With the recent release of the Khaos Reigns expansion for Mortal Kombat 1, the beloved animalties have made their return. These iconic finishers were first introduced back in Mortal Kombat 3, allowing the winning player to have their character transform into an animal to unleash a brutal thrashing on the opponent. Each character has their own animality that is entirely unique to them, featuring creatures both massive and tiny, with all of them being incredibly deadly.

The Mortal Kombat community has asked for the return of animalities for the longest time, and this latest addition to Mortal Kombat 1 has finally granted their wish. The finishers are flashier and gorier than ever, providing players with a unique bloody spectacle compared to the typical fatalities. There are so many characters to choose from that have great animalities, but there are certain ones that clearly stand out from the rest.

10 Sub-Zero

Animality: Wooly Mammoth

A wooly mammoth may not be the first animal one would expect Sub-Zero to transform into, considering how he's a fast and nimble ninja, while a mammoth is rather bulky and slow. However, it is nevertheless quite fitting as a transformation for Bi-Han due to how prevalent mammoths were during the Ice Age, referencing his ice powers. Furthermore, the viciousness of this animality is a reflection of Sub-Zero's brutal, unrelenting nature during combat.

Sub-Zero's animality starts with the wooly mammoth launching the opponent into the air with a single hard hit of its trunk, before they get impaled on one of its giant tusks. Their body is then ripped apart after a few more sharp pulls with its trunk, leaving a mess of blood and guts on the ground and the mammoth's tusk. It is a quick, but very brutal sequence that sticks with the viewer even after it's done, partially due to the amount of blood and screaming from the opponent.

9 Reptile

Animality: Venus Flytrap

Based on his name, one would expect Reptile to transform into an even larger reptile for his animality, but instead he turns into a giant venus fly trap. Once his transformation is complete, he opens his mouth and grabs the opponent with his long tongue, pulling them into his gaping maw. The part that makes Reptile's animality truly unsettling is how the opponent screams and reaches out for help as they are being chewed up.

Reptile's animality is a sequence that seems to come straight out of Little Shop Of Horrors, which makes it a very striking and unique animality. The visuals do a great job at portraying the level of danger that Reptile hides underneath his human disguise, much like how a venus fly trap appears to be a normal plant until it decides to strike its prey. This animality might not be as large of a spectacle compared to some others, but it does not need to be in order to be an effective finisher.

8 Baraka

Animality: Porcupine

Baraka is an iconic Mortal Kombat character known for the blades protruding from his hands, as well as his rows of sharp teeth. His animality gives him even more spikes to work with by having him transform into a porcupine. After launching the opponent into the air, he fires off a bunch of quills, which skewer the opponent all over their body before they fall and are impaled on the porcupine's back.

Much like Baraka's blades, a porcupine's quills can be quite dangerous, and this animality does a good job of showcasing that. However, despite what the fatality shows, porcupines cannot actually shoot their quills, which does make this animality rather unrealistic and exaggerated. Regardless, it is still a very brutal finisher that is very impressive to look at, while simultaneously proving to be rather horrifying in a good way.

7 Ashrah

Animality: Unicorn

The Mortal Kombat franchise is no stranger to the presence of fantastical elements, and yet Ashrah's animality transformation comes as a complete surprise. Not many would have been able to guess that her animality would involve her transforming into a unicorn, complete with a majestic set of wings. The transformation is even complete with magical sparkles and colorful stars, which gives the animality an almost pure initial appearance.

The ridiculousness of this animality only continues as Ashrah soon appears behind the opponent, impaling them through the face with her horn. Once the opponent then falls to the ground, the unicorn quickly emits a blast of rainbow-colored fire from its mouth, burning the opponent in a brutal yet colorful fashion. The sheer absurdity of this animality is what makes it so memorable, providing players with a great spectacle that sticks in their mind.

6 Takeda

Animality: Giant Octopus

Takeda's animality is slightly less connected to himself as a character, and is instead a more clever reference to his moveset in the game. Takeda is best known for his attacks where he utilizes bladed whips, similar to Scorpion. Although he was Scorpion's student in previous games, this timeline has changed him to instead be Kenshi's cousin, yet he still retains a very similar moveset to what he had before.

