30 Best Mortal Kombat Characters Of All Time

More than 30 years after Midway’s Mortal Kombat landed in arcades all over the world, the franchise and its Kombatants are still going strong. Mortal Kombat 2 just debuted in cinemas, and a new game is confirmed to be in the works. Basically, the present and future are very bright for a series that was once considered the most controversial in gaming, and characters like Raiden, Scorpion, and Johnny Cage have become so iconic that they transcend video games.

Obviously, the franchise’s success mostly comes down to the stellar and satisfying combat, along with NetherRealm’s willingness to take risks and revamp things when they start to get stale (to not always great results). However, Mortal Kombat‘s characters deserve a lot of love as well, especially since a few of them have been around for decades by this point. In celebration of MK2‘s release, let’s highlight the greatest MK characters of all time.

30

Ashrah

The Demon-Killing Angel

• Debut: Mortal Kombat: Deception.
• Iconic For: Saving Reptile and the heroes in MK1

Despite being lost in the shuffle of the 3D era’s bloated roster of Kombatants, Ashrah was immediately interesting, even if she didn’t initially receive enough attention. A demon from Netherrealm, she decides to change her ways when she sees the other realms, realizing that there is more to life. To cleanse her soul of evil, she begins to kill demons using an enchanted sword, something that extends to her Mortal Kombat 1 variant. Ashrah wasn’t part of the Alternate timeline at all, so her return and position as an important figure in MK1 were welcome surprises.

Fueled by Light magic, Ashrah is essentially a fallen angel, albeit going from evil to the side of good. She challenges her nature and destiny as part of Netherrealm, a decision that saw her become targeted by her demonic sisters. For all intents and purposes, she is willing to fight her entire world alone. In MK1, Ashrah is more than just a background figure who gets a couple of lines of dialogue. She is a mystical warrior who can help guide others while also dealing with her own personal dilemmas.

29

Sheeva

More Than Just Female Goro

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 3.
• Iconic For: Becoming the Queen of the Shokan.

When she was introduced in Mortal Kombat 3, Sheeva was kind of dismissed as just being a gender-swapped copy of Goro, even if they weren’t exactly alike. For roughly two decades, she firmly lived within his shadow, but that changed with Mortal Kombat 11 and its expansion, “Aftermath.” Even before this point, Sheeva was a far more honorable Shokan warrior than the arrogant and egocentric Prince Goro, and she proved herself to be a capable strategist and politician. While Goro never really stopped feeling like a sub-boss jobber, Sheeva breaks through that ceiling, even becoming one of the protagonists of the previous timeline’s final chapter. She brokered peace between the Shokan and Tarkatans, and she played a big role in establishing Kitana as the Queen of Edenia.

More importantly, Sheeva actually becomes a queen herself, leading the Shokan as they try to adapt to a new era post-Shao Kahn. Driven by a desire to protect her people, Sheeva fought to change the Shokan’s reputation as savage monsters, and she mostly succeeded in doing that. Unfortunately, she does not feature in Mortal Kombat 1, so we don’t know her current role in the new timeline. Hopefully, she hasn’t been reset.

28

Havik

In The Name Of Anarchy

• Debut: Mortal Kombat: Deception.
• Iconic For: His rise to Titan status in Mortal Kombat 1‘s “Khaos Reigns” expansion

Havik has had a serious glow-up over the years. Introduced in Deception, Havik was a pretty interesting character since he is essentially an anarchist, albeit one who specifically seeks to spread disorder and chaos. He was ultimately a bit-part player in the original timeline, but he got a substantial boost in Mortal Kombat X, becoming more than an afterthought. However, that jump was nothing in comparison to the new era, which elevated this once secondary character to prime villain status.

Mortal Kombat 1 sets Havik up as something of an anti-hero who is trying to take down an oppressive regime, which makes him quite sympathetic. However, the “Khaos Reigns” expansion introduces Titan Havik, a being who simply wants the multiverse to descend into pure chaos and anarchy. As a counter to Fire God Liu Kang’s overbearing belief in crafting everyone’s destinies, Titan Havik sees that as nothing more than slavery. Beyond his story, Havik has some of the goriest kills in MK1, which is always a cause for celebration with this franchise.

