Kano (加納)[1] is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is one of the few original characters, debuting in the first Mortal Kombat arcade game. He was the first member of the Black Dragon to appear in the series, followed by many others.
A portion of Kano's face is covered with a metal plate, the result of a disfiguring injury he sustained at the hands of Major Jackson Briggs prior to the events of the series, with the plated eye being a glowing red orb capable of emitting laser beams. Originally a mercenary and leader of the international crime cartel known as the Black Dragon he rises beyond the level of mere brutality and aggression by also being sly and cunning. It was through his resourcefulness that he convinced Shao Kahn to spare his life, and it was through ruthless ambition that he later ascended to position of general of Outworld's armies. Kano combines the features of a cowardly minion, a lone survivor, a crazed madman, and an intelligent commander. His actions have made him the archenemy of Lt. Sonya Blade.
Kano is extremely adept in combat. What differentiates him from other kombatants, however, is his dependence on weapons rather than special powers. He very often uses his Butterfly Knives in combat, whether he throws them at the opponent or uses them in hand-to-hand combat. In addition, his eye laser is used often, mostly as a finisher but sometimes as a special move.
Another of Kano's special moves is his ability to tuck into a cannonball and propel himself at his opponents. This has been a signature move of his since the first game. Also, several of his finishers involve him ripping vital organs (or sometimes entire skeletons) out of the opponent's body. Along with the elder Sub-Zero's Spine Rip fatality, Kano's Heart Rip helped Mortal Kombat garner significant controversy over its violence factor.
Kanoball: Kano curls into a ball and flies at his opponent. In MK 2011 this is known simply as Ball. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:DA,MK:SM, MK:A, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
The enhanced version is called Kano Ball. Kano will spin in the air momentarily before launching at the opponent, hitting them several times. This can be charged and it's unblockable if held for the full charge.
Down Ball: Kano performs a Ball from the air to the ground, hitting the opponent if on his way. (MK 2011)
The enhanced version is Downward Ball and allows Kano to do an anti air grab before the opponent hits the ground.
Upwards Kanoball: Kano aims his Kanoball upwards to an aerial opponent. This moves is known simply as Up Ball in MK 2011. (UMK3, MKT, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
The enhanced version is called Uprise Ball. Kano will do an animation like Up Ball except he will roll downwards after getting to a certain height.
Psycho Kanoball: This version sees Kano flying all over the screen in random directions. (MKT)
Knife Throw: Kano throws a pair of knives at his opponent. In MK 2011, he only throws one knife. (MK, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
The enhanced version is called Knife Toss and Kano throws two knives.
Blade Swipe: Kano slashes his opponents with his knife in an upward swing. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
Blade Spin: Kano spins both of his knives around his body, knocking the opponent up into the air if it connects. Only usable by MK Kano. (MKT)
Air Throw: While in the air, Kano uses his legs to push the opponent to the ground. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK 2011)
Chokehold: Kano would grab his opponent and lift them in the air by the throat and proceed to stab them in the chest. In MK 2011, this move changes to a ground based choke and is simply called Choke. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
The enhanced version is called Kano Choke. Kano grounds the opponent and smashes their head on the ground and then rolls over them to the other side.
Eye Laser: Kano shoots a laser from his eye at the opponent. (MK:DA, MK:A, MKvsDCU)
Inner Rage: Kano concentrates for a short amount of time before covering his hands in red energy. Using this move increases the amount of damage dealt. (MK:A)
Fist of Power: Kano rapidly lunges forward and strikes the opponent with an energy covered fist. (MK:A)
X-Ray Move - Just the Tip: Kano plunges a knife into his opponent's right thigh, going through and snapping the femur. Before the opponent can react Kano proceeds to stab them in the left thigh, resulting in another broken femur. Then he delivers a devastating kick to the front of the skull, causing heavy fracture damage. (MK 2011)
Free-Fall Super Move: Kano hits his opponent with a charged Kanoball, knocking them to the ground. (MKvsDCU)
Throw: Kano slashes his opponent in the stomach twice with a knife, then either headbutts them to the ground (Forward Throw), or turns around and throws them over his shoulder (Backwards Throw). (MK 2011)
Heart Rip: Kano's signature fatality has him ripping the heart out of his opponent's chest, then hoisting the still beating organ in the air in triumph. Variations of this fatality have also been used by other members of the Black Dragon: Jarek in MK4 and Kobra in MK:D. (MK, MKT, MK:SM)
Deadly Roundhouse: In the Game Boy version, Kano slides up on one foot and performs a roundhouse to his opponent, launching them straight up into the air, possibly snapping their neck when they drop to the ground. (MK)
Eye Laser: Kano fires a concentrated heat beam of energy towards the opponent to boil their body until it tears into pieces. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
Skeleton Rip: Kano pulls out the victim's entire skeleton by grabbing the skull from their teeth and jerking it out, leaving the rest of the body to fall flat on the floor in a heap of skin. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
