rhinorb81 @rhinorb81

She's finally here!

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MK2 arcade tournament in Prague with @Marvelous1983 playing retro music extravaganza 🎶 joystickbar.cz Who's coming?

Susan Eisenberg is/was a great voice for Diana, and it was nice they she was portrayed as a powerhouse (more or less; depending on the episode). But this was otherwise an awful adaptation of Wonder Woman.

Miles ☁︎︎ @vinewoodhills_

7 days ago

What’s your opinion on this adaptation of Wonder Woman? 🤔

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@rhinorb81 @KitanaFanRealm The problem is that Kitana's character has gotten closer to her kitsune concept over the years. His entire arc in mk2 was forgotten so that liu kang became the center of his story, his motivation and even defined his ethnicity and personality.

@rhinorb81 @KitanaFanRealm Kitana was my favorite since childhood. I always hated the way they degraded her. But unfortunately, John Tobias himself said that it was created for the protagonist. Liu Kang became the center of Kitana's story and what she should be.

The true canon Kitana 👑 talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/2021/09/adapti…

It's really all just tunnel vision & a testament to why sometimes it's best to let stories play out organically. Because sometimes it turns out, as in the case with Kitana, your (B) or (C) is more compelling than whatever you had planned for (D).

This is what they mean when they say "kill your darlings." And that ends my rant.

Writers have always seemed to have a problem threading the needle when it comes to Kitana's character arc. Through multiple reboot & adaptations, they always seem to drop the ball in some way balancing what is, in essence, a standard redemption story.

For more on how adaptations have treated Kitana, I wrote a blog on the subject: talkingtothevoid.blogspot.com/2021/09/adapti… Moving on....

A lot of it, to be frank, can be owed to her ship with Liu Kang and, more specifically, how it influences the way writers regard her as a character and her role in the overall story.

When looking at Kitana, let's say she starts at (A)--Kitana is Shao Kahn's step-daughter & assassin. You're plan is to end at (D)--Kitana & Liu Kang fall in love. Now you have to address what happens for (B) and (C).

You're now taking a character with motivation, conflict, stakes & development, and you're knee-capping her to fit her into a very bland, unappealing role. And that sucks. For everyone.

Worse when you have writers go a step further & make Liu integral to the (B) & (C). "He frees her from Kahn's spell." "He humbles her & shows her mercy." "He inspires her to be a hero."

Hand-waving & diluting her choices & subsequent development cheapens her & makes her lesser.

Kitana growing up Kahn's genuinely loyal assassin, discovering the truth, and making the conscious choice to turn against him & change, becoming a hero & leader in effect, is a compelling arc that made her one of Mortal Kombat's best characters.

You have to soften her & dilute her past as an evil character in order to make her transition to the hero's love interest easier & more digestible. And that sucks. For everyone.

That's when writers start making excuses & hand-waves. "No...Kitana never was loyal to Kahn. She was good all along." "Wait...she was brainwashed. She never knew what she was doing." "Actually...she was never as vicious or cruel as the other assassins."

When that happens, then (A), (B) & (C) cease to be elements that inform Kitana's character, motivation, development & conflict. They become obstacles to brush aside because how/why would Liu Kang--pure paragon hero--fall in love with a cold-blooded killer?