Challengers of the Realm: A History of Mortal Kombat's Guest Characters Round 2

Welcome back...

Greetings and welcome back to A Challenger Approaches, the blog that takes a detailed look at some of the guest characters that have appeared in fighting games over the years. In the last blog post, we took a look at the first three guest characters that appeared in the Mortal Kombat franchise. Just as a quick reminder for those just joining us, the three characters were Kratos from the God of War video game franchise, Freddy Krueger from the A Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise, and Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th film franchise.

Today, we'll be looking at the remaining three guest characters that appeared in Mortal Kombat X and then speculate on what the future holds in terms of potential guest appearances in upcoming Mortal Kombat games.

Ready? Fight!

Predator, the Ultimate Hunter

Predator's in-game render
(Warrior Variation)

The first guest character to hail from a science fiction movie series rather than a slasher horror film series, the Predator brings his superior hunting tactics, weapons, and strength to the world of Mortal Kombat. Coming from the film franchise of the same name, Predator was confirmed to be the third downloadable character for Mortal Kombat X's Kombat Pack #1 and was the fourth guest fighter introduced to the franchise in general. I can't exactly explain why, but even before he was announced I knew he would be included in the game. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the Predator's species, the Yautja, are incredibly skilled and deadly warriors. Due to this, it seems like the Predator would be the perfect choice for a Mortal Kombat game, and he totally was.

Predator's in-game render
(Hunter Variation)

Modeled after the "Jungle Hunter" Predator that appeared in the very first Predator film with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mortal Kombat X's Predator comes armed to the mandibles with all sorts of savage weaponry. That's no exaggeration, either. He's got wrist blades, a shoulder-mounted plasma caster, a self-destruction device, among other things. He also comes equipped with his famous cloaking device, allowing all but the yellow glow of his helmet's eyes to turn invisible. Also, if you pick the "Hunter" variation of the Predator, which colors his helmet black, he comes equipped with a medi-kit, which allows you to recover a small portion of his health.

Unlike with Jason, Predator does have a short backstory for why exactly he's all of a sudden in the Mortal Kombat universe. From what can be gathered via his in-game bio, Predator is here to hunt down and kill the most worthy kombatants for sport, like how his alien species normally does. Shao Kahn and Shinnok (Mortal Kombat X's main antagonist) are briefly mentioned, stating that they were defeated in their quests for konquest and that the Predator would not suffer the same fate.


In Predator's arcade mode ending, it is revealed that Predator had defeated and killed Shinnok. Relishing in his victory, Predator takes Shinnok's Amulet, a powerful magical weapon, as a trophy back to his ship. Predator then analyzes the artifact and soon learns of its magical secrets. Now wielding the power of sorcery, Predator single-handedly manages to decimate whole worlds and their potential warriors. He becomes, as the game puts it, the Apex Predator.

The Apex Predator finishing off Kotal Kahn.

Predator would be the second to last DLC character included in Kombat Pack #1. As I previously mentioned, the first was Jason Voorhees. The second was Tanya, an female Edenian who first appeared in Mortal Kombat 4. The last character was Tremor, a man with the power of an Earth Elemental, which allows him to control the very ground around him. He's a fan favorite who, prior to Mortal Kombat X, only appeared in the overwhelmingly disliked spin-off title Mortal Kombat: Special Forces.

Eventually, there would be a Kombat Pack #2. With it would introduce four new downloadable fighters, with two of them being guest characters. The first of which would be...

Leatherface, the Texas Chainsaw Killer

The cannibalistic, human face-wearing star of the horror slasher series Texas Chainsaw Massacre appears as the overall fifth guest character introduced to the Mortal Kombat franchise and the third guest character to originate from a horror movie franchise, after Freddy and Jason. He was first shown off in the Kombat Pack #2 reveal trailer, which shows him emerging from a forest like a bat out of hell to murder Ermac and Quan Chi. Leatherface's inclusion honestly came as a huge shock to me. Something about a guy carrying a chainsaw into battle against all these assassins and sorcerers just really didn't sit right with me. However, after he was released and I got the chance to play as him, I'm happy to say that the developers managed to make this crazy bastard fit well into the Mortal Kombat universe.

