Catharsis Factor: The final fight scene in the 1989 film is this for the audience and arguably Kurt too. After hearing the cheering crowd and witnessing his brother safe, Kurt gets a Heroic Second Wind and delivered a satisfying No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Tong Po.
The scene from the first film in which Jean-Claude Van Damme dances hilariously with the two ladies. Its popularity eventually overtook the entire film, to the point a lot of people Watch It for the Meme nowadays.
In Spanish-speaking countries, there is a particularly popular meme that has the aforementioned scene with its soundtrack (originally "Feeling so good today" by Beau Williams) replaced by the 2011 hit "La vaina loca" by Fuego. The scene and Fuego's theme are now practically inextricable.
Moral Event Horizon: No matter how badass one thinks of Tong Po, the scene where he beats and rapes Mylee is his way of reminding the viewers how much of a bastard he is and why one should root for Kurt to win.
Narm: Tong Po's Post-Rape Taunt is meant to be a Kick the Dog moment, but the hilarious delivery of the line and Van Damme's Big "NO!" after hearing it made it hard for many viewers to take it seriously.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Kurt seems way angrier at Mylee for not telling him she got raped than he is at Tong Po for, you know, raping her.
The Woobie: Mylee's quite possibly the most tragic character in this franchise.
Sequels
Complete Monster: Frank Lane, from The Art of War, is a corrupt murderer in Brazil who secretly runs a sex slaving ring that enslaves women and children, all to put money in his pocket. Lane opens the film executing a runaway in front of the other slaves as a "lesson", and when he becomes obsessed with a young woman named Isabella, he kidnaps her to make her into his own slave. When hero David Sloane is on to him, he uses Isabella's life to force Sloane into a grueling training regimen so he loses a kickboxing match so Lane can profit. Even at the end, Lane shows no remorse, bragging he gave women a chance to be "part of something" in his dirty business.
Fanon Discontinuity: Fans of the first film tend to ignore all of the numbered sequels made after it. Vengeance and Retaliation are the exceptions as they're are a reboot of the original series.
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The main protagonists tend to suffer Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome, and the main antagonist - Tong Po - tends to demonstrate Joker Immunity despite his brutal defeats. This can make the series feel like one big Shoot the Shaggy Dog story - and also makes Po come out as a Karma Houdini since he never really faced any serious consequences for his previous actions. The remake averts this by having Kurt actually kill Po in self defense at the end.
