Cyrax
Encyclopedia
Cyrax is a fictional character
in the Mortal Kombat series. Making his debut in Mortal Kombat 3
, Cyrax is a cyborg
ninja
who used to be human until he was automated, along with Sektor
and Smoke
.
, Cyrax was working for the Lin Kuei. He appeared alongside his partners Sektor and Smoke in order to track down and kill a renegade member of the Lin Kuei clan, the younger Sub-Zero
. This Sub-Zero had disagreed with the decision to convert all its members into cyborgs and left the clan. He was thus marked for death by the grandmasters.
During the invasion of Earthrealm by Shao Kahn
and his minions, Sub-Zero defeated Cyrax and reprogrammed him with orders to destroy Shao Kahn. However, Kahn was defeated by the other Earthrealm warriors before Cyrax had a chance to do so. As a result of his reprogramming, he awaited new orders. When these never came, he malfunctioned and wandered until becoming mired in the middle of a vast desert. In Mortal Kombat Gold, Cyrax was recovered and repaired by the Lin Kuei. However, he appeared somehow different than when first constructed. The short-handed clan again sent Cyrax into battle with his fellow cyborg Sektor assigned to monitor him.
Cyrax's Mortal Kombat Gold storyline – being recovered from the desert by the Lin Kuei and sent once more to kill Sub-Zero – was contradicted by Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
s Konquest Mode, which stated that he was "recovered by Special Forces agents Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs." It is interesting to note that this seems to acknowledge an unused bio for him that appeared in Prima's official strategy guide for Gold, which does state he was rescued by Special Forces and reprogrammed to fight on the side of good against Shinnok. Cyrax is seen trapped in the sand in the background of Jade
's Desert in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
and Mortal Kombat Trilogy
, despite also being a playable character (this foreshadows his ending in those particular games).
After Shinnok's defeat, it became apparent that Cyrax had begun to experience flashbacks of his former life. Special agents Sonya Blade
and Jax Briggs brought him to the Outer World Investigation Agency (OIA) headquarters and used its technology to restore his humanity. Grateful for their help, Cyrax joined the OIA as a scout in Earthrealm.
During the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
, Cyrax was ambushed by the Oni Moloch and Drahmin. After driving the two demons off, he became stranded in Outworld. His arm console, which allowed him to return to Earthrealm, was damaged in a surprise attack by Reptile
orchestrated by the vampire Nitara. He managed to drive off Reptile as well with his Slice and Dice buzzsaw attack. A short time later, he encountered Nitara. She offered to help him return home in exchange for his aid in recovering a lost artifact. They traveled to the underground chamber that housed the egg of the Dragon King. There, Cyrax submerged himself in the lake of molten lava and discovered the orb that would separate her world from Outworld. With it now in her possession, she honored her promise to Cyrax and used her mystical necklace to open a portal and send him back to Earthrealm.
In Mortal Kombat, Cyrax relies on his natural fighting ability, his chi, to carry out Lin Kuei missions. He is proud to serve, but resists when when the Grand Master initiates a program to convert the clan into cyborgs. Reluctant to lose his humanity, he believes humanity more effective than any mechanical augmentation and causes him to almost leave his clan. Cyrax, however, decides it wouldn't be a good idea to leave the Lin Kuei.
Along with the other cyborg characters; Cyrax's visual appearance is of a cyborg with yellow-colored plates and body parts. Since MK3 series, each character's visual appearance has evolved independently, as Cyrax had several additions to his costume including a utility belt and several LEDs and lighting placed on his mechanism.
Cyrax's face was first seen ingame during Mortal Kombat Gold. His alternate costume depicted him in the same outfit, but lacking the front of his mask. In Deadly Alliance, his alternate costume had him wearing no helmet with a clearly visible face. While Cyrax's primary outfit in Deadly Alliance shows him more robotic than human, his alternate costume shows him to be almost completely human with cybernetic parts in his body.
Cyrax and his robotic counterparts, Sektor and Smoke, began as palette swap
ped characters to work around technical limitations to increase the number of playable characters. Since MK3 and its updates, they have only appeared in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
together. While Sektor and Cyrax were playable in Mortal Kombat Gold, only Cyrax was playable in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
, while Sektor appeared in Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition. Smoke was playable as part of a tag team with Noob Saibot
in Mortal Kombat: Deception
. However, they all have returned for Armageddon as individual characters.
