Mortal Kombat

***Mortal Kombat*** is a media franchise centered on a series of video games, originally developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a video game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but as that idea fell through, a fantasy-themed fighting game titled *Mortal Kombat* was created instead. *Mortal Kombat* was the first ever fighting game to introduce a secret fighter, reached if the player fulfilled a set of requirements. The original game has spawned many sequels and spin-offs consisting of several action-adventure games, films (animated and live-action with its own sequel), and television series (animated and live-action), as well as a comic book series, a card game and a live-action tour. Along with *Street Fighter* and *Tekken*, *Mortal Kombat* has become one of the most successful fighting franchises in the history of video games and one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

The series has a reputation for high levels of violent content, including, most notably, its Fatalities (finishing moves allowing the player to finish off their defeated opponent). Controversies surrounding *Mortal Kombat*, in part, led to the creation of the ESRB video game rating system. Early games in this series were also noted for their realistic digitized sprites and an extensive use of palette swapping to create new characters. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the *Mortal Kombat* development team was acquired by Warner Bros. and turned into NetherRealm Studios. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment currently owns the rights to the franchise, which it rebooted in 2011.

## Gameplay

The original three games and their updates, *Mortal Kombat* (1992), *Mortal Kombat II* (1993), *Mortal Kombat 3* (1995), *Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3* (1995), and *Mortal Kombat Trilogy* (1996), were styled in a 2D fighting fashion. The first two of them were played in the arcades with a joystick and five buttons: high punch, low punch, high kick, low kick, and block. *Mortal Kombat 3* and its updates added a sixth "run" button.[1] Characters in the early *Mortal Kombat* games play virtually identically to one another, with the only major differences being their special moves.[2] Through the 1990s, the developer and publisher Midway Games would keep their single styled fighting moves with four attack buttons for a different array of punches and kicks and blocks. *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance* changed this by differentiating characters normal moves and even giving them multiple fighting styles. Beginning in *Deadly Alliance* and until *Mortal Kombat: Deception*, the characters would have three fighting styles per character: two unarmed styles, and one weapon style.[3] Few exceptions to this arose in *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon*, such as monster-like boss characters like Moloch and Onaga who would have only one fighting style.[4] While most of the styles used in the series are based on real martial arts, some are entirely fictitious.[5] Goro's fighting styles, for example, are designed to take advantage of the fact that he has four arms. For *Armageddon*, fighting styles were reduced to a maximum of two per character (generally one hand-to-hand combat style and one weapon style) due to the sheer number of playable characters.[4] *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe* dropped the multiple fighting style trend altogether in favor of giving each character a much wider variety of special moves,[6] but some characters still use multiple fighting styles.[7] 2011's *Mortal Kombat* returned to a single 2D fighting plane although characters are rendered in 3D;[8] unlike previous *MK* games, each of the controller's four attack buttons corresponds to one of the character's limbs, the buttons thus becoming front punch, back punch, front kick and back kick (front and back indicating the limb closer to and farther from the opponent, respectively).

*Mortal Kombat: Deception* and *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon* feature "Konquest", a free-roaming action-adventure mode that significantly expanded on the single-player experience. Both games also include distinct minigame modes such "Chess Kombat", an action-strategy game similar to *Archon*. Two other bonus minigames, "Puzzle Kombat" inspired by *Puzzle Fighter* and "Motor Kombat" inspired by *Mario Kart*, feature super deformed versions of *Mortal Kombat* characters.[1] The games also contain various unlockable content and hidden "cheats".[9]

### Finishing Moves

The defining and best-known feature of the *Mortal Kombat* series is its finishing move system called Fatality. An original idea behind it was to give gamers a free hit at the end of the fight.[12] The basic Fatalities are finishing moves that allow the victorious characters to end a match in a special way by murdering their defeated, defenseless opponents in a gruesome manner, usually in the predefined ways exclusive for the given character. The only exception from this is *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon*, which instead features the Kreate-A-Fatality, allowing the players to perform their own Fatalities by conducting a series of violent moves chosen from a pool that is common for all characters.[1][13]

Other finishing moves in the various *Mortal Kombat* games include Animalities (introduced in *Mortal Kombat 3*) turning a victor into an animal to violently finish off the opponent;[14] Brutality (introduced in *Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3*) which is bashing an opponent into pieces with a long combo of hits; and Stage Fatalities/Death Traps (introduced in the original *Mortal Kombat* Pit Stage where the victor can uppercut their opponent off of the platform into a bed of spikes below, and later made more difficult in *Mortal Kombat II* by requiring specific and different button sequences to be pressed) utilizing parts of certain stages to execute a lethal finishing move (such as a pool of acid). *Mortal Kombat: Deception* added the Hara-Kiri, a self-Fatality allowing the losers to engage in a suicide-based finishing move (enabling a possible race between both players to see if the winning player can finish off the losing player before the losing character can kill himself or herself first).[12][15]

