Rumor: Mortal Kombat 1 Theory Suggests Ermac May Have Been Cut From The Main Roster

gamerant.com:

Some merchandise suggests that Ermac was originally meant to be a part of Mortal Kombat 1’s base roster instead of a post-launch DLC character. Originally created as a red-colored palette swap of famed ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Ermac has been a part of the Mortal Kombat mythos since Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and it won’t be long before Mortal Kombat 1 players will be able to take control of this powerful undead warrior. Ermac is set to be introduced as the latest MK 1 DLC character on April 16 for Early Access players and April 23 for everyone else.

The decision to have Ermac be a post-launch DLC Mortal Kombat 1 character that fans will have to purchase separately has left many scratching their heads, as he appeared in the base game’s story campaign as an opponent that players battled a few times. Way back in September, a modder found a way to make Ermac playable in Mortal Kombat 1 ahead of time using the existing character model and a placeholder move set consisting of attacks from Mortal Kombat 11’s Noob Saibot and Mortal Kombat 1 pre-order character Shang Tsung.

As it turns out, Ermac might have been pulled from the base Mortal Kombat 1 roster in favor of being post-launch DLC, at least according to a discovery made by Twitter user TheMKSource, as spotted by TheGamer. They posted an image of the Mortal Kombat 1 vinyl soundtrack, which is available to purchase on the Enjoy The Ride Records website. The inside cover of this soundtrack release is the game’s character selection screen, and interestingly enough, both Ermac and Shang Tsung are included in the base roster’s line-up despite the rest of the Kombat Pack 1 DLC fighters being absent.

This has led to several theories being drawn that Ermac might have planned for the base Mortal Kombat 1 roster, only to be made DLC later on. Users have pointed out that Ermac is shown without his face mask on the cover image, a reminder of the controversy that stemmed from his face being uncovered when he was first revealed