now, CBR is counting down the strongest person Kombat fighters always. In this list, we ‘ll be ranking these Kombatants by a combination of their raw baron, fighting skill and what they accomplished in the game ‘s lore. Since we ‘re dealing with the canonic timelines, we wo n’t be including guest fighters like Freddy Krueger or the Predator. We besides wo n’t be looking at and of the DC Comics characters from Mortal Kombat volt. The DC Universe. This list will besides be sticking to playable fighters, so we wo n’t be mentioning powerhouses like the Elder Gods or the One Being. While every Mortal Kombat match tests these characters ‘ might, this list will determine who sits on top of the Kombat loom once and for all .
30 JOHNNY CAGE
It ‘s slowly to write Johnny Cage off as a joke. With his jaded, jokey attitude, the movie star was the least serious fighter in the original Mortal Kombat. once he realized how serious the Mortal Kombat tournament actually was, Cage cursorily distinguished himself as one of Earth ‘s mightiest heroes with signature moves like the Shadow Kick .
Since the 2011 ‘s Mortal Kombat boot, Cage has had an even more important role as one of earth ‘s few surviving champions. With powers he inherited from his Mediterranean warrior-ancestors, he trained a new genesis of fighters led by his own daughter, Cassie Cage .
29 KENSHI
Kenshi might be the most successful Mortal Kombat character created in the twenty-first century. After debuting in 2002 ‘s mortal Kombat : deadly Alliance, the blind telepathic ninja sliced and diced his way into fans ‘ hearts .
Besides his teleportation and self-duplication abilities, Kenshi telekinetically wields his sword in battle.
Although he normally ends up fighting alongside Earth ‘s heroes, Kenshi is besides a loner who ‘s driven by his quest to get retaliation on Shang Tsung. Alongside Johnny Cage, Kenshi mentors Mortal Kombat X ‘s young new fighters, including his son Takeda .
28 CASSIE CAGE
even though she ‘s entirely appeared in Mortal Kombat X, Cassie Cage has already made a lasting impression on the MK universe. As the daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, Cassie inherited her dad ‘s attitude and her ma ‘s commitment to the elect particular Forces .
While Cassie is one of the few Kombatants who uses long-range pistols in her fights, she besides shares several key signature moves with both of her parents. When her inherit Cage class powers activated, Cassie scored her biggest victory by single-handed get the better of Shinnok, one of the most powerful villains in the entire franchise .
27 TREMOR
When Tremor was introduced in 2000 ‘s mortal Kombat : extra Forces, poorly-reviewed Jax-centric action game, he looked like a brown university palette-swapped translation of Scorpion or Sub-Zero. tremor used his ground-manipulating abilities as a general in Kano ‘s Black Dragon mercantile kin .
In Mortal Kombat X, Tremor got a makeover that gave him a bulkier appearance with rocky skin.
Despite his everyday beginnings, Tremor is an earth elemental who can control rocks, fudge lava and give himself crystal armor. In DC Comics ‘ Mortal Kombat X link amusing, Tremor tied took out an army by causing an earthquake .
26 KINTARO
When the four-armed Goro debuted as the penult bos in the first Mortal Kombat, he seemed like an unstoppable wedge of nature that represented the inhumaneness of Outworld ‘s fighters. so when the developers behind Mortal Kombat II had to top Goro ‘s menace, they mashed-up Goro and a Tiger to create Kintaro .
Descended from a rush of Shokan warriors famous for their brutality, Kintaro has a bevy of abilities that make him one of Mortal Kombat ‘s most potent bosses. Whether he ‘s shooting fireballs, teleporting or hurling his opponents around with his massive strength, Kintaro is always a formidable opponent .
25 SEKTOR
While the inaugural two Mortal Kombat games were filled with diverse shades of ninja, Mortal Kombat 3 brought a pair of brilliantly colored robots into the MK equation. Sektor was a human assassin in the Lin Kuei kin who was turned into a red cyborg .
