The Mortal Kombat reboot is packed with brutal, bloody fatalities from the video games, as well as a few new ones. A large roster of classic characters get to face off over the course of the film, and many of them meet their end in spectacularly grizzly ways. That’s to be expected from a franchise whose gore has always been its calling card, and the Mortal Kombat reboot keeps that trend going with a number of iconic finishing moves.
In the Mortal Kombat games, fatalities are special finishers players can execute after winning a match. Most consist of an extended button-press sequence that, if performed correctly, yield one of many flashy kills. Since the MK franchise began, its fatalities have grown more complicated and more absurd in their violence. The early games’ fare of fire breath and decapitating uppercuts gradually escalated into fatalities involving helicopters, vaporization, nuclear weapons, and portals to Hell.
The new Mortal Kombat keeps things relatively simple with its fatalities, choosing a few classics from the first three arcade games and altering some others in minor ways. Overall, the movie does a good job of harkening back to the series’ early days while also translating the moves effectively into live action. Here’s what you need to know about every fatality in the Mortal Kombat reboot, including where they first appeared in the games.
Bi-Han’s First Fatality On Hanzo Hasashi Explained
Mortal Kombat’s prologue shows the early rivalry between Bi-Han (Sub-Zero) and Hanzo Hasashi (Scorpion). After Bi-Han and his Lin Kuei assassins kill Hanzo’s wife and child, the two warriors have an extended duel in the forest near Hanzo’s house. Bi-Han ultimately wins, stabbing Hanzo with his own blade and leaving him to die. It’s not a flashy fatality in the classic sense, but it is the first major finisher seen in the film, and it cements Bi-Han as a formidable villain.
Sub-Zero’s Ice Shatter Fatality Explained
The first real fatality seen in Mortal Kombat comes when Jax confronts Sub-Zero after helping Cole and his family escape. The two face off in an abandoned warehouse, with Sub-Zero making short work of his opponent. In a brutal display of power, Sub-Zero freezes Jax’s arms solid, shatters them, then throws his body off a ledge to bleed out on the ground below. Jax ultimately survives thanks to Liu Kang, but the move still counts as a fatality. While the exact finisher Sub-Zero uses isn’t pulled from any particular game, the “ice shatter” technique has featured in many of the character’s fatalities over the years. Freezing and shattering opponents’ legs or freezing and ripping out spines are all in a day’s work for the Lin Kuei assassin, and his movie fatality is a nice homage to some of those classic video game finishers.
Kano’s Heart-Rip Fatality Explained
Kano’s heart-rip finisher, executed on Reptile, is the first Mortal Kombat finisher pulled directly from the games. The move is actually Kano’s very first fatality, appearing in the original MK arcade game. The movie version is basically the same as the move has always been, and Kano even makes a little reference to the game announcer by declaring “Kano wins” after brandishing the heart. It’s direct fan service, and a good way to finish an exciting early fight.
Kung Lao’s Buzzsaw Hat Fatality Explained
Kung Lao faces off with the winged Nitara in Mortal Kombat’s second act, finishing her in perhaps the film’s most gruesome fatality. After bringing her down from the sky, Kung Lao plants his razor-sharp hat in the ground like a spinning buzzsaw and rides Nitara through it like a skateboard, slicing her in half. The hat-buzzsaw-in-ground concept started with a fatality in the spinoff game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, but the specific version Kung Lao uses in the movie is from Mortal Kombat X. It is, indeed, a flawless victory.
Cole’s Slice-And-Dice Fatality Explained
As the big new addition to Mortal Kombat’s cast, Cole Young gets his own fatality at the end of his duel with Goro. After unlocking his arcana – a suit of golden damage-absorbing armor with matching bladed tonfas – Cole starts beating Goro back, eventually launching into a brutal flurry of blows that slice Outworld’s champion into little Goro pieces. The style of the finisher might be more in line with the games’ brutalities – variations of fatalities composed of many fast hits – which is a nice reference in its own right. Beating Goro in the games is no easy task, especially as fighting game boss characters are notorious for cheating, but Cole finishes the titan off in staggering style.
Shang Tsung’s Soul-Suck Fatality
Most of the characters who die in Mortal Kombat fall on the side of Outworld, but there is one notable loss for Earthrealm as well – Kung Lao. The Shaolin monk fights bravely against Shang Tsung’s forces, but the sorcerer himself is ultimately Kung Lao’s undoing. Shang Tsung performs one of Mortal Kombat’s most iconic fatalities in his classic soul-suck, draining the very life from Kung Lao’s body and taking it for himself. The move first appeared in Mortal Kombat II when Shang Tsung became a playable fighter, and it’s had many different iterations through the years.
Jax’s Head-Smash Fatality Explained
In his rematch with Reiko – which happens to take place on MK’s iconic bridge stage – Jax's new arcana-empowered robotic arms are tested out to great effect. The hammer-wielding Outworld general is no match for Jax’s brute strength, and he loses the fight in a decidedly spectacular fashion. In order to claim the kill, Jax uses his patented original Mortal Kombat II fatality, clapping his hands together on either side of Reiko’s head and smashing it to dust. Like Shang Tsung’s soul-suck, Jax’s fatality has had many variations over the years, making it an undeniably great choice to use in the film reboot.
Liu Kang’s Fire Dragon Fatality Explained
Perhaps the single flashiest finisher in the Mortal Kombat reboot, Liu Kang executes Kabal with a variation of his classic dragon fatality. The move first appeared in Mortal Kombat II as a notably more violent alternative to Liu Kang’s uppercut fatality from the first MK. It has subsequently appeared in numerous games in the series, though the flaming version seen in the new movie pulls specifically from Mortal Kombat 11. The move’s origins are a bit different this time around, however, as the dragon seems to be a pure creation of Liu Kang’s fire, rather than a creature he summons to fight by his side.
Sonya’s Poison Fatality Explained
Mortal Kombat makes some slight modifications when it comes to Sonya’s fatalities, but they’re still very reminiscent of the games. In her duel with Kano, Sonya gains the upper hand by throwing a bottle of acetone at his face – an homage to the poison gas fatalities she used through the early games in the series. She then finishes him off by stabbing him with a garden gnome in the closest thing the new Mortal Kombat has to a stage fatality.
Sonya’s Laser fatality Explained
Sonya gets to deliver a second fatality in Mortal Kombat after awakening her arcana. She warps in to help Cole in his fight against Mileena, blasting her clean through with her new purple arm lasers. The move is a variant of some of Sonya’s more recent game fatalities where she uses wrist-mounted guns to finish her opponents. While it's not as stylish as some of the film’s other finishers, it’s a good moment for her character after finally attaining the power she’s been searching for.
Scorpion’s Fire Breath Fatality Explained
Scorpion gets to deliver the final fatality in Mortal Kombat, and it’s a classic. After an exciting climax battle against Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Cole Young ultimately claim victory, and Hanzo reveals his true power. After centuries spent in the Netherrealm, he claims he’s learned to master the fires of Hell itself, then proves it by breathing fire at Sub-Zero and burning him to death. The fire breath fatality is Scorpion’s original finisher, and it’s a great way to end the new Mortal Kombat’s parade of fatalities.