kang instead.
** However, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks retconned this, by stating that Liu Kang was chosen over him, and an arrogant and jealous Kung Lao went to the tournament in disguise as a Masked Guard. This was not considered canon, due to Shaolin Monks not being consistent with the series. In Mortal Kombat 2011, he entered in the tournament only to prove to Raiden that he was a worthy warrior, not to be the champion.
** Though his Arcade ending in MK 2011 is non-canon, it is interesting that he is referred to as a reincarnation of the Great Kung Lao as well as a descendant. Whether this is true is unknown.
* His Fatality in MK 2011, Razor's Edge, shares the same name as his Brutality in MK:SM. These finishers share the name of an album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC.
* In MK 2011, he seems to be oblivious to the fact that Goro killed his ancestor.
* During certain X-Ray Moves, Kung Lao's hat will fall off. However, during certain Fatalities, the hat will stay on Lao's head, even if his head is split in half. The hat will also split in half and remain attached to the halves of Lao's head.
* Kung Lao's Unfriendly Rabbit may be a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Both of his Rabbit finishers may also be references to his Friendship in MKII.
* In the opening cutscene of the MK 2011 Story Mode, Kung Lao is seen dead with the skeleton hands of Shinnok's clone wrapped around him, leading many to believe Shinnok's clone killed him. Lao's hat is also seen in between the split head of Baraka, leading many to believe that Lao killed Baraka.
* In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kung Lao had his costume reversed: his alternate costume (with long hair) as the main costume and the primary costume (with his trademark hat) as the secondary costume.
* Early on in the development of MK 2011, his X-Ray was listed as "Kick Of Shaolin," despite no kick ever taking place during the move. Perhaps, it was a typo or in reference to an omitted move. It was fixed in later patches.
* In the video game Saints Row IV, Pierce Washington dresses as Kung Lao when in his super form. 
* Kung Lao's hat decapitation fatality was the only fatality in Mortal Kombat II where the player had to aim the hat, unlike most finishers, which were triggered instantly.
* In the video game Divekick, a female character named Kung Pao is a parody of Kung Lao and Kitana.
* During Kung Lao's Friendship in the SEGA Genesis port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, the dog borrows two of Sheeva's original voice clips.
* In Chapter 16 of MK 2011, when Quan Chi reveals he has the souls of the fallen Earthrealm Warriors, the undead Kung Lao is seen in his alternate costume, but when Raiden fights him he's seen in his primary costume instead.
* Kung Lao and Ferra & Torr are the only characters in MKX that can successfully combo off their uppercuts without the requirement of additional juggling.
* In a technical sense, Kung Lao is one of the few characters to be dead in both the original and current timelines.
* Kung Lao is one of two characters to perform an alternate attack due to a missing item, this being a rising uppercut. The second is Leatherface, who performs a different sweep attack.
* Kung Lao is one of three Revenant characters to receive only one Revenant outfit. The other two are Jax and Sub-Zero.
* Kung Lao is the only character in the mobile game of MKX to have his appearance from MK 2011 as a playable character.
* His Hat Trick card is one of three character cards to grant 50% critical damage bonus in the mobile game. The other two are Kold War Sub-Zero and Triborg as Cyrax;
** Interestingly, he only grants the bonus to Martial Artist characters, while Sub-Zero grants it if the opponent is affected by frostbite, and Triborg gives the bonus regardless.
* Additionally, his Hat Trick card is one of the few characters in the mobile game with a tag in attack.
* In the DC fighting game Injustice 2, although he is not mentioned by Sub-Zero or Raiden who are featured as playable guest characters, Kung Lao's name appears on some of Raiden's gear.
* His hairstyle in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is based on the hairstyles of the characters from The Shaw Brothers Kung Fu cinema. To further support this fact in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon in the Kreate a Kharacter mode the hairstyle is labeled as "Shaw".
== Gallery ==
File:Kung Lao Render 01.png
File:Kung Lao Render 02.png
File:Kung Lao Render 03.png
File:Kung Lao Render 04.png
File:Kung Lao Render 05.png
File:Kung Lao 01.png
== External Links ==
* Kung Lao at Mortal Kombat Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Mortal Kombat