Mortal Kombat 1 is avoiding a controversy that plagued Mortal Kombat 11 by ensuring that Mileena roster right off the bat. Following months of leaks and rumors, NetherRealm Studios finally revealed Mortal Kombat 1, the 12th main series entry in the long-running fighting game franchise. The reveal happened with a heart-pounding trailer that confirmed some of the characters that will make up the game's roster.
The Mortal Kombat 1 reveal trailer confirmed eight characters for the roster, with Johnny Cage later confirmed as the game's ninth playable character. One of the characters confirmed by the Mortal Kombat 1 reveal trailer was none other than Mileena, which means that the new fighting game is going to avoid a Mortal Kombat 11 controversy.
As some may recall, some members of the Mortal Kombat community were upset when Mortal Kombat 11 launched without Mileena as part of the roster. Mileena had been a series mainstay since her debut in Mortal Kombat 2, but she was absent from Mortal Kombat 11 due to the events of Mortal Kombat X. Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon stoked the flames by trolling Mileena fans on Twitter, though she was eventually added to the fighting game as a DLC character.
Mortal Kombat 1 Characters
- Johnny Cage
- Kitana
- Kung Lao
- Fire God Liu Kang
- Mileena
- Raiden
- Scorpion
- Shang Tsung (pre-order bonus)
- Sub-Zero
Mileena was part of the first batch of characters confirmed for Mortal Kombat 1, so the new game should easily avoid running into the same controversy that Mortal Kombat 11 did by not including Mileena at launch. However, it's possible that a new controversy will arise if other fan favorite Mortal Kombat characters fail to make the cut for the Mortal Kombat 1 roster. There's still quite some time to go before the Mortal Kombat 1 release date in September, so it will be interesting to see who is confirmed for the game between now and then.
While Mortal Kombat fans will have to wait for more news on the base game roster, some leaks have revealed which DLC characters to expect. According to the leaks, the Mortal Kombat 1 DLC will include guest characters like Omni Man from Invincible, Homelander from The Boys, and Peacemaker, as well as classic Mortal Kombat characters Quan Chi, Ermac, and Takeda. It's unlikely that Quan Chi, Ermac, and Takeda being missing from the base game roster will stir up the same kind of reaction from the community as Mileena's initial absence from Mortal Kombat 11 did, but there are likely some fans who are sad that they won't be available at launch.
Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X.
