The term "dead" is such a nebulous term in the Mortal Kombat universe. When one of your primary locations is basically hell (Netherrealm), it's easy to see why characters who were thought to be dead will show up again later. They don't always return unchanged though.

In the new timeline (MK9, MKX, comics), many of our favorites and not-so-favorites have already died. Some of these dead characters are still active in the storyline as revenants. After Sindel killed off almost all of Earthrealm's best warriors in The Cathedral in MK9, Quan Chi claimed their souls in the Netherrealm and uses them as his minions. Three of them (Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Jax) were saved by Raiden and Sonya, and they are now alive and back to their normal selves. The other revenants, for the purposes of this list, are considered dead and gone forever due to Quan Chi's death (more on that later).

Baraka

Baraka was a Tarkatan, which is an Outworld race of vicious warrior nomads with razor sharp teeth and retractable blades in their forearms. He was not seen in the later parts of MK9, therefore, it was assumed he was still alive.

Comics: Baraka does not play an important role in the comics.

Game: Baraka and the tarkatans are devout followers of Mileena and defenders of her claim as emperor of Outworld. When others begin to side with Kotal Kahn, Baraka is the only one who continues to defend Mileena. For his devotion, he is killed when D'Vorah rips out his brain and heart simultaneously.

Cyrax

Cyrax was a member of the Lin Kuei clan of ninja. He was converted into a cyborg during the Lin Kuei cyber initiative. Cyrax was last seen being defeated by Nightwolf in The Cathedral near the end of MK9, but did not die there.

Comics: Cyrax appears with Sektor in a hidden Lin Kuei cybernetic cloning facility when Sub-Zero breaks in to destroy it. Sub-Zero successfully plants a virus in the system and is able to convince Cyrax to join him. Cyrax fends off the clones, which gives Sub-Zero enough time to kill Sektor by removing his head, thus deactivating the remaining clones. The clones then scan for a new leader and choose Cyrax. Sub-Zero tries to convince him that de-cyberizing is possible, but Cyrax decides the Lin Kuei needs a clean slate to restore their honor. Cyrax initates a self-destruct sequence that obliterates the entire facility.

Game: Cyrax does not appear in the game.

Drahmin

Drahmin was an oni from the Netherrealm who was one ofQuan Chi's top minions.

Comics: Drahmin appears at the gates of Netherrealm along with Moloch when Scorpion arrives with the decapitated head of Havik. He threatens Scorpion for betraying Quan Chi, but Scorpion escapes anyway. When Quan Chi learns of this, he has them both killed for being unreliable.

Game: Drahmin does not appear in MKX.

Havik

Havik was a cleric from Chaosrealm. As such, his sole motivation was creating chaos within the MK universe.

Comics: Havik ends up being the primary antagonist of the comic series. He received a prophecy from an unknown goddess who simply said "Reiko's blood reings," which sent Havik on a quest to find the mysterious man. He finds him and together they plan to use blood magik, referred to as "The Blood Code" by Havik, to ascend Reiko to godhood. During that time, he resides in the ruins of Shang Tsung's island where he is plotting to capture all six pieces of the Kamidogu, which he claims are necessary for their plan. He has also allied himself the Red Dragon clan. Throughout the story, Havik uses the Kamidogu daggers to corrupt and/or possess various characters including Raiden, Shujinko, and Sub-Zero to do his bidding. Havik conveniently allows the war between Reiko/Skarlet, Kotal/Sonya/Cage, and Mileena/Ermac to play out on the shores of the island before he enters the fray. With all kombatants down, he commands the Red Dragon clan members to take Reiko's dismembered body to the Flesh Pits to be put back together. He then takes the barely live bodies of the other five to a chamber where he siphons their blood as a sacrifice. Reiko drinks the blood and becomes the Blood God, but only briefly. Reiko's body could not withstand his new powers and dies a horrible, melty death. Havik reveals he knew this would happen and used Reiko simply as a vessel. With the power of The Blood Code and having all six Kamidogu daggers, Havik is able to summon Shinnok's Amulet from the dark dimension. He, along with his corrupted slaves (Raiden, Cassie, Jacqui), successfully corrupt the nearly lifeless bodies of Mileena, Kotal Kahn, Sonya, and Johnny Cage. He then attempts to absorb the souls of Ermac into the amulet, which he believes will allow him to enter the Netherrealm. But, Takeda arrives at the last second and severs Havik's hand with his whips. While Mileena, Johnny, Sonya, Kotal, and Raiden deal with Takeda, Havik is able to reattach his own hand somehow. Havik offers Takeda a choice: sacrifice himself to chaos or die and be reunited with Hanzo. Takeda chooses to fight, which leads to Havik using the amulet on him. At the last moment, Hanzo returns (having defeated Scorpion in his own mind), decapitates Havik, and immediately teleports away with his head. Despite being just a head, he is still conscious until Quan Chi stomps on it crushing it into many pieces.

