Top 10
1 - Kung Lao (the cooler of the obvious protaganists. The hat is great, he fits the 70s kung fu vibe perfectly)
2 - Ermac (dark horse, from joke character to legitimately interesting and powerful, and my main in MKX)
3 - Scorpion (slight edge over Sub-Zero because he never had the dumb MK3 look)
4 - Sub-Zero (classic ninja, just didn't like the MK3 version)
5 - Raiden (I hate his later iterations where he seems oblivious to obvious ploys, but Big Trouble In Little China means he's gotta' make top 5)
6 - Johnny Cage (liked his MK2 version, but MKX really improved him to me. Father Johnny being sweet was nice)
7 - Noob Saibot (his official name needs to change as it is a disservice to how cool he became)
8 - Kitana (her fans are classic)
9 - Goro (he's kind of dumb, but nostalgia make him too iconic to not make the top 10)
10 - Kenshi (blind, telepathic swordsman is too cool to not include)
The Rest
11 - Havik (another dark horse, his design needs updating, but the idea of an agent of chaos and his weirdo move set are great)
12 - Mileena (she became far more intesting over the years, and knocked Baraka into jobber category)
13 - Fujin (he's kind of a lame knock-off, truthfully, but has potential to be one of the greats, so I'm listing him higher)
14 - Kotal Khan (knock-off of (was it Tekken or Soul Caliber) character? But cool character design, moveset and potential)
16 - D'vorah (one of the best additions to MKX and had a big part in the story)
17 - Triborg (hey, I was skeptical, but these robots played great in MKX and it's 3-4 for 1!)
18 - Smoke (other than the haircut, love the re-design, another example of a joke character being turned into a cool one)
19 - Kabal (MK3's coolest new design, but his actual storyline sucks...but he has the potential to be rebooted in cool ways)
20 - Reptile (to me Netherrealm has never fully nailed this character, but the potential is there)
21 - Rain (another reboot of a joke...decent backstory, great move potential, and slowly his design has become pretty great)
22 - Kano (without the Aussie accent, he'd be lower, but that made him such a memorable villain for me)
23 - Erron Black (cowboy ninja is kind of pandering, but also kind of cool)
24 - Kung Jin (potential for his storyline to become really interesting, but he needs a redesign on the costume big time)
25 - Takeda (cool gadgets that put most of the other Kombat Kids to shame)
26 - Cassie Cage (found her kind of generic in moveset, but the personality and selfie fatality are great additions to the game)
27 - Ferra/Torr (Master Blaster knock-off and a character that felt pretty fresh)
28 - Tremor (great re-design, cool moveset)
29 - Liu Kang (I don't like his design post MK2, and hate his story line in most games, would much prefer they root him in the Bruce Lee knockoff again)
30 - Shang Tsung (not interested in playing as him, but Big Trouble In Little China rip-offs have a place in my heart)
31 - Shao Kahn (an intimidating boss)
32 - Striker (got better with MK9's wisecracking and the self-aware nature of him being over his head)
33 - Jax (I always want to like him more than I actually do)
34 - Sonya Blade (I'm surprised she's this low for me, but I also wouldn't trade her spot with anyone)
35 - Night Wolf (I hope they do a respectful re-design. As is, he's way lower, but I see potential)
36 - Cyrax (would be higher, but Triborg covers this)
37 - Sektor (would be higher, but Triborg covers this)
38 - Bo Rai Cho (I loved his portrayal in MKX, and love drunken master style fighters, but just wish they would ease off the fart humour)
39 - Jade (I expect she will return in MK11...I just hope it brings some new elements to her look and personality)
40 - Hotaru (there's some potential in a re-design. Samurai armor is cool-ish)
41 - Mavado (If he took more Kabal elements, without the lame wishy-washy attitude, may rise in ranks)
42 - Sindel (it's the bride of dracula. Has never not looked like a mom in a cheap Halloween costume to me, and the hair moves are pretty over the top cartoony)
43 - Shinnok (pretty forgettable in MKX beyond the frustrating 50/50 mix-up loop)
44 - Quan Chi (always been pretty forgettable to me)
45 - Cyber Sub-Zero (included in Tri-borg, kind of)
46 - Li Mei (would be really low, but I liked her in MKX's storyline
47 - Tanya (had some cool moves in MKX, but also, hard to say she's better than Jade)
48 - Darrius (has the potential for a reboot. As is, would be lower)
49 - Baraka (the games have just made it clear he's a jobber. History has not been kind to Baraka)
50 - Reiko (generic ninja + Zartan/Shang Tsung makeup. That said, has potential for a reboot as a vicious leader)
51 - Jacqui Briggs (I wish she had a more interesting costume/moveset - too many kombat kids were tech weapon focused and had generic army gear)
52 - Kai (his concept art for a redesign that never happened was pretty badass. As is, he's generic)
53 - Ashrah (I like the idea of a female elder god-looking character. But unfortunately she was just too close to Raiden)
54 - Frost (it ultimately comes down to ice powers - I don't need more than one character with them. That said, she was cooler in MKX than past games)
55 - Shujinko (forgettable stock elderly martial arts character)
56 - Motaro (even back when I was young, he felt generic - but less so than the other later bosses)
57 - Sheeva (female goro is lazy design)
58 - Kobra (he's a joke character, but with a reboot, I could see a cocky, human martial artist finding a place assuming Johnny Cage is retired)
59 - Drahmin (generic monster character. One upside is a reboot could drastically alter his look)
60 - Moloch (generic monster character. One upside is a reboot could drastically alter his look)
61 - Skarlet (I think a character that uses blood in a gory game is potentially cool, but her design and moveset felt mediocre to me)
62 - Nitara (see above, but even lazier, given it was a pretty generic vampire)
63 - Sareena (I don't know anything about her other than she used Mileena's weapons and was boring in design)
64 - Dairou (the next four are interchangeable to me, and I don't really know which ones which. I think Jarek scored higher because of his colour scheme)
65 - Jarek (see above)
66 - Taven (see above)
67 - Daegon (see above)
68 - Onaga (generic dragon monster, could be rebooted into something more menacing though)
69 - Mo-Kap (look, it's a joke. I don't like joke characters. But even worse are characters that don't know they are a joke)
70 - Kintaro (felt lazier than a ninja palette swap to me for some reason)
71 - Kira (I literally just looked her up and still don't remember anything about her)
72 - Hsu Hao (he's the biggest joke in MK, but at least he has a distinctive hat and a moustache)
73 - Khameleon (the bottom of the barrel for ninja palette swaps)
74 - Meat (even the reboot would probably be cringey and unecessarily gross)
75 - Blaze (a character made because someone in a background is on fire in one of the old games. If Cinder weren't a thing in Killer Instinct, maybe he'd rise a spot or two?)