Leatherface's appearance in his "Killer" variation.

Leatherface's appearance in
his "Pretty Lady" variation.

Leatherface as he appears in the 2003 remake
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Like all of the fighters in Mortal Kombat X, Leatherface has three different fighter variations that the player can choose from. The best part about these three variations is the fact that they all reference different appearances across the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.

In his "Killer" variation, as seen above, Leatherface takes on the appearance he had at the very beginning of the original 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

For his "Pretty Lady" variation, he dons a suit and tie, as well as a mask coated in lipstick, blush, and eye-shadow. This look is a reference to how Leatherface looked at the very end of the original film.


And finally, for his "Butcher" variation, Leatherface takes on an appearance identical to that of his look from the 2003 remake of the original film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He wears a butcher's apron over a red shirt along with a dark blue tie and carries a small mallet to tenderize anything that crosses his path.

Along with the Predator, Leatherface has an explanation for why he is suddenly in the Mortal Kombat universe. Apparently, Leatherface's brothers kicked him out of their home telling him that he wasn't allowed to return until he found the best chili meat that he could find. Grabbing his best "masks", Leatherface ended up walking through a strange glowing doorway, finding himself in the world of Mortal Kombat. Now in this strange new world, there were plenty of strange new meats for him to try...

In Leatherface's ending, he straight up murders Shinnok, cutting off his face in the process. Now that he was dead, he had hoped that Cassie Cage, daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, would notice him. Putting on his fanciest "mask", he found the army camp that Cassie could be located at and gutted his way through the guards guarding the camp. He pulled out Shinnok's face and presented it to her as a gift. When she (obviously) refused it, Leatherface became angry and cut Cassie up into little pieces for his brothers to use in their chili. He kept her face for himself, however, figuring that if she wouldn't be his girlfriend, she could be his in other ways...

Messed. Up.

All I really have left to say about Leatherface is that the developers did a great job at staying completely faithful to the source material. Seriously, that ending is insanely disturbing and falls right in line with the original film franchise. If you think his fatalities and brutalities hold back any punches, then I dare you to watch the video below so that you can prove yourself wrong.

Alien, the Ultimate Life Form

Surprised at this character's appearance? Well, you honestly shouldn't be. Seeing as how the first Kombat Pack included the Predator as a downloadable character, it was only a matter of time before their rivals were added to the game. The sixth and currently final guest fighter to appear in the Mortal Kombat franchise, the Alien from the Alien science fiction franchise, also known as the Xenomorph, proves that while nobody can hear you scream in space, it's the exact opposite case in Outworld.

The Alien as he appears in Mortal Kombat X.

While I wasn't surprised at the Xenomorph's inclusion in the game, I was curious about how he would function given one of his most iconic traits. I'm of course talking about that fact the the Xenomorph's blood is acidic, meaning it'll burn and eat away at anything it comes in contact with. In a game where gallons of blood are spewed across the battlefield and the fighters taking part in these fights, this could propose a challenge to anyone who found themselves fighting the Xenomorph. So what did the developers do? They made the Xenomorph's blood non-acidic. It's as simple as that. While there isn't exactly an in universe explanation for why this is, I have a theory that might explain why the blood is no longer lethal that I'll explain alongside the reason why the Alien is in the Mortal Kombat universe.

The "Runner" Xenomorph from Alien 3.

You see, another one of the Xenomorph's most famous attributes is the fact that it inherits the DNA of the host it gestates in prior to being born. In the third Alien film known as Alien 3, a facehugger latches onto and impregnates a dog. When this xenomorph, known officially as the "Runner", finally bursts out of the dog's chest and matures to full size, it is a quadrupedal organism that lacks the regular tubes on its back that most xenomorphs have.

