Summary

• Mortal Kombat 2 can justify the changes made by its predecessor, thanks to decades of pre-existing material.
• The new concept of Arcana powers in the Mortal Kombat movie universe has drawn criticism but is here to stay.
• Mortal Kombat 2 can adjust the Arcana powers to improve on the first movie's execution and add new layers to the characters.

2021's Mortal Kombat reboot movie raised eyebrows with some of its alterations to the source material, but Mortal Kombat 2 can justify the divisive changes made by its predecessor. The new era of Mortal Kombat has decades of pre-existing material on which to base its adaptation due to the extensive number of games that came before it. While certain parts of the more recent on-screen version of the Mortal Kombat universe have been heavily praised, there's one aspect in particular that has come under fire from pre-existing fans.

Mortal Kombat made the bold move of creating an original character as the first movie's protagonist. However, every fight in the Mortal Kombat live-action movie universe, but it's a concept that the sequel needs to double down on.

Mortal Kombat's Arcana Powers Explained (& How It Differs From The Games)

The fighters' powers have different origins in the Mortal Kombat games

The fighters have a vast array of superhuman abilities in biggest character and story differences between the Mortal Kombat games and movies.

In the universe of the Mortal Kombat games, there don't seem to be any limitations regarding who can gain the abilities that help them compete in the titular tournament. In the 2021 movie, only someone marked with the signature dragon logo can eventually unlock their powers, although the mark can be ed from one person to another if the bearer of the emblem is killed. Then, the killer inherits the famous Mortal Kombat logo as it appears somewhere on their body.

Having the dragon mark is only part of a champion's journey to gaining their incredible powers, as their Arcana then needs to be unlocked. The method of discovering one's Arcana-based skills seems to differ from person to person. For some, great amounts of pain need to be endured, whereas characters like Kano stumble across their Arcana during moments of intense emotion.

Kano's laser eye is a cybernetic enhancement in the Mortal Kombat games.

The Problem With Mortal Kombat's Arcana Powers

Arcana's blanket explanation of the characters' powers doesn't always make sense

The introduction of Arcana to the Mortal Kombat movies removes many of the rich origin stories boasted by its collection of recognizable figures. Arcana acts as a framing device to quickly explain how every character gains their powers, but it makes the franchise less engaging as a result. Each Mortal Kombat character in the game has a story that addresses their abilities and how they were granted, and while Arcana streamlines this process, it still doesn't provide a definite answer for each of the movie's characters.

In addition, the Arcana twist doesn't make sense for everyone. It works well for characters like Sub-Zero and Liu Kang, whose elemental powers are fairly typical of the genre's signature mysticism. However, the technology-based powers like Jax's arms and Kano's laser don't quite marry up with the concept of Arcana and the greater Mortal Kombat universe. For instance, Jax's Arcana would seem to be improving the mechanical arms given to him, but this is an ability that would be rendered useless had he not lost his upper limbs.

Lasers are also a man-made tool, so Kano's Arcana is very of its time rather than being capable of manifesting at any point in history. Arcana also robs god-like characters like Raiden of their origin story. Instead, Raiden in the Mortal Kombat movie is granted two abilities instead of the single-power limit placed on the other characters. The fact that Raiden can control lightning as well as teleport is already a huge hole in Arcana's logic, as his companions and opponents have manifested only one superhuman talent.

Why Mortal Kombat 2 Has To Bring Back The Arcana Concept

The first Mortal Kombat movie has already committed to Arcana

Arcana may have its flaws, but unfortunately, it's too late to go back now. When Mortal Kombat introduced the concept of Arcana to explain its characters' powers, it was clear it was going to be something irreversibly woven into the canon of the new movie universe. Changing course and re-writing the origin of how all the film's characters gained their immense abilities would make the problem even worse.

In addition, Mortal Kombat's most controversial lore change is actually great news for Johnny Cage and other incoming characters. Certain figures from the Mortal Kombat games, such as Johnny Cage, have a fairly nebulous backstory that never fully explains why they have powers at all. So, although Arcana doesn't work well for everyone, it's actually a big improvement for the origin of some of the franchise's key characters.

The rules of 2021's Mortal Kombat have already been established, so Arcana is here to stay. Every character inheriting their abilities from the same source may not be ideal, but it is at least a big time saver and allows the Mortal Kombat writers to save time and begin the narrative much sooner. In addition, the new rules do have a certain definitiveness to them, so it's tough to argue that they don't have their merits.

How Mortal Kombat 2's Arcana Powers Can Be Better Than The First Movie's

Arcana can still be adjusted in the Mortal Kombat movie sequel

Just because Arcana powers have been installed as Mortal Kombat movie canon doesn't mean they can't be changed slightly in Mortal Kombat 2. The mysterious phenomenon still has unanswered questions, including whether champions without their Arcana still gain some form of enhancement just from bearing the mark of the dragon. For instance, Cole is a talented fighter at the start of the movie even before he discovers his lineage, and this innate combat ability could stem from his mark.

Mortal Kombat 2 could also double down on the Arcana idea and grant secondary abilities to those who have already manifested their powers. For example, Jax's mechanical arms being explained by Arcana may not make sense, but granting him another power would distract from this plot hole and separate the movie canon from the games even more. Raiden's dual-threat capability is evidence that a Mortal Kombat fighter can have more than one Arcana power, so Mortal Kombat 2 already has groundwork on which it can build.

The 2021 Mortal Kombat can be streamed now on Max, but there is currently no official cinematic release date for Mortal Kombat 2.