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“ | Prepare to die. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn taunting a Mortal Kombat fighter before the fight begins. |
“ | All realms will tremble before me! Outworld will again be conquerors, never the conquered! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 11. |
Emperor Shao, also referred to as Shao Kahn or The Konqueror, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Shinnok) of the Mortal Kombat series. He is one of Raiden's archenemies as the two have fought for many millennia over the fate of Earthrealm.
He was once the trusted advisor and Right-Hand to the ancient Dragon King Onaga as well as the protector of Outworld. Until he betrayed Onaga and took over as the omnipotent emperor of Outworld, wanting to conquer more and more realms so he can expand his empire. He is also the father of Mileena, stepfather of Kitana, the husband of Sindel, and master of the sorcerer Shang Tsung.
Roles[]
In the original timeline He serves as the unseen overarching antagonist of the first Mortal Kombat game, the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, a mentioned character in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, a minor antagonist in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Deception, and the secondary antagonist of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.
In the crossover video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Shao Kahn fused with Darkseid into becoming the combined main antagonist Dark Kahn.
In the alternate timeline he serves as the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat (2011), a posthumous antagonist in Mortal Kombat X, and the Mortal Kombat X comic series, a DLC character as well as the central antagonist of Mortal Kombat 11, and the main antagonist of its story mode DLC, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath.
He also serves as the unseen overarching antagonist of the first movie, the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and Mortal Kombat: Conquest, and the overarching antagonist of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge.
Cast[]
Voices[]
- Steve Ritchie: Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3 (and its variants), Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
- Frank Welker: Mortal Kombat movie
- John Vernon and Michael Des Barres: Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm
- Nigel Casey: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
- Patrick Seitz: Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe
- Bob Carter: Mortal Kombat (2011)
- Ike Amadi: Mortal Kombat 11
- Fred Tatasciore: Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge
Portrayals[]
- Brian Glynn: motion captures for games Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3 (and the latter's variants)
- Brian Thompson: Mortal Kombat Annihilation
- Jeffrey Meek: Mortal Kombat Konquest
- Aleks Paunovic: Mortal Kombat Legacy
- Stephan Scalabrino: face model for Mortal Kombat 11
Appearance[]
Shao Kahn's an outworlder in emperor attire that stands over 7 feet tall and wears a skull mask for a helmet. In majority of his appearances Shao Kahn doesn't wear much armor or gear usually preferring to wear just his shoulder pauldrons which are connected by a belt around his torso leaving most of his chest bare. This way of attire can also be perceived as overconfidence, showing off his muscular physique just to bring out intimidation, his build resembles that of a bulky brute. For his waist area he wears short undergarments, a cloth with his emblem on it and wears sandals for shoes.
On rare occasions he's seen without his helmet, but in Shaolin Monks, comics, and Mk11 he's seen without it when injured in battle. Without the helmet his face has a monstrous look having sharp teeth, his head having sharp lumps around it, his eyes are red with slit pupils.
In Mortal kombat 11 his attire's style changes a little bit with more of a Samurai influence in the design. His body looks like he's a dragon. Now his face was finally revealed to have darker upper part of head, demonic red eyes, mouth with sharp teeth.
Personality[]
“ | You are nothing! | „ |
~ One of Shao Kahn's taunts. |
“ | He always had more ego than skill. | „ |
~ Shang Tsung about Shao Kahn. |
Shao Kahn is a treacherous, violent, ruthless, sarcastic, persuasive, egotistical, and bloodthirsty sadist, so he has driven to his goals by any means, yet also possesses a strange sense of humor, laughing maniacally all the time or at least when fighting his opponents. He desires only power and will do anything to make sure he has it, showing great paranoia at times whenever he believe someone plans on overruling him. Kahn is also extremely manipulative, malevolent, arrogant, and cruel, so he desires only to conquer other realms and add them to his own. On the other hand, he does shows compassion and romanticism in some media, such as the live-action series (as he seduces and charms several women in the series, including two of Quan Chi's undead female slaves) and shows a fatherly, caring relationship with Kitana despite the fact that she is covertly working against him in the second film.
“ | Don't make me laugh. | „ |
~ One of Shao Kahn's taunts from Mortal Kombat III. |
Jeffrey Meek's role is more interesting when one considers that he played Raiden on the same show, occasionally opposite himself. In episode 21 "Stolen Lies", he deceives a society of people called the Shaakans into believing that he is their god; every aspect of their culture (Farland = Outworld, children pretending to steal souls, a six-armed Shokan warrior and Kahn's henchmen on the scarf, a skull on the head of a Shaakan warrior) reflects this blind worship of the Outworld emperor.
