What happens to Cole Young in Mortal Kombat II?

Unlike the established fighters around him, Cole does not come from the games. He was written for Mortal Kombat (2021) as a struggling MMA fighter who learns that he is descended from Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada).

The people who made that film have been open about his purpose. Co-writer Greg Russo said Cole was a character the studio wanted, and producer Todd Garner described the need for an audience access point. Cole could discover the tournament’s rules at the same time as viewers who had never played Mortal Kombat.

That makes him useful as a guide. It also means the first film asks established fans to spend a lot of time with a newcomer while familiar fighters wait for attention.

Tan has described the reaction to Cole as divided, in an interview with Vulture. Not everyone objected to him, even if the people who did were loud.

Slater told GamesRadar that hardcore fans had been especially vocal about wanting Cole removed. That describes a hostile part of the audience, not everyone who saw the film.

Slater did not inherit this decision. In his interviews about the sequel, he described proposing Cole’s death as part of a plan to unsettle two different audiences.

Casual viewers might expect the first film’s lead to survive. Players familiar with the games might already expect Cole to disappear, but would be more surprised by what happens to Liu Kang. Slater wanted both groups to lose their sense that they knew how the tournament would end.

The sequel also gives new viewers another guide. Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) takes on the outsider’s role: a man who does not believe any of this, learning the rules as we do.

Cole fights Shao Kahn in the tournament’s second round. For a moment he seems to win, cutting Kahn’s throat. Then the wound heals. Kahn crushes Cole’s head with his hammer and sends the body into a pool of acid.

The Amulet of Shinnok is protecting Kahn. Cole lands what should be a killing blow and discovers too late that the fight is rigged against him.

So his death does a job in the plot: it shows why Kahn can’t simply be beaten by a better fighter. For the amulet and the final confrontation, read our Mortal Kombat II ending explainer.

There is still a cost. The first film spent its running time building Cole up through his family, his bloodline and his place on Earth’s team. Killing him in one fight gives that investment very little payoff.

A shocking death can change a story. Here, it also clears space for characters the games made famous. That will satisfy viewers who never wanted Cole, but it is a thin return for anyone who followed his story in 2021.

Our problem with the sequel is that removing him does not produce a stronger central character. Johnny is the new audience guide and Kitana has the clearest personal stake, but the film keeps dividing its attention. As our Mortal Kombat II review argues, it can feel as if everyone is a supporting character.

Probably not as Cole. Slater has said he does not expect the character to return, while leaving open the possibility of working with Lewis Tan again. Tan also considers Cole finished but remains open to returning differently, he told Vulture.

The ending gives the heroes a captured necromancer and a plan to recover fallen friends. That makes a return possible in this world, but it doesn’t mean Cole will be one of the people brought back, and it isn’t a casting announcement for Tan.