Mortal Kombat recap: the story so far

No. 01 · 1995 · Film

Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins recap

This short animated prequel to the 1995 film follows Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade on a mysterious ship bound for the Mortal Kombat tournament. Sonya is on board following a tip about a wanted man. The sorcerer Shang Tsung appears with Sub-Zero and Scorpion and attacks the group, until Raiden teleports in and scolds Shang Tsung for breaking the tournament's rules. On the way and on the island, Raiden explains the stakes and the history of the people they will face, told in animated sequences between the fights: how Shang Tsung defeated a temple master a thousand years ago, the blood feud between Scorpion and Sub-Zero, who killed Scorpion long ago and now serves alongside him, and Goro, the four-armed champion. Liu Kang learns that his ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, once beat Shang Tsung, only to be killed by Goro, who gave his soul to the sorcerer. Goro sends an army of warriors against the heroes.

How Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins ends

After the battle, Raiden declares that Shang Tsung has broken the rules again. Shang Tsung appears, tells the fighters they cannot win and should lose gracefully, and announces that the tournament proper is about to begin before vanishing. As more of his warriors arrive, Raiden says it has begun, leading straight into the opening of the live-action Mortal Kombat, released the same year.

No. 02 · 1995 · Film

Mortal Kombat recap

Outworld has won nine tournaments in a row, and one more lets its emperor take Earth. The thunder god Raiden guides three fighters to the tournament: Liu Kang, a former Shaolin monk out to avenge his brother Chan, killed by the sorcerer Shang Tsung; Johnny Cage, a movie star who wants to prove his skills are real; and Sonya Blade, a special forces officer hunting the crime boss Kano, who killed her partner. On Shang Tsung's island, Sonya kills Kano, Johnny beats Scorpion, and Liu Kang defeats Sub-Zero after Princess Kitana, the emperor's adopted daughter, quietly coaches him. Johnny's friend Art Lean loses to the four-armed champion Goro, and Shang Tsung takes his soul. Johnny defeats Goro, who falls from a cliff. Desperate, Shang Tsung kidnaps Sonya and takes her to Outworld, where Raiden's powers do not reach.

How Mortal Kombat ends

Liu Kang and Johnny follow, Liu kills Reptile, and Kitana helps them reach Shang Tsung's fortress and free Sonya. Liu Kang fights Shang Tsung, sees through his illusion of Chan, and knocks him onto a bed of spikes, freeing the souls he had taken. The heroes celebrate at the Shaolin temple until Shao Kahn appears in the sky and announces he has come for their souls, leading into Annihilation.

Post-credits scenes

Yes. After the credits, only the voice of Shao Kahn is heard, with game announcer lines. There is no scene.

No. 03 · 1996 · Series · optional

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm recap

This 13-episode animated series picks up after the tournament as an alternative sequel to the 1995 film. Portals from other realms keep tearing open on Earth, and Raiden leads a team from a base in a temple: Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana, the police officer Kurtis Stryker, Sub-Zero, and Nightwolf, who handles the technology. Each episode deals with a new invader. The team fights the cyborgs Sektor and Cyrax, sends Scorpion and his undead army back where they came from, and rescues Kitana from her treacherous former fiance, Rain. Sub-Zero helps his old friend Smoke recover his humanity. Kano and his Black Dragon gang open portals for profit, Quan Chi uses a crystal to turn the team against each other, and Shao Kahn brings Shang Tsung back to life. Sonya, suspended after a reckless mistake wounds Stryker, learns to work as part of the team, and Kabal helps her against the Black Dragon. Jax quits and is captured before returning.

How Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm ends

In the last episode, Kitana leads a rebellion against Shao Kahn in Outworld, but Shang Tsung, disguised as one of her allies, betrays it. Raiden arrives with help, and the defenders escape through a portal, but the rebellion has failed. The show was not renewed, so the story ends there, with Shao Kahn still on his throne and Kitana's homeworld still under his rule.

