Well said all around. I never used to consider Stryker among my top picks, but always had a deep respect for him, and found him interesting for all the reasons you detailed, especially from 2:07 - 3:05. More than anything, I just appreciate his back-to-basics attitude and truly raw and "organic" presence among the cast (even more pronounced than Sonya, Johnny or Jax), armed with mere strategy, tactics, intellect and cunning, all brought about naturally through earthly training and brainpower; the definitive everyman. There's a respectable degree of brilliance to it that's easily discarded for the more fantastical elements and themes... understandably. Personally, I always likened him most to Han Solo, along with the others you mentioned. 5:06 - 6:18 was perfectly summarized, and my favorite part. Even being a cop, he maintains a slightly "roguish" quality; one who would scoff at honor and tradition championed by the likes of Liu Kang, Raiden, Kuai Liang etc... , unafraid to break rules or cross certain lines for the sake of survival. It ironically sort of paints him in a very "Kano-esque" light, but crafted in a positive manner, as a force for good. He's literally the epitome of "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
Such a good analysis. Yes, he's totally more back-to-basics than Sonya, Johnny and Jax because he doesn't get bogged down by revenge, ego, or the travails of leadership, respectively, and he also lacks the 'luster' and fame of the mainstays - again, he flies under the radar and just does his job. In a brutally efficient way. And yeah, I'm starting to see the Han Solo comparison. He's not the 'scoundrel' that Han is, but he straddles that same line of devious pragmatist with a good heart, that ultimately uses his talents for good (funny how we each compared Stryker to a different Harrison Ford character). And the more I think about it, the more Han Solo quotes I can find that fit Stryker to a T: "Great kid! Don't get cocky!", "Delusions of grandeur", "Don't everybody thank me at once", "Never tell me the odds". Stryker's a combination between Han Solo and commander Cody.
@@CynicalWarlock Oh, Han Solo + Commander Cody, I didn't even think about that. Makes even more sense. Or even Captain Rex, but now I'm getting off topic lol.
I love the idea of Johnny and Striker just hating each other but then becoming the best of friends. That sounds like just a wonderful idea. But I agree with your videos idea. That it's cool having these ultra powerful characters but contrasting it with normal dudes shows the oddity of the powerful characters and what the ordinary means to them and what the ordinary think of them.
Add Stryker in the next game, make him a reluctant body guard for Johnny Cage. Neither of them are happy with the deal, Stryker because he hates actors and thinks this job is beneath him, Johnny because he can take care of himself. It's almost a shame we got the bromance between Johnny and Kenshi, cause it could've worked great for Stryker too. Then again, give Johnny and Stryker a bromance, give Kenshi and Jax one too, then have an awkward moment framed like it's two exes with their new partners. Or don't, because it's a Mortal Kombat game and this is dumb, but I'm spitballing here.
"AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-EE-IIIIIII, WILL AAALWAAAYS LO"-etc etc. The bodyguard bit is brilliant. Should've included it in the video.
Johnny and Kenshi are bros. Johnny and Stryker are also bros. Kenshi and Jax are also bros. Johnny and Jax become mutual bros via Kenshi. Kenshi and Stryker become mutual bros via Johnny. It’d be funny if Kenshi and Stryker somehow get along like a house on fire while Johnny and Jax try to put out the fires. (Just a random thought that popped into my head).
@@bwackbeedows3629 that possible dynamic slipped my mind when thinking of the other dynamics. But Styker and Jax are bros long before meeting Johnny and Kenshi, respectively.
Stryker was my favorite character lore-wise because I had a similar feeling when I first saw him: guy's just a regular dude who's trying to keep up with super powered beings with just his gear, skill, and thinking fast. Those types of characters always appeal to me.
Honestly Stryker sounds cool for me as more of a Punisher like character. Guy who got fired from the force and became a vigilante who's got a big bone to pick with Kano.