In the development stage of Mortal Kombat 3
, Cyrax and Sektor were referred to as "Mustard' and 'Ketchup" before their names were finalized. Cyrax has separate combos in the Sambo style in Deadly Alliance named Ketchup and Mustard, a reference to this.
GameSpot
criticized Cyrax's bombs in MK Gold, mentioning that they are nearly useless in the game, since one can just sidestep them. IGN
cited that both of Cyrax's detonator special moves make him interesting in Armageddon. Kotaku
said that Cyrax "was familiar and fun to play" in MK 2011 and that "he's like a cybernetic Swiss army knife
, stuffed with nasty surprises." On the other had, GamesRadar
criticized Cyrax for feeling unbalanced in MK 2011, citing his projectiles that one can barely get around.
as one of Shao Kahn
's assassins, and was played by J.J. Perry
, but was never mentioned by name. He attempted to kill both Sonya and Jax but was defeated.
Cyrax and Sektor were both shown unmasked in one episode of the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm
. Cyrax was illustrated as white, and Sektor as an African-American with dreadlocks. (In the games' canon, Cyrax actually has the latter description, while Sektor is Asian.)
Cyrax and Sektor are also seen in the live-action web series
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
. In the episode titled "Cyrax & Sektor", they are pitted against each other and are given more backstory.
, Cyrax's "Self-Destruct" Fatality from MK3 is listed one of the most confusing ones, as "he regularly finished fights by blowing himself up." Cyrax was also listed in a list of characters that Game Informer wanted to see in the 2011 game, along with a praise of his his bombs and net. ScrewAttack
ranked Cyrax as sixth on their "Top 10 Mortal Kombat Kharacters" list, praising his bombs and net special moves, but also called him one of the "cheapest" characters in MK3.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Mortal Kombat series. Making his debut in Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game developed by Midway and released in 1995, first as an arcade game. It is the third game in the Mortal Kombat series...
, Cyrax is a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
who used to be human until he was automated, along with Sektor
Sektor
Sektor is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat series. Making his debut in Mortal Kombat 3 in 1995, Sektor is a cyborg ninja who used to be human until he was automated, along with Cyrax and Smoke....
and Smoke
Smoke (Mortal Kombat)
Smoke, whose real name is Tomas Vrbada, is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. First appearing as a hidden unplayable opponent in Mortal Kombat II, Smoke makes his playable debut in Mortal Kombat 3 as an unlockable character. While Smoke is human in MK2, he becomes a...
.
In video games
In Mortal Kombat 3Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game developed by Midway and released in 1995, first as an arcade game. It is the third game in the Mortal Kombat series...
, Cyrax was working for the Lin Kuei. He appeared alongside his partners Sektor and Smoke in order to track down and kill a renegade member of the Lin Kuei clan, the younger Sub-Zero
Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)
Sub-Zero is the name given to two video game characters from the Mortal Kombat series. The older Sub-Zero first appeared in the first Mortal Kombat game, being replaced by his younger brother in Mortal Kombat II and the subsequent games...
. This Sub-Zero had disagreed with the decision to convert all its members into cyborgs and left the clan. He was thus marked for death by the grandmasters.
During the invasion of Earthrealm by Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is a boss, announcer and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The main antagonist in the Mortal Kombat series, Shao Kahn is the Emperor of Outworld known for his godlike strength, extreme brutality and knowledge of black magic...
and his minions, Sub-Zero defeated Cyrax and reprogrammed him with orders to destroy Shao Kahn. However, Kahn was defeated by the other Earthrealm warriors before Cyrax had a chance to do so. As a result of his reprogramming, he awaited new orders. When these never came, he malfunctioned and wandered until becoming mired in the middle of a vast desert. In Mortal Kombat Gold, Cyrax was recovered and repaired by the Lin Kuei. However, he appeared somehow different than when first constructed. The short-handed clan again sent Cyrax into battle with his fellow cyborg Sektor assigned to monitor him.
