Killer Instinct/Characters

Chief Thunder
"During the previous Killer Instinct tournament, Chief Thunder's brother, Eagle, was one of the combatants. When Eagle did not return, Thunder entered the next tournament hoping to either return or avenge Eagle."


 * Badass Native: Though he didn't look to much like it before, he does look the part in force for 2013.
 * Braids, Beads, and Buckskins: Not so obvious from the first game, but his new look definitely embraces this aspect.
 * : His ending.
 * Dual-Wielding: Uses two hand axes.
 * Home Run Hitter: His Axe Uppercut No Mercy.
 * Put on a Bus: After the first game.
 * Shock and Awe: His Rain Dance No Mercy.
 * Two Axes To Grind

Cinder
"Ultratech promised they would release Cinder from prison early if he would allow them to experiment on him. When their chemical weapons experiment failed, it mutated him into living flame. If he wants to become normal once more, he must defeat Glacius."


 * Captain Ersatz: He's basically an evil Human Torch.
 * Death Seeker: According to the comic, Cinder wishes for death due to what he has become.
 * I'm Melting!: His Lava Pool No Mercy.
 * Kill It with Fire: His Meltdown No Mercy.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Cinder. Also counts as a Meaningful Name since cinders are partly burned coal/wood bits that are still combustible even after the fire has died.
 * The Rival: To Glacius.
 * Visible Invisibility: He had a special that either makes him only partially invisible (only a silhouette) or fully invisible. Both give him projectile immunity, though the former only lasts against one move. He'd be almost unspottable if he wasn't Wreathed in Flames.
 * Wreathed in Flames
 * Wreathed in Flames

Fulgore
"A prototype cybernetic soldier created by Ultratech. He was put into the Killer Instinct to test his abilities. If he proves effective, mass production will begin. He was killed by Jago in the tournament, but robots don't die that easily."

"After the original's death, Ultratech builds a new, deadlier Fulgore. When Ultratech HQ is sent into the past, he is released with one order: kill Jago."


 * Death Is Cheap: Death doesn't stop this robot from returning in the sequel.
 * The Dragon: In the first game, he is always the second-to-last opponent.
 * Eye Beams: His Eye Laser No Mercy.
 * Frickin' Laser Beams
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: They glow even more when his Instinct Meter is full
 * Invisibility: Starting in the second game.
 * Kill Sat: One of his No Mercies in the second game.
 * Ludicrous Gibs: One of his No Mercies.
 * More Dakka: His Gun 'em Down No Mercy.
 * Shock and Awe: Mainly for show.
 * Shotoclone
 * Teleport Spam: One of his combo enders uses it
 * Villain Teleportation: Starting in the second game.
 * Wolverine Claws: Well, not the metal variety, but you get the idea.
 * Younger Than They Look: Justified in that he's a robot.

Glacius
"An alien from who-knows-where captured by Ultratech and forced to fight in Killer Instinct, supposedly to prove aliens' inferiority. He eventually defeated Cinder and escaped to his homeworld."

"But 2000 years in the past, the remaining combatants have been thrust back in time, and Glacius's ancestors are all trapped on Earth. One of them, also named Glacius, seeks to free them and return home."


 * Alien Blood: Purple.
 * An Ice Alien: Though he sadly lacks any kind of stun move
 * Extreme Omnivore: Possibly one of his finishers.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His Ice Pick No Mercy.
 * Legacy Character: The one in the second is not the same as the one in the first.
 * Literally Shattered Lives: One of his finishers.
 * Metronomic Man-Mashing: For the first two games at least, he had more throws involved.
 * Shapeshifting: The first two games had more fun with this, with his hands turning into various sharp blades or spikes for special moves. The third game toned this down considerably to only melting into a puddle.

Jago
"A Tibetian monk mentored by the Tiger Spirit who believes it his destiny to destroy Ultratech."


 * Anvil on Head: His Falling Car No Mercy.
 * Arch Enemy: Fulgore.
 * Estrogen Brigade Bait: His skintight and tastefully ripped outfit, showing off his lean muscles with about 1% body fat, were a blatant attempt at reaching for this.
 * Heroes Prefer Swords
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His Sword No Mercy.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Can turn it into a Laser Blade too. His 2013 design makes it a scimitar instead of a katana.
 * Kill It with Fire: His Charring Fireball No Mercy.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:.
 * Ninja
 * Playing with Fire: His Charring Fireball No Mercy in the second game.
 * Shotoclone
 * Turned Against Their Masters: ...
 * Turned Against Their Masters: ...