About the Johnny Cage x Stryker duo, I think Oddgiant’s custom ai intros for mk1 kinda did that and it really felt like the two characters belong to each other. Only difference is that Oddgiant made them BOTH into frat boys, but it still felt like they go together
Ah, Kurtis Stryker... I have fond memories of him from MK9. Always thought he was a badass diehard Gigachad super cop. He was funny, satisfying to play and had a good moveset. I enjoyed the one Special where he dive rolls, grabs you, and flings you across the arena. Also, pistols go *brrrrr.* I would have *loved* to see him return as a proper Kombatant in MK11 or 1. You're right that he's severely underutilized, as with many of MK's great koncepts. There's just a special place in my heart for this cop who chugs along, "just doing [his] job." What an absolute *legend.* 🗿👮🏼
Tho his MK Armageddon design was eh. I did like his MK9 redesign. He should have been available in MK11 his story interactions with the cast and the dlc characters would have been dope Stryker is to MK3/MK9 What Leon S. Kennedy was in RE2 (possible more experienced law enforcement officer than Leon) A beat cop who faced overwhelming odds
I remember my dad would always pick styker and I was like why but he kept stringing combos together. Fatalities and brutalities. I was like but he just a cop really appreciate him now
FINALY! A youtube that does mk analysis content and not Just gameplay or character story Im glad MK fandom has you now, cuz there is very few people who do this, for youtube at least You Also never miss
I think people underestimate the potential of this universe; that's partly why you only see gore, gameplay, or history of so-and-so videos. So I'm happy to fill this niche. And it's true, I never miss. That's what she said.
@@probably_amity Unfortunately true. Here are other story and lore-discussing MK youtubers I know and follow. It'sOfficial SonicHAXD Froster 23 Retrospectgreg.
I once heard it. “The more complex a power system can get, the funnier it is when someone pulls out a gun.” That was all about Emiya Kiritsugu, from Fate series. One of fan favourite character in series. (Well based on who you ask). One of most memorable things about him. How in war of magical powers. He brings a gun. Weapon mages see beneath themselves. But Kiritsugu doesn’t care. His character is all about winning for better future. ~~Well until all his ideals crumbled because of wish granting mcguffin~~
Yeah, I've seen Fate/Zero. Kiritsugu was a very compelling character, as were most. The ending caught me a bit off-guard, but super-high-quality anime, overall. Great comparison, that's exactly what I'm going for, with Stryker - damn the rules, fight to win.
I like Stryker as a goofy guy, not intentionally funny like Johnny, but tongue-in-cheek and endearingly uncool. I don't understand why the MK fandom is so allergic to joke characters, like why does everyone have to be taken seriously in this franchise? Over at SF, Dan is beloved while y'all treated Meat like crap, still salty about that. 😖 But, yeah, I agree that Stryker is underrated and doesn't deserve his reputation as the "most unpopular Klassic Trilogy character"... (Because let's be real, that would be Sheeva...)
That definitely fits with this character. I did make a couple Batman comparisons but I don't want Stryker to be cool like that. As for the joke characters, I feel that's a bit of a paradox about this community - everyone wants bigger, badder, cooler characters (or just the same characters rehashed a million times), but then giggle like maniacs when they get memes and jokes about those characters, while simultaneously getting super-serious and resentful of actual meme characters. At least that's what I've seen.
Imagine in Liu Kangs new era, Erron Black is a sheriff and Stryker is his deputy and they help protect America from the Vaternians invasion. Liu Kang actually gave alot of the jobbers a fleshed out story in the new timeline so making Erron into an old western Sheriff would be the best way to keep his cowboy-ness without him being a bounty hunter. Also Southern Stryker would go hard imo
I can already imagine if they were paired together in the start of a match, they'd probably chat about the handguns they use (with Erron using revolvers and Stryker using autoloaders/pistols)
I always found it ridiculous when people say…Well He’s just a (normal)cop! WTH is that supposed to mean? What about Sonya? Jax , Jonny Cage And kung-Lao? Well… respectively they’re just militaries ( a lieutenant like there are many on earth and a general) one with metal harms , a Hollywood star like Rachel zegler and the other guy is just Chinese-American practicing martial law . All of them humans so on what criteria one will just cast out Striker on the basis that He’s just a cop?????? That’s shameful
Which reveals the real reason why people single Stryker out as a normo, which is that he has no fantastical special moves. No fireballs, or flying hats, or bionic arms. He just uses existing weapons and tech, which, to me, makes him more badass, not less.
