Animality — mortalkombat

An Animality is a Finisher that debuted in Mortal Kombat 3 that allows the victorious player's character to turn into an animal to viciously maul the defeated opponent. They also featured in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, but were not used again until Mortal Kombat 1, where they were added as part of the "Khaos Reigns" expansion.

In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Animality is a plot-pointed ability that is given to Liu Kang by Nightwolf in order to defeat Shao Khan.

Overview

Animalities are presented as the character morphing into their spirit animal in which a Mercy had to be performed in the third round of the match in order to be able to perform the Animality.

List of Animalities

MK3, UMK3, MKT

Baraka: Vulture (grabs the opponent's upper body and flies off, severing it from their lower body and dropping the head seconds later)
Cyrax: Shark (swims underground with a fin out, coming back from the other side of the screen to devour the opponent)
Ermac: Frog (eats the opponent whole)
Jade: Cat (attacks the opponent in a vicious clawing flurry)
Jax: Lion (pounces at the opponent, devouring them)
Johnny Cage: Kangaroo (kicks the opponent away with his powerful feet)
Kabal: Skeletal Rhinoceros (rams the opponent away)
Kano: Giant Tarantula (constricts the opponent with his legs)
Kitana: Rabbit (mauls the opponent offscreen)
Kung Lao: Cheetah (pounces at the opponent, devouring them)
Liu Kang: Dragon (eats the upper half of the opponent's body, as in his MKII Fatality)
Mileena: Skunk (releases stinky fumes that suffocate the opponent)
Nightwolf: Wolf (pounces at the opponent and bites them several times)
Noob Saibot: Anteater (sucks the opponent into his snout)
Raiden: Electric eel (wraps himself around the opponent, shocking them)
Rain: Small Elephant (makes a loud sound from his trunk that blows the opponent's skin off)
Reptile: Chimpanzee (chases the opponent away; the only Animality shown not to attack the opponent)
Scorpion: Penguin (lays an explosive egg between the opponent's legs)
Sektor: Giant Bat (whooshes by the screen twice, decapitating the opponent in the second pass)
Shang Tsung: Cobra (devours the opponent whole)
Sheeva: Giant Scorpion (stings the opponent, who turns red and explodes)
Sindel: Giant Hornet (pushes the opponent offscreen by repeatedly stinging them)
Smoke:
- Cyborg: Bull Silhouette (rams the opponent offscreen)
- Human: Porcupine (shoots his quills at the opponent)
Sonya Blade: Hawk (grabs the opponent and flies off with them, goring them into pieces off-screen.)
Stryker: Tyrannosaurus Rex (devours the upper half of his opponent's body)
Sub-Zero: Polar Bear (pounces at the opponent, devouring them; the only shared Animality with Bi-Han)

