Mortal Kombat is back where it belongs at the top of the pop culture pile. With sustained global interest comes the joy of gratuitous mainstream content! Case in point: IGN have named their 7 Silliest Mortal Kombat Fatalities!

Disclaimer: Merriam-Webster defines Fatality (noun) as: a death that results from a disaster, accident, etc. or a tendency to result in death. You or I may recognize these definitions as narrowing in on the requisite end of life -- but IGN not necessarily so. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt where applicable, and assume Friendships universally result in the opponent dying of embarrassment, or the smothering of a clingy relationship.

Finish Him: "The zaniest finishers, babalities, and friendships in franchise history."

IGN 7 Silliest Mortal Kombat Fatalities [with MKO commentary]:
• Cage's Trophy (Mortal Kombat) - Rather than let an award win go to his head; Johnny Cage plants his 'non-denominational, trademark-free gold statue' into the split cranium of the opponent. A finisher that is both silly and probably mostly fatal.
• Cage's Autograph (Mortal Kombat II & 2011) - The quintessential silly finisher! Johnny Cage's autograph may not fetch much of a price on eBay, but it sums up the comic relief that has defined this smug Hollywood martial arts parody.
• Sub-Zero's Snowman (Mortal Kombat 3) - Logic sometimes failed MK3's Animality finishers, but they got it dead on with this Friendship. Sub-Zero as a snowman. Perfection.
• Scorpion's Babality (Mortal Kombat) - MK2011 embellished many traditions from the 2D Klassics - for better and worse. Adding personality to the Babality finisher was the touch the original lacked. Once a static thumb to panic stricken censor groups' eyes, the modern version is a fully realized taunt that's fun for everyone.
• Kabal's Balloon [Head] (Mortal Kombat 3) - Continuing the succinct logic of his character gimmicks; Kabal -- super-fast guy with deformed face, spikey wheel thingys, and a cyborg backpack iron lung -- inflates his opponent's head. Okay.
• Stryker's Crossing Guard (Mortal Kombat 3) - Hero-cop Stryker turns arena lollipop man for a combination prop gag/economy use of other sprites. That's some fine resource management, MK3 dev team!
• Kidd Thunder (Mortal Kombat II) - The finisher that sparked a thousand annoying fan requests! Ed Boon can have no regrets about the obtuse introduction of Raiden's favourite nephew - a lasting favourite. (Except when he's on Twitter.)

So, uh. There you have it. Seven silly finishers - most of them of the friendship variety. Wasn't that fun? Register to weigh-in on the IGN list and submit your own! For current news, features and discussion - check out the Mortal Kombat X forum! There's a new -Ality on the way [read more] -- what will it be?