This mortal combat stuff is great, Cynical. Happy that your channel is seriously growing. Come on algorithm, send more people his way! Well done, man! Keep up the motivation.
Liu Kang - a skilled and powerful shaolin monk that managed to beat every major threat from mk1-mk4 Kung Lao - another skilled and powerful monk that's the only other hero that can keep up with Liu Kang Jax - the physically strongest of earth's heroes only second to Raiden Johnny Cage - trained by multiple martial artist around the world and descended from a warrior cult (possibly from Edenia given Jade's similar powers) Sonya - The best leader figure of earth's heroes Kabal - the fastest of all of earth's heroes only second to Raiden Nightwolf - master of spiritual magic and energy attacks Sub-Zero - Cryomancer that is also a skilled ninja Stryker - Just a regular dude with regular skill and despite all that still fights alongside earth's best heroes and manages to tough it out somehow which is why we all love him
I love your channel. Literally every video that you have about the breakdown of mortal Kombat elements, your take on characters, your channel is amazing and it's what I've been lacking in my subscriptions which are very few and far between. I think I have probably seven subscriptions and I just added you to my 8th month because I hate filling up with my timeline nonsense. Keep going please don't ever stop you are amazing analyze things until they break. Because your way of analyzing is very akin to the way that I think and it makes me draw toward your channel
Gods damn it, man - ego boost: 400%. Not ok. For real though, thanks; glad you like the content. I also unsubscribed from most channels, partly cause I can't afford that many distractions, nowadays, but partly for their benefit, as well - don't wanna be a dead sub, fudging up the numbers.
Stryker had to walk so Erron Black could run, and my god do I wish they'd let him run. Erron's whole backstory was so unbelievably good when he debuted, it really kills me that they haven't done more with him. There's really no future to Stryker, in my opinion. He's not exciting from a narrative perspective, but for all of the reasons you listed, I really value what the inclusion of a character like this has meant for the series and COULD CONTINUE to mean for the series. Really feel like they could use Erron to push this even farther, plus with the added benefit of him being a tool for Shang Tsung or whoever/whatever else. Mold their attitudes, add complexity to their circumstance, voila. Refreshing from all angles.
Erron will definitely get his own video; huge missed opportunity. As you wrote, lots of potential with the way they designed and envisioned him, but they then squandered all of it. He's a nothing-character, a useless bodyguard.. even his mask they just randomly do away with, in MK11, unceremoniously. Lost all of his mystique and an opportunity to play around with his identity.
Another awesome video, you should make a pitch for your own mk timeline. I would love to see what you'll add and take from the story that's already been told.
@CynicalWarlock I remember bits and pieces from Conquest, but I do remember watching it when I was younger. I don't remember much but I remember Cyrax for some reason idk why. My pitch for a mk show is an action and political drama series set far after the death of Shao Khan, with Katana holding the seat as emperor of outworld. She is assassinated by Reiko and Rain who then begin to control outworld. All of this leads to another mortal Kombat tournament. However, this time, its the kombat kids participating and some. The main character is Kai as he trys to live up to Liu Kang and protect earth. Rain is on Reiko's side because he believes that there is a way to split edenia from outworld if they have enough souls and a powerful enough sorcerer (Shang Tsung enters the chat). And Reiko is being manipulated by some 3rd party maybe a god or maybe Onaga.
@@nicholasblake6367 No, Cyrax wasn't in MK: Conquest. You should give the show another spin; it's old and cheesy, but it's got so many good ideas in it. It's my favorite piece of Mortal Kombat media. That's a solid idea for a show. I actually like the time period, and I like to brainstorm ideas for this post-Liu Kang era as well.
