Jax (Mortal Kombat)

General CVG character
name= Jax Briggs


series="Mortal Kombat" series
firstgame="Mortal Kombat II" (1993)
liveactor= John Parrish ("MKII", "MK3", "UMK3", "MKT")
Gregory McKinney (first film)
Lynn "Red" Williams (second film)
Hakim Alston ("")
voiceactor=Dorian Harewood ("")
inuniverse=Mortal Kombat character
origin = Earthrealm
race = Human
weapons = Spiked Club ("MK4", "MKG")
Tonfa ("MK:DA", "MK:A") Gun ("MK:DA") ("MKA") ("MKU")
fighting-styles = Muay Thai ("MK:DA", "MK:A")
Judo ("MK:DA")
alignment = Good

Major Jackson Briggs, better known as Jax, is a fictional character in the "Mortal Kombat" fighting game series.

About Jax

Jax was the first African American character in the "Mortal Kombat" series and made his debut in the second game. He is portrayed as an archetypical American hero. In the chain of command of the Special Forces, he is Sonya Blade's direct superior and clearly the counterbalancing force of Sonya's impulsiveness. Jax is clear-headed, careful, and always keeping a watch on what his men are doing. He unscrupulously makes use of the most advanced technology to improve both himself and his unit.

Storyline

Pre-"Mortal Kombat"

Jax made his first appearance in "Mortal Kombat II", though, in terms of the fictional chronology, his first adventure is depicted in "". This game opened depicting a prison break at Special Forces' detention facility. Jax, driving along a highway, received a transmission from his fellow Special Forces operative Gemini detailing the escape and the escapees: No Face, Tasia, Jarek and Tremor. She informed him that they had escaped to a warehouse on the town's south side, likely receiving assistance from an outside source. Jax surmised that source to be Kano. He received another transmission from one Lieutenant Sanchez, whose squad had arrived at the warehouse. After the transmission was cut off at the source, Jax arrived at the scene to find the squad destroyed. For this, he swore he would achieve vengeance against Kano. Using prototype bionic implants on his arms in order to enhance his strength, Jax set out to find his enemy.

Infiltrating the warehouse, Jax confronted No-Face and dispatched him. Proceeding into the sewers, he did likewise to Tasia. At this point, Gemini contacted Jax again and informed him that the Black Dragon were using a corporate building as a front for their base of operations. At the building, Jax confronted and defeated Jarek. His investigation then led him to the town of the lost city of Sin Kiang. There, he defeated Tremor and discovered a portal to Outworld. Surmising that the portal was linked to Kano's plans of global domination, he entered. Jax caught up with Kano, who had acquired an artifact called the Eye of Shitian. Through this artifact, Kano could acquire great power. After an exchange of words, the two fought and Jax emerged the victor. He used the Eye's power to bring them both back to Earthrealm and brought Kano into custody, only to have the criminal escape at a later date. At this point, Jax ceased using his bionic implants.

"Mortal Kombat II"

Jax's first appearance on a fighting game was in "Mortal Kombat II". Jax first came across the Earthrealm warriors when he found Johnny Cage in the waters close to the Special Forces Agency. Jax began interrogating him. Cage explains his story and although is not trusted at first, is eventually set free. Jax doesn't believe Johnny's story of until he receives a video signal from Sonya, who is temporarily working with Kano to escape the Outworld. As an apology for Jax not believing Cage, he visits him at a commercial shoot where Johnny is being attacked. Jax participates in a short battle with Kintaro here. The battle is interrupted when the Earthrealm warriors arrive to help. After they save Johnny from the intruders, they travel into Outworld to compete in the tournament and save Sonya.

"Mortal Kombat 3"

Soon Jax came to learn of the Emperor's dark plans for Earthrealm. As soon as he had freed Sonya (and inadvertently Kano), he headed back home to warn his government of the impending danger. He would find himself frustrated, however, as not only did Kano escape back into Outworld, but the government did not believe the major.

