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Mortal Kombat 11's Joker brings back Friendship

Laugh riot.

Warner Bros. has released the first gameplay trailer for Mortal Kombat 11 DLC guest character Joker.

The headline here is one of Joker's Fatalities is a Friendship. Fans of the gory fighting game franchise will remember Friendships from Mortal Kombat 2 onwards - they were designed to be a nonviolent alternative to the moral panic-inducing Fatalities of the first Mortal Kombat. Here's how they looked:

Watch on YouTube

The difference here, of course, is Joker's Friendship is a trick. Who knew?! The cake is in fact a bomb, and the Friendship sign, which hides the word Fatality, ends up splitting his hapless opponent split in two. Oh, Joker. You cad.

Elsewhere, Joker uses his cane to crack skulls, his spring-loaded boxing gloves (complete with knuckle dusters) to land Krushing Blows, and a deadly Batman doll to, well, do pretty much anything.

There's a blink and you'll miss it attack that sees Joker summon a hostage he's tied to a wheelchair who he then picks up and slams into his opponent. Joker has another move where he summons another hostage he's tied up and strapped a bomb to, who hops over to the enemy before blowing up. Joker's Fatal Blow is a brutal cane attack that showers the camera in blood.

Watch on YouTube

Overall, Mortal Kombat 11's Joker looks like decent, goofy fun. He's different enough from his Injustice 2 incarnation to stand out, and it's cool to see the DC supervillain in R-rated action. I look forward to giving Joker a shot when he's available to download on 28th January - just for the laugh.

To coincide with the release of the Joker, Warner Bros. will release a set of DC-themed character skins for Kombat Pack owners. This set includes "Time Lord of Apokolips" Geras and the DC Elseworlds skin pack, which features "Darkest Knight" Noob Saibot (aka The Batman Who Laughs), "Killer Kroc" Baraka and "Katwoman of Outworld" Kitana.

From left to right: Noob Saibot as The Batman Who Laughs, Baraka as Killer Kroc, and Kitana as Catwoman.

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