When the trailer is for Mortal Kombat released last week, fans were surprised to meet a new main character never seen before in video games. Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, is a new character created for the 2021 film (streaming on April 18 on HBO Max) and is capable, if in doubt, of replacing their favorite Johnny Cage.
But on Reddit, fans believe Cole Young is a secret legacy Mortal Kombat character in panic. Here’s what you need to know.
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In Mortal Kombat, Tan appears as Cole Young, a washed-out MMA fighter and the birthmark in the shape of a dragon is his invitation to the Mortal Kombat tournament. Cole aligns with the greatest deceivers on Earth, including Shaolin monks Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) and Special Forces soldiers Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee ) and Jax (Mechad Brooks), who enters the tournament to defend the Earth from Shao Kahn.
While it is Liu Kang who often plays the heroic lead in the story of the Mortal Kombat, it is now Cole Young who is the vehicle of the audience into the Mortal Kombat tradition. But on r / FanTheories Reddit, a lifelong fan of u / enonymous617 says Cole Young is another secret Mortal Kombat a character whose backup is still very scarce … Chameleon.
“The first thing that struck me was his name: Cole Young,” wrote u / enonymous617, who says the name is too far removed from others Mortal Kombat monikers; he doesn’t “look good” like Liu Kang or “fear strike” like Shang Tsung. “It’s just a name, isn’t it?”
As u / enonymous617 writes, “What if Cole is short for Camel?” Chamel Young. Chameleon. “Hiding in plain sight just like when he debuted in the video game.”
Who is the Chameleon in Mortal Kombat?
Unless you are a hard worker Mortal Kombat fan, you may have never heard of Chameleon. In fact, it looks like you’re already arguing with Reptile, a different character with somewhat similar features. (They both started out as mysterious characters, both are named after lizard creatures, and both have the power to imitate other characters.)
Ninja less famous with the least leaked story and history Mortal Kombat, Chameleon is a ninja imitator whose most special attraction is copying the powers of the other Mortal Kombat ninjas, including Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Smoke, and more.
After his first unofficial debut in home versions of Mortal Kombat 3 (playable only by Game Genie), Chameleon made its official debut in 1996 Trilogy Mortal Kombat as a secret character. It was accessible by inserting a special button set when selecting any of the game’s ninjas. During play, Chameleon changes colors (“palette swap”) while being able to use all of Chameleon’s signature moves briefly.
Another weird thing about Chameleon is its lack of a weird story. This is weird for Mortal Kombat, where even joking characters get an entire Wiki page. Unlike other characters than Trilogy Mortal Kombat, Chameleon does not get a finish screen in story – based arcade mode. Instead, the game just ends. (However, one “prize” player you get is a one-on-one fighting selection with Chameleon, who is hailed as one of Shao Khan’s “most deadly heroes.”) Chameleon has not been never released any official artwork by the game’s creators. A Google search for “Chameleon” brings up only fan-made artwork or screenshots, Photoshopped from the game.
After Trilogy, Chameleon made one more playable scene in 2006 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Again, the ending shows very little about Chameleon except that he had been “never present” since the first one. Mortal Kombat game and that he had “remained hidden from view, waiting for his moment to come.” Chameleon cannot be played in any Mortal Kombat game since then, but he has a cameo in the open world krypt of Mortal Kombat 11.
Why Cole Young could be a Chameleon
In addition to a clever flash of u / enonymous617 “Cole Young = Chamel Young = Chameleon”, an true ability to lie in who Cole Young is as a hero. As a mixed martial arts professional (a martial arts style never represented in the franchise), Cole Young is largely a person who studies, embraces, and adapts to other forms of martial arts. .
U / enonymous617 maintains that Scorpion and Sub-Zero seem to be on the hunt for Cole, because “they want to find out who’s borrowing from their moves.” Having watched the trailer about a dozen times myself, there is no indication that Sub-Zero and Scorpion are looking for Cole, even if they cross paths in the film. (Cole appears on screen with both Sub-Zero and Scorpion in the trailer, in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment.) But that doesn’t invalidate the theory, as Cole could have a deep connection to both characters – such as using their powers.
Moreover, with Chameleon as one of Shao Kahn’s “most deadly heroes,” Cole Young could to be a sleep agent on Earthrealm. It is not an impossible turn to imagine a Chameleon being sent to Earth, with his memory erased while lying low, and then “reactivated” by Shao Kahn when the time comes. It would be a gnarly twist on a character like Cole Young, someone who doesn’t have much history otherwise. Sounds just like Chameleon.
Mortal Kombat streaming on HBO Max will begin on April 18th.