Stryker (Mortal Kombat)

Stryker
Mortal Kombat series
Stryker in Mortal Kombat (2011)
First appearance	Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
Created by	John Tobias
Voiced by (English)	Ron Perlman (DotR) Matthew Mercer (MK 2011)
Motion capture	Michael O'Brien (MK3, UMK3, MKT) Tahmoh Penikett (Legacy s.1) Eric Jacobus (Legacy s.2)
Motion capture	Lawrence Kern (MK 2011)
class=" infobox hproduct" style="float:right; width:264px; font-size:90%; text-align:left;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"
{{{name}}}
Origin	Earthrealm (United States)
Fighting-Styles	Hua Chuan (MK:A)

|- |} Kurtis Stryker (usually referred to as simply Stryker) is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He was originally described as being a leader of the Special Riot Control division in the NYPD, in addition to having been a former Marine who served in the Gulf War.

Kurtis Stryker was introduced in Mortal Kombat 3 in 1995, as a somewhat stout-looking man sporting an often-criticized "urban" design. The character received much criticism regarding his original special moves, Fatalities and attire in Mortal Kombat 3. His appearance changed in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon into a more serious-looking and modernized police officer.

Appearances

In video games

Stryker's biography screen in Mortal Kombat 3 revealed that he was the leader of the Riot Control Brigade when Outworld's portal opened over a large unnamed city. He attempted to keep order among the populace in the ensuing chaos, but soon all human souls were taken by Shao Kahn with the exception of those that belonged to the chosen warriors. Stryker did not understand why he had been spared until he received a vision from Raiden, instructing him to head west in order to meet with the other chosen warriors and learn about the importance of his survival. Although he did not wish to be one of the few souls that was spared, he entered the fray with the intention of avenging the lives of the innocent that he had vowed to serve and protect. Along with the other warriors, Stryker assisted in liberating Earthrealm from Shao Kahn's clutches. He later reappeared in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon with a complete redesign, including clothing resembling riot gear.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), Stryker joins Raiden and his followers in repelling the Outworld invasion. He is later killed after Sindel smashes his skull and subsequently resurrected by Quan Chi.

Design

It took Stryker several tries to break into the Mortal Kombat series. A character named "Kurtis Stryker" was to appear in the first Mortal Kombat, but the idea was dropped in place of a female fighter (Sonya Blade). This previously unused character would later appear in Mortal Kombat II with a different name, Jax, whose initial name was then finally reused for this character in Mortal Kombat 3. Stryker was made to be a SWAT type of character but with a sleeker design. The developers originally planned for him to have several additional weapons, but problems and memory limitations prevented this.

Although character designer and series co-creator John Tobias thought that he would become one of the most popular characters in the game, the opposite would turn true. Many reviled his "common man" appearance and special moves as being out of place in the fantasy world of Mortal Kombat. Ed Boon claimed him to be one of MK3's "hidden secrets" for precisely this reason. Stryker was purposely given a new appearance in Armageddon in order to make him look more appealing to critics of his original design. Armageddon's early concept art and cast render showed that Stryker was to have his Mortal Kombat 3 look as his primary costume; however, this was scrapped later on as this look was one of the sources of rejection over the character.

Stryker employs modern weaponry such as explosives, firearms, tasers and nightsticks for his special moves and Fatalities. Unlike most other MK characters, he does not possess any significant magic powers. Stryker is considered one of the top-tier Mortal Kombat 3 characters, especially after he was given his gun as a special move in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

In other media

Eric Jacobus as Stryker in the 2013 second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy

Stryker was one of the main characters in the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, as one of Raiden's chosen defenders of the Earthrealm alongside Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Jax, Sonya, Nightwolf, and Kitana. He was depicted as a gruff disciplinarian who despised Nightwolf's pet wolf, Kiva, and his nightstick concealed an electronic device that closed dimensional rips that were caused by invading realms. Stryker played his largest role in the seventh episode ("Fall from Grace"), in which Sonya's impetuousness on the battlefield results in him being injured in combat and confined to headquarters alone with the suspended Sonya, but they put aside their differences and work together to successfully defend the base from Shokan invaders. He was voiced by Ron Perlman, and his last name was misspelled as "Striker" in the closing credits.

In the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Stryker is mentioned along with Kabal as "two of Earth's best warriors" who were captured by Rain, but neither actually appeared onscreen; Rain is then promptly killed by Shao Kahn after he admits to sparing their lives. Stryker and Kabal feature in more detailed roles in the first draft of the script, in which they are prisoners slaving away in an Outworld cobalt mine that is overseen by Baraka and where Kitana is being held captive. After Liu Kang later infiltrates the prison and rescues Kitana after killing Baraka in battle, Stryker and Kabal organize the revolting prisoners in fighting off the guards. This subplot was omitted from future drafts and was not included in the novelization.

In the 2011 first season of director Kevin Tancharoen's web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Stryker appeared in the first two episodes as a SWAT leader under Jax's command, and was played by Tahmoh Penikett. When Sonya is held captive by Kano inside a warehouse where the Black Dragon conduct their operations, he and Jax are forced to conduct a raid in order to rescue her, resulting in Stryker and his team engaging in a gunfight with the Dragons. He later visits an injured Sonya in the hospital and informs her that Jax's arms were badly damaged after having protected her from an explosion. Eric Jacobus replaced Penikett for the 2013 second season, in which Stryker's most prominent appearances are in the third episode when Raiden fills in his chosen warriors about the tournament, and in the season finale when he treats Johnny Cage's wounds before they are both ambushed by Liu Kang, during which Stryker hits him with his Taser to little effect; Kung Lao intervenes as Liu Kang gains the upper hand and is about to finish Stryker and Cage off. In a 2013 interview with Nerd Reactor, Jacobus described Stryker as "definitely a fish out of water ... [h]e uses a gun where everyone else has fireballs," adding that the show's take on the character "doesn’t look like an LAPD donut-eating cop like from Mortal Kombat 3."

Reception

Stryker has consistently been met with a mainly negative reception since his debut in MK3. In 2008, GameDaily called Stryker "a joke" and ranked him as the ninth most bizarre character in fighting games, commenting that "maybe he's trying to be Steven Seagal." That same year, ScrewAttack ranked Stryker as third worst character in the series, while Game Informer included this "stun gun-wielding loser" among the characters they did not want to appear in the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot. Topless Robot placed Stryker at first place on their 2011 list of Mortal Kombat characters "that are goofy even by Mortal Kombat standards," and that he was "utterly bizarre" because they felt his 'normal' appearance contrasted with the other characters. Also in 2011, Stryker placed first on 1UP.com's list of the franchise's most embarrassing moments, as they felt he did not "actually belong anywhere [in the series] at all."

In spite of all the criticism he has received, Stryker ranked 18th on UGO's list of top 50 Mortal Kombat characters in 2012, while commenting that his alternate costume in the new game looked "like Iceman from Top Gun in deep-sea diving gear." That same year, Complex listed him as the sixth most underrated Mortal Kombat character, stating that "he gets some unwarranted hate for being so normal, but that's exactly why we appreciate him."

External links

• Kurtis Stryker - The Mortal Kombat Wiki