Black Orchid

 * Action Girl: The most badass character in the series, bar none. She took on a god and killed it! Not even Jago could truly end Gargos!
 * Baleful Polymorph: Her finisher in which the fighter is turned into a frog and stomped on.
 * Brown Note/Death by Sex/You Can Leave Your Hat On: Her flashing finisher. Subverted when performed in a mirror match, as the other Orchid... just throws a temper-tantrum, really. She lacks this fatality in the second game where there are two other females.
 * Combat Stilettos: Her footwear in the original Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2 were straighter examples. Her Killer Instinct 2013 incarnation is more realistic with this trope, giving her combat boots that, while still high-heeled, had thicker heels for stability.
 * Dual-Wielding: Whatever weapon she has, she'll always have it in both hands.
 * Hurricane Kick
 * Dual Tonfas: Her weapon of choice in Killer Instinct 2.
 * It's Personal/You Killed My Father: All There in the Manual states that she, as a grown-up, saw the murder of her (and 's) parents during the events of Killer Instinct 2, something which made her hatred of the Fulgore cyborgs to be extremely intense.
 * Jiggle Physics: Probably the greatest victim of this, considering how her costumes tend to lack any support. The new game has toned it down with one exception.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father:.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Between her Orgasmic Combat and her Leotard of Power that looks practically painted-on, you bet that this trope is in force. Toned down, but still present in Killer Instinct 2013.
 * Stripperiffic: Her skin-tight Spy Catsuit.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After she destroyed UltraTech, the surviving characters from the first game are thrown into a time vortex in the second.
 * Oh, and she also.
 * Shotoclone: In first two games, she was the Ken to Jago's Ryu, the only difference being that her "shoryuken" was actually a rising knee strike. She no longer qualifies in 2013, since she has lost her projectile and was retooled into more rushdown-focused character.
 * Thong of Shielding: Shown in full glory by her cartwheel and slide attacks in the second game.

Riptor

 * Extreme Omnivore: One of his finishers.
 * Hollywood Acid: His Acid Spit No Mercy.
 * Killed Off for Real: By TJ Combo.

Sabrewulf

 * Aristocrats Are Evil: Until his transformation.
 * Butt Monkey: He got the crap beaten out of him in the tournament.
 * The Cameo: He's loosely based on a character of the same name, invented by Rare for a puzzle-platformer they had released for computers (and remade for the Game Boy Advance) known as Sabre Wulf.
 * Extremity Extremist: A majority of his attacks tend to only focus on his arms or his bite, with only a small number of moves actually involving kicking.
 * Jack of All Stats: He has a decent mix of strength and speed.
 * Magic Pants: Subverted with his ending..
 * Our Werewolves Are Different: Unless the ability to throw flaming bats has become standard.
 * Painting the Fourth Wall: He has a finisher which smack his opponents into the screen.
 * Wolf Man

Spinal

 * Dem Bones: He's a sword-and-shield-bearing skeleton who effectively broke Nintendo's longstanding taboo against undead protagonists. He's rather unique with his magical attacks, some of which require the expenditure of a flaming skull; three encircle his body, and they must be cast ahead of time. No other character has a mechanic like this.
 * Eye Pop: A totally ridiculous one if Orchid uses her flash No Mercy finisher on him.
 * Mega Manning: He could include copies of his current opponent's moves in his combo finishers.
 * Pirate: He was one 200 years ago. He even had a ship and a huge crew of fellow skeletons!
 * Shield-Bash: Taken to ridiculous extremes. He can stab, levitate and electrocute people with his shield.
 * Shout-Out: Along with Eyedol, to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
 * Sub Boss: He is always third-to-last on the ladder in the first game.
 * Teleport Spam: His Skeleport.

