NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat 11's latest DLC introduces a collection of classic characters to the game as well as a new guest star. Fan-favorites Mileena and Rain are making their return to the MK roster, while First Blood star John Rambo joins the fight for the first time in franchise history. With guest characters like RoboCop and The Terminator already on Mortal Kombat 11's roster, Rambo should feel right at home amongst his 80's action brethren. Rambo has the makings of a perfect addition to the MK11 lineup, but there are some details about the character that make him a questionable choice for a Mortal Kombat game.
Much like RoboCop and The Terminator, Rambo is a killing machine. However, unlike those other two, Rambo isn't an actual machine. He's just a guy who went to war and became the perfect killer. He's a weapons and tactical expert, but he doesn't need anything more than a bow and arrow or his iconic hunting knife. Rambo is a one man army capable of killing thousands all by himself, whether it be stealthily or with cannons blazing. Over the course of the five films in the First Blood franchise, Rambo has killed countless amounts of enemies is some of the most horrific and creative ways imaginable. The most recent Rambo film, Rambo: Last Blood, highlights his outrageous killing ability perfectly.
Rambo: Last Blood ends in a climactic last stand where Rambo lures the Mexican cartel to his Arizona ranch, which he's rigged to the gils with booby traps. What then ensues is a symphony of dismemberment and gore as Rambo mows his way through the cartel. He drops members of the cartel into spiked pits, he rigs claymores to blow them to smithereens, he sets up large blades to slice people to pieces, and he also runs around with a shotgun, blowing their heads off. The final battle ends with Rambo pinning to leader of the cartel to a wall with a bow and arrow. Rambo then splits the cartel leader's chest open with his famous knife and rips the leader's heart out with his bare hands. The whole scene looked very similar to a fatality straight out of Mortal Kombat 11.
First Blood's Rambo Doesn't Fit Mortal Kombat 11
Rambo is one of the best killers in the history of action movies, but that wasn't until the later entries in the series. In his original film, First Blood, Rambo is more of a broken man than expert killer. The film deals with the struggles soldiers endured when returning to life after the Vietnam war. Rambo doesn't even want to kill anyone in the film, and the one person he does kill is by accident. The films ends with Rambo breaking down in tears over everything war has taken from him. The subsequent films that followed First Blood made Rambo into the unstoppable killing force he's known as. This shouldn't really be a problem, but Mortal Kombat 11 seems to base Rambo more on the broken man from First Blood than the killing machine from later films.
Rambo's MK11 ending features him killing Kronika and gaining her powers. He considers fixing all of mankind's mistake throughout history, but realizes choosing who lives and who dies would make him no better then the men who sent him to war. He ultimately returns her power and chooses a life of peace. This is a nice ending that shows a full understanding of Rambo's character, but it doesn't belong in a Mortal Kombat game.
There are many different iterations of Rambo NetherRealm Studios could've modeled the in-game character after, but choosing Rambo from First Blood for a fighting game feels a little tone deaf. The film details the struggles of post-war life soldiers experience, like being unwanted by their country and haunted by the things they saw at war. Having a mentally troubled solider compete in a gory fight to the death just seems like bad representation. Considering he's one of the most skilled killers in film history, Rambo is a perfect fit on Mortal Kombat 11's roster, but his roots as a troubled soldier dealing with the lasting effects of war does make the choice somewhat eyebrow raising.