MK1

Ashrah: NetherRazzle - Alicorn (impales the opponent's head on her horn before burning them with a colorful fire breath)
Baraka: Tranquill Demise - Porcupine (launches the opponent in the air and shoots several quills at them before letting them land on his sharp spines)
Conan the Barbarian: No Bull - Bull (gores the opponent in their mouth and bucks their body around before swinging their body into his sword twice, slicing their bottom half before throwing their torso away)
Cyrax: Buzz Kill - Giant Hornet (flies up to sting the opponent's throat until their head explodes)
Ermac: We Are Locusts - Locust Swarm (swarms the opponent, reducing them to their skeleton)
General Shao: Bear Necessities - Kodiak Bear (slashes the opponent to the ground and mauls their body before biting their head off)
Geras: Hippo-Kritical - Hippopotamus (traps the opponent in his mouth and crushes them whilst closing it)
Ghostface: Critically Endangered - Condor (dives onto the opponent and bloodily eats into their chest, pulling some of their entrails out before ripping out their spine and attached head through their chest cavity)
Havik: No Laughing Matter - Hyena (mauls the opponent and tears out their intestines)
Homelander: Let Freedom Wing - Griffon (throws the opponent into the air, slices them in half, and blows up their top half with his eye lasers)
Johnny Cage: Open the Beaches - Great White Shark (as part of a movie, he recreates a scene from the 1975 film Jaws; swims up to the opponent and bites them in two before the Animality ends with him about to bite their top half)
Kenshi: Wolf It Down - Eurasian Wolf (accompanied by a spiritual wolf representing the Sento Spirit; the two pounce on the opponent and bite both halves of the body off)
Kitana: Royal Nectar - Hummingbird (attacks the opponent with a series of pecks that ends with a final one to the head, causing their body to open up in the shape of a wilting flower; she then feeds on their blood, similar to how hummingbirds feed on nectar from flowers)
Kung Lao: Ti-Gore - Tiger (mauls and bites off the opponent's face before biting part of their spine off)
Li Mei: UnBearable - Panda (bites off the opponent's arm and sits on their head, crushing it before proceeding to eat the arm)
Liu Kang: Rising Phoenix - Phoenix (covers the opponent with his fiery wings, which results in their flesh burning off and him and them being reduced to ash; he rises from the opponent’s ashes immediately afterward)
Mileena: Maneater - Orchid Mantis (stabs the opponent in shoulders with both arms and eats their head, before splitting the body apart)
Nitara: Bat's All, Folks - Vampire Bat (takes off with the opponent before the scene fades to show her hanging upside down on a zoo bat perch with them in her wings and biting their head off)
Noob Saibot: See You Later... - Alligator (accompanied by a black alligator representing Saibot; the two bite the opponent's legs to split the body apart from the groin, akin to his Make a Wish Fatality from Mortal Kombat (2011))
Omni-Man: Hail Mary - Hail Mary (crushes the opponent with his hand before grabbing them in his teeth, biting them in half and ripping their top half off with his tentacle)
Peacemaker: Proud to be Eagly-Merican - Bald Eagle (slices the opponent's legs off with Eagly's help and shoots them from behind with a pair of rifles before Eagly drops a grenade in front of them to blow them up)
Quan Chi: T-Rekt - Skeletal Tyrannosaurus Rex (devours the opponent, though some of which doesn't make it to his exposed rib cage/stomach)
Raiden: Eelectrifying - Electric Eel (wraps himself around the opponent, bites into them, and electrocutes them until their head blows up)
Rain: Allergic Reaction - Pufferfish (enters the opponent's mouth and grows, blowing their top half up into pieces from inside)
Reiko: Ram-page - Ram (butts the opponent back and charges at them with full force, bisecting them in the process)
Reptile: Feed Me, Syzoth - Giant Venus Flytrap (pulls the opponent into his mouth and bites them four times, severing their head and arm in the process)
Scorpion: Does It Sting? - Giant Scorpion (stabs the opponent in chest with his tail before tossing them up and tearing them in half with claw)
Sektor: Horn to be Wild - White Rhinoceros (charges at the opponent, impaling them with her horn and dragging them across the floor before stomping on them)
Shang Tsung: What A Twissst - Giant King Cobra (coils around the opponent before crushing them and biting on their head, twisting their body in the process; Animality resembles a scene from the 1997 film Anaconda)
Sindel: Terror-antula - Giant Spider (traps the opponent in her mandible, webs upward, and bites into their head while tearing off their lower body with her legs, revealing several spider offspring she injected into their body)
Smoke: Killer Kong - Silverback Gorilla (pushes the opponent down and drags them onto the ground, before eventually lifting them up and splitting their mouth open along with the rest of the body)
Sub-Zero: Mammoth Mash - Woolly Mammoth (charges at the opponent, who then ends up impaled on one of his tusks, and splits them in two with his trunk)
The T-1000: Wolfie's Just Fine - German Shepherd (bites the opponent's arm and pulls them onto the ground in an arm lock, ripping it off before tearing out the opponent's spine and head and spinal cord)
Takeda: Ten-Tickles - Kraken (impales the opponent and pulls them underwater, akin to the Kove Stage Fatality in Mortal Kombat X, before ripping them in half and devouring their top half)
Tanya: Kills R Us (refrence to Toys R Us) - Giraffe (grabs the opponent with mouth and repeatedly slams them onto the ground with her long neck)

Gallery

Trivia

General

It is important to note that Animalities were one of many fan rumors the Mortal Kombat development team was aware of, and incorporated into a later game. Before Animalities were introduced in MK3, many fans were convinced Sub-Zero could turn into a polar bear in Mortal Kombat II. There was even a strategy guide which published a fake picture of this happening. In MKII 3.1, one of the possible lines that you would see in the game after beating Shao Kahn is a scrambling of the phrase "There are no Animalities". And of course, Liu Kang's Dragon Morph existed in MKII before it was made into his Animality in MK3.
Despite his name, Scorpion cannot turn into his namesake, but rather a penguin. Instead, the ability to do so was given to Sheeva. He did later gain the ability to turn into a Scorpion as part of his Scorpion Sting Fatality in Mortal Kombat 4, however.
- Furthermore, this same repetition also occurs with Reptile in both UMK3 & MK1, who transforms into a chimpanzee- a mammal- in MK3- then a Venus Flytrap- in MK1- as opposed to any form of reptile.
- Scorpion would later have a Scorpion as his Animality in MK1.
In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, electric eels, Raiden's Animality, appear as minor enemies in the Water Element stage.
In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Catwoman's arcade ending heavily implies she gained the ability of Animality to turn into a large black panther.
In Mortal Kombat (2011), Nightwolf transforms into his Animality in his arcade ending, albeit corrupted by Shao Kahn.

In Mortal Kombat 11, Kotal Kahn's Kat Food Fatality is akin to an Animality, as he transforms into a panther to maul the opponent and rip out their heart.

Mortal Kombat 3

The playable characters introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 morph into glowing photorealistic animals when performing their Animalities. The characters introduced in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 or re-introduced in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, however, instead explode into cartoonish-animals.
In all versions of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 containing them, and in the CD versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Classic Sub-Zero has no Animality, only performing his victory pose followed by the announcement of one. In the Nintendo 64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, however, he receives the unmasked Sub-Zero's Polar Bear Animality, although he transforms by exploding similar to the UMK3 characters rather than morphing into the glowing Polar Bear.
The roar Rain makes while performing his UMK3 Animality is part of the MK3 crying baby sound byte slowed down to 0.5 speed.
Raiden's MKT Animality is the only one where both the victor and the victim die.
Shao Kahn is the only character in the MK3 era to have a Animality that doesn't appear in the games, as boss characters were never programmed to use animalities.

