Balance is the most important aspect of fighting games. The entire game is ruined if one character has an obvious advantage over everybody else on the roster. Because of this, developers put a lot of effort into making sure every character is fairly tuned to not be over or underpowered. Even after release, patches further fine-tune certain characters.
Mortal Kombat pays special attention to this, especially in more recent entries. It is all well and good for gameplay, but this game pits humans against literal gods and sorcerers, so it is funny to think about how powerful some characters are portrayed in the lore versus how they play during a fight. It is ultimately better than letting them steamroll human opponents in gameplay. The Mortal Kombat characters below would all come out on top if they unleashed their full power during a one-on-one brawl.
9 Cetrion
Cetrion first joined the roster in Mortal Kombat 11. She is a god and related to Shinnok. While she seems like a relatively benevolent god at first, she is ultimately revealed to be working for Kronika, the antagonist of the 2019 fighter.
One would think that gods would pretty much be able to destroy any other opponent who is not also a god, but that's not necessarily the case. Raiden has a reason to be less powerful, because he assumed a human form to partake in the tournament in the first Mortal Kombat. However, no such explanation is given to other gods who become playable characters.
8 Geras
Time is a major theme in Mortal Kombat 11. Being able to manipulate time already feels like a huge advantage. Geras can do just that, and is also basically immortal. Being able to stop time alone should make him the automatic victor of every match.
At least in the story, he is incapacitated by being thrown into an endless sea and sinking forever. But up until the point of his demise, Geras is treated as a threatening force and the protagonists are dumbfounded at his power and abilities.
7 Fujin
Fujin has been a part the series for a long time, but he is only playable in three games. The Wind God is first introduced in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, and first became a playable character in the fourth entry.
Other than Armageddon, which featured everybody, he only comes back as DLC for the recent entry. As a Wind God, it feels like he could just whip up a tornado and destroy any opponent before the match even starts; yet, to make things fair, he's been reasonably balanced against his opponents.
6 Blaze
Blaze is the final combatant in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon's ladder and story. Considering it is a being made of molten rock, it seems like Blaze would put up more of a fight. In fact, his heat should vaporize anyone who comes near him.
The whole situation around the tournament in that game is interesting. In a battle between all the fighters, the more powerful characters could just destroy everyone else almost instantly. By the end, it only seems like a few characters could actually take on Blaze.
5 Shinnok
Shinnok does not look as intimidating as big villains like Shao Kahn or Kintaro, but he is still a disgraced god at the end of the day. Even though he is not a god by the time Mortal Kombat 4 comes around, he is certainly still powerful and could make quick work of any human adversary.
All the same, Cassie Cage has no problem beating her after using the powers her family somehow has. (Speaking of which, isn't it weird that the Cages have these inexplicable powers?) A mere mortal, she can easily defeat a fallen god.
4 Goro
Goro's powers go from brutally strong to a normal combatant depending on the game. As the penultimate bout in the debut entry, he is as difficult as one would expect a boss character to be.
However, he eventually becomes a normal addition to the roster, where his power is reduced to provide a fair fight for anyone who picks him. So which one is it? Can he rip off someone's arms simply by looking at them, or is he about as strong as a well-trained human?
3 Kotal Kahn
Kotal Kahn is not quite a god, but he was treated as one by Earthrealm for a while. All the same, his powers go far beyond those of mortals. He is the ruler of Outworld and is massive, putting his strength far above the average human.
Being able to use the power of the sun is also a huge advantage, almost like Superman. In gameplay, though, the sun powers only work when using special moves, and are not constantly active.
2 Kronika
As if Mortal Kombat was not ridiculous enough by having gods compete against regular humans, Kronika is a being beyond a god. She created existence itself and continues to control time by the time Mortal Kombat 11 starts.
Even though she has lived through multiple timelines and resets them herself, she can be taken out by anybody on the roster during an arcade ladder. She has quite an intense death, too. At least in the story, she is only defeated once Liu Kang becomes a god himself.
1 Ermac
Ermac might seem a little out of place here. However, he is an amalgam of souls, so he is more powerful than initially believed. Some moments in the story mode show just how brutal his psychokinetic powers are.
He is the reason Jax loses his arms in the 2011 reboot. With these powers, it seems that he should start off fights by pulling his opponent apart, limb by limb. Rounds would be over in a moment's notice.
Mortal Kombat 11 is out now for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
