Cole Young

Cole Young
General Information
Gender	Male
Status	Alive
Origin	Earthrealm (Chicago, Illinois)
Resides	Earthrealm
Species	Human
In Mortal Kombat
Family	Allison (wife) Emily (daughter) Scorpion (distant ancestor)
Occupation	Mixed martial artist
Allies	Raiden Kung Lao Sonya Blade Liu Kang Jax Briggs Scorpion
Enemies	Sub-Zero Shang Tsung Mileena Kabal Reiko Nitara Goro Kano Syzoth
Weapons	Tonfas
Fighting Styles	MMA Okinawan kobudō
Alignment	Good
Portrayers	Lewis Tan

“	Well, I'm willing to die for my family.	„
—Cole Young to Raiden, Mortal Kombat

Cole Young is the protagonist of the 2021 film Mortal Kombat. He is a distant descendant of Scorpion through his infant daughter raised in Raiden's Temple.

Profile

Born and orphaned in the South Side of Chicago, Cole Young lives with his wife Allison and daughter Emily. A one-time champion, Cole is now making his earnings as a MMA fighter with a declining reputation. When Jax Briggs meets up with Cole, he begins to learn of his heritage and soon finds himself fighting alongside the likes of Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and the Thunder God Raiden in a battle to protect Earthrealm from Shang Tsung and his Outworld Champions.

Biography

Cole battling Ramirez in a cage fight

Cole Young, once a champion MMA fighter, is now showing up for $200 a fight, simply to put on a good show and put food on the table for his wife Allison and daughter Emily. Following one such fight, a man named Jax Briggs approaches Cole, telling him that he could have won the fight if he had controlled the cage. He expresses interest in the unusual dragon marking that Cole bears, asking where it came from, and Emily explains that it's a birthmark.

Later, Cole and his family are out having dinner when a strange individual then appears and starts freezing everything around them. Just then, Jax Briggs reappears and shelters Cole and his family in his truck. He tells Cole that the dragon marking is no birthmark, that it means that he's been chosen to fight. He tells Cole to get to Gary, Indiana and find a woman named Sonya Blade. Cole offers to stay and fight, but Jax warns him that this would only result in the death of both him and his family.

Obeying Jax's instructions, Cole travels to Gary, where he discovers the ramshackle home of Sonya Blade. There, Sonya explains to him that the dragon marking is an invitation to something she's researched for years, a tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Cole is skeptical of the idea, but before she can explain further, their discussion is interrupted by a man she has chained up named Kano. Sonya explains that Kano is a member of the Black Dragon Clan and that she was tracking another champion, whose throat Kano slit, killing him and taking his mark. They are then attacked by Syzoth, the Reptile, whom Kano manages to kill by ripping it out its heart.

Following this incident, Sonya explains that they need to get to Raiden's Temple, where legends say heroes used to train for Mortal Kombat. Kano claims to know where it is, and Sonya bribes him to take them there for $3 million, though she privately admits to Cole that she doesn't have $3 million. The group then journeys to the temple, Sonya and Kano at each other the whole way, until they are intercepted by Liu Kang, a member of the Shaolin Order of Light. He guides them to temple, informing them that time is short and they must begin training for the tournament in order to defend Earthrealm. He introduces them to Lord Raiden, who is immediately dismissive of them all, stating that Cole is in no mental or physical state to fight. Cole pleads with him to help, explaining about the man who tried to kill his family. Raiden replies that only death awaits him, but he counters that he's willing to die for his family. "Let's see if you have what it takes," answers Raiden. Just then, Shang Tsung and his forces of Outworld appear, trying to claim victory. Raiden, however, expels them.

Cole training with Kung Lao

The training begins, with Liu Kang and his partner Kung Lao explaining that the entire purpose of the training is to unlock one's arcana, granting a special ability. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Cole is struggling with the training. He is repeatedly pushed to his limit and beyond, but despite his pain and anger, nothing happens. He is even more annoyed when Kano manages to unlock his arcana through anger during a contentious dinner. Ultimately, Lord Raiden dismisses Cole, telling him that he has failed to find his arcana and without it he is a liability to others. Cole asks how this can be the case, given his own dragon marking and the fact that he's the only champion who's had his marking since birth. At this, Lord Raiden reveals to Cole that he is the descendant of one of the greatest ninjas ever, Hanzo Hasashi. He explains that Scorpion descended to the Netherrealm upon being killed by Sub-Zero, but he saved his child, allowing the Hashashi bloodline to live on. He continues that he had hoped the power of the Hasashi bloodline still lived within Cole, but he now knows this isn't the case. He uses lightning to open a portal, telling Cole to go home to his wife and daughter.

Following this, Kano betrays the group, using his arcana power of shooting a laser from his eye to take down the shield that Raiden has erected over his temple. Shang Tsung and his forces attack while, back in Chicago, the giant four-armed Shokan warrior named Goro launches an attack on Cole and his family. During the fight, Cole's wife Allison attempts to intervene. Cole, angered and upset by the danger to his family, finally summons his power and unlocks his arcana. This gives him a metal skin that appears over his chest as protection and the power to absorb and redirect attacks, as well as duel tanfas to fight with. Using these new powers, he is able to finally overcome Goro, tearing him apart. Following this, a flash of lightning appears. Allison, worried, asks her what it is and he assures it that it's okay, that it's a doorway back. He steps into it and finds himself back at Raiden's temple. "Impossible," declares Shang, and Raiden thanks him for helping his fighter find his arcana, saying that after 4,000 years, the Hasashi bloodline lives on.