No. 04 · 1997 · Film

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation recap

Shao Kahn ignores the tournament's result and tears open portals to invade Earth, reviving Kitana's dead mother, Queen Sindel, to lead his forces. He kills Johnny Cage, and Earth has six days before the merger of realms becomes permanent. Raiden, Liu Kang, Kitana and Sonya regroup, and Sonya enlists her partner Jax, who fights off Kahn's warriors. Liu Kang and Kitana seek the shaman Nightwolf, who teaches Liu an animal transformation called Animality; Liu resists the temptations of Jade, who joins them. Scorpion kidnaps Kitana. Raiden gives up his immortality to fight alongside the humans. The heroes go into Outworld and try to restore Sindel's soul by reuniting her with Kitana, but Jade is revealed as Kahn's spy. Raiden learns that he and Shao Kahn are brothers, sons of the fallen Elder God Shinnok, who kills Raiden when he refuses to abandon the mortals.

How Mortal Kombat: Annihilation ends

Jax, Sonya and Kitana beat Kahn's generals, and Liu Kang wounds Kahn, showing he has become mortal by breaking the rules. Shinnok tries to step in, but the Elder Gods expose him and rule that the fight must be settled by Mortal Kombat. Liu Kang defeats Kahn, Shinnok is banished, and Earth is restored. Sindel is freed and reunited with Kitana, and the Elder Gods revive Raiden as one of them.

No. 05 · 1998 · Series · optional

Mortal Kombat: Conquest recap

Set two thousand years before the films, this 22-episode live-action series follows the Great Kung Lao, the monk who has just defeated Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat. Raiden watches over him as he defends Earthrealm from the city of Zhuzin. Kung Lao is joined by Siro, a former bodyguard, and Taja, a former thief. Shang Tsung, now imprisoned in Outworld by a furious Shao Kahn, keeps plotting revenge against him. Episodes pit the heroes against threats sent through from other realms, including Scorpion, Princess Kitana searching for her realm's Essence, Mileena disguised as Kitana, a sorcery that ages Siro and Taja, and a trap set by Shang Tsung and Quan Chi to capture Kung Lao. The imprisoned sorceress Vorpax pursues her own agenda.

How Mortal Kombat: Conquest ends

In the finale, Shao Kahn strikes back at his enemies, and Raiden fights him to save Earthrealm. The show was cancelled before a second season, so it ends on a cliffhanger that was never resolved. A planned second season was meant to settle the fight and tie the show into the wider timeline of the games, but it was never made.

No. 06 · 2011 · Series · optional

Mortal Kombat: Legacy recap

In season 1, a gritty web series, each episode tells one character's origin. Special forces officers Jax and Sonya hunt the Black Dragon gangster Kano; Sonya goes undercover and is captured, Jax tears out Kano's eye in the raid that frees her, and Kano gets a cybernetic one. A mock documentary traces Johnny Cage's fall from fame until Shang Tsung offers him a way out. In animated chapters, Shao Kahn conquers Edenia and creates Mileena from Kitana's blood, and Mileena kills King Jerrod, Kitana's father. A man claiming to be Raiden is locked in an asylum. Hanzo Hasashi finds his family frozen and is killed, then revived as the spectre Scorpion by Quan Chi, who impersonated Sub-Zero. The Lin Kuei turn kidnapped recruits into the cyborgs Cyrax and Sektor. In season 2, the tournament itself, Kung Lao finds his old friend Liu Kang drunk in Macau, bitter after his fiancee's murder. The fighters gather on the island. Kenshi, blinded by Ermac in the past, defeats him. Kitana and Mileena hunt Johnny Cage, and Scorpion and Sub-Zero fight.

How Mortal Kombat: Legacy ends

Season 1 ends with the Lin Kuei pushing ahead with turning the clan into cyborgs. Season 2 ends with Liu Kang, now a hitman, recruited by Shang Tsung to fight for Outworld; he attacks Stryker and Johnny Cage, and Kung Lao arrives to find his old friend on the other side. The series ended there.