There are also some non-violent finishing moves in the series. Friendship moves, introduced in *Mortal Kombat II* and resulting in displays of friendship towards the enemy instead of slaughter,[16] were made as a comical response to the attention the series gathered due to its violent content.[12] Also introduced in *MKII* was the Babality, which turns the opponent into a baby and is humorous in the same vein.[16] *Mortal Kombat 3* marked the first appearance of the Mercy, where the victor restores a minimal amount of the opponent's health bar and the fight then resumes; the player must perform a Mercy to be able to perform an Animality.[14]

## Plot

### Characters

Through its iterations, the series has featured scores of player characters, some of them becoming mainstays, such as Baraka, Cassie Cage, Cyrax, Ermac, Goro, Jade, Jax Briggs, Johnny Cage, Kabal, Kano, Kenshi, Kitana, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Mileena, Motaro, Nightwolf, Noob Saibot, Quan Chi, Raiden, Rain, Reptile, Sektor, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Sheeva, Shinnok, Sindel, Smoke, Sonya Blade, Scorpion, Skarlet, Stryker, and Sub-Zero. Among them are Earth's humans and cyborgs, good and evil deities, and denizens of Outworld and other realms.

Furthermore, starting with *MK vs DCU*, which featured several DC Universe heroes and villains, all subsequent games have included guest characters such as Freddy Krueger from *A Nightmare on Elm Street*, Kratos from *God of War*, Jason Voorhees from *Friday the 13th*, the Xenomorph Alien from *Alien*, Leatherface from *Texas Chainsaw Massacre*, the Predator from *Predator*, the T-800 Terminator model from *Terminator*, Spawn from Image Comics and the Joker from DC Comics.

### Storyline

The series takes place in a fictional universe consisting of eighteen surviving realms which, according to in-game backstories, were created by the Elder Gods. The *Mortal Kombat: Deception* manual described six of the realms as: "Earthrealm, home to such legendary heroes as Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage and Jax, and also under the protection of the Thunder God Raiden; Netherrealm, the fiery depths of which are inhospitable to all but the most vile, a realm of demons and shadowy warriors such as Quan Chi and Noob Saibot; Outworld, a realm of constant strife which Emperor Shao Kahn claims as his own; Seido, the Realm of Order, whose inhabitants prize structure and order above all else; the Realm of Chaos, whose inhabitants do not abide by any rules whatsoever, and where constant turmoil and change are worshipped; and Edenia, which is known for its beauty, artistic expression, and the longevity of its inhabitants."[17][18] The Elder Gods decreed that the denizens of one realm could only conquer another realm by defeating the defending realm's greatest warriors in ten consecutive Mortal Kombat tournaments.

The first *Mortal Kombat* game takes place in Earthrealm (Earth) where seven different warriors with their own reasons for entering participated in the tournament with the eventual prize being the continued freedom of their realm, threatened with a takeover by Outworld. Among the established warriors were Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. With the help of the thunder god Raiden, the Earthrealm warriors were victorious and Liu Kang became the new champion of Mortal Kombat.[19] In *Mortal Kombat II*, unable to deal with his minion Shang Tsung's failure, Outworld Emperor Shao Kahn lures the Earthrealm warriors to the Outworld where the Earthrealm warriors eventually defeat Shao Kahn. By the time of *Mortal Kombat 3*, Shao Kahn revives Edenia's (now a part of his Outworld domain) former queen Sindel in Earthrealm, combining it with Outworld as well. He then attempts to invade Earthrealm but is ultimately defeated by the Earthrealm warriors again. After Kahn's defeat, Edenia was freed from Kahn's grasp and returned to a peaceful realm, ruled by Princess Kitana. The following game, *Mortal Kombat 4*, features the former elder god Shinnok attempting to conquer the realms and attempting to kill the thunder god Raiden. However, he is also defeated by the Earthrealm warriors.

In *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance*, the evil sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung join forces to conquer the realms. By *Mortal Kombat: Deception*, after several fights, the sorcerers emerge victorious having killed most of Earthrealms' warriors until Raiden steps forth to oppose them. The Dragon King Onaga, who had been freed by Reptile at the end of *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance*,[20] had deceived Shujinko into searching for six pieces of Kamidogu,[18] the source of Onaga's power. Onaga then confronted the alliance of Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi and thus obtained Quan Chi's amulet,[21] the final piece of his power. Only a few warriors remained to combat against the Dragon King and his forces. Shujinko eventually triumphed over the Dragon King and removed his threat to the Mortal Kombat universe.[22]

In *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon* the catastrophe known as Armageddon starts. Centuries before the first *Mortal Kombat*, Queen Delia foretold the realms would be destroyed because the power of all warriors from all the realms would rise to such greatness it would overwhelm and destabilize the realms, triggering an all-destructive chain of events. King Argus had his sons, Taven and Daegon, put into incubation who would one day be awakened to save the realms from Armageddon by defeating a firespawn known as Blaze. In the end, however, Shao Kahn is the one who defeats Blaze, causing Armageddon.[23]

The crossover *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe* does not seem to share continuity with any of the other games. After the simultaneous defeats of both Shao Kahn and the alien warlord Darkseid in the DC Universe cause both villains to fuse into the entity "Dark Kahn", both the *Mortal Kombat* and DC Universes begin to merge. This causes the warriors and heroes to undergo bouts of uncontrollable rage and attack anyone on sight. The heroes and villains of both universes repeatedly conflict with each other, believing each other to be responsible for the catastrophe, until only Raiden and Superman remain. The two confront Dark Kahn and both realize that the other is not working for him, and team up to defeat their common foe. After Dark Kahn's defeat, the two realms unfuse, with Shao Kahn and Darkseid trapped in each other's different reality and facing eternal imprisonment.