Organ Donor: Kano pulls out his opponent's heart, liver and kidneys two at a time and kicks the opponent away. (MK:DA)
Knife Toss: Before executing this fatality, he slowly walks away from his opponent, as if he were giving up, then he throws both Butterfly Knives into the opponent abruptly. (MKvsDCU)
Flip Stomp: Kano grabs the opponent, flips backwards with them, then jumps into the air. He comes back down and stomps on them with full force. (MKvsDCU)
Heartbreak: A variation of his signature fatality, Kano turns the opponent around and punches the heart out through his victim´s back, holding it so they can see it. He then crushes the heart in his hands, pulls it back out and hoists it in the air while blood still pumps out. (MK 2011)
Eat Your Heart Out: Another variation of his signature fatality, Kano rips the heart out of his opponent's chest, then proceeds to rip off their head. He jams the opponent's head into the hole in their chest and kicks them away. (MK 2011)
Kano appeared in the first Mortal Kombat movie, and was played by the late Trevor Goddard. He seems to have very bad table manners, as shown when Sonya, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage are spying on him, Goro, and Shang Tsung later in the film. In spite of their allegiance, Shang Tsung and Goro have little respect for him. Kano also appears to harbor an obsessive infatuation for Sonya regardless of her hatred for him. The film expanded upon Kano's rivalry with Sonya from the games; she now had a personal interest in seeking vengeance against Kano for killing her partner. Shang Tsung hires Kano to lure Sonya into the Mortal Kombat tournament and promises to grant Kano the reward he desires for his efforts after he faces off against Sonya in the tournament, demanding that Sonya is not to be harmed but merely humiliated, claiming that he has plans for her. During their match, Kano gleefully taunts Sonya about how he murdered her partner with his butterfly knife. After beating Sonya harshly, Kano is caught off guard by a leg lock from Sonya, and is soon trapped between her thighs and at her mercy. Shang Tsung betrays Kano and goads Sonya into finishing him off. Despite pleading for his life, Sonya proceeds to break Kano's neck.
British actor and martial artist Darren Shahlavi portrayed Kano in Mortal Kombat: Legacy. In the series, he is the leader of the Black Dragon organization and plans an ambush for the Deacon City Police Department after taking Sonya hostage. A police squad led by Jax breaks into the Black Dragon warehouse and fights through Kano's thugs. Kano attempts to escape, but Jax soon catches up with him. Kano and Jax engage each other in combat, during which Kano describes his torturing of Sonya to taunt Jax. He is subsequently defeated, and an angry Jax punches Kano repeatedly in the face, the final blow dealt with so much force that it caves in his right eye socket. Sometime later, Kano is found by his gang and is given a cybernetic eye as a replacement. He also appears in Episode 9, which chronologically takes place before Episodes 1 and 2. He oversees his cybernetic project in fruitition, alongside with the Lin Kuei Grandmaster.
Kano (voiced by Brian Kesinger) appears in the 52nd Disney film, Wreck-It-Ralph, as a member of the "BAD ANON" support group along with the other video game villains. In this movie he performs a bloodless version of his trademark fatality on Cyril, a zombie character from arcade classic House of the Dead. Kano's main role was to scold Ralph for attempting to challenge the program by abandoning his role as a villain. His appearance was slightly changed from that of recent games, now including a cybernetic arm, goatee and bald head, similar to his appearance in the original game. Kano was the only character from an M-rated game to be notably featured and have dialogue, however, his actual name was also inexplicably avoided, only being referred to as "Cyborg" in the film's credits.
Kano appears in two episodes of the animated cartoon Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. He is the main antagonist in Episode 6 (Familiar Red) and also reappears in Episode 11 (Amends). The cartoon explains Kano's past rivalry with Sonya, showing him in a flashback scene having killed Sonya's partner in a carefully rigged bomb (which almost killed Sonya as well). The flashback continues with a recreation of a scene in the first movie, where Kano loses to Sonya in the Mortal Kombat tournament. In Amends, they also touched Kano's relationship with Kabal, showing their past history as clan members in the Black Dragon clan.
Kano appears in the Malibu Comics series keeping his personality and history faithful to the early games' portrayal. He also was protagonist of a 3-issues miniseries alongside Raiden entitled Rayden & Kano. During the Blood & Thunder series it is shown the origin of Sonya's vendetta against him, when he kills Sonya's partner (called Lance/Sparky in the comics) during a tournament battle by means of a heart rip. His motivations to loot the island are replaced by his discovery of the Tao Te Zan and the powers it grants. During the series' epilogue in the Tournament Edition issue, he's finally captured by Sonya and Jax and sent into custody.
Kano on the cover of Rayden and Kano #1
He would later escape (as shown in the Breakout mini-story that came with the U.S. Special Forces issue 1°) and during the Battlewave series he would be disposed by his superiors in the Black Dragon due to his failure, only to be rescued by Raiden. Raiden would attempt to use Kano to eliminate Shao Kahn by means of a mystical sword that drew power from a bad guy turned to the side of good, but Kano betrays Raiden and joins Shao Kahn, remaining in his forces the following issues.
