If there is one thing that I feel is lacking in MK, it is a clear way of telling how powerful or skilled each of the kombatants are. MK is my favorite franchise and as such, I've always wanted to create a character ranking chart for it... so I did. After studying the Marvel power grid, and reading some of the work done by other Comicvine.com members, I've come up with this MK power grid, and have also broken the characters down into more quantifiable classes.

I've chosen to use the Marvel power grid as my template as it is the best and least complex system I've seen for comparing characters. Each rank isn't a hard number that pins the character down to a specific speed or strength level, each rank acts as more of a range so even though some characters may share the same rank in a category, one can still be stronger than the other. Like I said before, it's all about the match-ups and knowing the characters and their feats.

The classes are all based off the DC power grid that was posted on comicvine by Emerald_General_Jai . Props go to Emerald for inspiring this project in its current form, and also for creating the format which I borrowed to create the MK classes. His break down of the DCU classes is here: http://www.comicvine.com/myvine/emerald_general_jai/heirachy-of-power/87-46978/

So, this is what I came up with...

CHARACTER CLASSES OF MORTAL KOMBAT

I've broken the characters down as follows:

Street Leveler These fighters must rely solely on their wits, weapons (tech), and fighting skill when in combat. Some street levelers can use chi based attacks, but for the most part they cannot rely on them as they are unrefined or unproven (there are some exceptions to this statement).

*Low: This sub-class has some training but can barely compete, if at all.

*Mid: This sub-class is very well trained and can fight at a better than average level.

*High: This sub-class is extremely skilled in their kombat forms, as well as very knowledgeable about tactics and strategy. These fighters can fight on a level beyond their own classification.

Meta-Human This class of fighter has attributes that can allow them to perform feats that are beyond normal humans. When in combat they have their wits and fighting skills, but also have a "power" that they can utilize to aid them in battle. This power can take different forms such as in Goro's super-human strength, or Subzero's freezing ability.

*Low: This sub-class can fight at a level that is at the peak of human conditioning, as well as use chi manipulating attacks to a great degree.

**Low level meta-humans and high street levelers can intermingle as being a low meta isn't necessarily a power level advantage over a high street leveler. It all comes down to Match-ups and abilities when it comes to these 2 sub-classes.

*Mid: This sub-class encompasses fighters who can harness a significant amount of power and know how to use it. These fighters are a step above the high level street leveler (There are some exceptions to this statement).

*High: This sub-class possesses a vast array of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and commands an awesome amount of power. Through artifacts or other more extreme means, these fighters can even threaten the power wielded by the Gods.

Herald/God This class of fighters are the true immortals of the MKU and command the highest levels of power of those who reside within the realms, MKs reality. They have great power and can destroy or protect entire realms (planets) with some effort. These fighters have the potential to threaten the balance of power throughout all the realms, and thus they are subject to the decrees of the Elder Gods and Mortal Kombat.

*Lesser: This sub-class possesses vast knowledge and power beyond any single meta-human or street level kombatant as their power can pose a threat on a planetary, and sometimes even interplanetary, scale.

*Greater: This sub-class of characters are the true gods in the realms; the protectors and destroyers of reality. The knowledge of the universe is laid bare before them as their power is virtually limitless within their jurisdiction, but regardless of their power, they are still subject to the Elder Gods and Mortal Kombat.

**When MK is invoked, these characters, lesser and greater, loose their immortality and are brought down to the high meta-human range as their Strength, Speed, and Durability is restricted in order to participate in Kombat.

Elder Gods The Yang of MKs reality. The Elder Gods are the highest form of power that is not of the One Being and reside outside of MK's reality. Any one of them has the power to reshape reality at their whim though they prefer not to get involved with the affairs lesser beings as a rule. Collectively their power and influence is all that can maintain the delicate balance between "good" and "evil."

