Kurtis Stryker



"Police brutality, coming up!"

- Stryker's Mortal Kombat (2011) Battle Cry

Kurtis Stryker is a 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, making him a force that is not to be underestimated. He is seen as the first person to run towards the pyramid in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

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.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), retelling the story of MK, MKII, and MK3, he is the partner of Kabal in the SWAT organization. He and Kabal were chosen to be one of the 9 warriors, though they don't even know it, to fight Shao Kahn in the Battle for Earthrealm. During the invasion of Earthrealm, Stryker and Kabal are spotting any problems from the rooftop of a high building when they suddenly spot Reptile sticking to the building's outside. They're firing bullets at him, but Reptile manages to dodge them all and jump on the roof. While Kabal reloads his pistol, Reptile spits his poisonous saliva to his stomach to put Kabal aside and grabs Stryker's pistol with his tongue, probably eating it. Stryker challenges him and manages to win, then helping the wounded Kabal. They both head to the ground floor, astonishing looking behind a window seeing the huge Shao Kahn Arena Beast.

As he walks away, Kabal notes Mileena. Stryker calls her a foe, being 100% sure. Stryker heads to the foe and opens a battle with Mileena. He defeats her but she recovers and prepares to attack Stryker again while a Pterodactyl flies very near Stryker's head. Mileena runs into Stryker, but halfway Raiden intervenes and shocks her unconscious with Lightning Bolt. He wonders how he can fly and shoot lightning out of his arms, but they see Johnny Cage in trouble (fighting Motaro) on a bridge far away. Raiden has to intervene and stops Motaro with Lightning Bolt and kills him with the Torpedo Attack. Kabal and Stryker wonder what kind of freaky world they live in, or that it is the Johnny Cage movie "Time Smashers". Anyway, they meet Kintaro and Stryker orders Kabal to fire multiple targets to him. He reloads and suddenly Kintaro blows his fire breath to Kabal burning him to a crisp. He can't allow him to do that unpaid and defeats him in Kombat.

He informs Medevac to help Kabal, but gets interrupted by Ermac who sends him flying to the subway. There Ermac challenges Stryker for Kombat, and Stryker wins once again. On the stairs he meets a tall, native American looking man, Nightwolf. He grabs his pistol and holds him under fire, but Nightwolf tells him Raiden needs his help. Stryker gives him the benefit of the doubt and comes along with Nightwolf. As Stryker returns to help Kabal, they find out he disappeared. He only left a burn print of his body, so Stryker believes Kabal must have been abducted since Medevac hasn't been on the "crime scene."

After everything, Stryker goes to Raiden and joins the group of Earthrealm warriors. He meets Kabal once again, but in a very different form (with respirator and half-melted skin). They helped Cyber Sub-Zero and got ambushed by the Lin Kuei. They find out that Sindel was leading the Lin Kuei clan of robots. The Earthrealm warriors defeated the robots and attacked Sindel. Sindel defeated them all, however, and killed most of them, including Stryker. After his death, he was resurrected by Quan Chi to serve him and kill Raiden. Raiden defeated his resurrected soul however along with the other fallen Earthrealm warriors' souls.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat 3: "When the portal opens over a large city in North America, panic and chaos rage out of control. Kurtis Stryker was the leader of the Riot Control Brigade when Shao Kahn began taking souls. He finds himself the lone survivor of a city once populated by millions." thumb|300px|right|Styker's Bio Kard


 * Armageddon Bio Kard: "Kurtis Stryker was the leader of the NYPD's Special Riot Control division. During Shao Kahn's attempt to seize Earthrealm, Stryker found himself among the Earth warriors charged with saving mankind. To this day, he still has no idea how or why he was called to defend his home."


 * Mortal Kombat (2011): "One of New York City's Finest, Stryker is a one-man SWAT team. He was once decorated for single-handedly thwarting the terrorists in the famous Greenberg Tower Incident, and again for rescuing passengers of a speeding crosstown bus rigged to explode. He was unprepared, however, for the magical portal that spewed forth creatures from another realm--a realm he didn't even know existed. So far his kombat training has gotten him through the first wave of creatures. It'll take more than rocket-launching Tarkatans to stop this die-hard cop."

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, MK 2011)
 * Baton Throw: Stryker jumps forward and uses his baton to fling the opponent behind him. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK 2011)
 * 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, MK 2011)
 * Stun Gun: Stryker fires his taser and delivers an electric shock from long range. This move was once his fatality. (MK:A, MK 2011)
 * Stryker's_Gun_Blast.pngGun Blast: Stryker pulls out a pistol (or a 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, MK 2011)
 * Double Grenade: Stryker throws two grenades at his opponent. There are also high and low versions of this move. (MKT)
 * X-Ray Move - Busted: Stryker pulls out a flashlight and turns it on in front of the opponent's eyes, blinding them and causing them to kneel down. Stryker than hits his opponent in the head with his flashlight. Stryker then pounds his opponent in the head with his baton, breaking the opponent's skull and nails the opponent's jaw, also breaking it. He finishes the combo by tasing the opponent. (MK 2011)

Fatalities

 * Taser: Stryker fires his taser and sends electricity into his opponent until he/she is fried to death. (MK3, Krypt_001-1.pngUMK3, MKT)
 * Have A Blast!: 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. In MK 2011, he lodges an unpinned grenade into the opponent's stomach and walks away. The grenade will then explode in their stomach, leaving their fiery lower body on the floor. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:2011)
 * Time Served: Stryker tasers his opponent and then explicitly shoots his/her head off with his gun. (MK 2011)

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)
 * thumb|250px|rightBabality: Stryker pulls out his pistol and fires at the floor, knocking him back and then starts crying. (MK 2011)

Endings



 * Mortal Kombat 3 (Semi-Canonical): "Ignorant of why his soul was spared from the Outworld invasion, Stryker receives a vision from Raiden. He is instructed to travel west. He eventually meets the rest of Earth's warriors and learns the true meaning of his survival. He travels back to the city he swore to protect. Kahn is unfamiliar with this new kombatant and is caught off guard. Stryker defeats the warlord and saves the entire planet. The chaos that consumed the city in the hours before the invasion are gone."


