Cyrax

Cyrax
Cyrax in Mortal Kombat (2011)
Series	Mortal Kombat series
First game	Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
Portrayed by	Sal Divita (MK3, UMK3, MKT) J.J. Perry (second film)
Fictional profile
Origin	Earthrealm
Fighting styles	Ninjutsu Sambo

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.

In video games

In Mortal Kombat 3, 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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Cyrax and his robotic counterparts, Sektor and Smoke, began as palette swapped 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"^[6] 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 criticized Cyrax's bombs in MK Gold, mentioning that they are nearly useless in the game, since one can just sidestep them.^[7] IGN cited that both of Cyrax's detonator special moves make him interesting in Armageddon.^[8] 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."^[9] On the other had, GamesRadar criticized Cyrax for feeling unbalanced in MK 2011, citing his projectiles that one can barely get around.^[10]

In other media

Cyrax appeared in the film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation 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^[5], 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.^[11]

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."^[12] In a list of Mortal Kombat's best and worst Fatalities" by Game Informer, Cyrax's "Self-Destruct" Fatality from MK3 is listed one of the most confusing ones, as "he regularly finished fights by blowing himself up."^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

References

1. ^ "Mortal Kombat 3: Cyrax". Mortal Kombat Warehouse. http://mortalkombatwarehouse.com/mk3/cyrax/. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
2. ^ "Mortal Kombat Gold: Cyrax". Mortal Kombat Warehouse. http://mortalkombatwarehouse.com/mkg/cyrax/. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
3. ^ "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance: Cyrax". Mortal Kombat Warehouse. http://mortalkombatwarehouse.com/mkda/cyrax/. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
4. ^ "Mortal Kombat: Cyrax". Mortal Kombat Warehouse. http://mortalkombatwarehouse.com/mk/cyrax/. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Cyrax". Tabmok99.mortalkombatonline.com. http://tabmok99.mortalkombatonline.com/unmasked-cyrax.html. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
6. ^ om een reactie te plaatsen! (2008-01-06). "Making Of Mortal Kombat 3 Part 3". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdzVMD91ofM. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
7. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (1999-08-31). "Mortal Kombat Gold Review, Mortal Kombat Gold Dreamcast Review". GameSpot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/dreamcast/action/mortalkombatgold/review.html. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
8. ^ "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Guide & Walkthrough - PlayStation 2 (PS2) - IGN". Guides.ign.com. 2006-10-27. http://guides.ign.com/guides/794354/page_11.html#cyra. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
9. ^ "Killing My Boss With Cyrax & Kitana In Mortal Kombat". Kotaku.com. 2010-08-20. http://kotaku.com/5618014/killing-my-boss-with-cyrax--kitana-in-mortal-kombat. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
10. ^ "Page 3 of Mortal Kombat review, Mortal Kombat (2011) PS3 Reviews". GamesRadar. 2011-04-19. http://www.gamesradar.com/mortal-kombat-review/?page=3. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
11. ^ var authorId = "" by R.L. Shaffer. "Mortal Kombat: Legacy - "Episode 9" Review - TV Review at IGN". Tv.ign.com. http://tv.ign.com/articles/118/1184061p1.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
12. ^ "Page 2 of Gaming's most malicious machines, Mortal Kombat (2011) Xbox 360 Features". GamesRadar. http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-malicious-machines/?page=2. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
13. ^ Martin, Victor (2010-05-03). "Mortal Kombat's Best And Worst Fatalities - Features". www.GameInformer.com. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/05/03/the-best-and-worst-mk-fatalities.aspx?PostPageIndex=3&PageIndex=4. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
14. ^ Whiting, Brandon (2010-06-21). "Who We Want (And Don’t Want) In The New Mortal Kombat - Features". www.GameInformer.com. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/06/21/who-we-want-and-dont-want-in-the-new-mortal-kombat.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
15. ^ "Top 10 Mortal Kombat Kharacters". ScrewAttack.com. http://www.screwattack.com/shows/originals/screwattack-top-10s/top-10-mortal-kombat-kharacters. Retrieved 2011-10-23.