Mortal Kombat: 10 Crazy Things You Didn’t Know
2. Mortal Kombat Could've Been Called Something Else Entirely
Branding is important, so for a gaming franchise to survive, it needs a catchy name. Mortal Kombat hits the spot in that regard, as the title sums up everything you need to know about the series. But, oh boy, it could have been a lot different.
According to Ed Boon in an interview with Game Informer, coming up with the title for this franchise was no easy task. There were plenty of pitches, but they all fell flat. So, let's run through some and be thankful they were scrapped.
One high scorer was Kumite, a title referencing a vital aspect of karate training. This probably would have alienated most people who don't know about martial arts, but at least it's got the iconic K.
Another one was Dragon Attack, inspired by the Queen song of the same name. It's not the most appropriate name, given that there are very few dragons in the series besides Liu Kang and the iconic logo.
Finally, two other suggestions were Death Blow or Final Fist, which, yes, both sound like cheesy action movies that Steven Segal or (ironically) Van Damme would star in. These would have been very appropriate for the 90s but wouldn't have aged well.
Let's just thank the Elder Gods they landed on Mortal Kombat.