T.J. Combo

 * Bare-Fisted Monk: Even though Jago is an actual monk, T.J. fits this particular trope better as a heavyweight boxer and the only fighter without an obvious weapon or superpower. His arms contain cybernetic enhancements, but he's often overlooked in favor of the flashier characters despite his strengths.
 * Combat Pragmatist: His backstory shows that he uses cybernetic implants. He also has a Machine Gun!
 * Estrogen Brigade Bait: Like Jago, he too is quite ripped in both muscle and clothing.
 * Expy: Of Balrog, Jerkass and everything. His movesets are also an expy of Guile taken up to eleven, as EVERY move requires the player Charge back or forward (except the Super moves).
 * Extremity Extremist: He's a boxer, after all.
 * Fallen Hero: He fights in the first tournament to get his heavyweight title back.
 * Jack of All Stats: He has a decent mix of strength and speed.
 * More Dakka: See Combat Pragmatist above.
 * Neck Snap: One of his finishers.
 * Painting the Fourth Wall: He has a finisher which smack his opponents into the screen.
 * Sociopathic Hero: In the comic book, he's not above quite brutally maiming foes, threatening non-fighters to get what he wants and cheating in tournaments. He also reacts with confusion when he sees Jago choosing not to kill an opponent. He's one of the protagonists.
 * A Twinkle in the Sky: One of his finishers.

Eyedol

 * The Dragon: Ultratech likely sees him this way, since they freed him to fight in their tournament.
 * Dragon-in-Chief: He would also be Dragon with an Agenda if we saw him ever having one.
 * Final Boss: For the first game, at least.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Besides his two-headed appearance, he is also described as a mystical warlord from ancient times.
 * I Am Legion: Well, maybe..
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: Ultratech breaks him out.
 * Secret Character: Only available through a secret code in Killer Instinct 1.
 * Shout-Out: In the first part of his ending, . This is almost the same scene which mirrors the ending of Blanka (also note that Blanka's real name is Jimmy... Billy? Jimmy? Anyone?).
 * It also doubles as a shoutout to Billy Idol.
 * He also really resembles the cyclops from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, something that did not go unnoticed at the time.
 * SNK Boss: A pretty merciless bastard between his healing taunt and his insane attack priority.
 * SNK Boss: A pretty merciless bastard between his healing taunt and his insane attack priority.

Kim Wu

 * Captain Ersatz: It's hard not to see her appearance and not to think on Chun-Li with a pink dress.
 * Playing with Fire
 * Waif Fu: Her fighting style.

Maya

 * Anvil on Head: Or an elephant, in this case
 * Boobs of Steel
 * Darkskinned Blonde
 * Dual-Wielding: Her knives Temperance and Vengeance have unique properties that trap enemies when thrown. They have the powers of light and darkness in them and both gain unique properties.
 * Foot Focus
 * Friend to All Living Things: Uses an elephant in one of her finishers
 * Fur Bikini: For her original look and her 2013 retro costume. Her newer look is more conservative with more leather armor.
 * Battle Bikini
 * Innocent Fanservice Girl
 * Jungle Princess: She's the Darkskinned Blonde queen of the Amazons in Killer Instinct 2. In the reboot, she is instead a high ranking member of the Night Guard, a group of monster hunters who are also Kan-Ra's jailers.
 * Official Couple: !
 * Reverse Grip: She's never been seen using her knives in any other fashion.

Tusk

 * Ambiguously Brown: It's unclear if Tusk is supposed to be non-Caucasian of if he's just really tan.
 * Anvil on Head: Actually a giant meteor.
 * BFS: His Weapon of Choice. It's even bigger in the Season 3 of the 2013 reboot, with the sword now so huge that it actually covers the in-game lifebar.
 * Darkskinned Blonde: His original incarnation, though it is unclear where he exactly is from. He loses the tan in the reboot.
 * Expy: Of Conan the Barbarian.
 * Friend to All Living Things: Has a dinosaur eat his opponent as a finisher.
 * Furry Loincloth
 * Mr. Fanservice: He came along in 2 to show the boys how it's done.
 * Official Couple: !

Gargos

 * Big Bad: Of Killer Instinct 2...
 * Demonic Possession:.
 * Guide Dang It: The only way to defeat him is to trigger the Stage Fatality. Otherwise, he'll just keep fighting at zero health and will even win if the timer runs out. Good luck figuring this out on your own.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Again,.
 * Lethal Joke Attack: His taunt has a hidden property. That is, he reflects your projectiles by laughing.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: !
 * Secret Character: Can only be unlocked in Killer Instinct 2 by a secret code or modding the arcade machine.
 * SNK Boss
 * Treacherous Advisor:.
 * Winged Humanoid: He's a gargoyle.
 * Treacherous Advisor:.
 * Winged Humanoid: He's a gargoyle.