Key Highlights:
- Complete guide covering Liu Kang’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, platform controls, and video guide.
Quick Links:
As the God of Fire, Liu Kang created the New Era that forms the setting of Mortal Kombat 1. He combines martial arts with fire, dragons, and cosmic abilities throughout his moveset and finishers.
This guide covers all of Liu Kang’s Mortal Kombat 1 finishers, including Double Dragon, Spaghettification, the Rising Phoenix Animality, and every Brutality. Each section provides platform-specific inputs, Input Distance requirements, unlock methods, Final Hits, and Additional Conditions.
How to Perform Liu Kang’s First Fatality in MK1 (Double Dragon)
Input Distance: Close to Sweep Distance
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬇️➡️⬅️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬇️➡️⬅️🅑
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️➡️⬅️🅐
Liu Kang summons two fire dragons that seize his opponent by the arms and lift them from the ground. He launches himself above the victim before forcing their head through their body and splitting them apart.
The Fatality combines Liu Kang’s traditional dragon imagery with his Fire God abilities in the New Era.
How to Perform Liu Kang’s Second Fatality in MK1 (Spaghettification)
Input Distance: Close to Sweep Distance
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️⬅️🅧
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️⬅️🅐
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️⬅️🅑
Liu Kang opens a portal and takes his opponent into space before creating a black hole. He holds the victim close to its event horizon as the extreme gravitational forces pull their body apart layer by layer.
The name Spaghettification comes from a real astrophysical effect in which extreme differences in gravitational force stretch an object into a long, thin shape near a black hole.
Important: Liu Kang 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 Liu Kang and can be performed by other playable fighters.
How to Perform Liu Kang’s Animality in MK1 (Rising Phoenix)
Input Distance: Sweep Distance to Full Screen
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️⬇️🔺
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️⬇️🅨
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️⬇️🅧
Liu Kang transforms into a phoenix and surrounds his opponent with its fiery wings. The flames reduce both the victim and phoenix to ash before Liu Kang rises again from the remains.
Rising Phoenix replaces the dragon transformation associated with Liu Kang’s classic Mortal Kombat 3 Animality. The phoenix instead connects directly with his Fire God identity in Mortal Kombat 1.
For the animal transformation used by every other playable fighter, see our complete Mortal Kombat 1 Animality guide.
All Liu Kang Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1
Liu Kang has The Klassic and five character-specific Brutalities unlocked through Fighter Mastery. Bleeding Heart, Dancing Around, Pop Goes The…, Just A Nibble, and Let’s Go For A Ride become available at Mastery Ranks 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15.
Liu Kang can also unlock Burn With Me and Heel Issues separately through the Seasonal Store. These two Brutalities were added after the original Fighter Mastery set and are not Mastery rewards.
The Klassic
Unlock Requirement: Available by default
- PlayStation: ⬇️ + 🔺
- Xbox: ⬇️ + 🅨
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️ + 🅧
Final Hit: Uppercut
Additional Condition: Hold Back Punch during the Final Hit.
Liu Kang performs an Uppercut that removes his opponent’s head with the spine still attached. The Klassic is available without increasing Liu Kang’s Fighter Mastery Rank.
Bleeding Heart
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 3
- PlayStation: L1 or ⬜ + 🅧
- Xbox: LB or 🅧 + 🅐
- Nintendo Switch: L or 🅨 + 🅑
Final Hit: Cosmic Death Sentence
Additional Condition: Press Forward three times immediately after initiating the Back Throw.
Liu Kang punches through his opponent’s chest during Cosmic Death Sentence and tears out their heart. He crushes the organ in his hand to complete Bleeding Heart.
Brutality Variation: Liu Kang can trigger the universal MK11 Screen Throw from the same Back Throw. Instead of pressing Forward three times, hold Up + Back Punch immediately after grabbing the opponent.
Dancing Around
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 5
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️🅑
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️🅐
Final Hit: Dancing Dragon
Additional Condition: Rapidly press Front Kick or Back Kick six times during the Final Hit.