Transcendent There is only one transcendent being in Mortal Kombat, and that is the One Being. It is the Yin to the Elder Gods Yang. Omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, the consciousness of this entity is every where and nowhere as it lives within all things, and as such can affects all things, that reside within, or are of, the realms. To not be an Elder God is be a small part of the lager collective that is the One Being.

THE MORTAL KOMBAT POWER GRID

As stated above, this MK power grid is based off the Marvel Comics Power Grid as that is the ranking system that makes the most sense to me when comparing characters; though I've tweaked a few things to fit MK. Everything is on a scale of 1 to 7; 1 being low and 7 being high. The Marvel Chart is here if you'd like more info on the numbers associated with each ranking: http://marvel.com/universe/OHOTMU:Power_Grids

This is a short list of the changes I made in my MK Power Grid:

-Intelligence is the measure of how well info is processed by the kombatant, but for this grid it applies to the character kombat tactics, strategy, and ability to read an opponent.

-Strength is ranked the exact same as the Marvel chart.

-Speed is basic combat speed. Some characters have a simple rank, while others may have a rank followed with a '(7)' after it. This (7) merely signifies that character has a teleportaion move that allows them to move about a battle virtually instantaneously. Some teleports have a more limited range than others; it depends on the character, their skills, and their class.

-Durability is the same as the Marvel Grid, but I tweaked the ranks of 3 and 4. On this grid, 3 and 4 overlap and occupy the same range.

*Ex1- Goro has a durability rank of 3 on this chart, but he is one of the most durable characters in the MKU demonstrated by his feats. Though he has no regenerative factor to him, he is clearly only a couple steps below bullet proof. Goro is I would say is a high 3, approaching a 5.

-Energy projection is the exact same as the Marvel Grid.

-Fighting ability is the exact same as the Marvel Grid.

Within this grid I have also incorporated other special rankings similar to the speed/teleport notation. These special rankings were used to show the base level of a characters ability (the first number) as well as signify whether that character posses the ability to perform on another level (the second number) in the same category.

*Ex1. In the case of Raiden, his durability is ranked at a 6 (4). Because of the rules of the MKU, Raiden, like all other Herald/God level characters, must fight at a lesser level than his normal God form. A rank of 6 signifies that Raiden normally has a super-human durability level, but the (4) implies that when Radien is under the stipulations of Mortal Kombat, or out of his jurisdiction (off Earth), that his durability decreases to "enhanced" with a regenerative factor.

*Ex2. In the case of Shang Tsung, since he can shape shift and therefore make himself faster, stronger, or more durable depending on who he mimics, he has the same type of special rankings only reversed, his start low and then goes up in rank.

Now without further delay, my fan made MK Power Grid:

(Update 8/15/2015: Added new MKX characters and updated a few old characters)

Thank you for reading!

PS: Please, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. If you think it's crap, tell me (in a constructive way please), and if you like it but think it needs to be tweaked follow suit. Thanks again!

nice, that was informative

thx

Woah.. this pretty much sums up every Mortal Kombat character perfectly in a well organized graph for easy use. Well Done!

Just a few questions

1. In the speed category do you mean combat speed in punching, blocking, parrying, countering ect, or the ability to get around the battle field at a speed.

2. Think there should be another level in fighting ability for top- notch masters. Because I don't think Ermac or Sub-Zero would be on par with Raiden in fighting ability. Put some fighters at 8?

3. Wouldn't Goro have above level 3 durability?

This is actually incredibly well done. Should almost be directly utilized when referring to debates.

Excellent work!

Looks pretty good to me :)

Skarlet a Meta-Human (Fuck Yeah)

I updated the body of the blog with more explanation about the changes that I made when ranking the MK characters the from the Marvel Power Grid.

Very good, for the most part I agree. I think everything is overall accurate, I would add one thing though that the Elder Gods are also Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient since they can and have foreseen future events(hell Raiden has lol and he's obviously lower then the Elder Gods)

I'd also add the first box of Meta-humans, I would personally have them as Uber powered Meta-humans because they are beyond the normal Meta-humans yet not Godly ranks. Example, though Scorpion when Elder God powered as their Champion before Shujinko killed Onaga and the Kamidogu in Deception were the only two at that point who could destroy the Kamidogu and kill Onaga being as how he had the Kamidogu and the Amulet.... on top of his own power.

