What you need to know about Sonya Blade and Skarlet in Mortal Kombat 11

SYFY Fangrrls got to attend the big Mortal Kombat 11 reveal event in downtown Los Angeles this week, and there were unquestionably two standouts. The classic character Sonya Blade is back, voiced this time around by Ronda Rousey. The other big news? The character of Skarlet is back. We’ll get you caught up on Sonya and Skarlet, and we’ll tell you everything we learned about their appearance in the new game.

FYI, this is a very graphic article in terms of what we saw. Be warned. 

What you need to know about Skarlet

Skarlet was introduced back in 2011’s Mortal Kombat and has been a fan favorite ever since. In fact, she was talked about before she even existed. Skarlet was rumored to exist because of a false report of a glitch named “Scarlet.” She was reportedly supposed to have been a palette swap character based on either Kitana or Mileena. Remember Jade’s green outfit? Skarlet’s was supposed to be red. When she did appear in Mortal Kombat, she was created by Shao Kahn and made of the blood of warriors. She was created to discover why Quan Chi was at the Mortal Kombat tournament. Her weapons are kodachi swords and kana kunai knives. When she appeared, it was as part of the DLC pack released on June 21, 2011. 

What we saw of Skarlet in Mortal Kombat 11

For her moves in Mortal Kombat 11, Skarlet can do pretty much anything with blood. She makes a scythe, shoots blood darts, creates a frame of blood to hang her opponent on, and more. Her blood grabs you, and her spikes of blood can destroy you. In one of her fatalities, she threads strings of blood through your heart, which then bursts through your chest as it explodes. Her laugh at the end is pretty awesome. As far as costume, the one we saw has her in a semi-steampunk outfit — black and red, of course, with a hood and goggles, and a cape. Looks like a great cosplay opportunity for San Diego Comic-Con this year. She’s fast and very powerful, and you don’t want to mess with her. We watched a number of matches between her and the new character Geras. She removes his blood, which is blue, and smashes spikes made from it through his head, with his eyeball popping out behind. Oh, and then there is that giant blood spear that she throws through her enemy's skull. 

What you need to know about Sonya Blade

Sonya Blade appeared in the very first Mortal Kombat game back in 1992, after the decision was made to add a female character, and was the only one in the game back then. She’s the commanding officer of the United States Special Forces, and her main mission throughout the series has been to capture Kano and his cronies. She and Johnny Cage, the peacock-of-an-actor-turned-fighter, marry and have a daughter named Cassie, who is a playable character in Mortal Kombat X. She works with Jax, who is another playable character, and sends him a message after she’s pulled into combat and her unit is killed. Sonya has her soul selected to stay in Earthrealm back in Mortal Kombat 3 and becomes a member of the government’s Outworld Investigation Agency. In 2011's Mortal Kombat, Sonya and Jax work together to seize weapons with help from information from Kano, who is, of course, playing them. After Shinnok and his forces attack EarthRealm in Mortal Kombat X, she, Johnny Cage, and Kenshi help Raiden to imprison Shinnok and save Jax, while Sub-Zero and Scorpion come back to life after being turned into shades. We see some backstory with her and Johnny Cage, their marriage and divorce because she puts her work before he and their daughter. They reunite at the end of the story mode in the game. 

Fun fact: Sonya was named after one of co-designer Ed Boon’s sisters, and was actually inspired by the martial artist Cynthia Rothrock. She wasn’t super popular at first (they were probably only asking men about this), so she only appeared in the background of the second game. However, she’s been back ever since. Sonya was played by Bridgette Wilson in the 1995 film Mortal Kombat.

What we saw of Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat 11

Sonya is back in her current form, as a powerful older woman. Can we just say something about an adult woman with an adult child (Cassie) fighting like a demon? Yes, we are going to see a younger Sonya as well, because Dark Raiden has been messing with the timeline. Dare we hope there is an unlockable costume from earlier versions of the game? That aerobic outfit… just saying. We did see one alternate costume consisting of a grey and white spandex outfit with red accents, including a pair of earphones in. You know that thing when you're out for a run and Scorpion tries to kill you? Who doesn't?

Sonya is a badass in this version of the game, as she always is. Voiced by Ronda Rousey, she is even more powerful this time around. One of Sonya’s fatal blows sees her smashing the face of her enemy, then breaking their leg in a cringe-worthy moment, shoving them into a shooting gun, which gives them a headshot, then a giant face stomp. We also see her pushing her enemy upward into a helicopter, so you can see their head get chopped off with a blade. 

Rousey told the crowd at the event that Sony was the first kickass girl she saw, and that she loved the game. She said that it was a great experience, not having to think about how she looked, and also said that the experience allowed her to feel comfortable looking ridiculous. She went on to praise the fact that there was a story in this game, back when you really didn’t see that with fighting games, which helped it to stand out.

Check out the gameplay trailer below. Are you excited for Mortal Kombat 11? Let us know in the comments. The game will be released on April 23 for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.