Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

Company type	Animated television series
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	September 1996 (1996-09)
Founder	Threshold Entertainment and Film Roman
Fate	Cancelled after one season
Headquarters	United States
Products	Animated television series
Owner	USA Network, New Line Television
Parent	USA Studios, New Line Television, Film Roman

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm is an American animated series inspired by the well-known Mortal Kombat video game series. Created by Threshold Entertainment and Film Roman for USA Studios and New Line Television, it was broadcast on the USA Network's Action Extreme Team programming block, running for a single season of thirteen episodes from September through December 1996. It aired alongside the Street Fighter animated show and serves as an alternate continuation to the 1995 film and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Plot

The narrative centers on a team of fighters assembled by Raiden (spelled Rayden in the series) tasked with protecting Earthrealm from threats originating from other dimensions. This group comprises Liu Kang, Kurtis Stryker, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana, and Sub-Zero, with support from Nightwolf, who manages technology and occasionally joins battles. From their concealed headquarters, Nightwolf and Rayden oversee portal activities while the warriors are dispatched in dragon-shaped aircraft to confront dangers. Although appearing in only four episodes, Shao Kahn acts as the chief villain facilitating these invasions.

Character designs predominantly reflect those from MK3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, except for Kitana, whose look combines elements from her appearances in MKII and UMK3. The series introduces new characters and borrows certain aspects from Mortal Kombat 3, but its storylines mostly diverge from the original games. Several characters such as Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, and Mileena do not appear; however, versions of Reptile, Baraka, and Jade are featured.

The concluding episode depicts Kitana spearheading a rebellion within Outworld against Shao Kahn. Additionally, this series marks the first appearance of Quan Chi, who later emerges as a major antagonist in the game franchise.

Voice cast

• Clancy Brown as Raiden
• Olivia d'Abo as Sonya Blade
• Dorian Harewood as Jax
• Luke Perry as Sub-Zero
• Cree Summer as Kitana
• Ron Perlman as Kurtis Stryker
• Tod Thawley as Nightwolf
• Brian Tochi as Liu Kang

Home media

In the UK, three volumes containing 12 episodes—excluding "Sting of the Scorpion"—were released on VHS and DVD. Australia received the entire series distributed over six volumes. Russia issued a two-disc DVD set featuring both Russian and English language tracks, while Brazil released a three-disc DVD collection that included a newly recorded Brazilian Portuguese dub alongside the original English audio. Spain made available four separate DVD volumes. In contrast, within the United States, only certain episodes were individually distributed on VHS, with no official DVD release.

Critical response

Defenders of the Realm was met with largely unfavorable critiques from both audiences and reviewers, resulting in its cancellation after just one season. In 2011, 1UP.com described it as "a terrible, one-liner-packed train wreck of a kids' show," ranking it among the top five "Not-So-Classic Video Game Cartoons" due to its heavily toned-down violence. GameFront condemned it as an "abomination," while GamesRadar attributed its poor reception to a blend of diluted action sequences and corny public service announcements. Dorkly placed it sixth on their list of worst animated video game adaptations, citing the absence of intense combat as a key reason for its failure.

See also

• Darkstalkers television series
• Street Fighter television series