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Kung Lao is a character in the Mortal Kombatfighting game series.
He stands in the shadow of his great ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, and was the sparring partner and best friend of Earth's champion, his fellow Shaolin monk Liu Kang. As well, he seeks counsel from master Bo' Rai Cho. Of the Earthrealm warriors, Kung Lao is the most outspoken pacifist, although he will not hesitate to severely punish those who attack him, Earthrealm, his friends, or those who speak ill of his ancestors. His trademark is his razor-rimmed hat, which he can employ quite powerfully and effectively in combat. Many of his fatalities often involve the use of his hat to some extent. Kung Lao is defined more by his mindful inwardness and quiet intelligence and inner skill rather than his competitiveness. Inside of him beats the heart of an umistakably righteous and powerful man.
Storyline
Kung Lao is the last known descendant of the Great Kung Lao, a former Champion of Mortal Kombat, who lost the title to Goro 500 years previous. Unlike his ancestor though, Kung Lao holds no desire to be the Champion of Mortal Kombat and would prefer to live a life of peace. Like his best friend, Liu Kang, Kung Lao is also a member of the White Lotus Society.
When the Shaolin Temples were attacked by Baraka and his Tarkatan soldiers, Liu Kang resolved to travel through the portal that brought the Tarkatas to their temple and avenge their fallen Shaolin brothers, goaded every step of the way by Shang Tsung. Although he joined his friend in his furious quest, Kung Lao's ultimate goal was to rebuild the White Lotus Society at the Wu Shi Academy, in order to train a new generation of warriors for the coming ages. He, along with Liu Kang, ventured into Outworld to do battle with Outworld's forces in a new tournament. While Liu Kang fought Shang Tsung, Kung Lao challenged Kintaro to Mortal Kombat, with Kahn's permisssion the two fought with Kung Lao only just defeating Kintaro, however Kung Lao was injured and could not proceed to fight Kahn. Having emerged victorious and learned the true nature of the tournament, the Earth warriors would return to Earthrealm and prepare for the upcoming invasion.
When Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm came, he had to temporarily scrap his plans for reforming the Society. Kung Lao challenged the emperor, but was brutally beaten to near death. This enraged Liu Kang as he succeeded in defeating Shao Kahn for the second time. With Outworld driven back, Kung Lao decided not to return to the Shaolin Temples, instead allowing everyone to believe that he was dead and went on to live a life of peace. Kung Lao would then find the tranquility and atonement he had always wanted. This would not last long however, as he was drawn away from his newfound peace to help fight against Shinnok's forces, when word reached him that Goro, the Shokan warrior who had defeated the Great Kung Lao centuries ago, was still alive. Confronting the giant, Kung Lao lashed out with a ceremonial strike of revenge in honor of his long-lost ancestor that left Goro's chest scarred. Considering the score settled, the two shook hands.
The next years were peaceful. This ended on a brutal note at the time of [[Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance]], when the sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung united and murdered Liu Kang in a vicious attack (Tsung posing as Kung Lao to get close to the champion). Kung Lao found the body of his longtime friend, and was told immediately by Raiden that Tsung was the assassin, who had formed the Deadly Alliance with Quan Chi. Enraged, Kung Lao vowed revenge upon the sorcerer, and once again abandoned his pacifist Shaolin beliefs. He knew his current skills were insuffcient to defeat Shang Tsung so after meeting with the other Earthrealm warriors and travelling to Outworld, Kung Lao sought the advice of the martial arts teacher Bo' Rai Cho. Bo' Rai Cho trained Kung Lao for a short time, teaching him the 'whirlwind kick' maneuver. Together, they joined the other warriors in the assault against the two sorcerers. Kung Lao would not rest until Liu Kang was avenged, and Tsung had paid with his life.
But the assault did not end well. Along with Sonya, Jax, Johnny Cage, and Kitana, Kung Lao was killed in the assault against the Alliance in a one on one fight with Shang Tsung. Despite his new and imporved fighting skills he still could not defeat Shang Tsung. After the Alliance was destroyed by Raiden's self-sacrifice, he was resurrected with the other heroes in [[Mortal Kombat: Deception]] under the control of Onaga, the Dragon King.
Possible future
Some endings in Deception seem to indicate that all such resurrected heroes were restored to their former selves after Onaga's defeat. The upcoming [[Mortal Kombat: Armageddon]], where Kung Lao is slated to make an appearance, will reveal what becomes of the Great Kung Lao's descendant.