With all of this in mind, let's turn to the explanation for why the Alien is in the world of Mortal Kombat. In his bio, it is said that the Xenomorphs had arrived on Outworld long ago, but that the eggs containing the facehuggers were never found until only recently. A Tarkatan soldier had found and picked up one of the eggs, which was obviously a bad idea as the facehugger inside of the egg sprung out and attached itself to the face of the Tarkatan. Soon after, the chestburster clawed its way out of the Tarkatan's chest and eventually reached full maturity before going on a rampage and killing the rest of the Tarkatan's friends. It now roams Outworld in search for suitable hosts to build a hive and spawn a Queen Xenomorph.

Baraka as he appears in
Mortal Kombat 11. Note
his arm blades.

In-game render of the Xenomorph
with his arm blades out.

Due to the fact that this Alien decided to take over the body of a Tarkatan warrior, a species known for having sharp fangs and arm blades, it gained these attributes when it eventually matured into an adult. As for why the Alien's blood isn't acidic (I didn't forget about this point!), I'd take a guess and say that something in the DNA of the Tarkatan nullified the effects of the Alien's blood, causing it to become harmless.

Alien's arcade mode ending has got to be my favorite one out of all the guest fighters. After defeating and murdering Shinnok, the Alien continues his quest to find suitable hosts for his Outworld hive. Finding more than enough unique species to spawn more xenomorphs with, a queen eventually spawns and the deadly species begins to multiply at an alarming rate throughout the realm. In a desperate attempt to cleanse Outworld of the xenomorphs, Kotal Kahn attempts one final attack on the Aliens' main nesting ground. The attack fails, killing all those backing Kotal Kahn and handing over control of Outworld to the xenomorphs.

The Alien dragging Reptile to its hive.

Who's Next?

So... who will be next to join the fight and face off against the kombatants of Mortal Kombat. Well, at the time of me writing this, April 17, 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 is currently just under a week away from launching onto store shelves. The game releases on April 23 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. As of right now, there is currently no news of who the next guest fighter will be, or if the game will even have guest fighters available as DLC. Though, let's be honest, NetherRealm Studios has been putting guest fighters in their fighting games ever since Mortal Kombat 9, following the trend in Injustice: Gods Among Us, then Mortal Kombat X, and finally Injustice 2.

Michael Myers (Top left), Ash Williams (Top right),
Terminator (Bottom left), and RoboCop (Bottom right)

Who will be the lucky fighters to be included in Mortal Kombat 11? Well, given the fact that Mortal Kombat X included two horror guest fighters and two science fiction guest fighters, I would venture to guess that these would be the four new characters:

• Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise.
• Ash Williams from the The Evil Dead franchise.
• The T-800 (aka the Terminator) from the Terminator franchise.
• RoboCop from the Robocop franchise.

Michael Myers is a no brainier, seeing as how he's just as famous as the previous three slasher characters featured in the two Mortal Kombat games that came before Mortal Kombat 11.

Ash Williams is no stranger to fighting undead demons, so his inclusion would be quite groovy. There's also his arsenal of weapons, including his "boomstick" and his chainsaw hand. Seeing as how they were able to make Leatherface work so well, they'd probably have no trouble making this chainsaw-wielding bad boy work. Interestingly enough, Ash actually appeared in a crossover comic with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees.

The Terminator also seems like a no brainier given how iconic he is. Much like Ash, his arsenal is massive, he's built like a brick wall, and his robotic body makes him a deadly force to be reckoned with. Given how graphic and action-packed the Terminator films are, the T-800 is a perfect choice for a guest character in a Mortal Kombat game.

Finally, RoboCop has a lot of the same things going for it that the Terminator does: Deadly with firearms, strong as hell, and nearly indestructible. Funnily enough, the Terminator and RoboCop franchises have crossed over before in things like video games and comics, so to see these two mechanical beings go up against each other in a game as bloody as Mortal Kombat would just be the best.

