Kano

Current Timeline

Film

“	Kano wins! You fuckin' beauty!	„
—Kano after ripping out Reptile's heart

Kano is a character in the 2021 Mortal Kombat film. He is portrayed by Josh Lawson.

Biography

The mononymous leader of the Black Dragon and a ruthless, vulgar, loud mouthed scoundrel, Kano was a mercenary on the run before his capture by Sonya Blade. After stealing a Dragon Marking off a target Sonya was tracking, Kano inadvertently became an Earthrealm champion, unknown to him that the forces of Outworld have come to kill him before the traditional Mortal Kombat Tournament can begin.

He first meets Cole Young after Cole finds Sonya, sitting in the dark cuffed to a chair while spouting obscenities at his new acquaintance for being too curious about his last name. The three are attacked by Reptile not long after, which Kano uses to his advantage: as Reptile was laying in wait on the ceiling, his acidic saliva began to drip to the ground, which Kano disintegrates his cuffs with. Kano is then the one to execute Reptile, tearing out his heart while saying "Kano wins" and declaring Reptile's still-beating heart to be "a beauty". He later sketches a drawing of his rendition of the execution, saying he fancies himself an artist. He also sketches a drawing of himself and Sonya labelled "LOVE SONYA" at an unknown time, which is stuck to Sonya's dartboard with a knife keeping it in place.

Now freed, Kano attempts to walk free to Raiden's temple as he reveals he alone knows the location from his gunrunning activities. However, Sonya manages to convince him to stay and bring herself and Cole as well under the guise that she will pay him a non-existent $3,000,000 and allow him to loot anything he wants from it.

Upon reaching the temple, they are greeted by Liu Kang, who Kano attempts to attack. However, he is quickly dispatched by Liu Kang's fireball, which gives him a great desire to learn his own Arcana. Kano attempts to steal Shinnok's Amulet while touring the temple before being told by Liu to return it. Raiden then views the 3 champions, addressing them dismissively as Cole is unfit to fight, both physically and mentally, and Sonya is unmarked. Kano quickly boasts that Raiden did not mention him and asks for his "fortune cookie", only for Raiden to blindly fire a lightning bolt behind him, striking Kano and sending him flying into the ceiling, before calling him arrogant. He also meets Kung Lao who shows off his own powers and proudly states his family connection to the Great Kung Lao only for Kano to remark that he has "never heard of him".

The White Lotus then declare that the other fighters' training must begin with the tournament not long after, and Kano sits at the edge of the arena, mostly watching from the top of the seats, seemingly not paying attention. He, along with Cole, remains unable to activate his Arcana in training. During his training against Liu Kang, Liu sweeps Kano's leg out from underneath him twice. After Kano asks whether the leg sweep is the only move Liu knows, he tries jumping over the third leg sweep, which does not come until after Kano lands, knocking him to the ground yet again.

During dinner, Kano asks for an egg roll from Kung Lao, who is seated closer to them, derisively referring to Lao as "Kung Pao". Instead, Lao eats an egg roll himself, and retorts that Kano would be in no condition for the tournament even if he had 100 days to train before calling him a fat, lazy pig and terrible fighter with no skill. Kano asks him if he has a deathwish, to which Lao responds by saying that kombat requires intelligence which Kano lacks, and he more accurately resembles a dog who still fails training classes. Liu Kang further berates him, wondering why Kano would jeopardize the goodwill the White Lotus has shown him, that Kung Lao is there to save Kano from himself, and that Kano is an aggressive bunny which is angry mentally but soft and useless physically before saying Kano should bow and get on his knees before Kung Lao. Furious, Kano demands the monks "sdsad

Combat Characteristics

Kano possess competent, if not unorthodox fighting skills, as shown when fighting opponents like Reptile or training with Cole Young. Like his video game counterpart, Kano carries large bowie knives wherever he goes and uses them in kombat to gruesome effect. However, unlike his video game counterpart, and even his past television and film counterparts, this version of Kano lacks a bionic eye entirely. Instead, after stealing a Dragon Marking and later getting annoyed with Kung Lao, Kano unlocks his Arcana, allowing him to shoot lasers from his wounded and damaged right eye, being able to cut through nearly anything. The eye laser is even strong enough to damage Raiden's staff, disabling the electric field around Raiden's Temple and allowing Shang Tsung and his forces to storm the Temple.

Behind the Scenes

Josh Lawson enjoyed the role of Kano, describing him as a fan-favorite that people "love to hate." Although he played the Mortal Kombat games as a kid, he admits that he never played as Kano, having chosen characters such as Sonya Blade and Lord Raiden, and thus brought no pre-conceived notions to the role. His tattoo took 40 minutes to apply and then lasted for three-four days before needing to be reapplied.^[1] In HBO Max's "Meet the Kast" featurette, Lawson expressed appreciation for the way the fight element that is part of the games is brought to life on screen stating, "And it's not just CG, I promise you."

Trivia

During a confrontation with Reptile, who attacks Sonya, Cole and Kano, Kano kills him using his signature Heart Rip Fatality from the first Mortal Kombat video game.
Kano is captured by Sonya, who reveals that he had slit the throat of a "chosen" warrior, leading to more of Sonya's ire towards Kano. This may be a possible reference to Sonya's obsession to catch Kano in the game series after he killed her partner.
Kano's bowie knives in the film have Black Dragon markings alongside the blades.
Inside Raiden's Temple, Kano steals Shinnok's Amulet before being told to put it back by Liu Kang. This is a possible reference to Mortal Kombat X, in which Kano stole the amulet to give to Mileena.