We all remember the Brutality. The Brutality saw the character pummelling the opponent to death in a huge combo string until they exploded. They did look impressive and were probably homage to the Ultra Combo in the Killer Instinct games, but these were bloodier. Also, the Brutalities all ended with an uppercut that blew up the opponent. This let them down in a sense as they all ended the same way and after the series of hits, the end was always a predictable mess. I say mess because of the multiple limbs, rib cages, skulls etc that were suddenly produced from one person.

Now I like how MK has things at the moment, with just the Fatalities as the death move of choice. I dislike the Hara Kiri’s but if an Ality were to return, then I would like it to be the Brutality. Only they would need to be different to what they once were.

The Elements of the Brutality

A brutality should be one or more of the following:

Flashy
Brutal
Bloody
Satisfying
Fast or Slow

These are just some of the main points. The Brutalities would be based around these things.

Return of the Brutality

The Ultra Combos on Killer Instinct saw you add a button mid combination to a combo whilst the character had minimal health left and this allowed you to go into an automatic Ultra Combo if the combo you started connected. I would like this to be the same on MK if the Brutality were brought back, however, I would like there to be more than one Brutality per character. All would be unique and based around the styles the character uses and all would end in death! Allow me to introduce a newer Brutality.

The Brutality would either be done in weapon stance with a mix of weapon attacks, kicks, punches and special moves or in the characters hand to hand style and be orientated solely around that stance, again with special moves added perhaps. Or they can branch through both styles and start from a different one allowing for another 2 unique combo deaths. This gives us 4 unique Brutalities per character.

The difference this time is that the Brutality is not solely a combo, but it can be a poetic dance type affair that is still flashy and gory, but also brutal and satisfying. It may not even be that and could be more like a severe, brutal beat down. Characters like Jax would go for the brutal beat down. Characters like Kitana and Ashrah would be more likely to opt for the dance type Brutality.

Here are some examples.

Shinnok: Performing a brancher Brutality starting in his hand to hand style.

Shinnok will deliver a flurry of kicks and punches with a few spin attacks and one such spin he’ll conjure his Amulet Staff and whack the opponent in the side. A few twirling attacks and blows from the staff ends with Shinnok’s hands glowing and he does a power uppercut sending the opponent skywards. Shinnok then raises his still glowing fists and utters some incantations and we see a volley of purplish projectiles suddenly launch themselves at the opponent’s body. As they fall, Shinnok utters one last incantation which summons a skeletal hand out of the ground which acts as a table. Shinnok jumps towards the opponent with his staff raised and we see it transform into a giant blade. The opponent lands on the hand and Shinnok brings the blade down on them, cutting them in half. He stands back up and the blade reverts back to its original form Queue the win pose!

Kitana: Performing a weapon stance Brutality

Kitana slashes with the fans cutting her opponent open and blood gushes out naturally. She dances around the opponent swiping at their back and sides and comes back around to the front. She jumps into the Pretty Kick special move which sends the opponent backwards, but she then uses her Fan Lift (MKDA version) to bring them back in before delivering an uppercut knocking the opponent skywards. She does the Fan Lift again (MKT version with reverse effect) and pulls them down out of the air and uses the Pretty kick again. She launches a fan after the opponents body with a perfect aim that swipes the head clean off. She proceeds to pose.

Stryker: Performing a weapon stance Brutality

Stryker pulls out his tonfa and just starts whacking the opponent with it with sheer aggression and power. To make it seem even more real, the opponent could try to defend themselves from his attacks but Stryker is too strong. A low blow to the knees and a spin behind with a further blow to the back of the legs grounds the opponent. Stryker delivers the KO blow with a powerful stroke to the head.

Raiden: Performing a brancher Brutality starting in his weapon stance.

This is a branching Brutality starting in the weapon stance. Raiden goes into a volley of strikes and blows with his staff before switching to his first style and adding a few more powerful; punches to the face. He then goes into a teleport frenzy which sees him teleporting above, to the side, and behind the opponent adding extra attacks (like Nightcrawler in the X-Men 2 movie intro). The last teleport attack is a dual kick from below which launches the opponent skyward where lightning bolts quickly blast the opponent into oblivion. This one is conditional and requires an outdoor or open area to perform.

Shang Tsung: Performing a hand to hand style Brutality.

This is a hand to hand stance Brutality. I’ll assume Shang has Crane and he’ll start off by uttering an incantation which will allow all his blows to soul steal. He then goes into several Flapping Wing kicks (Attack 3 on MKDA) and adds several punches. With each hit part of the opponents soul leaves their body and into Shangs. You’ll see them decay slowly. He then uses his Ground Fire special move to send the enemy upwards before shooting a Flaming Skull which shatters the withered body fully freeing the last of their soul which he then absorbs.

So there are all 4 versions of the new Brutality for you. Let me know what you think and maybe make up your own!