The Mortal Kombat series is home to some of the most iconic characters in all of gaming. There are of course Scorpion and Sub Zero, who are household names even among non-gamers. Other iconic characters include the likes of the bionic-armed Jax Briggs and laser-eyed Kano.
Sonya Blade appeared as the first female playable character in the series, back in the original Mortal Kombat. She's an iconic special ops fighter who has appeared in just about every major release in the series, and she's being brought to life in the Mortal Kombat 2021 film reboot.
10 Sonya Is Named After Ed Boon's Sister (Just Like Tanya)
The co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series, Ed Boon, has a penchant for naming characters after real-life people close to him. After years of speculation, Boon revealed he did indeed name Sonya after one of his real-life sisters. Tanya, an antagonist from Mortal Kombat 4 onwards, got her name from another of his sisters.
Several other characters were also named after close friends and family of the series creators. For instance, Noob Saibot's first and last names are well-known references to Ed Boon and John Tobias – just spell their last names backwards to find the character.
9 She Was Meant To Fight Jade In The First Movie...
In the original Mortal Kombat movie, Jade made no appearance. However, in the original script, Jade and Sonya were supposed to fight in an underground area, away from the rest of the contestants at Shang Tsung's tournament.
Jade came back for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, where she fought Liu Kang instead of Sonya. This change was likely made because there is little in-game story to connect Jade and Sonya, and their fight would have little relevance to the plot.
8 ...And Shang Tsung Intended For Her To Be His Queen
According to pre-release material for the 90's Mortal Kombat movie, Shang Tsung wanted more than just Earthrealm under his influence. Tsung also wanted to make Sonya Blade his queen once he had assured his victory in combat.
This doesn't end up happening in the movie, although Tsung does challenge Sonya as an act of desperation and teleport her to Outworld. Tsung shows little interest in Sonya romantically throughout the film, so this was probably the right move.
7 Sonya Replaced Stryker In The Original Mortal Kombat
Stryker made his debut as a playable character in Mortal Kombat 3. However, he was originally supposed to be in the roster for the first game. The original game was going to have an all-male cast, though, so the team replaced him with Sonya for diversity's sake.
Stryker, like Sonya, is a tactical special forces officer. However, while Sonya is an Earthrealm special forces officer, Stryker is a run-of-the-mill riot control cop whose prowess earned him contact from Raiden directly.
6 Sonya's Partner Doesn't Have A Definite Name
Sonya and Kano have a long-lasting rivalry going all the way back to the beginning of the game. The main reason for this rivalry is that Kano killed Sonya's special forces partner. Strangely, this deceased partner appears to have different names in various installments of the franchise.
Sonya's partner's name is Lance in the Mortal Kombat comics, and Wexler in the Mortal Kombat animated series. However, he simply goes without a name the majority of the time – even in the Mortal Kombat movie.
5 Rumors Say There Was A Secret Nude Code In The Original Mortal Kombat
There has been a long-standing rumor regarding the original Mortal Kombat game. Supposedly, if one entered a specific series of inputs, one could play as a nude version of Sonya. The rumor has been denied multiple times over the years, and likely started because she is the only female character in the game.
It's one of those video game rumors that could only last so long, because of the lack of easy access to the internet. In a time where even official game guides don't have quite the incorrect information, it's easy to believe rumors floating around.
4 Sonya's Voice Actress In Mortal Kombat 11 Is Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey, the well-known MMA fighter, has been out of the limelight for a few years. Back in 2019, though, she diversified her portfolio and provided voice work for Mortal Kombat 11 as Sonya Blade.
This casting choice makes for a perfect fit. Sonya is a no-holds-barred master of hand-to-hand combat, and Rousey had a hugely successful career doing just that. Perhaps her experience added that extra bit of realism to Sonya's voice.
3 Cameron Diaz Stepped Down As Sonya For The First Movie
Originally, Cameron Diaz planned to take on the role of Sonya Blade in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie. Diaz gladly took the role after her appearance in The Mask and began training immediately.
Sadly, she broke her wrist right before filming was set to begin, and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras took over the role. Since Diaz typically played more comedic roles at the time, it may have been for the best that Sonya was represented in a serious light.
2 Her Annihilation Outfit Comes Back For Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat 11 boasts a number of optional outfits and skins for each kombatant, including the Klassic MK Movie Skin Pack. The pack brings back costumes that Sonya, Raiden, and Johnny Cage wore in the original Mortal Kombat film.
Sonya's outfit was a simple one – she wears an all-black outfit with black leather gloves, black shorts, a black tank top, and tied-back hair. Raiden's outfit is the same one that Christopher Lambert wore in the film. Meanwhile, Johnny Cage sports his blue shirt and pants that he wears when arriving on Shang Tsung's island.
1 Sonya Starred In Johnny Cage's Deadly Alliance Movie
At the end of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance's Arcade mode, each character has an epilogue that tells what happened to them after their victory in Mortal Kombat. Johnny Cage, as he would, went on to make a movie of the experience.
On the poster for the movie, Sonya Blade poses holding onto Cage's leg, much like Princess Leia on the cover of Star Wars Episode IV. The poster is in too low a resolution to completely confirm her appearance in the credits. However if it's not Sonya, it's her doppelganger.