It looks like development for the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1 is going along at a good pace. Ed Boon and the folks at NetherRealm Studios have not only nailed the release date for the game, but they’ve also shown a slew of trailers and revealed the lineup for DLC characters. Like with the more recent games, Mortal Kombat 1 is including some characters from movies and television show and this game is no different. This time around, the roster will include Homelander from The Boys, Omni-Man from Invincible and Peacemaker from… Peacemaker.

I have to say I’m slightly disappointed with this upcoming Kombat pack. I’m fine with the John Cena version of Peacemaker. But Homelander and Omni-Man? They do fit the Mortal Kombat universe well but they both fall under the “what if Superman but evil?” mold. A little more diversity would’ve been appreciated.

Then again, I get NetherRealm Studios dilemma when it comes to guest characters. They’ve been adding them for a while and the more mainstream ones, like the Predator, the Terminator, Robocop, John Rambo, Freddy Krueger, Jason, Leatherface and Spawn, to just name a few, have already been a part of Mortal Kombat. But, I do think they can get a little more creative and perhaps go with lesser known characters. Also, as Spawn demonstrates, they don’t really have to come from movies, do they? So, I got to thinking and I’ve come up with five rather, shall we say, unorthodox, characters who could join Mortal Kombat in the future.

#1 Ricky from Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

Mortal Kombat is a fighting game and has been a part of major fighting game tournaments such as EVO. Now, there was a time when streams of this tournament would end with clip of a buff martial artist punching down a wall, turning around and declaring “You are all free now!” to the people behind him and, in turn, the viewers watching the stream. This is the closing scene of Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky and I strongly believe Ricky, the main character, would fit perfectly in the Mortal Kombat universe.

Although based on a manga, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky does take some story liberties but keeps the violent content fairly intact. And it’s the level of violence that makes Ricky a perfect character to join the Mortal Kombat roster. He definitely won’t seem out of place slapping out someone’s eye with his X-Ray attack or punching out the brains out of his opponent during a Fatality. Sure, the movie and the character are less mainstream and has more of a cult following. However, fighting game fans are more than just familiar with the character as we’ve been thanking him for freeing us from the stream for years now.

#2 Sil from Species

If you don’t count the Alien Xenomorph, all of the guest characters who appear in Mortal Kombat is male. I think it’s kind of unfair that we haven’t let anyone from the fairer sex join all the head decapitating fun of this fighting game. The problem is there aren’t that many female characters who would fit in nicely with all of the blood spilling gore that the game entails. Unfortunately, the only one I could come up with was… another alien. But don’t worry! At least Sil from Species is half-alien and she looks human… most of the time! That’s much better, right?

While Species and Sil has pretty much faded into obscurity today, the movie was successful enough to spawn a sequel and a couple of television movies. To be fair, Species only really has a couple of really gory scenes, like the tongue spike trick, but this does show that Sil has what it takes to be a part of Mortal Kombat. Heck, NetherRealm Games can make her transforming between alien and human forms a gameplay mechanic. On the other hand, why do that when you can play as Natasha Henstridge in her prime?

#3 Judge Dredd from Judge Dredd

Like I’ve already mentioned, I’m okay with Peacemaker being a guest character for the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1. However, there is a part of me that does ask if John Cena Peacemaker is taking the place of other violent comic book characters who deserve the spot even more. So, I pondered on it for about two seconds and I thought, “Hey, has Judge Dredd joined the cast yet?”

Honestly, I actually thought NetherRealm Studios already added Judge Dredd to the roster in a previous Mortal Kombat because he fits so well with the tone of the games. I guess this was some weird Mandala Effect affecting my brain. Of course, I’m not talking about the Sylvester Stallone version. I’m talking more of the Karl Urban version of Judge Dredd as seen in the 2012 movie or, better yet, the original comic. You know, the one where he would punch through a bad guy’s face because he can do that? Yeah, that version.

#4 Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2

A lot of the guest characters who have appeared in Mortal Kombat have always been those unstoppable monsters. The kind who keep on getting beat down but keep on getting back up again. Well, on that front, there is one character who has seemed to be overlooked and, since Konami is busy remaking Silent Hill 2, I’m sure they would be amendable to lend Pyramid Head to slice some opponents in the next Mortal Kombat. I mean, they have done it before.

Now, I’m not really sure how Pyramid Head would work with the fast pace of Mortal Kombat. After all, he’s always been depicted as this really slow moving monster with some kind of long cleaver-like weapon. However, I’m sure NetherRealm Studios can find a way to adapt his usual lumbering pace and not make him look silly. But you can be sure Pyramid Head would have a some really fun and gruesome Fatalities.

#5 Pennywise the Clown from It

I was particularly impressed how Ed Boon managed to convince DC and Warner Bros. to include the Joker in the last Mortal Kombat. But since they did that, that does mean they can’t include the Clown Prince of Crime in the latest entry. So, why not go with another killer clown? Well, technically, Pennywise isn’t a clown and is actually a manevolent monster hellbent on scaring kids so their flesh would taste sweeter. But he does look like a clown so same difference.

The great thing about Pennywise is Ed Boon and NetherRealm Studios can go hog wild with the design. They can give him some crazy attacks as he is a shapeshifter. Oh, they’ll have to give some callbacks from the movie but, other than than, they can use their imagination on how frightening or funny he can be.

BONUS: Nicolas Cage

Why? Because Nicolas Cage makes anything better.

But besides being able to see Nic Cage face off against Scorpion, there’s a ton of things NetherRealm Studios can do with him. They can base a lot of his attacks from all the movies he’s done. Give him a Fatality that involves him slamming a cage on top of his enemies head and release bees. Crazy things like that. It’ll be fun and I’m sure Nic Cage would be up for the gag.

Who else would you like to see guest star in a future Mortal Kombat? Let me know in the comments section below!