Mortal Kombat is one of the bloodiest and most popular fighting game franchises of all time, and it's easy to see why. It made waves upon its initial release back in 1992 and has been a staple of the gaming world ever since. A console generation without Sub Zero and Scorpion duking it out would be unthinkable.
With an upcoming movie bringing a renewed interest in the series from more casual fans, there has been a lot of speculation as to which characters might appear. Some names are never mentioned in these discussions as they had such bland appearances in their games that fans can hardly remember they exist.
10 Stryker
Kurtis Stryker was at one point set to be in the very first Mortal Kombat game, which would have likely cemented him in the game's lore forever. Unfortunately for the character, he was replaced with Sonya Blade.
Stryker can be strong, as Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 gave him a special move that made him undoubtedly top tier. However, in a series where players could be a vampire, a soul-stealing mage, and literal Gods, a random riot cop is too unmemorable.
9 Khameleon
The reason most players won't remember Khameleon is that she only ever appeared in two games, and one of them was a version where the trademark violence of the series was toned down for audiences. Not to mention in her first appearance, Khameleon was a secret unlockable character that was difficult to find.
The last time Khameleon was playable was in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, and she was only available on the Nintendo Wii version that released in 2007. With the Wii not exactly being a console known for good fighting games, few players likely had the opportunity to enter the fray with her anyway. This is one time being a Nintendo exclusive actually hurt interest in a video game character.
8 Kai
Throwing hats with blades that spin not fun enough? Flying Dragon Kicks just not cutting it? Then why not choose Kai, a character that can shoot fireballs and do flying punches. Does that not sound exciting?
Introduced in Mortal Kombat 4 to a world with amazing Shaolin monks with impressive backstories, Kai felt like a clone character that was also watered down. Even with a second chance in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Kai was given a generic spiked club as his weapon. Top all this off with a generic red outfit and no wonder he's been forgotten.
7 Meat
Sometimes strange and hidden characters in Mortal Kombat can become fan favorites, just look at Ermac. Meat is an unfortunate case of this not qualifying. He's literally just a sack of gross muscles and bones made from a stripped character model back in the day.
Meat's story isn't all that interesting and since the game developers never did anything with him, this fighter is easy to forget.
6 Kobra
If players wanted to use Ken Masters, they would just pick up Street Fighter. No seriously, Kobra actually had the codename of Ken Masters in development because of their similarities. The representation wasn't even managed with great satire or love either, Kobra is just a Karate Kid knockoff with nothing to inspire player interest.
It's no surprise that Kobra's last mention was a random line about Erron Black killing him in Mortal Kombat X. That's likely the most memorable thing that ever happened with the character.
5 Moloch
Usually, it's a cause for excitement when an unplayable boss character makes their way to the official roster of Mortal Kombat. In the end, Moloch was nothing more than a disappointment. Moloch was already quite the generic hulking beast in the first place, so when his inclusion in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon removed his Mystical Orb (also known as the Giant Ball of Death), players had even little reason to still care about him.
Moloch's last two appearances have included being a severed head held by Quan Chi and a corpse in the background of a stage. It's probably for the best.
4 Dark Kahn
A fusion of Shao Kahn and Darkseid sounds like it would be incredible in theory. In practice, not so much. Using game devices or mods, players had the opportunity to play as the final boss of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. However, even with a secret attack the AI never used called Enraged, few players were inspired to do so.
While Dark Kahn has gotten minor cameo mentions in the Injustice games, there is almost no player interest to see him return in some form. His boss battle was one of the most frustrating in all of Mortal Kombat history and it left a sour taste in enough mouths to drain all interest in the character.
3 Shujinko
Shujinko could have been like Mokujin, or maybe even Ditto, but instead felt like the worst mashup of characters that were already in the game. Even with an interesting story mode, most players did not want to use a fighter who only provides a taste of what other characters can do when they can just play as the latter.
Players are likely grateful Cassie Cage put him out of his misery in Mortal Kombat X. Even though Shujinko was the star of Mortal Kombat: Deception's story mode, ask players who was the game's main character and they'll likely have no clue.
2 Hsu Hao
Hsu Hao has topped worst Mortal Kombat character lists for years and it comes as no surprise why. This Red Dragon lackey with a mechanical heart could have potentially been interesting, but who is about to pick him when Kano exists?
Even the creators of the games have said they dislike the character, including John Vogel himself. Why would anyone playing the game choose to remember him?
1 Monster
How more uninspired can a dev team be to name a character Monster? Make them a boring clone of the game's most popular character, that's how. Monster appeared in Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest Mode and claims to be a champion of the Elder Gods.
In all reality, Monster was a costume concept for Scorpion that wasn't good enough to make the cut. Consequently, he was tossed into the game as a random character. Not a single casual fan of the series hopes that Monster will make a comeback. Not one.