Cyrax's Mortal Kombat Gold storyline – being recovered from the desert by the Lin Kuei and sent once more to kill Sub-Zero – was contradicted by Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, originally known as Mortal Kombat V: Vengeance or simply Mortal Kombat 5, is a fighting game developed and published by Midway for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance...
s Konquest Mode, which stated that he was "recovered by Special Forces agents Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs." It is interesting to note that this seems to acknowledge an unused bio for him that appeared in Prima's official strategy guide for Gold, which does state he was rescued by Special Forces and reprogrammed to fight on the side of good against Shinnok. Cyrax is seen trapped in the sand in the background of Jade
Jade (Mortal Kombat)
Jade is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting video game series. She debuted in Mortal Kombat II , at first as an unplayable secret character and became a player character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3...
's Desert in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, released in arcades in 1995. It is an update of Mortal Kombat 3 and was later updated again into Mortal Kombat Trilogy...
and Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game developed and published by Midway in 1996. It is a compilation of content from the previous Mortal Kombat titles, based primarily upon the gameplay mechanics of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3...
, despite also being a playable character (this foreshadows his ending in those particular games).
After Shinnok's defeat, it became apparent that Cyrax had begun to experience flashbacks of his former life. Special agents Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade is a player character from the Mortal Kombat series. She is portrayed in the games as an officer of the United States Special Forces.-In video games:...
and Jax Briggs brought him to the Outer World Investigation Agency (OIA) headquarters and used its technology to restore his humanity. Grateful for their help, Cyrax joined the OIA as a scout in Earthrealm.
During the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, originally known as Mortal Kombat V: Vengeance or simply Mortal Kombat 5, is a fighting game developed and published by Midway for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance...
, Cyrax was ambushed by the Oni Moloch and Drahmin. After driving the two demons off, he became stranded in Outworld. His arm console, which allowed him to return to Earthrealm, was damaged in a surprise attack by Reptile
Reptile (Mortal Kombat)
Reptile is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat series of video games. Created for Midway Games by John Tobias and Ed Boon, Reptile debuted in Mortal Kombat as a hidden boss and appeared in subsequent titles as a playable character. The character has also appeared on various merchandise,...
orchestrated by the vampire Nitara. He managed to drive off Reptile as well with his Slice and Dice buzzsaw attack. A short time later, he encountered Nitara. She offered to help him return home in exchange for his aid in recovering a lost artifact. They traveled to the underground chamber that housed the egg of the Dragon King. There, Cyrax submerged himself in the lake of molten lava and discovered the orb that would separate her world from Outworld. With it now in her possession, she honored her promise to Cyrax and used her mystical necklace to open a portal and send him back to Earthrealm.
In Mortal Kombat, Cyrax relies on his natural fighting ability, his chi, to carry out Lin Kuei missions. He is proud to serve, but resists when when the Grand Master initiates a program to convert the clan into cyborgs. Reluctant to lose his humanity, he believes humanity more effective than any mechanical augmentation and causes him to almost leave his clan. Cyrax, however, decides it wouldn't be a good idea to leave the Lin Kuei.
Character design
Along with the other cyborg characters; Cyrax's visual appearance is of a cyborg with yellow-colored plates and body parts. Since MK3 series, each character's visual appearance has evolved independently, as Cyrax had several additions to his costume including a utility belt and several LEDs and lighting placed on his mechanism.
Cyrax's face was first seen ingame during Mortal Kombat Gold. His alternate costume depicted him in the same outfit, but lacking the front of his mask. In Deadly Alliance, his alternate costume had him wearing no helmet with a clearly visible face. While Cyrax's primary outfit in Deadly Alliance shows him more robotic than human, his alternate costume shows him to be almost completely human with cybernetic parts in his body.
