Fighting Games Friday: Mortal Kombat 11’s DLC Characters Rise Up

The identities of Mortal Kombat 11’s downloadable characters have mostly been known for a while, to developer NetherRealm Studios’ chagrin, thanks to curious fans digging through too many files. They all seemed believable when they were first discovered, thanks to NetherRealm’s desire to insert guest characters in all their games. Despite the surprises being partially ruined, there’s nothing like actually seeing the characters confirmed, and the reactions to them.

Shang Tsung (with Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa reprising the role from the Mortal Kombat film) was the first one to arrive in June, while Nightwolf arrived this week. Sindel was also previously revealed, who will arrive this fall. The characters being discussed the most are unsurprisingly the guests, who will be the Terminator T-800 (the Arnold Schwarzenegger one), the Joker from various Batman works (not Joker from Persona 5, sadly), and Spawn from the titular series. There’s a lot to talk about regarding the three of them.

The biggest question with T-800 is whether Schwarzenegger provided new voice quips for the role, since he isn’t cheap to hire. The second-best choice would be if NetherRealm can use archived audio from the first Terminator film, which should be in good quality with all the restorations it’s received over the years. Spawn, on the other hand, will be making his second appearance as a guest character in a fighting game, following Soulcalibur II 16 years ago. It’s unlikely that he’ll keep any moves he used in that game, given how different MK’s fighting system is. Both characters should fit in well, considering they come from materials known for over-the-top grisliness.

Joker is the oddest fit for several reasons. His design resembles an edgy guy cosplaying as him rather than the more familiar designs, which makes him a prime target for some snarky jokes. I couldn’t help but say “We live in a society” upon first seeing him, which I’m sincerely hoping will be one of his lines in the game despite it being cliché now. While Batman works tend to be dark and gritty, they don’t reach the same point as the Terminator and Spawn, so he sticks out in more than his design. It’s noteworthy that the October’s release of the Joker film will be rated “R” primarily thanks to violent content, which might be the Joker they’re referencing here — though he doesn’t resemble him.

It’s normal for fans to critique characters chosen for DLC releases, along with their designs. But other complaints weren’t quite as normal, though they weren’t uncommon enough to qualify as abnormal either. Some were upset that the characters weren’t shown in action in the trailer. That would have been nice, but we’ll see them in individual trailers soon enough, with demonstrations from the developers and streamers/tournament players coming shortly afterward.

The more unsettling complaints were concerning the amount of time there will be between the character releases. T-800 will be the next character to release on October 8th, while Sindel, the Joker, and Spawn will arrive on November 26th, January 28th, and March 17th, respectively. But anyone complaining about the timeframe should calm the hell down. NetherRealm has already been under heavy scrutiny for letting developers undergo intense crunch time in order to finish games on a strict deadline, and they sure as hell shouldn’t be crunching harder. It also wouldn’t be good if the characters were rushed, which could lead to them arriving in broken or underpowered states. Cut them a break here.

Meanwhile, one key character from the leaked lists is missing: Ash. This was presumably for Ash Williams from the Evil Dead films, given how well he would fit in with MK’s world. (It couldn’t have been Ash Crimson from The King of Fighters series, and especially not Ash Ketchum.) Bruce Campbell denied Ash’s appearance, then potentially teased him, and then denied it again. This was all playful -enough that fans thought he was fibbing, but he may not have been. The character was listed on several leaked lists, so perhaps a licensing deal fell through here. But he could also come with another set of characters, since Fujin and Sheeva also haven’t been announced despite being on that list — though both of them are in the game’s story. Keep the faith.

We’ll get previews of the characters soon, the next of which should be for the T-800, who will arrive just before Terminator: Dark Fate hits theaters in early November.

Meanwhile, another Jump Force original character will soon be made playable: Prometheus, the game’s main villain. He’s following in the footsteps of Galena and Kane, both made playable in July. Like them, he’ll be a free character when he joins the main roster in the fall. Paid DLC characters Katsuki Bakugo and Majin Buu from My Hero Academia and Dragon Ball, respectively, will officially join the roster on Tuesday, August 27th; but they’re playable starting today through early access for anyone who purchased the season pass. Four more characters are planned for a release this fall.

After taking a respite following the glut at Evo 2019, the fighting game news cycle is back to normal as of this week. More MK previews should be coming soon, but again, be patient with the team at NetherRealm.