Mortal Kombat: The 28 Most Powerful Characters, Officially Ranked (2024)

Mortal Kombat'simpressively long list of titles has not taken a break since its inception in 1992. In the arcades, players would throw down their quarters to duel each other or make their way through the arcade ladder. After transitioning to home consoles, more emphasis would be placed on the story, but the great gameplay that made the franchise so popular in the first place was still kept intact.

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What makesMortal Kombatreally stand out from the pack is its massive cast of unique characters, coming in somewhere over ninety playable combatants over the ten mainline titles. Several elementsshould be considered when choosing the strongest Mortal Kombatcharacters, including their strength in the canon, their usefulness in gameplay, and their prevalence within the fan community.

Updated December 22nd, 2021 by George Chrysostomou:Mortal Kombat is more popular than ever thanks to the success of recent releases alongside the movie. With so many fighters to choose from it's important to know which is the strongest Mortal Kombat character and what attributes can be expected from them if they are chosen in battle.

Stryker

Kurtis Stryker is one of the biggest dorks to ever step into the ring.His original plain-clothed appearance felt out of place among the larger-than-life designs of his competitors. His secret, however, is that he is one of the strongest characters inMortal Kombat 3.

Thankfully, he got a redesign in 2011'sMortal Kombat(orMortal Kombat 9)that finally gave him an aesthetic and personality worthy of theMKuniverse. He's still a normal human being, but now he fights in a style worthy of the games' aesthetic.

Johnny Cage

Cage is an actor who joined the tournament in order to prove his skills as a martial artist. Upon discovering Shang Tsung's nefarious plans, he joins Earthrealm's warriors in defending his home. He is a mere mortal but manages to hold his own against frightening otherworldly threats.

He also has a supernatural ability of his own, the special "Shadow Kick" and "Shadow Punch". It's never really explained how he can do this, but it still looks pretty cool. It's also interesting to see him go from a cocky Hollywood actor to a disciplined warrior throughout the series building up intense rivalriesbut he's still not the strongest Mortal Kombat character.

Sonya Blade

Sonya has been there since the very beginning, always contributing to Earthrealm's defense in the tournaments and invasions. She became involved in the story after chasing her nemesis, Kano, into the first tournament during the first game.

Since then, she has appeared in almost everyMortal Kombatgame, combating every fantastic beast and sorcerer sent her way. Like many of the fighters, she was slain during the events ofDeadly Alliancebut jumps right into the fray once more after being revived. Anybody who continues fighting after the resurrection is pretty powerful.

Batman

Many of the human fighters already live in the canon and may have acclimated to the extreme situations in which they often find themselves. Batman, however, had no such luxury, and one day ended up facing off against magic-wielding villains from the different realms without warning.

Like the champ he is, though, Bruce Wayne took it in stride and utilized his plethora of gadgets to even the odds. Other characters from the DC universe have superpowers at their side; Batman only has his wits and technology but makes it work.

Mileena

Mileena started life as a clone of Kitana but was made more unique inMortal Kombat 9. She is not exactly the blue-themed fighter's sister, but a clone with a bit of Tarkatan DNA in the mix, hence the intimidating set of teeth.

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A worthy foe based on talent alone, she is made all the more menacing by compromised mental state and indulgence in cannibalistic desires. She becomes ruler of Outworld for a short-lived time, before being dethroned by Kotal Kahn and given a dose of flesh-eating parasites by D'Vorah.

Jax Briggs

Hardships only serve to make people stronger, and Jax Briggs is living proof of this. He starts off powerful, but tragedy strikes shortly into his tenure in the series. During the events ofMortal Kombat9, players get to see Jax gruesomely lose his arms from Ermac's telekinesis abilities.

After a short healing process, he is back in the thick of it with a new pair of metallic limbs stronger than the real thing. Most would call it quits after such an injury, but Jax only saw it as round one showcasing himself as one of the strongestMortal Kombatcharacters.

Motaro

There are some characters with several arms in the series but rarely do fans see a monster with four legs come into a fight. Motaro is a Centaurian, and debuts as a sub-boss inMortal Kombat3.

His skin reflects projectiles, meaning the only to beat him is getting up close and personal, something most people are less than enthusiastic to do against a giant centaur. He's balanced out inMortal Kombat: Armageddonto make him playable, but even on two legs he is a scary sight to behold.

Kenshi

The series had a hard time introducing new characters that stuck once it transitioned into three dimensions. Kenshi, however, wooed fans from the start with his look and interesting backstory. His telekinesis was taught to him by Ermac, and he joined forces with Sonya and Jax to infiltrate Outworld.

He was even featured in the web series,Mortal Kombat: Legacy. His time in the games may be short compared to many other fighters, but he has quickly become a series mainstay as if he was there from the beginning.

Skarlet

Mortal Kombathas fantastic gameplay and intriguing lore, but a big part of its appeal is the over-the-top violence and gallons of blood. Skarlet's main attribute is her ability to manipulate and use blood as a weapon.

