Ladies and gentleman, meet Kung Jin, one of the new Shaolin Monks fighting for Earthrealm and the first gay male character in the Mortal Kombat franchise.
And you know what? If it weren't for a flashback cutscene in which his sexual orientation is subtly hinted at, you probably wouldn't have been able to tell. There's nothing about the character that would make him seem any different than the other fighters who enjoy ripping each other's body parts into pieces — as there shouldn't be, obviously. He's a new character and he happens to be gay. And that's cool.
Although some players picked up on Kung Jin's sexual orientation through his cutscene with Raiden in Chapter 4 of Mortal Kombat X's story (embedded above), it was only recently confirmed by NetherRealm Studios' Cinematic Director Dominic Cianciolo.
@bcharred I see people are picking up on the subtle exposition contained in Kung Jin's flashback. Glad we have observant fans!
— Dominic Cianciolo (@domcianciolo) April 14, 2015
Kung Jin has quickly risen in popularity among fans of the fighting franchise, and it seems most are open and accepting of the notion that he's gay. Not only is it nice to see developers becoming more inclusive and broader in their character design, but it's equally refreshing to see fans react positively to such a hot topic. Honestly though, when it comes to kicking ass and defending Earthrealm, it doesn't really matter what gender you prefer. We're all equal.
