Anime Mortal Kombat 11

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Baraka's face is literally a Nosferatu mask in MK2.

But how does this make him a "rip-off" of Nosferatu if he never acts or has anywhere near a characterization of Nosferatu? Having an inspiration doesn't make it a rip-off, how is it so hard to comprehend this.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Baraka's face is literally a Nosferatu mask in MK2.

But how does this make him a "rip-off" of Nosferatu if he never acts or has anywhere near a characterization of Nosferatu? Having an inspiration doesn't make it a rip-off, how is it so hard to comprehend this.

I didn't say in what way he's Nosferatu. He has Nosferatu's face, literally, and the claw thing is because of Wolverine. Being a monster man with Wolverine claws, and for any pedantic cunts out there no he doesn't exactly have the same style of claws as Wolverine, is what made Baraka cool when he came out in 1993. But the point was that Mortal Kombat is full of these kind of movie and comic book references when it comes to characters. Bitching about how the Terminator being a guest character is dumb when the cool thing about Kano when Mortal Kombat came out was that he was clearly based on the Terminator is just hilariously stupid.

 

[bertram_tung]

Michael Myers from Halloween literally has the face of William Shatner. I guess Captain Kirk should be in the next Halloween movie. Fuck, let's put Kirk in the next Mortal Kombat because I'm sure we can find some sort of vague connection to tie Michael Myers to MK and therefore Captain Kirk. Anyone who would think it's uncharacteristic clearly isn't intellectual enough to be taken seriously.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Baraka's face is literally a Nosferatu mask in MK2.

But how does this make him a "rip-off" of Nosferatu if he never acts or has anywhere near a characterization of Nosferatu? Having an inspiration doesn't make it a rip-off, how is it so hard to comprehend this.

I didn't say in what way he's Nosferatu. He has Nosferatu's face, literally, and the claw thing is because of Wolverine. Being a monster man with Wolverine claws, and for any pedantic cunts out there no he doesn't exactly have the same style of claws as Wolverine, is what made Baraka cool when he came out in 1993. But the point was that Mortal Kombat is full of these kind of movie and comic book references when it comes to characters. Bitching about how the Terminator being a guest character is dumb when the cool thing about Kano when Mortal Kombat came out was that he was clearly based on the Terminator is just hilariously stupid.

I don't think you understand what a rip-off is.

Kano having a Terminator style eye shield is literally where any similarity between the two comes to a swift end.

What made Baraka cool is that he looked like a fucking savage monster man, not because every kid on the bus knew who Nosferatu was. The mask they used was even heavily modified to look like the Baraka/Tarkatans we know today, using some Nosferatu mask was purely a template piece and nothing more.

And again, the most important part about Baraka/Kano is that while they took inspiration from somewhere else, they made it their own to make sense in the MK universe. Transplanting Terminator or '90s Wolverine or whatever other guest doesn't work well because they clash with the overall aesthetic. Taking Robocop and setting him next to Cyrax makes them look like they are from a different world. Robocop looks like Robocop but now he's in an MK game, while Cyrax looks like he was clearly designed to visually fit in with the MK world around him.

Them making references to popular stuff by creating a new character in MK but making them fit into MK as a whole is good. Them taking a Hollywood/comic character and just dropping them into MK is tacky and looks geeky.

Erron Black is a good example of creating something fresh for MK instead of trying to get Clint Eastwood's likeness for the Man With No Name for a game.

I'm sure we can find some sort of vague connection to tie Michael Myers to MK and therefore Captain Kirk.

but dewd miguel mayers iz from an R-RATED HORROR SERIES, which meanz blood n gore! MK haz blood n gore!

itz liek, uh, density or sumfin

 

[Melcar]

This thread man.

 

[Lacrymas]

Inspiration =/= rip-off. We, as human beings, can't help but be shaped by our experiences and surroundings, so taking no inspiration from anywhere is basically impossible. Just haphazardly transplanting other characters from other universes into yours with a butcher's cleaver is fan fiction, not what Baraka or Kano were when they first appeared. Is every character with a cybernetic eye a rip-off of the Terminator? Seems like a stretch.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Baraka's face is literally a Nosferatu mask in MK2.

But how does this make him a "rip-off" of Nosferatu if he never acts or has anywhere near a characterization of Nosferatu? Having an inspiration doesn't make it a rip-off, how is it so hard to comprehend this.

