NetherRealm Studios’Injusticevideo game series has long featured several similarities to the developer’s flagshipMortal Kombatfranchise. Both series are primarily 2D fighting games, featuring vast rosters of skilled heroes, villains, and monsters with complex fighting mechanics, enthralling multiplayer, and challenging PVE modes. Fighters from both franchises have additionally crossed over between one another with Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Raiden appearing inInjusticeand Joker appearing inMortal Kombat. Both series' campaigns have further dealt with multiversal threats in recent entries. WhileInjustice 3may be years away from development, NetherRealm could feature several DC Comics heroes and villains in the game by introducing one feature fromMortal Kombat 1: Kameo fighters.
Mortal Kombat 1’s Kameo Fighters Explained
2023’sMortal Kombat 1was a spiritual reboot for the series in many ways. For one, the game is set in an entirely new universe created byTitan Liu Kangfollowing the events ofMortal Kombat 11. Here, several characters' backstories, appearances, and genders were changed due to Liu Kang striving to make this timeline more balanced and peaceful compared to his past universe. This can be seen with Scorpion being Kuai Liang instead of Hanzo Hasashi, Sektor being a woman, and Shao Khan being a mere general instead of a conquering emperor, to name a few differences. Despite these narrative changes, the new timeline also introduced a fresh way to combat foes with the debut of Kameo fighters.
Unlike the main roster of fully playable fighters, Kameo fighters cannot be utilized completely by players and instead can only assist players in battle. Each player can assign one Kameo fighter to join them in matches where they can be deployed to briefly attack the opposition, defend the player from an attack, or help perform combo attacks and fatalities. Another difference from the main roster of fighters is that most Kameo fighters are alternate iterations of classic andnicheMortal Kombatcharactersfrom across the near 33-year-old franchise. So far, only 21 Kameo fighters have been introduced inMortal Kombat 1compared to the 35 main fighters available in the game, including:
Potential Kameo Fighters For Injustice 3
While the Kameo fighter mechanic wasn’t universally received well byMortal Kombatplayers, it’s still likely for NetherRealm to re-introduce it or another mechanic like it toInjustice 3if the game eventually happens. Given the wide range of characters found inMortal Kombat 1’s Kameo fighter roster,Injustice 3could similarly host a wide range of Kameo fighters from not just theInjusticeuniverse, but from all of DC Comics. No Kameo fighter released so far has been from a separate movie, game, show, or comic book franchise, despite many pitching Chucky the killer doll to be one, so it’s probableInjustice 3would feature a similar pattern with its Kameo roster.
WithMortal Kombat 1featuring some Kameo fighters from the series' past,Injustice 3could do the same with somepreviously playable characters inInjustice 1and2. For example, Captain Cold and Killer Frost could appear as Kameo fighters and function similarly to Kameo Sub-Zero. Doomsday and Solomon Grundy could also appear as Kameo fighters and function similarly to fellow heavyweight combatants Goro, Motaro, or Tremor. Kameo fighters could be another way to keep previously deceased characters inInjustice 3, such as Gorilla Grodd, Lex Luthor, and Shazam, without having to mess up canon or have them appear in dream and past sequences. It could also be a way to feature notably less popular prior fighters inInjustice 3, such as Ares and Enchantress.
Possible New Injustice 3 Characters as Kameo Fighters
NetherRealm could additionally use the Kameo fighter mechanic to introduce DC Comics characters into theInjusticeseries who haven’t appeared in theInjusticegames yet. These could both be characters found within theInjusticeuniverse and characters from alternate Earths, such as the villainous Owlman from Earth-3,Kingdom ComeSuperman, and the comical Captain Carrot. One potentially fun Kameo fighter could be Animal Man, who has appeared in theInjustice 2comics and could feature abilities similar toMortal Kombat’s animalities. NetherRealm could further include characters as Kameo fighters who might not play well as regular fighters on their own, such as Detective Chimp, Adam Strange, and Alfred Pennyworth. Some notable villains could also be featured as Kameo fighters, such asDoctor Polaris, Talia al Ghul, and Mister Mxyzptlk.
