Characters / Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

Mortal Kombat Main Character Index
Original and Reboot Timeline: MK (1992) | MK2 | MK3 | MK4 | Deadly Alliance | Deception | Armageddon | MK vs. DC Universe | MK9 | MKX | MK11
The New Era: MK1
Spin-offs: Mythologies: Sub-Zero | Special Forces
Non-video game: The Movie | Conquest | Defenders of the Realm | 2021 Movie
Individual Characters: Scorpion I (Hanzo Hasashi) | Sub-Zero I/Noob Saibot (Bi-Han) | Johnny Cage | Liu Kang | Raiden | Shang Tsung | Sub-Zero II/Scorpion II (Kuai Liang) | Kitana | Mileena | Shao Kahn/General Shao | Quan Chi

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Check here for Kano, the MKII sheet for Jax, and the MK4 sheet for Jarek.

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Tremor

Tremor

"Your death will satisfy my rage."

Debut game: Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

Other appearances: Mortal Kombat 9, Mortal Kombat X (Fred Tatasciore, English; Octavio Rojas, Latin American Spanish), Mortal Kombat 1 (DLC; Kameo)

Non-game appearances: Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (Imari Williams)

A mysterious, brown-garbed ninja employed by the Black Dragon as an arms dealer, Tremor possesses the ability to manipulate the earth. He was broken out during a prison riot by Kano, but was seemingly killed by Jax. Notable for appearing in a spin-off as a boss, the creators of the series considered implementing him into the series as a playable fighter, but never seemed to get around to it during the original timeline despite heavy demand. Fans speculated this likely had to do with the nature of his origin, as Special Forces was ill-received and seemingly subject to Canon Discontinuity due to a lack of references to it in later games, although Ed Boon refused to claim the brown ninja would never show up.

However, come the reboot, Tremor unexpectedly showed up as a bonus character during Challenge Mode for the Play Station Vita port of Mortal Kombat 9, sparking renewed interest in the character. Finally, Mortal Kombat X revealed him as a DLC kharacter in his first fully playable appearance. In this new timeline, the events of Special Forces are ignored and Tremor serves Kano as an enforcer and arms dealer during the events of MKX and its prequel comic, albeit with some tensions brewing between the two...

