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!