You remember the first time you saw Kenshi use his "Tele-Copter" in MKX? It wasn’t just the blood. It was that slow, hovering hover of the opponent’s face as it met the spinning blade. Gross. Honestly, Mortal Kombat 10 fatalities—officially known as Mortal Kombat X—marked a turning point for the franchise. It was the moment NetherRealm Studios decided that "cartoonish" violence wasn't enough anymore. They wanted it to feel personal.
They succeeded.
Back in 2015, the jump to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One era gave the developers more polygons than they knew what to do with. The result? We got to see actual individual teeth flying out of mouths. We saw tongues twitching after they were severed. It's kinda messed up when you think about it, but for fans, it was the peak of the "Finish Him" era.
The Most Disturbing Mortal Kombat 10 Fatalities People Still Talk About
Not all finishers are created equal. Some are just "rip the head off" and call it a day. But MKX had some truly creative, stomach-turning stuff.
Take Jax’s "T-Wrecks" fatality. He doesn't just punch you. He rips your jaw open and stubs a cigar out on your tongue. It’s the sheer disrespect that makes it rank so high on everyone’s list. Or how about Ermac’s "Inner Workings"? He uses telekinesis to yank your entire digestive tract out through your mouth. It’s visually exhausting.
Then there's Cassie Cage. She brought the series into the modern age with her "Selfie" fatality. After she blows your jaw off, she takes a photo with your corpse and posts it to a fake social media site called "Friendships." You can actually see the comments scrolling by from other characters like Goro. It was a weirdly perfect blend of humor and gore that the series usually struggles to balance.
A Quick List of Fan Favorites
- Ermac: Inner Workings (That levitating gut-pull is iconic).
- Mileena: Tasty Treat (She literally starts eating the opponent’s face).
- Kenshi: Tele-Copter (The "human sushi" effect).
- Johnny Cage: Here's Johnny (A classic The Shining reference).
How to Actually Perform These Moves (Without Cursing)
Look, we've all been there. The "Finish Him" screen pops up, your heart starts racing, and you suddenly forget how to use a controller. You mash buttons. You jump by accident. The timer runs out and the opponent just falls over like a sack of potatoes. It’s embarrassing.
Basically, every character has at least two "standard" fatalities. To unlock them in your move list permanently, you usually have to find them in the Krypt or just... perform them once by looking up the code.
Distance Matters More Than You Think
Google "Mortal Kombat 10 fatalities" and you'll see a lot of button prompts, but people always ignore the distance. If the guide says "Mid," and you’re standing right next to the guy, the move won't trigger.
- Close: You should be touching them.
- Mid: About two jump-lengths away.
- Far: Almost at the edge of the screen.
If you’re struggling, the game introduced "Easy Fatality" tokens. You could buy these (which caused a huge controversy back then) or earn them in the Krypt. They let you trigger the whole sequence by just holding a trigger and pressing one button. It’s a bit of a "cheat" way to do it, but hey, if you want to see the gore without the finger gymnastics, it works.
The Evolution: Brutalities vs. Fatalities
MKX didn't just give us fatalities. It brought back Brutalities in a way that actually made them cooler than the main finishers. In older games, a Brutality was just a long combo that ended in an explosion. In Mortal Kombat X, they became hidden requirements.
To pull off a Brutality, you have to win the match with a specific move while meeting certain conditions. Maybe you have to be holding "Forward" during the last hit, or maybe you had to perform five teleports during the match. Because they happen instantly—no "Finish Him" screen, just straight into the death—they feel much more "pro."
Why the PC Version Was Kind of a Mess
If you played on PC at launch, you might remember the fatalities looking... janky. The game had massive optimization issues. While PS4 players were enjoying smooth 60fps gore, PC players were dealing with crashes. It took the "XL" update (which was essentially the Game of the Year edition) to finally fix the netcode and bring the PC version up to par.
If you're playing today, make sure you're on the Mortal Kombat XL version. It includes all the DLC characters like Alien, Predator, and Jason Voorhees. Honestly, the guest characters have some of the best finishers in the whole game. Watching the Predator use his shoulder cannon to blast a hole through someone's chest is peak 80s action movie vibes.
Actionable Tips for Mastery
If you're looking to master the art of the finisher in 2026, here’s how you actually get good:
1. Use Fatality Training Mode.
Don't try to learn these in a live match. There’s a specific mode in the Training menu that gives you infinite time and shows the "box" on the ground where you need to stand. Use it.
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2. Learn the Stage Fatalities.
Only certain stages allow these (like the Kove or the Refugee Camp). The inputs are different for every character, but they usually involve the environment killing the opponent—like a kraken pulling them underwater.
3. Check your Faction Kills.
Don't forget the Faction system! Depending on whether you joined the Lin Kuei or Black Dragon, you have access to "Faction Kills." These are quick, automated fatalities that don't require specific positioning. They’re great for when you’re feeling lazy.
4. Focus on the "XL" Roster.
Characters like Leatherface and Bo' Rai Cho were added later and have much more complex animations. If you want to see the absolute limit of what the MKX engine can do, play as them.
Mortal Kombat 10 fatalities set a bar for violence in gaming that some people still think hasn't been topped, even by the newer sequels. The grittiness and the dark, desaturated color palette of the game made the red of the blood pop in a way that felt genuinely "mature." It’s a classic for a reason.
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Next Steps for You:
Go into the Krypt and head to the Spider Tunnels or Frozen Graves areas. These sections contain the majority of the hidden secondary Fatality inputs. If you're low on "Koins," try playing the Living Towers; they rotate hourly and offer the fastest way to grind currency so you can unlock every finisher in the game without spending real money.