In Battlewave, Shao Kahn would arrange a different plan to open the portals. He kidnaps Sonya and, by means of hypnosis and brainwashing, convinces her to marry him. The marriage would weaken the barriers between realms enough to allow Kahn to seize Earth easily (and make Sonya the queen of both realms and his wife). During the wedding ceremony held, however, the wedding would be crashed and he would be stopped by the Earthrealm warriors' interruption, ending with Sonya becoming free from Kahn's influence. In the comic, he claims to not be the romantic type, but he also states that Sonya is very beautiful as his bride. However, he soon comes to realize that both Outworld and Earth would be in turmoil as a result of the wedding.
In Shao Kahn's personal Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending, he successfully merges all of the Realms to Outworld, but he is soon driven to madness, because there are no longer any realms left to conquer.
In the rebooted timeline, players get to learn more about Shao Kahn's true personality. Throughout his appearances, he shows how little he cares about anyone but himself; only showing concern for those he considers useful. This includes Sindel who he never shows any actual affection despite their interactions making it seem that he did care for her deep down. This is shown with his horrible treatment of his henchmen as he only shows regard towards them whenever they prove useful.
Shao Kahn in some cases can also be seen as cowardly. He poisoned the Dragon king Onaga because he was so fearful to fight him, and Kahn eventually took over his role of as ruler. Another instance is when Shao Kahn snapped Kung Lao's neck, not even fighting the Shaolin fairly face to face. Kahn's deceitful nature is shown when for many years throughout Kitana's life he's lied to her about her true father's death and her past involving her mother and to enforce that he creates Mileena which was part of his plan.
Synopsis[]
History[]
Before Shao Kahn became emperor, he was one of Emperor Onaga's generals as well as the right-hand man of him. Shao Kahn made up a plan of betrayal, adding poison to his drink, Onaga drank it and the effects caused him to perish. Shao Kahn then replaced him as Emperor of Outworld. As Emperor, He had the ambition to control other realms, mainly Earthrealm and Edenia. He invaded the Kingdom of Edenia and slew King Jerrod and forced Sindel to become his wife and raised her daughter, Kitana, to become an assassin. Shao Kahn orders Shang Tsung to create a clone of Kitana with Baraka's blood, she is named Mileena, and Shao adopts her as his true daughter.
Original Timeline[]
MK: 2[]
Shao Kahn makes his first physical appearance in Mortal Kombat II. Enraged that the final victory so close at hand was once again eluded from him and is forced to start over again for another 5 centuries, promptly orders Shang Tsung, the grandmaster and sponsor of Mortal Kombat Tournament on the island. But Shang Tsung concocted a plan to lure the Earthrealm champions to Outworld; if they could be killed, they would not be able to cause further damage to his plans. Kahn was mollified and restored Shang Tsung his youth. He captured Kano and Sonya Blade to use as bait, and enraging Liu Kang by sending Baraka and his troops to destroy the Shaolin temples, they confidently waited for the Earth warriors to fall into the trap. Despite Kahn's vast power, Liu Kang's determination saw him through, and he defeated the despot. Unwilling to accept defeat, Kahn called his armies to destroy the Earthrealm warriors. They fled back to Earthrealm, out of Kahn's clutches.
MK: 3[]
In an attempt to claim Earthrealm, Shao Kahn has Shang Tsung and his other elite mystics called Shadow Priests revive Sindel but to where she would be revived in Earthrealm so he can go "reclaim" her forcibly to merge Earthrealm with Outworld. Upon doing so most of the souls in Earthrealm are stolen be Shao Kahn except those who are protected by Raiden. However due to Raiden being weakened due to the forced merger Raiden was unable to fight Shao Kahn on his own. Shao Kahn upon hearing of survivors sent his troops to kill all survivors. As Raiden and Earths defenders fight his men, Shao Kahn annoyed seemingly killed Kung Lao with an energy attack once Kung Lao defeated Goro. This lead to Liu Kang directly facing and even defeating Shao Kahn who then ordered his men to retreat thus preventing the merger and returning the world to it's original state. His revival of Sindel also weakens his power as Kitana was able to return her to her original mindset freeing their realm from him along with several of his troops abandoning him to return to Sindel's side.