Jax began to prepare for war covertly and once more outfitted his arms with bionic implants. After helping foil Shao Kahn's attempt to permanently claim Earth as his own, Jax became the commanding officer of the Outer World Investigation Agency (OIA). They operated from an underground bunker and had scouts in various realms. Not only did they explore and map these realms, but they also looked for and destroyed inter-realm portals that could lead to Earth.

"Deadly Alliance"

He briefly assisted Raiden in the defeat of Shinnok after he found out that Sonya was in Edenia. It was during these events that both he and Sonya would find the Lin Kuei cyborg Cyrax, malfunctioning and trapped in a desert. Returning with him to their home base, they reversed the automation process, restored his humanity, and gained a new ally.

Years later, trouble would occur again. Not only were his agents Kenshi and Cyrax lost in Outworld, but the OIA underground facility was nuked into oblivion by the traitor Hsu Hao. When, soon after, Raiden summoned the Earthrealm warriors to the abandoned island of Shang Tsung and asked them to travel with him to Outworld to bring down the Deadly Alliance, Jax didn't hesitate. He used this trip as a cover to track down Hsu Hao and kill him by tearing out his artificial heart.

During the final attack on the Deadly Alliance, Jax along with the other Earthrealm warriors are killed by the Deadly Alliance's Tarkartan warriors. After Onaga defeats Raiden and the Alliance, he resurrects the Earthrealm heroes as his slaves. Their mind control is later broken by Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang.

"Armageddon"

During the events of "", Jax is sent by Sonya to investigate the remains of a Tekunin Warship. When he does not return, she assumes Jax has been captured, noting strange readings from his bio-scanners.

In his ending for "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon", Jax becomes a full cyborg after defeating Blaze, and leaves the Special Forces. He then takes control of the Tekunin by defeating Sektor, an act of revenge after discovering a neural control chip implanted in his brain by Sektor himself. The ending also states that, after this, it is unknown if Jax would ever return to the Special Forces. [http://mortalkombatwarehouse.com/mka/jax/ Jax's "Armageddon" info] at [http://www.mortalkombatwarehouse.com/ Mortal Kombat Warehouse] ]

Combat characteristics

ignature moves

*Energy Wave: Jax throws a wave of sonic energy at his opponent. In the CD versions of "Mortal Kombat Trilogy", the "Classic" version of Jax can also throw this energy wave while jumping. ("MKII", "MKT")
*Ground Pound: Jax punches the ground, shaking the arena and causing the opponent to stagger. ("MKII", "MK3", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK4", "MKG", "MK:SF", "MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:SM", "MK:A")
*Back Breaker: Jax grabs the opponent down on his shoulder, cracking their spine.("MKII", "MK3", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK4", "MKG")
*Gotcha!: Jax grabs his opponent by the neck and delivers a punch to the face. ("MKII", "MK3", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK:SM")
*Multi-Slam: Jax quickly performs his standard throw four times. ("MKII", "MK3", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK4", "MKG")
*Dash Punch: Jax lunges at the opponent, fist first. ("MK3", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK4", "MKG", "MK:SF")
*Single Missile: Jax fires a blast from his bionic arm. ("MK3", "UMK3", "MKT", "MK4", "MKG")
*Double Missile: Jax fires two quick blasts from his arms. ("MK3", "UMK3", "MKT")
*Piston Punches: Jax moves forward and punches the opponent multiple times. ("MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:A")
*Machine Gun: Jax pulls out a AK-101 from his back and shoots at his opponent, pushing them back. ("MK:DA", "MK:U", "MK:A")

Recurring fatalities

*Head Clap: Jax claps his hands violently over his opponent's head, crushing it. ("MKII","MK4", "MKG")
*Arm Rip: Jax grabs the opponent's arms and rips them from their body. ("MKII", "MK4", "MKG")

Appearances in other media

Film

Jax (misspelled in the closing credits as Jaxx) makes a brief appearance in the first "Mortal Kombat" movie, in which he advises Sonya not to board Shang Tsung's ship after accompanying her on the raid on Kano's club near the beginning of the movie. He was played by Gregory McKinney.

