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Kabal is a supporting character in the Mortal Kombat franchise. While being a member of the Black Dragon at first, he later becomes a hero, during Shao Kahn's invasion.
He is portrayed by Richard Divisio in Mortal Kombat 3, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in Defenders of the Realm, David Lodge in Mortal Kombat (2011) and by Jonathan Cahill in Mortal Kombat 11.
History[]
Mortal Kombat 3[]
Kabal first debuted in Mortal Kombat 3 as during Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, where he was one of Raiden's chosen fighters. Kabal had survived an attack from Kahn's extermination squads, and was left disfigured and kept alive by artificial respirators. As it turned out, Kabal had been the leader of the Black Dragon Clan, and was left vengeful towards Outworld's forces. Aligning with his fellows, Kabal aided them in battling the invasion, and in his non canon ending, he was the one to defeat Shao Kahn. Either way, after the invasion was thwarted, Kabal elected to change his ways. He would become a scourge on crime as a vigilante.
Confrontation with Mavado[]
Between MK3 and MK: Deadly Alliance, Kabal is wounded severely in battle by Mavado, a leading member of the rival Red Dragon who stole his hookswords and kept them both for himself. While he was presumed dead, Deception reveals that Havik visits Kabal at the brink of death and restores him, and then instructs him to revive the Black Dragon as a force of anarchy and decay. Kabal agrees, returning to his criminal roots.
Second Timeline[]
- Main article: Kabal (2nd Timeline)
This version of Kabal led a similar life to his original counterpart, but quit the Black Dragon Clan and became a New York City police officer. In Mortal Kombat 9, while partnered with Stryker, Kabal witnessed Outworld's invasion, and was left horrifically burned by Kintaro. He was gifted a life support by Kano in the hope of him rejoining the Black Dragon, which Kabal rejected, and would join up with his fellow Earthrealmers.
Other Media[]
Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm[]
Mortal Kombat Annihilation[]
While Kabal does not appear in this movie, he is mentioned, along with Stryker to have been a defender of Earthrealm, before having been killed by Rain.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Superhuman Strength: Kabal has proved to be very strong enough to take on super-powered characters. He is strong enough to pull the top of someone's head off. He is also capable of kicking opponents to send them flying at greater distances than how a peak human can.
- Superhuman Speed: Kabal's most defining trait is his immeasurable speed. He's able to run at such blinding speeds that makes him appear as a blur, making him one of the fastest characters in the series. His speed has been compared to The Flash from the DC Universe. It was revealed in MK 2011 that his speed is due to his brief time in Outworld, his ravaged body exposed to the magic-heavy atmosphere of that realm granting him so much power.
- Superhuman Durability
- Superhuman Endurance: Kabal is able to resist large amounts of physical pain that could severely injure him. He was able to survive after being burnt my Kintaro's fire breath but has damaged his lungs which forced to have a respirator system.
- Superhuman Reflexes: With his speed, Kabal is able to evade projectiles with his reflexes.
- Magic: During his time in Outworld, Kabal has been gifted with magic capabilities like firing purple energy projectiles.
Abilities[]
- Master Martial Artist: Kabal is a formidable combatant even without using his speed. He can use his speed combined with his martial art skills in order to defeat his opponents. He has been able to best Kano, Noob Saibot, Mileena, Cyber Sub-Zero, and Sheeva.
- Sun Bin
- Goju Ryu
- Acrobatics: Kabal does have impressive acrobatic skills. Besides his agility, he can also perform flips.
- Weaponry: Kabal is very proficient in wielding hook swords and sending saw blades toward his opponents.
- High Intelligence: Kabal does have impressive intelligence when making strategies and analyzing his opponents' movements and skills
- Indomitable Will: After redeeming himself as a Black Dragon leader, he has joined the police department in order to serve and protect with his partner Stryker. Witnessing the invasion Outworld posed to Earthrealm, he refused to aid Kano's treachery against their home realm and sought to end this invasion. Raiden knew of Kabal willpower and determination and later welcomed him to join the Earthrealm champions in order to stop Shao Kahn.
Paraphernalia[]
- Hookswords
- Sawblades
Quotes[]
| “ | He was once a member of the Black Dragon along with Kano. Now Kabal devotes his life to fight injustice: He will give crime's inner circles a new reason to fear. | „ |
| ~ Kabal's ending in Mortal Kombat III. |
| “ | I had left the Black Dragon and all that it stood for... but to some I would forever remain associated with that despicable organization. Eventually, the Red Dragon clan found me, and I was defeated by Mavado. He left me for dead and took my hooksword as his trophies. | „ |
| ~ Kabal recalls his defeat by Mavado, Mortal Kombat: Deception. |
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Kabal's fatality in MK3, where he removed his mask to scare the opponent to death, was listed as ninth on Screwattack's Top 10 Worst Mortal Kombat Fatalities list.
- While all the other characters must perform "mercy" to use their Animalities, Kabal can do so automatically on the Sega Genesis ports. However this makes his head fall off.
- Kabal was originally supposed to appear in the spin off Special Forces, however he would be cut from the game due to it's troubled development.
- One of the hints in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is "Kabal says thank you very much". This may be a reference to a side mission players can perform, where he will reward them with his hookswords.
External links[]
- Kabal on the Villains Wiki
- Kabal on the Mortal Kombat Wiki