MK: Deadly Alliance[]
In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Shao Kahn was approached by Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, who pretended to offer themselves as servants. However, the two attacked the weakened Shao Kahn and slay him.
MK: Deception[]
After the emperor's supposed death in Outworld, Onaga reclaimed his throne. He had the Image to give Shao's younger brother's son, Hotaru who hates Kenshifor helping Kuai Liang. It was revealed that the Shao Kahn killed by Shang Tsung and Quan Chi was actually a clone and that after being weakened from his attempted takeover of Earthrealm, Kahn had created the clone to rule Outworld for him, while he recovered. Shao Kahn found his former servant, Goro, mortally wounded and healed him, regaining the allegiance of the Shokan. The two set out to overthrow Onaga, so as to let the emperor regain his control over Outworld.
MK: Armageddon[]
Shao Kahn had become the ruler of Outworld again and joined forces with Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Onaga in an uneasy alliance so as to gain the god like powers of Blaze. However, all of them betray each other during the final battle. In his ending, Shao Kahn defeated Blaze and claimed his powers, destroying all of his enemies. He eventually conquered all other realms and joined them with his own. However with nothing left to conquer, Shao Kahn went insane from the boredom.
In Konquest mode, a giant statue of Shao Kahn stands in the courtyard of the emperor's fortress. If an intruder enters the fortress, the statue will come to life. It will use its enormous hammer to smash the intruder. The statue can only be stopped if four magical orbs are used. The orbs will weaken the statue to the point where it can be damaged by normal attacks. After being damaged by normal attacks, the statue will crumble into pieces.
Crossover[]
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe[]
At the beginning of the game, Shao Kahn had been defeated and met in a graveyard with his secret ally, Quan Chi. He was blasted into a portal by a blast of lightning from Raiden, causing him to combine with Darkseid and transform into Dark Kahn. After his defeat, Kahn ended up in the DC universe, rendered powerless. Kahn was then imprisoned in the Phantom Zone by Superman.
In his ending, while the Phantom Zone weakened the others imprisoned there, the magical nature of Kahn's powers made it have the opposite effect on him. It restored his power, allowing him to escape the Phantom Zone along with an army made up of all the others imprisoned there, who swore him their allegiance in gratitude and joined Kahn in his quest to take control of both universes.
Alternate Timeline[]
Mortal Kombat (2011)[]
“ | Where are the Elder Gods, Raiden? Their pathetic Mortal Kombat shackles me no longer. They masquerade as dragons, but are mere toothless worms. My venom spreads. It is the end of all things. Armageddon. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn, victorious at last. |
At the beginning of the Story Mode of Mortal Kombat, depicts the ending of the battle of Armageddon with every character dies. The only ones who were left standing were Raiden and Shao Kahn who taunted Raiden for relying too much on the Elder Gods. Before Raiden was killed by Shao Kahn, the thunder god showed images of events to his past self so he can alter the future, also leaving his past self one message: "He must win!"
After Liu Kang won the original Mortal Kombat tournament, a furious Shao Kahn decides to execute Shang Tsung for his failure. Begging for his life, Shang Tsung told Shao Kahn that if he called for another tournament and wins, he could have another chance at conquering Earthrealm, to which Shao Kahn agrees to. To Raiden's surprise, he even rewarded Tsung by restoring him to his younger form. During the tournament, Shao Kahn is approached by the new Sub-Zero (who assumed the identity of his older brother, the original Sub-Zero), demanding that he fight Scorpion as revenge for killing his brother, which the emperor allows after the ice warrior proves his skill by defeating Reptile. Before Sub-Zero could finish off Scorpion after beating him, Lin Kuei cyborgs suddenly appear and subdue the warrior. Cyrax and Sektor approach Shao Kahn, offering their loyalty and service to the emperor in exchange for Sub-Zero, which Shao Kahn accepts. The emperor then summons his daughter Kitana and scolds her for allowing Earthrealm warriors to so easily appear before him after he had ordered her to intercept them while the tournament was taking place. Upset by her father's words, and with encouragement from Raiden, Kitana begins to search for answers and eventually makes a disturbing discovery: Shao Kahn was planning to create a "perfect daughter" to replace her. In denial, she brings Shang Tsung before her father, so he would deal with her.
