The battle for the future of Outworld continues in issue, and it's a bloody battle indeed. Kotal Khan and his army are outnumbered and out-armed, but they aren't giving up without a fight.

If you've been reading this series from the start you likely know what to expect: a few lines of snappy and forced Mortal Kombat dialogue (like one character exclaiming "Test your might!" mid duel) alongside plenty of gory action.

Issue #16 doesn't break from that formula. It's a fight-filled issue as Kotal Khan's loyal warriors like Reptile, D'evorah and Ferre/Torr battle against the Shokan. Meanwhile, Kotal Khan himself becomes locked in deadly duel with King Gorbak, the Shokan king. Gorbak isn't happy about Khan maiming his son Goro earlier in the series and is determined to make Khan pay.

It's in moments like these, however, that highlight a problem with prequel comics: we know what is going to happen. Obviously Kotal Khan is featured heavily in Mortal Kombat X. We know he isn't going to be defeated in this duel. We know Johhny Cage, who sustains a number of wounds in the battle, is going to be okay.

The suspense and drama of not knowing whether or not these characters will survive is made infinitely less exiting when you do, in fact, know that they all survive. There is no way to really fix this other than to focus on more obscure characters who might not appear in the game, but that wouldn't necessarily make this series any better either. It just comes with the prequel territory.

Igor Vitorino is on art duty this week and it's not one of his best issues. The action often feels static and sometimes downright fake, as in one panel where Kotal Khan's blade is supposed to be locked between Gorbak's two swords, yet none of the swords are even making contact. There are a few bloody finishing moves on display here that fans will get a kick out of, but overall this issue, from both a story and art perspective, is lacking.

This series can do better. With Johnny and Sonya will soon be embarking on a journey to rescue their daughter from Shang Tsung's island, it may soon have the perfect opportunity to do so.

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More Comic Book Reviews:

Mortal Kombat #17
Batman: Arkham Knight #11
Batman #40
Convergence #4

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