Tanya

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Tanya (Current Timeline)

With the release of Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), I saw many fans create couples between the characters. The most famous, of course, were Johnny with Kenshi and Mileena with Tanya. But in my opinion, all of these couples are wrong, despite Mileena and Tanya being canon.

For starters, Johnny and Kenshi. Why did the MK community start creating drawings of them as a romantic couple? Answer: because they had a friendly dialogue. Johnny was only kind when handing Sento over to Kenshi. It was just a gesture of kindness, because even though Sento is a sword from Kenshi's ancestors, Johnny paid for the sword, so Sento is legally Johnny's. But for some reason, people thought that Johnny and Kenshi are gay and secretly love each other.

Now, Mileena and Tanya. I believe this couple is forced, because the first time they are introduced as a couple (MKX), Tanya was probably just using Mileena for her own goals. Her biography reinforces this:

“Like Kitana and Rain, Tanya is an Edenian, a native of a realm konquered by Shao Kahn and merged with Outworld millennia ago. The Edenians have been fighting for independence ever since. Though she's a skilled kombatant, Tanya prefers more subtle means of achieving her goals. More recently she and Rain have allied with the ousted former Outworld empress, Mileena. Tanya and Rain will help Mileena regain her throne in exchange for the creation of a new Edenia. What will become of Tanya's relationship with Mileena thereafter, none can say...”

If you know Tanya, you know that she is used to betraying her allies. Tanya, in previous timelines, was a manipulator. Just like Reiko did in the comics, Tanya was probably sleeping with Mileena to gain her trust. That's what I believe. According to Liu Kang, he saw all the previous timelines and formed the new one with all the "good" aspects. But what does being together with Mileena improve in Tanya's life? In MKX, Mileena seemed to genuinely care about Tanya, so for Mileena, having Tanya as a partner would be a good thing. I thought it was a little forced that they were officially a couple in the new era, because, technically, it doesn't make sense.

The only LGBT+ person who is understandable in the franchise is Kung Jin. He's gay, but being gay isn't the character's focus. Yes, he feared not being accepted among the Shaolin because he was gay, but that was just part of his story. His focus is on saving Kung Lao, his uncle (in MKX, Jin and Lao are cousins ​​- in MK11, Jin is Lao's nephew).

Well, I wanted to talk about that.

I want to talk about the Umgadis and how they were... placed in history. In my view, the Umgadi were only included in history to have a group of female warriors. While playing, I swore I would see some male Umgadi, but we understand that most Umgadi are female. But now regarding the group's votes, I understand that the Umgadi only exist, so Tanya has an interesting story and to unfold Li Mei's story. There is no explanation (at least I didn't find one) as to why the Umgadi swore chastity. The reasons could be explored, giving depth to the group, mysteries to the story and making us like the group. I see the Umgadis as a way for NetherRealm Studios to "end" accusations of sexism in the series. But what do you think?