The inescapable echo of turkey gobbling can mean only one of two things: either someone's cracked out Mortal Kombat II for a little retro revenge, or there are thanks to be given in the MK homeland!

We understand not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving this time of year, but in the spirit of MK's origins and the general act of well wishing, we hope you'll oblige. Afterall, Mortal Kombat fans have had a lot to be thankful for in the last couple of years!

#10 Mortal Kosplay
We kinda missed the boat on Halloween, so why not start simple?
The influx of interest in Mortal Kombat has been a boon [see what I did there?] to fans of dressing up as their favourite kick-butt characters. This kostume kombat phenomenon goes well beyond the thrills of Halloween and officially endorsed costumes, extending to some of the world's biggest pop culture events and contests. There have been official models endorsed, too, as I'm sure you've managed to notice.

As an enlightened bastion of modern thinking, Mortal Kombat Online would never think to stoop to merely objectifying the female cosplayers among us, but that doesn't mean we aren't as thankful for the Kitana and Jades of the world, as much as Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Not to mention some of the less usual suspects! Check out the MKOmmunity's own keruuu (and friend) rocking a seriously bad ass Kung Lao and Nightwolf combo! [pictured right]

Yes, yes. Mileena, too. Perverts...

#9 The Fans
You can't have a wave of living tributes in costume without fans to squidge and wiggle inside them! The ragtag crew in the Mortal Kombat Online MKOmmunity represent only the tip of the iceberg, the coolest and most handsome fans who've flocked to Mortal Kombat in the last few years.

The continued success of the series is a testament to the diehard loyalty of its fans, old and new. Mortal Kombat has always had a sympathetic ear toward the fanbase, incorporating some of our ideas and rumors into the very games themselves! MK and MKO more than anyone knows what it means to be thankful for the fans (most of the time)!

#8 Music & Soundtrack
Fans of the Mortal Kombat games have long been spoiled by the tailor-made soundtracks of Dan "Toasty" Forden. The atmospheric musicman returned in 2011 to work his magic (and "toasty" cameo) in the latest game [read more], but he wasn't the only artist inspired by the warriors!

Mortal Kombat has a long and interesting history with music outside the games. From The Immortals' classic (infamous) concept album and single, to the borrowed music of the movies, music has made fans of many. Songs Inspired by the Warriors took MK back to the pop-alternative masses, uniting characters like Reptile with artists like Skrillex in an audio-concept fusion.

#7 Return to Live-Action
Granted, this step hasn't come without controversy, resulting in a wide variety of perspectives, not all of them good. Even so, however you slice it, the demand for a return to movies has been there since the 1997 sequel flopped, and we're thankful Mortal Kombat is getting another run.

Netherrealm Studios has sent out flattened renders (artwork) from the original cyborg assassin tandem of Sektor and Cyrax for January 24's Mortal Monday weekly event!

Long-running UK Playstation magazine Play recently took a tour of the MK team's new home at Netherrealm and have revealed some images from inside the developmental studios.

Last month the MKCommunityManager on Youtube released a video entitled "What Would You Do With Scorpion's Spear?" and for Mortal Monday this week that video was followed up on with another featuring Mortal Kombat's other resident ninja mascot, Sub-Zero.

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon posted on his Twitter account that Netherealm Studios T-shirts are now available for purchase. To see the original Twitter post, click here. No word as of yet where they can be purchased.

The MKCommunity manager has just uploaded a video asking "What would you do with Scorpion's Spear?" in a Pop Quiz style.

By popular demand, the guys at Netherrealm Studios have released the first in a new series of MKasts! MKasts are their series of podcasts about upcoming Mortal Kombat games. This new season of MKasts is different in that it's done in video, with hosts Hector Sanchez and Hans Lo sitting in a "fireside" setting while footage from the new MK is shown.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that the websites for the new Mortal Kombat reboot game and Netherrealm Studios are online, a new teaser trailer for the new Mortal Kombat game has been released!

Two new official websites were unveiled for the upcoming entry in the Mortal Kombat franchise. The first is the website of the development studios, indeed called NetherRealm Studios as previously reported. The website currently features an anime-splash type logo featuring a silhouette of Scorpion. This will apparently be the MK team's official website. Currently, the site is bare except for the link to the official page for the upcoming game itself, titled at this point simply Mortal Kombat. This page seems to be under construction as well, featuring only the official Facebook profile of the game. Recently uploaded appears to be the logo of the game.

Our friends over at TRMK are reporting on the strong possibility that WB Games Chicago (the home of the MK team) will be renamed to Netherrealm Studios. According to gaming blog Superannuation, WB Games has registered the name "Netherrealm Studios". Following up on that, Patrick McCarron of TRMK did some checking, and found that the domain name netherrealmstudios.com has been registered by WB Games. While the name currently does not resolve, it's certain that it will be up and running at some point soon. From the TRMK news posting: