Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (also known as Mortal Kombat: The Animated Series) is an animated series based on the popular Mortal Kombat fighting game series. It aired on the USA Networks USA Cartoon Express animation block for one season of 13 episodes from September to December of 1996'.

Storyline
The characters and their backstories are mostly continuous with the movies Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, although there are some minor differences. This includes what the characters looked like in Mortal Kombat 3 the Arcade game. The series takes place in Earthrealm, Outworld, and various other realms after the events of the first movie and the plot has very little to do with the plot of any of the games. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the show was that it provided the debut appearance of Quan Chi, a key character in the MK series who was the villain of Mortal Kombat 4 and part of the Deadly Alliance.

The show was focused on a group of warriors assembled by Raiden to defend Earthrealm from invaders of various other dimensions that entered through portals. The assembled warriors included Liu Kang, Kurtis Stryker, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana, and the younger Sub-Zero, with Nightwolf functioning mostly as tech support. The warriors operated out of a hidden base from where Nightwolf and Raiden monitored portal openings; the warriors would fly dragon-shaped jets to deal with disturbances. Shao Kahn was something of an arch-villain throughout the series, being responsible for allowing other realms to invade Earthrealm. The finale involved Kitana leading a rebellion from Outworld against her step-father, Kahn.

Trivia

 * Defenders was produced by Threshold Entertainment, who also worked on the first two movies. Therefore, elements of the first Mortal Kombat movie were used in flashback scenes, such as Sub-Zero's defeat at the hands of Liu Kang (seen in Kombat Begins Again), Liu Kang's victory over Shang Tsung (seen in Skin Deep), and Sonya beating Kano (seen in Familiar Red), though all of them appear toned down in comparison to the movie.
 * This series marked Quan Chi's debut in the MK canon.
 * USA Network aired episodes of Defenders back-to-back with those of the Street Fighter animated series. Twice the amount of episodes (26) were produced for Street Fighter.
 * Jax actually removes his metal implants in one episode ("Acid Tongue"), thus dispelling the notion for many fans that they were permanently attached.
 * Cyrax, Sektor, Smoke, Rain, Kabal and Ermac all appear unmasked in different episodes, but their human descriptions therein, except for Kabal, are not canon.
 * The series also featured the debut of the newly retconned Kano. His nationality was changed from American to Australian following actor Trevor Goddard's performance in the first movie - possibly, that is the origin of the goatee Kano sports in the series (which does not appear in any game).
 * Although many of the games are rated M for "mature," this series was aimed at a younger audience and thus contained toned-down violence. For example, Sub-Zero is immediately frozen by the water thrown by Liu Kang during a recreated flashback of the fight scene from the movie, in which he was actually impaled by a water-turned-to-ice stake. Another example is the flashback from the movie's final battle between Liu Kang and Shang Tsung where instead of Shang falling into spikes, he falls into flat ground.
 * Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Mileena, Sindel, Noob Saibot, Goro, Khameleon, Chameleon and Kintaro were not shown or referenced in the show at all. Also Baraka and Reptile are not mentioned, but two similar characters appear as replacements.
 * Although Baraka makes no appearance throughout the series, several Tarkatan warriors (called in the show Nomads) appear in the first episode led by someone Jax refers to as Karbrac. This was probably intended to sound like a phonetic anagram of Baraka's name.
 * In the episode Acid Tongue, none of the reptilian warriors is explicitly referred to as Reptile, though all of them share the same looks (moreover the green ninja uniforms). It is however known that their apparent leader is called Komodai.
 * Smoke appeared in the episode "Old Friends Never Die", serving Shao Kahn and seeking Sub-Zero. He is briefly seen in human form in a flashback scene before becoming automated. In the end, Smoke's human soul was able to overpower his programming and he stood to the vow of friendship between him and Sub-Zero. Many fans consider it to be the best episode in the short-lived series.

Actors

 * MK_Defenders_Of_The_Realm.jpg Angel - Oniro
 * Michael Des Barres - Kano, Shao Kahn (normal voice)
 * Clancy Brown - Raiden
 * Nick Chinlund - Quan Chi
 * Olivia d'Abo - Sonya Blade
 * Dorian Harewood - Jax Briggs
 * Dawnn Lewis - Sheeva
 * Nancy Linari - Zara
 * Ron Perlman - Kurtis Stryker
 * Luke Perry - Sub-Zero
 * Brock Peters - Ramath
 * Jeremy Ratchford - Smoke
 * Kevin Michael Richardson - Ermac, Kabal
 * Rino Romano - Rain
 * Neil Ross - Shang Tsung
 * Cree Summer - Princess Kitana
 * Tod Thawley - Nightwolf
 * Brian Tochi - Liu Kang
 * John Vernon - Shao Kahn (normal voice)
 * John Rhys-Davies - Asgaarth