3:33 "Johnny Cage is also pretty down to earth" his reputation would say otherwise! But the fandom treats him like THE main character amongst ninjas and shaolin chosen ones even without his green energy powers because he EXUDES main character energy by virtue of his personality, and Stryker doesn't have that. In-universe he's the one laughed at and underestimated by other fighters, so that's already his shtick. 5:07 Onion rings and kiss of death aside, I feel like "ruthless pragmatist who has no honor in close quarters fighting to do what they can to protect earth" should've also been the character archetype for Sonya since she has no powers in lore and out of it (no indefinable je ne sai quoi main character plot convenience). Her (and Jax's) Special Forces training and tech isn't treated as a special "power" by the plot since they're also usually written as the characters finding themselves out of their depth when it comes to facing Outworld/Netherrealm threats, hence they're at their most adequate fighting someone like Kano, who is also just a human with tech. Sonya, like Johnny, is also underestimated by both in-universe fighters and the audience but while Johnny dazzles people with his charisma, it's Sonya who attacks from behind and makes the ballsy moves and underhanded blows to get the leg up on her opponents. Contrast this to, say, Kitana or Ashrah, fighting women who don't use guns in kombat and are very honorable in their conduct. For Cassie, since she's intended to be a mix of the two above, any characterization of her needs to have a balance of these two differing personalities. As for Erron, since he got his lifespan extended by Shang and he uses completely abnormal weapons like sand grenades or Zaterran acid, he's just "powered" enough to avoid being seen as an everyman even with that good-ol'-boy accent. I suppose Kurtis usually gets shafted because if he got a bigger role, he'd take away the usual story beats from the more popular designated non-powered characters.
And Happy New Year, mate! Don't forget to perform an eldritch ritual to transition from one plane of existence to another as the year dies and gives way to the next.
@@LOWBORN-the-LOATHSOME As long as that Eldritch ritual involves drinking a Leffe. "Out of his depth" would've been way better phrasing than "down to earth"; you're right, Johnny is anything but that last one. And don't get me wrong, this role fits both Sonya and Jax, but it's not just about backstory and lore, it's about the presentation of these characters; and like it or not, onion rings and kisses of death are part of Sonya's presentation, and futuristic ballistic cyborg arms are part of Jax's, which makes Stryker higher up the normo food chain. "Johnny dazzles people with his charisma" - and Sonya dazzles with.. other assets. For real, great addendums, as usual. I'll be sure to have an Eldritch beer in your name. Happy new year, Nebulous.
How would you feel about the elder gods being featured in the next Mortal Kombat game as the replacement for Kameo Fighters on top of a full fledged tag system? A lot like the zords in Power Rangers battle for the grid. I would ask abt this on the eldergods video, but i figure it'd be buried by this point. I thought about it as I watched it and pondered how we could have them participate and keep them in character. Maybe leaving them as a comeback mechanic could be indicative of their habit of never interfering until the last minute. Idk. Love ur MK vids, and hope to see you make an impact on the community!
That's a pretty cool idea. And make it into a very different Mortal Kombat game, where the Elder Gods act kinda like combo breakers on steroids, and damn-near bring characters back to life. And thanks so much, glad you're enjoying the videos, n00b.
Stryker’s whole chapter in MK9 proves that Mortal Kombat is just the physical embodiment of making all your action figures fight each other. Atleast in my book. Why do I say that? Look at what he had to put up with during his chapter and live to tell about it. A poison and acid spitting lizardman who can dodge bullets and turn invisible, a teleporting toothy ninja lady with a pair of sais and a hunger for human flesh, a 4 armed fire breathing tiger monster with the strength of atleast 100 men, and a flying telekinetic ninja mummy composed of the souls of countless warriors.
It's funny cause MK9 went out of its way to fulfill almost every character's fans the biggest most ridiculous power fantasy ever, and then liquidate the lot of them, in the most unceremonious manner possible. Break all the action figures to pieces, as it were.