While the other cyborgs tried to regain their humanity, Sektor embraced his new cybernetic form.
Thanks to his continual cybernetic upgrades, Sektor has a little armor in his body. Besides his wrist-mounted flame-thrower, Sektor can shoot a diverseness of missiles from his breast. For beneficial measure, he can besides turn invisible and teleport .
24 CYRAX
even though both debuted in Mortal Kombat 3, Cyrax has constantly been a little more noteworthy than Sektor. The Lin Kuei assassin was hesitant about becoming a cyborg, and he ‘s always retained at least a shred of his humanness. The yellow cyborg even teamed up with Jax and Sonya Blade at one point .
Like Sektor, Cyrax has a diverseness of devastating weapons tucked away inside his cybernetic body. His signature weapon is an electrify net income that can ensnare and injure his opponents. Cyrax besides has bombs, teleportation abilities and a chest-mounted buzzsaw at his disposal .
23 NIGHTWOLF
Since he was introduced in 1995 ‘s Mortal Kombat 3, Nightwolf has been one of Earth ‘s mightiest deadly Kombat warriors. He serves as Raiden ‘s foreman deputy on Earth and is a shaman with a deep understand of the mysterious side of the MK population .
In combat, Nightwolf can conjure up his signature green tomahawks or a bow with arrows.
Although the stereotyped aspects of his design have drawn criticism, Nightwolf has played a samara character in taking down some major villains. He banished the spirit of the ultra-powerful Onaga and sacrificed his life to finish off a hyper-powerful Sindel .
22 RAIN
According to Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon, the empurpled ninja Rain started out as a nod to his love for Prince and the musician ‘s album/movie Purple Rain. Despite his everyday debut in 1995 ‘s Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Rain learned that he was the son of the deity Argus and proclaimed himself Prince of Edenia .
While that disclosure gave Rain a meaningful place in Mortal Kombat ‘s cosmology, it besides makes Rain a half-god. accordingly, Rain can control water and lightning. With bone-crushing geysers, suffocating water ball and lightning strikes, Rain is a antic that demands to be taken badly .
21 GORO
While he might be more of a soldier than a drawing card, Goro is credibly the most celebrated villain in the Mortal Kombat franchise. Introduced as the sub-boss in the original Mortal Kombat, this four-armed Shokan warrior won nine straight Mortal Kombat tournaments .
Those victories made Goro the reigning Mortal Kombat champion for 500 years.
After ultimately being defeated by Liu Kang, Goro took on a less important, less nefarious function in the franchise that diminished his repute some. distillery, the super-strong Goro can defeat opponents in seconds with devastating strikes that inactive show why he was Mortal Kombat ‘s longest-running champion .
20 SMOKE
As his list might imply, Smoke is an enenra, a supernatural being who ‘s actually made out of fume. This Lin Kuei assassin was primitively a silver ninja who was a concealed character in Mortal Kombat II, but he was turned into a cyborg in his former appearances .
Whether he ‘s a human or a automaton, Smoke is one of the fastest, stealthiest fighters in Mortal Kombat. With the abilities to disguise his moves in a daze, go invisible, teleport and create noxious fumes that leave his opponents coughing, Smoke proves that beastly persuasiveness is n’t the only way to win Mortal Kombat .
19 SUB-ZERO II
After the master Sub-Zero die in the first Mortal Kombat, his younger brother, Kuai Liang, took over as the franchise ‘s nonmigratory ice-making warrior in Mortal Kombat II. once driven by the need to avenge his brother, Sub-Zero has evolved into one of the franchise ‘s most dependable heroes .
In the series’ revised timeline, Sub-Zero was also turned into a cyborg.
As a human, Sub-Zero can excellently produce versatile types of ice blasts that freeze his opponents. While he can besides create weapons and ice clones of himself, he ‘s even stronger as Cyber Sub-Zero, who can besides teleport .
