Character Round-Up: Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat’s Fighters Will Test Your Might

Mortal Kombat is the biggest fighting game franchise. A secret tournament is fought by superhuman warriors to protect Earth from invading armies. The series’ violence famously inspired a rating system called the ESRB to regulate new games. There have been many movies and television shows with a new blockbuster movie in spring 2026.

Hope that’s enough preamble, because we’ve got 16 fighters to cover for this sequel. So who are the kombatants of Mortal Kombat II? Let’s find out. Round 1: Write!

Glossary

Realms: Six dimensions make up the Mortal Kombat universe: Earthrealm, Outworld, Edenia, The Netherrrealm, Orderrealm, and Chaosrealm. The Elder Gods created the Mortal Kombat Tournament as an alternative to war. Winning ten tournaments in a row allows one realm to annex and merge with another.

Fatality: Gruesome finishing moves that kill opponents. Always gory, sometimes goofy, and meant to ensure these superhuman fighters stay dead. Fatalities are Mortal Kombat’s signature gimmick.

The New Era: A complete continuity reboot to free the Mortal Kombat universe from the mad Titan of Time, Kronika. It was shaped by Fire God Liu Kang and altered everyone else in existence.

Mortal Kombat: Earthrealm

Liu Kang

Played By: Ludi Lin, Robin Shou, Matt Yang King

Liu Kang was a Shaolin monk chosen by thunder god Raiden to lead Earthrealm’s fighters. He defeated sorcerer Shang Tsung to prevent Outworld from winning the tenth tournament and later defeated Outworld’s master, Shao Khan. 

During a battle with Kronika, Raiden merged his soul with Liu Kang to transform him into a fire god. He murdered Kronika and created the New Era, attempting to prevent his timeline’s cruelty without removing free will. Liu Kang mostly succeeded and stands ready to fight any darkness slipping through.

Liu Kang complements his martial arts with divine magic. He shoots fireballs, teleports, and knocks enemies back with his signature Bicycle Kick. Lui Kang originally lacked Fatalities because monks shouldn’t kill. He loosened up in later games, transforming into a dragon to eat foes or manifesting black holes that spaghettify whoever defied him.

Johnny Cage

Played By: Karl Urban, Linden Ashby, Joel McHale

John Carlton was a Hollywood mega star called Johnny Cage. Frustrated by critics who thought his fights were fake, he joined the Mortal Kombat tournament. Johnny Cage fought real monsters and slowly became the hero he had played onscreen.

Despite his maturity, Johnny remained the class clown. He quipped, made references that allies rarely understood, and tried to convince them to act alongside him. Liu Kang found a use for that trait in the New Era, having Johnny create the Mortal Kombat franchise in-universe to tacitly inform humanity about the other realms.

Ancestral magic fuels Johnny Cage’s attacks. Shadow Kick slides across great distances, Shadow Ball hits foes at range, and he always makes time to punch enemies in the crotch. Cage’s Fatalities are flashy, such as tearing opponents in half and performing a ventriloquist show. Two thumbs down.

Sonya Blade

Played By: Jessica Mcnamee, Ronda Rousey, Jennifer Carpenter

Sonya Blade was part of a Special Forces unit hunting the Black Dragon crime syndicate. She pursued a criminal named Kano to the tournament and joined in Earthrealm’s defense. She was later assigned to a new unit focused on preventing inter-realm attacks.

She found an unexpected rapport with Johnny Cage. They fell in love and had a daughter named Cassie, but Sonya’s dislike of Johnny’s lifestyle and her later becoming Cassie’s boss made her distant. She reconciled with them shortly before being killed in action.

Sonya is a grappler with a pair of high-tech bracelets that fire energy blasts. Her first Fatality was blowing a kiss that burned foes to death. Later games upgraded Sonya to snapping necks and using military hardware.

Raiden

Played By: Christopher Lambert, Tadanobu Asano, Richard Epcar

Raiden is a thunder god and the protector of Earthrealm. He coordinates and recruits human champions while searching for magical counters to their foes. He can only fight if he creates a mortal avatar with a fraction of his powers. In the New Era, Raiden is a human who took Liu Kang’s place as the Champion of Mortal Kombat.