In the novel version of Mortal Kombat, Kano's eye implant has night vision capability.
In an early sketch of Kano by John Tobias, he had an eye patch instead of a metal face plate with a bionic eye, and 2 katanas. Another design of Kano had a large helmet with two red eyes. This concept was also dropped later on to be replaced by a metal plate over his right eye. In Kano's Deception Bio Card, Ed Boon mentions how Kano's bionic eye in the first MK (involving digitized actors) was created by cutting out a piece of a plastic mask and painting it a silver color, then gluing it to Richard Divizio's head.
Kano was left out of the Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System version of MK due to memory constraints.
In Deadly Alliance, Kano had a move with his Butterfly Knives called "ear to ear." This was based on a line in the first Mortal Kombat movie, where Kano mockingly claimed that he used his knife to slit the throat of Sonya's partner, from "ear to ear." He also had a fast tag combo with the same name in MK 2011.
Prepared to ship stolen robotic weapons and armors to an unknown location.
Captured Sonya.
Planning an ambush against the Deacon City Police Department.
Fought Jax but lost.
Had his right eye irreparably damaged by Jax during their battle.
Rescued by his clan and subjected to eye surgery, where a cybernetic weapon known as the "Red Eye" is installed in his face along with metal plating to repair the damage to his skull, replacing the missing eye.
"Good boy. She's here, right on time. I love punctuality in a woman. Don't you... Mr. Shang Tsung?"
"Maybe me and Sonya should share a cabin. Have our own little honeymoon cruise."
"That's it, baby. Come to papa." (as Sonya boards the boat)
"What I wanna know, if this Shang Tsung guy's so great, how come he's got such a crummy looking boat, hm? Anyway, the guy gives me the creeps. "Treasure... these... moments"." (to Goro, mocking Shang Tsung)
"Yeah? Well, I'm kind of an underworld boss myself, y'know. Well, I mean, back home." (to Goro)
"Yeah, and I'd like to get back to my amassing as soon as possible if you don't mind. Now, when do I get paid?" (to Shang Tsung)
"Hello, baby. Did you miss me?" (to Sonya)
"Ooh, now look at this! This little baby brings back memories now, doesn't it?"
"Nah. It put a big smile on your partner though. Ear... to ear!"
"Give it up, baby! I've studied all your moves!"
"Does it hurt, baby?"
"No, Sonya, don't! Aww, gimme a break!" (Just before Sonya kills him)
Kano roughly resembles a Terminator from the Terminator series of films. In an episode of Icons/Gamemakers, hosted by G4, Ed Boon stated that the eye implant was directly based on Terminator 2: Judgment Day in which the T-800's face right side of his face begins to peel off from damage, revealing his mechanical visage.
Kano was rumored to be in MKII through Shang Tsung's morphs, but this was later proven false.
Kano and Sonya were the first characters to be confirmed for MK3.
Although originally American-Japanese, Kano became Australian following Trevor Goddard's portrayal in the first Mortal Kombat movie.
In Deadly Alliance, Kano hung Sonya Blade's hair around his neck as a symbol of their rivalry, which he tore from her head during their battle atop the skyscraper in MK3.
Kano is the only human fighter shown to have any body hair, specifically chest hair, starting with Deadly Alliance into MK 2011. Outworlders Motaro and Kintaro only have hair and fur coats respectively.
In each game Kano is absent, he either makes a cameo imprisoned, a substitute fighter from the Black Dragon borrows his techniques, or both during Deception when Kira was introduced.
In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Kano's alternate costume resembles his MKI outfit, while if both players chose Kano as their characters his second color will resemble his UMK3 outfit.
In MK 2011 Kano, along with Jax, has an X-Ray that deals 41% damage - the most damaging of all of the playable characters.
Their X-Ray Moves are two of three that cannot be blocked, along with Sheeva's X-Ray move.
Richard Divizio once stated that Kano's favorite food is White Castle hamburgers. However, this likely just means that they are Richard Divizio's favorite food as well. [2]
Kano's face plate has technical issues in MK 2011. The plate is invisible when he's attacked with X-Ray Moves, and it is incorrectly shown on the left side of his head for his Vs. image as Player 2.
In Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Optimus Prime kills The Fallen in a very similar way Kano does with his Heartbreaker fatality.
In the cinematic trailer from MK 2011, Scorpion kills Sub-Zero with Kano's Eat Your Heart Out Fatality.
In MK 2011, Kano is the only characters whose victory pose is retained in the Challenge Tower, wheras everyone else's is changed.
He appears as an enemy in Batman Arkham City Lockdown, another game developed by NetherRealm Studios, during the Gotham Steel Mill challenge.
The Brazillian cartoon makers enterprise Mundo Canibal homaged Kano by using his Heart Rip fatality in the video Briga de Galo. After the fatality, the annoucer also says "Fatality" as a mention to the Mortal Kombat games.
Kano's official theme is titled, "Use Your Might."
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Kano. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Mortal Kombat Wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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