Upon learning of Kitana's discovery, Shao Kahn reveals to Kitana that he is not her real father, and that he originally did not want to accept her as his daughter as he thought she was weak. But now, with his new daughter's creation, he no longer has to accept Kitana as his daughter, and sentences her to death for disobeying him and her previous failure. Continuing with the Mortal Kombat Tournament, Kung Lao defeats both Quan Chi and Shang Tsung at the same time, as well as Kintaro afterward. As Kung Lao was celebrating his victory, Shao Kahn sneaks up behind the gloating Shaolin warrior and snaps his neck, killing him. Enraged, Liu Kang tackles Shao Kahn and fights him.
“ | Shao Kahn: Witless boy. Do you know who I am? Liu Kang: The murderer of my friend! Shao Kahn: I am Shao Kahn! Konqueror of Worlds! You will taste no victory. |
„ |
~ Shao Kahn to Liu Kang as their fight begins. |
Even with his incredible strength, Kahn loses to the Shaolin monk whose rage let him best him. Severely bruised and beaten, Shao Kahn stands up and tries to regain his composure, but Liu Kang delivers a flaming Fist of Shaolin through the emperor's chest, causing Kahn to vomit blood and collapse to the ground, seemingly dead. All seemed to have ended in victory for Earthrealm, but Raiden's Amulet was still cracked, indicating that the events in the timeline that his future self warned him about were still going to happen.
Later, in the throne room, several of Shao Kahn's subordinates start arguing about who should succeed the emperor and lead Outworld. To everyone's surprise, however, Shao Kahn approaches the group fully recovered, albeit still limping in pain from his wound. He then scolds Tsung for his behavior, stating that he would have invaded had Earthrealm in his grasp if it weren't for his suggestion. It turns out that Quan Chi accelerated his recovery and saved his life. Since Shao Kahn lost the Mortal Kombat tournament, he could no longer merge Earthrealm with Outworld. Quan Chi recommends invading Earthrealm, but Shao Kahn points out that he cannot invade Earthrealm due to the protective ward Sindel placed after sacrificing herself. In order to start an invasion, Sindel needs to be revived to nullify the ward. Quan Chi successfully resurrects the empress, negating the ward and allowing Shao Kahn to invade Earthrealm.
During the invasion, Motaro is killed. After Shao Kahn discovers this, Sindel insists that she can finish what Motaro started. Shao Kahn agrees, but before sending her to fight, he kills Shang Tsung for his repeated failures and transfers the innumerable souls the sorcerer absorbed to Sindel, increasing her power immensely. With her newly acquired power, the empress arrives in Earthrealm and single-handedly kills almost every hero, except for, Raiden, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage, before being killed by Nightwolf, who sacrifices himself to stop her. Raiden then figures out that the person his future self was referring to when he said "He must win!" was Shao Kahn. If the emperor attempts to merge Outworld with Earthrealm without winning a Mortal Kombat tournament, the Elder Gods would be able to punish him for breaking the rules they set in place.
Raiden tried to explain to Liu Kang that they must allow Shao Kahn to merge the realms, but the Shaolin Monk dismisses the thunder god's statement as "insane". Kang then fights Raiden after a heated argument between them, leaving Kang dead after Raiden redirects his fire out of self-defense. Once Kahn enters Earthrealm, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade attempt to stop him, but the emperor effortlessly pushes them aside, knocking them both out. He then approaches Raiden, who submits himself to the emperor and accepts Kahn's victory, stating that further resistance will not help Earthrealm win. Shao Kahn starts brutalizing and taunting the thunder god for denying him his "rightful claim" in the past just as his future self did at the beginning of the story, and nearly kills him before the Elder Gods intervene and grant Raiden some of their power, evening the odds.
“ | An anemic effort from ineffectual deities! Today, I become THE Elder God! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Raiden as their final battle begins. |
Raiden and Shao Kahn then fight, with Raiden emerging victorious thanks to the power of the Elder Gods. Dazed and severely weakened after the fight, Shao Kahn lifts his hammer and tries to strike Raiden again, but Raiden delivers one final blast, allowing the Elder Gods to restrain the emperor and completely decimate him as punishment for his actions thus putting an end to the madness of Shao Kahn.
All that is left of the tyrant was his damaged warlord helmet. The helmet was later retrieved by Quan Chi as he was discussing Kahn's defeat with Shinnok. It turns out that Quan Chi used Kahn and along with Shinnok, planned the events of the game by pitting Raiden and Shao against each other.
