John Tobias just dropped a Twitter thread on the history of the Mortal Kombat fragon symbol. Also included was a little naming history as well.
Taking to Twitter, John Tobias, original art director, designer, and co-creator of Mortal Kombat, detailed the creation of the iconic dragon logo the series has used since its first iteration.
In the second of nine posts in the Twitter thread we see how the original sketch was digitized for use in the game.
In the early days of Mortal Kombat, music seemed to play a pretty big part in its creation. In his third tweet we learn that the game was almost called “Dragon Attack” because of Ed Boon‘s affinity for Queen. Thankfully the name was later changed. Mortal Kombat just seems to roll off the tongue a bit easier.
Next Tobias shows us the original dragon that sat on the desk of Midway’s general manager Ken Fedesna, which was the inspiration for the logo. The original dragon statue was even digitized as well for use in the game.
Following that, we see just how intricately woven the dragon is in the fabric of the first game. The same dragon that inspired the logo, also inspired the cabinet art. John was attempting to create something as iconic as the Superman “S” logo, or the Bat-symbol, with the dragon. Eventually, John and the team were made to choose which version of the logo was the “official” version for copyright purposes. They chose the right facing version.
Keeping in line with the version of the lore that Tobias has originally created, the dragon logo was a sort of play on the ancient yin-yang symbol, intended to represent the balance of the furies which played a major role in the lore at the time.
Dragon Attack or Mortal Kombat? Which do you prefer?