Low tiers I'd change a few such as Kabal, Kenshi to mid given their powers and durability. Kabal got burned entirely(survived and got power added to him with outworld magic on top of his respirator) making him one of the fastest characters, Kenshi is a telekinetic remember who later gets stronger thanks to Ermac training him. I think I'd also add Scorpion and Johnny Cage to the mid tiers as well, if you remember Cage dealt with Shinnok in MKA and defeated Baraka, Reptile pretty easily in the MK tourney. Scorpion rarely loses his matches if you notice beating Nightwolf. Nightwolf also remember killed uber powered Sindel with his Shaman magic, so I think he has to be mid tier as well that's pretty impressive.

If anything else strikes me I'll let you know man. :)

Pretty good overall. I disagree with Herald being a classification as no MK character seems herald level.

I think fighting ability might be more of a factor than you think. Sub-zero beat all the elemental gods, and shang tsung and quan chi were beaten by lower people quite often in MK9. Hsu Hao has taken on shujinko.

I agree with vaeternus that nightwolf should be higher, even though beating sindel is an odd feat.

Shujinko shattered the kambidogu, and didn't show more power than it. Sure he beat onaga without it, but I doubt he is a lesser herald. Shao Khan didn't think it at all suspicious when he faked losing to millena.

I feel enhanced sindel would be above raiden level.

Delia created blaze, so logically she should be more powerful than him.

Shinnok was beaten even after he took out the elder gods with his army.

Champion scorpion could supposedly stop onaga, but it was never proven he could.

Do you object more with the use of the term "herald", or the way I defined it in the body of my blog? Please be specific.

Subzero "beat" all the elemental gods via essentially outsmarting them; he didn't kill them or anything like that, he essentially just got past them. That is why I put Bi Han's intelligence at a 4 rather than a 2 or 3 like most other fighters, but there is a lot of PIS going on there as well. I truthfully believe that if Fujin wanted to kill Sub, or any other mortal for that matter, he could do so by just sucking the wind out of their body. I that regard, there also may be a bit of the "Gods can't interfere with the lives of mortals" thing going on here too, so they engaged him on his level and were caught off guard.

About Shang and Quan being beaten by "lower people" in MK9, in MK9 they are somewhat less powerful than how I've put them on this list (Shang didn't have his final upgrade, and Quan didn't have his amulet). Beyond that though, most of the fights they had also incorporated a lot of PIS into them, Smoke vs Shang - Kitana vs Shang, as Shang wasn't trying to kill either of them when they fought; he was more trying to play with them.

Hsu Hao has "taken on" Shujinko? I don't recall this. Was training like during MKD?

I agree that Nightwolf maybe should be regarded on the mi-level tier, but I put an asterisk on his win over Sindel due to what went down. Honestly I put his win over Sindel on the same level as Bi Han's win over the elemental gods; he out smarted her, while she underestimated him. Also, NW used "outside" help to win that fight in the form of the spirits. Another thing too, Raiden or Liu Kang would/should have been able to take her out.

"Shujinko shattered the kamidogu, and didn't show more power than it." I'm not exactly sure what you mean by this, but I put Shujinko on the Lesser-God level due to him absorbing all the fighting powers of all the other fighters at once. Normal Shujinko I feel is on the mid-level meta tier who may be able to achieve high-tier depending on who he's fighting.

You feel that enhanced Sindel is above Raiden? Why? You do realize that the enhancement that She got in MK9 was the same enhancement that Shang got in MK3 don't you? And that in MKD, Raiden took on enhanced Shang and Amulet bearing Quan Chi at the same time right? Raiden at his lowest level is twice what Sindel was.