In "", Jax was played by former "American Gladiators" actor Lynn "Red" Williams. He fought alongside Sonya and her friends against Shao Kahn, and though his relationship with his cybernetic enhancements he uses was explored a bit, Jax was overall a comic relief and tough-talking African American stock character.

Television

Jax appeared in the cartoon "" as one of the leading characters, and was voiced by Dorian Harewood. He was portrayed as a cool-minded character, almost always in a good mood.

Comic books

Jax makes his first appearance in the Malibu Comics series in "Goro: Prince of Pain" 1st issue. He's unchanged from his game's story, being the Major of the Special Forces and Sonya's friend. He has a tendency to make jokes and puns during fights, much like Spider-Man, but remains mostly faithful to his game characterization. During Goro's miniseries, Jax sets out to find Sonya, who disappeared while chasing Kano to Shang Tsung's island. Shang Tsung uses him to find the missing Goro, falsely telling him that Sonya was held hostage by Goro in Outworld. In the series' epilogue, he reunites with Sonya and captures Kano.

During the second series, "Battlewave", Jax is attacked by Goro and left in a coma. In the 2nd issue he heals by sheer will to live, foils Jade and Smoke's attempt on his life, and joins Johnny Cage on a trip to Outworld after Sonya went missing while investigating Shang Tsung's island. In the "Tournament Edition II" series epilogue, Jax is gravely injured by Baraka in his arms, and later states he would need cybernetic arms when they return to Earth; despite this, however, a comic adaptation of "Mortal Kombat III" was never realized.

Jax, alongside Sonya and a team of exclusively-created Special Forces agents, has a 2-issue miniseries entitled "U.S. Special Forces", in which the team engages Black Dragon member Rojack in his attempt to get treasures from a dimensional gate to another dimension.

Appearance

Like Liu Kang and Johnny Cage, Jax is known for wearing pants only with no shirt, he's also known for changing the color of his pants throughout the series.

In "MKII", his outfit is similar to Liu Kang's, as he wears black pants with red stripes. In "MK3", the color of his pants changed to purple and now he possesses new bionic arms. In "MK4", his primary costume is similar to his "MKII" outfit (Except that he still possess his bionic arms), while one of his alternates is similar to his "MK3" outfit. In "MKDA", his look at one point changed completely, he now wears green pants, sunglasses, large boots, as well as a new red beret. In "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe", he again had a visual makeover, without having his chest bare but instead having a black and partially cybernetic vest and a head design inspired by his "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" appearance.

Character development

Before Sonya existed, Jax was originally conceived as a character and possessed her scenario for the first "Mortal Kombat". However, since there were no female characters in the original roster at the time, Sonya was created and she inherited his story line of pursuing Kano and entrapment on Shang Tsung's island.

His original name was going to be Kurtis Stryker. Midway later recycled that name to create a new character in "Mortal Kombat 3". Jax was also originally conceived as simply a kickboxer, but the idea was scrapped due to potential similarities to Balrog and Sagat from the "Street Fighter" series. Then he was given a yellow martial arts "gi" and big metal hands that clanged upon impact. However, the outfit concealed much of the impressive physique of actor/bodybuilder John Parrish, so he simply went shirtless with long black tights. Game footage was actually shot with Jax wearing the yellow costume, and Parrish accidentally split the pants during filming. He had the bionic implants painted onto his arms for "MK3."

In the very early screenshots of "Deadly Alliance", Jax was seen in his classic "MK3" attire, however, it is later decided to give Jax a new look. [http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/midway/mk1.jpg]

There was some confusion as to whether Jax was simply wearing armored arms or had his arms replaced all-together in "MK3". His alternate costume in "Deadly Alliance" and "Armageddon" confirms that they are removable implants.

Trivia

*The game programmers mistakenly outfitted Jax with a red beret instead of a green one; a red beret represents Army Airborne units like the 82nd Airborne or 101st Screaming Eagles, whereas green is worn by the members of Army Special Forces.
*In Mortal Kombat Armageddon, if you knock Jax off the Sky Temple he will scream "Oh my God! This is not happening to me!"

References