Key Highlights:
- Complete guide covering Ermac’s Fatalities, Animality, and Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1.
- Platform-specific inputs with Input Distance and Execution Difficulty ratings for Fatalities and Animality.
- Brutality requirements include Fighter Mastery ranks, final-hit conditions, hidden variations, and Seasonal Store Brutalities. Features mastery tips, button notation, and video guide.
Quick Links:
Ermac is a fusion of souls created by Quan Chi in Mortal Kombat 1’s New Era. The collective warrior uses telekinesis and soul-based attacks to suspend, dismember, and overwhelm opponents.
Ermac joined the playable roster through Kombat Pack 1, with his MK1 gameplay reveal demonstrating the telekinesis, levitation, and soul manipulation used throughout his finishers.
This guide covers all of Ermac’s Mortal Kombat 1 finishers, including his Fatalities, We Are Locusts Animality, and Brutalities. Each section provides platform-specific inputs, Input Distance requirements, unlock methods, and execution conditions.
How to Perform Ermac’s First Fatality in MK1 (Vitruvian Maim)
Input Distance: Mid-Range
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬇️➡️⬇️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬇️➡️⬇️B
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️➡️⬇️A
Ermac uses telekinesis to suspend his opponent with their arms and legs spread apart. He rotates their body before tearing away each limb. The Fatality ends with the opponent collapsed into a twisted, multi-limbed heap on the ground.
The name Vitruvian Maim references the spread-limb pose depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
How to Perform Ermac’s Second Fatality in MK1 (Swallowed Soul)
Input Distance: Mid-Range
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️⬅️🔺
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️⬅️Y
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️⬅️X
Ermac uses telekinesis to pull his opponent apart and expose their soul. He absorbs the soul into his body to complete Swallowed Soul.
The animation reflects Ermac’s identity as a collective vessel formed from numerous souls.
I found Ermac’s Fatalities to be [forgiving/strict] compared with most Mortal Kombat 1 finishers. Vitruvian Maim worked consistently from [tested range], while Swallowed Soul activated from [tested range]. [Practical conclusion about positioning or reliability.]
Important: Ermac can also perform the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Winter Fatalities if they are unlocked on the player’s account. These seasonal Fatalities are not unique to Ermac and can be performed by other playable fighters.
How to Perform Ermac’s Animality in MK1 (We Are Locusts)
Input Distance: Mid-Range
Execution Difficulty: Easy
PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️⬇️⬅️
Xbox: ⬇️⬅️⬇️⬅️
Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️⬇️⬅️
Ermac transforms into a swarm of locusts that surrounds and consumes his opponent. The insects strip away the victim’s flesh before the swarm reforms as Ermac.
Unlike most Animalities, We Are Locusts turns Ermac into a collective swarm rather than one animal. This reflects his identity as a being formed from many souls.
For the animal transformation used by every other playable fighter, see our complete Mortal Kombat 1 Animality guide.
All Ermac Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1
Ermac has The Klassic and five character-specific Brutalities unlocked through Fighter Mastery. Twisted Up, Separate Ways, Good Old Times, Soul Escape, and We Win become available at Mastery Ranks 3, 5, 7, 11, and 18.
Ermac can also unlock Dropped Off and Transparent separately through the recurring Seasonal Store. These two finishers are not Fighter Mastery rewards.
The Klassic
Unlock Requirement: Available by default
PlayStation: ⬇️ + 🔺
Xbox: ⬇️ + Y
Nintendo Switch: ⬇️ + X
Final Hit: Uppercut
Additional Condition: Hold the attack button during the Final Hit.
Ermac removes his opponent’s head and spine with an Uppercut. The Klassic is available without increasing Ermac’s Fighter Mastery Rank.
Twisted Up
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 3
PlayStation: L1 or ⬜ + ✖️
Xbox: LB or X + A
Nintendo Switch: L or Y + B
Final Hit: Wrung Out
Additional Condition: Press Down three times during the Final Hit.
Brutality Variation: Hold Up + 2 immediately after initiating the Back Throw to trigger the alternate screen-throw animation.
