Since the series began back in 1992, the Mortal Kombat series has seen its fair share of suprise and guest characters enter its titular tournament. The list varies from original creations hidden in the background, iconic film characters, and characters from other games such as God of War's Kratos. However, series co-creator Ed Boon says Kratos wasn't the only PlayStation staple who nearly found their way into the Mortal Kombat series.
NetherRealm Studios founder, creative director, and Mortal Kombat co-creator shared on Twitter longtime PlayStation staple, Sweet Tooth, was once considered to be a guest character. Boon shared the information after reports of a new Twisted Metal TV series being in the works, prompting him to share a photo of himself with the series' proverbial father, David Jaffe. Boon punctuated by adding the crazed clown nearly found himself inserted into Mortal Kombat on multiple occassions, but plans fell through every time.
Sweet Tooth has served as the face of the Twisted Metal series since the first game released back in 1995. Aside from being on the cover of every game, he is one of the only characters to appear in all the mainline games with his weaponized ice cream truck. He's also found his way into other games, appearing in 2012's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and 2015's Rocket League.
As mentioned above, the Mortal Kombat series has seen its fair share of surprise and guest characters in its near-20 year history. The first few special characters were hidden characters like Reptile and background fighters like Blaze who popped up in the first games before becoming regular or key parts of later games. More recent games have more regularly featured guests characters, such as Spawn and The Terminator in Mortal Kombat 11, who fit in with the over-the-top violence the series is known for.
Sweet Tooth would have made a fitting addition if plans hadn't repeatedly fell through in the past. The character has gone through several re-works across the series' history, beginning as an escaped mental asylum patient to overseeing the titular tournament across the first four games. His backstory was expanded upon in 2012's Twisted Metal where he was revealed to be an ice cream salesman named Marcus Kane who seemingly lived a happy life with his family. However, he would develop a split personality, dubbed Needles, that would drive him to kill his family and become one of the most feared serial killers in the game's world.
The vehicular combat series seems to be making a comeback with a new Twisted Metal game allegedly in the works from Sony. The rumored game is said to tie-in with the upcoming live-action Twisted Metal adaptation set to star Anthony Mackie.