In *Mortal Kombat* (2011), it is revealed that the battle between the warriors of the six realms in *Armageddon* culminated into only two survivors: Shao Kahn and Raiden. Badly beaten, Raiden had only one last move he could make to prevent Shao Kahn from claiming the power of Blaze. He sends last-ditch visions of the entire course of the *Mortal Kombat* timeline to himself in the past right before the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament (first game). This transfer of information to his former self causes a rift in time, causing a new "reboot" timeline to be introduced that splits off from the original *Armageddon* timeline, with a new outcome of Mortal Kombat history to be written. But this story leads to even worse unforeseen events. It ends with many of the main game characters dying at the hands of Queen Sindel and Raiden accidentally killing Liu Kang in self-defense. Eventually, the Elder Gods aid Raiden in killing Shao Kahn and saving Earthrealm. But as the scene goes on it is later revealed that this was all a plan by Shinnok and Quan Chi.

*Mortal Kombat X* sees Shinnok and Quan Chi enacting their plan, leading an army of undead revenants of those that were killed in Shao Kahn's invasion against the realms. A team of warriors led by Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kenshi Takahashi and Sonya Blade oppose Shinnok, and in the ensuing battle, Shinnok is imprisoned, Quan Chi escapes and various warriors are resurrected and freed from Shinnok's thrall. Twenty-five years later, Quan Chi resurfaces and allies himself with the insect-like D'Vorah in manipulating events that lead to Shinnok's release. Though Quan Chi is killed by a vengeful Scorpion in the process, Shinnok resumes his assault against the realms. After a grueling, protracted battle, Shinnok is defeated by Cassandra Cage representing the next generation of Earthrealm's warriors. With both Quan Chi and Shinnok gone, the undead revenants of Liu Kang and Kitana assume control of the Netherrealm and Lord Raiden now seeks to violently and preemptively protect Earthrealm from any perceived threat, throwing the severed head of Shinnok at the feet of Kitana and Liu Kang as a warning.

*Mortal Kombat 11* sees the architect of time and Shinnok's Mother, Kronika to restart the timeline after her son's decapitation, where it turns out that said beheading tampered with the balance between Light and Darkness courtesy of the now corrupted Raiden. After the death of Sonya Blade & the destruction of the Cathedral of Shinnok in the NetherRealm, Liu Kang and Kitana makes a partnership with Kronika herself to commence to rewrite history with her hourglass in her Keep in the Netherrealm. Starting with a timequake that brought past versions of the likes of Shao Kahn, Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Jade, Skarlet and Baraka to the present as well erasing Dark Raiden from existence leaving his past self to exist alone in the present due to his Immortal status. After the past Raiden and Liu Kang fight with each other, Raiden came to realize that his battle with Liu Kang is part of Kronika's machinations to have them fight to the death which occurred in alternate timelines. Knowing their combined strength can put a stop to Kronika. With Kronika now defeated and far into the past without any chance of restoring the present, the now Fire God Liu Kang took advice from a now mortal Raiden as he starts a new timeline from the dawn of time with the help of Kitana, hoping that their work together can shape a better future and hopes of seeing Raiden again in the next timeline.

## Games in series

### Fighting games

1. *Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)*
2. *Mortal Kombat II*
3. *Mortal Kombat 3*
4. *Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3*
5. *Ultimate Mortal Kombat*
6. *Mortal Kombat Advance*
7. *Mortal Kombat Trilogy*
8. *Mortal Kombat 4*
9. *Mortal Kombat Gold*
10. *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance*
11. *Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition*
12. *Mortal Kombat: Deception*
13. *Mortal Kombat: Unchained*
14. *Mortal Kombat: Armageddon*
15. *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe*
16. *Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection*
17. *Mortal Kombat (2011 video game)*
18. *Mortal Kombat X*
19. *Mortal Kombat (mobile game)*
20. *Mortal Kombat 11*

### Non-fighting games

* *Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero*: The first in a planned series of *MK* solo outings for popular characters from the fighting games. *MKM:SZ*, a platform/action game, focused on the original Sub-Zero and his missions just prior to the first *Mortal Kombat*.

* *Mortal Kombat: Special Forces*: An action game also set prior to the first *Mortal Kombat*, featuring Jax in pursuit of Kano and the Black Dragon.