27

Nightwolf

Howling Mad

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 3.
• Iconic For: Being the series’ first Native American character, his Spiritual Teleportation fatality, and being strong enough to kill off a superpowered Sindel.

Nearly all the big fighting games in the 1990s had a Native American character on their roster, with the occasional Indigenous Canadian (Virtua Fighter‘s Wolf Hawkfield), Native Mexican (Street Fighter‘s T.Hawk), or ones who came from a mix of backgrounds (Tekken‘s Sino-Native Michelle Chang). The MK series was no different, as they introduced the world to Nightwolf, a warrior and shaman from the Matoka Tribe who’d use his powers to protect his people (and Earthrealm) from Shao Kahn’s forces.

He’s rarely taken the spotlight from the other Earthrealm warriors, yet he has some grand feats behind him in the series’ lore. He was the one who sealed Onaga away at the end of MK: Deception and stopped Sindel’s murderous rampage in MK9 (albeit via sacrificing himself). That, and he’s got a neat variety of moves with his shoulder barges and giant beam fatality. Though he’s rarely on the fans’ most wanted list for a return, he’s often warmly welcomed by the kommunity when he does.

26

Rain

A Shower Of Arrogance

• Debut: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (cameo), Mortal Kombat Trilogy (playable).
• Iconic For: Being the purple ninja, being arrogant to a fault, and his infinite combos.

Rain wasn’t meant to be a playable character. He was hidden in UMK3‘s intro as a gag reference to the Prince album ‘Purple Rain’. But much like the red ninjas Ermac and Skarlet, people wondered how they could play as him, whether they got the reference or not. So, he was made an official character as an Edenian prince who inherited his water-based powers from his father, the god Argus. His divine blood gave him a chip on his shoulder, and his arrogant, self-serving personality saw him become one of the series’ slimiest characters.

MKT players had another reason to hate him, as his Water Bubble held the opponent in place for a nasty combo. The worst is his Super Kick, which he could use to juggle his opponent infinitely. It became notorious enough to become a brutality in MK11. In MK1, he lost his divine and regal status but remains an arrogant water mage. However, he seems to have taken a humble turn, as his flooding of Seido has made him more penitent and willing to face his flaws than before.

25

Sektor

The Rocket-Powered Robo-Ninja

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 3.
• Iconic For: Being one of the first robot ninjas, teleport uppercut+rocket combos.

Mortal Kombat 2 already had yellow, blue, green, gray, and black ninjas, let alone the blue and purple female ninjas, and they’d add more spectrum-based shinobi along the way. Even so, they must’ve felt the need to diversify the cast a little for Mortal Kombat 3, as Sub-Zero took off his mask, Scorpion took off completely, and Smoke became a robot to join the new robo-ninjas, Cyrax and Sektor. They were part of the Lin Kuei’s Cyber Initiative to make their forces more effective in combat, and subservient to the Grand Master’s will.

Unlike the reluctant Cyrax or the forcibly converted Smoke, Sektor willingly agreed to be converted and served the Grand Master well. Until his programming got corrupted. Then he decided he’d do away with the Lin Kuei and lead his own clan of robo-ninjas, the Tekunin, against his old enemies like Sub-Zero. This angle got cut short in the Alternate Timeline, where he was killed and then revived to serve Kronika in MK11. In MK1‘s new timeline, she’s now the daughter of the Lin Kuei’s former armorer, Madam Bo, and serves Bi-Han in the new Cyber Initiative.

24

Cyrax

More Than A Machine

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 3.
• Iconic For: Being one of the first robot ninjas, being the first black ninja, and their oppressive net and bomb-based combos.

