Each of the Mortal Kombat games has given fans an array of brutal and violent finishing moves. After beating an opponent, there is no better way for a player to embarrass them than to deploy an overly violent finishing move. With the Mortal Kombat series spanning nearly three decades, there are plenty of finishing moves to choose from.
NetherRealm's iconic fantasy fighting game series is distinct in the genre partially because of its gory fatalities. Mortal Kombat's iconic fatalities allow players to decapitate, disembowel and just plain old destroy their enemies with a wide selection of inventive weaponry, ranging from razor sharp hats and chains, to magical elemental abilities that employ ice, lightning, and even blood. These fatalities have only gotten more inventive and bloody in the most recent entries of the Mortal Kombat franchise, with finishing moves that range from the ridiculous to the genuinely unnerving.
Related: How Mortal Kombat Introduced The M Rating To Video Games
There are dozens of fatalities in the Mortal Kombat franchise, but some are definitely more violent than others. Only Mortal Kombat titles that are strictly fighting games will be considered. While some others still contained forms of finishing moves, adventure titles like Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero or Mortal Kombat: Shoalin Monks won't be in the spotlight.
Mortal Kombat - Sub-Zero's Spinal Rip
The first Mortal Kombat introduced Sub-Zero's rivalry with Scorpion and also his most iconic fatality. Sub-Zero grabs his dazed opponent by neck then rips their head and spinal cord from their body in a single motion. Sub-Zero then stands presenting the trophy to the fourth wall as the decapitated corpse falls to the floor. It's been given a makeover and duplicated in later versions of the game, but nothing beats the violence of the 1992 original.
Mortal Kombat 2 - Jax's Arm Rip
Besides having possibly the most amazing character portrait in Mortal Kombat 2, Jax also had the most violent finishing move in the game. Before the upgrade to fully bionic arms, Jax grabbed his dazed opponents and ripped both arms from body with ease. The sheer brute force it would take to accomplish such a feat is the main reason this move rings in as the most violent. Mortal Kombat's Jax has since gone through multiple phases of bionic upgrades, but this original finisher is by far the best.
Mortal Kombat 3 - Cyrax's Animality (Shark)
Mortal Kombat 3 truly expanded the concept of the finishing move and introduced several new types of ways to embarrass an opponent. Among the new finishing options was the Animality. The goriest (and hilarious) of them all belonged to Cyrax. After defeating his foe, Cyrax turns into a blue luminous shark fin and swims off-screen. Then out of nowhere a great white shark of the same color appears and devours his opponent in an explosion of blood.
This finisher has a slight "Jaws" vibe to it all, but nonetheless, it's an ultra-violent way to end an opponent. NetherRealm would employ more shark-based violence in its DC fighting game series, Injustice, with Aquaman's super-move featuring a great white and other creatures of the deep. There's currently no word on if the studio will make a third Injustice game, but if NetherRealm would like to continue its shark-based carnage, then it could feature King Shark as a playable character.
Mortal Kombat 4 - Liu Kang's Dragon's Bite
Liu Kang has won the Mortal Kombat tournament multiple times and is the series' original hero. It's no wonder he would end up with one of the most amazing finishing moves of the Mortal Kombat game series. In this entry he turns into a dragon, picks up the opponent in his mouth, thrashes them around then spits them out dead. However, it's not the glowing type of graphics used in the original animalities. Liu Kang's dragon takes on a more realistic or Earthrealm form. The towering dragon thrashes his enemies and lets his dominance be known.
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - Sonya's Poison Kiss
Mortal Kombat is constantly surprising fans with new ways to make finishing moves terrifying. With this entry the game makers take something as innocent as blowing a kiss and turn it into a terrifying prospect. When Sonya blows a poisonous kiss to her opponent they initially vomit, then fall to their knees vomiting blood. It doesn't stop there. While on their knees vomiting blood Sonya takes it upon herself to jump onto their back and stomp down with both feet. The result is the victim's head exploding, gifting players with a fan-favorite Mortal Kombat fatality.
Mortal Kombat: Deception - Scorpion's Hellish Dismemberment
Dismembering your foe during a fatality is a Mortal Kombat staple and Scorpion is no stranger to violent fatalities. Since his inception in the original game, Scorpion has been helping set the standard for a good finisher with his signature "toasty". His most violent entry, however, comes from Mortal Kombat: Deception.
This horrific Mortal Kombat finishing move relies on Scorpion's spear to get the job done. Once his prey is ready for the finishing move he shoots his spear into their right arm. Scorpion then retracts the spear, ripping it off, shoots the spear into their left leg, rips it off and they are left hopping on one foot. It could end there, but it doesn't. As the unfortunate soul hops around pleading with Scorpion, he walks up to them and violently snaps their neck.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - Any Ultimate Fatality
Fatalities work quite differently when it comes to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon's fighters. Instead of unique finishing moves, characters have a series of moves they can chain together to achieve varying levels of fatalities. The highest level was the Ultimate Fatality. That meant players for the most part, could string together whatever sadistic combination they liked. Any combination of dismemberment, organ removal and decapitation was in the players hands. So whatever was the most violent was only limited by the player's imagination and an extensive combinations list.
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Batman's Grappling Hook Heroic Brutality
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe was the first big crossover project for the franchise. The opportunity to fight as characters such as Superman vs the likes of Sub-Zero was amazing. The addition of "heroic brutalities" made it possible for players to see their favorite DC characters obliterate enemies in the most violent fashion.
One of the most simplistic, yet beautiful of these violent entries belongs to Batman. This makes sense, given Batman is friends with Spawn in the Mortal Kombat. Once whoever he's beaten to a pulp is ready for the finisher he grabs them and shoots his grappling hook into the sky. Batman and his adversary then ride up and off-screen. Moments later his victim is ridden back down to the ground with a mighty splat and Batman hops off victorious.
Mortal Kombat (2011) - Kung Lao's Sawblade
This game is also commonly refered to as Mortal Kombat 9. Whatever someone chooses to call it, it's host to one of the most spectacular finishing moves ever. When Mortal Kombat's Kung Lao has his enemy character right where he wants him, he turns his hat into a spinning saw blade. Kung Lao then plants it in the ground still spinning and grabs his enemy by the ankles dragging them towards the spinning blade. The agony on the face of the opponent as they are dragged across the blade is priceless. This however only lasts for a second as they are violently cut in half.
Mortal Kombat X - Leatherface's The Tenderizer
This entry comes from the Mortal Kombat XL DLC. Leatherface is an icon and his crossover as a horror movie guest character to Mortal Kombat wasn't a dissapointment. That said, Leatherface is easily the owner of the most savagely violent finisher in Mortal Kombat X. Needing a head smash to trigger it, he takes out a meat tenderizer and smashes his victim in the head eight or nine times with it. Blood sprays everywhere and the body falls to the ground. A whimper is heard and the fallen foe extends an arm upwards catching Leatherface's attention. Leatherface then proceeds to smash the meat tenderizer ino their head twice more and they stop moving. The crudeness of Leatherface's swinging motion and his bloodied apron really drive home the violence here.
Mortal Kombat 11 - Sheeva Skinned
The impossible yet imaginative imagery that a finishing move provides is what Mortal Kombat does best. In Mortal Kombat 11, Sheeva and her four arms win the prize for the most violent finisher. With four arms at her disposal, Sheeva grabs her failed challenger by the chest and waist, and then proceeds to rip the skin from their body. The skinless soul stands their screaming as she takes her shield from her back and decapitates them with it, making it one of the most violent fatalities in Mortal Kombat history.