Mortal Kombat 1

Five characters in the game feature Animalities using fictional creatures or not an animal at all. These include the following;
- Ashrah - Transforms into a alicorn, a fictional horse akin to a unicorn but featuring a horn with its wings.
- Liu Kang - Transforms into a phoenix, a fictional immortal bird based on Greek mythology.
- Reptile - Transforms into a Venus Fly Trap, a plant known for devouring small insects it attracts using pheromones within its "mouth".
- Omni-Man - Transforms into Hail Mary, a fictional Kaiju, or giant monster, from the Invincible series.
- Homelander - Transforms into a Griffin, a fictional ancient creature in ancient Western Asia and Greece.
In Baraka's Animality, the porcupine shooting quills references Baraka's Spine Burst move in Mortal Kombat 11.
General Shao and Reiko's MK1 Animalities were revealed at the same time to promote the football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears the same week the update came out.
The clapperboard used by the director in Johnny's MK1 Animality features the date 6/20/75 with 75 crossed out and replaced with 24, which is when the movie Jaws was released in North America.
Johnny is the only one who isn't seen fully transforming into his Animality in MK1, instead he's shown putting on a giant shark costume before the water comes in.
- His Animality is also the only one that does not feature the elephant trumpet after inputting the finisher. Instead, a film studio chime will play.
Shang Tsung's Animality is akin to the 1997 film, Anaconda.
Ghostface's Animality is a tribute to late Scream director Wes Craven, who was once a birder.
Several of the Animality kill names in MK1 feature cultural references:
- Bear Necessities references the song of the same name from the Disney animated adaptation of The Jungle Book.
- Open the Beaches references Mayor Larry Vaughn from Jaws.
- Bat's All, Folks references Porky Pig's famous catchphrase from Looney Tunes.
- Feed Me, Syzoth references Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.
- Killer Kong references King Kong.
- Kills R Us references the company Toys "R" Us, which features Geoffrey the Giraffe as their mascot.
- Horn to be Wild references the 1968 hard rock song "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf.
- Maneater references the 1982 song "Maneater" by Daryl Hall & John Oates.
- See You Later.... is a reference to the song "See You Later, Alligator" by Bill Haley & His Comets.
- No Laughing Matter is a reference to Ed, the laughing hyena from the Disney animated film The Lion King.
- Wolfie's Just Fine references the quote from T2: Judgement Day, in which the T-1000, imitating Janelle Voight, was baited by the T-800, imitating John Connor's voice, when asked about John's dog, who's real name was Max.
- Proud to be Eagly-Merican is a pun off the lyrics of the Lee Greenwood song God Bless the U.S.A..
- Let Freedom Wing is a pun off the Jackie McLean album Let Freedom Ring.
Shang Tsung and Raiden are the only characters in MK1 who kept their Animalities from MK3/UMK3/MKT.
Several Animalities in MK1 have animals sharing traits as their respective characters.
- Baraka's Porcupine is infected with Tarkat.
- Conan's Bull is identical to the bull in the cover of the Conan #32 Dark Horse comic.
- Ermac's Locust Swarm is based on the character being a collection of souls. The name of Animality is called "We Are Locusts", an alternate quote to Ermac's "We Are Many"
- Geras' Hippopotamus sports jigsaw puzzle-like linings and glowing eyes.
- Havik's Hyena has its face burnt, referencing when Scorpion burned Havik's face in a smelter in the game's Story Mode.
- Homelander's Griffin sports American flag themed wings and Homelander's outfit, while also possessing laser eyes.
- Kenshi's Wolf and Noob Saibot's Crocodile have clones, with the Wolf having a Sento spirit while the Crocodile has a shadowy clone that represents Saibot. Notably, the Wolf is blind as well.
- Li Mei's Panda has purple glowing eyes.
- Liu Kang's Phoenix dons orange and blue flames.
- Peacemaker's Eagle sports the Advanced Helmet just like the hero himself.
- Quan Chi's skeletal T-Rex sports a red tilak on top of its head.
- Raiden's Eel possesses blue lightning. If playing as Dark Raiden, the lightning will be red.
- Scorpion's namesake animal will sport a scar in its right eye, referencing when Scorpion received a scar by Sub-Zero in the game's Story Mode.
- Sub-Zero's Woolly Mammoth has ice on its tusks, while also referencing how mammoths live and evolved in the cold.
- Tanya's Giraffe has the Umgadi symbol on its head.
- The T-1000's German Shepherd wears a police vest harness, to match the police uniform it wears as part of its human disguise. German Shepherds are also commonly used as police dogs. Its vest reads "K-9000", which is actually another smaller T-1000 model with the ability to mimic and transform into smaller animals.

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