I didn't say in what way he's Nosferatu. He has Nosferatu's face, literally, and the claw thing is because of Wolverine. Being a monster man with Wolverine claws, and for any pedantic cunts out there no he doesn't exactly have the same style of claws as Wolverine, is what made Baraka cool when he came out in 1993. But the point was that Mortal Kombat is full of these kind of movie and comic book references when it comes to characters. Bitching about how the Terminator being a guest character is dumb when the cool thing about Kano when Mortal Kombat came out was that he was clearly based on the Terminator is just hilariously stupid.

I don't think you understand what a rip-off is.

Kano having a Terminator style eye shield is literally where any similarity between the two comes to a swift end.

What made Baraka cool is that he looked like a fucking savage monster man, not because every kid on the bus knew who Nosferatu was. The mask they used was even heavily modified to look like the Baraka/Tarkatans we know today, using some Nosferatu mask was purely a template piece and nothing more.

And again, the most important part about Baraka/Kano is that while they took inspiration from somewhere else, they made it their own to make sense in the MK universe. Transplanting Terminator or '90s Wolverine or whatever other guest doesn't work well because they clash with the overall aesthetic. Taking Robocop and setting him next to Cyrax makes them look like they are from a different world. Robocop looks like Robocop but now he's in an MK game, while Cyrax looks like he was clearly designed to visually fit in with the MK world around him.

Them making references to popular stuff by creating a new character in MK but making them fit into MK as a whole is good. Them taking a Hollywood/comic character and just dropping them into MK is tacky and looks geeky.

Erron Black is a good example of creating something fresh for MK instead of trying to get Clint Eastwood's likeness for the Man With No Name for a game.

You're doing really good job arguing against things that were never said. I never said the reason why people liked Baraka is because they knew his face was a Nosferatu mask. The point was like most good things in MK, Baraka is just another in a line of things that pulled from popular pop culture of the time. I don't see any point in bitching about movie characters being in this fighting game series that was built on movie references that were mostly all very clear on release. Kano wasn't cool in MK1 because of some kind of "character", he was cool because he looked like the Terminator and he had the heart rip from Temple of Doom.

Terminator doesn't even kind of clash with the aesthetic of Mortal Kombat. In fact the more time that goes on the less that's true, as more and more MK characters are dressed in leather as opposed to the comic book looking costumes found in the first three games.

Erron Black looks fucking stupid. He's a fun idea, but the MK ninja mask on the cowboy character that's pretty purely a cowboy looks fucking dumb.

Inspiration =/= rip-off. We, as human beings, can't help but be shaped by our experiences and surroundings, so taking no inspiration from anywhere is basically impossible. Just haphazardly transplanting other characters from other universes into yours with a butcher's cleaver is fan fiction, not what Baraka or Kano were when they first appeared. Is every character with a cybernetic eye a rip-off of the Terminator? Seems like a stretch.

Since 1984 the answer to that question is likely yes. In the '90s when characters like Kano and Cable were popping up, and the Terminator was on of the biggest things around, that yes is even more likely. Also, looking like the Terminator was basically the whole of Kano's character until the Mortal Kombat movie, and that was three years after Mortal Kombat the game came out.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

The point was like most good things in MK, Baraka is just another in a line of things that pulled from popular pop culture of the time.

The only pop-culture thing about Baraka was him having retractable blades which you could see as being similar to Wolverine's claws but just like Kano and his cybernetic eye, that's where all similarities come to a stop. The only character you can say has a semblance of rip-off to them is Liu Kang but just about every fighting game franchise back then had a Bruce Lee type like Fei Long in SF or the Laws in Tekken.

The issue is your logic for justifying things like guest characters is really retarded because you're intentionally bypassing everything about an MK character to draw a similarity to something else, deeming it a rip-off, then failing to understand that while Baraka has retractable weapons coming out of his arms he was obviously designed to fit the MK games as an original character.

If I was to apply the way you see things I could do something like... uh, Kung Lao has a wide brimmed hat that casts a shadow over his face... just like, uh, The Undertaker! There you go. Make Undertaker a guest character, because somebody has a similar hat to him already.

Terminator doesn't even kind of clash with the aesthetic of Mortal Kombat.

Ye, having Skynet Arnie appear in a game series traditionally about martial arts, mysticism with an Oriental slant, sorcerers, ninjas, and lightning gods isn't a clash at all. In the MK universe Terminator doesn't fit because the cyborgs we all know don't mesh with Terminator's aesthetic, therefore even in MK11 he looks like an out of place goof. Same with Joker, same with Jason, same with Spawn, same for just about any other future guest they have planned.

