Bad to the Bone

Spinal is a legendary warrior who was revived thousands of years after his death by a nefarious corporation. However, since he had no memory of his ancient past, he lacked direction and purpose in battle. Trapped in a new world he didn’t understand, Spinal had little choice but to obey orders. He eventually began to suffer tormenting flashbacks of his past life, and harbored resentment for anyone who would deny him the peace of eternal sleep. In battle, Spinal uses a standard sword and shield, but he can also teleport himself and has the uncanny ability to morph into cloned versions of his opponents. Without question, Spinal ranks as one of the most iconic fighters on the Killer Instinct roster. Midway put him on the side of the arcade cabinet and he was later featured on the cover of the soundtrack album.

It’s debatable whether or not Mega Man 4‘s Skull Man can really be considered a skeleton. (He is a robot, after all.) In spite of all of this, it should be noted that no one is more committed to the skeleton theme than Skull Man is. References to skeletons and skulls are extremely prominent in his stage. The level itself is made out of giant bones, and nearly all of his underlings have some sort of skeleton gimmick. In battle, Skull Man surrounds himself with a ring of flying skulls which can be used as both a shield and a weapon. Skull Man basically pushes the skeleton theme to the point of redundancy. Heck, even his own skull has a skull emblem on it! He might not be a skeleton in the traditional sense, but any true connoisseur of skeletons would still defend Skull Man’s appearance on this list.

Mr. Bones is a dead blues musician who was mistakenly buried in a cemetery for criminals. Because he wasn’t inherently evil, Mr. Bones was able to retain his free will after being resurrected by an evil vampire. With the help of a magical guitar, Mr. Bones avoids capture by putting on impromptu concerts for the undead armies that are pursuing him. As his adventures progress, things become even stranger. At one point, Mr. Bones has to bounce around as a skull until he can rebuild himself. Later, he has to play a love song in order to quell the anger of a female wraith from another dimension. Mr. Bones even finds himself trying his hand at stand-up comedy in order to gain the favor of a monstrous skeleton guard. Mr. Bones is a relatively obscure video game character, but it’s easy to appreciate his quirkiness.

The Mortal Kombat series is full of palette-swapped characters, and Scorpion appears to be a regular, everyday, normal ninja. In reality, he is actually an evil skeleton ninja who returned from a fiery afterlife in order to get revenge on a rival ninja named Sub-Zero. Scorpion eventually manages to track Sub-Zero down and kill him – but this only seems fair considering that it was Sub-Zero who sent Scorpion to his grave in the first place. Scorpion is famous for using a harpoon as a weapon, and his battle cry of “Get over here!” is synonymous with Mortal Kombat. Scorpion usually covers his face with a mask, but will occasionally reveal his bare skull in order to breathe fire on his opponents and engulf them in flames. This maneuver effectively turns his opponents into skeletons too, so Scorpion earns some extra credit for this list.

Mumbo Jumbo was apparently quite handsome before an evil witch turned his face into a giant skull. Despite his ridiculous appearance, Mumbo has considerable talent and accurately describes himself as “best shaman in all game.” Throughout the Banjo-Kazooie series, Mumbo uses powerful magic to help transform his friends into an assortment of animals and objects. He also demonstrates the uncanny ability to revive the dead or send people back in time. Mumbo had hoped his face would eventually be restored, but he seems to be stuck with his skull-faced appearance indefinitely. This means that he’ll have to continue to put up with Kazooie’s hurtful insults like “Mumbo Dumbo” or “Bone Face.” He looks like a savage and is the victim of bullying, but I’m sure that earning a spot on this list makes it all better.

It’s not explicitly clear whether Uncle Death is the actual grim reaper or if he’s just someone in an elaborate disguise, but the skateboarding oktaku is apparently tasked with wiping out mankind. Although he supposedly despises humans for their murderous nature, he actively encourages violence and lures people into a treacherous tower in the hopes of harvesting souls from the horrific mutants that inhabit it. Uncle Death is quite violent himself, but he never takes himself too seriously. The same scythe that he uses to decapitate others can transform into a golf club for some reason. Uncle Death guides players through their adventure, and he’s also the game’s biggest advocate. He has even suggested that LET IT DIE is “probably the greatest game ever made.” Gotta love the hustle.

When the sorcerer Zarok invaded a peaceful kingdom with an army of demons, Sir Daniel Fortesque lead the charge against him. Unfortunately, Dan had been promoted to knighthood under false pretenses and was merely a charlatan with a vivid imagination. His stand against Zarok was over in an instant, and he was fatally wounded by an arrow to the eye mere moments after the battle began. Despite his poor showing, Dan was declared a hero after the war was over and tales of his bravery were used to make people feel safe. When Zarok returned a century later with a spell to raise the dead, he unwittingly brought Dan back to life as well. This gave Dan the chance to finally be the hero everyone believed him to be. Dan is so determined to prove his worth that he’ll even take off his own arm and use it as a weapon when he runs out of other options!

One of two skeleton brothers in Undertale, Papyrus (known as COOLSKELETON95 online) spends most of his time planning puzzles and cooking spaghetti. He’s loud and flamboyant, but he has a kind heart despite his brash personality. His ultimate goal is to catch a human so he can be granted entry into the Royal Guard, but he has an undeniable innocence and is more likely to befriend humans than capture them. There are different routes players can take in Undertale, and Papyrus is friendly in all of them. He’s a cool guy to hang out with and he’s even open to dating humans. If players choose to spare him in battle, Papyrus will commend them for not doing “a violence.” If players choose to kill him, Papyrus will still have kind words for them. It’s hard not to admire his work ethic and undying optimism.

Grim Fandango is a highly entertaining adventure game loaded with classic LucasArts humor and allusions to films noir. The game’s protagonist, Manuel “Manny” Calavera, shares many similarities with Humphrey Bogart’s character from Casablanca with respect to his personality and overall style. As a travel agent for the Department of Death, it’s Manny’s job to help souls make their transition from the “Land of the Living” to the “Land of the Dead.” Manny apparently became a reaper as a means of paying off a debt he had incurred for not living a decent life. However, he did not actually understand what he did wrong and grew cynical as a result. Drawing from his own personal experience, Manny decides to battle corruption within the system and prevents good people from having to suffer fates they don’t deserve.

The Grim Reaper himself plays a role in nearly every Castlevania game and often fills the role of Dracula’s right-hand man. Death usually covers up his skeletal frame with a drab hooded cloak, but occasionally changes things up a bit. For example, Death wears a snazzy top hat in Dracula X and was sporting a bright orange cloak in Castlevania: Bloodlines. Like Dracula, he also has the ability to take on a second form in battle. Armed with his trademark scythe, Death is constantly defending Dracula’s castle against intrepid vampire hunters. Death and Dracula have been known to launch joint attacks against their rivals, and Death even has the ability to combine his powers with his master’s if the situation demands it. Even though Death frequently gets his ass kicked, he is resurrected every time Dracula’s castle is.