Mortal Kombat is known for its diverse roster of memorable characters. This includes the amazing female characters as well. Here are the top 10 best female warriors of Mortal Kombat.
10. Khameleon
Link to a playthrough of Mortal Kombat Trilogy playthrough of Khameleon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZU27w94ZIM
Starting at number 10 is a rather obscure character named Khameleon. She first appeared in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Nintendo 64 version, as a secret playable character. She is a Saurian (a humanoid raptor) and is one of the last members of her kind (along with Reptile); she wants to bring back her race and defeat Shao Kahn. In the games she appears in, she contains moves from Kitana, Mileena, and Jade.
Figure 1 Khameleon fighting the final boss Blaze in Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
Her main enemy is Shao Kahn. Shao Kahn is the one responsible for her race for slaughtered, and she wants him to pay for it. She has tried attacking and killing Shao Kahn throughout the series, but it never works out for her.
Canonically, she hasn’t really achieved anything other than to survive as long as she could. However, in her non-canonical Mortal Kombat Trilogy ending, she teams up with Reptile and kills Shao Kahn. In her non-canonical ending in Mortal Kombat Armageddon, Khameleon gains ultimate power and turns everyone (including Shao Kahn) into Saurians, so that her race could prosper again.
Fun Facts about Khameleon
- While other female ninjas (Kitana, Mileena, Jade, and Skarlet) have been unmasked and thus the audience knows what they look like. Khameleon has never been unmasked at any point.
- Although she doesn’t appear in the current timeline as a playable character, a Saurian (that looks like her) appears in Reptile’s ending in Mortal Kombat X.
9. Cetrion
Link to Cetrion’s fight with Sindel in Mortal Kombat 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTQ7iwwbm7M
Cetrion marks her territory in 9th place. She is an Elder Goddess who is the daughter of Kronika and Shinnok’s sister. She represents good while Shinnok represents evil, and they must fight each other to maintain balance as designed by Kronika. She wants to follow what her mother wants her to do.
Figure 2 Cetrion fighting Sindel in Mortal Kombat 11.
Cetrion’s arch-enemy is supposed to be Shinnok since he represents evil. It was supposed to be that they fight each other forever, but Raiden decapitated Shinnok which made Shinnok permanently unable to fight. Her enemies are whoever Kronika deems as an enemy.
She is an elder goddess and is thus very powerful. She can use the powers of different natural elements such as fire and earth. She also has a special form that increases her powers and has even sacrificed herself to give Kronika more power.
Fun Facts about Cetrion
- Cetrion is one of the only playable Elder Gods to appear in Mortal Kombat. The first was Shinnok when he first appeared in Mortal Kombat 4. At the beginning of the series, Raiden wasn’t an elder god but became one after Mortal Kombat 4.
- There is a chance that Cetrion knows of the DC universe. In one of Cetrion’s intros with Sub-Zero, Cetrion claims to have seen a world that Sub-Zero and Raiden have been to which refers to Sub-Zero and Raiden’s appearance in Injustice 2.
8. Sheeva
Link to Sheeva fighting both Baraka and Erron Black: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeceXxrehhs
The lady with four arms sits in 8th place. Sheeva is a Shokan which is a race of half-human and half-dragon beings with four arms. She and the rest of her race have served Shao Kahn (and other rulers of Outworld for ages. However, she wishes to bring her race glory and make them powerful. In the current timeline, she has started becoming more friendly with many warriors.
Figure 3 Sheeva being confronted by Baraka in Mortal Kombat 11.
Her main enemy would mostly be Motaro who is a Centurian (a race of beings that have a torso of humans but with the body of a horse). Shokans and Centurians have been rivals for a very long time. During the events of Mortal Kombat 3, it is suggested that Shao Kahn may have started preferring Centurians over Shokans which could have made Sheeva start to hate Shao Kahn. However, canonically Sheeva wouldn’t confront Shao Kahn as Shao Kahn was defeated by Liu Kang.
Sheeva is a powerful warrior but was once not taken seriously by her own kind. At some point, in the current timeline, the Shokan needed a new ruler and thus hosted a contest. When Sheeva joined, the males looked down on her but were surprised when she won and became the queen of her own people.
Fun Facts about Sheeva
- In Mortal Kombat 3, the sprites of other characters were made with digitized actors. However, Sheeva’s sprites were made with a stop-motion puppet.
- According to a dialogue between Sheeva and Kitana in Mortal Kombat 11, Sheeva has taught her how to wrestle and Kitana mastered it.
