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Michael Loccisano\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
In 1998, the same year she made her television acting debut in an episode of “ER,” Eva Mendes found herself under threat from a masked video game ninja famous for screaming, “Get over here!” That character is Scorpion, the kunai-flinging Shirai Ryu warrior of “Mortal Kombat” fame. Early in her career \u2014 her fourth television or film credit, to be exact \u2014 Mendes had a guest spot as an original character on the cult-classic, all-but-forgotten prequel series “Mortal Kombat: Conquest.”<\/p>\n
Following the success of 1995’s “Mortal Kombat” and the box office failure of the 1997 follow-up, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” the bloody conflict between Earthrealm and Outworld shifted to the small screen. Premiering in 1998, “Conquest” served as a prologue to the hit video game franchise.<\/p>\n
The show follows a young Kung Lao (Paolo Montalban) as he protects Earthrealm from Shao Kahn. Alongside him are two original characters: exiled guard Siro (Daniel Bernhardt) and resourceful thief Taja (Kristanna Loken). While it noticeably lacks the big-screen budget of the 1995 movie, it leans into the cheesy action and campy lore that made the games a phenomenon.<\/p>\n
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Eva Mendes’ Hanna never appeared in the Mortal Kombat video games<\/p>\n
Mendes appears in the 11th episode, titled “Thicker Than Blood.” Far from the razor-toothed female fighters of the games, she plays an original character named Hanna, a figure from Siro’s past. As Siro’s former fianc\u00e9e \u2014 who has since married his estranged brother, Cassar (Dean Cochran) \u2014 Hanna injects some love-triangle drama to the action-heavy series.\u00a0But those expecting Mendes to engage in “Kombat” will be displeased. While Hanna suits up in a scantily clad outfit to “test her might” for Scorpion (Chris Casamassa), she passes his initiation trial with a stealthy trick, avoiding a full-on brawl. The episode ends in tragedy, however, as Cassar suffers a death blow from Scorpion. A widowed Hanna bids farewell to Siro, and her character is never seen again.<\/p>\n
“Mortal Kombat: Conquest” eventually suffered a fatality of its own. The series \u2014 which is a far cry from the best shows based on video games<\/a> \u2014 was axed after just one season due to high production costs. Like so many shows canceled after a cliffhanger ending<\/a>, it left fans wondering about the fates of their seemingly killed-off heroes.\u00a0All 22 episodes are currently streaming on HBO Max.<\/p>\n As for Mendes,\u00a0she segued more into film, landing her big break in\u00a02001’s “Training Day.” Two years later, she landed a major role in “2 Fast 2 Furious” and would reprise it again in 2011’s “Fast Five,”\u00a0cementing herself as a cast member in the eighth-highest-grossing film franchise of all time.<\/p>\n
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