20 Characters That Defined Mortal Kombat: The Best & The Worst

22 years ago, Mortal Kombat became the 4th movie based on a video game to hit the big screen following Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon & Street Fighter. Although the film was met with mediocre reviews, it stands as the 4th highest grossing video game adaptation ever behind Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time & Pokemon: The First Movie.

Mortal Kombat is one of my favorite game and movie franchises. I loved the first film but I honestly loved the games first. I remember going to arcades and waiting in line for my chance to play Mortal Kombat. Then after I went home it was a game I played in secret whenever my mom wasn't around or she was already asleep. I would secretly unhook my Sega Genesis and bring it upstairs to my room late at night and hook it up and plug in my headphones to hear those two beautiful words.

Finish Him!

The Mortal Kombat franchise defined my video gaming experience for several years after the movie was released; I couldn't get enough and I was always the first of my friends to know everything about each game release. I played through the story as quickly as I could to learn all there was to know. In my mind, it was the greatest fighting game out there. I never got into Tekken or Street Fighter, it was always Mortal Kombat for me, mostly because it was more than just a game to play. There was a story and a universe built into the characters that I could venture into while conquering the story mode. Each character had a back story, and I wanted to know every bit of it.

Since today marks the 20th anniversary of the movie release, I thought I'd take a look at the 10 best and 10 worst characters that Mortal Kombat created for us.

Number 10

Worst: Frost

Frost is the female Sub-Zero, plain and simple. Granted she looked really cool (get it? cool...) but aside from that she had no unique qualities to differentiate her from her male counterpart.

Best: Kano

Kano is a psychotic murderer with an eye laser, yes an eye laser! He's badass and incredibly cocky. He uses dirty tricks and his trusty knives to aid in his extreme violence.

Number 9

Worst: Bo' Rai Cho

I never really knew what was worse: the fact that every time my friends picked Bo' Rai Cho as a character I pictured Chris Farley playing him in a movie or the fact that he's supposedly the guy who trained Kung Lao and Liu Kang.

Best: Kenshi

A katana-wielding telekinetic who is... wait for it... Blind. How could Kenshi not be a great playable character. Demolishing your enemies while playing as a blind fighter is amazing.

Number 8

Worst: Reiko

Reiko's main problem is that he has no defining characteristic. Originally created as a ninja, then recreated with the same moveset of Noob Saibat and having a striking similarity to Shao Khan.

Best: Noob Saibot (Bi-Han)

Long ago Noob Saibot was the original Sub-Zero before turning into a wraith after his resurrection at the hands of Quan Chi. Ultimately he is stripped of everything that makes him human and his only goal is to rule and conquer the Netherrealm.

Number 7

Worst: Ashrah

A demon having the appearance of an attractive, young woman who is dressed in white with a large hat. She attacks with lightning and heavenly light... basically making her a female Raiden rip-off.

Best: Quan Chi

The most powerful necromancer in the Netherrealm, Quan Chi is cunning and brutal. He wishes to not only take over Earthrealm but all of reality.

Number 6

Worst: Hotaru

A religious zealot who wants to subjugate all life under the rule of Dragon God. Nothing else matters to him. Order. Power. Boring.

Best: Liu Kang

Liui Kang is one of the original characters as well as one of the most powerful Earthrealm fighters. After his death, he became a zombie and then a revenant which made him even more badass to play.

Number 5

Worst: Kai

A shaolin monk who uses fire... Hmmm.... That sounds familiar. Considering that he trained with Liu Kang and Kung Lao, it makes sense that he would have a similar fighting ability, but he is basically Liu Kang with an ethnicity change.

Best: Kitana

The princess Kitana. 10,000 years old and still considered young in her realm. After her world was defeated in 10 tournaments, her world was overrun by the forces of Shao Kahn until Liu Kang defeated him. Kitana uses twin fan blades as her weapon of choice.

Number 4

Worst: Khameleon

When you create a character that is a copy of a character that copies other characters, you've obviously run out of ideas. That is Khameleon, a female version of Chameleon the male fighter who copies his enemies.

Best: Raiden

The Zeus-like guardian of all Earthrealm. He as well as his fighters are the only thing standing between the enslavement of earth. As the god of thunder and lightning, he is immensely powerful and has complete control over electricity.

Number 3

Worst: Dairou

Dairou was imprisoned for killing a man, but after escaping he went rogue and decided to work as a mercenary. He is a walking plot device with basically no definable features.

Best: Reptile

Originally, Reptile was a merger of Sub-Zero and Scorpion and had access to a collection of their abilities, but later his character was modified and became the creature we know as Reptile. He can shoot acidic spit that burns away armor and skin.

Number 2

Worst: Kintaro

What do you get when you put tiger fur and sharp teeth on Goro? Kintaro, thats what you get. Kintaro was created to fill a void after Goro was defeated in the first game.

Best: Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang)

The younger brother of Noob Saibot, and current Sub-Zero, he is able to control the powers of ice. His powers have evolved through training and as he has acquired his ancestral armor.

Number 1

Worst: Mokap

A Hollywood stunt double and motion capture actor brought into the fighting world by Johnny Cage. His main purpose for joining the game was to pay tribute to Carlos Pesina who played Raiden in Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat: Trilogy.

Best: Scorpion

Scorpion is a hell-spawn. His clan of assassins was butchered and he has sworn vengeance against those who killed them. He is not inherently evil as he has maintained a fairly neutral stance between pure good and pure evil. He is the 'anti-hero' of Mortal Kombat, often aiding the forces of good as well as evil.

All in all, Mortal Kombat has given us some pretty incredible characters as well as some forgettable ones.

source: What Culture