Summary
Mortal Kombathas always been known for its creative and unhinged means of utterly decimating an opponent at the end of a successful spar, and with the developments in technology, Midway (the original creators) and Netherrealm Studios (the current developers of the series with co-creator Ed Boon at the helm) have introduced more and more creative means of getting the job done in theMortal Kombatseries.
Although, this hasn’t stopped them from joking around a bit with some quirky and bizarre means of killing a foe. There are some real head-scratchers that are well worth checking out, on account of how unexpected they are. Some of them are even branded as infamous by the community, and it’s easy to see why.
10Jax’s Growth Spurt (Mortal Kombat 3)
The third entry decided to introduce some more comical finishers to the mix, andJax had a doozy of a Fatality. When he was first introduced inMortal Kombat II, he bashed an opponent’s head in with this first finisher and tore off their arms in the second. The man is muscle-incarnate.
But here, Jax grows really massive and stomps on the loser with his boot. He doesn’t even have any size-altering powers like that, canonically. He just does it because he can. It was remade inMortal Kombat 1since the all-American hero was brought back as a Kameo fighter, and it’s just as silly as before.
9Joker’s Fake Friendship (Mortal Kombat 11)
This finisher is a classic example of a bait-and-switch, even though fans knew that something heinous was definitely coming with this nefarious clown making his cameo. It was also a precursor to the actual Friendships that were reintroduced to the game via theAftermathDLC.
The Jokerthrusts a cake with sparklers in the hands of the bewildered opponent, and a sign covered in balloons labeled ‘FRIENDSHIP’ appears from behind. Suddenly, the fuse goes down, the cake explodes, and the Joker juggles the poor loser in the air by blasting them with a Tommy gun, revealing the words “FATALITY” on the sign. After that, it falls and squishes the perforated victim. It’s equal parts wacky and bloody.
8Johnny Cage’s Action Figure Brutality (Mortal Kombat 1)
Some say this was a leftover Brutality intended for Ash Williams, who was intended to be a guest fighter inMortal Kombat 11. Still, itworks just as well for Johnny CageinMortal Kombat 1. Moments after punching the opponent between the legs, a miniature action figure of the star jumps down the other person’s throat.
Casually, Cage stands up, pulls out a controller from his back, and presses a button, blowing a hole in the other fighter’s gut. Blood and bits of the action figure fly out as a result. It’s hilarious, humiliating, and is like a rated-R version ofToy Story.
7Bo ‘Rai Cho’s Lethal Gases (Mortal Kombat: Deception)
Bo ‘Rai Cho was another attempt at a comic relief character in the early-to-mid noughties era. Some love him,others loathe him- he’s that divisive. This master of Drunken Fist trained Liu Kang and Kung Lao in the original timeline.
But, boy, does he get gross with his “fart-ality” here. Lighting a stick on fire, he places it near his backside and turns his bottom into a flamethrower. Afterward, Bo ‘Rai Cho waves his hand in front of his nose and cheekily exclaims “Oh, that was a wet one!” The sound design team must’ve had a fun time with this.
6Scorpion’s Inner Animality… A Penguin? (Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3)
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3was an improved, updated version of the third installment, this time with even more characters. Scorpion was one of them, disappointingly excluded from the line-up originally. SinceMortal Kombat 3also introduced Animalities, whereby the victor transforms into a creature to finish off the enemy, the yellow-clad ninja got one of his own.
To the bewilderment of many, he turns into a penguin and drops an exploding egg. Remember, Sheeva morphed into a giant scorpion inMK3, and since the developers needed something memory-intrusive that didn’t require a whole new morphing animation, this was the end result. Thoroughly baffling, nonetheless. Then again, most didn’t make sense in the first place.Sonya, turning into an eagle? Reptile transforming into a chimp? Why, oh why…
5Johnny Cage’s Ninja Mime Brutality (Mortal Kombat 11)
Johnny Cage has an extensive film career. First mentioned in the 2011 reboot, the developers decided tomake Ninja Mime a reality, by decorating the showoff with face paint, a beret, and some striped ninja threads.
He may not be willing enough to stay silent like a mime, but one of his Brutalities hilariously puts his mime powers to good use by slamming an invisible door repeatedly on the collapsed opponent until their head turns to jam. Silent? No. Deadly? Yes. Weird? Undoubtedly.
4Havik’s Pencil (And Arm) Eraser (Mortal Kombat: Deception)
For a Cleric of Chaos,a messed-up dude like Havikneeded a weird finisher, and the developers delivered exactly that in his debut gameMortal Kombat: Deception. Instead of ripping off an opponent’s arms as Jax did in the second game, he swallows them, grinding them into a paste-like a pencil sharpener.
After the victim collapses in both shock and severe agony, Havik gingerly barfs out chunks of sinew and bone before striking a cool pose. Seriously, how chaotic is that? It’s like a mother bird chewing up some food and puking it all out for her young.
Seasonal fatalities are clearly on the menu withMortal Kombat 1, thanks to some clever data miners, and there’s no denying that its Halloween-themed finisher is well worth a mention, even if it’s not out officially yet. The winner slams a pumpkin on the loser’s head. Some nasty bugs scrawl around and probably scoff at the noggin inside, and they collapse. The winner boots the jack-o-lantern clean off their shoulders.
The icing on the cake is that the pumpkin is seen hurtling and splatting against some unsuspecting person’s front door, like a damaged decoration toscare trick-or-treaters off. This one is a sweet idea and one that is utterly bananas as well.
2Kabal’s Ugly Face (Mortal Kombat 3)
Kabal had a pretty badass look to him in his debut with a funky mask, cool threads, and those massive hook swords. His fatalities, however, are weird as heck. One of them involves him taking off his mask to scare his opponent with his horrifying face.
While he’s not canonically that ugly, it’s enough to scare the literal spirit out of the loser of the fight, which sprints out of their deceased body. It’s like a Loony Tunes skit. Still, it was humorously reintroduced as a Brutality in the 11th game, which faithfully retains its slapstick nature.
1Quan Chi’s Neck Stretch (Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance)
The weirdest Fatality of all time is also one of the worst.Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliancemay have saved the franchise after its release in 2002, but some of the finishers were stinkers. Supposedly, the sorcerer Quan Chi would pull the head out of the defeated opponent’s neck while balancing on their shoulders, but the animation glitched out, and he just turned them into a giraffe.
While it amused the developers at first, they didn’t have the time to fix or change it. It now sits on countless lists and YouTube videos as one of the weirdest and worst fatalities in the franchise. Honestly, there’s just no arguing against that. It’s so left-field and stupid.Things could only get better from here, though.
