Storm Collectibles were at Toy Fair earlier this year to showcase some of their upcoming Mortal Kombat Klassics. We recently featured the upcoming 1:12 Scorpion action figure. Now we take a closer look at the much anticipated Baraka!

With their Mortal Kombat II inspired Baraka, the Hong Kong toy maker takes a break from the monotony of commonly produced icons like Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The result is an exciting, game-accurate recreation of one of MKII's most unique characters!

The 1/12th scale figure comes with 2x interchangeable heads for opean and closed tooth-baring, 2x interchangeable forearm blades for different degrees of extension, 4x pairs of hands for various kombat poses, and a spark effect and 2x blood effects for interactive display with other figures in the series! Click the thumbnails above to see the versatile positions this Baraka can also assume!

With an official release in this quarter, sadly the MKII Baraka is no longer available for order via Storm's online store, but you may be able to find it in the wild. Let us know if you got one in the comments and dive into the Media & Merchandise forum for more offering!

1995 was a massive time for the Mortal Kombat franchise. Dubbed the "year we make contact', '95 saw the much anticipated release of Mortal Kombat 3 as well as the Mortal Kombat movie! Both items were of feature at the Williams ACME event, which has recently resurfaced online thanks to an archival video by John Vogel! Check it out:

MK Presentation | Martial Arts Live Demo | Ed Boon MK3 Demo | MK3 Promotional Video | Multimedia Promotion

The footage is a glimpse into another time in gaming and arcade commerce, when excess and pageantry offered a unique blend of art and irony to the promotional space.

The presentation of "masterpiece" games in the Midway and Williams library is accompanied by comedic sketches, models, and slick videos. Pinball wizard and voice of Shao Kahn, Steve Ritchie, even shows off gnarly battlescars, before riding onto stage on a dirtbike. It all culminates in a tour of the floor, with the latest arcade cabinets and actors from the game in full costume.

Kerri Hoskins, Richard Divizio, John Parrish and Anthony Marquez reprise their roles as Sonya Blade, Kano, Jax, and Kung Lao. As well as walking the convention floor, the quartet take part in a dramatic martial arts demonstration you can skip to with the applicable link above. At the risk of spoiling it: Kano ties Sonya to a gong, choreography ensues. You can see another version later in the video.

Series co-creators Ed Boon & John Tobias also appear to present live demonstrations of the Mortal Kombat 3 cabinet. Arcade vendors are offered a free ROM upgrade to add more characters, as well as difficulty modes and the code system -- familiar elements to players who remember the third installment and its various iterations.

The full 2 hour clip is an all around nostalgic trip back to an exciting time in Mortal Kombat history and its behind the scenes business. You can find more clips like this on duncanfbrown's YouTube channel. Special thanks to MK Online User Shinnokxz for forwarding the find. Be sure to discover and discuss more retro gaming in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!

When Shang Tsung was first announced back in March, he appeared to be the wisened old sorcerer once more. As is so often the case, though, appearances can be deceiving! The first Kombat Pack fighter has shed his skin and revealed the movie-inspired likeness of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in official new character art! Check it out:

Shang Tsung (Influence)
Soul Sorcerer and historic host of the Mortal Kombat. Born in Earthrealm, Shang Tsung’s relentless pursuit of powerful magic led him to Outworld, where Shao Kahn offered him a dark power that no sorcerer on Earthrealm could. Shang Tsung pledged his eternal loyalty to Shao Kahn in exchange for this evil magic, but he is no faithful servant. He dreams of the day his sorcery will overtake Shao Kahn’s, and he’ll pay any price to get there.

The sorcerer's new clothes reference a casual-formal look once found exclusively in the world of Paul Anderson's 1995 feature film. Shang Tsung is all business in three-piece layered leather, most notably identified by a long black coat that ties it all together. Fan-favourite actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa lends his likeness and voice to the role, which is full of movie flashbacks in intro dialogue and more!

The design has been given a little bit of a rock 'n' roll update for Mortal Kombat 11,, adding long armored knuckle rings to the black fingerless gloves that cast a familiar green glow. It's just one of the customizable design options you'll find in the game. That is if you aren't transforming into your opponent or a host of klassic ninjas!

Watch the trailer for a taste of things to come and check out the latest tower to get a playable preview! Be sure to tell us what you think of the design in the comments below and join the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum! Pick up the Kombat Pack for access to Shang Tsung, as well as Sindel, Nightwolf, and Spawn!

When Mortal Kombat took the world by storm in 1992, one figure in particular loomed largely over the entire arcade! The legend of Goro created one of the game's most iconic images, but as John Tobias has revealed with original concept art -- that image could've been different in one significant way!

The mythology of the reigning Shokan Champion was as important as his in-game presentation. This ultimate sub-boss was an ancient half-man, half-dragon promising to pummel players into coinless submission. As we can see in the original artwork shared to Twitter, that iconic four-armed silhouette almost included another appendage: a dragon tail!

The series co-creator remarks, "I thought I remembered at one point we considered giving #MortalKombat ‘s Goro a dragon’s tail... found some old sketches circa 1991..." He went on to add, "BTW... I’m glad we did not give Goro a tail ..."

The sketches show the familar, powerful visage of Goro with different expressions, and the addition of the tail. [It's] a small change in the scheme of things, but one that could've had a ripple effect on the series, which eventually came to include a more literal, tailed dragon boss in the form of The Dragon King - Onaga.

In an interview with MK Online, Tobias explained drawing inspiration from legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen in the creation of Goro, noting: "We wanted to have a brutish character as our boss and I remember thinking of the old Ray Harryhausen films like Jason and The Argonauts and their use of stop-motion animation as being the perfect remedy. I thought it would work well for us because our characters already had limited sets of animation, so a stop-motion puppet would fit right in."

In 2013, Ed Boon recovered the original stop-motion model from storage after flooding hit Chicago. The Shokan bosses are now on display at NetherRealm Studios, along with the animatronic head created for the 1995 film.

What do you think about Goro with a tail? Share your thoughts about the iconic sub-boss in the comments below and telestomp into the 2D Kombat Klassics forum for more retro rumblings!

Hong Kong toymaker Storm Collectibles is world renowned for their high quality collectible action figures. Scorpion is set to join their Mortal Kombat Klassic line with a 1:12 scale offering coming later this year! Come here and take a closer look at the throwback fighter and his features:

Inspired by designs first seen in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: the klassic Scorpion action figure references nuanced details to allow for recreations of iconic stances and fight poses. This is achieved with four interchangeable hand sets, an alternate skull mask, iconic "get over here" Spear accessory, and a battle axe similar to the one seen in memorable combos and short attacks!

At $70.00USD this collectible figure will be best kept displayed with other coveted merch. Three sculpted "blood effects" mean you can stage Scorpion with other figures from the series for a brutal combo!

The 1:12 Scale Scorpion is available for order from the Storm Collectibles website with a release date of October, 2019. Made a purchase? Tell us all about it in the comments below and find & discuss more toys on the Media & Merchandise forum!