 Liu Kang was played by Ho Sung <unk> in the first two games , and John Tobias stated in an interview that he originally intended for the character to be a traditional bald monk , but the actor refused to shave his head . In the first game , Liu Kang was modeled after Bruce Lee , as he had short hair and went shirtless , with a <unk> outfit of only black pants and white shoes . In Mortal Kombat II , his outfit was enhanced with red stripes , and now included a red <unk> , black shoes , and studded <unk> ( the intro of <unk> shows the younger version of the character defeating Shang Tsung in the background , while the updated character is in the foreground ) . In Mortal Kombat 3 , his hair was considerably longer , with the only alteration to his outfit being thin black leg strips wrapped above his <unk> in order to give him a " <unk> " look for the game . He was given a red tank top in addition to his usual costume in Mortal Kombat 4 , but his alternate outfit was blue and featured him shirtless again . His wardrobe from the third game was carried over into Deception and Armageddon , but due to his resurrection , his skin was ash gray , and he wore hooked chains around his wrists . This form is also known by fans and Mortal Kombat producer Shaun <unk> as " Zombie Liu Kang " . Nevertheless , his alternate outfit for both games featured him as a living person in order to contrast his undead form . In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe , he sported a slightly altered version of his third costume , in addition to a championship belt adorned with the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem . Although Liu Kang 's design in Mortal Kombat : Shaolin Monks remains similar to his Mortal Kombat II one , <unk> said that it was the most revised one from the game , along with Kung Lao 's . 
