The Mortal Kombat series is known for having some wild guest characters, at least ever since the series has continued under the direction of NetherRealm Studios. One consistency behind who NetherRealm brings into a Mortal Kombat game is that many guest characters have been from iconic horror movie franchises. Even though it seems like a more comic-inspired Injustice 3 game is coming, NetherRealm’s reassuring comments about Mortal Kombat‘s continuation imply that we could see another game with horror character guests somewhere down the line.
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Mortal Kombat 11 opted to depart from the series’ tradition to include horror characters, instead adding icons from action movies, such as The Terminator, Robocop, and Rambo. However, the gory Fatality finishing moves Mortal Kombat characters do tend to emulate horror better in many ways, making characters from that genre tend to “fit” within the fighting game franchise more. The over-the-top bloody battles of these games have already seen the likes of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Ghostface, and the T-1000, but after Mortal Kombat 1, some faces still deserve to be exciting new guests.
5. Chucky
An unorthodox fighting game horror guest for Mortal Kombat could be Chucky, the evil doll from the Child’s Play films who received their own TV series not too long ago. Chucky is a diminuitive killer whose soul is within a doll’s body, but is no stranger to bloody kills rather than supernatural shenanigans. Unlike other horror movies that try the concept of a “killer doll,” such as M3GAN or Annabelle, Child’s Play is different for how campy of a slasher movie it can be at times.
The bombastic and almost comical nature of Chucky’s violence is perfect for Mortal Kombat, as it strikes a similar tone to the game’s unrealistically goofy violence. Earlier Mortal Kombat games made their finishing moves and attacks almost cartoon-like, a quality that has returned even in recent games through whimsical approaches to character actions. For example, there are quite a few Fatality moves in Mortal Kombat 1 that are brutal enough for player expectations, but there are also a few that are more comedic to balance things out.
Chucky would be hard to implement into Mortal Kombat from a gameplay perspective, as the character’s status as a doll automatically makes them smaller than most fighters. As Soul Calibur 4 proved with Star Wars guest Yoda, this can often be a bad idea, because it makes the small character break the rules of a fighting game. If Chucky can’t be targeted like every other character by usual offensive pressure, he’d instantly be broken, and a character most players would ban from competition. That being said, I trust NetherRealm Studios to find a creative solution to this problem.
4. Candyman
Following the unfortunate passing of legendary actor Tony Todd, the horror icon Candyman might be difficult to integrate into any Mortal Kombat game. Yet, this character could suit the supernatural, almost mystic atmosphere of the series well, as Candyman exists almost like a legend of folklore in the movies he’s from. As a floating entity who appears after others call his name a certain amount of times, there is a mystique to Candyman that is equivalent to the nature of gods within Mortal Kombat, such as Raiden, Shinnok, or Fujin.
Candyman could appear in a character intro where he slays whoever summoned him, then remains for combat against anyone unfortunate enough on the Mortal Kombat roster to cross his path. The hook for a hand could easily lend itself to Mortal Kombat‘s character attack strings, with his flight, teleportation, and swarms of bees acting as a basis for special moves. The recent Candyman movie from 2021 also implies that many people have embodied the role of Candyman over the years too, so there are multiple ways he could appear in Mortal Kombat‘s rich universe.
3. Pennywise
Mortal Kombat is a series already intimately familiar with clowns, as DC’s The Joker was a guest in Mortal Kombat 11 not too long ago. With the success of the prequel HBO Max series IT: Welcome to Derry and its incoming seasons, Pennywise would also fit Mortal Kombat as well as a clown’s latex glove. Pennywise isn’t actually a clown, but rather an extraterrestrial entity that preys on fear, a fact sown more and more into the modern interpretations of the character.
Although the original Stephen King version of Pennywise was portrayed more comically in his first appearances on screen, the horror character has gotten more gruesome as time has gone on. The transformations Pennywise can do into various monstrous displays of fear could lend well to a fighting game character’s play style, especially in Mortal Kombat. Imagining a Fatality or two that plays on how Pennywise toys with his “food” isn’t too far fetched, and likely something where Mortal Kombat‘s developers can get really creative when it comes to the character’s adaptation.
Mortal Kombat could see Pennywise float on bright red balloons, morph his mouth into multiple sharp teeth, or use the strange lights inside his maw to stun targets. There are tons of gameplay avenues for this type of character, perhaps more than your typical slasher character the series usually has for a guest. Whenever a theoretical Mortal Kombat 2 comes out in the next few years, perhaps having Pennywise would also be a good way to cross-promote any new seasons of IT shows featuring the recognizable horror character.
2. Michael Myers
With Jason, Freddy, and Ghostface already in Mortal Kombat throughout the game’s history, it’s frankly surprising that Michael Myers hasn’t been included too. Among iconic horror slasher villain royalty, Michael Myers is perhaps the most popular depending on who you ask. Also known as “The Shape,” Michael Myers isn’t a stranger to crossovers either, appearing as a playable killer in Dead by Daylight and even getting his own asymmetric horror game in Halloween: The Game this past year.
The Halloween series is one of the longest running horror franchises in history too, with a trilogy reviving the IP somewhat after a restart back in 2018. Those movies ignored everything the franchise had done after the first film by John Carpenter, and established a much more brutal version of Michael Myers that would fit much better in a fighting game. The brutal, up close fighting style of Michael could be combined with his uncanny ability to appear right behind a character when they least expect it, manifesting in Mortal Kombat perhaps as some form of teleportation.
Having The Shape in Mortal Kombat would also complete the series having all the biggest horror characters of all time. Jason, Freddy, Leatherface, Ghostface, and Michael Myers each being in the franchise at some point would almost be the last check mark for this trend in the Mortal Kombat games, and perhaps inspire the series to bring some guests back for a second time around. Personally, with Michael’s inclusion, I would love to see Jason or Freddy return too, to live out a dream match-up that horror fans have wanted.
1. Pinhead
The recent demo for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival has shown how pain and pleasure can mix once again into a distinct body horror unlike almost any series out there. The Hellraiser movies are rarely good, but one consistency between them is that the character of Pinhead is a striking figure from the best ones. Pinhead is a Cenobite, a being that people summon by solving mysterious puzzle cubes linked to hellish realms. As a supernatural being, Pinhead is hardly as petty or vindictive as someone like Chucky or Pennywise, and has a gravitas that would fit in Mortal Kombat well.
Much like Shao Khan or Shang Tsung, Pinhead has an air of authority around him and his Cenobites that only amplifies the suffering he spreads. The punishments of the Cenobites are often extremely brutal, and could act as strong catalysts for Mortal Kombat‘s bloodiest finishers yet. When it comes to gameplay, Pinhead might be an ideal “zoner” archetype, commanding long-reaching hooks to grapple and attack opponents from far distances. Mortal Kombat‘s Scorpion proves the series is no stranger to chain hooks anyway, so perhaps even art assets could carry over to make Pinhead’s implementation easier.
Similar to other fighting game characters, Pinhead may also have special moves that summon other Cenobites to attack enemy fighters. If Ghostface proved anything in MK1, it’s that NetherRealm likes experimenting with the history of horror characters who have allies or alternate identities. Seeing NetherRealm pay homage to the series with Pinhead as a guest in their next Mortal Kombat game would not only have great synergy with the upcoming Hellraiser game, but also put in a character that fits the most into the studio’s creative sensibilities.
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