IMO, Enhanced Sindel may only be slightly more powerful than Shang or Quan Chi was in in MKDA.

And playing off your idea that Delia should be more powerful than Blaze (which I agree with but just have a hard time justifying), just how powerful do you think Kahn is? He created both Shang and Sindel (and many other powerful warriors), and you think that he can make "more powerful" beings than Raiden?

Yes. Shinnok was beaten after he killed a bunch of gods (he didn't beat the elder gods) in MK4, but all things point to Raiden being the one who beat him in the end. MK4's ending is VERY murky, but we know for a fact that the mortals played a part, though I don't think any of them took on Shinnok...at least not when he was at full power.

True that EG Scorpion was only said to be able to defeat Onaga, and truthfully that is the reason I put him on that level, but it wouldn't make sense for him to not be bumped up a level higher than he was during that time. This was also another reason I put Enhanced Shujinko on that level as well.

I just don't think MK characters are herald level.

You keep referencing an amp for shang tsung. When did he get that? I don't remember shang ever being amped. Granted his power flucuates with how many souls he absorbs.

What I mean is, I don't see how shujinko was actually more powerful than the conscious of the one being even with all his powers. He and Hsu Hao fought in the background of the battle of armageddon.

You really think that by deadly alliance shang and quan were close to amped sindel? Even though raiden got the upper hand against them both?

Khan didn't "create" sindel or shang tsung to my knowledge. I'd say he's raiden level power wise, but is a sucky fighter which is why liu kang beat him and he fled the deadly alliance.

Also, you say that gods have to hold back against mortals, but raiden was going all out against the deadly alliance.

"I just don't think MK characters are herald level." Sorry, but that doesn't answer my question, and it makes me think you are less judging the characters based on their stations/actions in the MKU, and more judging the of the franchise as a whole and how it relates to showings in other universes (Marvel/DC). Raiden, Kahn, and Onaga have all affect entire planets with power, and that is effectively what a herald (at least in the way the DC hierarchy defined it) can do with their power, they just have less showings of those powers as the MKU revolves more around 1v1, h2h combat, rather than planet destroying feats.

Shang Tsung's MK3 bio speaks of him being "granted more power than ever." Between MK1 and MK2 Shang was revitalized by Kahn back to his prime, but in MK3 he was enhanced further than he ever had been before. In the MK9 story that never happened though, as Kahn decided to kill Shang (take his power back), and "grant more power than ever" to Sindel instead. Also take note that Shang was originally killed in the first tournament but Kahn called him back from death and revitalized him; this was retconned in both MKSM and MK9 though, but that also shows that Kahn is way more powerful than you give him credit for.

The consciousness of the OB is as strong as the EGs at full power; transcendent. If you are thinking that Onaga was the consciousness of the OB then you are mistaken; Onaga is Onaga, though he (as well as Shao Kahn) was/is being subconsciously guided by the OB. The OB is in everyone, and it works through everyone in order to recombine, that is the reason the EGs refuse to get involved with mortal affairs (they don't want to unwittingly help the OB). So technically you can say that Shujinko did defeat/fought against the OB's sub consciousness, but you have to also understand that he and everyone else is also being somewhat manipulated by that same consciousness. The EGs and the OB are the yin and yang of the MK-verse; "good" and "evil", and they "fight" through mortals.

Yes! Raiden is an eternal god, with the knowledge of nearly all martial arts styles within him (at a minimum he knows all 750 different styles of jujitsu, on top of Naun Chuan and his staff style...not to mention all his other martial styles). His original bio stated his occupation as being "warrior", and in MKM:SZ he was credited with bringing on the ice age/dark age of earth with his power and killing all the dinosaurs (which is the reason he chooses not to fight any more...he doesn't want to kill humanity). In MKDA/MKD, Raiden was depowered due to being in Outworld, and depowered he took on both Shang and Quan in h2h. Why you are lowballing Raiden is beyond me.

