Secret Characters

Secret characters are special opponents who are usually not found within the original 1P Tournament/Battle Plan. To reach them, one must meet specific conditions, often challenging ones in order to face them in kombat. Secret characters often appear as color palette swaps (usually ninjas) of existing characters with enhanced speed and powers. Mortal Kombat is exceptional, if not well-known, for being the first game to introduce secret characters in fighting games, and since then, has become a very recurring trend in the genre. For the most part, secret characters are unplayable and merely exist to challenge the player.

However, in MK3 and its updates, secret characters can be unlocked for player control via the Ultimate Kombat Kode (UKK). If any one of the kodes are input successfully, the arenas will quickly flash by in succession before displaying the character that was unlocked according to the code announcing, FROM THIS POINT ON, I AM AT YOUR CONTROL. Ultimate Kombat Kodes require inputs from both players because of the combined slots.

Mortal Kombat

 * Reptile: The very first ever secret character to appear in a fighting game, appearing as a 'fused' color palette swap of Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Reptile possesses the moves of both ninjas along with increased speed. To reach him, one must earn a Double Flawless Victory without blocking once and then perform a Fatality. In addition, the player must be at the Pit stage and a flying object must appear in the background, sailing in the sky past the moon. After conditions are met, the player will be transported to the Pit Bottom and face Reptile there. He is only available in certain versions of the arcade game, and all console versions.

Mortal Kombat II
All secret characters fought here are fought at Goro's Lair from the first game.


 * Smoke: First appearing in MKII in his only canonical human appearance, Smoke appears as a silver palette-swapped version of Reptile, having access to Scorpion's Spear attack as well as enhanced speed. Smoke's defining feature is the constant amount of his namesake emitting from his own body. In addition, his speed appears to be considerably higher compared to the other secret characters, almost as if he is running at times. To reach Smoke, one must press Down and Start when Dan Forden pops up from the bottom-right corner of the screen and shouts 'Toasty!!. This must be done at the Portal stage to work.


 * Noob Saibot: A mysterious ninja who would later be revealed to be the original Sub-Zero. First appearing in this form, Noob Saibot appears as a completely black palette-swapped version of Sub-Zero, also having access to Scorpion's Spear. Because of his shadowy palette, it is difficult to track him down in obscure sections of the stage. To reach him, one must accumulate a grand total of 50 wins in a row.


 * Jade: Another mysterious female ninja making her debut in MKII. Jade appears as a dark-skinned, green-colored palette swap of Kitana, having access to her Fan Throw attack. Aside from enhanced speed, Jade is also immune to any and all projectiles thrown at her as they will fly right through her. To reach her, one must fight in the single player tournament and fight all the way to the match before the ? slot. In this match, the player must win the battle using ONLY the Low Kick and cannot use any other button (including blocking)

Mortal Kombat 3

 * Smoke: A robotic version of Smoke, after his rebellion from the Lin Kuei with Sub-Zero. Here he appears as a violet palette swapped version of Sektor. As with his human form, he still possesses the Spear attack, but it is fired from his chest cavity instead, similar to Sektor's missiles and Cyrax's bombs and nets and has Sektor's teleport punch in addition to possessing invisibility. Unlike the previous games, Smoke is not only fought during the game, but can be unlocked by entering the Ultimate Kombat Kode at the end of the game. He can only be highlighted when the Dragon Symbol rotates to reveal his portrait which happens every three seconds or so.


 * Noob Saibot: Making a reappearance once more, however, his appearance has been altered, resembling a completely black palette-swapped, version of Kano as no ninjas exist in the game. He has no special moves but still has enhanced speed and some of his combos. To fight him, one must enter a code. Once the round has concluded, the winner will be transported to Noob's Dorfen where he is fought.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

 * Human Smoke: Smoke's original human form before the Lin Kuei took away his flesh. He appears as a faster white palette-swapped version of Scorpion and Ermac having access to the former's Spear and a mix of their combos and a teleport punch. He can be both fought at the end of the game via Shao Kahn's Treasures and accessed in playable form via a code while playing as Robot Smoke before the round starts. Holding Back, High Punch, High Kick, Run and Block is the combination. Once transformed, the player will remain as Human Smoke throughout the tournament until either they lose in any match or win the final battle.


 * Classic Sub-Zero: The original form of the first Elder Sub-Zero before his death at the hands of Scorpion. Possesses the same moveset as his younger brother from the 2nd game, having only the Ice Blast, Slide attack and Ice Puddle. He can be both fought at the end of the game via Shao Kahn's Treasures and unlocked using the Ultimate Kombat Kode 81835-81835.


