Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm S01E02 - Sting of the Scorpion

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm is a 1996 American animated series based on the popular Mortal Kombat video game series. Produced by Threshold Entertainment and Film Roman, it aired on the USA Network's Action Extreme Team animation block for one season of thirteen episodes from September to December 1996, back-to-back with the Street Fighter animated series. The show serves as a combination of an alternative sequel to the first Mortal Kombat film and the events of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The show was focused on a group of warriors assembled by Raiden (spelled Rayden in the series) to defend Earthrealm from invaders who entered through portals from various other dimensions. The assembled warriors included Liu Kang, Kurtis Stryker, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana, and Sub-Zero, with Nightwolf functioning mostly as tech support but still entering the fray on various occasions. The warriors operated out of a hidden base from where Nightwolf and Rayden monitored portal openings; the warriors would fly dragon-shaped jets to deal with disturbances. Shao Kahn was something of an archvillain throughout the series despite appearing in only four of the series' thirteen episodes, being responsible for allowing other realms to invade Earthrealm. The characters and their backgrounds were mostly continuous with the movie and Threshold's representation of the series canon, though many original characters exclusive to the program were introduced and some elements of Mortal Kombat 3 were included. The episode plots themselves shared little relation with that of any of the games, though the character designs are based on their MK3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 sprites (except for Kitana, whose design looks like a blend of her MKII and her UMK3 looks). Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Mileena, Sindel, Goro and Kintaro were not shown or referenced in the show at all, while characters based on Reptile, Baraka, and Jade were featured.