Game: Havik does not appear in MKX.

Hsu Hao

Hsu Hao was a Chinese member of the Red Dragon clan. In the previous timeline, he successfully infiltrated the ranks of the Special Forces before sabotaging them.

Comics: Hsu Hao is killed on the twelfth page of the first issue by Scorpion. Hsu Hao was attempting to capture and/or kill Kenshi and his young son (Takeda), but Kenshi purposefully led the pursuit into Shirai Ryu territory. Bye, Hsu Hao.

Game: Hsu Hao does not appear in MKX.

Jade

Jade was an Edenian woman who was Kitana's bodyguard and friend. She was killed when Sindel ripped out her heart in The Cathedral.

Comics: Jade does not appear in the comics.

Game: Jade is dead, but one of Kitana's fighting styles, called "Mournful," sees the Edenian princess using Jade's staff, glaive, and several of Jade's classic moves. It's unclear as to why she is not one of Quan Chi's revenants like some of the other heroes that died in the Cathedral.

Kabal

Kabal was a once a member of the Black Dragon clan, but had cleaned up his life and joined the NYPD as Kurtis Stryker's partner. Kintaro burned him alive during the invasion of Earthrealm, which left Kabal requiring an elaborate respirator to survive. He joins up with Raiden's band of Earthrelam defenders, but, like many others, he was killed by Sindel in The Cathedral.

Comics: Kabal does not appear in the comics.

Game: Kabal's soul was claimed by Quan Chi where he serves as a revenant. Kabal fought alongside Quan Chi in the assault on the Jinsei Chamber at the beginning of MKX and injured Raiden. Twenty years later, he rides with Quan Chi when Kenshi and Jax lead a SF battalion into Netherrealm, but is not present at the end of the story with the other revenants. Since Quan Chi is now dead, it is said that Kabal's soul is lost forever.

Kintaro

Kintaro was a Shokan from the Tigrar clan, a tiger-like breed of the half-human, half-dragon, four-armed warriors. He was defeated by Cyber Sub-Zero in MK9, but survived.

Comics: After Kotal Kahn defeats Goro, leaving him armless, King Gorbak enlists Kintaro as his army's General to lead a siege on Kotal's capital city, Z'unkahrah. The siege fails, King Gorbak is slain, and Kintaro refuses Kotal Kahn's request for Mortal Kombat between the two. Angered by this, Kotal has Kano drop a nuclear bomb on the Shokan army. Shocked, Kintaro refuses to surrender and requests that Kotal give him the dignity of killing him. Rather than executing Kintaro, Kotal convinces him to join forces against both Reiko and Mileena. Kintaro, as Queen Sheeva's top general, leads a battleship to the Shang Tsung's island where the battle between Reiko/Skarlet, Kotal/Cage/Sonya, and Mileena/Ermac is taking place. Sheeva commands them to wait it out. Kintaro disobeyed her and sent scouts, who were slaughtered byHavik and his newly found amulet. Havik then uses Shinnok's Amulet to blast Sheeva's warship from the shore. Kintaro survives the blast and is saved from drowning by Sheeva. The two swim to shore where they find D'Vorah slaughtering what's left of the Red Dragon on the beach. She tells them that Kotal Kahn had a backup plan and that they must help her now. When they enter Havik's base, they are attacked by the heroes possessed by the Blood Code. Kintaro is surrounded by Cassie, Jacqui, and Sonya, and is unable to fight off all three of them. Sonya viciously rips his head off. Moments later, Hanzo kills Havik, which breaks the Blood Code, thus releasing the heroes from possession.

Game: Kintaro does not appear in MKX.

Kitana

Kitana was the princess of Edenia and, in MK9, she was the last to die in The Cathedral when Sindel, her mother, killed nearly all of Earthrealm's best warriors.