She originated as a rumored hidden character almost two decades before making her first official appearance as a DLC fighter forMortal Kombat 9. When she finally did officially enter the canon, people couldn't get enough of her, becoming one of the first characters announced forMortal Kombat 11.

Alien

The Alien, or Xenomorph, is one of the most frightening monsters in the history of cinema. Not only is it grotesque in appearance, but it painfully dispatches of humans and, even worse, uses them as hosts for their offspring.

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On top of that, while they may seem mindless, this species is surprisingly intelligent and cunning. All of this, mixed with its brute physical power, makes it a formidable guest character forMortal Kombat. Even cutting it open will cause its blood to erode most surfaces, burning through most people's skin.

Kitana

Kitana may not appear to be as imposing as some of the other strongest Mortal Kombatcharacters, but looks are often deceiving. Upon first showing up inMortal Kombat 2, expert players quickly realized her potential. If one mastered the timing, her varied special move set could be used to string together long combos.

Her combo abilities were nerfed in the sequel, but she still remains a solid all-around contender adding to the fact she's one of the strongestMortal Kombatcharacters. On top of that, she has remained a playable character in almost every game since often having an important role in the story.

Predator

This alien species only lives for the hunt, making theMortal Kombatgames its perfect stomping ground. Hand to hand, these brutish beasts are a force to be reckoned with. Combine that with their advanced technology and it makes for one tough cookie.

It lives for the thrill of ripping out people's skulls and claiming them as trophies and has no other stake in the battle. Unlike most of the other fighters, who do battle either to conquer or defend, Predator sees combat as the end and not a means.

Sub-Zero

One could make a case for Sub-Zero being the face of the entireMortal Kombatfranchise. Even people who barely even heard of the series are familiar with the character and his move set.

With his ice ball, all he really needs to do to send someone to the great beyond is freeze them and tip them over a bit, shattering them into countless pieces. While this is efficient as is, Sub-Zero always finds new ways to creatively dispatch foes with ice, to the delight of gorehounds everywhere.

Scorpion

Fans may endlessly debate which of the two ninjas is more powerful, but Scorpion has a couple of things going for him that put him just ahead of Sub-Zero. For one, he's pretty much immortal after being felled in combat. Secondly, his move set is incredible, from his teleportation to the iconic spear that pulls in foes for a free hit.

Additionally, when unmasked his face appears as a burning skull; there isn't anything more intimidating than that. While it is true that Sub-Zero beat him once, Scorpion puts up a harder resistance now adding to the fact he isthe strongestMortal Kombatcharacter.

Goro

Goro was a significant roadblock for countlessMortal Kombatfans back in the arcades. After clawing their way through the arcade mode, Goro comes along and hands their butts to them on a platter, eating up quarter after quarter.

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He stands as easily one of the hardest bosses in a fighting game. This four-armed Shokan is always in the heroes' way, and usually takes a couple of them out before being defeated. The firstMortal Kombatfilm also shows that he'd look scary in real life, too.

Kintaro

Kintaro was first introduced inMortal Kombat II. In going with the classic sequel philosophy that everything must be bigger, Kintaro serves as a step up from Goro. They are both Shokan, but this feline-themed one is considerably larger and more powerful.

He may not be as iconic as his predecessor, but if the two were to go toe to toe, Kintaro would have Goro's number for sure. He also served as one of the last bosses ofMortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, where he is the victim of a vicious fatality.

Shang-Tsung

Shang Tsung on his own does not appear menacing, but it's his ability to steal souls that makes him a real threat. Not only can he take the appearance of any of his poor victims, but he also absorbs their knowledge and abilities.

With this, he becomes almost unbeatable. He nearly won theMortal Kombattournament ten times in a row but was bested at Earthrealm's last possible opportunity. He's smart enough to keep himself alive, but not enough to usurp kingdoms.

Liu Kang

Liu Kang is the original trilogy's hero. While many of the other protagonists have their own agendas, this Monk is in the fight for purely virtuous reasons and ends up saving the day all three times.

His fighting ability alone is impressive, but his special abilities put him a step above the other human fighters. He has a physics-breaking bicycle kick, can shoot flames with his hands, and can transform into a dragon, the ladder of which is involved in one of the most memorable fatalities of the first three titles.

Ermac

Is he the strongestMortal Kombatcharacter? This enigmatic warrior may not seem like a force to be reckoned with, but a close look into his backstory reveals otherwise. For starters, his aptitude with telekinesis extends far beyond what other fighters with similar abilities can do - something Jax Briggs found out the hard way.

Secondly, he helps Liu Kang free the imprisoned souls of many Earthrealm warriors inMortal Kombat: Deception. Considering he was created with the sole purpose of serving Shao Kahn, this amalgam of souls has done a lot of good with his life.

Shinnok

This disgraced Elder God was behind the scenes for a while before making an official debut, and still hasn't had a lot of time in the spotlight, save for being the main antagonist ofMortal Kombat 4andX.

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Shinnok's stories usually revolve around a special amulet, which he uses to easily dispose of powerful fighters and even traps Raiden inside of it for over two decades. At this point in the canon, he has been violently dispatched by the thunder god, but no one stays in the afterlife forever inMortal Kombat.