War between Kotal Kahn and the Shokan continues to rage on — but it isn't the only major event in this week's issue of Mortal Kombat X.

We've spent a lot of time with Kotal and Outworld over the last few issues, and Kotal's war still makes up a major portion of the action in issue #20 as well. Kano – sensing a business opportunity – has arrived at the battle with Black Dragon reinforcements for Kotal, including the earth ninja Tremor.

Tremor is an upcoming DLC character who will soon be added to the Mortal Kombat X game, so it's cool to see him cause massive destruction here. We also get to see what happens when Kano brings high-tech weaponry to the knife fight, as he decimates the Shokan army with the press of a button.

As the battle progresses, we also get the opportunity to catch up with many of the various characters we've seen throughout this series. Johnny and Sonya reaffirm their commitment to save their daughter from Shang Tsung's fortress, while Jax and his wife are forced to give into Reiko's demands — in the hope that doing so will keep their daughter Jacqui alive. Oh, and Raiden continues to be the worst protector of Earthrealm ever, arriving too late to help Jax and his family.

Perhaps surprisingly, family and its significance play a major role in the Mortal Kombat X storyline. It's nice to see the prequel comic adopt some of the same themes, with these characters doing whatever it takes to keep their families safe. There are also hints of a secret power lurking within the Cage bloodline that those who have played through Mortal Kombat X's story mode will be instantly familiar with.

Connecting this prequel series into the Mortal Kombat X game proper is why this series exists in the first place. So far, it's done a great job of establishing the world of Mortal Kombat, without feeling forced into a particular narrative just for the sake of the game. Walking that balance is a difficult one, but even after 20 issues, Mortal Kombat X continues to be a solid series for longtime Mortal Kombat fans — even if you have yet to meet NetherRealm Studio's latest fighter.

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More Comic Book Reviews:

Mortal Kombat #19
Batman: Arkham Knight #13
Batman #40
Convergence #6

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