Mortal Kombat X[]
“ | Other followed in Shinnok's foosteps... like Outworld's emperor, Shao Kahn, who was obsessed with conquering Earthrealm. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn's mention in the opening. |
Mortal Kombat X takes place 25 years after Shao Kahn’s death. Although the warlord never physically appears in the game, his actions still leave a heavy influence on the story. A statue of him appears in the game's introduction as well.
After his defeat at the hands of Raiden and the Elder Gods, the successor to the Outworld throne was heavily contested between Mileena and Kotal Kahn. Mileena claims that her status as Shao Kahn's daughter makes her the rightful heir to the throne, while Kotal Kahn believes this claim is illegitimate, as Mileena was created in a lab by Shang Tsung. Ermac's concept confirms that after his death in Mortal Kombat (2011), his soul was later trapped inside Ermac.
Mortal Kombat 11[]
“ | I am no refugee! I am Kahn of Outworld. Vacate my throne, or I'll soak these sands with your blood! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn. |
Shao Kahn appears in Mortal Kombat 11 as a major story mode villain and a playable character to people who preordered the game. In the game, he is voiced by Ike Amadi, who also voiced Atrocitus in Injustice 2.
It revealed Shao Kahn had betrayed his general, Kotal Kahn, and destroyed the entire Osh-tekks but kept Kotal alive for Shang Tsung's experiments until he escaped after Shao Kahn died.
As Kronika manipulates time by merging both past and present together, a time displaced Shao Khan returns to Outworld in the midst of the execution of Kollector. Shao Kahn is joined by his allies, such as Baraka, Skarlet, Kano, and the past version of Erron Black. Shao Khan is first confused by what he sees, but gets furious when Kotal tells the old monarch that he is Khan now before offering shelter.
Believing it to be no more than a trick by Raiden, Shao Kahn then engages Kotal in a fight when he learns that both him and Mileena have been killed long ago. Shao Kahn nearly defeats Kotal Khan, but Liu Kang barges in the duel, thus breaking the controlled duel to a free-for-all, with Raiden's and Kotal's forces against Shao Kahn's.
Kotal beats Shao Kahn and nearly kills him, but D'Vorah conveniently interrupts the fight, who escorts him to her hive. There, he learns that he was killed by Raiden himself, and D'Vorah killed Mileena. The latter bit greatly angers the king, who was going to attack the insectoid before Kronika appears.
Kronika offers Shao Kahn a great empire after she reboots the timeline if he can get his throne back and ally his troops with Kronika. Agreeing to the deal, Shao Kahn heads to a camp for the Tarkata, readying his goons.
After Kotal and Jade fail in trying to sneak into the camp, Shao Kahn finds them and has both of them locked up. He gives Jade to Skarlet so she can have herself a tasty meal, and hauls Kotal back to the Koliseum to kill him. Boasting to the crowd about how he is the true leader of his realm, the arena is ambushed by the Tarkatan and the Shokan, with Kitana joining forces with Baraka and Sheeva to destroy the emperor. He likes how she barged in courageously and even claims that if she showed this before, "he would have had no need for Mileenaa" but she calls both him and Mileena "unholy monsters" before fighting Kollector.
With Kotal freed by Jade, both Kahns have a rematch. Shao Kahn wins by breaking Kotal's back, but Kitana approaches her father, where he mocks her by telling her that he only kept her alive to not upset Sindel. Shao Kahn is then fought and defeated by Kitana, who blinds the man and knocks him out. It is unknown what happens to Shao Kahn after this. However, given Kronika wiping out the timeline before Fire God Liu Kang killed her, he likely got erased along with most of the universe.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath[]
After his defeat by Kitana, Shao Kahn was imprisoned underneath the Koliseum. Here, he was tortured by two Shokan before being saved by Sindel from both them and Sheeva. Convincing Sheeva the guards that Sheeva was attacked by Kitana, he is brought to the Soul Chamber, where his body and eyes were restored.
After this, Shao Kahn and his bride head off to enter the battle between Raiden's and Kronika's armies to steal the Hourglass. Defeating several heroes (enslaving some, killing most) and stealing their ships, they sail across the Sea of Blood. However, they encounter the Earthrealm-Outworld Alliance led by Kitana. Shao Kahn kills Kotal before he and Sindel attack Kitana and Liu Kang, crippling the latter in the process. Shao Kahn spares Kitana, only for her to suffer the "anguish of defeat" and the knowledge that her mother was evil all along.