18 NOOB SAIBOT
While Bi-Han entered the original Mortal Kombat as Sub-Zero, he ‘s spend a lot more prison term as the undead warrior Noob Saibot. This dim ninja first base appeared as a shadowy unplayable character in Mortal Kombat II. Since he was revived by the sorcerer Quan Chi, Saibot has normally served as a cosmopolitan for diverse villains or as Smoke ‘s collaborator .
While he lost the ice abilities he had as Sub-Zero, Saibot can control shadow energy and create Spirit Balls that wholly disable his enemies. While he can teleport and throw shurikens, Saibot ‘s key signature move involves summoning a shadow clone to tag-team his opponents .
17 ERMAC
Ermac began as a bug on a diagnostic sieve in the master Mortal Kombat. After rumors of a red ninja named Ermac floated around for a few years, Ermac ultimately made his debut in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 .
This telepathic ninja is made up of the spirits of 1,000 vanquished warriors.
With his devastating wedge slams and mysterious blasts, Ermac is easily the most dangerous telekinetic combatant in the franchise. Although he helped train some of Earth ‘s heroes in the original timeline, Ermac is the villain who used his mental might to “ disarm ” Jax in the retool timeline .
16 TRIBORG
Since he was only introduced as a downloadable fictional character for Mortal Kombat X in 2016, Triborg is the newest character on this list. This cyborg can perfectly copy the fight styles of all of the franchise ‘s other cyborg, including Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke and Cyber Sub-Zero .
so far, Triborg has merely been able to use one character ‘s moveset at a clock. still, Triborg is MK ‘s most powerful machine since he has Cryax ‘s nets, Sektor ‘s flamethrowers, Sub-Zero ‘s ice rink blasts and Smoke ‘s smoke turkey and teleporting abilities at his disposal. While he has n’t accomplished much yet, this automaton made a noteworthy beginning impression .
15 SCORPION
Without motion, Scorpion is the most celebrated combatant in Mortal Kombat. Since Hanzo Hasashi debuted in the original Mortal Kombat, Scorpion ‘s chained kunai spear and catchphrase, “ Get over here, ” have become hallmarks of the franchise. This undead Shinai Ryu assassin has floated between the forces of good and evil as an antihero with a profoundly defy feel of morality .
Besides his famous spear attacks, Scorpion also has several fire-based abilities.
His mask normally hides a fire-spewing skull that torches opponents like Sub-Zero in a toasty finish travel. When combined with his teleporting abilities, Scorpion ‘s attacks are even more irregular .
14 SHUJINKO
tied though he wo n’t win any popularity contests, Shujinko defeated one of the biggest threats in the Mortal Kombat universe. Starting with 2005 ‘s mortal Kombat : magic trick, Shujinko was supposed to be the new center of the franchise. As a new man, Shujinko was tricked into collecting Infinity Stone-like objects that empowered Onaga the Dragon King .
While he spent a life trying to right that amiss, Shujinko hush has the formidable ability to copy the active style of any combatant he meets. With a might hike from his companion Kombatants, Shukinko flush managed to stop Onaga from destroying the population .
13 KOTAL KHAN
Out of all of the characters introduced in Mortal Kombat X, Kotal Khan might be the strongest. After a brutal civil war in the other-worldly Outworld, this Aztec-inspired warrior is presently ruling as that region ‘s emperor butterfly .
In combat, Khan uses South American weapons like a macuahuitl and a tecpatl.
Kotal Khan is powered by sunlight and can summon unimaginably strong beams of sunlight to scorch his opponents. Combined with his raw super-strength and considerable mysterious abilities, this puts Khan on equality with some of the gods in Mortal Kombat, although his fully potential remains largely unfulfilled .
12 SINDEL
If we were only going by Mortal Kombat 3 and her other early appearances, Sindel credibly would n’t have a place on this list. however, Sindel basically changed the form of the MK universe in 2011 ‘s person Kombat. After being resurrected, the former Queen of Edenia and brainwashed mother of Princess Kitana absorbed all of Shang Tsun ‘s powers .
While she ‘s always had a super-sonic screech, tactile hair and energy blasts, Sindel ‘s fighting skills increased dramatically with Shang ‘s abilities. With that power boost Sindel single-handed took out Jax, Jade, Stryker, Smoke, Kabal, Cyber Suz-Zero and Kabal in a count of seconds .
11 DAEGON
While 2006 ‘s person Kombat : Armageddon featured fair about every champion in the MK universe, it besides introduced a match of siblings, Daegon and Taven. As the son of the Edenian idol Argus, Daegon, the younger sibling, is a centuries-old daemon who formed the Red Dragon Clan .
Daegon hunted his brother down so he could save the world and reap the rewards.
While he only appeared as a playable character once, Daegon is still one of the more knock-down fighters in Mortal Kombat. As a fire-creating daemon, he had enough office to strike down his ultra-powerful father before he was defeated .
10 TAVEN
Like his brother Daegon, Taven was introduced in deadly Kombat : Armageddon. This daemon was Argus ‘ oldest son and served as the supporter of the game ‘s Konquest mode, a third-person adventure game. even though he managed to defeat his buddy and the likely universe-destroyer Blaze, Taven was n’t quite potent enough or smart enough to prevent the conclusion of the universe .
While his victory was very flaw, Taven was hush able to defeat most of the characters he encountered on his travel. To get that impressive list of wins, Taven used his abilities to create fireballs, teleport and discontinue time in battle .
9 SHANG TSUNG
The ancient sorcerer Shang Tsung was the final bos of the master Mortal Kombat. While he ‘s had a few rejuvenations and resurrections, this soul-absorbing villain is one of the most mighty characters in the entire franchise .
By shape-shifting, Shang Tsung can mimic the appearance and moves of any fighter.
Despite his raw force and his accomplishments, Shang has suffered some major losses at the hands of formidable characters like Liu Kang and Shao Khan. If his cameo in Mortal Kombat X is any indication, it wo n’t be long before Shang returns to the Kombat stadium .
8 QUAN CHI
While it ‘s more celebrated for its legendary difficulty than its overall quality, the action-adventure game Mortal Kombat Mythologies : Sub-Zero introduced Quan-Chi, one of the franchise ‘s independent villains, in 1997. Since he became a playable character in Mortal Kombat 4, this pitiless, cunning sorcerer has been a reproducible musician in the MK population .
As one of Mortal Kombat ‘s most mighty sorcerers, Quan Chi can wield all kinds of mystic energy against his opponents. While he ‘s impregnable enough to defeat Shang Tsung in one-on-one combat, Quan Chi can besides summon vastly herculean “ Soulnados ” and can resurrect accrue fighters as his undead revenants .
7 FUJIN
Fujin might be the most underestimate powerhouse in the Mortal Kombat universe. In hypothesis, the wind idol should be on par with characters like the thunder god Raiden. Like Quan Chi, Fujin beginning appeared in Sub-Zero Mythologies .
Fujin debuted as a playable character with a major role in Mortal Kombat 4.
With his sum control over wind, Fujin can create tornadoes and send his opponents hurling around the stadium. While Fujin tied replaced Raiden as the Earthrealm ‘s independent defender and made a cameo in Mortal Kombat X, his wide likely remains largely undiscovered .
6 SHINNOK
The Elder Gods are arguably the most mighty characters in the Mortal Kombat universe, and even a fallen Elder God like Shinnok is still a force of nature. Like his frequent ally Quan Chi, Shinnok debuted in Sub-Zero Mythologies before becoming playable in Mortal Kombat 4 .
This mighty magic-user has been the concluding boss in respective Mortal Kombat games. As the rule of Netherealm, Shinnok has countless formidable mystic abilities. Like Shang Tsung, he can mimic the abilities of about any deadly Kombat champion. Despite that, Shinnok still suffered noteworthy defeats at the hands of Liu Kang and Cassie Cage .
