Characters / Mortal Kombat 9

Mortal Kombat Main Character Index
Original and Reboot Timeline: MK (1992) | MK2 | MK3 | MK4 | Deadly Alliance | Deception | Armageddon | MK vs. DC Universe | MK9 | MKX | MK11
The New Era: MK1
Spin-offs: Mythologies: Sub-Zero | Special Forces
Non-video game: The Movie | Conquest | Defenders of the Realm | 2021 Movie
Individual Characters: Scorpion I (Hanzo Hasashi) | Sub-Zero I/Noob Saibot (Bi-Han) | Johnny Cage | Liu Kang | Raiden | Shang Tsung | Sub-Zero II/Scorpion II (Kuai Liang) | Kitana | Mileena | Shao Kahn/General Shao | Quan Chi

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Spoilers for the original timeline will be unmarked

Here, we're going to list the characters introduced in Mortal Kombat 9.

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Skarlet

Skarlet

"A few pints of blood...is all I ask."

Debut game: Mortal Kombat 9 (Dana Lyn Baron)

Other appearances: Mortal Kombat 11 (Beata Poźniak, English; Stevie DeFelice, Face Model; Katalina Múzquiz/Carola Vázquez, Latin American Spanish)

Shao Kahn has many warriors under his command, but his trust lies solely in the fighters of his own creation. Warrior blood gathered from countless battlefields, fused with sorcery, produced his most effective enforcer yet: Skarlet.

An expert tracker, she preys on those deemed enemies of the empire. During kombat, Skarlet gains strength from her opponent's blood, absorbing it through her skin. Shao Kahn has a new mission for this formidable kombatant: discover Quan Chi's true intentions and kill him if he plots betrayal of the emperor.

