WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat, now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
The Mortal Kombat video games have always been known and notorious for their gleefully violent Fatalities as players execute finishing moves on their defeated opponents that often result in a torrent of blood and gore. However, while previous cinematic adaptations of the franchise stayed PG-13, the new Mortal Kombat movie more than earns its R rating with its deliriously gory finishing moves as the warriors from Earthrealm and Outworld battle.
Here are all the Fatalities in the new Mortal Kombat movie, including ones that are directly inspired by the video games themselves.
Kano
Kano quickly proves himself to be every inch as lethal as the rest of the Earthrealm champions by scoring the first, true Fatality in the movie. As Sonya briefs Cole Young and on the nature of the martial arts tournament against Outworld, Reptile strikes to assassinate the fighters before the tournament begins.
While Reptile's active camouflage initially throws the human fighters for a loop, Kano is able to detect where the Outworld assassin is and punches through his chest, ripping out his heart. This move comes straight from Kano's Fatality in the original 1992 game, underscored by the ne'er-do-well proclaiming "Kano wins" over his victory.
Kung Lao
While the champions of Earthrealm are largely bested by their Outworld opponents in their initial skirmish, Kung Lao scores a bloody Fatality on the monstrous Nitara by throwing his bladed hat into the ground and pushing his opponent into the spinning blade, cutting her head in half. This finishing move comes straight from 2015's Mortal Kombat X and is the most gruesome Fatality in the film.
Shang Tsung
Kung Lao's victory over Nitara comes at a price, however, with Shang Tsung asserting his dominance over the Shaolin monk and sucking the soul from his body, leaving Kung Lao little more than a withered husk as the evil sorcerer utters the infamous "Your soul is mine" in triumph. This finishing move has a been staple for the character since 1993's Mortal Kombat II and was made infamous by the 1995 movie, with Shang Tsung claiming the soul of any warrior defeated in the tournament not killed by their opponent.
Cole Young
While Cole struggles to figure out if he's qualified to join the other champions of Earthrealm, he proves himself when he awakens his arcana after retiring back home. When Prince Goro menaces Cole's family, the MMA fighter's arcana covers his body with natural armor while he gains blades protruding from the armor's wrists. Cole saves his family by slicing off one of Goro's hands and then leaping up and stabbing him in the eye, killing the four-armed monster.
Jax Briggs
While Jax Briggs loses his arms to Sub-Zero at the beginning of the movie, gaining unwieldy prosthetics after being rescued by the Shaolin monks, his awakened arcana allows him to embrace his destiny as his arms transform into the cybernetic limbs straight from the games. Back in the fight, Jax quickly puts his upgraded arms to good use by beating up the villainous General Reiko before crushing his head with a mighty clap -- a moment that calls back to Jax's Fatality in 2008's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
Liu Kang
While Liu Kang struggles to keep up with Kabal in their first battle, the martial artist is more than ready to take him on again in their rematch. After knocking around the cyborg, Liu Kang unleashes his Fatality/Animality by transforming into a fire dragon and biting into Kabal. Liu Kang has showcased this finishing move since Mortal Kombat II, though its fiery appearance in the film more closely resembles his Fatal Blow in 2019's Mortal Kombat 11.
Sonya Blade
Sonya is the last fighter in the movie to awaken her arcana, but she makes up for it by scoring two Fatalities by the movie's end. Sonya's feud with Kano reaches its apex after he betrays Earthrealm's champions to Outworld, resulting in the two squaring off in Sonya's home back. After a claustrophobic fight, Sonya kills Kano by stabbing him in the eye with the pointy end of a lawn gnome.
Having killed Kano, Sonya inherits his dragon mark and masters her arcana -- coming in the form of her ability to shoot energy blasts -- shortly thereafter. She displays her awakened arcana by using an energy blast to blow a hole clear through Mileena.
Scorpion
Just as the movie opened with the brutal murder of Scorpion and his family, it closes with the warrior rising from the depths of Hell to finally claim his vengeance on Sub-Zero. And as Bi-Han unleashes all sorts of icy attacks to maintain an edge over his rival, Scorpion now has some elemental tricks of his own. After Scorpion defeats Sub-Zero, Hanzo Hasashi removes his mask to reveal his bony face and that he has since learned to control hellfire. Echoing his Fatality in the original game, Scorpion burns Sub-Zero to a crisp as he breathes fire on him.
Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Bridges, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Matilda Kimber as Emily Young and Laura Brent as Allison Young. The film is now in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max.