At Kronika's island, Shao Kahn changes the loyalty of his realm's men and storm the fortress, working with the enhanced Shang Tsung. Murdering Kronika's revenant guards, he and his bride fail to be successful in the end, being backstabbed and having their souls consumed by Shang Tsung, using their souls to defeat Kronika.
Appearances in Other Media []
Mortal Kombat Annihilation[]
In this movie, Shao Kahn's story is bit different since he is the son of Shinnok and Raiden's brother, and like his fellow games, this Shao Kahn also dominated the Kingdom of the Earth.
Mortal Kombat Conquest[]
In Mortal Kombat Conquest: Shao Kahn's story is very similar to that of his gaming counterpart, he after dominating Edenia, he kills King Jerrod, and stays with Sindel. But when Sindel rejects him and commits suicide, angry Shao Kahn clone that was Kitana with the help of Shang Tsung, naming her Mileena and considering her heir to his throne.
Shaolin Monks[]
Shao Kahn appears as the true main antagonist in the game, after an attempted invasion of the Kingdom of the Earth.
Mortal Kombat Annihilation[]
Shao Kahn appears at the end of the Mortal Kombat movie: challenging earth warrior. Already in the movie Shao Kahn and announces the end of the in six days soon after he has a fight against Johnny Cage in which he defeats Johnny Cage with ease and kills him, then in the lair he gets displeased with Rain and kills him, then he sends several of his warriors to attack the land warriors, Jade later appears in which she is traitor, after Shao Kahn fails the forest, then he along with Ermac, Sindel and Motaro go to fight with the land warriors, who in the they lose.
Animated Series[]
In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, he still seeks to conquer Earthrealm.
Mortal Kombat: Conquest TV Series []
In the Mortal Kombat: Conquest TV series, Shao Kahn still has a menacing disposition and although he does not interact much with with the protagonists of the series, and although he is unable to go to Earth, he has a romantic side to several women in the series and including she is one of Quan Chi's deadly living slaves, and he has a good relationship with Kitana and is still working against him.
Mortal Kombat X Comics[]
Both in Battlewave from Malibu Comics and Blood & Thunder. He wants to take Earthrealm for himself.
Powers and Abilities[]
“ | Is that your best? | „ |
~ One of Shao Kahn's taunts. |
Shao Kahn is extremely powerful, able to utilize superhuman strength and magic. He wields the powerful Wrath Hammer, which can send opponents flying with one strike, and he seems to have some knowledge in cloning, as seen in Deadly Alliance. Kahn's moves include a powerful shoulder barge, a green star-like fireball that he fires from his facial area, an uppercut that both generates a shield against projectiles and knocks opponents off their feet, and a rising knee attack that generates a streak behind him. He is also shown to be a masterful expert on several Chinese kung fu, including Tai Tzu and Lui He.
Shao Kahn choking Johnny.
“ | Feel the wrath of Shao Kahn! | „ |
~ Another one of Shao Kahn's taunts. |
Another testament to his abilities is that his god-like strength can match (or outright exceed) someone like Raiden's caliber. This fact ultimately holds true in the Mortal Kombat (2011) intro, where he defeats and kills Raiden in the previous timeline. Upon merging Earthrealm with Outworld, Kahn's already powerful might increase to the point where he could put of a good fight against Raiden when fused with the Elder God's powers; even tanking a lighting blast with no visible discomfort.
Shao Kahn beating Raiden
Despite this, Raiden still managed to kill him after a lengthy battle. He has also bested and crushed some of the best fighters in the Mortal Kombat universe such as Geras, Kung Lao, Kotal Kahn, and Liu Kang showing just how Godlike and all powerful Shao Kahn is, though his only set backs is his arrogance.