Liu Kang continues kicking his opponent after Dancing Dragon connects. The repeated strikes remove the victim’s limbs and head before the finishing kick separates their torso.
Start pressing either kick button as soon as Dancing Dragon connects so all six inputs register before the finishing sequence begins.
Pop Goes The…
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 7
- PlayStation: 🅧, 🅧, 🅧
- Xbox: 🅐, 🅐, 🅐
- Nintendo Switch: 🅑, 🅑, 🅑
Final Hit: Holding Back
Additional Condition: Hold Forward during the Final Hit.
Liu Kang completes the Holding Back Kombo with a powerful final kick. The opponent’s head bursts from the impact when the Brutality activates.
Because Pop Goes The… uses a three-hit Kombo rather than a Special Move, the final kick must be the attack that reduces the opponent’s remaining health to zero.
Just A Nibble
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 10
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️🅧 or ⬅️➡️🅧 + R2
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️🅐 or ⬅️➡️🅐 + RT
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️🅑 or ⬅️➡️🅑 + ZR
Final Hit: Dragon’s Tail
Input Distance: At least Jump Distance
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Liu Kang launches Dragon’s Tail from long range and summons a fiery dragon that destroys the opponent’s upper body.
The standard and Enhanced versions of Dragon’s Tail can both trigger Just A Nibble. Using the Enhanced version requires one bar of Super Meter.
Let’s Go For A Ride
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 15
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️🅧 or ⬅️➡️🅧 + R2
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️🅐 or ⬅️➡️🅐 + RT
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️🅑 or ⬅️➡️🅑 + ZR
Final Hit: Dragon’s Tail
Input Distance: At least Jump Distance
Additional Condition: Hold Up during the Final Hit.
Liu Kang summons a fiery dragon through Dragon’s Tail. The creature catches the opponent in its jaws, consumes their upper body, and carries the remains upwards.
Just A Nibble and Let’s Go For A Ride use the same Dragon’s Tail input and minimum distance. The held direction determines which Brutality activates: hold Down for Just A Nibble or Up for Let’s Go For A Ride.
Seasonal Store Brutalities
Liu Kang has two additional Brutalities available through the recurring Seasonal Store. Burn With Me and Heel Issues are separate from Fighter Mastery and remain available to Liu Kang once acquired.
Burn With Me
Unlock Requirement: Seasonal Store
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️🅑
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️🅐
Final Hit: Dragon’s Breath
Additional Condition: Hold Back Punch during the Final Hit. The opponent must remain grounded when Dragon’s Breath connects.
Liu Kang uses Dragon’s Breath to engulf the opponent in fire. The Brutality burns the victim down before Liu Kang reappears from the flames.
The grounded-opponent condition is important because Dragon’s Breath can still interact with airborne opponents without triggering Burn With Me.
Heel Issues
Unlock Requirement: Seasonal Store
- PlayStation: ⬜, 🔺, ⬜
- Xbox: 🅧, 🅨, 🅧
- Nintendo Switch: 🅨, 🅧, 🅨
Final Hit: Punishing Palm
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Liu Kang completes Punishing Palm and sends the opponent away before following with a devastating heel strike. A fiery dragon accompanies the finishing attack as the victim is destroyed.
Heel Issues uses the short 1, 2, 1 Kombo, so holding Down during the final Front Punch is the only additional execution condition.
Liu Kang MK1 Fatalities and Brutalities Video Guide
The video guide demonstrates Liu Kang’s Fatalities, Fighter Mastery Brutalities, and Seasonal Store Brutalities.
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, Liu Kang serves as a mentor to Raiden and Kung Lao as Earthrealm prepares its champions. Across the wider Mortal Kombat series, Liu Kang also shares a long-standing connection with Kitana and one of the franchise’s defining rivalries with Shang Tsung. You can explore our Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, and Shang Tsung finisher guides for their Fatalities, Animalities, and Brutalities.
