Jax (Mortal Kombat)
This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (February 2024) |
Jax | |
---|---|
Mortal Kombat character | |
First appearance | Mortal Kombat II (1993) |
Created by | Ed Boon John Tobias |
Designed by | |
Portrayed by | Various
|
Voiced by | Various
|
Motion capture | Various
|
In-universe information | |
Full name | Jackson Briggs |
Family | American |
Jackson "Jax" Briggs is a fictional character in the
In the games, Jax is first depicted as the commanding officer of Special Forces operative Sonya Blade and subsequently becomes one of the warriors defending Earthrealm from various threats. He is also depicted as a primary hero in various related media, including the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, the 1997 film Mortal Kombat Annihilation, and the 2011 web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Reception to the character has been generally positive for his appearance and special moves.
Character design and gameplay
Jax was originally named "
Played by
In early development screenshots of Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance, released to the public in 2001, Jax was seen facing off against Scorpion while wearing his MK3 costume,[10] but he was given a complete makeover for the finished product with a military-themed, while in MK vs. DC Universe and the 2011 reboot, he sported a pair of dog tags around his neck. Jax has gone shirtless in all iterations of his main costumes in the Mortal Kombat fighting games, with the exception of MKvsDC, in which he was fully clothed with no skin exposed save for his head and face, and his bionics were adorned with green LED lights.[11]
Appearances
Mortal Kombat games
Midway games
Jax's first game appearance came in Mortal Kombat II (1993), where he is on a mission to find his Special Forces partner, Lieutenant Sonya Blade, who had gone missing in Outworld while attempting to apprehend Kano. Though he succeeds in rescuing Sonya, Kano manages to evade capture.
When Outworld emperor Shao Kahn invades Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), Jax is among the thunder god Raiden's chosen warriors to help save Earthrealm; preparing for battle by fitting his arms with metallic bionic implants. After helping foil Shao Kahn's attempt to permanently claim Earth as his own, Jax and Sonya found the Outer World Investigation Agency (OIA), which specializes in exploring and mapping other realms as well as the destruction of interdimensional portals that could lead to Earth.
Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs makes his first chronological appearance in the 2000 action-adventure game Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, in which he attempts to stop Kano and the Black Dragon crime organization from stealing an artifact capable of opening portals to other realms.
In
In
While Jax is not playable in
Jax is one of the eleven characters representing Mortal Kombat in the non-canonical 2008 crossover fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. In his ending, he underwent further mechanization to increase his power, though at the cost of his humanity.[13]
Netherealm Studios games
In the 2011
Jax returns as a playable character in
Jax returns in
While Jax isn't playable in the base roster of Mortal Kombat 1, he does appear as an assist-based Kameo fighter. During the climax of the game's story, multiple timeline variants of Jax can be seen during the final battle.[27] In Kenshi's tower ending, Jax in Liu Kang's new timeline is revealed to be an FBI agent who helps Kenshi take down the Yakuza. After the battle, they are confronted by Shang Tsung. Following the incident, he learns from Kenshi as well as Johnny Cage's movies about the threats Outworld poses to Earthrealm and got his superiors to form the Outworld Investigation Agency and hire Kenshi as an agent.[28]
Other media
As in the games, Jax often appears in alternate Mortal Kombat media as one of thunder god Raiden's warriors chosen to defend Earthrealm from Outworld forces. He is briefly seen in the 1995 film Mortal Kombat where he and Sonya are pursuing Kano. He was played by Gregory McKinney, while his name was misspelled as "Jaxx" in the closing credits.[29] Jax was among many characters recast for the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation, in which he was played by former American Gladiators actor Lynn "Red" Williams.[30] Mehcad Brooks played the character in the 2021 reboot film Mortal Kombat.[31]
Jax was a featured character in the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, in which he was depicted as cool-minded and regularly in an amiable mood. He was voiced by Dorian Harewood.[32]
In Kevin Tancharoen's 2010 short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, Michael Jai White played Jax as a police detective in the fictional location of Deacon City,[33] and reprised the role for the first two episodes of Tancharoen's 2011 Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series.[34] White said in a 2011 interview with MTV that he was originally to play Jax in the first Mortal Kombat film, but he turned it down in order to star in HBO's 1995 Mike Tyson biopic. He was again cast as Jax in Annihilation before ultimately dropping out upon being cast in the title role of Spawn.[35]