No. 07 · 2020 · Film

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge recap

In 17th-century Japan, Hanzo Hasashi, grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu clan, is ambushed by Lin Kuei assassins, finds his clan massacred, and is killed along with his son by the Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero. In the Netherrealm, the sorcerer Quan Chi revives him as Scorpion and offers him a chance at revenge if he fights in the Mortal Kombat tournament for Outworld. In the present, Raiden gathers Earthrealm's fighters: Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, who is hunting Kano. On Shang Tsung's island, the fighters battle through the tournament and the creatures of the island. Scorpion finally reaches Sub-Zero and kills him, leaving him impaled in a pit of spikes. Liu Kang faces the four-armed champion Goro.

How Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge ends

Liu Kang wins the tournament. Quan Chi admits he disguised himself as Sub-Zero to massacre the Shirai Ryu, and Scorpion turns on him and kills him, then joins his family in the afterlife. Shang Tsung retreats, and the heroes escape the collapsing island by boat. Raiden tells Liu Kang his true destiny is to defeat Shao Kahn, who is seen torturing Shang Tsung and ordering an invasion of Earthrealm, setting up Battle of the Realms.

No. 08 · 2021 · Film

Mortal Kombat recap

In 1617 Japan, the Lin Kuei assassin Bi-Han kills Hanzo Hasashi's family, and Raiden saves Hanzo's infant daughter. In the present, Cole Young, a struggling MMA fighter with a dragon birthmark, is attacked by Bi-Han, now Sub-Zero, who works for the sorcerer Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung plans to kill Earthrealm's marked champions before the next tournament, since Outworld has won nine. Jax, a soldier, saves Cole and loses his arms to Sub-Zero. Sonya Blade, who has captured the mercenary Kano, takes Cole to Raiden's temple, where Liu Kang and Kung Lao train the champions to unlock their arcana, their special powers. Cole, Jax and Kano unlock theirs. Kano betrays them, Outworld attacks the temple, and Kung Lao is killed. Cole kills Goro.

How Mortal Kombat ends

Cole forces the fight into one-on-one duels: Sonya kills Kano, takes his mark and kills Mileena, Liu Kang kills Kabal and Jax kills Reiko. Sub-Zero takes Cole's family, and Cole releases Hanzo, now Scorpion, from Hell; together they kill Sub-Zero. Scorpion recognises Cole as his descendant. Raiden banishes Shang Tsung, who promises to return with armies, and Cole leaves for Los Angeles to recruit Johnny Cage.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no mid-credits or post-credits scene.

No. 09 · 2021 · Film

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms recap

After Shang Tsung's defeat, Shao Kahn invades Earthrealm, and his army is pushed back at the Wu Shi monastery. Kahn proposes a final tournament to decide Earthrealm's fate, and Raiden agrees, giving up his immortality so he can fight himself. Meanwhile, the Lin Kuei, secretly hired by the fallen Elder God Shinnok, are turning their warriors into cyborgs and hunting Scorpion. Kuai Liang, brother of the Sub-Zero Scorpion killed, escapes the conversion and takes the name Sub-Zero; he and Scorpion form an uneasy alliance, but the Lin Kuei recover the Kamidogu, artifacts Shinnok needs. In the tournament, Shao Kahn kills Kung Lao and Shang Tsung kills Stryker. Kitana defeats Raiden but turns on Kahn and is beaten. Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung and spares him. Raiden dies fighting Shao Kahn.

How Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms ends

Liu Kang, enraged, defeats Shao Kahn and frees Kitana. Shinnok resurrects the One Being and merges with it, killing the Lin Kuei who served him. Liu Kang, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, with help from the Elder Gods, kill Shinnok. Liu Kang absorbs the One Being's power and restores the realms, Edenia included. Sonya and Johnny kiss, Liu Kang and Kitana hold hands, and Raiden returns as an immortal.