 * Mileena: Reappearing now as a secret character in the game, complete with her own original set of moves from the second game. Same situations for Classic Sub-Zero applied to Mileena. UKK is 22264-22264


 * Ermac: Once rumored to be a secret character in the first game due to a bug. Ermac makes his first official appearance in the game as a tanned, red palette-swapped version of Scorpion with his own set of moves, possessing the power of telekinesis. Same situations for Classic Sub-Zero and Mileena apply to Ermac. UKK is 12344-44321


 * Noob Saibot: Same as his MK3 appearance, but with the appearance of a ninja instead of Kano.


 * Rain: Not exactly a secret character per se, but a 'joke' character who appears in the Arcade version's attract mode. No coding for him actually exists in the game but appears in the console ports as an initially playable character. He appears as a palette swapped version of Scorpion with no special moves of his own.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy

 * Chameleon: An odd palette swap of sorts. Chameleon appears as a partially invisible ninja whose color randomly switches to the colors of the male ninjas which corresponds to which moves he will copy. He can be both fought via Shao Kahn's Treasures and accessed as a playable character via a code while playing as any male ninja before the start of the round.


 * Khameleon: A partially invisible, white palette swapped version of all of the female ninjas that unlike Chameleon, tends to fade in and out of vision whereas Chameleon is simply transparent. Also unlike her male counterpart, Khameleon's colors do not change, but rather, her name in her health bar does. Depending on the color, Khameleon's moveset will change to the corresponding female ninja at random intervals, making her hard to play. She can be fought through one of two ways: at the Star Bridge, one of the players must press Down and Start when Dan Forden pops up. A confirmation identical to the MKII hidden character battles will pop up. Or the player can access the Secret Endurance ladders where Khameleon is located on the Champion ladder at the very bottom. Regardless of the method, she will always be fought at the Hidden Forest. She can also be unlocked one of two ways: either through the Blue Question Mark option (unlocked through a cheat code), or through the Ultimate Kombat Kode (113-840), which also unlocks Human Smoke. She is only available in the Nintendo 64 version.


 * Human Smoke: Reappears the same as before, but with new moves and added Fatalities. As with Khameleon, the same situations apply to him. Unlockable in the N64 version but initially playable in all other versions.

Mortal Kombat 4

 * Meat: Initially appearing as a model glitch, Meat serves as the model used for characters who are skinned alive from Fatalities, resulting in a bloody skeleton covered in mangled and severely mutilated flesh. His moveset depends on the character who was initially chosen when the conditions for playing as him are met. To play as him, one must go to Vs. Mode and select the 'Group' option in the Character Select screen and choose any character. A small box will appearing showing all of the characters in the screen. As the battles are won, the last character who was played as at the time of victory will be blanked out in red. Repeat for the entire roster and then select any character of your choosing and you will assume the role of Meat.


 * Reptile: Reptile appears once more as a secret character, but only in the Game Boy Color port of the game. As with Smoke in MK3, he is only selectable when the portrait rotates to reveal his face. Accessible with a code. Kombat Kode: 192-234


 * Noob Saibot: Returning once more from Mortal Kombat 3, he here appears as the original model for Reiko with his moves included and wields a scythe. There is a code known as Noob Saibot Mode which suggests he could be playable, the code has no absolute effect whatsoever. He has Fatalities, but they can only be executed with the Easy Fatality codes

Mortal Kombat Gold

 * Sektor: Returning from Mortal Kombat 3 as one of the three hidden playable characters. He appears as a texture-swapped version of Cyrax retaining his original moves. To play as him, one must choose the Hidden Option and input a code
 * Noob Saibot: Reappears the same as before, but now in fully playable form, but his Fatalities are still inaccessible through normal play. Same situations for Sektor apply to Noob Saibot.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

 * Mokap: One of the two hidden characters who can be unlocked in the game. Mokap is the alternate, in-game identity of motion capture actor, Carlos Pesina, who provides all of the motions for every character in the game. He uses moves and styles borrowed from other characters, lacking a weapon style. He is unlocked after completing the Konquest mode with all characters, including the unlockable ones


 * Blaze: First appearing in MKII as a minor background character. Blaze is a fire elemental cursed with the task of forcefully guarding the Dragon Egg of the Dragon King. As with Mokap, he uses moves borrowed from other characters and lack a weapon style. Unlocked the same way as Mokap.