Ike Amadi voiced the character in the 2020 animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge and the 2021 sequel Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms.[36][37]
Jax is a featured character in the 1994 Midway-produced Mortal Kombat II comic book that was written and illustrated by series co-creator John Tobias, which introduces the game's new characters and is used to set up the events leading to the second tournament.[38] He makes a single-panel appearance in the special-edition Mortal Kombat 4 comic packaged with the 1998 PC release of the game, contacting Sonya by radio as she pursues Black Dragon member Jarek.[39]
In
Merchandise
An action figure of Jax was released by Toy Island in 1996 as part of their Mortal Kombat Trilogy line.[43] He and Reptile were featured in an "X-Ray" pack of two six-inch figures with transparent upper bodies that were based on the 2011 reboot and produced by Jazwares.[44] The company also released a four-inch Jax figure in 2012 that was packaged with an Uzi submachine gun (which was not in the game), but the figure was discontinued after only several months in release.[45]
Reception
Racial characterization and response
Jax's noncanonical
In 2021,
Other reception
Jax has received mixed reception over the course of his in-game appearances. While his Mortal Kombat II appearance has been criticized,[59][60][61] his design from Mortal Kombat 3 and onward have met with praise.[62][63][64] GameFront called him "a character no one cares about,"[65] but Den of Geek ranked Jax 35th in their 2015 rating of the series' 77 playable characters for his role as the "cool as hell ... super-strong Army dude".[66]
Jax was widely seen as a top-tier character of Mortal Kombat II. He was considered as such by
Reaction to Jax's Fatalities has been mixed. His finishers from Mortal Kombat II have been well received,[78][61][79][80] with the "Arm Rip" Fatality additionally voted by readers of GamePro as the best Mortal Kombat finisher in 1995.[81] His "Giant Stomp" from Mortal Kombat 3, in which he grows off-screen to a gargantuan height and then crushes his opponent with his foot, was included in IGN's 2010 ranking of their "Unofficial Top 10 List" of the best series finishers,[82] but made GamePro's 2008 list of the 12 "LAMEST" Fatalities: "If you have the ability to grow to 200 feet tall, you should probably unleash it at the beginning of a battle instead of the end."[83] Game Informer called it one of the game's "most confusing" finishers.[84] Jax has additionally received negative attention for his Mortal Kombat 4 ending, in which he kills Jarek after the latter drops Sonya off a cliff.[66][85][86][87]
Response to Jax's alternate-media representations is mixed. Eric Snider of Film.com said of Williams' performance in Mortal Kombat Annihilation, "Since he’s The Black Guy, the movie makes him say things like 'That’s what I’m talkin’ about!' and 'Let's do this!'"[88] Blair Marnell of CraveOnline praised White's performance in Mortal Kombat: Legacy: "White really carries the piece as Jax ... this is a Jax that I can buy as a main character."[89] IGN described White in the series as "doing what he does best—kicking some serious ass."[90]
See also
Notes
- ^ Sonya, Jax, and Jarek all shared the same Mortal Kombat 4 ending, but with varying outcomes for each character. Jax and Jarek's feature the latter throwing Sonya to her death over the cliff after he plummets to his apparent demise in his failed attempt to attack Sonya. In Sonya's ending, Jarek's death is legitimate, while in Jarek's own ending, his hand reaches up over the edge to grab Sonya by the ankle and pull her off. This is further extended in Jax's ending, in which Jarek is then killed by Jax in retaliation. All deaths therein were non-canonical; in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, it is revealed in Jarek's biography that he survived his fall and used the incident to fake his death while he recuperated.[12]
- ^ He is a selectable character in Mortal Kombat: Unchained, the PSP port of Deception.
References
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Characters & Concept Artwork". CreativeUncut.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ^ "Concept Art World » Exclusive 'Mortal Kombat X' Concept Art by Marco Nelor". Taable Note. 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ "The Game Makers: The Artists". GamePro. No. 88. IDG. January 1996. pp. 34–36.
- ^ Mortal Kombat - In Development Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine - MKSecrets.net. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ ARGpodcast (2018-06-26). "ARGcast Mini #14: Making Mortal Kombat with John Tobias". RetroZap. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- ^ Mortal Kombat 3 - In Development - MKSecrets.net. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ GamePro 58 (May 1994), p.28.
