With the latest release of the Chaos reigns expansion for Mortal Kombat 1The beloved animals returned. The iconic finishers were first introduced back in Mortal Kombat 3Allowing the winning player to have their character Transform into an animal to unleash a brutal thrashing on the opponent. Each character has their own animality that is completely unique to them, with massive and tiny creatures, with all of them being incredibly deadly.
The Mortal Kombat Community has asked for the return of animals for the longest time, and this latest addition to Mortal Kombat 1 finally granted their wish. The finishers are flashier and gorier than everProviding players with a unique bloody spectacle compared to the typical fatalities. There are so many characters to choose from that have great animals, but there are certain ones that stand out clearly from the rest.
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Sub-Zero
Animal: Woolly Mammoth
A woolly mammoth might not be the first animal you’d expect Sub-Zero to transform into, considering how he’s a fast and agile ninja, while a mammoth is quite bulky and slow. However, it is nevertheless quite suitable as a transformation for Bi-Han due to how widespread mammoths were during the Ice Age, referring to his ice powers. Moreover, the viciousness of this animal is A reflection of Sub-Zero’s brutal, unrelenting nature during combat.
Sub-Zero’s animosity starts with the woolly mammoth launching the opponent into the air with a single heavy blow from its trunk, before getting impaled on one of its giant tusks. Their body was then ripped apart After a few more sharp strokes with the stem, leaving a mess of blood and guts and the mammoth’s body on the ground. It’s a quick, but very brutal sequence that sticks with the viewer even after it’s done, partly due to the amount of blood and screaming from the opponent.
9
Creep
Animal: Venus flytrap
Based on its name, one would expect Reptile to transform into an even larger reptile for its prey, but instead He turns into a giant Venus fly trap. Once his transformation is complete, he opens his mouth and grabs the opponent with his long tongue, pulling them into his gaping maw. The part that makes Reptile’s animality truly disturbing is how the opponent screams and reaches for help when they are chewed up.
Reptile’s animal is a sequence that seems to come straight out of Little Shop of HorrorsWhich makes it a very striking and unique animal. The visuals do a great job in portraying The level of danger that reptile hides Under its human guise, much like a Venus fly trap appears to be a normal plant until it decides to strike its prey. The animality may not be as big a spectacle compared to some others, but it doesn’t have to be an effective finisher.
8
Baraka
Animal: Porcupine
Baraka is an iconic Mortal Kombat Character Familiar with the blades that come from his handsAs well as his rows of sharp teeth. His animality gives him even more spikes to work with by transforming him into a porcupine. After launching the opponent into the air, he fires a bunch of fiddles that spray the opponent all over the body, before they fall and are placed on the back of the spike.
Much like Baraka’s blades, a porcupine’s quills can be quite dangerous, and this animal does a good job of showing that. However, despite what the fatality shows, Porcupines cannot actually spin their quillsWhat makes this beast completely unrealistic and exaggerated. Regardless, it’s still a very brutal finisher that is very impressive to look at, while simultaneously proving to be quite horrifying in a good way.
7
approval
Animal: Unicorn
The Mortal Kombat Franchise is no stranger to the presence of fantastic elements, and yet Asherah’s humble transformation comes as a complete surprise. Not many would have been able to guess that her animal would involve her transforming into a unicorn, complete with a majestic set of wings. The transformation is even complete with magical sparkles and colorful stars, which gives the animal an almost pure initial appearance.
The ridiculousness of this animal only continues when Asherah soon appears behind the opponent, stabbing them in the face with her horn. Once the opponent then falls to the ground, the unicorn quickly emits A blast of rainbow-colored fire from his mouthBurn the opponent in a brutal yet colorful fashion. The sheer absurdity of this animal is what makes it so memorable, providing players with a great spectacle that sticks in their minds.
6
Takeda
Animal: Giant Octopus
Takeda’s animality is a little less connected to himself as a character, and is instead a more clever reference to his moveset in the game. Takeda is Best known for his attacks where he uses bladed whipsSimilar to Scorpio. Although he was Scorpion’s student in previous games, the timeline changed him to instead be Kenshi’s cousin, but he still maintains a very similar moveset to what he had before.