Shao Kahn didn't "create" Shang or Sindel in the same sense that he created Ermac, but he did grant them power and enhance them further than they were before. I linked above to the MK2 comic where Kahn reformed Shang and gave him his youth back, but there are other instances of Kahn's power over his subordinates as well. Also, Shao Kahn didn't loose to Shang and Quan in MKDA; you need to read his Deception bio(s), and Shang Tsung's Armageddon bio.

Another thing, you lowball Liu Kang's fighting skill/power, and subsequently all other MK characters, by lowballing Shao Kahn's fighting skill. Liu's entire existence was dedicated to becoming the best fighter ever, and when he defeated Kahn he did something that had NEVER been done before, and hasn't been done since...short of EG interference in MK9. However, at the same time as giving Liu credit for defeating Kahn, you have to put Liu's win in perspective as Kahn lost to Liu Kang in large part because he was being held back by the EGs rules in MK2, and because Raiden interfered in MK3 (not to mention the fact that just about EVERYONE in the MKU was fighting against him in MK3 as well), because after all those mishaps and defeats...HE DEFEATED/OUTSMARTED/WON OUT OVER EVERYONE IN THE MKU DURING ARMAGEDDON.

Liu's win over Kahn (MK3 more than MK2) was like an alignment of the stars, as everything culminated to that point and had something been different it might not have happened; same with Kahn's death in MK9. All in all, Shao Kahn is a beast in h2h, and the fact that he can take Raiden on 1v1 is a testament to that.

So you think shao khan and raiden are comparable to superman? Because unless they are they certainly aren't heralds.

So shang was amped. I thought I knew everything about MK story...Anyway, if in MK9 shao khan used shangs power to amp sindel, how would they have gotten the exact same amp? And how is it that quan chi, who didn't fully know hoe the use the amulet of shinnok, beat him after he had just absorbed energy from the soulnado?

I'm not saying onaga is the one being, I'm saying I find it hard to believe shujinko's power is sufficent to destroy the kambidogu(which are the one beings conscious).

I'm not trying to lowball raiden, it's just that there is no direct proof he held back in any of his fights. Also, how much being in outworld depowers him is inconsistent. In MK9 he had trouble just teleporting, but in MKDA he could destroy the dragon kings entire army.

Shao didn't give shang tsung his power. That was never stated. He can increase it as he is powered by souls as well, but shang was from earthrealm. Why would khan give a human power? I don't know about sindel.

I know the deadly alliance didn't beat him, but I did think they were the sole reason he fled and left. Thanks for clearing that up.

Don't get me wrong, beating shao khan is damned impressive on liu kangs part, but it shows that shao doesn't have fighting skills on par with higher level MK fighters and likely uses sheer power. The battle of armaggedon was a free for all, and shao khan was just the last man standing(barring shinnok and taven who were absent). Also, khan has never beaten raiden in earthrealm.

BTW, Ermac should have better stats. In deception he could easily handle kung lao, jax, kitana, sonya and cage.

1) There are many characters in DC who aren't at superman's level but are considered "herald" level overall, but to be clear, yes. MK deals more with matchups and knowledge about certain situations to win. A Shao Kahn's soul drain (really his magic in general) is ridiculously powerful, and would affect Superman just as much as anyone else. Raiden may not be able to beat Superman heads up, but do you really think that with all Raiden's experience and versatility that he wouldn't be able to deal with Superman? He could BFR Clark to Outworld and beat him heads up.

2) I put Sindel higher on the tier list for a reason. I do think she is maybe slightly more powerful than Shang for the same reason you gave, but she wasn't god-like in the slightest.

3) The Kamidogu aren't the consciousness of the OB, they are the weapons of the EGs which were used to divide the OBs consciousness. Fused together they are the most powerful weapon in the MKU, but individually the pieces of the Kamidogu are no where near as powerful. That being said, how Shujinko destroyed them has never been stated, and furthermore, them being able to be destroyed says nothing about the power that they wield. Their only function was to exist as they symbolized the divided nature of the OB, but once they were destroyed, theoretically their would be nothing to stop the OB from reforming. My theory: Shujinko was being subconsciously manipulated by the OB to destroy the Kamidogu. The EGs champion (Scorpion) didn't win, and thus in the end of MKD the OB still came out a head.