* *Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks*: A spin-off action game (with a versus-fighting mode as well), starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao, telling an alternate version of the events between the first and second *Mortal Kombat*. The storyline of *Shaolin Monks* is now known to be non-canon. Players could also control Scorpion and Sub-Zero as bonus content.

## Development history

### Origins

*Mortal Kombat* started development in 1991 with only four people: Ed Boon (programming), John Tobias (art and story), John Vogel (graphics), and Dan Forden (sound design).[24][25] According to *Mortal Kombat* actors Richard Divizio and Daniel Pesina, the first game actually began as a ninja-themed project by John Tobias (a young new employee of Midway Games at the time) and them as well as Carlos Pesina, however their pitch to Tobias' boss Ed Boon was rejected by the entire management of Midway.[26] Midway was then abortively approached to create a video game adaptation of the then-upcoming 1992 film *Universal Soldier*, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme,[27] and Tobias imagined a fighting game featuring a digitized version of Van Damme.[28] Intending to make a game "a lot more hard edge, a little bit more serious, a little bit more like *Enter the Dragon* or *Bloodsport*" than contemporary cartoonish style fighting games,[29] Tobias and Boon decided to continue their project even after the deal to use the *Bloodsport* license fell through.[30] The first of *Mortal Kombat* characters,[26] Johnny Cage (Daniel Pesina), became "a spoof on the whole Van Damme situation."[27] Divizio credits himself with convincing Tobias to go back to the original idea and trying again.[26]

It was the success of Capcom's *Street Fighter II: The World Warrior* that finally convinced Midway Games to let the team produce their own arcade fighting game (the genre chosen by Tobias for his game as to let him use as large digitized sprites as possible[31]), but there was not much influence by *Street Fighter II* on the actual project. According to Tobias, who cited 1984's *Karate Champ* as an actual inspiration,[32] they even intentionally worked on making a game different than Capcom's title in every way.[31] Besides the digitized characters that differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn ones, one stark difference was in the very high amount of blood and violence. Capcom's senior director of communications later compared *Street Fighter* and *Mortal Kombat* by asking if the interviewer preferred the "precision and depth" of *Street Fighter* or the "gore and comedy" of *Mortal Kombat* and also stated that the *Street Fighter* and *Mortal Kombat* rivalry was considered similar to the Coke and Pepsi rivalry in the 1990s.[33]

*Mortal Kombat* didn't rely on just good looks and gore for its success. Although the intense gore was a great way to attract attention, *Mortal Kombat* offered another side – an often-overlooked side – that kept people coming back for more: its storyline, including the uniquely different kind of gameplay as far as the fighting system within itself.[34]

John Tobias said that his inspirations for the game's story and characters came from the Chinese mythology and some of the stories and rumored events about the Shaolin monks.[27] Regarding the film *Big Trouble in Little China*, Tobias wrote that although this movie "kind of Americanized my obsession for supernatural kung fu films from China, it was not my biggest influence. My biggest influences came from Tsui Hark films -- *Zu Warriors* & *The Swordsman*. We had to get them from bootleggers in Chicago's Chinatown."[35] In 1995, he said about their general process of designing characters for the series: "First we figure out the type, like she or he and will she/he be big or small. Then we'll get the theme of the characters, like ninja or robot. Then we'll design the costume, and while doing that we create the storyline and how s/he fits into the universe. Then we'll find an actor that kinda resembles our character."[36] Tobias' writing and artistic input on the series ended around 2000[31] following the release of *Mortal Kombat 4*. In 2012, he said: "I knew exactly what I was going to do with a future story. A few years ago I [wrote] a sort of sequel to the first *MK* film and an advancement to the game's mythological roots."[37]

The title *Mortal Kombat* was the idea of pinball designer Steve Ritchie,[38] a variation of the original name that had been simply *Mortal Combat*.[32] Since then, the series often intentionally misspells the letter "K" in place of "C" for various words containing the hard C sound. According to Boon, during the *MK* games' development they usually spell the words correctly and only "korrect it" when one of the developers points out they should do it.[39]

### Graphics

The characters of the original *Mortal Kombat* and its initial sequels were created using digitized sprites mostly based on filmed actors, as opposed to hand-drawn graphics.[40] Early *Mortal Kombat* games were known for their extensive use of palette swapping, a practice of recoloring certain sprites to make them appear as different characters, which was used for the ninja characters. In fact, many of the most popular characters have originated as simple palette swaps.[41] In the first game, the male ninja fighters were essentially the same character; only the colors of their attire, fighting stance, and special techniques marking a difference.[41] Later games added further ninjas based on the same model, as well as several female ninja color swap characters initially also using just one base model. All of them gradually became very different characters in the following installments of the series. Eventually, *Mortal Kombat 4* brought the series into 3D, replacing the digitized fighters of previous games with polygon models animated using motion capture technology.[42]

### Hidden content

It made the claims that this game might be influencing real life behavior seem fairly absurd, but all of the secrets and hidden nuances of the title helped to bolster its notoriety. While the first game featured one hidden character, the green ninja Reptile, *Mortal Kombat II* had three. Before long, there would be rumors swirling about "Nudalities," "Animalities," all manner of secret characters, and even hidden games.[1]