- ^ VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine #63 Archived 2010-11-25 at the Wayback Machine (April 1994), p. 52.
- ^ Jax's Deception Bio Kard Archived 2020-02-28 at the Wayback Machine - YouTube. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - In Development Archived 2015-07-07 at the Wayback Machine—Mortal Kombat Secrets. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- ^ Jax MK vs. DC Universe concept art Archived 2017-05-25 at the Wayback Machine - CreativeUncut.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Armageddon - Bios". MKSecrets.net. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ Jax—MK vs. DC Universe Archived 2017-02-14 at the Wayback Machine - Mortal Kombat Warehouse. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
- ^ Sonya MK2011 Bio Archived 2014-03-04 at the Wayback Machine - Kamidogu. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
- ^ Jax MK2011 Bio Archived 2014-03-04 at the Wayback Machine - Kamidogu. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 1: Johnny Cage.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 2: Sonya.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 8: Sub-Zero.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 16: Raiden.
- ^ Brown, Peter (March 12, 2015). "Mortal Kombat X's Bloody Opening Act Reveals New Characters". GameSpot.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 2: Timequake (Kotal Kahn).
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 4: Fire & Ice (Sub-Zero & Scorpion).
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 9: All in the Family (Jacqui & Jax).
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 11: Cutting the Strings (Raiden).
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 12: End of an Era (Fire God Liu Kang).
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 15: Winds of Change (Fujin).
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Chapter 15: Armageddon.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Level/area: Kenshi Klassic Towers.
- ^ Paul Anderson (director) (1995). Mortal Kombat (Motion picture). New Line Cinema and Threshold Entertainment.
- ^ John R. Leonetti (director) (1997). Mortal Kombat Annihilation (Motion picture). New Line Cinema and Threshold Entertainment.
- ^ Kit, Borys; Galuppo, Mia (August 16, 2019). "'Mortal Kombat' Movie Adds Fistful of Fighters (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (Animated series). Threshold Entertainment and Film Roman. 1996.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
- ^ Rosenberg, Adam (June 11, 2010). "'Mortal Kombat Rebirth' Star Michael Jai White Finally Gets To Play Jax, After Two Near-Misses". MTV Movies Blog. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (January 1, 2020). "Animated 'Mortal Kombat' Movie Sets Cast With Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (2021-06-16). "Animated 'Mortal Kombat Legends' Sequel Arriving This Summer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ John Tobias, Mortal Kombat II Official Kollector's Edition Comic Book, 1994.
- ^ Ted Adams (with John Tobias) (w), Ryan Benjamin (p), Ryan Benjamin, John Tigue, Sean Parsons (i). "Mortal Kombat 4: Limited Edition (p. 12)." Mortal Kombat (July 1, 1998).
- ^ Mark Paniccia (w), Patrick Rolo (p), Abraham Madison (i). "Mortal Kombat: U.S. Special Forces #1 & 2" Mortal Kombat (January & February 1995). Malibu Comics.
- ^ Charles Marshall (w), Patrick Rolo (p), Richard Emond (i). "Mortal Kombat: Battlewave #3" Mortal Kombat (March 1995). Malibu Comics.
- ^ Charles Marshall (w), Vinton Heuck (p), Joseph Miller, David Mowry (i). "Mortal Kombat: Battlewave #6" Mortal Kombat (June 1995). Malibu Comics.
- ^ Jax—Mortal Kombat Trilogy—Toy Island Action Figure Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine - FigureRealm.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ Mortal Kombat X-Ray Pack Reptile and Jax Action Figures Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine - EntertainmentEarth.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ Scott, Anthony (December 1, 2012). "Jazwares Mortal Kombat 4 Inch Jax Action Figure Has Been Cancelled". ToyHypeUSA.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ a b Fahey, Mike (April 23, 2019). "People Are Upset About Things That Don't Actually Happen In Jax's MK11 Ending". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ The Mary Sue. Archivedfrom the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ a b Knoop, Joseph (April 24, 2019). "Mortal Kombat 11's Jax ends slavery—and gamers are pissed". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Kobek, Patricio (June 5, 2019). "MK 11: Gamers Angry About Jax's 'Woke' Ending Should Probably Not Buy The Nightwolf DLC". TheGamer. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (April 23, 2019). "Mortal Kombat 11: Jax's ending is the best and boldest in the game". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Wes Fenlon (24 April 2019). "Jax's Mortal Kombat 11 ending isn't really controversial at all". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023 – via www.pcgamer.com.
