Sektor

Sektor
Mortal Kombat character
Sektor in Mortal Kombat (2011)
First game	Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
Created by	John Tobias
Voiced by	Andrew Kishino (MK2011)
Portrayed by	Sal Divita (MK3, UMK3, MKT) Peter Shinkoda (Legacy)
Fictional profile
Origin	Earthrealm
Fighting styles	Ninjutsu (MK:TE) Sambo (MK:TE) Kenpo (MK:A)
Weapon	Laser Pistol (MKG) Pulse Blade (MK:TE) Pulse Blades (MK:A)

Sektor is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat series. Making his debut in Mortal Kombat 3 in 1995, Sektor is a cyborg ninja who used to be human until he was automated, along with Cyrax and Smoke. Throughout the various Mortal Kombat games he was involved in, Sektor has grown into an ever more menacing mechanized warrior. He represents the closest thing to evil a cyborg can be, and, in contrast to his counterpart Cyrax, Sektor never bothered to rediscover his human side. He is capable of independent thought and action like Cyrax and Smoke, but unlike them, shows no sign of emotion.

Appearances

In video games

When the Lin Kuei clan decided to automate their ninja in the events leading up to Mortal Kombat 3, Sektor, out of loyalty, was their first member to volunteer to undergo the process, and would later appear to be their most successful creation yet. Designated unit LK-9T9, he was sent to find and kill the rogue clansman Sub-Zero during MK3 and Mortal Kombat Gold, but was unsuccessful both times. Events would leave him as the only active cyborg remaining of the three created, with Smoke having been captured and shut down in an Outworld prison, and Cyrax having become a member of the Outer World Investigation Agency after his soul was restored.

Sektor's storyline in MK Gold appears to have been partially retconned. He was originally assigned to survey the actions of Cyrax, who had been recovered by the Lin Kuei clan and seemed to be acting erratically. Since it was later said that Cyrax had been discovered by Jax and Sonya, Sektor's direct surveillance of him could not have successfully occurred.

During his many violent battles against Outworld forces, Sektor's program became corrupted. He believed the Lin Kuei Grandmaster to be inferior, and set his new objective to eliminate him and take control of the clan. Sektor successfully slew the Grandmaster, but was stopped from claiming the Dragon Medallion, the proof of the clan's leadership, by a returning Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero defeated Sektor in battle and claimed the title of Grandmaster. After his defeat, Sektor fled to Japan and formed the Tekunin, his own clan of cyborg ninja warriors.^[1]

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon's Konquest mode, Sektor ambushes Taven when the latter is in his father's temple searching for his weapon that had been left there. Sektor brings him to his Tekunin warship, questioning Taven about the message he had received from his father, Taven warns him that he would be punished for it, and in response Sektor increases the power on Taven bringing him pain. Suddenly, the warship is attacked by Sonya Blade and the Special Forces. Taven escapes captivity in the ensuing chaos, but Sektor confronts him before he can leave. Sektor is ultimately beaten, but evidently is still able to make it off the warship alive before it self-destructs.

Design and gameplay

Sektor's origins lie with the character that was known only as just "Cyber-Ninja"^[2] before being split into multiple palette swapped characters to work around technical limitations to increase the number of playable characters. He was named "Ketchup" during early production of Mortal Kombat 3.^[3] This development title is referenced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as the name of one of Cyrax's combos in his sambo fighting style; he also has a move in Armageddon called "Ketchup's Revenge."

Sektor's appearance originally resembled an armored ninja; this appearance was used as a palette swap template for Cyrax and Smoke. This appearance was kept through Mortal Kombat Gold. After the series' transition into full 3D, which allowed for more non-human design possibilities, the cyber ninja template changed with Cyrax in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Sektor received an exact replica of Cyrax's design change with a red recolor; the lower body appears more mechanical, yet the head remains the same. Sektor retained this appearance in Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition. He finally received his own original design in Armageddon, leaving his helmet design the only visual link to Cyrax. The Krypt in Armageddon has concept art of Sektor holding a weapon similar to a polearm (it is referred to as a "2-hand pulse blade"); the concept was dropped in favor of giving him two swords in the game.

Being a cyborg, Sektor has the abilities to shoot out missiles from his chest and fire out of his hands, which he uses for certain special moves and Fatalities. He also utilizes a teleport uppercut for one of his special moves. In his human form (as of Mortal Kombat 2011), however, he uses devices attached to his wrists to fire out said weapons. When Fatalities are performed on him, his corpse and contents are human, although he bleeds oil when hit.

In other media

Sektor made a brief appearance in the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. In the first episode, "Kombat Begins Again", Sektor and Cyrax led an attack on Earthrealm that was thwarted by Earth's warriors and Sub-Zero. During a brief flashback scene in episode 5, "Old Friends Never Die," he was unmasked and portrayed as an African-American man with long dreadlocks, Which is noncanonical to the Mortal Kombat storyline.^[4]

Sektor (portrayed by Peter Shinkoda) and Cyrax (portrayed by Shane Warren Jones) are also seen in the live-action web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. In the episode titled "Cyrax & Sektor", they are shown as human members of Lin Kuei who undergo the cyborgization process to different results.^[5]

Reception

GamesRadar named Sektor, Cyrax and Smoke as "gaming's most malicious machines", placing them at the first place and commenting that "no one does killer cyborgs quite like MK."^[6] UGO Networks placed Sektor as second only to Scorpion on their 2008 list "Top 11 Mortal Kombat Characters", citing his missiles and flame throwers.^[7] 411mania ranked Sektor as the ninth best Mortal Kombat character, citing his rockets and teleport uppercut.^[8] In UGO Networks' 2012 list of the top 50 Mortal Kombat characters, Sektor placed as 26th.^[9]

UGO ranked Sektor's "Iron Clamp" Fatality as the 15th most gruesome finishing move ever, questioning where Sektor got that giant press from and adding: "That's some impressive engineering there, whoever built that evil robot. Nice work!".^[10] That same Fatality was ranked as one the best ones in the series by Game Informer,^[11] as well as IGN. However, in that same article, IGN also criticized Sektor for being a "lazy Cyrax clone".^[12] Paste listed both of Sektor's Fatalities in the 2011 game on their list of the best Fatalities in that game, placing his first one at the first place and placing his second one as a runner-up.^[13] "Scarecrow" was also featured in Game Rant's list of top ten Fatalities of this game, ranked second and called "incredibly impressive,"^[14] as well as on FHM's list of nine most brutal Fatalities in the game.^[15] Complex listed this Fatality as the 27th craziest ever, commenting that "ninjas and robots make a pretty neat combo".^[16]

References