*Mortal Kombat* included secret characters, secret games, and other Easter eggs. Popular characters Reptile and Jade were originally introduced as hidden enemies, becoming playable after returning in subsequent games. There is also a hidden game of *Pong* in *Mortal Kombat II*,[43] and *Mortal Kombat 3* includes a hidden game of *Galaga*.[14] Many extras in the series have only been accessible through very challenging, demanding, and sometimes coincidental requirements. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis versions contains a unique finisher, named "Fergality".[44] The Sega Mega-CD version also contained an additional code (known as the "Dad's Code"), which changed the names of the fighters to that of characters from the classic BBC comedy series *Dad's Army*.[45]

Some Easter eggs originated from in-jokes between members of the development team. One example is "Toasty", which found its way into the game in the form of a small image of sound designer Dan Forden, who would appear in the corner of the screen during gameplay (after performing an uppercut) and yell the phrase "Toasty!", originating from him saying "you're toast".[46] This egg was also the key to unlocking the hidden character Smoke when it happened in the Portal stage in *Mortal Kombat II*.[43] In *Mortal Kombat 4*, Forden would say "Toasty! 3D!" after Scorpion did his burn Fatality, a reference to the fact that it is the first 3D game of the series.[47] "Toasty!" is also found in *Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks*, appearing randomly after the character pulls off a chain of hits, though the picture of Forden was removed for that title,[48] but brought back for the 2011 *Mortal Kombat* game. Yet another private joke was the hidden character Noob Saibot, who has appeared in various versions of the game starting with *Mortal Kombat II*. The character's name derived from two of the series' creators' surnames, Ed Boon and John Tobias, spelled backwards.[49] In addition, a counter for ERMACS on the game's audits screen (ERMACS being short for ***er**ror **mac**ros*), was interpreted by some players as a reference to a hidden character in the original *Mortal Kombat*. The development team decided to turn the rumor into reality, introducing Ermac in *Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3* as an unlockable secret character.[50][51] The character Mokap, introduced in *Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance,* is a tribute to Carlos Pesina, who played Raiden in *MK* and *MKII* and has served as a motion capture actor for subsequent titles in the series.[52]

## Films

*Mortal Kombat* was adapted into two major motion pictures, *Mortal Kombat* (1995), and *Mortal Kombat: Annihilation* (1997), both co-developed by Threshold Entertainment and released by New Line Cinema (eventual corporate sibling, and later label, of *Mortal Kombat* rights holder Warner Bros.). Neither film was screened for critics prior to theatrical release. The first movie was released on August 18, 1995, grossing $23 million on its first weekend.[85] *Mortal Kombat*, despite mixed reviews from critics, became a financial success, eventually grossing $70 million in the U.S. (and over $122 million worldwide) and gaining a cult following from fans of the series while jump starting the Hollywood career of its director Paul W. S. Anderson.[86] That momentum did not carry over into John R. Leonetti's *Annihilation*, however, which suffered from a poor reception by critics and fans alike, grossing only $36 million in the U.S. and $51 million worldwide, compared to the first movie's worldwide intake of $122 million.[87] The films' producer Lawrence Kasanoff then unsuccessfully kept attempting to make the third film over the years, before losing all rights to the franchise.

In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen released an eight-minute *Mortal Kombat* short film titled *Mortal Kombat: Rebirth*,[88] made as a proof of concept for Tancharoen's pitch of a reboot movie franchise to Warner Brothers.[89] Tancharoen later confirmed that while the short is entirely unofficial, it does feature the writing of Oren Uziel, who was rumored to be writing the screenplay for the third *Mortal Kombat* movie.[90] In September 2011, New Line and Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen has signed on to direct a new feature-length film from a screenplay written by Uziel,[91] with the intention of aiming for an R rating.[92] Shooting was expected to begin in March 2012 with a budget of well under $100 million (projected at between $40–50 million[93]) and a release date of 2013,[94][95] but was ultimately delayed due to budget constraints, and Tancharoen started working on the second season of *Legacy* until problems with the film had been sorted out. However, Tancharoen quit the production in October 2013.[96]

### 2021 film reboot

In 2015, James Wan signed on to the project to produce a new film of *Mortal Kombat*,[97] saying he would not rush it.[98] Simon McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016, with Greg Russo to write the script.[99][100] In February 2019, Russo announced the script was complete.[100] Three months later, the film had entered pre-production and would be shot in South Australia later in the year,[101] partly funded via the South Australian Film Corporation.[102] The planned release date is March 5, 2021.[103] In July 2019, Joe Taslim was cast as Sub-Zero,[104] and following month Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Sisi Stringer, Jessica McNamee and Josh Lawson were cast as Liu Kang, Jax, Raiden, Mileena, Sonya Blade and Kano, respectively.[105][106] Later in the month, it was announced that Chin Han was cast as Shang Tsung, Hiroyuki Sanada was cast as Scorpion,[107] and Lewis Tan was cast in an undisclosed role.[108]. Jackie Chan Stunt Team member Max Huang was announced to play Kung Lao in the film on September 15, 2019 when it was announced that shooting has begun on the film. [109]