She appears in the prequel comic series to X, where it is shown that after the apparent death of her master Shao Kahn, Skarlet sides with Reiko in the Outworld civil war. With Reiko's death, however, she escapes into the shadows and is not seen again until 11 where she returns as a playable character. Her past self appears as one of the many Outworlders brought into the modern era by Kronika, her present day counterpart assumed dead. In addition, Skarlet’s backstory is revised to have her be an orphan raised by Shao Kahn thanks to her impressive determination to survive.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Skarlet frequently humors most of the male fighters with varying degrees of flirtatious comments about stealing some of their blood. They don't find her unattractive, they just find her creepy.
• Affably Evil: In the majority of her intros in 11, Skarlet is civil and calm when addressing the other fighters. Granted, in most of them she makes a claim for their blood, but at least she asks nicely.
• Ascended Glitch: Like Ermac and Blaze, she was born from an initial rumor. In the older arcade games, Kitana, Mileena, and Jade sometimes appeared in red outfits due to a programming glitch; fans named the glitch-character Scarlet (or Skarlet, if you prefer). Fans found her Dummied Out, and the first batch of DLC has revealed her.
• Bad Powers, Bad People: Played With. Most characters consider Blood Magic to be especially creepy — especially when Good-aligned. Further, Blood Magic is extremely addictive, and Kotal Kahn makes it clear that Osh-Tekk avoid using to that degree. And, while Skarlet's addiction was created outside of her control by Shao Kahn, Liu Kang says that it's not that which makes her evil — it's her willing devotion to Shao Kahn that does.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason she's so loyal to Shao Kahn is that motives aside, he gave her a chance to improve her station.
• Blood Lust: Just look at her Fatalities... Skarlet might very well be Interplay of Sex and Violence personified.
• Blood Magic: Was taught this by Shao Kahn. She enters fights via a pool of blood, and she also uses a projectile attack that's like a blood version of Johnny Cage's. According to her ending, she also grows stronger when the blood of others splashes upon her skin. Becomes a plot point in Chapter 18 of the X comics, as she wants to learn blood magik itself. However, 11 reveals that Shao Kahn taught her a form that causes her soul to slowly decay, requiring her to take blood from others to survive.
• Bloody Murder: Her modus operandi. Skarlet makes a habit out of shaping weapons from her element, not unlike Sub-Zero, and she won't hesitate to use your own blood against you.
• Boyish Short Hair: Mortal Kombat 11 gives her this both as a shoulder length bob in her main outfit and a pixie cut in her alternate.
• The Bus Came Back: After being absent for X, she returns as playable in 11.
• Butt-Monkey: Most of her pre-fight dialogue with characters in Mortal Kombat 11 is centred on people calling her creepy or belittling and insulting her. One notable exception is Shao Kahn himself, who never does this.
• Cast from Hit Points: Her Blood Ball in Mortal Kombat 9. Jade also notes to Skarlet that her use of blood magic has a consequence of decaying her soul, with Sindel later adding that it leads to madness at its worst.
• Cat Fight: Downplayed (in that it not strictly for fanservice only) and mildly invoked in the Mortal Kombat X comics. During her fight with Mileena, the latter berates her for choosing to work with Reiko. Considering that Mileena had previously had an intimate relationship with the spoiler protected individual and Skarlet was involved with one with him at that time combined with Kotal Kahn quipping that "Earthrealmers say 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'", the implications are rather strong.
• Combat Stilettos: Used in her Eye Scream-worthy X-Ray Attack.
• Combat Tentacles: Made of blood. She uses them in combat to whip opponents at range or restrain them to allow for a stab in the gut during her throws. They even play a part in a Brutality, where one crushes the opponent so hard, their head pops off.
• Contract on the Hitman: Her siding with Reiko ultimately leads Shao Kahn's other assassin, Mileena, to turn on her.
• Couldn't Find a Pen: Played for Laughs with her Friendship in MK11, where she uses her blood magic to paint a picture.
• Crippling Overspecialization: While Baraka generously compliments her natural fighting skill, he claims Skarlet has forsaken it in favor of blood magic.
• Devious Daggers: Crossed with Psycho Knife Nut. Her weapons of choice appear to be throwing knives. In 9, Skarlet wielded a pair of wakizashi, the shortened Japanese blade that is often paired with a katana. Come 11, most of her weapon options are ceremonial daggers, with the odd wakizashi thrown into the mix.
• Did They or Didn't They?: It's implied that she has some kind of history with Erron Black, as the of them share by far the most flirtatious dialogue. They reminisce on his history with her and Nitara, and Skarlet bitterly chides him about leaving, further stating that she still greatly desires his blood. This is still not much to go on.
• Distaff Counterpart: Basically a female Ermac with blood replacing souls. Skarlet is a being composed of countless warriors defeated by Shao Kahn and was conceived as a rumor in the earlier games and eventually became an Ascended Glitch and is a red Palette Swap, pretty much mirroring Ermac's conception and design
• Downloadable Content: In her introduction in Mortal Kombat 9, the only newcomer among the DLC characters. She's on the starting roster in 11.
• The Dragon: An intro dialogue with Baraka has her state with him defecting from Shao Kahn, she has been appointed as his right hand.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Before being introduced as DLC, in Story Mode, she appears among the entrants in the background during both Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament and Shao Kahn's Outworld tournament. Additionally, she appears tied up in Shao Kahn's colosseum.
• Even Evil Has Standards: In 11, when Kano calls her tastes "iffy", she is outraged.
  Skarlet: No Black Dragon judges me!