He's my favorite in Mk9 I love the baton swing I love the roll I love the fatalitys I love the fact that even when he doesn't hit a fatality he does one still by chucking a grenade onto his opponent 😂 Justice for Stryker
Funny how Stryker was considered lame with their "Cop/soldier" character, but the Street Fighter fandom is fine with Rolento and Doctrine Dark. Kinda makes you wonder if the SF fandom is more welcoming to strange concepts for their characters.
@@lukalovric2463 I left out guile since he came before Stryker. Hell, I realized my screw up, cause Rolento is ever older then both of them, considering he came out in 1989 (Final Fight's release year)
I think it's because Street Fighter is more grounded, when it comes to its characters; at least on paper. Instead of gods, monsters and superpowered ninjas, we have MI6 agent, Special Forces operative and just.. martial artist. So a cop fits right in with that.
Interesting yeah Stryker does bring a cool factor to the table which is the non-powered factor. Id probably have an attitude like Stryker too if I'm in a fight filled with monsters and sorcerers and stuff
@@CynicalWarlock yeah because at one point I understand where Raiden and Lui Kang are talking about when it comes to honor and stuff but at times I'm also like we need to eliminate the threat
Great analysis!👍 My late Dad used to pick him all the time and defeat me solidly.😅 I think he was best in MK9. If I had one flaw to mention; though it's more of a nitpick on my end, I don't like his MKA Primary costume. He looks like Kenshi and Johnny had a baby together and, no, that is NOT a compliment. I LOVE his secondary costume and wish it would be used more often.
Batman is on a whole other level then Struker. Also, he was fine in Mortal Kombat 2011 but now I think he done his part and that's it we don't really need him anymore.
It's sad NRS refuses to reuse Stryker since him being a cop is definitely a sticking point that doesn't go over well within the modern studio. Really wish he was better in MK9 or playable in MKX. All of the super powered meta humans and demigods are cool but when a dude is packing a gun that hits as hard as any super power projectile, missile, bomb, and so on it's just funny.
@@EinSilverRose Yeah Stryker doesn't mess around. I'd lean heavily on that. It's also the fact that NRS basically branched his character off into variants like Cassie Cage and Erron Black; that's partly why you don't see him anymore, cause he'd probably be considered redundant.
Finally hwd time to watch this after the big fixing mk characters video. And man Id love to see this striker. I could definitely see him having an amazing friendship possibly even brotherly relationship with johnny. That could actually make that mk9 deaths hurt alot more. Have interactions with everyone oh and also give stryker A REACTION TO KABALS STATE. Rlly mad that didnt happen. Then again id just love to see him in general since cant play mk 9 ;-; itd have been amazing if stryker was a dlc character instead of not sektor and cyrax imagine the hilarity of outsiders looking in seeing the mk fandom scream and yell in excitement and happiness when what seems to be a normal cop dude announced as the next dlc fighter xD.
Would've been absolutely sick to see everyone lose their minds over Stryker. People love underdogs, so it makes sense. Appreciate the binge-watching of my content, btw.
Stryker is legit goat status. He’s like a cop version of the punisher in the mortal kombat world. A lot like max payne but without the dark tragedy backstory. Goddamn travesty we may never see him playable again just b/c lame Cassie & jacqui exist
I fuckin hate how when Stryker had his coolest design (MK9), all his potential is incinerated with his demise. But that’s one of many issues with MK’s writing that we could all endlessly rant about. BTW you should do a collab with The 4th Snake.
Heh.. maybe after I gain about 50k subs. Too small-fry, for now. And I agree - one of MK's biggest difficulties (both the games and other media) is juggling their characters properly. They're way too trigger-happy when it comes to killing them off, and inevitably have to reboot the whole thing.
Why? Why is Erron Black in this? Now I'll have nightmares of losing to him again and again in MK X.... On topic, Striker kinda always disappeared in the background... didn't give him much thought, so thanks for sharing your view on him.