## Reception

### Sales

*Mortal Kombat* has been one of the most successful fighting game franchises in video game history only trailing Bandai Namco's *Tekken* and Capcom's *Street Fighter*. It generated more than $4 billion by the late 1990s[183] and $5 billion in total revenue by 2000.[184] A particularly successful game was *Mortal Kombat II*, which had unprecedented opening week sales figures never seen before in the video game industry, for the first time beating the box office numbers of summer hit films.[185] The *Mortal Kombat* games, however, have sold poorly in Japan (Tobias blaming their "very americanized" character design[186]).

*Mortal Kombat* games have sold more than 6 million units by 1994[187] and 26 million by 2007,[24] and the figure has exceeded 30 million by 2012.[188] NetherRealm Studios' first two *Mortal Kombat* games have been their best selling games, with *Mortal Kombat* (2011) at six million units and *Mortal Kombat X* at 5 million units. As of 2015, following the release of *Mortal Kombat X*, the franchise had sold over 35 million units.[189]

### Ratings, reviews, and awards

The 2008 edition of *Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition* awarded the *Mortal Kombat* series with seven world records, including "most successful fighting game series".[190] The franchise holds ten world records in the 2011 *Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition*, including the "largest promotional campaign for a fighting video game" (*Mortal Kombat 3*), "highest grossing film based on a beat ‘em up video game" (*Mortal Kombat* 1996), and "most successful video game spin-off soundtrack album" (*Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack*).[191]

Numerous publications described it as one of the most important and also most violent series in the history of video games; in 2011, the staff of GameSpy wrote "its place in fighting game history is undeniable".[192] In 2009, GameTrailers ranked *Mortal Kombat* as the ninth top fighting game franchise[193] as well as the seventh bloodiest series of all time.[194] In 2012, *Complex* ranked *Mortal Kombat* as 37th best video game franchise overall, commenting on its "legendary status in video game history".[195] *Mortal Kombat* as a series was also ranked as the goriest video game ever by CraveOnline in 2009 and by G4tv.com in 2011;[196][197] including it on their list of the goriest games, Cheat Code Central commented that "*Mortal Kombat* had enough gore to simultaneously offend a nation and change gaming forever."[198]

## Legacy and cultural impact

According to IGN, during the 1990s "waves of imitators began to flood the market, filling arcades with a sea of blood from games like *Time Killers*, *Survival Arts*, and *Guardians of the Hood*. *Mortal Kombat* had ushered in an era of exploitation games, both on consoles and in arcades, all engaging in a battle to see who can cram the most blood and guts onto a low-res screen."[1] Notable *Mortal Kombat* clones, featuring violent finishing moves and/or digitized sprites, included *Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.*, *BloodStorm*, *Cardinal Syn*, *Catfight*, *Eternal Champions*, *Kasumi Ninja*, *Killer Instinct*, *Mace: The Dark Age*, *Primal Rage*, *Street Fighter: The Movie*, *Tattoo Assassins*, *Thrill Kill*, *Ultra Vortek*, *Way of the Warrior*, and Midway's own *War Gods*.[199][200] John Tobias commented: "Some of the copycat products back then kind of came and went because, on the surface level, the violence will attract some attention, but if there's not much to the product behind it, you're not going to last very long."[32]

In a 2009 poll by *GamePro*, 21% of voters chose *Mortal Kombat* as their favorite fighting game series, ranking it third after *Street Fighter* and *Tekken*.[201] In 2012, Capcom's *Street Fighter* producer Yoshinori Ono said he is getting a lot of requests for *Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat* and understands why people want it, "but it's easier said than done. Having Chun Li getting her spine ripped out, or Ryu's head bouncing off the floor...it doesn't necessarily match."[202] In 2014, martial artist Frankie Edgar opined *Mortal Kombat* has been far superior to *Street Fighter*.[203]

The series and its characters are also referenced in the various other works of popular culture, such as in the title of Powerglove's debut album *Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man* and the *Workaholics* episode "Model Kombat". According to *Complex* in 2012, "Years ago, *MK* became a phenomenon far outside gaming circles alone. Its name has become recognizable enough to be name dropped on sitcoms (*Malcolm in the Middle* and *Married... with Children*), found in movies (Christian Slater plays *MK4* in *Very Bad Things*), and used as part of cultural studies (see Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins' book *From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games*)."[29] It was also featured in the film *Doom Generation*. The name "Mortal Kombat" was even given to a dangerous illegal recreational drug that was introduced and caused multiple fatalities in early 2014.[204]

In 2012, Tobias said: "If you look at any other pop culture phenomenon—like if you look at the *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*, for instance—it became popular at the time right around when *Mortal Kombat* became popular, and it had its highs and lows, and here they are once again talking about a major motion picture. That's because of its place in pop culture. It's always there for someone to pick up, polish off, blow the dust off of it, and re-release it. And *Mortal Kombat* will always be that way. It'll be around 50 years from now."[32]