Shao Kahn breaks Kotal's back
Relations[]
Current Allies
- Shang Tsung (returns in DLC for MK11)
- Old Cyrax (killed himself in MKX comics)
- Mileena (daughter; killed by D'Vorah in MKX game)
- Old Skarlet (daughter; died from her wounds in MKX comics)
- Old Baraka (killed by D'Vorah in MKX game)
- Motaro (killed by Raiden in MK 2011)
- Reiko (son; killed by Havik in MKX comics)
- Old Sektor (killed by Sub-Zero in MKX comics)
- Goro (dead)
- Revenants
- Centaurians
- Sindel (wife)
- Revenant Kabal (dead)
- Revenant Kitana (dead, formerly)
- Revenant Kung Lao (dead, formerly)
- Revenant Liu Kang (dead, formerly)
- Young Erron Black
- Old Kintaro (killed by Sonya, Cassie and Jacqui in MKX comics)
- Old Quan Chi (killed by Scorpion in MKX game)
- Kano
- Black Dragon
- Noob Saibot (MIA)
- Rain (formerly)
- Jarek
- Smoke (revenant version)
- Tanya
- Young Skarlet (daughter)
- Frost
- Mavado (killed by Cassie and Jacqui in MKX comics)
- Young Erron Black
- Netherrealm Demons
- Revenants
- Shinnok
- Red Dragon
- Daegon
- D'Vorah (MIA)
- Geras (formerly)
- Kronika (formerly)
- Kollector
- Ermac (son)
- Reptile
- Sheeva (present)
- Baraka (present)
- Young Kano (from the past)
- Young Cyrax (from the past)
- Young Sektor (from the past)
Former Allies
- Saurian (some, but not all of them)
- Old Erron Black
- Young Baraka
- Tarkata
- Sheeva (past)
- Shokan
- Rain
Enemies
- Great Kung Lao
- Raiden (currently retired mortal advisor to Liu Kang)
- Liu Kang
- Kung Lao
- Kitana
- Old Johnny Cage
- Old Sonya Blade (sacrificed herself)
- Old Jax Briggs
- Jade
- Old Sub-Zero
- Old Scorpion
- Special Forces
- Nightwolf
- Kurtis Stryker
- Fujin
- Bo' Rai Cho
- Sareena
- Rain
- Li Mei
- Baraka (past)
- Tarkata
- Sheeva (past)
- Shokan (some, but not all of them)
- Saurian (some, but not all of them)
- Old Erron Black
- Kitana Kahn (young Kitana from the past, current leader)
- Kotal Kahn (former leader)
- Jade
- Ferra & Torr
- Kabal
- Onaga
- Elder Gods (lost their powers and wiped out by Kronika)
- Young Liu Kang (from the past, currently a god)
- Young Johnny Cage (from the past)
- Young Jax Briggs (from the past)
- Young Sonya Blade (from the past)
- Young Sub-Zero (from the past)
- Young Scorpion (from the past, current leader of Shirai Ryu)
- Young Kung Lao (from the past, current leader of the Shaolin Monks)
- Titans
Quotes[]
“ | Finish him! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn as the announcer. |
“ | Flawless victory. | „ |
“ | Fatality. | „ |
“ | Friendship. Friendship?! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn in disbelief at a character's Friendship in MK II. |
“ | Friendship. Friendship, again?! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn in disbelief at a character's Friendship in MK III. |
“ | You insult me, flea. I am Shao Kahn. I will be your death! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Liu Kang and Kung Lao, after blasting Raiden. |
“ | Follow if you want to defeat Shang Tsung. Follow me if you want to die at my hands! | „ |
~ To Liu Kang and Kung Lao. |
“ | But like all who come to this realm, you serve me, whether you are aware of it or not. | „ |
“ | Your soul will soon suffer. | „ |
“ | As I said, all within this realm serve my will, even those that seek to betray me. | „ |
“ | My people have spoken! And a king must, if only once every millennium or so, listen to the will of his people. | „ |
~ Kahn as he brings Kintaro out to fight. |
“ | There is something in you... that makes me feel like a conqueror again! | „ |
“ | You can earn their freedom! If you defeat me, they will be freed!" | „ |
~ Referring to Kitana, Johnny Cage, and Raiden |
“ | Earthrealm will be mine! It will fall as easily as Kung Lao! | „ |
~ After catching Kung Lao by the neck and casually tossing him aside |
“ | Blaze was no match for the Konqueror. His strength increased tenfold, the Forces of Light could not fend him off his final invasion as he merged each realm with Outworld. But his ultimate triumph was soon to be his downfall. With nothing left to conquer, Shao Kahn was driven into madness. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn's ending in Armageddon. |
“ | It is done. Your time has passed. Ages wasted in foolish resistance. Now is the dawn of my rule. [Raiden begins casting a spell] Yes. Pray to the worms, Raiden... as your world ends. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Raiden, shortly before killing him in the original timeline. |
“ | The Elder Gods fear me now. Their pathetic Mortal Kombat shackles me no longer. They mascarade as dragons, but are mere toothless worms. I know you can feel it... It is the end of all things. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn while fighting Raiden, repeating the same words he used in the final battle of Armageddon. |
“ | It's a shame Dark Raiden is gone. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn liked Dark Raiden more than normal Raiden |
