
Kano's MK1 costume was revived as his alternate design for Deadly Alliance and Armageddon, and his main costume in both titles has him shirtless with a black vest, while he wears a cord around his neck that has a tuft of Sonya's hair attached. Kano's iconic heart-ripping finishing move was Divizio's idea inspired by the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on which he insisted as a fan of Indiana Jones. For the first game he wore a simple gray tunic that was changed to red and black for MK3 Divizio said, "I thought, 'Good, get rid of that white karate outfit!'" and remarked that his versus-screen pose in the game represented his "mean Kano face".

In his Mortal Kombat: Deception biography card, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon described how Kano's bionic eye in the first game was created by cutting out a piece of a plastic mask and painting it a silver color, then attaching it with spirit gum to actor Richard Divizio's face, with the infrared eye added digitally. The eye piece was at first envisioned as a simple eyepatch, but then it was turned into a metal plate inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in The Terminator. Kano originally had a large helmet with two red eyes, a concept that was dropped in favor of a smaller metal piece over his right eye. Kano was the final fighter to be added to the first game, where his role was to serve as the enemy of the female character Sonya. DC Universe, in which Kano was a player character

Vincent Proce's concept art featuring an alternative version of Kano for the original reboot game that was canceled in favor of Mortal Kombat vs.

Reception to the character has been mainly positive his heart rip Fatality in the first game is regarded as one of the franchise's most iconic. The character has appeared in various media outside of the games, including the 1995 film adaptation and the 2021 film. He is also the archenemy of Special Forces officer Sonya Blade, who seeks to bring him to justice. As one of the series' recurring villains, he often aligns himself with the forces threatening Earthrealm. Kano is distinguished by his cybernetic eye, which he uses as a laser weapon in later installments.

Debuting in the original 1992 game, he is the leader of the Black Dragon, a fictional criminal organization. Kano is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios.
