Since Mortal Kombat 2 has the task of restoring the significance of the franchise's arguably most important female character. While the changes made by the 2021 adaptation were in some cases successful, certain characters were treated as afterthoughts. In the case of Sonya specifically, the entire legacy of the character was neglected.
Like Bridgette Wilson before her, Jessica McNamee played the 2021 rendition of Sonya Blade with irable intensity and skill. Unfortunately for McNamee, the script only gave her a fraction of the respect she deserved. At times the narrative even worked to undermine McNamee's performance. Throughout the history of Mortal Kombat, Sonya has been recognized for more than just her aesthetics. She was one of the first video game depictions of the powerful female character, made distinctive from the likes of Street Fighter's Chun-li, thanks to Sonya's realistic proportions and credible toughness. Sonya even predated the introduction of Lara Croft, a feminine icon in her own right, by almost four years. Mortal Kombat 2021 made no attempts to recognize this. While some of the changes Mortal Kombat made to Sonya were reasonable, most were not.
The first of those mistakes was quickly recognizable as Sonya appeared on-screen. The Special Forces member had her military influence and her motivations diluted for the sake of exposition. Instead of being portrayed as an important and powerful pop culture symbol, she became a mouthpiece for the film's biggest diversions from the video game canon. The vigor that made her feud with Kano so palpable in the video games was then scrapped and replaced only by the mercenary's juvenile commentary. Somehow, Kano received favorable treatment throughout the film by the script, despite the fact that Sonya's opportunities for representation were far more important than the foul-mouthed Aussie's. Thanks to the retcon made to Sonya and Kano's Mortal Kombat history, their roles in 2021's Mortal Kombat were respectively forgettable and fatal.
By reducing the significance of Sonya's military background to her limited dynamic with Jackson Briggs, Mortal Kombat created another obstacle for the development of Mortal Kombat 2. One of Blade's strongest assets throughout the history of Mortal Kombat has been her close affiliation with the Armed Forces. She's acted as the face of the soldiers who meet and repel Outworld's invasions. The foundation she laid for the military in the world of these games also provided an opportunity for Johnny Cage to become a significant figure as he worked closely with Sonya's Special Forces. Mortal Kombat 2 has already failed Johnny Cage in many ways. Neglecting to lay the groundwork that would eventually unite him and Sonya Blade was a mistake inflicted upon both characters, as their relationship came to define the human side of the later game entries.
These changes may have been worthwhile if the reimagined depiction of Sonya in the 2021 adaptation had provided a unique perspective within the Mortal Kombat story. While she first appeared as the cast's primary source of exposition, she was then pushed further away from the central conflict. Since Sonya was the only competitor without a dragon's mark, she was forced to watch the men train in preparation for a tournament that Raiden warned her away from. This could have allowed Blade to act as the outsider learning about Mortal Kombat for the first time (as a proxy for the audience), but franchise newcomer Cole Young was already filling that role. Short of killing Cole Young in Mortal Kombat 2, there aren't many ways to amend Sonya's redundant position when the next film is released.
Ultimately 2021's Mortal Kombat concealed its catastrophic disservice to Sonya Blade under the spectacle of blood the franchise is known for. That won't be acceptable in the next film. Sonya Blade has been a hallmark of female representation since she debuted in 1992 and deserves to be treated as such in Mortal Kombat 2.