No. 10 · 2022 · Film

Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind recap

Decades after Shao Kahn's defeat, Earthrealm is a wasteland overrun by undead revenants, and Kano, now calling himself king, rules its scattered cities with his Black Dragon gang and an aging Shang Tsung. The young warrior Kenshi Takahashi defends his city and spares the raiders Kabal, Kira and Kobra, but they return with Tremor and Shang Tsung, who takes an interest in Kenshi's family name. Calling himself Song, Shang Tsung lures Kenshi to the Well of Souls, drains it to become young again, and throws the blinded Kenshi in. Kenshi survives by claiming the telepathic sword Sento. Kano kills Shang Tsung. An old Kuai Liang, the former Sub-Zero, trains Kenshi; he gave up his powers after an ice storm he unleashed killed his clan and innocent people.

How Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind ends

Kenshi lets himself be captured, and Kuai Liang burns his farm to summon Scorpion and becomes Sub-Zero again. They free Kenshi and destroy the Black Dragon. Kano flees to Kronika's Hourglass, which he used to create this timeline, and Sub-Zero kills him before he can erase him. Sub-Zero leaves for the Netherrealm as he promised Scorpion, and Kenshi becomes leader of the Lin Kuei and Earthrealm's protector.

No. 11 · 2023 · Film

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match recap

At Christmas in 1980s Los Angeles, Johnny Cage is hoping for his big break with the movie Ninja Mime when his co-star Jennifer disappears. He and his assistant Chuck Golden go to her mansion and find two women, Ashrah and Kia, fighting over a scroll; the house explodes after they escape, and Kia dies in a chase. The scroll is a star map of Los Angeles. Cage learns his own agent is a demon and kills him in self-defense. With no help from the police, Cage, Golden and Ashrah, a demon hunter who wants to become human, investigate a secret Hollywood club and defeat the assassin Jataaka. They discover that a cult, the Brotherhood of Shadows, plans to summon the god Shinnok, and that Jennifer is the demon Sareena, who built Cage's career so his blood could open a portal to the Netherrealm.

How Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match ends

Sareena uses Cage's blood to open the portal, and Shinnok enters Earthrealm. Cage fights him while Golden and Ashrah battle the demons; Ashrah kills Sareena, Cage taps hidden powers to drive Shinnok back, and Golden seals the portal. Cage is hailed as a hero. Golden becomes his stunt double, Ashrah leaves to hunt demons, and Cage packs his car for a film shoot on a remote island, leading into Scorpion's Revenge.

No. 12 · 2026 · Film

Mortal Kombat II recap

Years ago, Shao Kahn conquered Edenia by killing King Jerrod, then took Queen Sindel as his consort and Princess Kitana as his daughter. Twenty years later, before the tenth tournament, the sorcerer Quan Chi revives Kung Lao and Kano for Kahn. Raiden and Sonya Blade recruit Johnny Cage, a washed-up action star, who at first refuses. In the first round, Sonya kills a corrupted Sindel, and Kitana beats Johnny but spares him, revealing she is Raiden's spy. The revived Kung Lao wounds Raiden, and Quan Chi and Shang Tsung use Raiden's power to bind Shinnok's amulet to Kahn, making him immortal. Liu Kang is forced to kill Kung Lao, and Kahn kills Cole Young. Johnny wins the trust of the Tarkatan leader Baraka, Kahn kills Jax, and Kano switches sides, revealing that the revived Bi-Han holds the amulet in the Netherrealm.

How Mortal Kombat II ends

Kahn mortally wounds Liu Kang, who realises he is not the prophesied champion and dissolves into fire, vowing to rescue the fallen. Kahn wins the tournament, but Kitana turns on him. In the Netherrealm, Johnny and Kano, helped by Scorpion's spirit and Jade, defeat Bi-Han and destroy the amulet, unlocking Johnny's powers. Kitana kills the now mortal Kahn and becomes queen of Edenia, and Raiden defeats Shang Tsung. The survivors plan to use the captured Quan Chi to revive their fallen.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no mid-credits or post-credits scene.