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Originally a mercenary
and leader of the international crime cartel known as the Black Dragon,
he rises beyond the level of mere brutality and aggression by also being
sly and cunning. It was through his resourcefulness that he convinced Shao
Kahn to spare his life, and it was through ruthless ambition that he later
ascended to position of general of Outworld's armies. Kano combines the
features of a cowardly minion, a lone survivor, a crazed madman, and an
intelligent commander. His actions have made him the enemy of Lt. Sonya
Blade. A portion of Kano's face is covered with a metal plate,
with the plated eye being a glowing red orb capable of emitting laserlike
beams.
Kano is the leader
of the Black Dragon organization, a criminal empire of cut-throat madmen.
Making his first chronological appearance in Mortal Kombat: Special Forces,
he freed fellow Black Dragon cohorts No Face, Tasia, Jarek and Tremor from
a U.S. Special Forces security facility, under the pretense that they would
reform the Black Dragon organization. In reality, he intended to use them
as pawns to slow down any Special Forces agents who might pursue him. Annihilating
an entire squad at the site of the prison break, he and his cohorts escaped. With his Black Dragon
associates given their assigned tasks, Kano headed to Outworld where he
recovered the Eye of Shitian, an artifact through which he would acquire
incredible power. Unfortunately for him, however, Major Jackson
Briggs had defeated his accomplices and caught up to him. The two fought,
and Kano was defeated. Jax used the eye to transport them back to Earthrealm,
and proceeded to bring Kano into custody, though Kano escaped soon after.
He entered Shang
Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament after hearing rumors that Tsung's
palace was filled with gold and other riches: Kano intended to steal them
for the Black Dragon. At that time, the Black Dragon was the primary target
of the U.S. Special Forces and would remain so for a number of years. He
was pursued by Lt. Sonya Blade, who held a personal grudge against Kano
because he had killed a former partner of Sonya's. While Kano was free
to take part in the tournament of his own accord, Sonya and her unit were
captured by Shang Tsung's minions. Tsung offered Sonya an ultimatum: compete
in Mortal Kombat, or she and her unit would be executed. If she won, they
would all be free to go. Sonya and Kano survived the tournament but many
others died, including Sonya's men. After the final battle between Shang
Tsung and Liu Kang, Kano teamed up with Sonya
and
Johnny Cage to fight
Goro.
During the battle, the island began to crumble because of Shang Tsung's
defeat and before they knew it, Kano and Sonya found themselves in a forest
in Outworld. They were found and captured by Shang Tsung. Eventually, both
Kano and Sonya were rescued by Jax, but before Kano could be arrested,
he escaped back to Outworld.
Although most Earthrealm
warriors assumed Kano to be dead, he instead managed to save his own life
by convincing Shao Kahn to accept him as a weapons instructor for his armies.
As a man with a knowledge of Earthrealm weaponry, he was the most suitable
candidate. Later, during the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Sonya tossed
Kano to his (surmised) death from the roof of a high building. He was found
by Motaro, who healed and imprisoned him. In
turn, Motaro was attacked and killed by Sheeva,
who freed Kano from his prison. Although they originally hatched a plan
to murder Shao Kahn, Kano turned on Sheeva in the decisive moments, with
Sheeva's death as a result. Kano was then hastily promoted to general of
Outworld's rapidly shrinking army.
Eventually Kahn's
forces were defeated. Earthrealm was free, and so was Edenia. Shao Kahn's
act of promoting Kano, however, proved to be a lucky shot, as Kano was
a very competent general. Even in the face of overwhelming odds and the
tactical mastership of Princess Kitana and her Edenian-Shokan army, Kano
stood ground and eventually managed to repel the invading army. He returned
to Shao Kahn's palace just in time to watch from the shadows as Shang Tsung
and Quan Chi sprung their attack
on the weakened emperor. As soon as the battle was finished, Kano declared
his allegiance to the new rulers of Outworld, the Deadly Alliance. The
two had Kano oversee the enslavement of a small village, who would construct
a temple over Onaga's tomb to house the Soulnado. During its construction,
Kano was personally assaulted by Li Mei, but Quan Chi intervened. His intervention was
due in no part for any particular affinity for the criminal, however. The
Alliance had made a deal with the Red Dragon member Mavado;
he would eliminate the swordsman
Kenshi
in exchange for the opportunity to fight and defeat Kano. Mavado attacked
and left Kenshi for dead, earning his battle.
It would seem that
Mavado won the fight, as in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Kano is found by
Taven
to have been held prisoner by the Red Dragon Clan for quite some time (possibly
explaining his absence from Deception). Before escaping their facilities,
Kano explains to Taven that the Red Dragon had been experimenting on him,
as well as their own clan members, in an effort to create real-life genetically
engineered Dragons and Human-Dragon Hybrids, Kano mentions that they were
trying "something new" on him, although he leaves before he elaborates
on what that "something" is. In his Mortal Kombat:
Armageddon ending, when Kano defeats
Blaze,
the transformation completes and he becomes a reptilian black dragon.
 
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