During his animal, Takeda first impales the opponent with a tentacle after transforming into an octopus. Once they are dragged into the water with him, the octopus slowly Rips the opponent’s body in two before devouring them. It’s a scene that depicts the kind of terror that can be found in the ocean depths, and the hidden potential that Takeda possesses as a capable warrior.
5
Mileena
Animal: Praying Mantis
Mileena’s animality shows her transformed into a giant pink praying mantis that towers over the frightened opponent. After grabbing the opponent and lifting them into the air, Mileena proceeds to quickly devour their head in a gory, brutal fashion. This is a reference to how Female praying mantises will bite off the heads of their mates.
What makes this animal so great is that This is a true reflection of Mileena herself as a character. Much like the praying mantis she turns into, Mileena is shown to be a very beautiful woman who at first glance is very kind and gentle. However, she secretly harbors a savage nature due to being infected with a disease that gives her Tarkatan features, making her kill others in quite animalistic ways.
4
Airmac
Animal: Locust Swarm
Ermak’s animality allows them to Transform into a large swarm of locustsWhich immediately consume the entire body of the opponent, until only their skeleton remains. It’s a terrifying concept, made all the more terrifying thanks to the close-up panning camera shots of the opponent as they’re being eaten alive.
The idea that Ermak turns into a swarm of many locusts is a great concept considering how they are as a character. Ermak is a being that consists of many different souls Who are all bound together by Quan Chi’s magic, thinking and acting together as a group. The locusts in the animal are a reference to the many souls within Ermak that work together so that their body functions.
3
peace maker
Animal: Eagle
In truth over-the-top Mortal Kombat harvest, The Animals of the Peacemaker is filled to the brim with American imagesFlashing lights, and powerful weapons. Peacemaker not only turns into a bald eagle, a well-known symbol of the United States, but he also uses not only several firearms, but also grenades to take out the opponent. At the time the win screen is displayed, a second bald eagle known as Eagly flies by while carrying the American flag.
As redundant as it is, this animal is quite fitting for Peacemaker considering his story in various DC comics. Peacemaker vows to bring about world peace to all the realms By any means necessary, and that includes the use of excessive force. Given his skills as an incredibly talented marksman and soldier, it would make sense for his animality to have huge amounts of weaponry and American iconography, making his finishing move stand out from most others.
2
Liu Kang
Animal: Phoenix
Unlike his previous animals of Mortal Kombat 3, Liu Kang no longer transformed into a giant dragon to eat the opponent. instead, Mortal Kombat 1 turned him into a brilliant fiery phoenix. After flying over to the opponent, he surrounds his enemy with his wings, which continue to slowly burn them to ashes.
Liu Kang’s animality is a true spectacle that certainly befits one with the titles of God of fire and keeper of time. Not only is the phoenix an immortal bird associated with fire, befitting Liu Kang’s powers and god status, but they are also known to constantly go through a cycle of death and rebirth. This is shown at the end of Liu Kang’s animality, where the phoenix is ​​seen rising from the ashes in a triumphant display of victory, probably hinting at how he reformed the timeline to hopefully give countless characters better lives.
1
Johnny Cage
Animal: Shark
Johnny’s entire character centers around him as an actor, which leads to him making a lot of movie references, and His Animals is yet another reference to a well-known film. Unlike the other characters in the roster, Johnny’s animalization doesn’t begin with him transforming into an animal, but instead putting him in a costume while the cameras get ready to roll. The opponent is then shown to be floating in a vast ocean, before a giant shark suddenly rises from the depths to devour them in a moment reminiscent of the iconic movie Jaws.
Given the fact that there was a reference to Indiana Jones During Johnny’s chapter in MK1story mode, it only makes sense for its finisher to pay homage to yet another iconic Spielberg film. Not only is the animal hilarious, it is also very brutal, referring to the terrifying depths of the ocean. Given that Johnny is a very popular character in the Mortal Kombat Franchise, it only makes sense that his animal in Mortal Kombat 1 is just as over-the-top and iconic as he is, making his animal the best in the entire list.