Mortal Kombat, released in 2011 and widely known as MK9, rebooted the fighting series with story-driven battles and brutal knockouts. Smoke, the grey ninja Tomas Vrbada, became a fan favourite for his evasive moves and smoky teleport attacks. His short K.O. scream was clipped from in-game defeat audio and shared across soundboards and video edits, where creators reused it far beyond fighting games. Its recognisable pitch keeps it popular for memes about losing, failing or being dramatically eliminated.