Last month we
ran a contest giving away a E3 2010
Mortal Kombat (2011) T-Shirt along with other goodies. In order to win the contest those entering needed to describe to us how they would envision Goro as a character in the proposed
Mortal Kombat Rebirth alternate reality? We got a tremendous response to the contest, with close to 70 entries. It took our collection of judges quite a while to read through and make their decisions, but we finally have our winners.
One problem was we got close to 70 entries, but only had one prize package. Lucky us we got some additional goodies so we can now give out prizes to two runners up as well. This was important to us since they all did such a great job we felt. Sadly we didn't have enough prizes to award to all the wonderful entries! So this is the current prize rundown.
With the most votes, the grand prize goes to Eks with this entry:
A young boy named Misha is discovered near Prypiat, Ukrane, but he doesn't suffer the crippling deformities typical of most radiation victims. Instead, he has grown an extra pair of arms and the only visible adversity is he lacks 2 fingers on each of his 4 hands.
While on a research assignment nearby, the beautiful Chinese geneticist Dr. Huifen Hyeong hears about the boy and decides to adopt him. They become very close, with his adopted grandfather also taking him under his wing, training him heavily in both Sumo and Akido. Because of his appearance, Dr. Hyeong decides against sending the boy to outside schooling, opting instead to have the boy tutored at home. Much to her delight, the boy develops a strong, eloquent nature.
To prevent unseen problems from his radiation exposure, Dr. Hyeong provides Misha with a strict diet and a calcium and protein rich vitamin supplement. The diet works a little to well and by the age of 16, he is approaching 7 feet tall.
Shortly after his 19th birthday, Dr. Hyeong is found brutally raped and murdered. Rumors abound that a sadistic, underground fighter named Kabal was her attacker. With his mother and closest family member dead, Misha goes berserk and begins his search for Kabal by joining the underground fight circuit. Over a 2 year period, he is involved in hundreds of battles, taking on as many as 6 men at once, killing a few of his opponents within seconds, and not coming close to losing a single fight.
Standing a solid 8 feet tall and sporting personalized Sumo garb, he quickly develops a following because of his size, appearance and fight record. Throughout his career, he retains his well-spoken nature, and, coupled with the brutality of his fights, he is dubbed Prince Goro.
It's not long before he is approached by Shang Tsung. The seductive sorcerer easily wins Goro's trust and convinces the weathered man to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament with the promise of a fight with elusive Kabal.
The next two runners up were actually almost tied, nearly too close to call. The first is
Smokeslair.com with this entry:
I see Goro as sort of a "human centipede". Stitched and burned or "fused" together by a psychopath redneck (his father perhaps) who kept him captive in his basement (lair) for many years. Goro would be a cannibal of course in addition to eating small animals, and probably would be a little slow due to no real education and punishment for answering questions. The punishment would also leave his skin scarred and hardened, looking most un-natural. I'd love to see the green mile guy play him, i think he'd do a great job.
The second runner up was
Kamal with this entry:
Goro was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra India abandoned at an early age because he was born with a rare form of Polymelia, a birth defect where the affected individual is born with extra limbs. Goro's was a rare case given that his extra two arms were fully functional but also his muscle development was different of that of an ordinary person, giving him strength equivalent of 5 ordinary men.
Once abandoned, Goro was found and taken in by a gangster and raised in the slums of Mumbai. At first used as a beggar, using his "disability" in order to gain more sympathy from others. As he grew older the gangster saw the potential grow in Goro and decided to start using him as a sort of enforcer. Utilizing Goro for nothing but the most important and brutal tasks, word soon spread of a "Dragon Man" a murderous beast roaming the depths of the slums. Reports suggest Shang Tsung got wind of this "Dragon Man" and one night visited the gangsters base of operations. Conflicting Intellegience of that night suggests Tsung was either alone or with many brutal warriors and killed everyone, save for Goro. Tsung took Goro under his wing and trained him in the deadliest of martial arts, knowing he could be a most powerful ally.
Ever since, it has been rumored that Goro now serves as Shang Tsung's personal bodyguard. Travelling to various tournament locations with Tsung, challenging and killing any who oppose his new master.
If you want to see the other entries, you can
read them all here. Some have some great artwork included as well, but did not factor into the decisions that were made as we were more woried about the story end of things. Let us know in the comments what you think along with your favorites.
Thanks again to our friend
Dan Amrich (aka
One of Swords) who donated us the Fatality T-Shirt that began this whole contest. Be sure to check out his band
Palette-Swap Ninja, who just released a
brand new music video today with LOTS of great MK references to be had within it.