“ | If Quan Chi or Shang Tsung return I'll kill them. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Raiden after mentioning that one of the sorcerers could return |
“ | The Elder Gods are gone Raiden. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn telling Raiden how the Elder Gods will not return |
“ | All these ages you have fought me. You denied me my rightful claim. Not this time. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Raiden. |
“ | An anemic effort from ineffectual deities. Today, I become THE Elder God! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Raiden after the Elder Gods intervene. |
“ | I am no refugee! I am Kahn of Outworld! Vacate my throne, or I'll soak these sands with your blood! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Kotal Kahn. |
“ | Shao Kahn: I will have my throne! Kotal Kahn: Outworld rejected your pointless wars. Shao Kahn: Empires must expand or die! |
„ |
~ Shao Kahn and Kotal about to fighting. |
“ | Surrender, on the brink of victory? You're as feeble-minded as Jerrod. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Kitana. |
“ | Wife, I have missed you. If Quan Chi were here, I'd hoist him by the ankles, and split him through for all the time he stole from us... | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to his wife, Sindel. |
“ | Shinnok schemed because he was worthless in battle. That you beat him only proves that truth. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Cassie Cage. |
“ | It's a pity the time merger disrupted the tournament. I was about to snap your neck. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Kung Lao. |
“ | It is genius, you pathetic fool! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn after ruthlessly beating Liu Kang. |
“ | How easily you are felled, Kronika. Once your power's mine, I will rule eternity! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn to Kronika. |
“ | You're drunk on the Crown's power, Shang Tsung. | „ |
~ Shao Kahn after Shang Tsung turned against him. |
“ | I conquered history like I conquered realms–merging billions of potential timelines into a Singularity. The universe has been remade in my image and all is as it should be. The weak serve the strong. The strong compete for power, wealth, and my favor in Mortal Kombat. For centuries, the tournament's champion has gone undefeated. That champion...IS ME! Hail the Conqueror! Hail Shao Kahn! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! | „ |
~ Shao Kahn's ending. |
Taunts[]
“ | That was pathetic! | „ |
“ | It's official! You suck! | „ |
“ | Worthless and weak! | „ |
“ | You're still trying to win? | „ |
“ | Feel the power of Shao Kahn! | „ |
“ | I rule this world! | „ |
“ | You weak, pathetic fool! | „ |
“ | You will never win. | „ |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, he was depicted as Raiden's brother.
- He always appeared with a cape in official depictions by Midway, which he took off for fights and it was not until Mortal Kombat: Deception that he wore it in combat.
- Shao Kahn was originally going to be unmasked with large, fang-like teeth since everyone in Outworld was originally going to be of Baraka's race, the Tarkata. However, in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, he appeared for the first time unmasked after he threw his hammer at the player, but it was thrown back into his face, smashing his helmet. His appearance was like that of the Mortal Kombat II comic.
- Brian Glynn, the stunt actor that portrayed Shao Kahn in the original games, was humorously shorter than the majority of the cast but his figure was noted to be perfect for the character. As a result, his size had to be digitally altered where Shao Kahn appeared to be taller than the majority of the characters.
- In more recent games, Shao Kahn has been scaled down in terms of both size and build.
- In a strategy guide in 1993 published for MKII in the UK, he was stated to dress like a 70's disco queen.
- Shao Kahn was voted number four on the Top 10 Mortal Kombat Kharacters list made by Screw Attack.
- In the internet video, he appeared in Annoying Orange Vs. Mortal Kombat as a minor character who was murdered by Shang Tsung, who then became champion.
- Shawn Kittelsen, one of the writers of MK11, confirmed on Twitter that Shao Kahn was not killed in MK11's Story Mode, but was simply blinded by Kitana. This turned out to be true as Kahn later appears in the Aftermath expansion as one of the playable fighters/main characters before getting killed for real after Shang Tsung absorbs his and Sindel's souls after defeating them both in kombat.
- Shao Kahn made two appearances on ScrewAttack’s DEATH BATTLE he fought M. Bison in an season 2 episode and won then he returned in a season 8 episode to fight against Akuma and won again.
External Links[]
- Shao Kahn on the Villains Wiki
- 2nd Timeline's Shao Kahn on the Villains Wiki
- Shao Kahn on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Shao Kahn on the Mortal Kombat Wiki
[]
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