 * Armageddon (Non-Canonical): "The fire of Blaze burned away Stryker's previous notion of justice. The power coursing through his soul inspired him to fight injustice on his own terms. No longer would he allow himself to be confined by the law. He would strike evil from the shadows, a vigilante who would show no mercy to the corrupt. He went into seclusion to prepare for his one-man assault on the wicked. Soon all the realms will know the name Stryker."


 * Mortal Kombat (2011): "Despite telling the world that he was simply doing his job, Stryker was made a hero for saving Earth from invasion. He received both the key to city and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. Press and paparazzi hounded his every move. His biography spent a year on the best-seller lists. Stryker action figures flew off the shelves and into every young boy's hand. But when approached by Hollywood for the rights to his story, Stryker put his foot down. Never would he allow himself to be portrayed by Johnny Cage."

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

Tahmoh Penikett portrays Stryker in Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

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, Kabal, 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 cold-hearted attitude among his fellow combatants, but in the later episodes he starts acting much kinder. He gets this sweet side at the end of the episode Fall from Grace, after assisting Sonya in battling Colonel Zenkaro of the Shokan.

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 MK3 look as his primary costume, however, this was scrapped later on as this look was one of the sources of rejection over the character. However, his new look in Mortal Kombat (2011) strongly resembles his MK3 attire.

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. Also in Deception, his name is randomly shown up in the sky in the main menu. Stryker is also mentioned in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks in one of the game over messages, which says "Who will win? Stryker or Cyrax?".

Original Timeline

 * Shao Kahn claimed the souls of his city he swore to protect.
 * Received the vision from Raiden and instructed him to join the Earth Warriors before MK3.
 * Joined the fight against Shao Kahn and his minions in MK3.
 * Joined the Forces of Light in the final battle in Armageddon.
 * First person to touch the pyramid after punching Mileena in the face.
 * Killed during Armageddon.

Alternate Timeline

 * Member of the New York City Police Department's SWAT Division.
 * Once partner of Kabal.
 * Defeated Reptile after he knocked Kabal aside.
 * Defeated Mileena.
 * Later defeated Kintaro after he burned Kabal alive.
 * Ermac levitated him to the Subway where they fought one another, and Stryker was able to defeat him.
 * Invited by Nightwolf to join the Earthrealm warriors.
 * Killed by Sindel.
 * Resurrected by Quan Chi to serve him.

Mortal Kombat Legacy

 * Officer of the Deacon City Police Department.
 * Lead an investigation to stop the "Cyber Initiative" and arrest Kano, leader of the Black Dragon clan.
 * Assisted Jax in his mission to rescue Sonya.

Trivia

 * Stryker was in the intro movie for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, introducing his new costume to the public:
 * He started the fight to climb the pyramid, by punching Mileena.
 * Kabal used his Raging Flash move to kick him out of the way, but it failed and Stryker pushed him off the pyramid.
 * Kano struck him with his eye laser.
 * Shang Tsung blasted him along with other kombatants running up the pyramid.
 * A character named "Kurtis Stryker" was going to be in the original Mortal Kombat, but was dropped in favor of a female character, Sonya Blade.
 * "Kurtis Stryker" was originally going to be Jax's name in Mortal Kombat II.
 * Stryker is the only kombatant without any special moves or finishing moves that are supernatural in nature or otherwise defy physics.
 * Known for being a very divisive character, according to Ed Boon in Stryker's bio kard, he is the favorite character of some, and the least favorite of others.
 * Ed Boon also stated that Stryker was supposed to be one of the strongest fighters in MK3.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, a person resembling Stryker is shown.
 * Somewhat ironically, even if Stryker fails to perform a fatality in Mortal Kombat (2011), he still kills his opponent. If he defeats his opponent without performing a fatality, he will take a grenade and throw it off-screen. When it explodes, he is splashed with the blood of his opponent. Despite this, it is not technically a "Fatality" by that definition
 * In Mortal Kombat (2011), he's the only character where his final action of both Fatalities is seen three times.
 * In Stryker's MK 2011 bio, one of his accomplishments "rescuing passengers of a speeding crosstown bus rigged to explode" is a reference to the movie Speed.
 * Stryker is one of the four characters in MK 2011 to have an X-Ray move that hits the opponent three times, the others being Kano, Reptile, and Kintaro.
 * In Mortal Kombat (2011), Stryker is the only character that is never seen wearing a default outfit during the Story Mode (with the exception of the opening cutscene showing the aftermath of Armageddon), and is only ever found wearing his alternate outfit which can be seen in the picture above on the right.
 * Stryker's X-Ray move opens with him blinding the opponent with a flashlight. This somehow affects Johnny Cage (who wears sunglasses) and Kenshi (who is blind).
 * In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Stryker was placed at #3 of the worst characters in the Mortal Kombat series.
 * In Mortal Kombat (2011), his gun resembles a M9. This makes sense, as some police officers carry an M9 as their firearm.