### Competitive play

Fighting games have been a popular genre among tournaments since the late 90s. *Mortal Kombat* has its place in some of the world's biggest fighting game tournaments like Evo and Combo Breaker, as well as many local and online tournaments around the world. Since the 2011 *Mortal Kombat* game was released, the game has been one of the most popular games at these events. Between 2014 and 2017, the game was mostly absent from the tournament scene, due to NetherRealm Studios being focused on their *Injustice* series as their top priority;[205] *Mortal Kombat* games returned to Combo Breaker in 2018.[206]

### Controversies

Main article: Controversies surrounding Mortal Kombat

The series was subject of a major video game controversy[207] and several court cases, largely related to its extremely violent content, especially in relation to the original game which paved a way for the introduction of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) game rating system in 1994 as well as Australian Classification Board.[30][208][209][210][211] Various games in the series, as well as advertisements for them, have been censored or banned in a number of countries. According to SuperData Research CEO Joost van Dreunen, "Because of the obvious rift between gamers on the one hand and adult society on the other, *Mortal Kombat* set the tone for what constituted gamer culture."[212]

## Contributing cultural material

The *Mortal Kombat* mythology borrows heavily from multiple sources, primarily (but not limited to) Asian cultures, religions and martial arts. Examples include the following:

* Raiden, who is the God of Thunder in *Mortal Kombat,* takes his name from the Japanese Raiden (meaning "thunder and lightning"), which is the name of a demon-god in Japanese mythology. The Japanese Raiden is usually depicted as a man-beast with sharp teeth, long hair and a large drum for making thunder. The *Mortal Kombat* Raiden's trademark glowing eyes and straw hat, however, appear to have been inspired by the Three Storms in the film *Big Trouble in Little China.* In the early console releases and associated media, he was also named **Rayden**.
* Fujin (*Mortal Kombat 4*) is named after the Japanese wind god *Fuujin*.
* Other characters have no direct counterparts in mythology, though their names are derived from Asiatic languages:
	+ Shujinko (*Mortal Kombat: Deception*) is from the Japanese *shujinkou* (meaning "protagonist").
	+ Damashi (*Mortal Kombat: Deception*) is from the Japanese *damashi* (meaning "deception").
	+ Hotaru (*Mortal Kombat: Deception*) is from the Japanese *hotaru* (meaning "firefly").
	+ Kenshi (*Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance* and *Mortal Kombat: Deception*) is from the Japanese *kenshi* (meaning "swordsman").
* The White Lotus Society to which Liu Kang belonged may or may not have been named after to the secret White Lotus Society which existed in China during the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. A white lotus is traditionally symbolic of death.
* The Lin Kuei ninja clan that Sub-Zero hails from is an allusion to the real-life myths of a Lin Kuei assassin guild in the mountains of China, who may or may not have been taught the ways of mysticism by mountain and forest spirits and demons such as the Tengu. Rumor has it that representatives of the historical Lin Kuei traveled to Japan to teach the locals the art of what would eventually be known as ninjutsu, a tale that is mimicked by Takeda's departure from the *Mortal Kombat* Lin Kuei to set up his own ninja clan in Japan, the Shirai Ryu.
* Kano's Black Dragon clan may be based loosely on the historical Black Dragon Society.
* Moloch shares his name with the ancient Middle Eastern deity Moloch
* Shang Tsung as a name is an actual expression for "temple elder". Deriving this from the fact that Chinese mysticism often entwined spirituality and magic, this may be a reference to Shang Tsung's actual call as a sorcerer.
* Sheeva's name can be recognized, as based on the Hindu god, Shiva, both of which have four arms. It should be noted that in Sheeva's ending for *Armageddon* she is dubbed goddess of destruction, Shiva's same role. An oddness, however, is that in the Hindu mythology, Shiva is actually male.
* Scorpion's flaming skull design may have been based on the Marvel Comics hero Ghost Rider.

## Mortal Kombat crossovers

Characters from the *Mortal Kombat* series have sometimes appeared in other video games as secret characters, particularly other Midway games. Examples of this include:

* Raiden had a cameo appearance in a pinball machine, Bally's *1994 World Cup Championship*, in a bonus round.
* Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion and Sub-Zero appeared as playable characters in early versions of *NBA Jam TE* and the Sega Saturn conversion. [1]
* Raiden appeared as an unlockable character in *Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict* (which coincidentally also included a Fatality system similar to *MK's*). Shao Kahn's voice is also an alternate to the default announcer.
* Sub-Zero and Scorpion both appear as secret characters in *MLB Slugfest 20-04*.
* Scorpion appeared as a selectable skin for the game *Psi-Ops: The MindGate Conspiracy*.

*Mortal Kombat* has also been the focus of several extremely popular game modifications, including hacks to the original *Mortal Kombat* PC games (*MK2: Kintaro's Vulgar Version*), and the integration of console artwork and audio into other game engines, including but not limited to the original *Quake* and *Unreal* engines (*Mortal Kombat Quake TC*).

