WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Mortal Kombat, currently in theaters and on HBO Max.
When the Mortal Kombat trailer first dropped, fans were shocked to see Kano (Josh Lawson) helping Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and the other warriors gathered by Lord Raiden for the tournament. It was a huge departure from the popular video game, where Kano was her mortal enemy being hunted by Jax and Special Forces for his terrorist group, the Black Dragon, to be brought to justice. However, while Kano does play an important role in initially aiding the heroes in the film, he ultimately does not remain on the side of the light.
Initially, Lewis Tan's Cole tracks Sonya down after Jax saves him from Sub-Zero. He gets insight on how Earth's warriors are being targeted by Shang Tsung's assassins. Although he's shocked to find the military badass holding the foul-mouthed Kano hostage from a previous mission. It's a stroke of fate that Kano's imprisoned in the Indiana hideout, and he becomes even more valuable due to his intel on the tournament lore, which has existed for centuries on the planet.
Kano tells them he knows the location of Raiden's temple, but -- because Sonya hates and wounds him during the Reptile scrap -- he won't help. Sonya knows she needs him, though, so she offers him $3 million to lead the journey, although she secretly admits to Cole she has no intention of paying the scumbag. Glad that his negotiations worked out, Kano takes them to a mysterious desert.
Kano's pretty much a selfish pest, and after seeing Liu Kang using his fire powers, he wants to know when his powers will awaken considering he has the dragon birthmark. He even taunts Sonya about how she doesn't have the mark. She wishes to kill him, as it will transfer to her. But despite scrapping with him, Sonya's morality prevails. She wants Kano alive to stop the sorcerer. Still, his indiscipline pisses Liu Kang and Kung Lao off.
But even after they help him awaken his laser eye, part of Kano thinks he's on the weaker side. He can tell Shang Tsung has the numbers, plus he just doesn't like Raiden. This makes it easy for Kano to be tempted by a former Black Dragon teammate and someone he badly damaged in their civil war -- Kabal. With Raiden's temple under an electrical enchantment to keep intruders out so his charges can train, Kabal arrives at the barrier, promising wealth and freedom. It's why the Aussie mercenary fries Raiden's staff, lowering the shield.
Kano's betrayal allows Shang Tsung's troops in the temple and the brutal assault ends with Kung Lao dying. Raiden flees, taking his team to the mystical realm where Shang Tsung can't find them. However, they decide to divide and conquer, which sees Sonya luring Kano back to her lair. There, Kano unleashes hell a la eye blasts.
It's a bloody fight, but Sonya ultimately kills him with a garden gnome. Kano actually spat on the same gnome earlier, admitting he hates the little statues, so when Sonya stabs him in the eye with it, it's poetic justice. It also transfers the dragon mark to her, allowing her to shoot her iconic purple energy blasts from her hands for the final assault on Shang Tsung's inner circle.
Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat stars Tan along with Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Max Huang, Sisi Stringer, Matilda Kimber and Laura Brent. The film is now in theaters and on HBO Max.
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