Raiden isn’t called the god of thunder for laughs. He shoots lightning from his hands, shocks enemies, teleports through lightning strikes, and tackles foes like an electrified human torpedo. Raiden’s Fatalities electrocute the victim or tear them apart with magnetism.

Mortal Kombat: Jax

Played By: Mechad Brooks, Michael Jai White, Greg Eagles

Jax was part of Sonya’s unit. He joined the tournament and lost his arms in a match. Jax replaced them with cybernetic prosthetics. He continued fighting for Earthrealm, despite frequent defeats. Jax ultimately betrayed Earthrealm in exchange for Kronika rewriting his past.

Jax could teach Sonya about grappling as he demolishes foes with punches, chokes, and backbreakers. His Fatalities often target arms, passing along his pain as he mutilates foes. My favorite has him rip off the victim’s arm and hit a home run, complete with the “CHARGE!” fanfare.

Kung Lao

Played By: Max Huang, Will Yun Lee, Sunhil Malhotra 

Kung Lao is the descendant of Earthrealm’s first Champion, The Great Kung Lao. He trained alongside Liu Kang, but never understood humility. Kung Lao is easily goaded and often dies punching above his weight class to catch up to Liu Kang. 

Kung Lao is fast and excels in aerial combat. He can spin at high speed, teleport, and hurls his bladed hat with wild abandon. His hat always features in Fatalities, acting as a remote controlled buzzsaw.

Kano

Played By: Trevor Goddard, Josh Lawson, JB Blanc

Kano is the Black Dragon’s leader. He entered the Mortal Kombat Tournament after learning that host Shang Tsung was rich, planning to rob him. Kano’s sadism and treacherous nature were right at home on Outworld, leading him to betray Earthrealm and become one of Shao Khan’s generals.

Kano favors throwing knives, his cybernetic laser eye, and bashing heads in with his implant. This Australian bogan disrespects victims with humiliating Fatalities, like slitting throats and waltzing with the imminent corpse.

Mortal Kombat: Edenia

Kitana

Played By: Adeline Rudolph, Talisa Soto, Kari Whalgren

Kitana was raised by Shao Khan as a princess of Outworld. She served as his assassin alongside her sister Mileena and friend Jade. During Mortal Kombat, Kitana learned that she was the princess of Edenia, which had been conquered when she was an infant. Her father Jerrod had been assassinated and the Realms merged.

Shocks kept coming when Kitana learned that Mileena was a mad clone of her and that her mother Queen Sindel had been controlled by Shao Khan. Kitana joined Earthrealm’s fighters to conquer Outworld and restore Edenia. Her soap opera life later included the unexpected benefit of falling in love with Liu Kang.

Kitana uses war fans to great effect. They let her control wind, trap foes in tornadoes and rocket across battlefields. Kitana’s elegant Fatalities leave her spotless as she pins heads to walls or gives a cursed kiss that dissolves foes from the inside out.

Jade

Played By: Tati Gabrielle, Irina Pantaeva, Mela Lee

Jade was Kitana’s bodyguard. She helped the princess escape from Outworld and kept a watchful eye over her. Jade helped usurp Shao Khan’s empire and fell in love with new ruler Kotal Khan.

Jade is damn hard to hit because she can briefly become immune to projectiles. Her glaive and a bladed boomerang force enemies to stay at range. Jade’s Fatalities are practical, systematically destroying bodies with minimal movement beyond a flourish at the end.

Sindel

Played By: Kelly Hu, Ana Thu Nguyen, Mara Junot

Queen Sindel was one of Edenia’s rulers and her story is always inconsistent. She was originally brainwashed by Shao Khan to become his queen and legitimize his conquest. Kitana and Jade freed her from his mind control to help fight him. Then Sindel was retconned into Shao Khan’s wife, who betrayed Edenia for power. The New Era made her a distant, but reasonable monarch and loving mother.

Sindel makes herself heard with a banshee scream. She can also manipulate her hair to restrain enemies. Sindel’s Fatalities puppeteer opponents with her hair or feature skull-splitting screams.

Mortal Kombat: Outworld

Shao Kahn

Played By: Martyn Ford, Brian Thompson, Ike Amadi

Shao Khan is the ruler of Outworld. He adores war and reluctantly follows the Elder God’s laws while searching for loopholes. Shao Khan stole the power of a godlike being named Blaze and conquered the Realms, forcing Raiden to send his memories back in time to prevent Armageddon. That kicked off a plot leading to the New Era’s creation, where Liu Kang made Shao into Empress Sindel’s top general.

