Childhood Remastered: Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

Chris Gravitt
November 29, 2018
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If you were a child of the 90s, I guaranteed you played Mortal Kombat. The game was a cultural phenomenon. It was in every arcade (when there still were arcades, that is) and often attracted a crowd whenever anyone was playing. But it was just as infamous as it was famous. The gory nature of the game and it’s signature fatalities caused parents groups and community leaders to condemn the game and, in part, lead to the creation of the ESRB, which provides age ratings for video games.

It’s strange then that the creative team behind Mortal Kombat decided, just 4 years after the game’s initial release, to develop a cartoon series based on the game franchise. This cartoon showcased fairly toned down versions of some fan favorite characters, as well as some new characters that had just debuted in the third installment of the game, and was called Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm.

From Wikipedia:

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (known as Mortal Kombat: The Animated Series outside of the U.S.) is a cartoon series based on the popular Mortal Kombat video game series. Produced by Threshold Entertainment and Film Roman, it aired on the USA Network‘s Action Extreme Team animation block for one season of thirteen episodes from September to December 1996, back-to-back with those of the Street Fighter animated series. The show serves as a combination of an alternative sequel to the first Mortal Kombat film and the events of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Highlights:

Ed Boon, John Tobias, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, Jax, Raiden, Nightwolf, Cyrax, Sektor, Scorpion, Mortal Kombat, Toasty, Noob Saibot, Midway Games, USA Network, Film Roman, Threshold Entertainment, Food Fight, Jonathan David Sloate, Clancy Brown, Brian Tochi, Cree Summer, Luke Perry, Dorian Harewood, Olivia d’Abo, Ron Perlman, Tod Thawley