  • She also states to Jax that she has some reservations on consuming his blood because of what he's been through, and only throws this out the window when he says he's fine with whooping her ass. So while she can be cruel and quite literally bloodthirsty, she at least wants to be fair about it.
• Evil Redhead: Befitting her Color Motif, she has dark red hair in all her appearances excepting the alternate ones in 11, which give her a short black pixie cut with red highlights and a black bob with red highlights instead.
• Freudian Excuse: Claims her background of poverty and starvation fuels her ambition and lust for power.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: She went from street urchin orphan to one of the most revered Outworld assassins.
• Gone Horribly Right: Shao Kahn raised her to be a great enforcer, and she proved to be far more powerful and successful than he expected. So successful and ambitious, in fact, Shao Kahn warns her to not overly overstep her station. Noob Saibot also suspects Shao Kahn hides his best techniques from her out of fear she may overthrow him.
• Humanoid Abomination: According to her first biography. She's nothing more than a construct of the blood of fallen warriors mixed with sorcery and made to be entirely loyal to Shao Kahn; additionally, her strength increases when the blood of other fighters comes in contact with her skin. Essentially, Skarlet is to blood as Ermac is to souls. However, see Retcon below.
• Hypocrite: Says to Johnny Cage in MK11 that no one will miss him, and that’s rich coming from an assassin who doesn't have a family.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: One of her fatalities in 11 involves using her Blood Magic to rip the blood out of her opponent, turn then blood into solid spears, and then shoves them back in.
• Lady in Red: As befitting her name, all of Skarlet's main outfits are red.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Mileena does a roll that obliterates her legs, Skarlet proclaims that "Brutality... won't kill me...". Considering that Mileena does indeed have a Brutality in Mortal Kombat X that does just that, Skarlet's statement is rather metaphysical in that way.
• Leave No Survivors: Anybody opposing Shao Kahn's empire is fair game for her to go after, although Quan Chi takes priority and by said control she unwillingly kills her own master Shao Kahn.
• Mistaken Identity: A meta example. Many mistook her for Kira at first. When Ed Boon leaked her leg in a Twitter pic, she was originally believed to be a redesign for Sareena or Sindel.
• Multiple-Choice Past: Nobody can seem to agree whether Skarlet is a blood construct created by Shao Kahn or a normal woman that Kahn took in and taught blood magic. This includes Skarlet herself who gets it mixed up in her own fight intros.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Her alternate skin and her UMK3 outfit for the Vita version have a plunging neckline.
• Old Flame: Pre-battle banter indicates that Skarlet was once in a relationship with Erron Black.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Given she is from Outworld, she fails to understand Cassie Cage's Dracula reference in one of her intros in 11.
  Cassie: Bride of Dracula!
  Skarlet: Who is this "Dracula"?
  Cassie: Lemme tell ya, he's a catch!
• Power Echoes: Her mask in 11 gives her voice a metallic tinge.
• Power Limiter: The reason you see her chained up in Kahn's Arena, despite the fact that Kahn created her.
• Prim and Proper Bun: She's never worn the hairstyle in canon, but she does get her own red version of the classic MK3 female ninja outfit as a DLC costume in 11, alongside Kitana and Jade receiving their respective blue and green versions, bun hairstyle included.
• Rags to Riches: In Skarlet's revised backstory, she was a starving street urchin whose willpower was so impressive that Shao Kahn taught her blood magic and raised her. Numerous Outworlders express their amazement at how far she's come from where she started.
• Rain of Blood: Skarlet's usual victory animation is her showering under, presumably, the defeated foe's blood. It is also one of her potential buffs within the game.
• Remember the New Guy?: Given that she appears as early as the MK1 portions of the story, she's at least a minor case of this.
• The Resenter: Towards Kitana, Jade and Sindel, angry that they were born into positions of wealth and privilege while she grew up poor and starving. She also claims Jade never accepted her because she wasn't Edenian.
• Retcon: Despite initially being written as a construct of blood Shao Kahn created, a slew of intro dialogues in Mortal Kombat 11 and her profile in the official site suggest Skarlet was a normal Outworlder who was taught blood magic by Shao Kahn after being impressed by her fighting spirit.
  • Confirmed in MK11's story mode, where Kotal Kahn refers to her as "the orphan-turned-assassin."
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Once Quan Chi's mind control wears off and she realizes what she has done by killing her master Shao Kahn, it is on.
• Screaming Warrior: She speaks as much as Reptile does in 9, yet seems to be as proficient as Liu Kang in terms of warcries. Averted in 11, where she speaks normally and has an overall calmer demeanor.
• Sensual Slav: As of 11, she's voiced by a Polish actress with her natural accent, and even with her Tamer and Chaster outfit, she's still an attractive woman.
• Ship Tease:
  • Because Kotal Kahn knows Blood Magic like she does, she suggests that they "commingle their blood", which he rejects because he's already spoken for.
  • She asks Sub-Zero to be trained by the Lin Kuei, which he rejects. And when he tries to dissuade her interest in his blood by stating that it runs cold, she becomes visibly excited.
  • One of her primary desires is to be Shao Kahn's queen and this brings her into conflict with Sindel and Mileena.
• Sinister Scythe: A favored blood construct Skarlet uses during fights is a jagged scythe-shaped from blood.
• Slobs Versus Snobs: In 11, she greatly resents Kitana and her family and friends because as a former Street Urchin, she was poor and hungry while they lived lives of privilege. When she has Kitana at her mercy, she gloats about how the princess is no longer above her in status. Many of her battle intros reflect this.
  Skarlet: Why has Earthrealm favored Edenians?
  Fujin: Because their people are just and true.
  Skarlet: It is because they are wealthy and beautiful.