Strykers the peak example on why i hate the way i gravitate towards irrelevant characters because heres a bunch of really cool and interesting characters that are really important and then for some reason my favorite character is Stryker and because hes my favorite that means everytime hes gonna be an unplayable or a damn Kameo that uses his worst outfit im gonna get sad and upset because he should be used as a character like what you said in the video Hes not the only character like this just the only character I'll mention Also fun fact that isn't very fun but in the 3 games that Stryker was playable in only one was by choice MK3 he was finally added after getting cut from the first 2, Armageddon he was added because at the time everyone in the franchise was playable so he kinda had to be there, and MK9 he was playable because the game was kind of a rewrite of MK3 and he was one of the main ones in that game so again kinda had to be there. MK1 doesn't count because HES A DAMN KAMEO Just let him be playable again😭
Thing is they chose to branch him off and iterate towards characters like Cassie and Erron; that's partly why you don't see Stryker anymore. But hopefully I gave a few reasons why he might still be relevant, at least story-wise.
By the way John Cena should play Curtis striker in the next mortal Kombat movie. Me and my wife just looked at him and we both agree, he looks almost exactly like John cena, and I think John Cena would be very good in a serious role.. especially as a cop dealing with immortal ninjas and lightning gods
I always thought that the mocap hate going back to deadly alliance is really disrespectful. It's just three reused fighting stances and blaze's special moves giving to a last minute addition, it's not like he replaced Rain or something. Also, I DO think the joke is funny.
Back when i played MK9 for the first time i didn't know that stryker was "offical" Mortal kombat character, instead i though they added "john cena" to the game because his design looks like him.
Not super specific the topic to your video, but what do you feel about John Cena playing the version of Stryker you describe here? When I heard you say he's no-nonsense, I think about Cena's portrayal of Peacemaker talking shit about Batman and getting frustrated with Vigilante.
I shit you not, I just mentioned this in another comment. It would be a hell of an entertaining (if a bit over the top) take, for sure. In fact, I'd like both Cena and Alan Ritchson to give the character a go. I like this idea of a gigantic burly Stryker. Would go a long way towards justifying him facing fucking Lord of the Rings characters.
So is Cassie Cage. Too bad they kept making new characters instead of iterating on the one they had. Also, you can have all 3 be distinct and cool enough in their own ways.
If Stryker were to be casted in live-action MK, I think John Cena would be perfect for the role. The way he dresses and his no-nonsense attitude give off that vibe for me.
@@iceberg0404 Yeah, who actually clashed with and beat John Cena. Good pick. This is shaping up to be a Deception-era casting, where everyone's hyper-bulky. I love it.
I think the main reason he got removed from x and foward is ironically Special forces. They basically made a army of well army heroes who use guns bombs and nads so they basically cut him out and made Erron since selling a cowboy with pistols as a new oc is eaiser then explaining how the game went from mostly Ninjas to mostly united states army men and swat. At least he is a cameo fighter. However, now that their aint no guy with a gun or armies of them now would be a time to bring em back to the front as the gun guy. As for what I would have hi do storywise. Would keep It where he shows up around 3..But, have him be the guy to fuck up shang and lock his ass up in jail. LIke Shang was gathering souls and thought he was easy picking then this cop just starts whiping the shit out of em. Then Raiden comes to pick Shang ass up from jail and Stryker is like "Yeah, he threw fireballs at me. I live in new york that aint even the closest to the wierdiest thing I seen" So, he would join the fold and basically play a more goodguy heel role in combat..Like doink the clown..He fights so fucking out their people just get pissed. As far as what he brings to the team. It would be advince on how to do things and knowledge of new york in the battle in MK3 letting the heroes get the W via more or less having someone with a homefield knowledge.
"I live in new york that aint even the closest to the wierdiest thing I seen" - That's such a John Cena line. I totally remember seeing Cassie for the first time, in X, and thinking "that's exactly how they could've made Stryker cool, instead of making a new character from scratch". Still, I believe all 3 of these (Stryker, Cassie, and Erron) have enough ground to stand on, as their own individual characters. Stryker defeating Shang might be a bit much, but it's definitely funny. Good ideas, all-round.