7. Frost
Link to Frost fighting Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLeOK6uxv_k
In 7th place is the female cryomancer, Frost. She made her first appearance in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance as Sub-Zero’s apprentice. However, she was overly ambitious and wanted recognition, so she attacked Sub-Zero before Sub-Zero froze her. Eventually, she came back and worked with the villains of the series.
Figure 4 Frost about to face Scorpion or Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat 11.
Her arch-enemy is Sub-Zero who was her grandmaster. While Sub-Zero wants to use his powers to protect Earthrealm, Frost wants to be noticed and recognized for her skills. As a result, both characters see life differently and are in constant conflict with one another.
Although not a grandmaster like Sub-Zero, Frost is a powerful fighter in her own right. In Mortal Kombat 11, she worked with Kronika and even commanded an entire army of cyborgs against the warriors of Earthrealm.
Fun Facts about Frost
- In Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance, Frost shares the same voice actress as Sonya and Kitana.
- While she isn’t playable in Mortal Kombat Deception, she does become a playable character in the PSP port Mortal Kombat: Unchained.
6. Skarlet
Link to Scarlet torturing Jade in Mortal Kombat 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NiH1NnqlRE
In 6th place is the red female ninja Skarlet. She is a warrior of Outworld and was taken in by Shao Kahn who then gave her the power of blood. Similar to other Outworld warriors, Skarlet wishes to make Shao Kahn happy by serving him.
Figure 5 Skarlet fighting Kitana in Mortal Kombat 11.
While she doesn’t have a specific rival, her enemies are anyone who is a threat to Shao Kahn. She does seem to like fighting Jade and causing her to bleed. Shao Kahn asked her about it in which Skarlet said that she likes Edenian blood.
Skarlet started off as an orphan but became a powerful assassin after Shao Kahn took her in. She helped Shao Kahn in his endeavors and fought against Kotal Kahn to help Shao Kahn regain his throne.
Fun Facts about Skarlet
- She has been a rumored secret character since Mortal Kombat 2 as being a red palette swap of Kitana. Her first playable debut was Mortal Kombat 2011.
- Skarlet wants to become queen of Outworld based on conversations with Sindel.
5. Sindel
Link to Sindel betraying Kitana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LXt-G03QC8
Speaking of Sindel, she is in 5th place. She was the ruler of Edenia who went on to marry Shao Kahn and thus became his queen. Her powers include her iconic super loud screaming that she uses to temporarily paralyze her opponent.
Figure 6 Sindel betraying Kitana and Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 11.
Her biggest arch-enemy would be Kitana, her daughter. Since her introduction in Mortal Kombat 2, Kitana has sided with Earthrealm while Sindel fought on Shao Kahn’s side. Sindel, in the original timeline, would go on to turn good and fight alongside Kitana. In the current timeline, Sindel has been evil once more and fights Kitana.
As mentioned, Sindel was the ruler of Edenia and the queen of Outworld. In the current timeline, she has continued to side with Shao Kahn and has even saved him from captivity.
Fun Facts about Sindel
- In the original timeline, she started off as evil but later became good. However, in the current timeline, it is implied that she was evil the entire time. This retcon could have been an oversight by the writers of the story.
- Based on conversations she has had with D’Vorah, Sindel actually views Mileena as her daughter.
4. Jade
Fun video of Jade’s nitro kick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1vRgTvUypc
Jade is an Edenian princess who wears green clothing. Although she serves Shao Kahn, she is also the bodyguard and close friend of Kitana. She wants to protect Kitana and do what is good for Edenia as well. She eventually sides with Earthrealm and fights the forces of Outworld.
Figure 7 Jade about to fight Kitana in Mortal Kombat 11.
Many of her enemies are Outworld warriors. Her home realm Edenia was invaded by Outworld, so she sees Outworld warriors as enemies even though she, probably reluctantly, served Shao Kahn. In her revenant form, she fights many Earthrealm warriors since her loyalty is with the Netherrealm. Being a close friend of Kitana, it is possible that Jade and Kitana have a friendly rivalry (in the same vein as Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter).
Jade is a very skilled warrior, and she uses a staff to fight with sometimes. In Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, when she is a CPU opponent, she would often use a special move that would make her temporarily invincible, and she would follow that up with a combo; this makes her very difficult to fight against. As mentioned in the storyline, she helped Kitana and helped Earthrealm warriors defeat Shao Kahn and fought alongside Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
Fun Facts about Jade
- In the DVD version of Mortal Kombat 1995, she was to appear where she would fight with Kitana. Because of time constraints, this idea was dropped.
