The brutality was originally introduced in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Players would perform a series of button presses to perform a long combo, pummeling their opponent until they exploded.
In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the brutality was brought back, though with a different function. Once the move had been performed, the player will be able to give more devastating attacks for a limited time.
In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the good DC characters performed a 'Heroic Brutality' instead of a fatality. This finishing move was very similar to a fatality, however, the loser was not killed.
The brutality has returned once again in Mortal Kombat X. This time, they are now kill moves that can be performed when your opponent has very little health left in the winning round, and certain criteria has been met. Each brutality will require different criteria, with some being harder to achieve than others.
The brutality system used in Mortal Kombat X has returned in Mortal Kombat 11.