A Return to Kombat?
I've been a fan since the beginning of Mortal Kombat and I probably know way too much about it. Does anyone else remember rat.org from about 20 years ago? Entering info and creating pages for the original actors that portrayed the characters of the first three games was one of the first things I ever did on the wiki here on Giant Bomb (spoiler: Kerri Hoskins is still hot). Anyway, I'm pretty excited for Mortal Kombat X, and with EVO 2014 happening this weekend, you could say I'm...getting hype?
So, I decided to take a look back at Mortal Kombat 9. Who died? Who lived? And then...who from MK4, Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon would be likely to return to the franchise in MKX? Here's a breakdown of when we last saw each of the playable characters in MK9. Then, the actual list is every character in the franchise (hopefully I didn't miss any) that was not playable in MK9 ranked from top to bottom relative to how likely I think it is they will return.
The Dead
Now, obviously, characters in the MK franchise have a history of cheating death one way or another. There's no way to know whether or not the "dead" from MK9 will return. But, for the purposes of this list, we're just going to assume these characters are dead and gone.
- Kung Lao - Shao Kahn snaps his neck at the end of the second tournament.
- Motaro - Killed by Raiden during the invasion of Earthrealm.
- Goro / Kintaro - Killed by Cyber Sub-Zero in The Bell Tower. (debatable)
- Noob Saibot - Kicked into Quan Chi's soulnado by Nightwolf, which causes it to explode seemingly ripping Noob apart (purple bits swirling around in the green soulnado).
- Shang Tsung - Killed by Shao Kahn when he forcibly removes all of Tsung's souls and gives them to Sindel, making her much more powerful than before.
- Kabal - The first to die at the hands of Sindel in The Cathedral. She stomps her heel through his heart.
- Kurtis Stryker - Killed by Sindel in The Cathedral with a punch through his face.
- Cyber Sub-Zero - Killed by Sindel in The Cathedral via an uppercut that seemingly destroys his cybernetics (he immediately is engulfed in electrical surges).
- Jax - Killed by Sindel in The Cathedral when kicks a hole in his throat with her heeled boot.
- Smoke - Sindel snaps his neck in The Cathedral.
- Jade - Her heart was ripped out by Sindel in The Cathedral.
- Nightwolf - Sacrifices himself by chanting some sort of spell that causes an explosion in order to eliminate Sindel.
- Sindel - See above.
- Kitana - Survives long enough for Liu Kang and Raiden to return to The Cathedral, but dies of wounds caused by Sindel.
- Liu Kang - Burned to death at the hands of Raiden, who believed that allowing Shao Kahn to merge the realms would bring the ire of the Elder Gods, thus preventing the Armageddon he had envisioned. Liu Kang believed Raiden had gone insane and attempted to fight Shao Kahn anyway, so Raiden reluctantly (maybe inadvertently) killed him.
- Shao Kahn - Raiden was right. Allowing Shao Kahn to attempt to merge the realms without actually winning a Mortal Kombat tournament caused the Elder Gods to intervene. Raiden, with the assistance of the Elder Gods, defeats Shao Kahn once and for all, and Raiden's amulet is restored.
The Not-So-Dead
These characters' fates are somewhat or entirely unknown. Many of them were defeated in the story but not outright killed.
- Reptile - Defeated by Stryker on The Rooftop, yet appears to still be moving as Stryker and Kabal leave.
- Mileena - Defeated by Kabal in Shao Kahn's Throne Room.
- Sheeva - Defeated by Kabal in The Street.
- Kano - Frozen in a block of ice in The Bell Tower thanks to Cyber Sub-Zero.
- Ermac - Defeated by Cyber Sub-Zero in The Bell Tower.
- Cyrax - Defeated by Nightwolf in The Cathedral.
- Sektor - Defeated by Nightwolf in The Cathedral.
- Kenshi / Rain / Skarlet - The DLC characters do not directly interact in the story of MK9, thus their fates are unclear.
The Living
Of all of the playable characters in MK9, these are the only ones that are definitely still alive and kicking by the end of it.
- Raiden - Defeated Shao Kahn (with help from the Elder Gods) at the end of MK9.
- Sonya Blade - Survived Sindel's attack at The Cathedral and witnessed Raiden kill Liu Kang and defeat Shao Kahn.
- Johnny Cage - Ditto.
- Quan Chi - Owns the souls of many of the dead Earthrealm warriors and is seen in the last scene of MK9 with Shinnok devising a plan for the Netherrealm to take both Earthrealm and Outworld.
- Scorpion - Last seen in the Netherrealm when Raiden commands that he fetch Quan Chi.
- Baraka - Last seen in Shao Kahn's Throne Room when it is revealed that Shao Kahn survived his defeat at the end of the second tournament.
The Unknowns
Regal Woman
Jade's ending in MK9 is possibly the most intriguing. In it, after defeating Shao Kahn, she falls into somewhat of a trance state where she envisions this mysterious "regal" woman. The woman then possesses Jade's body and awakens in Shao Kahn's Coliseum. No one really knows who this woman is...a goddess maybe? But, keep in mind that Jade died in the story of MK9, so this ending may be entirely non-canon.
The Good Doctor
In Kabal's ending, his respirator is so damaged after defeating Shao Kahn, he will soon die. He finds Kano and forces him to reveal the name of the man who gave Kano his cybernetic implants. The game does not reveal the doctor's name, but it does show him. Again, Kabal died in MK9 as part of Sindel's slaughter in The Cathedral, so this ending may not have any importance at all. Or maybe it's partially true...maybe Kabal survived that stomp through his heart long enough to find this doctor.
The Confirmed
These are the characters confirmed to be playable in Mortal Kombat X. I'll update this as we get closer to release.
E3 2014 - June 9, 2014
- Scorpion - Yep, Scorpion's back. If you think that was a given, MK3 says hi. Yeah, he wasn't in that originally. Go look. I'll wait.
- Sub-Zero - Not to be confused with Sub-Zero or Sub-Zero. This appears to be a third Lin Kuei using the name.
- D’Vorah - A new character who appears to be part insect while also having control over insects.
- Kotal Kahn - A new character who has a somewhat Aztec motif. No relation to Shao Kahn.
- Ferra / Torr - A new character who is actually two characters working in tandem; Torr, a hulking beast, and Ferra, a small female creature that rides atop Torr.
- Cassie Cage - Cassie is the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade.
EVO 2014 - July 12, 2014
- Raiden - A no brainer to return considering how the last game ended.
Gamescom 2014 - August 11, 2014
- Kano - Older, but more cybernetically enhanced.
The Potential Returners
Although many of the details are different in the new timeline, Mortal Kombat 9 ended around the period where Mortal Kombat 3 would have ended. A few characters from the later games did make an appearance already (Quan Chi, Kenshi), but who would be most likely to return in Mortal Kombat X? Here's my list ordered from most likely to least likely along with a little bit of info to remind you who some of these characters are.
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