Summary
NetherRealmhas been dabbling in guest characters since the soft-reboot ofMortal Kombatin 2011, which introducedGod of War’sKratos and Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Kreuger to the tournament. But only one of these started a trend.
Thanks to the success of the Springwood Slasher, horror icons have become a very common guest archetype in Mortal Kombat. It makes sense given how gruesome some of the moves in these games are,not to mention the fatalities. NetherRealm clearly had fun designingAlien’sXenomorph,The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’sLeatherface,Friday the 13th’sJason Voorhees, and Predator’s… Predator, all with Mortal Kombat’s signature gorefest in mind. Yet Kratos is still the one and only gaming character to join the roster in 13 years.
Other trends have started since then, like the litany of action heroes and comic book characters, making it even stranger that Kratos was a one-off.Mortal Kombat 1 just announced its second Kombat Packwhich includes three new guests, Scream’s Ghostface (horror), Conan the Barbarian (action), and Terminator’s T1000 (horrorandaction), right after releasingthreefan-favourite comic alumni. Once again, no gamers.
In Defense Of Guest Characters
There’s a lot of backlash every time a guest character is announced, since a lot of fans would rather Mortal Kombat stick to Mortal Kombat, but I’ve always loved these additions. They’re an incredibly inventive way of celebrating where the series comes from by embracing its horror and action roots, and more recently, its comic book spectacle. They often draw comparisons to IP soup likeFortnite, but the attention to detail and thought that goes into each of these guests is leagues ahead of any cosmetic. But Mortal Kombat can’t celebrate its history without also embracing video games, the very medium it helped foster so many years ago.
I don’t expectMarioto rip Scorpion’s spine out or Bella Goth to uppercut Sub-Zero’s jaw off, but there are so many picks that would feel right at home in the world of Mortal Kombat. Doomguy, Ezio Auditore, Pyramid Head, Jill Valentine, Gordon Freeman, Agent 47, Geralt of Rivia, Joel Miller, Lara Croft, Solid Snake, maybe even Ryu—the list goes on. Just imagine Mr.Half-Lifegoing to town with a crowbar like he’s the Joker in an orange HEV suit, or how about Geralt cleverly using his innate magical powers to stand toe-to-toe with Outworld’s greatest sorcerers?
Kratos fit so well into Mortal Kombat 9 because gaming characters by nature have so many unique, defining abilities and weapons that set them apart from the crowd. It makes them the perfect candidates for distinct fighters on a roster where everyone needs a hook.
But for over a decade, the only time NetherRealm has ever stepped foot into that world with its crossovers is through a PlayStation exclusive that a good chunk of its players will have never experienced.Mortal Kombat 1’ssupport is far from over, even if it’s mired in controversy, so there’s time for that to change. I’m hopeful that we’ll see NetherRealm look inward at the medium it helped cultivate all those years ago, rather than sticking so rigidly to the action and horror movies of old that defined this series way back in the ‘90s.
Mortal Kombat 1
WHERE TO PLAY
Mortal Kombat 1 reboots the popular fighting game’s universe, following Liu Kang’s altering of the events of Mortal Kombat 11. It features a broad range of fighters, an expanded story, and the all-new Kameo fighter system.