Random Facts/Trivia

Predator:

• Many of the Predator's moves are named after quotes that were spoken in the original movie. Some of these include Get to the Chopper, Ugly Mother..., Kill Me, and If it Bleeds, which are all quotes spoken by Dutch Schaefer, who was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Predator alongside the rest of the Kombat Pack #1 characters.

Leatherface:

• This isn't the first time that Leatherface and Jason Voorhees have crossed paths before. In a 1995 three-issue comic book series entitled Jason vs. Leatherface, the two horror icons went at it years before their inclusion in Mortal Kombat X.

The cover art for the first issue of the series.

Alien:

• One of the Alien's brutalities, known as Alien Baby, involves the Alien calling down an egg and spawning a facehugger to latch onto the enemy opponent's face. Depending on who you do this move on can affect the appearance of the chestburster that gets spawned. For example, performing this brutality on Jason will cause the chestburster to spawn wearing a cute little hockey mask akin to Jason's. A full demonstration of this brutality on all characters can be seen below:

What's Next?

In the next blog post, we'll be taking a break from all these blood and guts as we dive into a more family friendly fighting game. That's right, next time we'll be taking a look at the guest characters that have appeared in the incredibly popular Super Smash Bros. fighting game series. Stay tuned!

Challengers of the Realm: A History of Mortal Kombat's Guest Characters Round 1

Before we begin...

Welcome to this brand new blog, allow me to cut right to the chase and explain what the purpose of this blog is. This blog is dedicated to taking an in depth look at all the special guest characters that appear across several fighting video games. 

The general format for this blog will be as follows:

1. A brief history lesson about the franchise in question.
2. A deep, thorough look at all the guest characters that have appeared in each game across said franchise's lifespan.
3. Speculation of who will appear as guest characters in future installments of each franchise.
4. Random facts/trivia about each guest fighter.
5. A reveal of what video game franchise will be looked at in the next post.

Without further ado, let's get into the history of one of the most famous, most bloodiest fighting games of all time...

Cover art for the home versions
of the first game

MORTAL KOMBAT!

Beginning of the Bloodshed

In 1992, arcades everywhere were introduced to a fighting game that was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. I'm of course talking about Mortal Kombat. The game was developed and published by Midway Games Inc. (now known as NetherRealm Studios) and designed by the creative minds of Ed Boon and John Tobias. The game, which was developed in a matter of only ten months, became the subject of major controversy due to its depiction of extreme gore and violence, specifically from the finishing moves known as "Fatalities". It was so controversial that it, along with other games like Night Trap and Doom, led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which basically works as a rating system similar to that of movies and music.

The character select screen from the original game. The
characters were created through the use of digitized graphics,
which allowed the creators to take photos of real world actors
and digitally add their sprites into the game.

Despite the controversy, it didn't stop the game from becoming a huge hit, leading to the creation of the franchise that is still going strong to this day. Tons of sequels were created due to the game's success, including one in particular that I will be discussing in the future. What followed was a few spin off titles, many different ports of older games for other consoles, two live action movies, comics, cartoons, toys, the works. Despite the franchises long history, it wouldn't be until the release of Mortal Kombat 9 in 2011 where we would finally be introduced to the first special guest character of the franchise...

Guest Character List

Kratos as he appeared in 2005's God of War (Left) vs.
Kratos as he appears in 2018's God of War (Right)

Kratos, the God of War

Loosely based off of Greek mythology, Kratos is a demigod that hails from the Sony Santa Monica Studio video game franchise God of War. Kratos was first revealed at Spike TV's annual Video Game Awards in 2010. The trailer, which reveals Kratos interrupting a fight between Scorpion and Sub-Zero, came as a huge shock to everyone, including myself despite the fact that I had never played a God of War game.

