at the character for the game, Boon explained that he wanted to keep all of Kabal's classic offensive moves while coming up with graphic Fatalities that the developers felt would be "crossing the line." Tobias, however, expressed his dissatisfaction with his original designs of Kabal and Stryker in a 2012 interview with The On Blast Show: "If I could go back and redo Kabal and Stryker, I would. I don't know if I'd design them differently or just come up with new characters [in their place]." Kabal was considered to be overpowered in Mortal Kombat 3; Bryan Dawson of Prima Games commented that he "was that one character that all of the novice players used to try to get easy wins." Other media Kabal appeared in one episode of the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, which followed his MK3 storyline of his betraying Kano and the Black Dragon, as well as his injuries suffered at the hands of Kahn's forces and the resulting aftermath. He was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. He is mentioned by name in the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation along with Stryker as "two of Earth's best warriors" who were captured by Rain, but neither actually appeared onscreen. They were given detailed roles in the first draft of the script, in which they are prisoners slaving away in an Outworld cobalt mine that is overseen by Baraka. After Liu Kang infiltrates the prison and rescues Kitana after killing Baraka in battle, Kabal and Stryker organize the revolting prisoners in fighting off the guards. In a September 2013 interview with Fearnet, director Kevin Tancharoen revealed that he had wanted to include Kabal in his Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series, but was hampered by budget limitations coupled with the complexities of the character's backstory and physical appearance. Kabal plays a minor role in the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot film as a rival of Kano, and is seen carrying a police badge belonging to Stryker. He wa played by Australian stuntman Daniel Nelson and voiced by Damon Herriman. The character appears in the 2022 animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind as a member of the Black Dragon alongside Kano. He is voiced by Keith Silverstein. Reception Kabal placed nineteenth on UGO's 2012 list of the top 50 Mortal Kombat characters, and Complex ranked Kabal as the sixteenth-"most brutal" out of twenty series characters in