During his animality, Takeda first impales the opponent with a tentacle after transforming into an octopus. Once they are dragged into the water with him, the octopus slowly rips the opponent's body in two before devouring them. It is a scene that depicts the kind of terror that can be found within the ocean depths, and the hidden potential that Takeda possesses as a capable warrior.

5 Mileena

Animality: Praying Mantis

Mileena's animality shows her transforming into a giant pink praying mantis that towers over the frightened opponent. After grabbing the opponent and lifting them into the air, Mileena proceeds to quickly devour their head in a gory, brutal fashion. This is a reference to how female praying mantises will bite off the heads of their mates.

What makes this animality so great is that it is a true reflection of Mileena herself as a character. Much like the praying mantis she turns into, Mileena is shown to be a very beautiful woman who at first glance appears very kind and gentle. However, she secretly harbors a savage nature due to being infected with a disease that gave her Tarkatan features, making her kill others in rather animalistic ways.

4 Ermac

Animality: Locust Swarm

Ermac's animality allows them to transform into a large swarm of locusts, which immediately proceed to consume the opponent's entire body until only their skeleton remains. It is a horrifying concept, made all the more terrifying thanks to the close-up panning camera shots of the opponent as they are eaten alive.

The idea that Ermac transforms into a swarm of many locusts is a great concept considering how they are as a character. Ermac is a being who consists of numerous different souls that are all bound together by Quan Chi's magic, thinking and acting together as a group. The locusts in the animality are a reference to the numerous souls inside Ermac that are working together so that their body functions.

3 Peacemaker

Animality: Eagle

In true over-the-top Mortal Kombat fashion, Peacemaker's animality is filled to the brim with American imagery, flashing lights, and powerful weaponry. Peacemaker not only transforms into a bald eagle, a well-known symbol of the United States, but he also proceeds to utilize not only multiple firearms, but also grenades to take out the opponent. By the time the win screen is displayed, a second bald eagle known as Eagly flies by while carrying the American flag.

As excessive as it is, this animality is rather fitting for Peacemaker considering his story in various DC comics. Peacemaker vows to bring about world peace to all the realms by any means necessary, and that includes through the use of excessive violence. Given his skills as an incredibly talented marksman and soldier, it would make sense for his animality to feature immense amounts of weaponry and American iconography, which makes his finishing move stand out from most others.

2 Liu Kang

Animality: Phoenix

Unlike his previous animality from Mortal Kombat 3, Liu Kang no longer transforms into a giant dragon to eat the opponent. Instead, Mortal Kombat 1 has him turn into a brilliant fiery phoenix. After flying over to the opponent, he surrounds his foe with his wings, which proceed to slowly burn them to ashes.

Liu Kang's animality is a true spectacle that is certainly befitting of one with the titles of God of Fire and Keeper of Time. Not only is the phoenix an immortal bird that is associated with fire, fitting Liu Kang's powers and god status, but they are also known to constantly go through a cycle of death and rebirth. This is shown at the end of Liu Kang's animality, where the phoenix is seen rising from the ashes in a triumphant display of victory, likely hinting at how he reformed the timeline to hopefully give countless characters better lives.

1 Johnny Cage

Animality: Shark

Johnny's whole character centers around him being an actor, which leads to him making lots of movie references, and his animality is yet another reference to a well-known film. Unlike the other characters in the roster, Johnny's animality doesn't start with him transforming into an animal, but instead involves him putting on a costume while the cameras prepare to roll. The opponent is then shown to be floating in a vast ocean, before a giant shark suddenly rises up from the depths to devour them in a moment reminiscent of the iconic movie Jaws.

Given the fact that there was a reference to Indiana Jones during Johnny's chapter in MK1's story mode, it only makes sense for his finisher to pay homage to yet another iconic Spielberg film. Not only is this animality hilarious, it is also very brutal, referencing the terrifying depths of the ocean. Given that Johnny is a very beloved character in the Mortal Kombat franchise, it only makes sense that his animality in Mortal Kombat 1 is just as over-the-top and iconic as he is, making his animality the best in the entire roster.