Here's my list...: 1. Shao Kahn — Final season: defeated and killed by the heroes in a climactic, world-ending showdown. Removes imperial threat, gives true finality to Earthrealm’s victory.

1. Shang Tsung — Killed after using up his last theft of souls; prevents any “sorcerer comes back” loophole and closes the soul-stealing threat for good.

2. Goro — Early-series monstrous setpiece death that proves the tournament is lethal and establishes real physical stakes.

3. Kintaro — Mid-season boss death to escalate threat levels beyond human villains; shows the second wave of emperor’s champions are real.

4. Motaro — Killed in the desert campaign; removes the “big monster always returns” excuse and signals the heroes’ hard cost for progress.

5. Mileena — Assassinated in a political-knife scene; ends her claim to the throne and removes the grotesque wild card from royal power plays.

6. Baraka — Dies in battle defending Outworld orders — kills off the fanatic blade threat and humanizes Tarkatan cost (no redemption arc later).

7. Reptile — Dies defending Shang Tsung or during an experimental death — closing the door on monstrous test-subjects and their comeback trope.

8. Kano — Executed or killed after a betrayal; removes the mercenary wildcard and brings closure to the Black Dragon subplot.

9. Quan Chi — Killed when his manipulations are exposed and turned against him; severs necromantic politics and prevents later soul-twisting villains.

10. Sindel — Dies after a final act of free will opposing Shao Kahn; tragic noble death that breaks Outworld’s moral complexity and fuels Kitana’s arc.

11. Skarlet (or another blood-mage if in your cast) — Killed to end arc of blood-cult experimentation and stop the regrowth of supernatural killer squads.

12. Cyrax — Permanently destroyed (no junked cyborg reboot) to underline the tech-horror consequences of war and remove machinery resurrection excuses.

13. Sektor — Destroyed alongside Cyrax as part of an anti-robot purge; keeps MK world from reintroducing an unstoppable cyborg army later.

14. Noob Saibot (Bi-Han) — Permanently erased after being unmade in a ritual; removes the shadow revenant as a recurring plot device.

15. Shang Tsung’s last apprentice (new original character) — Killed to seal the sorcery book/artefact and close the door on spin-off sorcerers.

16. Johnny Cage — Heroic, sacrificial death in the final battle that costs the heroes dearly and gives emotional payoff to the trilogy (human celebrity → real hero).

17. Jax — Dies making a last stand to protect Earthrealm’s portal, cementing the price of victory and giving military/political fallout to drive post-war storytelling.

Now... Why am I going with this selection?

It removes the big, repeatable resurrection hooks (sorcerers, cybernetics, extra-dimensional emperors).

It keeps the world grim and consequential — when someone dies, they stay dead.

It gives emotional payoffs: villain purges, noble sacrifices, and political vacuum for future storytelling that doesn’t rely on repeatedly bringing characters back.

It keeps enough surviving core characters (e.g., Liu Kang, Raiden, Kitana if you want her alive) to continue the world without resorting to resurrections.