Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat was adapted into two major motion pictures, Mortal Kombat (1995), and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). Neither film was screened for critics prior to theatrical release, receiving poor critical receptions at the time they were released. However, the first movie was a financial success, eventually grossing $70 million in the U.S. (and over $125 million worldwide) while jumpstarting the Hollywood careers of Paul W. S. Anderson and Robin Shou, among others. That momentum did not carry over into Annihilation, however, which received a colder reception from critics and fans alike, and took in only $30 million in the U.S. A third film, Mortal Kombat: Devastation, is currently in the development stage with a tentative release date of 2010.

The franchise also sparked two TV series, the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and the 1998-1999 live-action Mortal Kombat: Conquest. Neither series ran for more than one season (despite the popularity of Conquest). In 1995, an animated prequel to the first movie, titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, was released straight to home video. Coinciding with the popularity of TV media, the Mortal Kombat: Live Tour was launched at the end of 1995. The tour expanded to 1996 featuring MK characters in a theatrical display on stage.

There have been several graphic novels based on Mortal Kombat. There were official MK and MKII comic books, the latter of which was written by Tobias. Both were advertised in the attract modes on early versions of the first two MK games. Meanwhile, in 1994, Malibu Comics launched an official MK comic book series, spawning two six-issue series ("Blood and Thunder" and "Battlewave"), along with several miniseries, and one-shot character issues, until production ended in August 1995.

Reptile could be fought by executing a Fatality after fighting on The Pit stage, assuming a shadow flew over the moon in the background, without taking any damage or pressing the block button in the winning round (initially, this made him difficult to fight with Sonya and Scorpion, as the player has to repeatedly tap the Block button so they wouldn't jump when the player must press up for the fatality). Reptile, a merge between Sub-Zero and Scorpion, is fought on the Pit Bottom. Later, in Mortal Kombat II, Reptile was developed into a full character with his own special moves and would be available from the outset.