A fanmade version of *Pong* based on the *Mortal Kombat* series called *Pong Kombat* was released in 1994.

The *Mortal Kombat* characters are also featured in the trading card game *Epic Battles* which pits them against the *Street Fighter* characters (as well as upcoming characters from other fighting games).

Conversely, *Mortal Kombat* crossed over with DC Comics in *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe*.

Scorpion appears as a downloadable playable character in NetherRealm Studios' *Injustice: Gods Among Us*. Sub-Zero and Raiden also appeared in the game's sequel, *Injustice 2*, as downloadable characters.

In the game *Plants vs Zombies*,there is a minigame called "Portal Combat," which is a reference to *Mortal Kombat*.

In the mobile game *WWE Immortals*, Johnny Cage appears as a playable guest character.

## Similar games

* *Rise 2: Resurrection*: Each robot has its own original moves, Mortal Kombat-inspired death moves which is called **E-X-E-C-U-T-E-D**, the ability to steal and use a defeated robot projectile, and a devastating super move that can be used when the power bar is full, similar to other fighting games of the time. The game also features a combo counter system, named Chaos.

* *Primal Rage*: featured a battle system similar to that found in *Mortal Kombat*, including Fatality-like finishing moves and blood depiction. The major difference was that this game's characters were digitized, stop-motion animated dinosaurs and prehistoric apes puppets instead of digitized humans.

* *Killer Instinct*, produced by Rare, arguably the second most popular game that adopted a similar gameplay mechanism.

* *Kasumi Ninja*: by HandMade Software, exclusive for Atari Jaguar. The slow controls and the impressive similarities with *Mortal Kombat* (Story, moves, ninjas, gore, etc) did receive negative reviews, and was considered a clone of *Mortal Kombat*. It ranked #8 of ScrewAttack's Top 10 Worst Fighting Games Ever; The principal character, Habaki, is considered as a 'Scorpion Rip-Off'.

* *OpenMortal*: is a parody of *Mortal Kombat*, released for Windows and Linux under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It has 18 playable characters, with the possibility of adding designed characters, and can be played in team mode and network.

* *Time Killers*: was an arcade fighting game created during the success of *Mortal Kombat* by the game company known as Strata, featuring warriors from different time periods armed with a particular weapon. Unlike *MK*, however, it introduced 'Instant Kills' which could be done at any time the player desired and would immediately end a match if they hit successfully. Arms could also be hacked off with more damage.

* *Eternal Champions*: was an arcade-style fighting game released by Sega for the Sega Genesis, and re-released on the Sega CD. Though not necessarily a direct rip-off of *Mortal Kombat*, it was one of the first 2-D fighting games to include combos and incredibly gory Fatalities, some of which totally out-do *Mortal Kombat* in the gore department (one such Fatality is the stage finisher in Dawson McShane's level, where a large wooden spike impales the losing character, resulting in gallons of blood and various intestines exploding from the fighter's torso.)

* *BloodStorm*: was another game created by the same team who developed *Time Killers* and featured the same gameplay and features, but with the addition of even managing to hack off an opponent's lower body and completely incapacitating them, as well as over-the-top violence, among other things. Ultimately fans considered it little more than a ripoff, and it ultimately flopped in the arcades.

* Acclaim produced 2 *Mortal Kombat*-styled games based on the World Wrestling Federation: *WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game* & *WWF In Your House*. Both featured *Mortal Kombat*-like sprites, moves, and finishers.

* *Way Of The Warrior*: *Way of the Warrior* was the title of an ultra-violent fighting that featured digitized graphics of real fighters released for the 3DO CD-ROM system by Boston-based Naughty Dog.

* *Tattoo Assassins*: *Tattoo Assassins* was a fighting game developed by Data East using the same digitized graphics style as *Mortal Kombat*. Most notable is that the game featured over 200 Fatalities, including Nudalities (only a rumor in *Mortal Kombat*) and Animalities (before they were featured in *Mortal Kombat 3*).

* *Street Fighter: The Movie* (video game): The game used realistic, digitized graphics, trying to capitalize on the success of *Mortal Kombat*. *Street Fighter: The Movie* was co-developed by Capcom and Incredible Technologies and published by Capcom (in Japan) and Acclaim (in the US). It was poorly received by gamers and critics.

* *Blood Warrior*: A Japanese fighting game featuring digitized graphics released in 1994 by Kaneko.[2]

* *Survival Arts*: Yet another violent fighting game with digitized graphics and death finishing moves, this time created by Sammy. This video game was released in 1993 in order to cash in on the success of the *Mortal Kombat* series. [3]

* *Mushroom Kombat*: *Mushroom Kombat* is a satirical take on *Mortal Kombat* featuring the eight-man metal band Mushroomhead as fighters.

* *Bonestorm*: A fictional game used on *The Simpsons*. Not to be confused with *BloodStorm*.