@@CynicalWarlock To be fair I was thinking of a depowered Shang in the subway after a fighting Jax. Only for Stryker to jump in knowing Jax is a vet and basically tasering shang into submission. Jax basically got done beating down some of Shao's goons guarding Shang who wanted to crash the train so he could take the souls. That way It aint too far fetched nor does anyone look 100% like a jobber.
Cage Stryker, the new animated movie haha. He has been given protective duty over cage because the black dragon want to kill him. Rush hour buddy cop like movie.
I think the worst part is that MKX introduced Cassie Cage into the franchise, who's basically Stryker in all but name and face and has a lot more story relevance. I can only hope that M1K will later have Kurtis Stryker as a playable character, with the DLC also having a Cassie Cage skin for the purposes of mirror matches, with Cassie having alternate intros, victory poses, and fatalities (all of which are cosmetic)
Those were literally my thoughts, when I saw Cassie for the first time. I was like "See?? You *can* make this kind of character cool! Gods damn it!". I stubbornly believe both Cassie and Stryker can coexist in this universe, although admittedly, great care must be taken to not have them be redundant to one another, both in terms of flavor and role in the story.
@@CynicalWarlock I think Cassie being a skin for Stryker or vice versa's probably the best way to go around having both characters exist. I feel like Stryker has a better chance of being the P1 costume since the non-guest DLC seems to hail from Liu Kang's timeline. Having an overlap in playstyles is inevitable to the point where I can't see Netherrealm making the effort to make Cassie and Stryker two distinct playstyles, and just have their differences be purely cosmetic.
Except, Striker is none of that, because Netherrealm has incompetent writers. Even the more "developed" characters have plot holes and inconsistencies that are questionable. Netherrealm studios lack creativity, have too many potentially good characters, and have no idea what to do with them. To Netherrealm, writing an actual good story for a fighting game, is like writing a proper plot for a pørn moving. Such and such needs to happen, so that so and so can fʋck. I mean fight!
Mm never really saw Stryker as an underdog, least in my head cannon I always saw him stronger than characters like Johnny Cage since he's an actor and Stryker is a cop which would have more combat training since he's a ....cop, at least in the OG midway timeline now Johny has some magical love green power up dogshit
@@Ricki_47 Well, the magical elements were always there for Johnny, and always absent for Stryker, so that's one of the things that makes other characters *seem* more powerful than Stryker.
@@CynicalWarlock yeah and I'm probably wrong but I'll still put my money on Stryker, I just can't take Johnny as a serious fighter he always been handled like a joke and sometimes was even the bud of the joke, shit even in mk9 Stryker fought and defeated more powerful foes than Johnny
Yessss, him too. It's strange that we don't get much of anything on frickin leader of the Red Dragon, and Kano's rival. His design is pretty darn cool too.
The problem with Mavado is that he's a Matrix guy that barely has the things that makes Matrix guys cool. The only thing cool about Mavado is his grappling hooks, with spiked boots. His primary costume is trash with a long black leather coat that has a sleeve cut off for some reason, with pants that go up to his belly, I don't know what Midway was trying to do with this design but it's a mess, even as someone who likes the 90s black coat designs of Neo, Wesker, Blade, and Eric Draven. I will say that his alternate costume is pretty cool though, and works better with the Spanish knight design they where going with.
@@ThrashMetalWolf666 Yeah I don't get the sleeve thing - go sleeve or no sleeve, none of this 'I just fought a bear and it tore off my sleeve" bullshit. The upper part of the pants is supposed to be armor? I guess? But then why it stops short of his chest is beyond me; guess he wanted to show some skin. So good points, his outfit definitely needs some love, but I still like the overall direction.
Yeah thanks, feminism, for leading to the creation of one of the most masculine, right wing-lookin cop characters out there. Couldn't have done it without you.
