While DC's Mortal Kombat X series is first and foremost a tie-in comic with the upcoming video game of the same name, it hasn't much felt like one. We've seen glimpses of classic Mortal Kombat characters and hints of what may come, but overall the series has done little to set the stage for what players will be experiencing come April.
It is with issue #4 that Mortal Kombat X finally finds its footing. Not only are we introduced to several new characters who are already confirmed to be appearing in the game, the pieces of the overarching storyline at long last look to be falling into place.
Picking up where the last issue left off, with Raiden's vision of the future, the action quickly jumps to Cassie Cage. Cassie is the daughter of longtime Mortal Kombat characters Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, and her personality takes aspects from each. She's tough as nails and a born fighter like her mother, but also kind of an arrogant brat, just like Johnny. We first find her training with the daughter of Jax before the pair sneaks off to find trouble.
Meanwhile we are introduced to Sonya for the first time, along with a host of new Outworld characters. At least two of them, Kotal Khan and D'vorah, are confirmed to be in the game, so it's nice to finally meet some new faces and learn what they are all about. Kotal Khan is attempting to secure his control of Outworld as the new Emperor after the death of Shao Khan, but that means defeating Mileena and her army.
The war in Outworld is spilling over into EarthRealm as Mileena has formed a partnership with the Red Dragon organization, who we've seen are up to no good in previous issues of the comic. Kotal and his crew have journeyed to Earth in order to defeat the Red Dragon and cripple Mileena. Kotal proposes an alliance between Earth and his forces, but Sonya isn't too keen on taking orders.
The issue concludes with Jacqui and Cassie sneaking into what they believed to be an MMA match, only to realize after they've signed up that the stakes are much, much higher.
Overall this issue feels much more in line with what a Mortal Kombat fan excited for the upcoming game would expect. We're introduced to new characters and the storyline feels like it is finally on track. While some of the dialogue is still cheesy (as are some of the ham-fisted Mortal Kombat references) the art in this issue is the best we've seen from Dexter Soy in the series so far. Mortal Kombat X #4 is a big step up from previous issues. Let's hope it can keep up the pace.
Story
★★★½☆☆
Art
★★★★☆
Overall
★★★★☆
