January 17th marks the worldwide gameplay reveal of Mortal Kombat 11. I honestly have not felt such energy and excitement around the franchise since the arcade fighter first hit home consoles on ‘Mortal Monday‘ back in 1993. Fueled by Ed Boon’s Twitter account, the internet has been absolutely ablaze with theories and speculation over which kombatants would be returning for the series’ eleventh installment. As of The Games Awards 2018 reveal back in December, we know that Thunder God and Earthrealm’s protector Raiden, and fan favorite Scorpion are in, but who else is joining the fray? While most are left to ponder over the subtext of a master troll’s tweets and a host of totally legitimate roster leaks, I thought I would take a different approach and instead consider which fighters should not make a return.
In order to keep things a bit more interesting, I decided to remove characters from Mortal Kombat X’s core roster alone. If I were to take the entire series into consideration, the resulting list would be comprised of Mokap, Meat, Dairou, Darrius, and scores of other scrubs who’s absence would not only go unnoticed, but would most assuredly be welcomed; where’s the fun in that?
Keep in mind that even though I’ve removed a lot of keys players, I wholly expect everyone on this list to make an appearance in MK11 in some way – just not playable. Without further delay, let’s get started.
*MASSIVE SPOILERS for Mortal Kombat X, in case that wasn’t obvious enough*
Johnny Cage | Sonya Blade | Kano | Jax
Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Kano, and Jax are sadly – and unsurprisingly – on the chopping block for one very specific reason: age. It may upset fans of franchise to see these series’ mainstays go, but it’s time to retire these four kombatants for now. By the time the story in Mortal Kombat X begins proper, two decades have passed since the events of the last game, pushing these four well passed their prime. Johnny and Sonya have seen enough senseless slaughter to fill a dozen lifetimes and deserve a chance to reconnect. The two have a more than capable replacement in their daughter Cassie. Jax, having been restored from his revenant form, has literally been to Hell and back and really has no business fighting anymore, not with his daughter Jaqui to take his place. The events of Mortal Kombat X saw the former Special Forces agent being pulled out of a quiet farmer’s life. He, more than anyone, is overdue for a some much-needed rest. As for Kano, he too has a child – a yet-to-be-named son – to pass the torch onto and continue the legacy of the Black Dragon. Kano may be as gruff and crass as he’s ever been, but he can’t fight forever.
Shinnok | Liu Kang | Kitana | Quan Chi
Quan Chi and Shinnok shared somewhat of a similar fate by the time Mortal Kombat X wrapped up. The free-roaming sorcerer and necromancer Quan Chi got his cappa ditated from his head courtesy of Scorpion, and as for the fallen Elder God Shinnok, Raiden sort of tore his head off in a fit of rage…I guess. I know what you are thinking: if they are dead (dead-ish in Shinnok’s case), wouldn’t they be automatically ruled out of MK11 altogether? Not necessarily. Death is only a minor inconvenience in Mortal Kombat. Just look at Liu Kang and Kitana – death most certainly didn’t stop them from making a return in Mortal Kombat X (I’ll get to those two in a minute though). What I would like, however, is for Quan Chi and Shinnok to stay dead, just for a little while anyway. Their story has been told and it’s time to move on.
As for why the lovebirds turned undead king and queen of the Netherrealm should sit out Mortal Kombat 11, speculation among fans seems to be that Liu Kang and Kitana might just be the current timeline’s newest incarnation of the Deadly Alliance. If that’s the case, I’d rather MK11 fully embrace the dark side of these once noble fighters and have them take on more of an unplayable sub-boss role, much like Goro in the original Mortal Kombat. Their absence would also make their likely redemption and inevitable return to the roster even so much sweeter.
Ferra/Torr | Ermac
Ferra/Torr is admittedly a fun little gimmick; you get two characters for the price of one!!…kind of. The introduction of new races in the Mortal Kombat universe always fascinated me (man, I miss those vampires), and Ferra/Torr was no exception. The allure of Ferra/Torr quickly faded however as the character wasn’t nearly as fun to play with as they looked. Even Ferra’s limited conversational skills and childish bants became a bit annoying over time. That doesn’t mean the character doesn’t have potential, however. Ferra/Tor’s MKX ending sees Ferra undergoing a metamorphosis, a point in her lifecycle where she transitions from a Rider to a Brute. I would love to see Ferra – and only Ferra – return during her in-between phase before reaching full Brute maturity.
Ermac is a lot of things. A hodgepodge of souls, Ermac has held a spot on the roster for the last four MK entries. It’s easy to see why he’s so popular – what once started as a rumor created by fans, Ermac quickly shed his palette-swap origins and became a powerful telekinetic who gave Jax his shiny new metal arms…by completely obliterating his fleshy ones. Yes, he is a badass like no other – but he also needs to sit out MK11. Ermac’s MKX ending very clearly marks the return of none other than Shang Tsung. If Ermac is the price the roster must pay to resurrect Shang Tsung, than so be it.
Mileena
Mileena is, and always will be, my go-to MK character. I fell in love with her in Mortal Kombat 2, rekindled my burning passion for her in Mortal Kombat: Deception, and absolutely adored the fact that she played a prominent role in MKX’s story line – but Mileena is dead. She sucked a face-full of D’Vorah bugs and met an end befitting her life of treachery. Mileena’s MKX ending however, proves – yet again – that death is easily overcome, as she awakes in a chamber full of clones of herself. Don’t get me wrong, an army of Mileenas causing all sorts of damage sounds like a lot of fun – and it’s exactly the reason why the purple-clad genetic experiment should stay in the shadows for the time being. Let her special brand of crazy stew for just a little bit longer.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I realize a lot of the characters I mentioned are cherished by fans but sometimes, we need a chance to miss them just so we can appreciate them even more.
I just can’t imagine anybody takes you seriously anymore.
I can. Thanks for commenting! ^_^