  Skarlet: We are both born of magic.
  Mileena: Yet you serve, and I am royalty.
  Skarlet: Not for long, Mileena.

  Kitana: Share your true feelings, Skarlet.
  Skarlet: You're an entitled, treasonous brat!
  Kitana: You sound much like Shao Kahn.
• Spy Catsuit: In the X prequel comics, she dons a black bodysuit upon allying with Reiko. It returns as one of her alternate skins in 11, with the black bodysuit color appropriately being named Blood Kode.
• Spell My Name With An S: As is tradition with the series, her name is the word "Scarlet" spelled with a "K" in place of the "C".
• Stripperiffic:
  • Even more than usual. Skarlet was based on Kitana's already scanty outfit, and then the design department started carving away at that. You could swallow her entire wardrobe with a glass of water. The whole thing is justified by the story as well (as making contact with blood is how she gains strength, she needs a lot of places for it to contact during battle).
  • Averted in 11. She's fully covered in her default costume and even wears a head covering mask, with her other costumes also being pretty modest, with the most revealing of her outfit showing her cleavage at most.
• Suddenly Voiced: In MK11, she speaks after being silent in her first appearance.
• Terrible Artist: The painting she makes for her MK11 Friendship... is just a simple stick figure. But she seems rather proud of it, even signing her name on the canvas!
• Uncertain Doom: Only her time displaced past self appears in 11, leaving it ambiguous as to what happened to her between the X comics and that game. Kotal Kahn mentions her as a long gone Outworld champion, so it seems like she's dead.
• Undying Loyalty: To Shao Kahn, as he raised her to have such. Unfortunately, this doesn't stop her from being mind controlled in her non-canon 9 ending in which she kills him. In the Mortal Kombat X comics she is shown to give her allegiance to Reiko rather than Shao Kahn's designated heiress Mileena. One of her intros with Noob in 11 starkly proves that she values her power more than the one who bestowed it, to the point that her arcade ending sees her ascend to godhood with Shao Kahn grovelling at her feet.
  Skarlet: Souls hold more power than blood?
  Noob Saibot: Shao Kahn hides his best magic from you.
  Skarlet: If true, he will die.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: According to Kitana during one of their intros. Skarlet brushes it off by saying the more innocent her was starving and weak.
• Unexplained Accent: Notable in that many of the other Outworld characters do not have accents. In 11, however, Skarlet speaks with a Polish accent.
• Vampiric Draining: A side effect of many of Skarlet's amplified special moves is restoring part of her own health pool by literally draining it from the opponent.
• Verbal Tic: Being a blood mage with a thirst for blood, one can expect the word "blood" to be a part of her vocabulary.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In issue #26 ("Watch the Throne") of the Mortal Kombat X comics, she has her legs obliterated by Mileena and is about to be pummeled by her before she shifts her focus on Reiko. After the battle on the beach, Skarlet doesn't appear for the rest of the comics. In addition, she hasn't received any mention at all in the Mortal Kombat X game itself either, but she returns in Mortal Kombat 11.
• Yandere: 11 portrays her as this towards Shao Kahn in certain intros - namely, threatening Sindel by saying she'll kill her so she can be by Shao Kahn's side and mocking Mileena with the concept of being her stepmother. Becomes much more disturbing once you consider that Skarlet is implied to view Shao Kahn as her surrogate father in her ending.