Ermac grabs his opponent with telekinesis and twists their body until it breaks apart. Begin pressing Down as soon as Wrung Out connects so all three inputs register before the animation starts.
Separate Ways
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 5
PlayStation: 🔺, ⬜, L1
Xbox: Y, X, LB
Nintendo Switch: X, Y, L
Final Hit: Priest Kaller
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Separate Ways must be completed with the final Throw in Ermac’s Priest Kaller Kombo. The full command must connect, so the opponent needs sufficiently low health for the closing hit to trigger the Brutality.
Good Old Times
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 7
PlayStation: ⬅️➡️🔺
Xbox: ⬅️➡️Y
Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️X
Final Hit: Behind You
Additional Condition: Hold the attack button during the Final Hit.
Ermac lifts his opponent with Behind You and repeatedly slams them against the ground. The final impact destroys the opponent’s body.
Soul Escape
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 11
PlayStation: ⬅️➡️✖️
Xbox: ⬅️➡️A
Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️B
Final Hit: Shrieking Souls
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit. The opponent must remain grounded when Shrieking Souls connects.
Ermac releases a burst of souls that destroys the opponent’s upper body. Their soul then escapes from the remains and rises into the air.
We Win
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 18
PlayStation: ⬅️➡️⬜
Xbox: ⬅️➡️X
Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️Y
Final Hit: Spirit Punch
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Ermac strikes the opponent with Spirit Punch before telekinetically lifting them into the air. He drops them head-first onto the ground, causing their head to burst on impact.
Seasonal Store Brutalities
Ermac has two additional Brutalities available through the recurring Seasonal Store. Dropped Off and Transparent are separate from Fighter Mastery and remain available to Ermac once purchased.
Dropped Off
Unlock Requirement: Seasonal Store
PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️⬜ + R2
Xbox: ⬇️⬅️X + RT
Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️Y + ZR
Final Hit: Enhanced Witch Slam
Additional Condition: Hold Back during the Final Hit.
Ermac performs the enhanced version of Witch Slam before violently dropping his opponent onto the ground. Because Dropped Off requires an Enhanced Special Move, Ermac must have at least one bar of Super Meter available for the Final Hit.
Transparent
Unlock Requirement: Seasonal Store
PlayStation: ⬜, 🔺, 🔺
Xbox: X, Y, Y
Nintendo Switch: Y, X, X
Final Hit: Returned To The Earth
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Ermac completes Returned To The Earth, his aerial 1, 2, 2 Kombo, before tearing the opponent apart with telekinetic force. The full sequence must connect while Ermac is airborne. When I played, Dropped Off and Transparent were for me, Ermac’s easiest character-specific Brutalities to perform because each requires only one held direction after the Final Hit begins.
Additional Button Reference
For cross-platform clarity, the table below converts Mortal Kombat 1’s universal number notation into the corresponding attack buttons for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Universal number notation allows the same Fatality, Animality, and Brutality inputs to be read across different controller layouts without changing the underlying command.
| Notation | Attack | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo Switch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Front Punch | ⬜ | X | Y |
| 2 | Back Punch | 🔺 | Y | X |
| 3 | Front Kick | ❌ | A | B |
| 4 | Back Kick | 🅾️ | B | A |
Learning these universal inputs makes it much easier to follow Mortal Kombat 1 guides, regardless of which platform you’re playing on.
Ermac Fatalities and Brutalities Video Guide
The video guide below demonstrates Ermac’s Fatalities, Fighter Mastery Brutalities, Seasonal Store Brutalities, and the hidden Twisted Up variation.
Watching each finisher can help confirm the required Input Distance, Final Hit, and timing for any Additional Condition.
In Mortal Kombat 1’s New Era, Ermac is closely connected to Quan Chi, whose sorcery binds the souls that form the warrior, and Mileena, the Empress of Outworld who frequently crosses Ermac’s path throughout the story. Across the wider Mortal Kombat series, Ermac also shares a long-standing connection with Kenshi through their telekinetic abilities and intertwined history. You can explore our Quan Chi, Mileena, and Kenshi finisher guides for their Fatalities, Animalities, and Brutalities.
