The characters of Mortal Kombat have always been major attractions for the fighting series. In the build-up to the latest game, we were intrigued as fighters new and old were introduced in fully rendered detail. With Mortal Kombat X officially out now - you can now see the komplete kast as they appear in the game's loading screens!

Mortal Kombat X has already hosted its first Faction Invasion, ending in victory for the warriors of the Lin Kuei! It's time to start a recruitment drive and now Raiden & The White Lotus Society want YOU!

This year's Game Developers Conference saw the unveiling of Mortal Kombat X's all new Story Mode, and the fighting return of Johnny Cage! The Earthrealm Champion features in a slew of new screenshots coming out of the event.

During last week's Game Developers Conference, various press members were granted a hands-on preview with Mortal Kombat X and the first chapter of its exciting new Story Mode! Early word revealed Kenshi & Johnny Cage's playable involvement but with embargoes lifted, new details are flooding in from all sides!

Character speculation will be one of the last topics to die, especially with downloadable content beyond the horizon! Polygon has one of the best previews, revealing the ambitious scope of the game that awaits: "There are battles with hundreds of non-player characters and Mortal Kombat cameos, Urbano said, on a scale that NetherRealm just couldn't pull off before."

Among the "hundreds" of cameos are some expected returns. Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Kenshi, Raiden & Fujin reportedly lead the fight for the home team, while undead revenants of Jax, Sindel, Stryker, Kabal & Smoke battle under the control of Quan Chi. This continues the plot initiated during the last game, where the defeated warriors' souls were seized in the Netherrealm. IGN notes an appearance by Nightwolf, who was also among the dead fighters, as well.

It's the Netherrealm's invasion that is the subject of story mode's opening chapter. This refers to the expected continuation of the new timeline, revisiting the original plot of MK4. We saw glimpses of invading villain Shinnok and his struggle with the heroes in the Story Mode Trailer and again in the Cage Family Trailer. According to IGN, Shinnok is the final battle of Chapter 1.

No one has been able to distinguish the playable roster from the story mode cameos. Shinnok and Jax both appeared in one-on-one fights - each with 3 variations, according to Hardcore Gamers. IGN notes, "We have no idea yet, but there are a bunch more slots on the character select screen that need to be filled..." Polygon adds, "... we did see a couple of unannounced playable fighters, including Erron Black, in the game's attract mode."

Migrating from challenge modes in Mortal Kombat (2011) and Injustice: Gods Among Us into the story are "quick time events". Simple inputs determine the outcome of conflict that doesn't fit into traditional side-to-side kombat. GameInformer have a particularly evocative description of their experience, which explains the continuing sequence involving Johnny Cage and a notably heroic Kenshi:

"They’re en route to Raiden’s Sky Temple, where the lightning god is making a last stand against Shinnok’s forces. Whirring over the on-the-ground action sounds like a pretty great plan until the windshield is pierced by another familiar sight: Scorpion’s chain-blade. The soldiers in the back of the helicopter look around frantically, when Scorpion surprises the crew by appearing in the rear of the aircraft. There’s a battle, of course, and I’m paying such close attention to it all that I miss an unexpected quick-time event. It doesn’t kick me out to a game-over screen, but the action immediately shifts to show Johnny Cage blowing a series of blocks and taking damage. I do a better job of keeping up over the next few sequences, and Johnny reverses the course of the fight. He more than holds his own until Sub-Zero joins the party, freezing a couple of attackers’ heads and shattering them against each other."

Klassic kombatants and a new generation of warriors enter the battle in Mortal Kombat X! Amazon.com has unleashed a new wave of character renders and mini-bios for the playable roster. Learn more as Raiden enters the spotlight!

Scorpion has a head full of bad memories in the latest preview from DC Comics' hit tie-in series: Mortal Kombat X!

13th Dimension has a sneak peak at the print edition, reportedly on sale March 11th. Mortal Kombat #4 will collect chapters 10-12, featuring a dramatic flashback involving the origins of the ninja spectre and his ties to Quan Chi!

Taking place 25 years after the events of Mortal Kombat (2011), the new generation of characters will discover that Outworld is not the only threat they face. Fans will get a first look at the newest fighters to join Cassie Cage, including Jacqueline Briggs, daughter of Jax, Takashi Takeda, son of Kenshi, and Kung Jin, descendant of Kung Lao.

Mezco Toyz impressed in New York late last year with the unveiling of their new Mortal Kombat X action figures [full story]. The toymaker shined, showing exactly what they could bring to a new era of MK collectibles. They were back in NYC this weekend for Toy Fair, where Figures.com reported a massively expanded line.

Digital readers of the Mortal Kombat X comic book will have been within their rights to have many questions regarding details glanced since Chapter One. Designed to tell the story between Mortal Kombat (2011) to the April 14 release - many key points have remained unelaborated upon, left to vague references.

MK Online Kommunity User Shadaloo has shared a recap page found in print versions of Mortal Kombat X #2, which details some of the missing the pieces. The following transcript contains SPOILERS. Read on at your own risk.

Even after defeating the evil Shao Kahn, humanity was not safe.

A fallen Elder God named Shinnok rose to lead the undead armies of Netherrealm against us in a war that nearly destroyed Earthrealm. Nearly.

Against all odds, Raiden and his champions prevailed. Shinnok was imprisoned and his undead army was driven back to Netherrealm - except for a fortunate few, miraculously restored to life, and granted the opportunity to set things right...

Previously in Mortal Kombat X:

Given a second chance at life, Hanzo Hasashi aka "Scorpion" reformed the Shirai Ryu clan and took in Takeda, son of the swordsman Kenshi, as his latest apprentice. But after a demon posessed one of Hanzo's students via an ancient dagger and massacred the rest of his clan, Scorpion vowed to finish the being who had originally given him the dagger - Raiden!

Meanwhile...

After Emperor Shao Kahn's death, his sole heir Mileena claimed the throne of Outworld. As the war between Earthrealm and Netherrealm threatened to spread to Outworld, Empress Mileena refused to coordinate a defense effort, ignoring the pleas of her War Chief, Kotal. Finally, after a great battle, Mileena was overthrown. Those who sided with the would-be Empress became enemies of the new Emperor, now calling himself Kotal Kahn.

And thus the Outworld Civil War began...

Cast list:

Hanzo Hasashi AKA Scorpion: Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu. Former Netherrealm agent.
Kenshi: Special Forces agent. Absentee father.
Raiden: God of Thunder. Protector of Earthrealm.
Sonya Blade: Commander of Earthrealm Strategic Defense.
Jacqui Briggs; Daughter of Jackson "Jax" Briggs.
Cassie Cage: Daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade.
Erron Black: A mysterious mercenary living in Outworld.
D'Vorah: First minister to Kotal Kahn.
Kotal Kahn: Emperor of Outworld. Osh-Tekk warrior.