Mortal Kombat: 30 Absolute Best Easter Eggs You Need To See

In the test menu of the arcade version of the first game, the word, ERMACS, can be seen at the bottom of the screen. Naturally, players assumed it was a secret character. In reality, "ERMACS" was an abbreviation for "ERROR MACRO"; a system to avoid errors in the game’s programming.

One player claimed to have found Ermac and sent a picture of the mysterious character into a video game magazine. The picture showed a fighter who looked like a Scorpion with red robes. Although this photo was a proven fake, the developers introduced Ermac in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Weirdly, Ermac wasn't the only rumoured character that spawned from a misunderstanding. In MKII, there are three female characters; Kitana, Mileena, and Jade. The characters look identical except Kitana’s dress is blue, Mileena’s is purple, and Jade’s is green (and she has dark skin). Sometimes, a female character's dress would change colour in the middle of a match so it looked red. This started a rumour of a secret female character called Skarlet.

Much like Ermac, the developers thought it would be fun if they turned this rumour into a reality, incorporating Skarlet into the series.