Video games can have complex storylines or interesting characters just like movies or books. The Mortal Kombat franchise started out as a fairly simple fighting platform that would change gaming forever, and it's not just the novelty of gore that made it appealing. The characters were more than shallow stereotypes. They had backstories, moral alignments, and personal opinions.

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Initially, the characters in Mortal Kombat had scant, mysterious backstories, but several games and feature films later, they've been fleshed out a lot more. They've got families, personal motives, professional skills, and future plans. How do they fit in on a Dungeons & Dragons moral alignment scale?

9 Lawful Good - Jax

Jax
via ShackNews.com

As an officer in a clandestine military unit, Jax has to stay disciplined and keep the soldiers he's responsible for in order, along with carrying out law enforcement duties. There's a code in the military and Jax seems to follow it to the letter, never leaving his friends behind. According to lore, he was recruited by Raiden while on a mission to save Sonya Blade. Rescuing a comrade in arms is something a Lawful Good character would do.

8 Neutral Good - Liu Kang

Before he entered the tournament that makes up the central storyline of Mortal Kombat, Liu Kang was a dedicated Shaolin Monk. This life of discipline keeps him in the Neutral bracket, but his personal ambitions, which revolve around defending the Earthrealm from the evil forces of Shao Khan, make him a defender of the good. He's the main hero of the game, mentored by Raiden and supported by Johnny Cage. Johnny takes up the comedy role so our grave Neutral Good hero doesn't have to.

7 Chaotic Good - Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage was often the comic relief of the franchise to offset the gravity of somber characters like Raiden and Liu Kang. His character was inspired by real-life film star Jean Claude van Damme, who often plays Chaotic Good characters in his films. Johnny Cage also falls under this category.

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Since he was introduced in the early games, Cage has always been on the good side. As a wealthy movie star, he can pretty much do whatever he wants. He's not a bad person, as he's always on the sie of the Earthrealm, but he can be annoying, as Chaotic Good characters can be.

6 Lawful Neutral - Raiden

Raiden preparing lightning attack

Raiden is literally a god, so he can remain aloof from the petty problems of mortals, allowing him to be Neutral. His mission to defend the Earthrealm by choosing champions for a tournament, and he's been responsible for this since the beginning of time. He chooses champions based on their skills, not their alignments. If he has to bend or ignore certain rules to accomplish this goal, he does without any moral conflict, an example of a Lawful Neutral character.

5 True Neutral - Sonya Blade

True Neutral is a tough alignment to pin down, often attributed to fantasy classes like Druids and more realistic figures, such as Priests or Monks. Sonya is none of these, but her status as part of a special forces army unit allows her to ignore certain official rules and regulations to accomplish her main goals. That's an example of True Neutral behavior. Initially, she's driven to find and defeat Kano and his crime syndicate and would have fought for either side in the tournament if that had meant taking Kano down.

4 Chaotic Neutral - Princess Kitana

Kitana
via PrimaGames.com

One of the more popular figures from the game, Kitana has an interesting character arc and intriguing personal history. Initially, she's fighting against the Earthrealm. As she learns more about her history and family throughout the games, she changes sides.

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Her ultimate goal is to free her native realm from the clutches of the Emporer. Kitana's alliances could change once her goal is accomplished. A Chaotic Neutral character tends to act in accordance with their own personal inclinations as opposed to a moral code, and Kitana's story follows that path.

3 Lawful Evil - Shang Tsung

Lawful Evil characters are disciplined and meticulous. They gather their resources, chose a moral code, put together a plan, and follow it to the letter. It must have taken years of study and practice to become a powerful warlock with shapeshifting powers, never mind formulate a plan to take over all of Earthrealm, and this villain has done both. Shang Tsung's political alliances with the Emperor and Goro also reveal the kind of scheming we'd expect from a Lawful Evil character.

2 Neutral Evil - Kano

Kano
via IGN.com

Although he's portrayed as more of a bumbling villain in the films, Kano is a criminal mastermind in the gaming universe. The crime cartel he oversees is known as the Black Dragon and there's a whole army special forces unit, whose members include Sonya Blade and Jax, dedicated to destroying it. He shamelessly follows his own personal criminal code, which is inherently immoral but well-organized, a classic Neutral Evil trait.

1 Chaotic Evil - Shao Khan

Emporer Shao Khan isn't much of a planner, which is why he allies himself with characters which are, like Shang Tsung. His motives are simple, he has a lust for unlimited power, and his methods are ham-fisted, including little more than brute force. His adoption of Princess Kitana, which a first seems like a redeeming quality, is eventually revealed as an act of deception and betrayal. That's how we know he's Chaotic, and the Evil part is even more obvious.

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