The 10 Best Mortal Kombat Fatalities of All Time

It's the fighting game so violent, even your parents know about it. Mortal Kombat has been offering kids some of the most insane fighting game finishers since the series' introduction in 1992. With every iteration, the series gets even more insane than the last, especially with the series' signature fatalities.

With the release of Mortal Kombat X earlier this month, we took a look back at the most heart-ripping, blood-soaked fatalities from across the series; from Mortal Kombat to Mortal Kombat 2011. This also means we left out crossover titles and off-shoot entries.

While we understand that every fan has their own favorites, we did our best to pay homage to the series "klassics" while also pointing out the unique, extreme, and (of course) insanely violent. Moves get recycled, and sometimes, later iterations trump their earlier incarnation (or vice-versa). We don't recommend this list to the squeamish. These are The 10 Best Mortal Kombat Fatalities of All Time​.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat

One of the original game's simplest, yet most satisfying fatalities is not character specific, but based on the stage itself. Instead of a more intricate finisher, this involves a well-timed uppercut, with your opponent flying a few stories down to his death…on a bed of spikes. It may seem tame now, but in the '90s, this is what got the parents going.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat

There are plenty of “klassic” fatalities that appear throughout the series, especially between Scorpion, Reptile, and Sub-Zero (we'll get to him later). Scorpion's fire breath fatality is another time-honored series favorite. The move involves Scorpion not only ripping his face off to reveal his skull, but then spitting hot fire onto him and watching his entire body burn to a crisp.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat 3

This one isn't gruesome so much as absolutely absurd, which is fitting for a strange character like Smoke. A ninja turned cyborg, Smoke has been adding his speedy style of play to the series since his first playable appearance in Mortal Kombat 3. While the later games have him reverting to his human form, when he was a cyborg, one of his fatalities involved him filling the stage with smoke bombs (get it?) set to explode.

The bizarre twist? The camera zooms out to show the Earth in space—which promptly blows up. No matter how many times you see someone's heart ripped out, or head crushed, this one is memorable for its sheer insanity.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat 2

Mileena's signature moves involve revealing her insane lower jaw (and equally insane sharp teeth). She's literally devoured her opponents in countless ways over the years, but we have to pay respect to the original. In Mortal Kombat 2 her fatality involved swallowing her opponent whole, and then spitting out all of his bones. While it may seem a little stale since it's had years to be played out, it's worth remembering that this fatality was one of the first of its kind—and while you can cut your opponent up, or rip him apart, not everyone could eat their foe whole. While later iterations have her ripping heads off, or attacking someone before eating him alive, when put together, they pale in comparison to the original.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kobat: Deadly Alliance

This member of the Black Dragon Clan has been separating fighters from their internal organs since the very first game in the franchise. It's his twist on his classic heart-rip move in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance that trumps the others. While Kano usually rips his opponent's heart out of his chest and raises it into the air, in Deadly Alliance he rips out multiple organs, including the heart, liver, and kidneys. To finish it off, he kicks the opponent back on the ground when he's done. It's the same Kano you know and love, only this time more brutal.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat 2011

Making a debut in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Kenshi is your classic swordsman—with a psychic twist. He walks the line of the “blind swordsman” trope found in classic samurai films, but he can also manipulate spirits and telekinetically control his opponents.

While his roster of fatalities include ripping his opponent apart with his powers, and various swordplay-based finishers, it's his secret, “Split Ends” move that takes the cake. While stunning his opponent, Kenshi throws his sword forward into the ground. His opponent follows soon after, slowly sliding into the blade. While there are a few fatalities that involve the opponent left in two (or more) pieces, this one wins on sheer graphic gore alone. It's not every day you see someone's brain, spine, and insides neatly split down the middle. Thanks to the updated graphics in Mortal Kombat 2011, the picture never looked clearer.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat 2011

Goro, the original game's sub-boss and faithful servant to Shao Kahn, has been ripping bodies apart since his first appearance in Mortal Kombat. His vicious tactics in Mortal Kombat 2011 are similar, except now he's not just pulling limbs off bodies, he's ripping them into pieces. Much of Goro's fatalities have him stripping the arms and legs from his unfortunate foes, but in this iteration, he rips his enemy's body in half with his bare hands. There's a reason why he's Shao Kahn's most favored fighter, and it's not his great personality.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat (expanded upon in Mortal Kombat 9)

Jade has been one of the series' female staples since her official debut in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and her staff-based fatalities are some of the most terrifying in Mortal Kombat history. This particular fatality began in the very first entry in the series, with Jade punching her opponent into the air, only to land back on her staff. In Mortal Kombat 9, the move became significantly more intense. Yes, Jade knocks her foes into the air and they land on her staff. But now, she also rips their heads off, and places them on top.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kombat 9

Logically, Mortal Kombat 2011's better graphics result in more gruesome fatalities. A DLC character from Mortal Kombat 9, both of Skarlet's fatalities are about as gruesome and sadistic as they come. While other characters clearly love eviscerating their opponents in any and every way possible, Skarlet seems to get the most enjoyment out of watching her opponents suffer. While her first fatality involves plenty of knife work, this fatality has her dissolving into blood, impaling her foe from below, disemboweling him, and then showering in his blood. This one isn't for the squeamish.

Notable Appearance: Mortal Kobat: Deadly Alliance

Sub-Zero is easily one of, if not the low-key face of the Mortal Kombat franchise. He's not as recognizable as fellow wraiths, Scorpion or Reptile, and he's not in the heroes' circle like Liu Kang or Raiden, but he has one of the most recognizable fatalities of all time: He rips his opponents' skulls and spines out of their bodies. While this has been reused, tweaked, and ultimately recycled throughout the series' history, it's the iteration in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance that really takes the bloody cake.

Instead of simply freezing his foes, and pulling their spines out, Sub-Zero goes one step further. He reaches into their backs and pulls out their entire skeletons (shouts to Kano for originating the move). While other finishers go for gory explosions that ultimately get boring after multiple plays, this extreme twist on a classic is both nostalgic (reminiscent of Sub-Zero's original "Spine Rip") and sadistically satisfying.