Mortal Kombat: Deception

 * Liu Kang: His status as a secret character qualifies as Midway was very secretive about his appearance in the game, careful enough so that no information regarding him would be leaked, as well as the conditions needed to locate his key. He appears in an undead form, his body reanimated by the Dark Raiden to carry out his will. He possesses all of his moves from Mortal Kombat 4, but is unusually strong compared to the other characters. While his spirit can be fought at Earthrealm, his unlock key can be found at Edenia at a very specific time and location.

Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks

 * Ermac: As a tribute to the oldest rumor in the book, Ermac appears as a secret character, his design based on his Deception appearance. He is located in the Warrior Shrine at the Wu Shi Academy, which is based on one of the supposed methods to reach him. In order to reach the Warrior Shrine, one must 'make an offering' to the statue at the right which can only be reached with the Pole Swing ability. Doing so unlocks the gate to the Warrior Shrine. Inspecting the mysterious appearance of his statue amongst the collection in the shrine from the first game three times will cause Ermac to emerge from his rocky cocoon and will automatically do battle with you. He is especially hard, using telekinetic powers with a sizable range and the ability to teleport.
 * Kano- He is found right before you enter Shao Kahn's arena. To fight him you have to talk to Kitana until two masked guards appear. After you defeat them just head to the dungeon to fight the black dragon mercenary with the help of Jax.
 * Mileena- She is found in the living forest. You have to double jump to reach the branch right in the begining of the level then swing to the ladder. Search the area above for a large hollowed-out tree, inside which you will fight her.

Fake/rumored characters
In addition to secret characters, some fans had claimed that other characters existed in the first two games, whom could only be reached by even more challenging conditions to meet before fighting them.


 * Ermac_in_mk1.jpg: Ermac was the source of much controversy within the fanbase. One gamer had reported a glitch in the color palette swaps that replaced Scorpion's yellow colors with red (the original color of the costumes used when capturing footage), in the form of a new character known as ErMAC, a shortened form of Error Macro. This report's validation was further supported by checking the arcade's menu. Under a list of stats, there was one named ERMACS. Thus people were led to believe that Ermac indeed did exist. However, Midway had officially denied any coding of the character. Before the announcement, a list of methods were released to find him, most of them extremely hard. In Mortal Kombat II, his existence thus further denied in the form of a scrambled message after defeating Shao Kahn, which unscrambled says: ERMAC DOES NOT EXIST. He was later made into playable form in UMK3


 * Nimbus Terrafaux: Another rumored character to have appeared in the game. Unfortunately, no coding for him even exists in the game. He was described as being an African American kickboxer. The existence of the character boldly denies such existence in the game as his surname, Terrafaux, is Latin for earth fake.


 * Skarlet: was a rumoured character in Mortal Kombat II, a supposedly red-clad palette swapped version of Kitana, nothing else was known about her or how to reach her. The glitch is just like the Error Macro one from the previous game that would turn Scorpion red and create a red male ninja who would later be made into a real character in Mortal Kombat Trilogy called Ermac. Being unnamed, she was often called Skarlet by the MK community. There is no proof of whether the glitch is real or not though fans often speculate that Skarlet was made up even though a similar red ninja named Ruby makes an appearance in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. Furthermore, there appears to be some speculation regarding her inclusion in the upcoming game Mortal Kombat (2011) due to the possible playability of a female ninja clad in red. The fact Shaun Himmerick also mentioned in an interview 'hidden characters that didn't exist, we're gonna make sure they exist now' adds more plausibility to this case.
 * Red_robin.jpg Robin: was a rumoured character in Mortal Kombat II, a supposedly red-clad palette swapped version of Reptile, nothing else was known about her or how to reach her.


 * Kano: Kano was also rumored to have appeared in Mortal Kombat II as a secret character, via Shang Tsung's Morphing ability. Even a statistic named 'KANO TRANSFORMATIONS' was listed in the menu. However, this was purely a ruse in order to cash in more money made by Midway. Kano exists in the game along with Sonya, but only can be found in Kahn's Arena where they are bound by chains.
 * Pedro.jpg: Pedro was rumored to be in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and was said to be a Mexican fighter who would fart fire as an attack but it was later proven to be an April Fool's Joke from video game magazines. Perhaps ironically, the "Fire Fart" idea would later be given to Bo' Rai Cho as a fatality.
 * Aqua_ending_0.png: He was a japanese costume-ninja in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, a supposedly yellow and black palette swapped version of Scorpion MK1, nothing else was known about her or how to reach her.
 * Belokk: Belokk was originally a removed character in Mortal Kombat Gold but was said to be unlockable through Tanya's box which did not unlock any characters.This was later revealed to be a glitch let out by the designers.

