From fearless heroes, nightmarish monsters, and blood-drenched combat, the Mortal Kombat series has it all. Debuting in 1992 as a groundbreaking arcade fighting game, Mortal Kombat has since evolved into a sprawling epic spanning time and space. With nearly 30 years worth of content, it can be difficult to keep track of its immense story with much taking place between the games. The Mortal Kombat X digital first series by Shawn Kittelsen, Dexter Soy, Igor Vitorina, Geraldo Borges, and Veronia Gandini is a story set between the events of the 2011 reboot video game title Mortal Kombat and its 2015 sequel Mortal Kombat X.
The story of Mortal Kombat began when the soul-stealing wizard Shang Tsung held a martial arts tournament on his island. Seven fighters from our world, Earthrealm, and the parallel world known as Outworld were brought together to engage in Mortal Kombat. Liu Kang, the hero of Earthrealm, defeated Shang Tsung and was crowned champion. But Shao Kahn, tyrannical ruler of Outworld, lusted for control of all worlds. Shao Kahn was defeated and Earthrealm saved. But Outworld was without a ruler and civil war began...
Mortal Kombat X begins with the blind warrior Kenshi being chased by members of the evil Red Dragon Clan. His son, Takeda, is nearly taken by Hsu Hao, a Red Dragon Commander. Hsu Hao is killed suddenly as Hanzo Hasashi, the famed Shirai Ryu warrior possessed by the spirit Scorpion, saves Takeda. Takeda is taken to the Shirau Ryu temple where he is trained in martial arts. Years pass without incident until one day Takeda's closest friend is possessed by a powerful dagger that the Shirai Ryu had been entrusted to guard. After slaughtering the entire Shirai Ryu, Takeda is eventually forced to kill his friend in order to end the bloodshed. Drenched in his friends blood, Takeda is taken by Hanzo to meet with Raiden, the guardian of Earthrealm.
Raiden explains that the dagger the Shirai Ryu had been protecting is one of seven, the Kamidogu. Each dagger acts as a vessel, each filled with an evil and chaotic blood magic. If all seven are brought together then the Amulet of Shinnok, an artifact that traps the evil Elder God, may be restored. Raiden had scattered the daggers across both Earthrealm and Outworld, entrusting each to a veteran champion.
But as events begin to spiral further and further out of control in both Earthrealm and Outworld, the daggers are drawn slowly closer and closer together. Kotal Kahn, the deadly yet benevolent ruler of Outworld since the defeat of Shao Kahn, is engaged in a war against the Shokan, half-human, half-dragon warriors. As the Red Dragon Clan aids the Shokan and Kotal Kahn begrudgingly accepts the help of the Black Dragon Clan, the conflict ends in Kotal Kahn's favor. But Cassie Cage and Jaqui Briggs, are captured by the Red Dragon Clan. Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade are caught between aiding Kotal Kahn and rescuing the two girls.
Soon, all involved travel towards the same location: Shang Tsung's island. Despite their best efforts, they are defeated by the warrior Reiko, some killed with others being captured. Bound, the champions are helpless as they look upon the mastermind behind the retrieval of the daggers, the capturing of Cassie and Jaqui, and the deployment of the Red Dragon Clan: the Chaos Cleric, Havik. Manipulating events from the shadows, possessing countless warriors through the Kamidogu, and betraying his own acolytes, Havik reveals his true purpose for collecting the Kamidogu: the restoration of the Amulet of Shinnok.
With Havik in control of the Amulet and all hope seemingly lost, Scorpion appears from Netherrealm and tears Havik's head off. The wraith disappears as quickly as he appeared with Havik's head in tow. Free of the blood curse inflicted on them, the remaining champions come to terms with all that has transpired as Scorpion deposits Havik's head in Netherrealm. But as the heroes regroup and peace replaces the fury felt only moments earlier, deep in Netherrealm the necromancer Quan Chi begins to hatch a plot to resurrect Shinnok.
Mortal Kombat X does a fantastic job at utilizing characters from the entirety of Mortal Kombat's expansive history. Classic A-Lister's such as Kano, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Mileena are put at the forefront of the story with lesser known characters such as Jarek, Movado, Drahmin, and even Tasia seeing their share of action. With an abundance of characters, locales, and lines from the games on full display, Mortal Kombat X is a lovingly detailed adventure into one of fighting genre's most beloved series.