Story
Kurtis Stryker was your average New York police officer with a tough as nails attitude. He worked as a SWAT officer before Shao Kahn’s invasion of Earthrealm and had a very good relationship with his partner Kabal. Stryker was known for being a “one man SWAT team” as he single-handedly took care of the terrorists in what was known as the Greenberg Tower Incident. He is also known for saving innocent lives that were trapped on a speeding bus with a bomb attached to it.
When Shao Kahn invaded Earthrealm, Stryker was with his buddy Kabal shooting at the monsters with their MP5 sub machine guns from the roof. Stryker fights a few bad guys before meeting up with the rest of Earthrealms heroes. It is here we learn that Stryker has a low self esteem and doubts himself because of his lack of confidence. He is later killed by Sindel and turns into an undead slave of the menacing sorcerer, Quan Chi.
His catch phrase is “Police brutality, coming up!”
Appearance
Stryker was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 3. In this game, he originally appeared as a slightly over weight, slouchy Caucasian man wearing a blue shirt, black jeans and a backwards baseball cap with curly, light brown hair underneath. Many fans would take a pass at this character because of his appearance, but Ed Boon has acknowledged this and has pointed out that looks can be deceiving. (Ironically Shang Tsung would say the same thing about himself to Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 9.)
In Mortal Kombat Armageddon, Stryker’s appearance changed drastically to try to make him look more appealing to the fans. In this game he appears as an extremely tough and in shape looking guy with blonde hair wearing some sort of tactical body suit and sunglasses. In his alternate Armageddon costume, Stryker wears a balaclava with a headset on top and an outfit similar to his Mortal Kombat 3 costume.
Finally in Mortal Kombat (2011) Stryker appears as a perfected version of his MK3 appearance. He now is a muscular young man with a forwards cap and with the same clothes he wore before. He also has dirty blonde hair and in his alternate outfit he wears a blue SWAT uniform with his hat still on his head.
Fighting Styles and Special Moves
In almost every game he has appeared in, Stryker relies on his police training for his fighting tactics and the weapons the NYPD assigned to him. For an unknown reason in Mortal Kombat Armageddon, Stryker suddenly is an expert in Huaquan kung fu.
Baton Sweep: In this signature move, Stryker smacks his opponent in the heels with his nightstick causing them to fall onto the ground
Baton Toss: Stryker leaps forward catching his opponent in the groin with his nightstick, he then flings them behind him tossing them across the screen while they shout in agony
Taser: Stryker takes out a stun gun and fires it at his opponent causing them to get an electric shock
Gun Shot: Kurtis takes out his M9 Berreta and fires it twice at the opponent causing them causing two bloody gun shot wounds
Grenade: He throws a grenade at his opponent
Gun Blast: Similar to gunshot, except in this version he has either a sub machine gun or a machine pistol. In MK3 it is the machine pistol and Armageddon has the machine gun version
X-RAY: Stryker takes out a flash light while yelling “SPREAD ‘EM!” which then causes the opponent to get startled and blinded by the light. As they sink to their knees, Stryker smashes his flashlight butt on the top of their head causing their skull to crack open. He then smacks them across the mug with his baton causing more brain damage until finally, Kurtis takes his taser and puts it against their chin, sending waves of electricity through out their body.
Development
Stryker originally was going to be in the very first Mortal Kombat, but was later on replaced by Sonya Blade because of the need for a female character. He was going to then be introduced in Mortal Kombat II, but Jax would take his spot because there were no other African American characters yet. Finally Stryker was released in Mortal Kombat 3 and was considered to be an unpopular character with the fans at the time, but he was still one of the series co-creator Ed Boon’s favorites.
Games
Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat Armageddon
Mortal Kombat (2011)
Finishers
Taser: Stryker shoots his stun gun at his opponent and shocks them until they explode
Explosives: Stryker attaches dynamite to his enemy’s chest and steps back, he then covers his ears as his foe soon realizes that they are about to die. His opponent screams until suddenly the bomb goes off killing him/her instantly
Time Served: Stryker tasers his opponent and shoots them point blank in between the eyes with his handgun causing the top of their head to be blown clean off. As the opponents corpse falls to the ground we can see their bottom jaw with their tongue flapping around
Have a blast: Stryker shoves a grenade into his foe’s stomach as they panic and try to find a way to take it out. Stryker then dramatically turns his back to his opponent as their upper torso explodes
Animality: Stryker turns into a T-Rex and bites his opponent in half
Friendship: Stryker holds a stop sign while the rest of the Mortal Kombat 3 gang runs past him
Babality: Stryker turns into a baby and takes out a gun that is the same size as him, he shoots it at the floor and falls down hysterical crying