Given the over-the-top violence of the hack and slash God of War games, coupled with its own unique take on Greek mythology, Kratos makes a perfect addition to the Mortal Kombat franchise. His attacks incorporate many of the weapons and equipment from his home series, including the Blades of Exile (which he almost always holds), the Bow of Apollo, Medusa's Head, and many more.

Despite the fact that Kratos' appearance in the game is non-canon to both the Mortal Kombat story and the God of War story, there is an explanation for why he is in Mortal Kombat 9. Shao Kahn, the game's main antagonist, sacrifices the souls of his vanguard to summon and enslave the most powerful warrior of all time. In doing this, Kratos was ripped across space and time, placing him in present-day Outworld, the game's main setting. Shao Kahn's spell, however, couldn't hold Kratos for long, allowing him to break free.

In Kratos' arcade mode ending, he succeeds in killing Shao Kahn, reversing the spell that brought him to the Mortal Kombat universe. Before he fades away, Raiden, the God of Thunder, and Fujin, the God of Wind, approach the God of War. Preparing himself for battle, Kratos is surprised to see the two gods bow to him. Raiden explains that, although his actions were not pure, he had saved Earthrealm from being concurred by the Outworld emperor. Kratos nodded as he finally faded back to his own world, knowing that he was owed a debt of gratitude and that debts of such caliber are often paid dearly.

Raiden and Fujin bowing to Kratos is his arcade mode ending.

The most important thing to note about Kratos is the fact that he is entirely a PlayStation 3/Vita exclusive character, meaning that he would not be available to play as on the PC or Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Freddy Krueger, the Springwood Slasher

Freddy Krueger as he appears
in Mortal Kombat 9.

Yes, you did in fact read that correctly. Freddy Krueger, the horror icon from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise appears as a guest character in Mortal Kombat 9. Appearing as the second guest character in the Mortal Kombat franchise, he was announced at San Diego Comic Con in 2011 and would end up being the fourth and final piece of downloadable content for the game. At the time, I had just gotten into horror films and Freddy was one of my favorite horror antagonists at that point in time. Needless to say, I was incredibly excited.

Now the big question on everybody's mind at the time of his reveal was, "How can Freddy be in a Mortal Kombat game?" Even I'll admit to asking myself this question. As you may or may not know, in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Freddy is completely invincible inside the Dream Realm where his demonic powers reside. However, if he were to be pulled out into the real world, he would lose these powers and simply become human again. So how does he fair against the kombatants of Mortal Kombat? Well for gameplay and fairness' sake, Freddy is only given a small portion of his demonic abilities, such as the ability to teleport through the use of hellfire and throw copies of his razor sharp glove at his opponents. Speaking of Freddy's glove, you can see that he now has two gloves rather than one, both being needed to challenge Shao Kahn. Must be hard to grip anything that isn't a spinal cord, eh?

Much like Kratos (and any other guest character featured in the Mortal Kombat franchise), Freddy Krueger's presence in the game is non-canon. He does, however, have a backstory explaining how he got from Elm Street to Outworld. When Shao Kahn had started to steal the souls of those belonging to Earthrealm. Freddy got angry, as he believed those souls belonged to him, so he battled Shao Kahn in the Dream Realm. Believing he had the home court advantage, Freddy was shocked to see that Shao Kahn's will was much too strong, resulting in the emperor pulling Freddy out into the real world, defeating him. Though he was badly injured, he was determined to get back to the Dream Realm and make Shao Kahn pay, leading to the creation of his dual razor sharp gloves.


In Freddy's arcade mode ending, he is successful at getting his revenge on Shao Kahn, his demonically-enhanced gloves ripping his flesh to shreds. Despite the fact that he had saved Earthrealm from destruction, Nightwolf, a Native American shaman, was able to identify Freddy as an evil spirit. Through a ritual, Nightwolf was able to send Freddy back to the Dream Realm, something that Freddy did not resist. Immortal once again, Freddy would set his sights beyond just Elm Street. He would be coming for all of Earthrealm.

