I would have to say there is no true criteria to being an icon as it will always purely come down to opinion. However, I think the true icons of MK are those who can b said to be the the most memorable. As such, Scorpion and Sub-Zero selaed themselves firmly in the MK world as well as the entire fighting game community. If you can make sure you're well rembered despite your hardships and varying gameplay over the games( Sub-Zero) and despite your craptacular story being rewritten but churned out in the same ongoing and ever boring way (Scorpion) then you're probably more likely to be considered an icon. I'm no fan of Scorpion but I would say he and Sub-Zero are good icons of the series along with Raiden and some others.
In terms of being memorable, the choices will shift dramatically depending on who you ask. I remember posing the question of 'who do you remember?' to some friends and to my surprise, the ones they remembered and liked were characters like Sindel and Mileena. There was no mention of Sonya, Kitana, Liu Kang and co.
Also, I think being a solid representative of what MK is about makes you a likely candidate. MK is unqiue, dark and twisted in a way. It's not your typical fighter. A character that can represent the aura of the series and it's diversity of elements could also be considered an icon.

Recognizability and association are two big things.
If the character is in someway instantly recognizable, that goes a long way towards making them iconic. People who don't know that much about Mortal Kombat will most likely at least know who Scorpion is, and recognize him as the "ninja with the spear." Prominance within the series and distinction contribute to this. Obviously, the characters with a more consistant presence have a better chance of being remembered than the others, and it's very helpful if the character has something about them that makes them stand out in some way. Even if someone doesn't remember exactly Shang Tsung or Kitana's names or their stories, they'll probably remember the "guy who can be everyone" and the "chick with the fans."

Ideally, an icon should in some way best represent something...either as a whole or some notable aspect of it.
Like when one looks at Superman, one instantly knows "superhero" and what that means. Characters like Scorpion and Sub-Zero have come to represent Mortal Kombat as a whole....and maybe to a certain extent, what Mortal Kombat means to video games. There are other characters who, while not necessarily on the level of Scorpion or Sub-Zero, also represent Mortal Kombat as a whole. Then there are characters who represent certain aspects of it.
Problem there is, when you go down that road, you wind up with characters being dubbed icons for superficial or shallow reasons. That's how someone like Jax becomes considered an icon, because he apparently represents black people in Mortal Kombat. Or someone will insist the iconic "henchman" is a worthy figure to be represented, or the iconic "cyborg" etc.


That's the idealized vision of what makes an icon. Most often, characters become dubbed icons for no other reason than they're really old and some random person might remember the character's name.

I don't really think there is that much opinion involved. It's simply how reconizable is the character. Most of the classics I consider iconic, because that is when MK was the most popular, and a lot of those characters where in most of the MK games. It also depends on how much face time they get. Scorpion, and Sub-Zero where in cartoons, movies, and they are on video game boxes.

So the simplist way I could descibe it is how well non-mk fans KnoW who they are makes them iconic.

This helps. I.E. Liu Kang. No matter how much we hate a character, if he/she is shoved down our throats, there's nothing we can do about it.



No, unless the creator shoves him/her down our throats, forces them to the front seat.



Not necessarily or else Noob Saibot and Ermac would be iconic.

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I think it's up to Boon, frankly, who becomes iconic. If he chooses to make a character a frontliner, constantly prominent and recurring, then that's a face that will always be associated with the series.

I believe popularity is what should render a character iconic, but Noob Saibot and Ermac are 2 of the most popular males and they are not iconic. So popularity is a whole different ballgame.

Bottomline, I believe it's who we see taking the leading roles most often, not just in the storyline (like Liu) but when it comes to promotion and presentation as well, such as in Sonya's case - not a story leader but always promoted heavily.

So essentially, the key is promotion, who gets it the most (i.e. Baraka and Mileena in MKD). And it's obviously Scorpion and Sub-Zero who steal that torch. No one can argue against that. They are your proof that promotion is the dictator.

i think its recognizable trademarks.

i remember being younger, at school. Kids were playing and screaming "im scorpion, GET OVER HERE!"

if mk1 had lets say... Kobra (no offense) in it. then what would we hear?
IM KOBRA, i have..... Kali Sticks...

lol

I feel its recognizable and popular trademarks. Sad to say, the majority of the public will love the ninjas and cyborgs. because seemingly 95% of the world loves ninjas and cyborgs.(not so much the cyborgs but they raged out during mk3 in terms of fanbase)

-Casselman

Again, I have to agree with you Xia. I can't really do much more than re-phrase what Xia is saying: It's all in how recogniseable the character is, and how well people associate them with Mortal Kombat. It's the characters that have entered pop-culture (or a realm between that and geek culture).

A lot contributes to this. A strong visual image helps. A character that has a distinct look to them has got a much better shot than someone you would not recognise if saw them in another video game. Consistent appearances and heavy promotion do not hurt, either. It just increases the chance the character has to be noticed.

And I even have to agree with the representation point. Not just anything, though -- it has to be some sort of strong theme. Someone who represents a "genre" and not just a "sub-genre." And I'm not talking literally. Sub-Zero and Scorpion are "ninjas," which is heavily associated with Mortal Kombat. That doesn't mean every ninja is iconic or that a samurai character would instantly be. I think representation is where storyline becomes important. Liu Kang represents the "pure hero" for example, while Shao Kahn is the "powerful villain." When that is combined with the Bruce Lee imagery, or the giant hammer/taunts -- you create an iconic character.

i think what makes any persona or character iconic is how much it is remembered and recognized like others have said. story has a play in the role of characters becoming icons but not entirely. a characters special move,gimmicks,appearances and appeal helps some. other characters become icons through being the worst in the game or most hated...because you hate them you can not forget them. i do think some characters become icons through popularity or playability in game like Baraka for example. it basically boils down to the character being forgetable or not. characters i think have to make an impression on the target audience to be considered icons.

I believe it would have to do with whether an MK character is iconic to me (or anyone else) as an individual or generally among the countless fans.

My list of iconic characters is as unlikely as it can get, at least as far as I'm familiar with MKO fans' tastes. E.g. Rain is one of my favorites... then Reiko, Fujin, Quan Chi... to an extent even Shujinko...

Of course I also happen to like more classic ("generally" iconic) characters such as Shang Tsung or Raiden.

Sub Zero and Scorpion marked my childhood and were the guys who introduced me to my career of playing and loving MK... but I never really shared with others the opinion that they rule the MK scene, in the sense that they are irreplaceable, that MK without them isn't MK, and so on...

The easiest answer to me would be that the iconic characters in the MK series are all of those that appeared in MK vs DC. To me, that was the MK team determing who the A level team was for MK. The most iconic, recognizable names and faces and pitting them against DC's most iconic names and faces.

The most iconic villians of the series? Shang Tsung, Shao Khan, Kano and Baraka.
The heroes? Liu Kang, Rayden, Cage, Sonya, Kitana and Jax
Then of course you have the Ken and Ryu of MK, the absolute faces of the series that transcend the series more than any other characters:
Sub Zero and Scorpion.

So yeah, as far as the characters the creators think are icons, that would be the list, right there.

As for me? I think of icons more as symbols of the series. Characters that recognizable outside of the series, but also on the level of being someone that's completely and unmistakably Mortal Kombat. These are the ones that I'd never want to see skip a game from here on out.

The only ones, the only real sacred cows to me that really come to mind then are Sub Zero, Scorpion and Rayden.

everbody has made good points. not really much to say. lol