- ISBN 9780472902620.
- ^ Norwood, Rico (February 26, 2021). "Coding Blackness: A History of Black Video Game Characters". Wired. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ Miller, Alex (December 8, 2021). "The best superhero game of the decade reveals one area gaming still needs to improve". Inverse. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ^ Guisao, Jason (February 14, 2022). "Celebrating Respectful Representations of Blackness in Gaming". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ Francis, Laura (June 3, 2020). "We need to see black female characters promoted from supporting characters to starring protagonists in video games". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- Brenda Brathwaite (November 4, 2008). "What if the Player is Black?". The Escapist. Archived from the originalon May 15, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
- ^ Harris, Kyle A. (2016). "The New Black Face: The Transition of Black One Dimensional Characters from Film to Video Games" (PDF). Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "10 Most Awesome Mortal Kombat Characters". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Serrano, Shea (September 9, 2014). "'Mortal Kombat II' 20 Years Later: An Undeniable Character Ranking". Grantland.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ a b Thomas, Dustin (September 10, 2014). "Weekly Top 5: Worst Mortal Kombat Characters". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ Severino, Anthony (2011-02-03). "Top 10 Old School Mortal Kombat Characters". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
- ^ "Games - The 10th Hour 04.22.11: Favorite Mortal Kombat Characters". 411mania.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
- ^ UGO Staff (February 28, 2012). "Top 50 Mortal Kombat Characters". UGO.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012.
- ^ "The Convoluted, Blood-Spattered History of Mortal Kombat (Infographic)". GameFront. 2011-04-15. Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ a b Jasper, Gavin (January 30, 2015). "Mortal Kombat: Ranking All the Characters". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ "GamePro Rankings Analysis". 2005. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Player's Guide: Mortal Kombat II". CU Amiga Magazine Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, February 1995, p.62.
- ^ "Sega Saturn Features: Mortal Kombat II". Sega Visions 21 (October/November 1994), p.25.
- ^ Total 64 February 1997, p. 64
- ^ Vo, Alex (January 7, 2006). "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Walkthrough & Strategy Guide". GameSpy. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ^ Jason Wilson, Adam Hernandez, Mortal Kombat: Prima Official Game Guide, Prima Games 2011 (p. 90).
- ^ Dawson, Bryan (September 24, 2014). "Cheapest Characters in Mortal Kombat History, Part 2". Prima Games. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: The Many Ways Jax Got His Metal Arms". Den of Geek. 18 February 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Director Explains Why He Changed How Jax Loses His Arms". Screen Rant. 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat Fans Discuss Who Will Take Jax's Arms This Time". The Gamer. 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat 1 Is Preserving Its History As Much As It's Reinventing It". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Top 10 Tuesday: Best Gore Effects". IGN. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
- ^ Wong, Kevin (2013-10-01). "14. Head Clap — The Best "Mortal Kombat" Finishing Moves in Video Game History". Complex. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- ^ Ryckert, Dan (May 3, 2010). "Mortal Kombat's Best And Worst Fatalities". Game Informer. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ GamePro 68 (March 1995)
- ^ DeVries, Jack (November 30, 2010). "IGN's Unofficial Top 10 List of the Best Mortal Kombat Fatalities". IGN.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ The 12 LAMEST Fatalities, GamePro, November 25, 2008
- ^ Ryckert, Dan (May 3, 2010). "Mortal Kombat's Best And Worst Fatalities". Game Informer. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ Bobinator (Robert Naytor). "Hardcore Gaming 101: Mortal Kombat". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ McCollor, Michael (2013). "6 Video Games With TERRIBLE Endings". Smosh.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ^ Hernandez, Patricia (May 19, 2015). "Good Lord, Mortal Kombat 4's Endings Were Terrible". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ Snider, Eric D. (September 11, 2008). "Eric's Bad Movies: Mortal Kombat Annihilation". Film.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
- ^ Marnell, Blair (April 12, 2011). "MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY Episode 1 Review". Crave Online. Archived from the original on March 31, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ Shaffer, R.L. (April 19, 2011). "Mortal Kombat: Legacy - "Episode 2" Review". IGN.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.