The actor who claims he co-created Mortal Kombat
Enlarge / Artist's conception of the legal claims from some Mortal Kombat actors who sought "co-creator" status in court.
Today, on the 30th anniversary of Mortal Kombat, we're bringing you an extended excerpt from the upcoming book Long Live Mortal Kombat by David L. Craddock. The book, due for publication this fall, goes behind the scenes to reveal untold stories from the killer franchise's arcade era and explores how it impacted popular culture. This excerpt details the exaggerations and falsehoods of one of the original game's most prolific character actors.
Anthony Marquez was at a martial arts tournament in Florida when he heard the news.
It was 1994, and Mortal Kombat was blowing up. Midway's game had become the highest-grossing coin-op of the summer of 1993 and then lit up sales charts on consoles, selling over 3 million cartridges worldwide during the first three weeks of Acclaim's Mortal Monday" event that September.