Mortal Kombat

 * In the original version, upon defeating Reptile, the player is awarded with 100,000,000 points. In the Sega Genesis version however, the player is awarded with 1,000,000 instead
 * Reptile does not exist in the handheld versions of the game (Game Gear and Game Boy)
 * Reptile's name is displayed in his health bar in the SNES version as opposed to SCORPION.

Mortal Kombat II

 * In the Sega Genesis version, all hidden characters are fought at a blue colored version of The Portal stage


 * Noob Saibot could only exist in the Gameboy version by linking up 2 Gameboys. He could be fought after 25 consecutive wins.


 * In the Sega Genesis, Saturn and Amiga versions, Jade is Caucasian instead of dark skinned


 * The Amiga version has a slightly green-tinted version of Goro's Lair
 * Additionally, Jade is fought normally in the tournament without any special requirements, eliminating her status as a secret character altogether.


 * In all ports of the game, Jade's name is added to her lifebar, which was strangely absent in the original version

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

 * All secret characters with the exception of Human Smoke are initially playable from the start in the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis/Megadrive ports of the game. Rain is now a playable character.
 * Sheeva sort of qualifies in the SNES version. Despite being excluded from the game, her coding still exists in the game, but she has no sprites of her own with unnaturally broken stats. She is accessible in the game's secret Tournament mode, represented as the E portrait used for Endurance matches
 * In the Sega Saturn version of the game, Noob Saibot is once more a palette swapped version of Kano.
 * In the Gameboy Advance version, Mortal Kombat Advance, Human Smoke is an unlockable character. He is unlocked by beating the Warrior Ladder
 * The Sega Genesis version 'featured' Chameleon as an unfinished character only playable through a cheat device. He uses Scorpion's sprites but turns into Rain when a Fatality involving dismemberment is performed on him. He has no special moves or combos. His Vs. portrait is the ninja character's, albeit with a mismatched color palette.
 * In the DS version, playing as Human Smoke forces the background to Scislac Busorez and will remain so in all succeeding matches until the player loses and chooses someone else.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy

 * The N64 version replaces Chameleon with his female counterpart, Khameleon. Human Smoke is also an unlockable character

Mortal Kombat 4

 * Meat does not exist in the Game Boy Color port
 * Reptile is unlockable in the same version however

Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance/Tournament Edition

 * Mokap and Blaze are secret unlockable characters in Mortal Kombat Deadly alliance. To unlock Mokap and Blaze, you must complete all the missions for all the characters in Konquest mode. To use Mokap, highlight Cyrax at the character selection screen, hold down, and select Cyrax. Mokap will be playable instead of Cyrax. And to select Blaze, highlight Raiden in the character select screen, hold down, and select Raiden. Blaze will be playable instead of Raiden. However, Mokap and Blaze are not in the Gameboy version of Deadly Alliance, or Tournament Edition (Which is an update over the Gameboy version of Deadly Alliance).

Trivia

 * Reptile was created by mixing up the palettes together to create the concept. He literally serves as a fusion of the two playable ninjas


 * It is a very common misconception that Sonya and Scorpion cannot fight Reptile due to their Fatalities using the Block button. More commonly for Sonya as Scorpion's does not actually require use the Block button though most players hold it to prevent the character from jumping. The game will allow the battle to commence if the Fatality is executed however.


 * Rain was named and designed after the album, Purple Rain, an album composed by Prince. In Armageddon and Deception, it is said that he is also a prince, completing the homage full circle.


 * Khameleon was the very first secret character in the series to debut with her own cohesive backstory. In addition, her appearances are rather unique in that, so far, she only appears in Nintendo ports of the games she appears in.


 * In the Sega Genesis/Megadrive version of the original game, it was possible to fight glitchy versions of the normal characters during the Endurance Rounds. When fighting Reptile in one of these, the second opponent retain the powers of Reptile but their color palettes use the same palette as said character. Since the color areas are different from non-ninja characters and because the characters use unique sprites, this causes the glitched characters to perform odd acts whilst using the Spear, Ice Blast, Slide and Fatalities.
 * In addition, it is possible to see the palette errors on all playable characters at the character select screen which requires to press start on the vacant controller and simply highlight them.