Mortal Kombat 1 Has Seemingly Erased The Special Forces From Existence

Kenshi’s arcade ending and intro dialogue in Mortal Kombat 1 seem to be implying that the Special Forces aren’t a thing in Liu Kang’s new universe, which should be good news for some fans.

One of the biggest complaints that Mortal Kombat fans have had about the series over the past decade or so is that there’s been far too much focus on the Special Forces, the military faction that Sonya Blade and Jax Briggs are a part of in the original games, and what becomes a much bigger deal in Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11 thanks to the introduction of Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs, Takeda Takahashi, and Kung Jin, who are all new members of the team.

Although the Kombat Kids do have their defenders (it’s me, I’m the defender – Takeda for life, baby), even those who like the four new fighters would find it hard to disagree that the tight focus on military fighters instead of ninjas and sorcerers is just a bit boring for a series like Mortal Kombat. Hell, they even roped Johnny Cage into it!

Well, it looks like that won’t be as much of an issue moving forward for the series, as it’s implied in Kenshi’s arcade ending that the Special Forces might not even be a thing in Liu Kang’s new timeline, or at least they certainly aren’t yet. As noted by Twitter user cass_cage_45, Kenshi’s ending sees him teaming up with „Special Agent Jackson Briggs“, who we of course all know as Jax, to take down the Yakuza.

After they do so, Shang Tsung appears to steal Sento off Kenshi, which then confirms to Jax that Johnny Cage’s movies are telling the truth and that there are other realms out there. This then leads to him asking Kenshi if he wants to join the FBI as part of its new Outworld Investigation Agency (a reference to the same organisation that first appeared in Mortal Kombat 3 before mostly being forgotten about), which he agrees to do.

Jax’s new role as an FBI agent and one of the leaders of the Outworld Investigation Agency seems to imply that the Special Forces aren’t currently a thing in this timeline, as he’s typically been associated with them instead of the FBI. We do know from intro dialogue that the Black Dragon are still a gang of thugs in this timeline, but there’s seemingly no mention of the Special Forces to be found so far, furthering the idea that it’s simply not a thing anymore.

It’s worth remembering that arcade endings are seemingly considered canon now, so it seems that NetherRealm is setting up Kenshi and Jax’s roles in a potential sequel to the game. Some of Kenshi’s intro dialogues also further this idea that the endings are canon, as Johnny makes several jokes about the samurai’s new role in the FBI.