Comics: Kitana appears near the end of the storyline as one of Quan Chi's revenants. She kills Moloch for him.

Game: As a revenant, Kitana rides with Quan Chi some twenty years after MK9 when Kenshi and Jax lead a team of Special Forces into Netherrealm. Along with the revenants of Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sindel, and Smoke, Kitana defends the Sky Temple as Shinnok attempts to corrupt the Jinsei. Kitana injures Jacqui and Takeda, but eventually must retreat when it is apparent that Shinnok has been defeated. In the post-credits sequence, it is revealed that Liu Kang and Kitana are the new rulers of the Netherrealm. Raiden warns them that he is no longer content with simply defending Earthrealm, that will be on the offensive, and that "there are fates worse than death."

Kobra

In the previous timeline, Kobra was a member of Kabal's new Black Dragon clan. He has not appeared in the new timeline, and that can be explained. In MKX, prior to a fight, Kano asks Erron Black if he's heard of the Black Dragon clan. Erron remarks that he has and that he killed one. "His name was Kobra, I think."

Comics: Kobra does not appear in the comics.

Game: Kobra does not appear in MKX.

Kung Lao

Kung Lao was a Shaolin monk and was one of Earthrealm's best hopes in MK9. Raiden chose Kung Lao as the realm's champion to face Shao Kahn in the second tournament. Shao Kahn snapped his neck and his soul was claimed by Quan Chi to serve as a revenant.

Comics: Kung Lao appears near the end of the story as one of Quan Chi's revenants as they plan their next move after Havik failed to secure the amulet.

Game: Twenty-five years after MK9, Kung Lao rides with Quan Chi when Kenshi and Jax lead a team of Special Forces in search of information about Shinnok's amulet. Along with the other Earthrealm revenants, Kung Lao tries to stopCassie's team from entering the Jinsei chamber where Shinnok is corrupting the realm. They fail and retreat to the Netherrealm when Shinnok falls. Because Quan Chi is dead, it is said Kung Lao's soul is lost forever.

Kurtis Stryker

Kurtis Stryker was a NYPD police officer who joined Raiden's team of Earthrealm's best. He was killed by Sindel in The Cathedral and his soul was claimed by Quan Chi.

Comics: Stryker does not appear in the comics.

Game: Stryker appears as a revenant at the beginning of MKX, fighting against his former friends on the side of the evil sorcerer. The last we see him MKX, he is knocked out by Fujinoutside the Jinsei Chamber.

Liu Kang

Liu Kang was a Shaolin monk who, in the previous timeline, was the chosen one; Raiden's choice as Earthrealm champion. In the new timeline, Raiden attempted to change the future to avoid Armageddon, which led to much distrust from Liu Kang. When Raiden suggested allowing Shao Kahnto enter Earthrealm, thinking the Elder Gods would intervene, Liu Kang tried to stop him. Raiden reluctantly killed Liu Kang and was proved right when the Elder Gods destroyed Kahn.

Comics: Liu Kang appears near the end of the story in Netherrealm as Quan Chi and his revenants plot their next move.

Game: After dying at the end of MK9, Liu Kang's soul entered Netherrealm where he has been serving Quan Chi as a revenant. Twenty-five years after the events of MK9, he rides with Quan Chi and other revenants when Kenshi and Jax lead a SF team into the Netherrealm. Jax defeats him on the way to capturing Quan Chi. When Quan Chi releases Shinnok from the amulet, Liu Kang and the other revenants appear through a portal into the Special Forces camp to help him escape. Raiden defeats Liu Kang at the Sky Temple, but is outnumbered and eventually subdued. Liu Kang and the other revenants fail to keep Cassie's team from defeating Shinnok, and are forced to retreat to the Netherrealm. The post-credits scene reveals that Liu Kang and Kitana are now ruling the realm together, seemingly setting them up as the main villains for the next game.

Mavado

Mavado was a high-ranking member of the Red Dragon clan known for using hook blades as well as powered grappling hook attacks.

Comics: Mavado appears after the Black Dragon clan kidnap Cassie and Jacqui. He and the Red Dragon intend to take the girls themselves. In the scuffle, Cassie ends up killing Mavado with one of his hook blades by slicing him straight up the middle.

Game: Mavado does not appear in MKX.