Who We Want (And Don’t Want) In The New Mortal Kombat

Ed Boon and his team showed off the new Mortal Kombat at E3 last week, and well...it looks awesome. The team at NetherRealm Studios has had no problem referring to this upcoming title as pure fan service after the mixed reactions received by the Teen-rated Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

Boon has also stated that the game will basically be a re-telling of the events of Mortal Kombat 1-3, so it’s unlikely to see many (or any) brand new characters. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what characters we’d like to see make a comeback, and which characters we want to stay away.

(Note: We've omitted any characters that have already been shown in the trailer or at E3)

Who we want

Cyrax

He may have spent a good chunk of his post-MK3 existence wandering around in the desert, but I'm betting that a little sand in his joints couldn't make him any less of a badass. Debuting in MK3 as a Lin Kuei robotic assassin on the hunt for Sub-Zero, he featured a sweet chest compartment that shot out bombs and electric nets. Not to mention, he sprouted an Inspector Gadget-like helicopter from his head and used it to chop his enemies into bits.

Baraka

This is about as no-brainer as it gets. People love Baraka, but he's been absent from many MK titles ever since his debut in II. If Boon and company are serious about making this new title all about fan service, they'll make up for his omission in 3, 4, and Deadly Alliance with a return to form in this upcoming title.

Quan Chi

Many of the characters introduced post-MK3 were forgettable, but Quan Chi stood out as one of the more interesting. Despite debuting in the atrocious Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Quan managed to impress in future titles like Deadly Alliance and Deception. While he was never shown in the original MK trilogy, this eternal sorcerer was most definitely alive during its events. Considering that this new title is a "retelling" of those events, it wouldn't be out of the question to see him return. After all...weirder things have happened in the series.

Goro

The MK series is no stranger to gigantic, terrifying sub-bosses, but Goro was the original and still stands out as the best. His tiger-striped Shokan brother Kintaro and the centaur Motoro were formidable foes, but neither captured the dread you felt after Endurance Match 3 in the original title. You knew as soon as Goro dropped down from the ceiling that you were in for a rough time. A return in this new MK would be welcome, especially if he comes equipped with some brutal fatalities.

Kabal

Despite having some of the lamest fatalities in Mortal Kombat 3, he was one of the few quality characters introduced by that installment. His dash move set up combos and uppercuts perfectly, and his ground blade caught enemies off guard. Throw in his plasma projectile, and he's a well-rounded fighter who would be great for the new MK. Now let's just work on giving him some fatalities other than scary faces and head balloons.

Check out the next page for characters we'd rather not see again.

Who We Don't Want

Stryker

We've mentioned before how he should never get his own game, but to be honest...we don't even want him in a Mortal Kombat game. It was funny when he was locked up in a jail cell in Deception, but no one will be complaining if they can't play as the stun gun-wielding loser.

Drahmin

Many of the fighters introduced in the 3D installments of the franchise were forgettable, but they were rarely laughable. Drahmin was one of the few, helped out in no way by his rotting corpse appearance and pathetic special moves. One of his primary moves actually involved throwing a ball of flies at his enemy. When put up against awesome characters with lightning power, freezing abilities, and badass spears, Drahmin flat-out sucks by comparison.

Sheeva

We all love Goro. We thought Motaro was pretty cool, too. However, at no point did we look at those four-armed behemoths and think "hey, wouldn't it be sweet to see that...but in a bikini?" Despite a somewhat cool ground-pound move, she was an addition to the series that never really served a purpose or did anything particularly noteworthy. If Kitana's mother Sindel appears in the new MK, let's hope she doesn't need her four-limbed bodyguard anymore.

The Unmasked Sub-Zero

You're not gonna find many MK fans that don't love Sub-Zero, but there's only one version of the character they picture when his name is brought up. We love the masked Sub-Zero from the first two games, not the Eric Bana-looking dude from 3. This younger version featured all the moves of his older brother, but looked significantly less awesome. He donned the mask for the 3D games, and we're fine with that...just don't take it off again.

Color Swaps

Boon and Tobias struck gold right away in the series by introducing two equally sweet characters named Sub-Zero and Scorpion. They were arguably more popular than anyone else in the game, and the team didn't even need to motion-capture two different actors during development. Perhaps this combination of ease-of-creation and the character's popularity made the old Midway crew think it was something they could replicate again and again. However, color palette swaps wore thin quick, and culminated with the absurd roster of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Not content with two ninjas, they pushed their luck by including Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Noob Saibot, Human Smoke, Ermac, and Rain...all with the same character model. Female characters Kitana, Mileena, and Jade featured color swaps, and so did the cybernetic characters Cyrax, Sektor, and Robot Smoke. Sub and Scorpion are prerequisites for an MK title, but let's leave it at that.