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

28. Ermac And Skarlett (MK1 / MKII)

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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.

Contributor
Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85