| Overview |
A handgun is a short-barreled firearm that can be held and used with one hand. The two most common handgun sub-types in use today are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.
Examples of Modern Handguns
In Mortal Kombat
Kurtis Stryker uses a pistol as one of his weapons in most of his playable appearances, such as in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy. He uses this firearm for his Gun Blast move, introduced in UMK3, in which he fires a series of shots at the opponent (although these only count as one hit for combo purposes). It is his issued gun, since he is part of the police force. In Mortal Kombat (2011), Stryker carries and makes use of two handguns as a part of his arsenal with the Gun Shot move, in which he draws one of his guns and fires two shots at the opponent. When enhanced, Stryker will use both guns at once and fire twice with each of them, shooting four bullets in quick succession. He also makes use of the pistol in his intro and in one of his fatalities. Kabal also uses one in the game's Story Mode when he was a police officer. Stryker continues to use a pistol in his appearance as a Revenant in Mortal Kombat X. He again uses his handgun in Mortal Kombat 1.
Johnny Cage is able to pull out a pistol while wearing his Tuxedo costume in Mortal Kombat 4, an accompanying accessory to his Secret Agent movie image. The weapon does not fire bullets, but instead fires bolts of energy similar to the Plasma Crossbow used by Fujin. In Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, an older and present Johnny has a standard-issue Special Forces pistol holstered to his side, however he never uses it during gameplay and is merely cosmetic in both games.
Jax could use a handgun in Mortal Kombat: Special Forces as a pick-up item. His younger self also briefly uses one in the Story Mode of Mortal Kombat 11. Kano briefly uses one to wound a present Johnny Cage in Cage's Chapter, while Sonya Blade's younger self uses one in her Chapter, killing the past version of Kano which causes the present Kano to cease to exist in the timeline. She is later seen using dual pistols in the Aftermath Story Mode expansion.
In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, handguns are used by Deathstroke and The Joker. Both utilize them in their special moves and Fatalities. Of the two, the Joker is the only one to use revolvers.
In Mortal Kombat X dual modern pistols are used by Cassie Cage and dual antique revolvers by Erron Black as their primary weapons. Cassie and Erron both have variations in the game designed for more use of their handguns, called Hollywood and Gunslinger, respectively, allowing for more use of the weapons compared to their other variations. In Mortal Kombat 11, they continue to use the same handguns as their primary weapons and can even be customized into different design variants through the game's Gear Kustomization.
Guest characters in the series that use pistols, in one form or the other, include The Joker, Spawn, RoboCop and Peacemaker. The Joker uses several prop weapons including revolvers and hidden pistols within a doll respembling Batman, while Spawn creates a series of firearms during his Fatal Blow, some being hand guns. RoboCop uses his signature Auto 9 Handgun from his origin franchise that can have its appearance changed through Mortal Kombat 11's Kustomization. Peacemaker uses a modified Desert Eagle with an extended barrel, the same one he uses in the film The Suicide Squad as well as the spin-off television series Peacemaker.
Trivia
- Despite other characters using Pistols throughout the series, Erron Black seems to get taunted the most or rather criticized the most for using them.
- The pistols Stryker uses in MK (2011) are a pair of Beretta 92FS pistols.
- Cassie's Pistols in MKX appear to be modeled after those from the Glock Series of hand guns.