Highlights
- Mortal Kombat 1 is bringing back characters from throughout the franchise's history, catering to both old-school and modern fans.
- Ermac's new design in Mortal Kombat 1 is disappointing to fans because it lacks his signature mask, making him look strange.
- There is still time for NetherRealm to fix Ermac's design before the release of Mortal Kombat 1, and adding bandages or a mask would be enough to appease fans.
Over the last 31 years, the Mortal Kombat franchise has amassed quite the roster, and it's only natural that every fan has their favorite character to play as. While most modern Mortal Kombat fans will probably choose a franchise staple like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, or one of the newer crew like Takeda, old-school Mortal Kombat fans might choose some lesser-known fighters, like Motaro or Havik. Thankfully, Mortal Kombat 1 looks like it's bringing in characters from across the franchise's long history, keeping both types of fans happy.
There are currently 15 fighters confirmed for Mortal Kombat 1, with another available as a pre-order bonus. Already, fans will have more than enough fighters to experiment with, but Mortal Kombat 1 isn't stopping there. Every few weeks, a new handful of Kombatants are revealed, and just a few days ago, Mortal Kombat 1 announced its first DLC roster. Along with comic book icons like Homelander, Peacemaker, and Omni-Man, Mortal Kombat 1's first Kombat Pack will also include franchise staples like Takeda, Quan Chi, and Ermac. But while the reception to this Kombat Pack reveal has been generally pretty great, fans aren't overly happy with Ermac's new design.
Ermac's Appearance Can Be Easily Fixed
Put simply, Ermac's Mortal Kombat 1 design looks strange. After being a mysterious Mortal Kombat legend for years, with a glitch in the original game leading fans to believe a hidden playable character named Ermac was hiding in the game somewhere, Ermac was properly added into the franchise with Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Like every other Mortal Kombat ninja back in the day, Ermac's design was a simple color swap of Scoprion's character model, giving him a bold red and black design. Over the years, Ermac's design has remained largely the same, with the fighter retaining his red and black color scheme, gaining glowing green eyes, and donning black bandages that wrap around his face.
Mortal Kombat 1's newly unveiled Ermac design keeps the classic glowing green eyes and red and black color scheme, but it makes one big change that's kind of ruined the design for many fans. Mortal Kombat 1's Ermac isn't wearing any kind of mask. Though it seems like a minute change, this actually ends up making Mortal Kombat 1's Ermac look very strange, with the character missing perhaps his most recognizable piece of apparel. Fans are not happy with Ermac's new design, and the issues with it only get worse when it's compared to Mortal Kombat X's version of the character, or even Mortal Kombat 11's, which is seen only briefly during the game's Krypt mode.
Thankfully, though, Ermac's Mortal Kombat 1 design can be fixed pretty easily. Though it's definitely cutting it close, there's still time for NetherRealm to go in and change Ermac's design before he even comes to Mortal Kombat 1. Mortal Kombat 1 doesn't drop for over a month, and with Ermac coming in the first Kombat Pack, there's even more time for NetherRealm to tinker with his design. And that tinkering really doesn't need to be too much. Adding some bandages or a mask to Ermac's new design, and making the red coloring pop a bit more on his outfit would be more than enough to bring fans back around on the design.
But even if NetherRealm doesn't fix Ermac's design before he appears in Mortal Kombat 1, there could still be an easy tool for redemption. Though it won't have its own Krypt mode, Mortal Kombat 1 will apparently feature its own form of unlock system, and alternate costumes will hopefully play a large role in that. And when Ermac comes to the game, he should hopefully come bundled with at least one or two alternate outfits, which could potentially give him a more favorable appearance.
Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
