The Mortal Kombat franchise has invited a variety of guest characters over the years, including Spawn, Jason Voorhees, the Xenomorph, and John Rambo. Even more characters were leaked as possible DLC fighters for Mortal Kombat 11, but ultimately never made it into the game. Mortal Kombat co-creator and current creative director Ed Boon recently revealed one character whose name has come up repeatedly: the sardonic and iconic protagonist of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ruthless, irreverent, and always ready to do battle with the forces of evil, Buffy Summers could find herself right at home in the Mortal Kombat universe.
Although Mortal Kombat has developed a complex setting with deep lore over the years, it also appears to take heavy inspiration from what its fans and creators consider to be cool. This has led to a franchise where Hollywood actor Johnny Cage can punch Scorpion, a fiery undead ninja, and nobody will bat an eye. A superpowered high school student who was forced into doing battle with vampires, demons, and other creatures of the night probably wouldn't look out of place. If Buffy Summers' age is a potential issue, she can easily be bumped up into her twenties since the original show followed her to college and beyond.
One Girl in All the World
Fans concerned about how well Buffy Summers would stack up against Mortal Kombat's menagerie of fearsome otherworldly monsters may be interested to hear that the Slayer has gone after more than just vampires. In the original seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers faced down a variety of foes, including soul-eating demons, the incarnation of mob mentality, a maddened reality-warping witch, the powerful goddess Glorificus, and another Slayer determined to completely destroy her. It's also worth noting that vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer might just be vile enough to make Shao Kahn proud.
Her trademark weapon is a wooden stake, which could make for some brutal and bloody Fatalities. After all, a stake through the heart might kill vampires, but it will also kill most other things. Beyond that, Buffy Summers possesses superhuman strength, speed, and durability, allowing her to face terrifying monsters in close combat. She also has prophetic dreams on occasion, and though she's gotten roughed up quite a bit over the years, she seems to bounce back from injury remarkably quickly. All of these abilities could serve Buffy well in Mortal Kombat.
Stopping the Spread of Evil
Buffy Summers is already functionally a protector of Earthrealm, or at least a protector of California,so it might be relatively easy to explain her showing up to fight. If the Mortal Kombat tournament is being held in NetherRealm Studios' next game, she could be a new recruit. If the tournament isn't on but Outworld is invading anyway, she could be dragged into the events while trying to protect her home. Regardless of whether or not she appears in story mode, her determination to slay what has to be slain would be enough to get her into the fray.
The biggest obstacle to getting Buffy Summers into Mortal Kombat might come from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer side of things. Not only is it a relatively old franchise, but at the same time Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars have accused creator Joss Whedon of harassment. Combined with actor Ray Fisher's previous allegations against Whedon concerning his treatment during the filming of Justice League, it's possible that litigation issues could make putting Buffy Summers in Mortal Kombat as a guest character difficult. Still, if the crossover is possible, it would no doubt be interesting to see.
Mortal Kombat 12 is rumored to be in development.