Guest Fighters

Kratos

Kratos

"You will not see the end of this day!"

Voiced by: Terrence C. Carson

An exclusive character for the PS3 and Vita versions of the game, Kratos is the main character of the God of War series, making his second fighting game appearance since Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. A Spartan warrior from Ancient Greece, Kratos sold his soul to the God of War, Ares, in order to defeat his enemies. Kratos commited many atrocities during his servitude to Ares until he unknowingly killed his beloved wife and daughter. Horrified, Kratos swore revenge on Ares. With the ashes of his family bonding to his skin, Kratos became known as the Ghost of Sparta and even took the mantle of the God of War. Wanting no part in the war between men and Gods, Kratos withdraw himself into solitude, only to be disturbed by an otherworldly presence: wanting to achieve victory against Raiden, Shao Kahn had Kratos summoned to Outworld and attempted to enlist him to his servitude by binding him to his will. Enraged by Kahn's attempt, Kratos broke free and declared war on the Outworld warlord and thus, the Ghost of Sparta took arms once more.

For other tropes which apply to him, check his own character sheet. This is only for these tropes which appear in this game.

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• Badass Adorable: Usually when a Babality happens the victim usually does something funny, then realizing their failure throw a tantrum. What does Kratos do? Yank the head off of a Medusa plushie and display it proudly. Not only that but Baby Kratos still has his six pack and beard. Even as an infant he's still a BAMF.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Compared to his Soulcalibur adaption, which was significantly Lighter and Softer. He's more gruesome here in line with his home series being filled with Gorn.
• Canon Welding: His biography implies that Kratos comes from a period of time in which God of War III has already occurred.
• Combat Pragmatist: Not above blinding his opponent with the head of Helios before attacking him.
• Defiant to the End: Kratos is the only character who keeps up his menacing sneer even during X-Ray Attacks and Fatalities. He still makes the appropriate grunts and spits blood and such, though.
• Guest Fighter: From God of War. As the 1Up article said, this role could be the best fit for him. Kratos also has the honor of the being the first example of a guest character who has appeared in two separate fighting games thanks to his appearance in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.
• Lighter and Softer: As hard as it is to believe for someone like him, one of his two Fatalities is this game ("Medusa's Gaze") is downright tame compared to any other in this game. He uses Medusa's head to turn the victim to stone and then uses the Nemean Cestus to shatter the statue. No blood or gore in it at all. That's how petrification works in his series, so it is only Lighter and Softer here in Mortal Kombat.
• Quick Time Event: Incoporates these as part of his moveset in a nod to their usage in his home games.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: His arcade ending, where he becomes allies with Raiden and Fujin. Possibly the only time gods has shown him respect without being back stabbed. Kratos himself is taken aback by their friendliness, having rarely met a fellow deity who was genuinely kind to him.
• Truer to the Text: Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny had to Bowdlerize him due to the former being rated T. Here, Kratos gets to be as bloody gruesome as possible since Mortal Kombat 9 is a hard M. Additionally, the Quick Time Events were absent in the former.
• Version-Exclusive Content: He's only available on Sony platforms, as you might expect.
• Walking Armoury: He brings along an impressive arsenal from God of War III, including:
  • Bow of Apollo: As one of his specials. The normal attack fires two, the enhanced attack fires three.
  • Blade of Olympus: Involved in the "Blade of Olympus" fatality, and as the third hit of his enhanced Quick Time Event.
  • Blades of Exile: His punches, also involved in the first hit of his X-Ray, as well as in his "Blade of Olympus" fatality.
  • Head of Helios
  • Nemean Cestus: Involved as the second hit of his X-Ray and in his "Medusa's Gaze" fatality.
  • Medusa's Head: Involved in his "Medusa's Gaze" fatality.

