The Mortal Kombat franchise began in 1995 when the original arcade game was released, and for more than two decades, it has been one of the most popular fighting games in the world. The franchise is known for its high levels of graphic violence, and on several occasions, it has garnered mainstream attention because of the gruesome R-rated Fatalities that serve as finishing moves.

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Over the course of its history, Mortal Kombat has given fans nearly 100 playable characters, and they all have abilities that make them extremely dangerous fighters. Every single one of these characters comes with at least one backstory, but seeing as every Mortal Kombat game has a limited number of character slots, there are plenty of fighters with good backstories who have been ignored or set aside for some time.

10 Rain – A Demi-God Exiled By Edenia's Royal Family

Rain's Original Fighting Stance

Every single ninja in the Mortal Kombat franchise has an interesting backstory, but Rain stands out because he started out as a Demi-God who was cast aside by his father. Born in the ancient realm of Edenia, Rain is the son of the realm's protector, Argus, and an unknown woman.

Argus sent Rain into exile because he was a reminder of his infidelity, and the latter ended up being taken in by an unnamed general who raised him to become a soldier. The current timeline sees Rain orphaned by Shao Khan's invasion, but he ends up joining him when the Edenian resistance refuses to give him command of his own army. It is true that Rain has appeared in multiple games, but it has mainly been as an NPC or DLC.

9 Ashrah – A Demon Who Became A Warrior Of Light

Ashrah In Armageddon

Ashrah is by no means a broken character, but she is the main reason why so many demons were wiped out. This character first appeared in Mortal Kombat: Deception, but she was also in Unclaimed and Armageddon.

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Ashrah is a Netherrealm demon who served Quan Chi, and when she refused one of his orders, he sent her own sister to kill her. Ashrah managed to escape and came across a holy sword that cleansed her soul whenever she killed a demon. Ashrah eventually found herself in a strange realm filled with celestial beings, who decided to make her their holy champion.

8 Daegon – A Corrupted Demi-God Who Was Supposed To Stop Armaggedon

Daegon Preparing For The Final Battle

Armageddon may be one of the lowest-rated games in the series, but it had a good story. Daegon was an Edenian Demi-God, and his prophet mother saw an upcoming apocalypse that threatened to destroy all the realms.

Daegon and his older brother Taven were tasked with deciding the fate of the realms, and they were both put into deep sleeps to await the final conflict. However, Daegon was awakened prematurely and ended up being corrupted by Shinnok. This led to him killing his parents and forming an ancient crime syndicate known as the Red Dragon Clan.

7 Havik – An Anarchist Who Sought To Plunge The Realms Into Eternal Chaos

Mortal Kombat Deception Havik

Havik appeared in Deception, Unclaimed, and Armageddon, and has had nothing but cameo appearances ever since. He comes from Chaosrealm, a realm governed entirely by chaos and anarchy, something Havik sought to spread to all the other realms.

Havik achieved this goal in his non-canon ending in Armageddon, which saw him tear apart and reshape the universe. Havik's main goal, though, was to eat the heart of the Dragon King, Onaga, which would give him the ability to raise the dead.

6 Stryker – Regretted Being A Chosen Warrior

mk11 stryker

There are certain characters that casual Mortal Kombat fans forget about because of how generic they look and their limited importance in the overall story. Stryker was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 3, and he hasn't gotten much love since.

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When Shao Khan invaded Earthrealm, Stryker was in New York, where he tried to keep order in the streets. Shao Khan eventually took every human soul, but Stryker was spared because he was deemed to be one of the realm's chosen warriors. He believed that he didn't deserve to be chosen, but after some soul searching, he decided to fight to avenge the lives of all the innocents he had failed to protect.

5 Meat – An Experiment Who Escaped Captivity

Meat, Shang Tsung's Experiment

Most of Mortal Kombat's characters have great designs, but there are some who just look bizarre, and Meat is one of them. Meat made his debut as a hidden character in Mortal Kombat 4, and, aside from Armageddon, has done nothing but make cameos ever since.

Meat is a skinless horror because he was created by Shang Tsung, but he managed to escape before his body could be completed. He has assisted both Shao Khan and Shinnok, but based on his Armageddon non-canon ending, Meat wants to look like an ordinary person so he can walk around unnoticed.

4 Nitara – A Vampire Who Freed Her People From Outworld

Nitara Saving Her People From Outworld

Casual fans probably have no idea that vampires exist in the Mortal Kombat universe, but they do, and Nitara is the most recognizable of her people. Like other vampires, Nitara feeds on blood to survive, but she is by no means evil, in fact, she is a self-serving and moral individual.

Nitara has barely been seen since Armageddon, and in order to save her people from complete destruction, she set out on a quest to separate her realm from Outworld. She succeeded in this mission, and she later went on another quest to find a great power that could destroy Ashrah's vampire-killing sword.

3 Smoke – A Lin Kuei Ninja Who Was Forcibly Turned Into A Cyborg

Smoke As A Cyborg In MK X

Specializing in stealth and speed, Smoke uses smoke-based attacks, which is why he is considered to be one of the strongest ninjas in the franchise. Smoke's backstory has changed significantly in the current timeline, which is odd seeing as his original story was so good.

Smoke started out as a Lin Kuei assassin who attempted to kill Shang Tsung with Sub-Zero. When they returned to Earthrealm, they discovered that their clan had decided to convert their best warriors into cyborgs. The duo refused to go along with this and although Sub-Zero escaped, Smoke was captured and forcibly converted, and he was then programmed to hunt down his former friend.

2 Shujinko – The Hero Of Outworld

Shujinko's Fighting Stance

Shujinko hasn't been a playable character since Armageddon, which is strange seeing as he was the main protagonist of Deception. He is an adventurer who traveled the realms to learn various Kombat skills in order to fight Shang Tsung.

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An ethereal spirit came to Shujinko and told him that the Elder Gods wished for him to gather the six Kamidogu. It turned out that this spirit was actually Onaga, and he claimed the Kamidogu to re-shape the realms in his image. However, Shujinko stopped the Dragon King and became Outworld's hero in the process.

1 Onaga – The Outworld's True Ruler

Onaga With The Mortal Kombat Symbol Behind Him

Onaga was introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, and he served as a boss or sub-boss for three games, but he has made nothing but cameo appearances since. Onaga ruled over Outworld before Shao Khan, and his army was so powerful that it was considered unbeatable.

Shao Khan was actually one of Onaga's chief advisors, and he betrayed the Dragon King by poisoning him. Onaga was presumed dead for centuries, but he was merely sleeping, and his army had remained in a mummified state waiting for him. His goal is simple: claim the Kamidogu and use their combined power to conquer all the realms.

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