Highlights

  • Havik would offer a new perspective as a sympathetic main villain in Mortal Kombat's ever-evolving saga of chaos and order.
  • Havik's untapped potential from Mortal Kombat: Deception could finally be realized in the upcoming era of Mortal Kombat.
  • As a neutrally-aligned character, Havik poses a unique challenge for all fighters in the Mortal Kombat universe, sparking potential alliances and rivalries.

Mortal Kombat is one of the gaming kings of great villains, with many iconic baddies in the fighting pantheon coming from this landmark franchise. Shapeshifting soul stealers, boasting world conquerors, and nihilistic fallen deities; Mortal Kombat’s villains are as varied as they are challenging. However, in this new era of Kombat, there is an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on the untapped potential of one of Mortal Kombat’s fan-favorite returning fighters: Havik.

The post-credits stinger for Mortal Kombat 1 sets up a potential plotline involving a version of Havik from another timeline who absorbed the powers of Kronika, letting him survive the chaotic battle between timelines during the game's climax with a cadre of fellow likeminded fighters, ominously promising to usher in a new era of chaos. Fans have long speculated that MK was preparing for the Onaga's return to the series, what with the frequent references in the game and the presence of his immortal undead army in Mortal Kombat 1's story. However, this ending cutscene might indicate that his fellow Mortal Kombat: Deception character is stepping into the spotlight instead. While this doesn’t eliminate the possibility of Onaga’s return, potentially having Havik assume the mantle of antagonist opens up a plethora of new storytelling opportunities.

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Havik Could Be A Sympathetic Main Villain

  • Havik is no longer a cut-and-dry fanatic, but a freedom fighter driven to extremes.
  • This opens up the door for a more sympathetic characterization as a villain.

Divorced from his origins as a Cleric of Chaos from the fittingly named Chaosrealm, this reboot’s rendition of Havik shares the backstory of another 3D Era character: Dairou. He is a former guardsman of Seido, one of Mortal Kombat's many iconic realms centered around the conept of absolute order and control. Echoing his original timeline counterpart in a fashion, he chose to revolt against his world’s regime and acts as a revolutionary freedom fighter rather than stick to his world's unbending rigidity.

Rather than embodying all of the traits of the average chaotic neutral warlock in Dungeons and Dragons, this new rendition of Havik comes across less like an uncontrollable force and more like a relatable tragic villain. He’s not a devotee of entropy and disorder; he’s a mutilated freedom fighter whose backstory makes him one of Mortal Kombat's most nuanced characters. This opens up doors for new storytelling opportunities and interactions with characters who share a similar backstory, such as fellow freedom fighter Li-Mei or classic rival Hotaru.

Paying Off Plot Threads from Mortal Kombat: Deception

  • Havik was introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deception as an ambitious neutral player in the game's Konquest mode and endings.
  • Due to the shift in focus for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and subsequent reboot, his potential was never fully utilized.

Havik’s debut appearance in Mortal Kombat: Deception established him as a character driven by his own ambitions and desire for chaos above all else. Not only this, but he is an ambitious character with his own goals in mind, as seen through the Konquest story mode and various character endings. This neutral mentality and firm stance on chaos established him as one of the fan favorite Mortal Kombat characters, with fans anxiously awaiting his return to the series proper with Mortal Kombat 1.

What he eventually planned to do if he was in a position of power remains unclear, aside from resurrecting the seemingly dead Shao Kahn in order to destabilize Outworld. How Havik’s desire to bring about chaos would have unfolded in the long term is a mystery, as the series was subsequently rebooted in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Havik was let without a mainline appearance as a playable character for 17 years. This untapped villainous potential finally has the chance to blossom if Havik is to take the reins as the next main antagonist in Mortal Kombat.

Havik Would Be a Unique Challenge for All Fighters

  • Havik is a neutrally-aligned character by design.
  • His absolute anarchist stance would put him at odds with many of Mortal Kombat's characters.

If ever there was a wild card in Mortal Kombat's roster, Havik would be it. He's not moral in the traditional sense, aiding and hindering characters from both sides of the morality aisle as long as they worked towards his goal of greater chaos in the long term. This puts him at odds not only with the traditionally moral characters like Liu Kang and Sonya Blade, but even characters who are typically in antagonistic roles like Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung would be on the receiving end of his ire. Were Havik to become a major threat, he would have all sides gunning for him, opening up plenty of unique story opportunities for begrudging alliances between characters who would normally be seen throwing down on principle.

Were Havik to become a major threat, he would find enemies on all sides, opening up opportunities for begrudging alliances between characters who would normally be at each other's throats.

Though another mainline Mortal Kombat title is likely years away due to the continued live service support for Mortal Kombat 1, the future is shaping to be eventful for fighting game fans. Whether Havik’s stinger cutscene is hinting at Havik becoming a central villain for the sequel or simply is teasing him as an event boss for the Invasions mode, he nevertheless brings to the table a great deal of potential as a unique villain in the series’ pantheon of Mortal Kombat antagonists.