Top 10 Best Mortal Kombat Finishers

We're gonna kick things off with the freshest entry into the "Mortal Kombat" franchise. The hype for "Mortal Kombat 11" was immediately real when the teaser trailer for Johnny Cage was released, which depicted the action star's hilarious new fatality. This sort of insider humor is par for the course when it comes to the world of "Mortal Kombat," and is actually a throwback to two sources; the 1995 movie where one of his fight extra’s misses his cue. And in “Mortal Kombat 2” When he originally punched off an enemy’s head 3 times.

Ok, so not everyone appreciates Friendships, but these non-fatal finishers are somewhat nostalgic for gamers of a certain age. These humorous and often silly olive branches first appeared in "Mortal Kombat 2," and were a direct response to the first game's notorious reputation, as well as the public reception to its violence. Players could choose to have their characters do things like offer up a present, sign up an autograph or do a little dance, leaving their opponent dazed and confused...but alive. Friendships were generally phased out of the "Mortal Kombat" universe after "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" in 1996, but they're honestly fun to revisit, even today.

It's not a very wise move to upset Cassie Cage. Want proof? Just ask any character who's had their bloody defeat plastered all over the internet. This is the theme behind this fan-favorite fatality. Here, Cassie busts up her opponent's jaw, to the point where it's actually dangling from their face. Then takes a selfie and posts it to a hilarious MK themed social media site titled...wait for it..."Friendships!" Even more hilarious are the comments this pic generates.

Honestly, we just had to reference MK sound designer Dan Forden's classic "Toasty!" outburst here in this entry's title, but our next finisher is equally iconic. We're talking about Scorpion's most famous fatality, one which has been adapted throughout the "Mortal Kombat" titles. It all started from the very first game in the franchise, where Scorpion shows off his gruesome skull face and burns his opponent alive. The animations have been altered over the years, sure, but this remains one of "Mortal Kombat's" most iconic finishing moments.

The Living Forest has been a staple stage setting of the "Mortal Kombat" world since MK2. However, it took until 2005's "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" and "Mortal Kombat 9" in 2011 that the Outworld level began to interact more with its characters. The former, beat-em-up styled spinoff saw players interacting with the demonic trees in the forest by throwing their opponents into their malevolent mouths. [1] This idea was amplified in the more traditional "Mortal Kombat 9" and its stage fatality, where the Living Forest nearly devours defeated MK combatants whole, leaving just their legs behind.

Quan Chi wasn't an OG villain when the "Mortal Kombat" games were first released, but his first fatality in Mortal Kombat 4 made quite the impact. The act of ripping off an opponent's leg and mercilessly beating them to death with it may sound simple, and that's because it is. Still, it's this sort of visceral satisfaction that makes Quan Chi's leg beatdown finisher something that we just keep returning to again and again.

Sure, we all know that Johnny Cage is a martial arts movie star, but does he possess any real acting chops? Well, in this amazing fatality, we see J.C. doing his best Jack Nicholson impression...albeit with a bit more blood and guts. (“Here’s Johnny”) Honestly, we can't get enough of this one, and it's the perfect, ridiculous finisher for an equally flamboyant personality.

There are few characters within the "Mortal Kombat" universe as beloved or iconic as Sub-Zero. He's the only character in the franchise to appear in every game, and he even received his own spin off title. Part of that is because of his Spine Rip fatality, which was one of the first game's most memorable moments, so memorable that it caught the attention of the United States Senate. Plus, it's been seriously upgraded over the years, including at one point in Deadly Alliance where instead of the spine, he ripped out the whole skeleton.

The mysterious ninja Noob Saibot may possess a silly sounding name-actually taken from MK creators John Tobias and Ed Boon spelled backwards-but there's absolutely NOTHING funny about his finishing move set. Our particular favorite has to be the Wishbone fatality from "Mortal Kombat 9," where Saibot summons a shadowy mirror image of himself to grab their opponent’s legs and tears the unfortunate victim apart! It's funny and gross all at the same time, sentiments which actually speak volumes about the "Mortal Kombat" series as a whole.


Before we name our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions!


Kitana’s Kiss of Death
"Mortal Kombat 2" (1993)



The Joker’s Bang! Bang!
"Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" (2008)



Sindel Speaks Up!
"Mortal Kombat 3" (1995)



Kung Lao’s Rabbit
“Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks” (2005)



Liu Kang’s Dragon
“Mortal Kombat” series (1992-)

Sometimes, the first time is the best time. Maybe it's the surprise we felt when we first discovered you could knock off your opponent into a pit of sharp spikes back when we played the original "Mortal Kombat." Or, maybe it's how the Pit Drop stage fatality has been modified and amplified so much over the years, without losing an inch of awesomeness or steam. Either way, an uppercut coup-de-grace was all that was required to trigger this gruesome finish back in the day, and it didn't matter that the MK narrator didn't specifically announce this as a "fatality." We knew that we had stumbled across something awesome and iconic; a finishing moment which would stay with the "Mortal Kombat" universe forever.