Shao Khan is the final boss for a reason. He grapples foes, reflects projectiles, and smashes enemies with a warhammer. Shao Khan often forsakes weapons in Fatalities to rip victims apart bare-handed.

Shang Tsung

Played By: Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Chin Han, Alan Lee

Shang Tsung was a sorcerer from Earthrealm who joined Outworld to become immortal. He hosted the Mortal Kombat tournament and schemed in the background, emerging as the Big Bad. Liu Kang tried to redeem him in the New Era, but a second Shang Tsung from a different timeline set his counterpart on the path to villainy.

Shang Tsung specializes in soul magic. Summoning burning skulls, conjuring soulnados, and illusions to masquerade as other fighters. Draining a bit of their soul lets Shang Tsung use all of their abilities while transformed. His Fatalities alternate between soul theft and human experimentation.

Baraka

Played By: CJ Bloomfield, Steve Blum, Greg Eagles

Baraka is a Tarkatan, bestial cannibals who serve as Outworld’s shock troops. He became one of Shao Khan’s generals and slowly proved that Tarkatans were more honorable and rational than Outworld believed. The problem is that they really like killing and eating people. New Era Tarkatans are victims of a rabies-like disease that Liu Kang couldn’t prevent.

Baraka’s forearm blades do the talking. He stabs, slashes, impales, chops, dices, and makes julienne fries out of his opponent. Baraka’s Fatalities extract brain food or lightly sear victims before fellow Tarkatans pull off a piece. Looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys!

Mortal Kombat: Netherrealm

Quan Chi

Played By: Damon Herriman, Michael Rogers

Quan Chi is a demonic sorcerer who makes Shang Tsung seem trustworthy. He manipulates everyone to free his master, the evil Elder God Shinnok. Quan Chi’s greatest scheme involved massacring Scorpion’s clan to earn Sub-Zero’s loyalty, then manipulating Scorpion into becoming his revenge-addicted attack dog.

Quan Chi is a master of black magic. He summons demons, practices necromancy, and conjures bone weapons. Quan Chi enchants foes during Fatalities, forcing them to kill themselves for added humiliation.

Bi-Han

Played By: Joe Talisim, Steve Blum, François Petit

Bi-Han was an assassin known as Sub-Zero serving the Lin Kuei clan. He was convinced to retrieve an artifact for Quan Chi in exchange for the rival Shirai Ryu clan’s destruction. Sub-Zero murdered Scorpion and later betrayed Quan Chi after learning he was a catspaw. A resurrected Scorpion returned the favor during Mortal Kombat, killing Sub-Zero.

Quan Chi resurrected Bi-Han as a wraith called Noob Saibot, using him to free Shinnok. Noob broke free from his control, instead hunting Scorpion and battling Bi-Han’s younger brother, the new Sub-Zero, for control of the Lin Kuei.

Noob Saibot replaced his cryomancy with a living shadow that fights by his side. He teleports through darkness and uses Shadowball to prevent enemies from casting magic. Fatalities see Noob Saibot team up with his shadow for synchronized beatdowns. Or they could simply grab a leg apiece and play wishbone.

Fun fact: Noob Saibot’s name is the surnames of series creators Ed Boon and John Tobias spelled backwards.

Mortal Kombat: Scorpion

Played By: Hiroyuki Sanada, Daisuke Tsuji, Patrick Seitz, Ed Boon

Hanzo Hasashi was the leader of the Shirai Ryu ninja clan. He was murdered by Bi-Han and brought back to life as a revenant called Scorpion. He murdered Bi-Han, but couldn’t find rest. Scorpion learned the truth and began hunting Quan Chi. He also became Sub-Zero’s guardian to atone for killing his brother, the two ninjas ultimately buried the hatchet between Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu.

The face of Mortal Kombat has iconic moves. A rope spear drags foes to him and stuns them. He can breathe hellfire and teleport through the Netherrealm. Hellfire blades play heavily into Scorpion’s Fatalities, cauterizing wounds as he slices victims into steaks.

What Mortal Kombat character are you booking forward to in the new movie? GET OVER HERE! and tell us in the comments.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.