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• Affably Evil:
  • He seems to be genuinely reluctant to fight Kitana, Sonya, and Cassie, even going so far as to offer the latter two to leave quietly, and sincerely respects Johnny Cage. He also compliments Jacqui on her gauntlets and addresses Sonya and Jax by their military titles (General and Major, respectively).
  • Maybe bordering on Heel–Face Turn. His intros with Bo' Rai Cho say he wants to ally with the drunken master. Another intro has Bo' Rai Cho say he wishes to test Tremor before he can trust him, which Tremor accepts without any seeming hostility.
• Ascended Extra: He started out as a boss in an obscure spin-off game, was promoted to a random "bonus fighter" in the Play Station Vita port of Mortal Kombat 9, and ended up a full-fledged playable character in MKX.
• Awesome, but Impractical: In large-scale battles, his ability to cause earthquakes can easily make a joint Shokan-Oni army lose their footing... and risk making collateral damage to nearby cities. Hence why Kano recalled him after a while and shot a handheld nuke at Kintaro's army.
• Baddie Flattery: If he's having a good day, he might give you a compliment before trying to kill you.
• Beast and Beauty: One of his interactions with Kitana in MKX implies he has a crush on her, d'aww. You almost feel sorry for the big lug.
• The Big Guy: Out of Kano's team in the MKX comic.
• Breakout Character: One of the biggest examples in the series. Despite appearing as a boss in a panned spin-off, Tremor gained a following demanding him to be playable unlike the other original characters, slowly building into a guest appearance in the PS Vita port of Mortal Kombat 9 before culminating in his playable debut as a DLC kharacter in MKX. Even appearing as a credible threat in Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind.
• The Comically Serious: Tremor is a violent, musclebound weapons dealer who can make the earth tremble beneath him. He's also one of the only characters who likes Johnny's movies and sometimes says "Let's rock!" after performing a Brutality.
• Deity of Human Origin: In his tower ending in MKX, defeating Shinnok allows him to gather enough power to become an elemental god like Raiden.
• Dishing Out Dirt: His primary power set. As of MKX this extends to all earth based substances, including metals, crystals, and magma.
• Downloadable Content: In the Kombat Pack for Mortal Kombat X as a playable kombatant and Mortal Kombat 1 as a kameo.
• Earthquakes Cause Fissures: Almost brings down Kotal Kahn's palace when making an entrance.
• Extra-ore-dinary: His Metallic variation in MKX shows that he also has control over metals in addition to stone. It also allows him to turn into a Magma Man.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Offers two of his enemies the chance to leave without fighting.
• Evil Sounds Deep: While the franchise has no shortage of deep voiced guys, Tremor stands out with his very gravelly voice, fitting for a burly brawler capable of manipulating the earth.
• Gemstone Assault: His Crystalline variation in MKX, which replaces the stones on his chest and forearms with a green crystalline substance that he can use to form shields or create his own stage interactables.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: One of his Fatalities in MKX involves using three stone spikes to impale his victim through the head, chest, and groin before he turns his hands into stone hammers and smashes their head apart. The brutality using his X-Ray just has him slam a rock through the enemy's gut and then impale them on a stalagmite through the midsection.
• Magma Man: In his Metallic variation, he gains the Lava Skin special move, which grants many of his moves a lava effect.
• Mistaken Identity: Played with; in Special Forces many fans, including the series' creator, Ed Boon himself thought Tremor was Scorpion at first glance, due to the similar colors. This is referenced in MKX with Tremor accusing Scorpion of mimicking his appearance during their intro.
• Ninja: Or at least ninja-esque.
• Palette Swap: A bizarre example, see Mistaken Identity above. His first appearance in 2000 was a few years after the series was trying the transition into 3D, when the games started to diversify the ninja castmembers, but he is designed like them with a brown color scheme and his appearance in 9's portable version uses this appearance as well. X has since given him his own unique design. 1, meanwhile, combines both of his designs, giving him the brown ninja outfit from Special Forces and the rocky skin from X.
• Playing with Fire: Invoked in that he appears to shoot fireballs, though based on his elemental power it's actually molten rock.
• Revenge: In the Non-canon Challenge Tower missions, he is presented as having a vendetta against Jax for besting him and Kano for using him as an expendable pawn and leaving him for dead. In X during his intro with Kano, Tremor decides to quit the Black Dragon and go on his own, but not before finishing Kano first.
• Shockwave Stomp: His main ability; he can create earthquakes by punching the ground, like Jax.
  • In issue 20 of the MKX comic he used this technique to decimate Kintaro's army. After a while, Kano recalled him because he could risk making Z'Unkahrah fall.
• Small Role, Big Impact: According to his MKX arcade ending, he was responsible for acquiring a "psych bomb" that Kano used in his snare for Raiden, forcing the god out of the picture while trying to undo its effects and weakening him before the finale.
• Stance System: His variations are Aftershock, Metallic, and Crystalline.
  • Metallic takes it further, controlling either metal (making his specials hit harder) or molten rock (which lets his specials burn enemies).
• Taken for Granite:
  • Another of his abilities. He can fire a stone missile that petrifies his opponent for a short duration.
  • While he loses this ability in X, a few of his brutalities involve petrifying the opponent, this time permanently.
• Took a Level in Badass: Goes from a earth-powered ninja with a decent amount of skill to a being with elemental powers on par with Raiden and Fujin.

Gemini

Gemini

• Mission Control: Helps guide Jax through his mission to stop Kano.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Heavily implied between her and Jax.
• Voice with an Internet Connection: She's essentially Jax's operator.

No Face

No Face

• Bald of Evil: Lacks hair and is a member of Kano's Black Dragon organization.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Completely absent in the rebooted timeline, despite the return of his teammates.
• Mad Bomber: He has extensive knowledge of incendiary and explosive devices. Wields a flamethrower and has sticks of dynamite strapped to his chest.
• Meaningful Name: No nose, ears, or hair.

Tasia

Tasia

• Dark Action Girl: Confronts Jax herself and was the Black Dragon's first female member to be introduced in the franchise.
• Dual Wielding: Uses twin katanas.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Somewhat subverted given her status as a Black Dragon underling.
• McNinja: Her smoke teleport, kiais and usage of katanas give her a typical ninja vibe.
• The Smurfette Principle: Until Deception introduced Kira, Tasia was the only known female member of the Black Dragon.
• Smoke Out: One of her moves consists of disappearing in a cloud of smoke before reappearing.
• Token Minority: Aside of being one of the few known females of the Black Dragon clan, she's the only one of the group who appears to be of African descent.