Kurtis Stryker



To this day he still has no idea how or why he was called to defend his home. -- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Bio Card

Kurtis Stryker is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat 3.

About Stryker
Stryker was introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 as a somewhat stout-looking man sporting a very urban design with a white-blue shirt, combat boots, gunbelt, black police pants, and a backwards cap. However, his appearance changed in Armageddon into a more serious-looking and modernized policeman. Originally described as being a leader of the Special Riot Control division in the New York City Police Department, he employs modern weaponry such as explosives, firearms, tasers, and nightsticks in battle.

Storyline
Stryker's biography screen in Mortal Kombat 3 revealed that he was the leader of the Riot Control Brigade when Outworld's portal opened over New York City. He attempted to keep order among the populace in the ensuing chaos, but soon all human souls were taken by Shao Kahn with the exception of those that belonged to the chosen warriors. Stryker did not understand why he had been spared until he received a vision from Raiden, instructing him to head west in order to meet with the other chosen warriors and learn about the importance of his survival. Although he did not wish to be one of the few souls that was spared, he entered the fray with the intention of avenging the lives of the innocent that he had vowed to serve and protect. Along with the other warriors, Stryker assisted in liberating Earthrealm from Shao Kahn's clutches. He later reappeared in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon with a complete redesign, including clothing resembling riot gear.

In Stryker's Armageddon ending, he defeats Blaze and becomes so powerful that he feels can no longer be restricted by law. He becomes a vigilante and plans to strike down all the wicked himself.

Powers and abilities
Stryker relies mostly on police weaponry such as grenades, tasers, and guns in kombat. This gives him an advantage over other fighters in terms of range, in that he can deal a tremendous amount of damage from a distance. Using his baton, he can propel himself forward with incredible speed towards the opponent and either trip them or fling them far behind him. Additionally, in Mortal Kombat 3, one of his combos can launch the opponent into the air, which he can use as an opportunity for juggling.

In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Stryker's baton doubles as a device for opening and closing portals.

Signature moves

 * Baton Trip: Stryker uses his baton to trip the opponent. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Baton Throw: Stryker jumps forward and uses his baton to fling the opponent behind him. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Grenade: Stryker throws a concussion grenade at his opponent. Two versions of this move exist, one allowing the projectile to be thrown in a high arc and another with a low arc. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:A)
 * Stun Gun: Stryker fires his taser and delivers an electric shock from long range. (MK:A)
 * Gun Blast: Stryker pulls out a pistol (Or machine gun in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon) and shoots his opponent. In Armageddon, Stryker could also aim his weapon at an upwards angle. (UMK3, MKT, MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Tazer: Stryker fires his taser and sends electricity into his opponent until he/she is fried to death. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Explosives: Stryker attaches an explosive charge to his dazed opponent and detonates it from a distance, causing him/her to explode in a mess of bones and gore. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)

Other Finishers

 * Friendship: Stryker blows a whistle and holds up a stop sign while motioning for pedestrians to cross. In Mortal Kombat 3, all the playable characters run by. In Mortal Kombat Trilogy, all the ninjas (male, female, and cyborg) run past. In the Nintendo 64 version of Trilogy, Kung Lao's dog pulling a small red wagon passes through holding baby versions of Sub-Zero, Sindel, and Jax. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)
 * Animality: Stryker transforms into a Tyrannosaurus Rex and chomps off the opponent's torso. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)

Film
Stryker is mentioned along with Kabal in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation as having been captured by Rain, though they never appear on-screen.

Television
Stryker was one of the main characters in the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, voiced by Ron Perlman. He was one of Raiden's chosen defenders of the Earthrealm alongside Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Jax, Sonya, Nightwolf, and Kitana. In the show, he used his nightstick which concealed an electronic device to close the dimensional rips that were caused by invading realms. He also had a very strict and coldhearted attitude among his fellow combatants, but in the later episodes he starts acting much kinder.

Character development
It took Stryker several tries to break into the MK series. A character named "Kurtis Stryker" was to appear in the first Mortal Kombat, but the idea was dropped in the place of a female fighter (Sonya Blade). This previously unused character would later appear in Mortal Kombat II with a different name: Jax. Jax's initial name was then finally reused for this character in Mortal Kombat 3. Stryker was made to be a SWAT type of character but with a sleeker design. The developers originally planned for him to have several other weapons, but problems and memory limitations prevented this.

Stryker has long held a mixed response among fans. Although character designer and series co-creator John Tobias thought that he would become one of the most popular characters in the game, the opposite would turn true. Many reviled his "common man" appearance, special moves and friendships as being out of place in the sword-and-sorcery world of Mortal Kombat. Despite this, he is also considered one of the highest-tier characters in Mortal Kombat 3, especially after he was given his gun as a special move in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. This move greatly increased Stryker's combo abilities, especially where juggling was concerned. In his Mortal Kombat: Armageddon bio card, Ed Boon claimed him to be one of MK3 ' s "hidden secrets" for precisely this reason. It was also stated that Stryker was purposely given a new appearance in Armageddon in order to make him look more appealing to critics of his original design. Armageddon's early concept art and cast render showed that Stryker was to have his Mortal Kombat 3 look as his primary costume; however, this was scrapped later on as this look was one of the sources of rejection over the character.

Game information
The original Stryker costume used for the Mortal Kombat 3 shoot was red (which is the case for most of the other live-action costumes in the game), but was changed to blue in the game. Stryker's select screen portrait still shows the red version of his outfit. The palette-swapped color variant used for the second player if both players choose Stryker does use the original red costume rendition, however.

Stryker made two cameo appearances in Mortal Kombat: Deception: once as a background prisoner in the "Dark Prison" stage and again during the game's Konquest mode, where he is seen aspiring to become a Seidan guard in Orderrealm. . Stryker is also mentioned in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks in one of the game over messages, which says "Who will win? Stryker or Cyrax?".

Trivia

 * Stryker was also in the intro movie of Armageddon, introducing his new costume to the public. He was the one who started the fight to climb the pyramid, by punching Mileena. Then Kabal used his Raging Flash move to kick Stryker out of the way, but it failed and Stryker pushed him off the pyramid. Then, Kano killed Stryker using his lazer.
 * His name was suppose to be Jax's original name.