of Mortal Kombat

GLM has brought together a bunch of different views through different mediums in an attempt to enhance your understanding of Mortal Kombat as it is now and was yesterday. GLM's Editorial Input has not been approved by the FDA and is not intended to cure, treat, or prevent any other ideology. Everything in life often connects, overlaps, and reflects one another.

Throughout history no other game franchise has been as arguably world renowned than any other. Mortal Kombat has been the target of parents, moral police, and court systems. The Simpson's parodied the issue, which even appeared in a video game. Which, if you stop to think of the implications, you quickly find your head hurting.

Despite such scrutiny the franchise remains to be a venerable staple in the lineup of video game culture. While at it's roots most people see an orgy of blood and violence, the backstory is filled in fluently through movies. Not only this, but there was a cartoon series, as well as a live action one. Then there's a card game. Graphic novels. And if that's not enough, there's also other video games related to the Mortal Kombat universe but deviate from the fighting game mechanics and become something of an action platformer, some even having RPG elements.

Simply put, Mortal Kombat is the western version of Mario Brothers . Sonic the Hedgehog would also be included, but it has yet to receive a major motion picture.

As a franchise it has lasted 18 years. The first video game, Mortal Kombat, arrived on the red carpet fast track of popular culturedom in 1992.

The game would become the popular alternative to it's closest rival, Street Fighter . Mortal Kombat originators, Midway Games have publicly sighted this game as a reason to break into the fighting game genre. But, as any Americanized version of something goes, it's either going to come out dumbed down or bloodied up. Mortal Kombat has been both at times, but it is predominantly known for it's gore.

Somehow, this amount of violence was considered obscene by some sectors in the United States of America. Twice. One woman sued Midway Games claiming a youngster took to stabbing because of the game, and Jack Thompson, world famously hated lawyer hack and 2010 contestant for Biggest Douche in the Universe (he's been winning consecutively for awhile now, except for the Kanye incident..) in 2006 had someone pull a YouTube video wherein his likeness was being beaten up in the game Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, due to the create-a-fighter feature.

But like any product of capitalism, if it sells, ya can't keep it down. It has enjoyed many popular forms. Below is a catalog, if you will, of Mortal Kombat media:

As of this writing there has been Mortal Kombat V.S. DC Universe added to the lineup, an homage to other popular fighting games in the same genre, such as X-Men: Children of the Atom.

There is a trailer on YouTube entitled "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth," which is basically a proof-of-concept to reboot the movie franchise pitched towards Warner Brothers.

In 2011, the newly renamed developer Midway Games, now called NetherRealm Studios, will release "Mortal Kombat." It will retell the entire series, from the viewpoint that Raiden telepathically messages himself back in time all the way to the beginning.

Guess who the publisher is? Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment.

I think Mortal Kombat has plenty more history to give us, here's to another decade of testing your might!