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Ermac is on his way to Mortal Kombat 1, and you might need a refresher on who this red ninja is in the MK universe, and what’s his ending in the MK1. Ermac is one of the main Mortal Kombat characters from the old days of the series, and his story has changed many times through different timelines. Created by Quan Chi’s Dark Magic, Ermac is formed in the fusion of hundreds of souls.
Mortal Kombat 1 Ermac Release Date
Ermac will become playable as a DLC character in Mortal Kombat 1 on April 16th. The character comes alongside Mavado, the new Kameo fighter who’s been returning to the series after more than a decade.
Ermac Full History in Mortal Kombat
Every Mortal Kombat character has a unique background, but the one of Ermac is quite ambiguous. The character has been featured in more than 10 Mortal Kombat titles, but did you know that the idea of creating Ermac was taken from a bug in the old MK1 game?
Ermac Started As A Glitch
With the release of MK1 in the early 90s, fans got to experience the gory fighting game that featured less than 10 characters in total. One of the most important members of the roster was Scorpion, who had a weird rumor circling around its presence in the game. Many fans stated that there was an easter egg in the game that’d change the color of the Scorpion to red.
This red ninja was a mysterious being that was later addressed by Ed Boon himself, stating that this doesn’t exist in MK1. This was oddly an error counter mechanism of MK1 called Error Macro, which was simplified to Ermac by fans. However, the Mortal Kombat director later put this rumor into action, bringing Eramc for the first time to Mortal Kombat 3.
Ermac Is Created To Serve The Outwrold’s Emperor
Long before the events of Mortal Kombat 3, Shao Kahn tasks Quan Chi to create a being that is capable of fusing all the souls that he has captured. This task required dark magic, and Quan Chi was the master. So Ermac was born, serving Shao Kahn and the Outworld.
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5 Best Mortal Kombat 1 ModsHowever, Outworld’s conquest of invading Earthrealm ends with the defeat of Shao Kahn in MK3. Not much later, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung team up to kill Shao Kahn and rule the Outworld. This kills the motive in Ermac as his master is around no longer.
Hundred Souls Set Free
After Ermac confronts Kenshi in Outworld, he frees Ermac from his mental link to the emperor Shao Kahn. Hence, the red ninja of the Mortal Kombat universe becomes free for the first time, deciding his path without the dictatorship of the emperor.
Later on, Ermac plays a major role allowing Liu Kang’s soul to take control of his resurrected body again. They help Shujinko defeat the Dragon King, but it is only a matter of time, until Armageddon starts, and Ermac dies in the battle beside the other kombatants.
Mortal Kombat 9 Brings Everyone Back
By the end of Armageddon, Raiden sends a message to himself back in time, thus resetting the timeline. In the new timeline, Ermac has a strong presence from the first tournament, but he gets defeated by Liu Kang. Later he’d confront Jax Briggs, blowing his arms so that he could get the classic metal ones in the new timeline.
Ermac fights beside the Outworld warriors in tournaments and the invasions of Earth. However, the reign of Shao Kahn ends with his defeat, and Ermac returns to Outworld, serving the new Kahn of that realm. This happens during the events of MKX and MK1, and once Shinnok is defeated, Ermac just disappears.
Many would believe that Ermac is the one that dies in MK11‘s Krypt, falling from the sky. However, some would argue that he was killed by Shang Tsung in his MKX ending, which is why the sorcerer has the telekinetic lifting ability in MK11. But as for Ermac in the Mortal Kombat‘s rebooted timeline, MKX was the end of the road for this character, not showing what happens to him afterward.
Ermac Returns To Mortal Kombat 1
After Liu Kang reshapes the sands of time by the Hourglass, a new multiverse emerges. In the Fire God Liu Kang’s era, Ermac is once again created by the Outworld sorcerer Quan Chi, merging the souls of the fallen. Now among those souls is the one of King Jerrod, the former ruler of the Outworld realm.
Now Ermac was not a playable character in the Mortal Kombat 1 as a starter, but he is seen in the story chapters as an NPC. Jerrod takes control of Ermac, and stands beside Kenshi, Liu Kang, and their other allies, fighting the titan Shang Tsung.
Mortal Kombat 1 Ermac Ending, Explained
If you beat the game with Ermac in Mortal Kombat 1, his cutscene shows that the souls have taken control of the body. However, Jerrod has done the damage, and only Quan Chi can heal him. This goes without saying that Quan Chi tries to enslave the souls, but Ermac defeats the sorcerer, freeing the body forever.
In the end, we can see Ermac stating that “we are free to choose.” The character’s future is totally a blank canvas, and only in the following chapters of the Mortal Kombat storyline would we learn more about what happens next.
Mortal Kombat 1 is currently available to play on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