5) There is no proof Raiden held back in any of his fights...well, which "fights" are you specifically talking about? His fight in MK9 against Sonya he was holding back, same with his fight against Liu Kang; Raiden also took on most of the souls of the dead Earthrealm warriors (in another setting where he is weak), so what do you mean? Also, before MK9 Raiden had only fought once on Earth and the planet suffered, all his other fights took place in Outworld or Edenia. Also, in MKD Raiden killed himself in order to destroy Shang's palace and the DKs army. I think that is a safe bet to say that was his "depowered max" for that particular attack...though he was trying to center the attack on the Onaga specifically.

6) There are a lot of things regarding Shang that have only been hinted at, or just not talked about at all in the games specifically. It has never been officially stated which realm Shang came from in the games, or who specifically cursed him, but there are signs pointing to Earthrealm being his place of origin, and Kahn being the one who originally "cursed" him. It is also said that he had some magical ability before falling in league with Kahn, but only after he joined Kahn and he was personally trained by him, was it said that he started to take souls.

All that being said, the reason Kahn chose/would have chosen a "human" was because he couldn't enter Earthrealm on his own. Shang Tsung is sort of like, rather he specifically is, Kahn's inside man to Earth, and Kahn has used him to get into earth in order to take it over. Shang is nothing but a "tool" for Shao Kahn's will in both Kahn's, and his own, eyes, and a "traitor" in Raiden's eyes.

7) So, what is the ceiling in skill level then? If Kahn doesn't hit the ceiling because Liu beat him, yet nobody else in the MKU could be him in Armageddon (barring Shinnok because Taven was there), what does that mean?

8) Ermac being bumped up to a higher level than he is, is a slight problem for me. He's definitely really skilled (his kombat rating is a 7 and his intelligence is a 4), but putting him at the high-tier level I think would imply that he's stronger than he actually is. Yeah he beat Earth's fighters in MKD, but I'm just not sure. Maybe I should up his intellect though...to a 5 maybe? To you, do you think that would sufficiently cover what your thinking?

Glancing this chart over, I noticed you gave Johnny Cage a Medium level when determining his Energy Projection. In my opinion, I would move him up one to 5 (Long), due to the reach of his Plasma Balls. It should be technically accurate considering he throws them, but also for the fact that when he kicks, though he's not projecting the energy like the Plasma Balls, he's encasing himself with some form of Psionic Energy that makes him slide various lengths. Other than that, spot on!

That was a good laugh.

This is so wrong in so many ways

@imperfect_cell@notatreeabush

You guys can contribute if you wish, or you could ask questions if you are ignorant of what something means, or how the stats are justified. Why post on my blog just to ridicule?

@onilordasmodeus: i know im late and this has died already but reading over your chart and it's pretty dope but wouldn't rain be higher up there being a half god, he is a son of Argus after all

He actually probably should be higher. He had some fairly impressive showings in MKX / the MKX comic, but I guess I really didn't think about it. I probably should put him in the mid-tier, though his bros are in the high-tier.

What would you do?

And the chart isn't dead, I bring it out whenever I can, it's just that not many people know about it (at least that is how I see it). Damn (lol) I just realized I didn't add any of the new MKX characters. I need to get on that...

This is a great list. I just wish the mortal kombat X story would follow this list instead of making cassie cage beat shinnok and kung jin beat kotal Khan. This is how mortal kombat should balance their power.

Nice chart I'll give you that but the divisions of power are seemingly absent 9 times out of 10. Even the lowest meta human can fight with "gods"

Nice chart I'll give you that but the divisions of power are seemingly absent 9 times out of 10. Even the lowest meta human can fight with "gods"

99% of them are street level.