Goro Mortal Kombat 3D print model

Goro is the sub-boss of the first Mortal Kombat game. He is a Shokan, a half-human, half-dragon race distinguished by his four arms and enormous size. He became Grand Champion of the Mortal Kombat tournament after defeating the Great Kung Lao, and held the title for the next 500 years as part of evil sorcerer Shang Tsung's plan to manipulate the tournament in order to achieve Outworld emperor Shao Kahn's goal of dominance of Earthrealm. However, these plans were thwarted when the Earthrealm warrior Liu Kang defeated both Goro and Shang Tsung, allowing Earthrealm to regain control of the tournament. Goro disappeared thereafter and was believed to be dead. In Mortal Kombat II, Goro is succeeded by another member of his race, Kintaro, and is not seen again until the 1996 compilation game Mortal Kombat Trilogy, in which all the characters from the first three series games were playable. Goro was initially omitted from Mortal Kombat 4 (1997), but was included as a sub-boss in the home versions of the game.

In the training mode of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002), Goro is mortally wounded and presumed dead. In the 2004 follow-up game Mortal Kombat: Deception, he has been saved from death by Shao Kahn, with the promise of returning his fellow Shokan to their former glory and the banishment of their archenemies, the Centaurs, in exchange for his allegiance, and resumes his place at Shao Kahn's side. Goro was not playable in either game. He is a boss character in the 2005 beat 'em up title Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. In the 2011 Mortal Kombat series reboot, Goro resumes his role as the sub-boss of the Shaolin Tournament from the first game, and is again defeated by Liu Kang in the story mode. He is playable in the 2015 title Mortal Kombat X (2015) as a bonus pre-order character, again serving as a sub-boss in the game's arcade-ladder mode. In Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), Goro's corpse appears in the story mode and in his Lair stage during gameplay. Goro appears in Mortal Kombat 1 as an assist character, or Kameo Fighter, and via a minor appearance in the story mode as a member of General Shao's army.

Goro's original design was as a two-armed humanoid character named Rokuro, a member of a race of demon warriors who would join the tournament to restore the pride and respect of his race.[1] Series creators Ed Boon and John Tobias drew design inspiration from the stop motion adventure films of Ray Harryhausen, especially his depiction of Kali in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad in redesigning Goro with four arms.[2][3] He was originally named Gongoro before his final name was determined, and was constructed as a stop-motion clay figurine that eventually fell apart after excessive use in capturing its movements for the game.[4]

Goro has a prominent role in Malibu Comics' Mortal Kombat series that followed the events of the first game, and was the subject of the 1994 three-issue miniseries Goro: Prince of Pain. In the 2015 DC Comics Mortal Kombat X prequel series, he is featured in a subplot that shows him fighting and being maimed by Kotal Kahn in a battle for the Outworld throne.[5] Goro is the reigning champion in the 1995 film Mortal Kombat that follows the events of the original game, and was a life-sized animatronic model that cost over $1 million to construct and required over a dozen puppeteers to operate.[6][7] Goro again reprised his role as the defending tournament champion in the 2020 animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge that retold the events of the original game, but was a supporting villain in the 2021 live-action reboot film Mortal Kombat, in which he was computer-generated.[8]

Goro has received positive critical reception for his formidableness as a boss character in the games,[9][10][11][12][13] but his cinematic portrayals, particularly in the 2021 film, have been negatively received.[14][15][16][17] Michael Kennedy of Screen Rant commented in 2021, While the puppetry used to bring Goro to life [in the 1995 film] had its limitations, Goro played a vital role in the story, serving as a major roadblock to thunder god Raiden's defense of Earthrealm. While he returned in Mortal Kombat 2021, his inclusion felt more like an afterthought than anything.[18]