When a fighting game has been around as long as Mortal Kombat has, there are bound to be some strange characters that are designed in order to fill roster space and pump new life into the series. A lot of these extra characters can often become the subject of jokes from fans, such as Dan from Street Fighter. Mortal Kombat, however, manages to have some of the weirdest characters around that many modern fans may have only encountered through in-game easter eggs or the Mortal Kombat X comic series.
There a lot of strange characters that exist in Mortal Kombat lore across the many different realms and timelines. Some of these characters appeared as one-off secrets in a similar vein to Reptile or Ermac while others have established roles in the Mortal Kombat story. However, these five playable characters are some of the absolute weirdest kombatants that have ever been included in the Mortal Kombat games.
Chameleon
Chameleon is one of the many ninjas that have been created over Mortal Kombat's lifespan, though he's certainly one of the more obscure. Most people know about Ermac and Noob-Saibot and long-time fans are probably aware of Smoke and Rain, but not many seem to remember Chameleon in a similar nostalgic way. His gimmick was that he could utilize the attacks and moves of the other MK ninjas.
Chameleon appeared in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy and the absolutely wild Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. He shares several traits with Reptile's Saurian race and even has been described as being present during almost every major event in the original Mortal Kombat timeline. Chameleon has yet to make an official appearance in the new timeline created in Mortal Kombat 9, though he may simply be waiting in the shadows for his time to strike.
Moloch
Moloch is similar to characters like Goro and Kintaro in the sense that he's one of MK's many monstrous mini-bosses. The ball-and-chain-wielding Oni made his first appearance in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as that game's sub-boss, serving as Quan Chi's bodyguard alongside Drahmin. Both Moloch and Drahmin are Onis, though Moloch is described as being completely consumed with a monstrous rage, which may explain his more threatening appearance.
Moloch, alongside Drahmin, would reappear in the new MK timeline in the lore-heavy Mortal Kombat X comics. He'd meet an unfortunate fate as he would be executed by Kitana for failing to capture Hanzo Hasashi. Moloch's Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending isn't much better as he ends up trapped in Edenia after rendering it a barren wasteland due to his own unstable rage.
Meat
Meat is by far one of the most bizarre fighting game characters of all time. Meat is a skinless humanoid made of meat that was created in Shang Tsung's flesh pits, which is also how fan-favorite character Mileena was created. Meat's original appearance was in Mortal Kombat 4, where he appeared as a secret character that simply used the skinless character model that was used for certain fatalities.
Meat would go on to have several cameo appearances in multiple MK games, including being hidden in Mortal Kombat: Deception's Konquest Mode. While he was playable in MK4, he wouldn't be given any form of backstory until his appearance in Armageddon. Meat still pops up from time to time in modern MK titles. He appeared in the background of a Kombat Card in Mortal Kombat X and even shows up in MK11's Krypt to jumpscare players.
Mokap
The only character that may be stranger than Meat is Mokap, who is just a guy dressed in a motion-capture suit. What makes this seemingly normal human an even stranger additional than Meat is that he was actually somewhat of a serious addition. He was treated as a canon character in his debut game, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, and was even given his own backstory.
Mokap is a martial arts teacher from Chicago who does stunt work for Johnny Cage's films due to his wide knowledge of many different martial arts styles. He aligns himself with the side of good in Deadly Alliance but seemingly has no serious effect on the game's ending. Mokap's ending in Armeggedon says that Blaze's destruction was so great that it tore Mokap's soul apart, casting it into the sky where it became a constellation of legend in Edenia.
Drahmin
Drahmin was once a human warlord who was trailed and tortured in the Netherrealm for his crimes. What makes Drahmin such an interesting character is his design, with a mask that's said to control his Oni rage and a giant metal club hand. Drahmin would make his debut in Deadly Alliance but wouldn't return until Armageddon due to being a fairly unpopular character with competitive players.
Part of the reason Drahmin was so disliked was due to his move set being so focused on pop-up combos and the cloud of flies that followed him around being considered an unfair distraction in play. Much of this would be changed for his return in Armageddon, though it wouldn't be enough to stop the character from sharing a similar final fate to his Oni ally Moloch. In the Mortal Kombat X comic series, Drahmin would have his soul drained by Quan Chi for failing to capture Hanzo Hasashi.