5 LIU KANG
Since Liu Kang was introduced in the original Mortal Kombat, he ‘s been the Mortal Kombat tournament ‘s most consistent champion. even though he ‘s only human, Liu Kang has made a substance abuse of punching way above his weight class .
Liu’s defeated sorcerers, emperors and gods with some punches, kicks and a few fireballs.
Despite his alone bare-assed crusade ability, Liu Kang ‘s gone down a much blue path in the last few Mortal Kombat games. After perishing in battle with his erstwhile ally Raiden, Liu was revived as the new rule of Netherrealm and seems set to take on a more nefarious role .
4 BLAZE
technically, Blaze made his first appearance as an nameless burn fighter in the background of Mortal Kombat II. While that ‘s an everyday beginning for a character with enough power to destroy the universe, that ‘s precisely what happened with Blaze. After debuting as a playable character in person Kombat : baneful Alliance, this fire elemental served as the concluding bos in Mortal Kombat : Armageddon .
Beyond his comprehensive control over all forms of fire and lava, Blaze can make anyone who defeats him functionally almighty. Raiden rebooted the entire universe merely to keep Blaze ‘s office from being unleash and ending all reality .
3 ONAGA
While the unobserved One Being is the most powerful quality in the Mortal Kombat universe, Onaga is his real avatar. This Dragon King was the original rule of Outworld and debuted as the concluding boss in Mortal Kombat : magic trick .
Onaga could make a legitimate claim to being the most powerful character in Mortal Kombat.
Since he ‘s tolerant to magic, the fire-breathing Dragon King was firm enough to withstand the combine might of a battle-weary Quan Chi, Shang Tsung and Raiden. He was only get the better of when he was poisoned and when Shunjinko wielded the power of a twelve fighters against him .
2 SHAO KHAN
When every combatant in Mortal Kombat faced off in Mortal Kombat : annihilation, Shao Khan came out on top. Since he debuted as the concluding bos in Mortal Kombat II, Outworld ‘s Emperor has proved himself to be an vastly skilled combatant with a in truth astonishing beast persuasiveness .
While he ‘s a formidable magic-user, he can besides use his Wraith Hammer to break through charming spells and everything else. Khan ‘s potency hides his craft, which game him creative ways to defeat Onaga and invade earth without angering the Elder Gods. Despite all that, both Liu Kang and Raiden still found ways to defeat him .
1 RAIDEN
While Raiden has been around since the original Mortal Kombat, the fully likely of the thunder idol ‘s world power has rarely been explored. Besides his respective electric attacks, Raiden ‘s teleporting moves and torpedo-like flying attacks made him one of Mortal Kombat ‘s key signature fighters. While he ‘s suffer plenty of defeats, he ‘s normally been hindered by the Mortal Kombat tournament ‘s restrictive rules .
As Earth’s protector, he’s led and advised most of Earth’s heroes.
While facing an unstoppable Shao Khan, Raiden survived by single-handed rebooting the entire population. After that, Raiden defeated Liu Kang and Shao Khan and cemented himself as Earth ‘s ultimate supporter .
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About The Author
Tim Webber
( 617 Articles Published )
Tim Webber is a writer, diarist and content creator based out of Atlanta, GA. With over a decade of experience, Tim has written everything from news analysis to cultural criticism about comedian books, film, television and music. In addition to his make for CBR, Tim has written for a number of print and digital publications including creative Loafing and Frequency Magazine. To put his worryingly bass cognition of comics and superheroes to well practice, he besides helped design and teach courses based on graphic novels at Emory University, his alma flat. He can normally be found sipping tea, hitting deadlines or trapped under a very large pile of X-Men comics from the 1990s. If he sounds gently interesting, you can follow Tim on Twitter @ MrTimWebber .
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