Aggravated, Shang summons Sub-Zero to attack. Kung Lao tries to stop him, but Shang draws him over using his magic and begins sucking out his soul. Liu Kang, hearing what is happening, races over to try to stop him, but Cole restrains him, knowing that he would only get himself caught or killed. The two watch helplessly as Shang drains Kung until he is nothing but ashes. Lord Raiden then opens a portal to the Void, bringing the remaining Earthrealm fighters with him. There, Liu laments that Earthrealm is lost without Kung, but Cole replies that it isn't over, that they have to fight. Hearing this, Lord Raiden presents Cole with a blade once used by Hasashi, telling him that Hasashi's spirit will fight with him if he uses it. Cole then devises a plan by which the Earthrealm fighters will fight Shang's forces one by one, taking advantage of Raiden's ability to send people to anywhere within Earthrealm, and then saving Sub-Zero for last for them to take on together. He assigns himself the task of fighting Mileena, a vicious woman who fights using blades and razor-sharp teeth.

Raiden disperses the fighters to begin the battles. Cole battles Mileena, but it does not go well for him. She proves a fearsome opponent, able to extend her jaw to reveal row after row of teeth and constantly teleporting such that Cole finds it hard to know where she's coming from. Still, he continues to hold his on until Sonya Blade appears, having discovered her own arcana power by defeating Kano. "A little help?" he asks her and she blasts Mileena with purple Energy Rings, punching a hole straight through her chest and killing her. Following this, Sub-Zero appears, having paid a visit to Cole's home and trapping his wife and daughter in ice. He shows Cole a necklace made by Emily and turns it to ice to taunt him. Enraged, Cole chases him back through the portal, negating his own plan to gather up the champions so that they can all face Sub-Zero together.

Scorpion and Cole together

At first, things do not go well for Cole as he battles Sub-Zero in the ice palace that Sub-Zero has made out of the gym where Cole fought his MMA match. Nevertheless, Cole is able to hold off Sub-Zero and his fighting spirit resonates with Hasashi's blade. This connection summons forth Hanzo Hasashi from the depths of Hell, now going by the name "Scorpion." Scorpion taunts Sub-Zero, asking if he remembers his face, and then the two begin an intense duel. While Scorpion is busy fighting, Cole tries to chip away at the ice encasing his wife and daughter, but finds himself unable to break it. He joins Scorpion and they fight Sub-Zero to a standstill. Scorpion then tells Cole to leave Sub-Zero to him. He finishes off the weakened fighter, telling him that he hoped he would burn in the fires of hell, but instead he learned to control them. He breathes fire all over Sub-Zero, roasting him away and ending his life. He helps to free Cole's wife and daughter, then thanks Cole for freeing him and tells him to watch over the Hashashi bloodline before retreating back to the Netherrealm. Afterwards, Raiden returns with the remaining champions and Cole introduces them to his wife and daughter as his friends. Shang Tsung then appears, declaring that he will send armies, but Raiden sends him away. He then tells the champions they must seek out the next generation of champions and Cole Young leaves for Hollywood to recruit movie star Johnny Cage of the film Citizen Cage.

Combat Characteristics

Befitting his upbringing as an orphan on the rough South Side of Chicago Cole’s initial fighting style manifested as an extremely aggressive and furious style of mixed martial arts that focused on him pounding his opponents into submission. Early on in his fighting career this style served him especially well and allowed him to defeat former MMA champion Eddy Tobias and claim his title. Over the years, however, Cole’s style began to become less effective as newer opponents began to take advantage of his form’s weaknesses like its lack of defense and poor battlefield control ability. After training at Raiden’s temple and realizing the fuel to his arcana is in fact his desire to not simply win but to protect others though Cole’s style shifts to incorporate more dodging and blocking as well as moves from Okinawan Kobudō, a martial art that emphasizes weapon usage. This transition in fighting style is aided by his arcana, which manifests as a kind of extremely durable metal skin which can absorb the kinetic energy of his opponent’s strikes to empower his own blows and which can also generate weapons in the form of both normal and bladed tonfas from his arms.

Character Development

Cole Young is an original character created for the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie. Screenwriter Greg Russo, in publicity material for the Mortal Kombat film, stated that Cole Young's storyline came in part from his own life. As he began working on the project, he and his spouse were about to have their first child. He incorporated his own questions about what it meant to be a father and if he would be a good dad into the character. Cole was originally envisioned akin to a Shujinko-like character arc (an oft-used narrative tool of introducing a "newcomer"), facilitating the role of (re-)introducing the story via existing characters, providing the audience a new protagonist experience.

Behind the Scene

• Cole is portrayed by British-Chinese actor and martial artist Lewis Tan, who is the son of Philip Tan, a renowned stuntman, actor and martial arts choreographer.
• In the HBO Max documentary "From Game to Screen", Cole Young's actor Lewis Tan admits to having played Mortal Kombat as a child and his parents not being happy about it, so he would sneak to play it late at night. "And now, look at me, Mom."
• In another of these documentaries, "Kombat Evolution", Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid describes Lewis Tan as an incredible fighter who just will not stop. Tan explains that he comes from a fighting background and that real martial arts is very similar to him to acting because it's about expression.

Gallery

Cole's Arcana armor

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Mortal Kombat Film Characters

Cole Young portrayed by Lewis Tan Sub-Zero portrayed by Joe Taslim Kano portrayed by Josh Lawson Mileena portrayed by Sisi Stringer Shang Tsung portrayed by Chin Han Kung Lao portrayed by Max Huang Sonya Blade portrayed by Jessica McNamee Liu Kang portrayed by Ludi Lin Lord Raiden portrayed by Tadanobu Asano Jackson "Jax" Briggs portrayed by Mehcad Brooks Scorpion portrayed by Hiroyuki Sanada Browse all