Freddy Krueger

Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger

One, two, Freddy's coming for you...

Voiced by: Robert Englund

The Big Bad of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Appears here as he did in the remake.

A malevolent spirit of the Dream Realm, Freddy Krueger preys on the souls of the living as they sleep. When Shao Kahn began to steal Earthrealm's souls - souls Freddy considered his own - Freddy battled the emperor in the Dream Realm. But Shao Kahn's will was too strong. He pulled Freddy into the real world, where he was mortal, and defeated him. A badly injured yet determined Freddy fitted both his hands with demonically enhanced razor gloves. Once he has killed Shao Kahn he will find a way back to the Dream Realm, where he will torment Earthrealm's souls for eternity.

For other tropes which apply to him, check his main character sheet. This is only for these tropes which appear in this game.

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• Canon Welding: Notably, Freddy's inclusion tries to justify his existence in the context of the Mortal Kombat universe by stating his domain exists as one of the realms called the Dream Realm.
• Canon Immigrant: Not Freddy himself, but the Dream Realm is implied to be canon to the series with Tremor's ending in MKX, where it is stated he stole a psych bomb from there for use in Kano's theft of Shinnok's Amulet.
• Composite Character:
  • This version of Freddy uses Jackie Earl Haley's likeness but pretty much all of his moves and fatalities are derived from Robert Englund's tenure as Freddy, in addition to being voiced by the man.
  • On A related side note, the woman in his arcade ending, who is most likely Nancy Thompson/Holbrok uses Heather Langenkamp's likeness, but the bedroom she's in resembles the remake version.
• De-power: Shao Kahn pulled Freddy into the real world to deprive him of his Dream Realm immortality.
• Downloadable Content: He was the fourth and final DLC character released for the game.
• Dual Wielding: After getting his ass kicked by Shao Kahn due to being deprived of his reality warping and immortality, Freddy arms himself with a pair of demonically-augmented gauntlets that bear a striking resemblance to his original glove but let him access his powers outside the Dream World.
• Evil Laugh: Two of his only voiced lines in the game are a sinister chuckle and a hearty laugh when he commits a fatality.
• Forced Sleep: A move allows him to rain dream dust on his opponents to put them to sleep and set up combos.
• Full-Name Basis: On the character selection screen, he's one of only four characters (the others being Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao) whose full name is displayed and read by the announcer. During gameplay, however, his victories are only announced with "Freddy wins."
• Guest Fighter: From the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Notably, he's the first of five guest characters in the series to hail from horror films
• High-Pressure Blood: His first fatality involves him physically dragging his opponent into the dream realm, leaving only a fountain of blood where they once stood, just like in his debut film.
• Home Field Advantage: Subverted twice. Kahn simply pulled him out of the Dream Realm and subjected him to a humiliating Curb-Stomp Battle in the real world, but then Freddy's ending shows him ultimately returning the favor on Kahn's turf.
• Jump Scare: His Babality has the camera pan into the carriage to show a slash-marked teddy bear... and then baby Freddy attacks the camera.
• Murder by Cremation: Freddy has a fatality called "Welcome to my Nightmare". During this fatality, Freddy summons a large furnace. He then stabs the opponent in the neck and stomach, and chucks them straight into the furnace. As they burn in agony, Freddy waves goodbye and shuts the door, cutting their arm off, and burning them to death. This is a Shout-Out to A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In his ending, Nightwolf's attempt to seal him away so that he can no longer harm the people of Earthrealm only puts Freddy right back into the Dream Realm, the place he's most at home at, so he can continue his killing rampage.
• Nightmare Face: Covered in burns, as always.
• Silent Snarker: Played with; one of his attacks involves him telling his opponent, "Shhh."
• Shout-Out: All of his Fatalities and a lot of his moves are based on some of his most memorable kills in the movie franchise. His ending also features a recreation of his first movie's cover art.
• Wolverine Claws: Sports his signature clawed glove, now on both hands (due to the fact that it's hard to animate a character with claws on ''one'' hand in a fighting game).

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