Freddy Krueger being the last DLC fighter for Mortal Kombat 9 meant that the developers would soon be done working on the game as a whole. Eventually, NetherRealm Studios would go on to create Injustice: Gods Among Us, a fighting game featuring DC Comics superheroes and villains, as well as gameplay similar to that of Mortal Kombat 9. Freddy's inclusion in this game would lead to the addition of other famous horror icons in future Mortal Kombat games, specifically 2015's Mortal Kombat X.

Speaking of which...

Jason Voorhees, the Camp Crystal Lake Killer

Promotional poster

Following the trend that Mortal Kombat 9 started, Mortal Kombat X introduces yet another horror movie icon, this time in the form of Friday the 13th's masked killer, Jason Voorhees. Revealed on Friday, March 13, 2015, Jason was the first of eight characters to be added to Mortal Kombat X as DLC over the course of its lifespan. Having been much older and more knowledgeable about horror films at the time Jason was announced and released, Jason had taken Freddy Krueger's as my favorite horror icon of all time. You'd better believe I was over the moon over his inclusion.

Seeing as how Jason always survives the worst punishments thrown at him, whether they be stab wounds, flesh eating acid, or literally being thrown into space, he can never die and always gets back up to continue his killing spree. This factor, coupled with his ruthless blood lust and need to kill for his mother made Jason another perfect addition to the Mortal Kombat franchise. Of course, Jason comes equipped with his ever icon machete, putting it to good use to gut all those who dare challenge him.

Jason Voorhees' in-game render

Unlike Kratos and Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees' in-game bio doesn't explain how he ended up in the Mortal Kombat universe. It instead gives the player a brief backstory about how Jason's mother sought vengeance for his death and how after she was murdered, he continued what she started. Jason does, however, have a non-canonical arcade mode ending like the rest of the game's fighters.

In his ending, Lui Kang, now ruler of the Netherrealm after the death of Quan Chi, took notice of Jason's never-ending blood lust. Coming to the conclusion that an immortal murder machine could prove useful in his plans for konquest, Lui Kang drew Jason into the Netherrealm and offered him a deal. If Jason were to pledge his services to him, Lui Kang would offer Jason an endless bounty of slaughter. Jason's simple reply? Destroy Lui Kang.

Lui Kang learned the hard way that Jason cannot be reasoned or bargained with.

Random Facts/Trivia

Kratos:

• Due to the fact that Kratos is portrayed as being a fearless warrior, some of the other character's fatalities are modified when performed on Kratos. For example, Ermac's Pest Control fatality, in which he shrinks the losing opponent down to the size of a toy and steps on them, instead of running around in panic, Kratos will stand his ground and yell at Ermac before his death. A full video of every fatality being preformed on Kratos can be watched below:

Freddy Krueger:

• With Jason Voorhees' inclusion into Mortal Kombat X, many fans believed that Freddy Krueger would also be added to the game, given the fact that the two characters have faced off against each other before. While this wouldn't be the case for the console/PC versions of the game, the Mortal Kombat X mobile game for IOS and Android devices would eventually add the Springwood Slasher as part of the game's 1.11 update, allowing the two horror icons the chance for a rematch.

Jason Voorhees:

• Jason's Player 2 color swap, something normally reserved for mirror matches against the same character, perfectly resembles the appearance of Roy Burns from Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning. Jason Voorhees himself is actually dead during the events of this movie and Roy Burns, a cop who goes insane after seeing his son being murdered, dresses up as Jason and kills all those who were with his son at the time of his murder.

Player 2 Jason Voorhees aka Roy Burns

Who's next?

In the next blog post, we'll conclude our look at all the three remaining special guest characters that have currently appeared in the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. In addition to that, we'll speculate on potential guest characters that might make their debut in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 11.

Stay tuned!