Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is a series of fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992, and based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias.
== Background ==
Mortal Kombat is one of the three major fighting game franchise to come out of the 90s, alongside Street Fighter and Tekken.
It gained a reputation for its finishing moves, known as Fatalities, that were particularly violent for the time. The franchise expanded into a children's television show, several comic book runs, several live-action movies, and a live-action web series.
=== General Plot Overview ===
The main cast (called kombatants in the series) fight in a once-a-generation tournament to determine the fate of Earth. Should they win, Earth will remain its own independent realm; should they fail, Earth's dimension (called Earthrealm) will be folded into the realm of the aggressors. Usually the game's fight is the final battle in a series, thus the fate of Earthrealm and all its denizens rest on the characters' shoulders. Across the iterations of the franchise, the kombatants and their origins vary, as well as if they fight intentionally or not. The usual plot is that Earthrealm is victorious, and the aggressor Shao Kahn manipulates events in such a way as to still invade Earthrealm and necessitate further fighting.
== Notable Games ==
===Video games===
Title 	Release	Notes
Mortal Kombat 	1992 	The original Mortal Kombat game.
Mortal Kombat II 	1993 	Second main game. Sequel to Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 3 	1995 	Third main game. Sequel to Mortal Kombat II.
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 	1995 	An update to Mortal Kombat 3.
Mortal Kombat Trilogy 	1996 	A game based on the MK3 engine, incorporating all the characters in the series up to that point.
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero	1997 	First of three spin-off games. An action-adventure game starring Sub-Zero. Prequel to the first Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 4 	1997 	Fourth main game. Sequel to Mortal Kombat 3. Last game to appear in arcades.
Mortal Kombat Gold 	1999 	An update to Mortal Kombat 4, made for consoles only.
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces 	2000 	Second of three spin-off games. An action-adventure spin-off starring Jax. Prequel to the first Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat Advance 	2001 	A port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance 	2002 	Fifth main game. Sequel to Mortal Kombat 4.
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition 	2003 	An update to Deadly Alliance.
Mortal Kombat: Deception 	2004 	Sixth main game. Sequel to Deadly Alliance.
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks 	2005 	Third of three spin-off games. An action-adventure spin-off starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao, set in an alternate timeline between Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon 	2006 	Seventh main game. Sequel to Deception, and the final title of the original main series.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe 	2008 	Eighth main game. A non-canonical crossover title set in an alternate timeline between Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3.
Mortal Kombat (2011) 	2011 	Ninth main game. Reboot story combining plots from the original Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Mortal Kombat 3.
Mortal Kombat X 	2015 	Tenth main game. Sequel to 2011's Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 11 	2019 	Eleventh main game. Sequel to Mortal Kombat X.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath 	2020 	An update to Mortal Kombat 11.
Mortal Kombat 1 	2023 	Twelfth main game. Sequel to Mortal Kombat 11 and second story reboot.
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns 	2024 	Update to Mortal Kombat 1 with new characters and story expansion.
== Other Media ==
* A series of comics produced by Malibu
* Mortal Kombat (1995 Movie) - 1995 live-action film
* Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins - 1995 animated film
* Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm - 1996 animated TV series, known as Mortal Kombat: The Animated Series outside the USA IMDB
* Mortal Kombat: Annihilation - 1997 live-action film
* Mortal Kombat: Conquest - a 2-season tv show running from 1998 to 1999
* Mortal Kombat: Rebirth - 2010 short film, precursor to Mortal Kombat: Legacy
* Mortal Kombat: Legacy - a 2-season web series running from 2011 to 2013
* Mortal Kombat X: Blood Ties - 2015 comic book series, prequel to the Mortal Kombat X game
* Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge - 2020 animated film
* Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms - 2021 animated film
* Mortal Kombat (2021 Movie) - 2021 live-action film
* Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind - 2022 animated film
* Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match - 2023 animated film
* Mortal Kombat Legends: Fall of Edenia - TBA animated film
* Mortal Kombat 2 (2025 Movie) - Upcomming 2025 live-action movie
== Main Characters ==
These vary depending on the game played. As of 9 September 2020, there have been 100 characters (both original and guest) in the franchise. There are 80 original characters in the franchise, some of whom take different forms throughout the series.
== Fandom ==
Mortal Kombat lends itself well to crossovers due to both the core games' inclusion of guest characters from various franchises (RoboCop, Leatherface, Freddy Krueger, the Xenomorph from the Alien film series, Predator, The Terminator, Joker from DC comics, Spawn, Jason Voorhees, Kratos, and the nebulously described portal technology which allows travel across realms.
