Havik for MK11

Havik, one of the few truly unique characters coming out of the 3D era of the Mortal Kombat franchise is on his way to MK11. Why?

The story of MK11 as we know it revolves around Kronika messing with / altering time or even different timelines. I think everyone can agree this screams chaos as characters will run into their past selves, Kronika herself will go back in time to undo certain events, which will have consequences for the current time (line).

Then there is Raiden, who is sure to attack all enemies of earth realm and is actively going to seek them out. Orderrealm is part of the lore still - going by MKX comics, the recent poll by Ed Boon and a Raiden vs. Scorpion fight intro in which Raiden mentions a threat from Chaosrealm.

Now MK fans know there’s only one known “threat” from Chaosrealm, and that is Havik. In fact, he’s the only known character from there. So for him to pop up in this new timeline wouldn’t be the weirdest thing. As a cleric of chaos, Havik would be perfect as an ally to Kronika to cause chaos across time and also to thwart Raiden’s plans to the point of questioning his allegiance. By Raiden himself, but also by Liu and Kitana among others.

This would and could have the effect Havik seeks as it will cause division among mainly earthrealm’s forces, but also netherrealm and outworld. Even if Kronika simply seeks actual order by going back in time to set things as straight as Raiden was not supposed to ‘kill’ Shinnok, Havik could serve as the antagonist who throws himself in the mix as he fears order that Kronika tries to create.

With regards to the story, Shawn Kittelsen did a wonderful job with Havik in the MKX comics. He mentioned how much he loved him, which showed. Many people loved this part of the comics and were wishing for a MKX cameo. With Kittelsen part of the writing crew and the comics potentially canon, there’s a great opportunity to revisit this story and Havik in particular.

We already have Skarlet who was part of the same story and we know Reiko was considered for MKX :)
Aside from the story as it’s already been written and roster decided, I’ll make an argument for Havik the character.

First off, his look is unique. The cut off nose skull appearance is scary and just fits the MK universe. With so many human looking characters, Havik would definitely be among the ones who stands out.

Secondly, while Deception left a lot to be desired in terms of gameplay there’s a lot of potential there. Imagine a character breaking off his own bones to use as an object to throw or stab opponents with? There’s the potential to give him mind control powers where the opponent harms him or herself (break own bones).

Havik can twist his body in many ways, which could lead to some creative and crazy moves. Throw his own body and skull at the opponent was already in, but think of him in one variation as standing on his head or having one arm and actually holding the other as a weapon.

Also extending his muscles (think Dhalsim of SF) for zoning attacks. Twisting and breaking bones and muscles to bend in ways that would make him hard to hit and give him angles to hit opponents that no character could.

Thirdly, a chaos driven character could have a variety of moves that could stun the opponent or leave him dizzy so vulnerable to easy hits. Since this makes him seem way too powerful potentially, his weakness would be close combat. He could have a few grapple moves, quick combo to disable the opponents arm, put him in a headlock and break something, but he could be limited in kicks and hits.

Lastly, while his original look is great, I cannot help but draw parallels and compare him to Lord of the Rings’ Army of the Dead. The same cut off nose and helmet on the general. Deception came out within a year after the movie so maybe this look is what NRS went for. Now they can make it happen. Imagine Havik with a ghost like (green) layer over his face? With the new engine and how gorgeous MK11 looks, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it for a character like Havik.