Razor-Rimmed Hat

The Razor-Rimmed Hat is Kung Lao's very own trademark weapon, and one of the most well-known items in the Mortal Kombat series. According to Kung Lao, the hat is made of a highly secret Shaolin recipe for metal.
The hat first appeared along with him in Mortal Kombat II, and later reappeared as another collectible Relic called Kung Lao's Hat within the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.
== Abilities ==
The hat is used in almost all of Kung Lao's Fatalities. It has many abilities, such as teleporting back to the Shaolin warrior Kung Lao, the ability to hold a rabbit in it, and boomerang and ricochet abilities. It is known to be used to slice foes in half or into bits, and decapitate them, yet it strangely almost never draws blood onto itself. When it does, it is simply flicked off with just a spin of Kung Lao.
Kung Lao does not have his hat on during his mini mission in Mortal Kombat: Deception, but he does in every other game if not using his alternate costume in MK: DA and MK: A where he wears his hat on his back.
In Mortal Kombat 1, Kung Lao was inspired to have a razor-sharp hat designed after his battle with Bi-Han, in which he annoyed the ninja by throwing his straw hat at him and subsequently grazed him with a much deadlier chakram hanging on a wall at Fengjian Teahouse.
== Appearances in Other Media ==
In the pilot episode "Warrior Eternal" of the original live-action film's prequel series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, which follows the Great Kung Lao, a scene is briefly shown of the Great Kung Lao with the hat, but for the first time ever, it was not bladed, and was much smaller than usually depicted.
The hat appears with the character in Mortal Kombat: Legacy, a web series following various characters. Here, Kung Lao s depicted as a traditional monk, with orange and yellow robes and a shaved bald head. His hat is once again not bladed but is depicted as more like Raiden's hat, in that it is made from wicker and straw in a very wide-brimmed style, but instead of being conical in shape, it's shaped like his traditional hat.
In the 2021 film Mortal Kombat, Kung Lao can remotely control his hat, possibly using his Arcana. It retains the chin strap of the original games, as much like the earlier games, the character is portrayed using a live actor rather than a 3D model, making it necessary to have a strap to keep the hat secured to his head. In the film, he's also shown to occasionally use the hat as a shield. This is first shown when Kano accidentally shoots his eye laser for the first time at Kung Lao. The pair were arguing with each over various topics at the same time in a fit of rage, mainly about an egg roll. Kano asked for one, derisively calling the monk "Kung Pow". Lao eats it himself, and calls Kano a fat lazy pig of a failure with no fighting skills. Kano stands up, gives a speech about his life as a criminal kingpin, demands an egg roll, and accidentally fires a laser from his damaged right eye, causing Lao to block the shot with his hat, deflecting it out the window.
== Ikran's MK Khronology ==
Of course, Kung Lao's hat has the usual functions as a projectile, sometimes shield, a deflector, teleporter, and conjures up to a F3 tornado after he received vigorous training by Fujin. It also functioned as an air slicer as it decimated a couple tornadoes like the F0 in the Sarna Ruins and even the Soulnado with Fujin's, Hanzo's and Bo' Rai Cho's assistance. Even as a fatal grinder and detonator such as exploding Onaga's and Shang's vessels. It still is a home to his white rabbit, although it'd remain at home occasionally when Lao's not in kombat.
When possessed by Liu's spirit, they can also conjure both a compound of aero and pyrokinesis, even to the point in making aerosol, or combusting an enemy with a sliver of flame after a slice!
== Notes ==
* In the earlier games, the hat also had a chinstrap used to secure it to the head of actor Anthony Marquez, which was retained for Kung Lao's appearance in Mortal Kombat Gold due to reusing the Mortal Kombat 3 design. After the shift from digital actors to full 3D models, the chin strap was rendered unnecessary and removed from all subsequent redesigns of Kung Lao.
== Gallery ==
File:Kung Lao's spiked hat 3D.jpg|Kung Lao's spiked hat 3D
File:KungLaoHatRelic.webp|Kung Lao Hat Relic
Kunglao hat MKX.webp|Razor-Rimmed Hat (MKX)
File:Ill-Fitting Dull-Bladed Hat.webp|Ill-Fitting Dull-Bladed Hat (A Krypt Kollector Item)
File:Bladed Hat Equipment Card Tier 1.webp|Bladed Hat Equipment Card Tier 1
File:Bladed Hat at Tier X.webp|Bladed Hat at Tier X
=== Gear Hats ===
File:Prideful Warrior.webp|Prideful Warrior
File:Confident Monk.webp|Confident Monk
File:Sharp-Dressed Man.webp|Sharp-Dressed Man
File:Second Best Shaolin.webp|Second Best Shaolin
File:Liu Kang's Comrade.webp|Liu Kang's Comrade
File:Self-Righteous Monk.webp|Self-Righteous Monk
File:Protector of Light.webp|Protector of Light
File:Fortune and Glory.webp|Fortune and Glory
File:Tournament Ready.webp|Tournament Ready
File:Perennial Challenger.webp|Perennial Challenger
File:Boastful Adversary.webp|Boastful Adversary
File:Wu Shu Master.webp|Wu Shu Maste
File:Hainan's Favorite Son.webp|Hainan's Favorite Son
File:Legacy of Lao.webp|Legacy of Lao
File:Eager Partner.webp|Eager Partner
File:Born to Fight.webp|Born to Fight
File:Tireless Striver.webp|Tireless Striver
File:All Fired Up.webp|All Fired Up
File:Razor Sharp.webp|Razor Sharp
File:Yearning Spirit.webp|Yearning Spirit
File:Shaolin Ace.webp|Shaolin Ace
File:Maestro of Spin.webp|Maestro of Spin
File:Positively Fearless.webp|Positively Fearless
File:Brash Brother Monk.webp|Brash Brother Monk
File:Untamed Spirit.webp|Untamed Spirit
File:Keen Kompetitor.webp|Keen Kompetitor
File:Undaunted.webp|Undaunted
File:Intrepid Kombatant.webp|Intrepid Kombatant
File:Indomitable.webp|Indomitable
File:Unflinching Shaolin.webp|Unflinching Shaolin
File:Keen-Edged Steel.webp|Keen-Edged Steel
File:Haughty Kombatant.webp|Haughty Kombatant
File:Swaggering Shaolin.webp|Swaggering Shaolin
File:Dauntless Fighter.webp|Dauntless Fighter
File:Zeal for Kombat.webp|Zeal for Kombat
File:Boundless Ambition.webp|Boundless Ambition
File:Endless Moxie.webp|Endless Moxie
File:Prideful Youth.webp|Prideful Youth
Category:Items
Category:Objects
Category:Weapons
Category:Relics
Category:Clothes
Category:Mortal Kombat
Category:Elementals
Category:Pyrotics
Category:Aerokinetic
Category:Shields
Category:Teleports