=== Fanwork Trends ===
Due to the nature of the foundational media as graphic and generally sexualized, many fanworks reflect this.
The presence of ninjas in the canon material is popular in fanart, as are gender-bent characters (e.g. a female Sub-Zero).
=== Tropes ===
* The Cages (Johnny and his daughter Cassie) are engaged with pop culture. They often make references to movies, memes, and popular culture events in general.
* LGBTQ headcanons are commonplace, including Cassie Cage as a lesbian transgender woman.
=== Shipping ===
==== Canon ====
* Jacqui Briggs/Takeda Takahashi (established in Mortal Kombat X)
* Sonya Blade/Johnny Cage (established in Mortal Kombat X, called CageBlade)
* Kotal Kahn/Jade (established in Mortal Kombat 11)
* Liu Kang/Kitana
* Shao Kahn/Sindel
* Jackson "Jax" Briggs / Vera Briggs (Vera's only visual appearance is in MKX: Blood Ties)
* Mileena/Tanya (Confirmed by their MKX dialogue intros, Mileena's MK11 dialogue intros & Mileena's MK11 non-canon tower ending)
==== Arguable Canon ====
These are 'arguable canon' in that they are in the material produced by NetherRealm Studios, but are in pre-fight dialogues or in characters' Tower Endings, which are described by NRS as 'non-canonical'.
* Erron Black/Nitara Mortal Kombat Warehouse
* Erron Black/Skarlet Mortal Kombat Warehouse
* Kabal/Sareena YouTube
* Bi-Han/Sareena (based on exchanges in Mythologies)
* Sonya Blade/Shang Tsung (based on his interactions with her, as well as MK11 dialogue Mortal Kombat Warehouse
==== Fanon ====
As of 9 September 2020, the eleven most popular pairings on Archive Of Our Own were:
* Scorpion/Sub-Zero (131)
* Jacqui Briggs/Takahashi Takeda (61)
* Sonya Blade/Johnny Cage (58)
* Scorpion/Sub-Zero (55)
* Liu Kang/Kitana (54)
* Mileena/Tanya (Mortal Kombat) (38)
* Scorpion/Takahashi Kenshi (34)
* Erron Black/Kung Jin (28)
* Sub-Zero/Reader (26)
* Erron Black/Reader (24)
* Cassie Cage/Sonya Blade (24)
==== Other ====
* Kung Jin was revealed in Mortal Kombat X as canonically gay, which has resulted in a variety of pairings. The NRS Cinematic Director confirmed it in a tweet Twitter, April 15, 2015
== Fanworks ==
== Controversies ==
* The lack of cohesive lore across the franchise, and its unabashed use of time travel, means consistent lore management is difficult at best.
* Electing not to include Mileena (a popular franchise character) in Mortal Kombat 11 thus far has resulted in repeated requests via Twitter to one of the creators, Ed Boon. Boon periodically engages with these and trolls them in return. Twitter, September 3, 2020
* The portrayal of Queen Sindel in Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC conflicts with popular fan-created theories (such as that Sindel was manipulated to support Shao Kahn), and has been generally negatively received by fans.
== Communities, Fansites & Resources ==
=== Fansites & Forums ===
* r/MortalKombat
===Mailing Lists===
* Mortal Kombat Chat and Fic archive link "The purpose of this list is to give fans a place to discuss the movies and follow-up show and share any fanfic they might want to post. General, hetero and slash fic is welcome, dealing with attractive adults. By joining this list you declare to one and all that you are above the legal age. Any fiction posted, will be archived to the WWOMB, unless the author includes a "Do NOT Archive" addendum."
* MKS_Realm archive link "Mortal Kombt Slash Realm: This list is a *slash* discussion and fiction list for all incarnations of Mortal Kombat. Various discussion okay, but fiction should be strictly slash. Authors are eagerly sought, but everyone is welcome! All fic is currently Johnny/Rayden, but we're happy to try other couples. Members ought to be over 18, but no age statement will be required." (Founded: Sep 2, 1999)
=== Deviantart Communities ===
* mortal-kombat-fans
* mortalkombatninjas
* mk-rebirth
===Resources===
* Mortal Kombat stories and crossovers at Fanfiction.net
* Mortal Kombat fanworks at AO3
* Fanfic Recs: Mortal Kombat on TV Tropes
=== Other Resources ===
* Mortal Kombat Wikia
* Mortal Kombat Warehouse - includes pre-fight dialogues, renders, guides, and graphics.
==References==
Category:Fandoms by Source Text