Cyrax was one of the Lin Kuei’s more reluctant members of the Cyber Initiative, but the African ninja was forced into the program regardless. But thanks to his own willpower and a little help, he managed to break his programming and fought to regain his humanity. In the classic timeline, he had help from Sonya and Jax, while Sub-Zero managed it in the alternative timeline in MK11.

In MK1‘s new timeline, Cyrax is a woman from the Zaki Clan, one of the Lin Kuei’s subsidiaries, and one of their most talented fighters, too. She was sent to serve under Sektor, where they both took part in the new Cyber Initiative, which now takes the form of a mech suit rather than a full-on cyborg conversion. That way, she retains her free will, which often doesn’t mean following Sektor’s orders completely. Especially when it puts her against her childhood friend and ex-Lin Kuei member Kuai Liang.

23

Baraka

MK’s Toothiest Jobber

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 2.
• Iconic For: Being the first playable monster character in the series, his arm blades and fangs, and losing to key characters.

Reptile gets flak in the classic series for going from the series’s first secret character to jobbing out to one big bad guy or another. But he would at least get a glow-up in Mortal Kombat 1. The Tarkatan warrior Baraka is another story. He was the first playable monster character in the series (alongside the monster-clone Mileena), freaking players out with his monstrous fangs and retractable arm blades. His impalement fatality was particularly cold-blooded, as he’d stab his blades through his opponent and hold them aloft as they died slowly.

However, he’d soon lose his mojo and become a jobber to the series’ later newcomers. He came back in MK4 Gold just to be murdered by Quan Chi. Then MKX made him an NPC for D’Vorah to mutilate. Still, someone at Netherrealm loves the guy, as he became a warrior representing a discriminated Outworld race in MK11. Then MK1 made him one of many humans afflicted with a disease called Tarkat, making him a sympathetic good guy (and God Liu Kang kind of a jerk for doing that to him and the Tarkatans in his new timeline in the first place).

22

Sonya Blade

Special Forces with Special Skills

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 1992.
• Iconic For: Being the series’ first female fighter and one of the toughest, both in lore and in gameplay.

Sonya Blade was among the first Mortal Kombat fighters to be introduced to the world. Originally, she was going to be a male character called Kurtis Stryker, but with Street Fighter‘s Chun-Li proving to be one of their rivals’ biggest hits, the developers thought the character would catch on better as a woman. Needless to say, it worked, given Sonya’s status as an MK mainstay. As a Special Forces agent, she was originally on the hunt for Kano, a weapons dealer for the Black Dragon crime syndicate.

He killed her old partner, and she sought revenge, tracking him down to the MK tournament. Other than her incredible tenacity, one of Sonya’s distinctive characteristics was her ability to blast energy beams. Sometimes, they’re technological, but other times they’re as mystical as her immolating blown kisses. While she’s one of the sterner characters in the series, she’s shown her softer side with fellow Special Forces agent Jax, film star Johnny Cage, and her daughter Cassie.

21

Kano

Dealing With The Devil

• Debut: Mortal Kombat 1992.
• Highest Tier: S (Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat X).
• Iconic For: His cyborg eye, scummy attitude, heart-ripping fatality, and Australian accent.

That latter attribute sounds odd, yet there aren’t a lot of Mortal Kombat characters from Down Under. Tekken‘s Craig Marduk and Virtua Fighter‘s Jeffry McWild are big hitters, but only Kano received the full Aussie characterization. Not that this was the plan. In MK’92, he was merely a weapons dealer for the Black Dragon syndicate. It wasn’t until actor Trevor Goddard depicted him in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie with an accent that he was associated with Australia (which is ironic, as Goddard was trying to make him sound like a Londoner).

Aside from that, he made for a nice, vile counterpart to the human heroes. Willing to sell out Earthrealm for a buck, let alone his ‘friends,’ he’s one of the scummiest, most untrustworthy characters in the series. Yet he delights in being a villain so much that he makes for an entertaining watch, no matter which game he appears in. He’s like Shang Tsung in this way, only with worse manners, but it was just as satisfying to see him get the business end of a Nut Punch.