- In older Mortal Kombat games, Jade’s staff would glow purple. However, it doesn’t glow purple in Mortal Kombat Deception and Armageddon. It is unknown if this was deliberate or an oversight.
3. Mileena
Fun video of Mileena MK11 intros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwjuZZazEc8
The half-Tarkatan and half-Edenian warrior Mileena. She is the clone of Kitana; she was made to keep an eye on Kitana. Due to her Tarkatan DNA, her face resembles that of a monster because of her large and sharp teeth. Throughout the series, she serves Outworld and has even ruled Outworld at some point before being overthrown by Kotal Kahn.
Figure 8 Mileena about to fight her arch nemesis Kitana in Mortal Kombat 11.
Her rival is the Edenian princess Kitana. Mileena initially wanted to be seen as Kitana’s sister, but Kitana sees her as a monster. Combining that with the fact that Kitana sides with Earthrealm while Mileena serves Shao Kahn, Mileena eventually made it her goal to kill Kitana.
Mileena is a savage warrior; she will kill her opponents and sometimes even eats them. But she can be ambitious and has achieved being the empress of Outworld for a time.
Fun Facts about Kitana
- Mileena and Kitana are essentially the female versions of the rivalry between Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Ed Boon, one of the creators of the series, has even stated this.
- She appeared in the 1997 movie Mortal Kombat Annihilation where she fought Sonya Blade. However, despite Kitana being in the film, their relationship was never explored. This means that anyone watching the film, who hasn’t played the games, won’t know that Mileena is Kitana’s clone.
2. Kitana
Link to Kitana becoming the new ruler of Outworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObWm9VqtMEI
Mileena’s “sister” Kitana finds herself in 2nd place. She is the princess of Edenia, but her realm was invaded by Outworld, and her parents (including Sindel) were killed, but Sindel would be resurrected later on. She eventually teams up with Liu Kang and other Earthrealm warriors to defeat Shao Kahn and other evil forces.
Figure 9 Kitana trying to save Kotal Kahn by fighting Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 11.
Her main rival is Mileena. Mileena is the monstrous clone of Kitana and is a savage warrior; this causes Kitana to not see her as a sister, but as a monster despite Mileena wanting to have a sisterly relationship with her. It doesn’t help that Mileena’s allegiance is with Shao Kahn while Kitana is against Shao Kahn.
She is a very powerful warrior who has fought for both Edenia and Earthrealm. She ultimately wants peace for all realms and even becomes the empress of Outworld in Mortal Kombat 11 after Kotal Kahn concedes power to her.
Fun Facts about Kitana
- Her first appearance was in Mortal Kombat 2 as a female ninja. However, in her appearance in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, Kitana doesn’t wear a mask.
- Despite her hating Mileena, she finds her own revenant version to be even worse based on conversations she has with D’Vorah in Mortal Kombat 11.
1. Sonya Blade
Link to Sonya fighting both past and present Kano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frtv4TtfHXc
Taking first place is the original female character in Mortal Kombat, the soldier Sonya Blade. Being a lieutenant in the special forces, Sonya battles against international crime, particularly an organization called the Black Dragon. Eventually, she finds herself siding with Earthrealm warriors such as Liu Kang and Johnny Cage to defend Earthrealm from Outworld. Since then, she has played a leading role in defending Earthrealm.
Figure 10 Sonya having a confrontation against two Kanos in Mortal Kombat 11.
Her main enemy throughout the series is Kano. Kano happens to be the one leading the Black Dragon, so the two fight each other throughout the series. If Kano is not in the picture, then Sonya must deal with other members of the Black Dragon such as Jared in Mortal Kombat 4.
As mentioned, she is one of the leaders in defending Earthrealm. Being a soldier, she is skilled in fighting and surviving in situations where she would most likely have been killed. She even fought against two Kanos in Mortal Kombat 11.
Fun Facts about Sonya- During the development of the first Mortal Kombat game, Sonya was originally going to be a male character. The developers then made her female since they wanted to include a female character.
- Sonya Blade is one of Ed Boon’s favorite characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise; Scorpion is Ed Boon’s top favorite character, however.
- Sonya was named after Ed Boon’s sister; the same thing would happen with Tanya (debuting in Mortal Kombat 4) who was named after another sister of Ed Boon.
You may also be interested in:
