This is a list of playable and boss characters from the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between various realms. Most characters fight on behalf of their realm, with the primary heroes defending Earthrealm against conquering villains from Outworld and the Netherrealm. Early installments feature the characters participating in the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament to decide their realm's fate. In later installments, Earthrealm is often invaded by force.
A total of 77 playable fighters have been featured in the series, in addition to unplayable bosses and guest characters. Much of the franchise's mainstays were introduced during the first three games. Nearly all of the characters have been killed at a point in the story, but have rarely stayed dead.
See also: Mortal Kombat (1992 video game).
Portrayed by: Tom Woodruff Jr. (1995 film)
Voiced by: Herman Sanchez (MK4); Ken Lally (2011 game); Vic Chao (MKX, MK1); Kevin Michael Richardson (1995 film, Scorpion's Revenge); Ron Feinberg (The Journey Begins); Angus Sampson (2021 film)
Goro is the sub-boss of the first Mortal Kombat game. He is a Shokan, a half-human, half-dragon race distinguished by his four arms and enormous size. He became Grand Champion of the Mortal Kombat tournament after defeating the Great Kung Lao, and held the title for the next 500 years as part of evil sorcerer Shang Tsung's plan to manipulate the tournament in order to achieve Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's goal of dominance of Earthrealm. However, these plans were thwarted when the Earthrealm warrior Liu Kang defeated both Goro and Shang Tsung, allowing Earthrealm to regain control of the tournament. Goro disappeared thereafter and was believed to be dead. In Mortal Kombat II, Goro is succeeded by another member of his race, Kintaro, and is not seen again until the 1996 compilation game Mortal Kombat Trilogy, in which all the characters from the first three series games were playable. Goro was initially omitted from Mortal Kombat 4 (1997), but was included as a sub-boss in the home versions of the game.
In the training mode of (2002), Goro is mortally wounded and presumed dead. In the 2004 follow-up game , he has been saved from death by Shao Kahn, with the promise of returning his fellow Shokan to their former glory and the banishment of their archenemies, the Centaurs, in exchange for his allegiance, and resumes his place at Shao Kahn's side. Goro was not playable in either game. He is a boss character in the 2005 beat 'em up title . In the 2011 Mortal Kombat series reboot, Goro resumes his role as the sub-boss of the Shaolin Tournament from the first game, and is again defeated by Liu Kang in the story mode. He is playable in the 2015 title Mortal Kombat X (2015) as a bonus pre-order character, again serving as a sub-boss in the game's arcade-ladder mode. In Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), Goro's corpse appears in the story mode and in his "Lair" stage during gameplay. Goro appears in Mortal Kombat 1 as an assist character, or "Kameo Fighter", and via a minor appearance in the story mode as a member of General Shao's army.
Goro's original design was as a two-armed humanoid character named Rokuro, a member of "a race of demon warriors" who would join the tournament "to restore the pride and respect of his race".[1] Series creators Ed Boon and John Tobias drew design inspiration from the stop motion adventure films of Ray Harryhausen, especially his depiction of Kali in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad in redesigning Goro with four arms.[2] [3] He was originally named "Gongoro" before his final name was determined, and was constructed as a stop-motion clay figurine that eventually fell apart after excessive use in capturing its movements for the game.[4]
Goro has a prominent role in Malibu Comics' Mortal Kombat series that followed the events of the first game, and was the subject of the 1994 three-issue miniseries Goro: Prince of Pain. In the 2015 DC Comics Mortal Kombat X prequel series, he is featured in a subplot that shows him fighting and being maimed by Kotal Kahn in a battle for the Outworld throne.[5] Goro is the reigning champion in the 1995 film Mortal Kombat that follows the events of the original game, and was a life-sized animatronic model that cost over $1 million to construct and required over a dozen puppeteers to operate.[6] [7] Goro again reprised his role as the defending tournament champion in the 2020 animated film that retold the events of the original game, but was a supporting villain in the 2021 live-action reboot film Mortal Kombat, in which he was computer-generated.[8]
Goro has received positive critical reception for his formidableness as a boss character in the games,[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] but his cinematic portrayals, particularly in the 2021 film, have been negatively received.[14] [15] [16] [17] Michael Kennedy of Screen Rant commented in 2021, "While the puppetry used to bring Goro to life [in the 1995 film] had its limitations, Goro played a vital role in the story, serving as a major roadblock to thunder god Raiden's defense of Earthrealm. While he returned in Mortal Kombat 2021, his inclusion felt more like an afterthought than anything."[18]
See main article: Johnny Cage.
Portrayed by: Richard Divizio (MK—MK3); Sorin Brouwers (MKvsDC, MK9); Derek Pratt (MK11); Trevor Goddard (1995 film); Darren Shahlavi (Legacy); Josh Lawson (2021 film)
Voiced by: David Allen (2000–2006); Michael McConnohie (2008–2015); JB Blanc (MK11); Michael Des Barres (Defenders of the Realm); Robin Atkin Downes (Scorpion's Revenge); David Wenham (Snow Blind)
Kano is first depicted in the Mortal Kombat canon as a Japanese-born American (Australian in later games.[19]) who was the leader of the Black Dragon criminal empire and a wanted man in thirty-five countries.[20] He enters the Shaolin tournament in the original Mortal Kombat Game after hearing rumors that tournament host Shang Tsung's palace was filled with gold and other riches, with the intention of looting it for the Black Dragon. However, he is fervently pursued by U.S. Special Forces officer Sonya Blade, who holds a personal grudge against Kano that was left unspecified in the game's storyline. He evades capture by leaping onto Shang Tsung's junk bound for the tournament. When Sonya tracks him onto the private island, she is captured and forced to compete. She and Kano are among the competition's few survivors, and during the final battle between Shang Tsung and Shaolin monk Liu Kang, Sonya reluctantly teams up with Kano to fight off the Shokan Prince Goro. During their battle, the island immediately self-destructs following Shang Tsung's defeat, trapping Kano and Sonya in the otherworldly dimension Outworld.[21] Kano is unplayable in Mortal Kombat II (1993), in which he and Sonya are both captured and chained on display in Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's arena.
In Mortal Kombat 3 (1995), Kano escapes the Special Forces' clutches once again, and convinces Shao Kahn to spare his soul at the outset of the tyrant's invasion of Earth on the grounds that he can teach his armies how to use Earthrealm weaponry.
Kano was omitted from Mortal Kombat 4 in favor of new character Jarek, but returns in (2002). He and Sheeva hatch a plan to assassinate Shao Kahn, but Kano turns on her by preventing the attack. As a reward, he is promoted to general of Outworld's reduced army and manages to repel Princess Kitana and her Edenian-Shokan army. However, after a weakened Kahn is killed by the titular Deadly Alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, Kano declares his allegiance to them. He is assigned to oversee the enslavement of a small village that constructs a temple over Onaga's tomb to house a Soulnado. During its construction, Kano is assaulted by Li Mei, but Quan Chi intervenes, as the Alliance had made a deal with the Red Dragon leader Mavado to eliminate the swordsman Kenshi in exchange for the opportunity to fight and defeat Kano.
Kano appears in the 2000 spin-off platform game , in which he is not playable but is featured in the storyline, freeing fellow Black Dragon cohorts No Face, Tasia, Jarek, and Tremor from a Special Forces security facility under the pretense that they would reform the organization, though he really intended to use them as pawns to slow down any Special Forces agents who might pursue him. They kill an entire Special Forces unit during the prison break before Kano heads to Outworld, where he recovers the Eye of Chitian, an artifact through which he would acquire incredible power. While Special Forces Major Jax Briggs gets ahold of the object first and transports himself and Kano back to Earthrealm, the latter soon escapes custody.
Kano joins the then-entire playable roster in (2006). In the game's training mode, the demigod Taven finds him being held prisoner by the Red Dragon Clan. Before escaping their facilities, Kano explains to Taven that the Red Dragon had been experimenting on him and their clansmen in an effort to create genetically engineered dragons and human-dragon hybrids. He is one of eleven Mortal Kombat characters representing the Mortal Kombat franchise in the 2008 crossover fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
In the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot that retells the stories of the first three games, Kano is the Black Dragon leader who tricked the Special Forces by acting as an informant and deliberately feeding them false intelligence that led to the deaths of many of Sonya and Jax's comrades, establishing their vendetta against him. During the events of the first Shaolin tournament, Kano battles Sonya following her fight with the pompous actor Johnny Cage, but he is defeated.[22] While Kano is later beaten by Sonya again after Shang Tsung presents him to her as a challenge, the tournament host forbids her from arresting him.[23] Following this, Kano becomes Shao Kahn's arms supplier, giving his armies Earthrealm weaponry for his impending invasion.[24] [25] [26] After Kabal, a reformed Black Dragon member turned SWAT officer, is severely burned by Kintaro, Kano takes him away to restore his health alongside Shang Tsung and outfit him with a respirator, mask, and hookswords in spite of his former ally's defection. However, Kabal is mortified by his condition and furious at Kano for siding against Earthrealm, so he bests him in combat and forces him to take him to Shao Kahn before knocking Kano out. Kano later joins Goro and Kintaro in holding a group of soldiers hostage before being frozen by the cyborg Sub-Zero. However, Kano manages to free himself and informs his ally Noob Saibot that Sub-Zero broke free of his controller, Sektor.[27]
In Mortal Kombat X, Kano infiltrates the Shaolin Temple and steals the fallen Elder God Shinnok's amulet for Shao Kahn's daughter, Mileena, to assist in a civil war against Outworld's new ruler, Kotal Kahn. He attempts to distract the new Kahn while Mileena sets up an ambush, but Kotal realizes Kano is going to betray him and defeats the criminal. After he defeats Mileena, Kano retreats to Earthrealm. He infiltrates an Outworld refugee camp but is caught by Kenshi and Sonya, who take him into custody.
In Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), Kano aligns himself with the keeper of time Kronika. To assist her further by fixing and mass-producing Sektor, she brings in a younger version of Kano.[28] The two Kanos attack the Special Forces base and kidnap younger versions of Johnny and Sonya to force them to fight for the Black Dragon's entertainment before Sonya's daughter Cassie Cage rescues them. Sonya kills the younger Kano, erasing the present version from existence.[29] [30]
Kano was the final fighter added to the first game, with his role as the enemy of the female character Sonya.[31] He was initially named Kao, and his faceplate came from being shot while escaping Sonya in an early planned Special Forces game.[32] Kano's bionic metal faceplate was inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in The Terminator,[33]