Memorable moves
Teleport: Kung Lao could reappear behind his opponent. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MK:SM)
Double Pass Teleport: Kung Lao could pass twice before appearing behind his opponent. (MKT, MKG)
Hat Throw: Kung Lao could hurl his hat at the opponent. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MKG, MKDA, MK:SM)
Guided Hat Throw: Kung Lao could throw his hat either up, down, or straight at the opponent. (MKII, MKT PSX)
Aura Spinning Shield: He would spin creating an aura around him that would knock his opponent into the air. (MKII, MKT, MK:SM)
3D Shield: Spinning like a tornado he could knock his opponent into the air. In MKT, and MK Gold he could move while spinning. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MKG)
Flying Fists: Much like Raiden he would fly forwards smashing his fists into the opponent like Superman. This move can also be performed while he was in the air. (MKT PSX)
Dive Kick: Also called the Bullet Kick, Kung Lao could dive down from the air and attack his opponent. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT PSX, MK Gold, MK:SM)
Whirlwind Kick: Kung Lao would fly towards his opponent spinning while in motion kicking his opponent over and over. A reference to Liu Kang's trademark bicycle kick (MKDA)
[[Image:KungLaoMK.jpg|thumb|Kung Lao|Kung Lao as he appeared in [[Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance]]]]
Fatalities
Hat Bisect: Kung Lao brings his razor hat down, slicing the opponent vertically in half with a clean swipe. (MKII, MK:SM)
Hat Decapitation: Kung Lao throws his hat, which arcs upward suddenly, slicing his enemy's head off. (MKII, MKT PSX, MKG)
Hat Trick: Kung Lao tosses his hat at an enemy, decapitating them. The hat then ricochets off the far wall of the screen and doubles back, cutting the enemy in half. A third ricochet slices the enemy off at the knees. (MK3, UMK3)
Spinning Death: Kung Lao executes his Cyclone Spin, and sucks the opponent into it, causing them to explode violently. (MK3, UMK3)(MK:SM as a Multality)
Splitting Headache: Kung Lao tosses his hat at his opponent, which embeds itself in his/her forehead. The opponent bleeds profusely and dies. Kung Lao then stomps their chest and recovers his hat. (MKDA, MK:SM)
Friendly Rabbit: Kung Lao removes his hat and proceeds to take a rabbit from it and beat the opponent to death, after which he holds up the rabbit, then dripping with blood. (MK:SM)
Very Unfriendly Rabbit: Kung Lao once again removes his hat and proceeds to take a rabbit from it, only this time tosses it to the opponent. The opponent pets the rabbit a few times only to have his/her face horribly mauled. The opponent then falls to the ground and the rabbit pops up from behind his/her neck, somehow decapitating him/her. This fatality is possibly an homage to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in which multiple characters are mauled by a similar white rabbit. (MK:SM)
Buzzsaw: Kung Lao slices his enemy across the chest which knocks them on their back. He then throws his hat underhanded between the prone victim's legs. The hat stops just short of the groin, and continues to spin in place. Kung Lao then grabs the enemy by both ankles and drags them into the spinning hat blade, groin first. (MK:SM)
Many Chops: Kung Lao slices off his opponents legs one by one, leaving them briefly hobbling on bloody stumps. During this, he slices off each arm one by one. The dismembered victim falls face first, little more than a flopping torso. Kung Lao slowly walks in front of them before finally putting the foe out of his misery with a final decapitating chop. (MK:SM)
Arm Cutter: Kung Lao swiftly slices off both his opponents arms. Shocked, the opponent attempts to flee, but Kung Lao throws his hat after them, decapitating them. (MK:SM)
Head Toss: Kung Lao grabs the victim by the head and does a front flip over their head, his hat slicing the victim's head off on the way down. Upon landing behind them, Kung Lao tosses his foe's head into the distance. (MK:SM)
Mid-Air Slice: Kung Lao kicks his opponent into the air, where he jumps up after them and slices them into many pieces. Upon landing, Kung Lao strikes a pose while his victim's remains rain down from above. (MK:SM)
Other finishers
Rabbit-in-the-hat: Kung Lao pulls a rabbit out of his hat. (MKII, MKT)
Fetch: Kung Lao throws his hat which a faithful dog chases off-screen; after a moment, a yelp is heard and Kung Lao cringes and shakes his head in dismay. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
Jaguar: Turning into a jaguar, Kung Lao mauls his opponent to death. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
Trivia
Kung Lao is the only one character in the arcade version of Mortal Kombat 3 who lacks a character bio during attract mode; this was later corrected in the home versions.
Kung Lao's hat was inspired by the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger, in which a character named "Oddjob" threw his derby as a weapon.
Kung Lao was featured in his own eponymously-titled one-shot issue from Malibu Comics in the summer of 1995. (Other characters who received the same treatment were Baraka, Kitana and Mileena.) It would be the very last issue produced in Malibu's Mortal Kombat series.
He and Kintaro are the only characters from the first two MK games who have not appeared in any of the movies.
Kung Lao and Liu Kang make cameo appearances in the webcomic Ctrl+Alt+Del. Here, Kung Lao tries and fails to convince Liu Kang that Shang Tsung ran the other way, is branded Kung Loser, and is told to do as Liu Kang says. He throws his hat, which embeds itself in Liu's back, and says casually and innocently to an angry Liu Kang that "Dude, Shang Tsung. He ran that way. What a Shitfucker huh?"