Erron Black looks fucking stupid.

Who gives a fuck, at least you can make a reason for why he is a cowboy with a half mask by incorporating MK stuff to him to make him fit in. It's better than taking a literal cowboy ala Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name and just plopping him down with the only explanation being "uh some realm stuff happened."

Also, looking like the Terminator was basically the whole of Kano's character until the Mortal Kombat movie, and that was three years after Mortal Kombat the game came out.

I'm pretty sure Kano was always a mercenary arms dealer for a criminal organization dating back to MK1. Let me guess, Kano looking like Terminator must mean Sonya Blade is like Sarah Connor. Fuck me.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

You're the one that brought up Erron Black as a good example of them creating something fresh. I disagree, given he looks fucking stupid.

 

[Silverfish]

Hey now. Erron Black may look a little stupid, but at least he doesn't fit the setting at all.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Hey now. Erron Black may look a little stupid, but at least he doesn't fit the setting at all.

He has a Mortal Kombat ninja mask. That means classic old west looking cowboys are now a perfect aesthetic match for Mortal Kombat. I mean sure Erron Black isn't a ninja or a wizard, and he's not some villain from Big Trouble in Little China so you might think that means he clashes with Mortal Kombat...but he doesn't because they put him in. So now it doesn't clash, and he's a good example of a fresh new Mortal Kombat character.

When a Terminator was announced as a guest character (those are noncanonical right?) I was like: This is not right, MK cyborgs look like robot Predators made of sports gear, they do not look like Kanos, this will not stand, this doesn't make an sense aesthetically. It was also a character slot that could have been filled by Hus Has, or like some Mortal Kombat 4 character nobody actually gives a shit about.

 

[Lacrymas]

All the nu-ones don't fit. Even D'Vorah.

 

[Melcar]

Ah yes, the cowboy ninja. Fucking nuts man. But then again, they did Nightwolf, and that guy kinda fits in.
As for the cyborg ninjas. Back in MK3 they did seemed cool. Nothing original, but nothing that would ruin the "feel" of MK as it was in those days. Story wise it was just the ninja clan doing cyborg assassins. Sure, they looked a bit silly, but motherfucking cyborg ninja assassins. Don't tell me that does not fit into the whole original MK formula.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

It was also a character slot that could have been filled by Hus Has, or like some Mortal Kombat 4 character nobody actually gives a shit about.

Or it could've been a character slot for Mileena, Smoke, Reptile, Ermac, Cyrax, Sektor. This is why arguing with guest character fans is an impossible task because you're shocked that people who like MK would rather have MK characters in an MK game rather than a Dark Fate promotion or dead-end comic book character.

He has a Mortal Kombat ninja mask. That means classic old west looking cowboys are now a perfect aesthetic match for Mortal Kombat.

When I say "Erron Black is a good fit" I'm mostly referring to how he looked in MKX and not the dogshit they made him in MK11 here.

Spoiler

A lot less "yeehaw cowboy" and a lot more a mercenary in Outworld. But fuck it, shoe-horn in Shaq because he was in Shaq-Fu and Jax was a ripoff of him anyways because he's big and black.

 

[Silverfish]

But then again, they did Nightwolf, and that guy kinda fits in.

Nightwolf fit because MK3 was an entirely different beast compared to the first two. The kung fu movie and GI Joe elements from before were toned down, and everything had this bright, colorful comic book aesthetic to it (hell, more than half of MK3's cast are wearing spandex). Nightwolf would be an eyesore in Enter the Dragon, but he's a perfect match for Rob Liefeld's X-Factor.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Assisted Living Godzilla

I'm sorry for coming at you hard/rude like that, I get passionate about the guest character shit in fighting games since it's a big deal genre for me. I love you. We amigos still?!

 

[Bigg Boss]

I vote for more ninjas.

 

[Squid]

I vote for more ninjas.

MK always did do the most generic ninja color swap but somehow simultaneously made them some of the most interesting characters in the game.

 

[Bigg Boss]

Somehow they lost creativity when they ran out of colors.

 

[Silverfish]

I'm still despondent that we never got a sangria sunrise ninja.

 

[Bigg Boss]

We are missing a white ninja.

 

[Lacrymas]

White is the combination of all colors, so Power Rangers style morph when?

 

[Bigg Boss]

 

[Reinhardt]

We are missing a white ninja.

It even has Liu Kang so would fit right in.

 

[Bigg Boss]

They had him already.