Cyrax and his robotic counterparts, Sektor and Smoke, began as palette swap
Palette swap
A palette swap is a practice used in video games, whereby a graphic that is already used for one element is given a different palette, so it can be reused as other elements. The different palette gives the new graphic a unique set of colors, which make it recognizably distinct from the original...
ped characters to work around technical limitations to increase the number of playable characters. Since MK3 and its updates, they have only appeared in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the seventh game in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The PlayStation 2 version was released in stores on October 11, 2006 while the Xbox version was released on the October 16, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America.The game was not released...
together. While Sektor and Cyrax were playable in Mortal Kombat Gold, only Cyrax was playable in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, originally known as Mortal Kombat V: Vengeance or simply Mortal Kombat 5, is a fighting game developed and published by Midway for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance...
, while Sektor appeared in Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition. Smoke was playable as part of a tag team with Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot
Noob Saibot is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He debuted as a hidden character in Mortal Kombat II , although the later game Mortal Kombat: Deception established his true identity as that of the original Sub-Zero, who was killed by his nemesis Scorpion after...
in Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Mortal Kombat: Deception is a fighting game developed and published by Midway as the sixth installment for the Mortal Kombat series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2004, while a Nintendo GameCube version was published in March 2005. Mortal Kombat: Deception follows the...
. However, they all have returned for Armageddon as individual characters.
In the development stage of Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game developed by Midway and released in 1995, first as an arcade game. It is the third game in the Mortal Kombat series...
, Cyrax and Sektor were referred to as "Mustard' and 'Ketchup" before their names were finalized. Cyrax has separate combos in the Sambo style in Deadly Alliance named Ketchup and Mustard, a reference to this.
Gameplay
Being a cyborg, Cyrax uses moves such as bombs, a net and buzzsaws. His fatalities also usually use these abilities. In MK 2011, many of his combos utilize his buzzsaw.GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
criticized Cyrax's bombs in MK Gold, mentioning that they are nearly useless in the game, since one can just sidestep them. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
cited that both of Cyrax's detonator special moves make him interesting in Armageddon. Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
said that Cyrax "was familiar and fun to play" in MK 2011 and that "he's like a cybernetic Swiss army knife
Swiss Army knife
The Swiss Army knife is a brand of pocket knife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox AG and Wenger SA. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing the German name....
, stuffed with nasty surprises." On the other had, GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
criticized Cyrax for feeling unbalanced in MK 2011, citing his projectiles that one can barely get around.
In other media
Cyrax appeared in the film Mortal Kombat: AnnihilationMortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...
as one of Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is a boss, announcer and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The main antagonist in the Mortal Kombat series, Shao Kahn is the Emperor of Outworld known for his godlike strength, extreme brutality and knowledge of black magic...
's assassins, and was played by J.J. Perry
J.J. Perry
Jordan Andrew Perry , better known as J.J. Perry, is an American martial artist, actor, and stuntman.-Career:Perry began practicing martial arts training in 1975, at the age of eight. Because his mother was not able to afford her son's lessons, he cleaned a martial arts school, and received...
, but was never mentioned by name. He attempted to kill both Sonya and Jax but was defeated.
Cyrax and Sektor were both shown unmasked in one episode of the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm
Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm
Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, also known as Mortal Kombat: The Animated Series, is a cartoon series based on the popular Mortal Kombat video game series...
. Cyrax was illustrated as white, and Sektor as an African-American with dreadlocks. (In the games' canon, Cyrax actually has the latter description, while Sektor is Asian.)
Cyrax and Sektor are also seen in the live-action web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Mortal Kombat: Legacy is an American web series anthology that debuted on Machinima.com's YouTube channel on April 11, 2011. The show is an adaptation of the fictional universe of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise...
. In the episode titled "Cyrax & Sektor", they are pitted against each other and are given more backstory.
Reception
GamesRadar named Cyrax, along with Sektor and Smoke as the first on the list of "gaming's most malicious machines", commenting "no one does killer cyborgs quite like MK." In a list of Mortal Kombats best and worst Fatalities" by Game InformerGame Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
, Cyrax's "Self-Destruct" Fatality from MK3 is listed one of the most confusing ones, as "he regularly finished fights by blowing himself up." Cyrax was also listed in a list of characters that Game Informer wanted to see in the 2011 game, along with a praise of his his bombs and net. ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
ranked Cyrax as sixth on their "Top 10 Mortal Kombat Kharacters" list, praising his bombs and net special moves, but also called him one of the "cheapest" characters in MK3.