Kabal

Kabal is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About Kabal
Kabal was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 3, sporting long, black hair, hookswords, and a respirator. He was a mysterious chosen warrior who survived an attack from one of Shao Kahn's extermination squads. Unknown to his allies, however, he was actually a member of the Black Dragon. At the time of his introduction, he appeared as a force for good, but has since reverted to his evil ways, planning to set himself as the head of the new Black Dragon clan.

Storyline
Kabal was a member of the Black Dragon, until Shao Kahn's invasion took Earthrealm by storm, and Kabal's soul was spared: he was a chosen warrior, destined to fight against Shao Kahn. Surviving an attack from Kahn's extermination squads horribly mutilated, he was kept alive by artificial respirators and an unbroken will to fight. The events of Shao Kahn's invasion had profoundly changed Kabal; he left behind his life of crime with the Black Dragon and vowed to become a force for good; at least for a time.

Between the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kabal was wounded severely in battle by Mavado, a leading member of the Red Dragon hoping to wipe out the Black Dragon. Mavado then took Kabal's trademark hookswords as a trophy.

Havik visited Kabal at the brink of death and restored him, and then instructed him to bring back the Black Dragon as a force of anarchy and decay. In spite of his previous experiences fighting alongside his Earthrealm comrades against Shao Kahn's hordes and his vow to help put an end to crime and injustice, he followed Havik's instructions seemingly without hesitation. It is believed he trained with Havik for some years, before going back to Earthrealm and killing Mavado, taking back his hookswords. He then also recruited Kira and Kobra. The three of them joined Havik on Outworld for the events of Mortal Kombat: Deception. While his reason for recruiting Kira and Kobra as the newest members of the Black Dragon was basically to fill the void left behind by his apparently deceased comrades, Kabal had ulterior motives. Seeing as how the complacency of the former members led to the demise of his clan, Kabal wanted to ensure that his newest recruits were truly worthy of the Black Dragon. He tested their prowess in battle against the enemies of the Dragon King.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon's Konquest mode, Kabal confronts the protagonist Taven after Taven had defeated Kobra and several other Black Dragon thugs. Kabal offers him a chance to join the clan, but Taven refuses. They fight, and Taven manages to defeat Kabal, although he doesn't actually kill him.

In Kabal's Armageddon ending, he is able to vanquish Blaze, causing his hookswords to become enchanted with power. He challenges his nemesis Mavado to Mortal Kombat. Kabal overpowers and defeats him easily. Mavado commits hara-kiri and Kabal holds his severed head high atop the pyramid to show the Black Dragon's superiority.

Signature moves

 * Raging Flash: Kabal runs forward at a very fast speed past his opponent, spinning them in a dizzying state. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A'')
 * Plasma Blast: Kabal fires a projectile from his mask. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A)
 * Sawblades: Kabal summons sawblades from the ground, cutting the opponent. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Nomad's Touch: Kabal thrusts out his hands towards the opponent, and - if they are in range - will be caught in an odd field that draws them in to collide with Kabal, though only the opponent gets hurt when they make contact. (MK:D, MK:A)

Film
Kabal is mentioned along with Stryker in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation as warriors having been captured by the Edenian general Rain, but they do not actually appear in the movie.

Television
Kabal made one appearance in the cartoon series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, in which he betrayed Kano and the Black Dragon and befriended Sonya, after she expressed disgust over the prejudice he faced due to his disfigurement.

Character development
Kabal was originally going to be named Sandman, with wrist-mounted buzzsaw blades instead of hookswords. This was eventually dropped in favor for his current look, though rumors existed that Midway had briefly thought about using the discarded idea for a new character before abandoning those plans as well.

Kabal's hookswords were first designed for an early plan of Baraka during preproduction of Mortal Kombat II. They were also used as generic weapons that were packaged with select characters in a line of MK action figures that briefly hit the market in 1995, which were based on the figures of G.I. Joe.

In the original plans for Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, a pre-scarred version of Kabal was to be introduced as one of the Black Dragon bosses. Screenshots were released and the character model can still be seen in the game, though he has no name or special significance. Of note is that he had a Southern accent and left the player his hookswords for use. This concept was later used in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, where there is an optional mission to rescue Kabal in the wastelands.

Game information
A strange glitch could occur in the Sega Genesis version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 where, if the player entered the combination for Kabal's MK3 Animality after the "Finish Him!" message was displayed, his own head would be knocked off by no visible means.

Trivia

 * One of Shaolin Monks' game over messages is "Kabal says thank you very much." This may be a reference to the mission in which the player could rescue him, or to the fact that his voice seems to have been modeled after Elvis Presley.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Deception, Kabal is the only character to have a style-branching combo going from the armed weapon style to the first unarmed style.
 * Kabal's severely mangled face can be seen during one of his fatalities in Mortal Kombat 3 and its upgrades. He removes his mask and screams outward towards the player, then he faces the opponent and screams at them. It frightens them so much that their soul runs from their body.
 * Kabal was considered too powerful for Mortal Kombat 3, so they had to tune down his power for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
 * While all characters have to grant "mercy" before they get to do their animality, Kabal doesn't have to in Mortal Kombat 3.