Shao Kahn

"I am Shao Kahn! Konqueror of worlds! You will taste no victory!"

- Shao Kahn to Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat (2011)

Shao Kahn is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat II as the boss, a role he also served in Mortal Kombat 3. He serves as the main antagonist of the series in many instances.

About Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn the Konqueror is represented as the embodiment of evil. In many respects, he resembles a large Asian warrior, and is well known amongst the roster of Mortal Kombat Kombatants for his godlike strength which rivals that of Raiden, the God of Thunder. He is also known for his extreme callousness, brutality, ferocity in battle, and his fondness of personal executions, though he has occasionally spared the lives of his subordinates, if they prove their worth, and his victims such as Sindel and Kitana, raising the latter like his own daughter and treating the former like his own wife. However, his true power that has served him well and allowed him to rise above the image of a mere warlord is his high intelligence and profound knowledge of the black arts. Like his subordinate Shang Tsung, he has the power to consume other souls.

Perhaps Shao Kahn’s greatest strength lies in his ability to work towards his goals with great tenacity and his ability to organize. However, his greatest weakness is his arrogance and overconfidence. Shao Kahn has often underestimated mankind and therefore tried to conquer Earthrealm many times, with or without a queen (consort), to no success.

Appearance
Shao Kahn's appearance is one of the few non-ninja characters whom has stayed consistent throughout the years. He is easily recognizable by his intimidating stature, usually dwarfing other humanoid fighters by a couple feet or so. He is almost never seen without his trademark warlord helmet which features a skull-like design with a long crest at the forehead. His attire usually consists of spiked shoulder pads, a skull medallion embedded in two intersecting straps, and similar designed kneepads with tabi. When his helmet is removed, he appears to be bald with a slightly demonic face featuring red eyes and small spikes protruding from his head.

Storyline
Shao Kahn once served as an adviser to Onaga when the latter ruled Outworld as the Dragon King. Onaga's Empire had become the most powerful in the realms and so he began searching for a way to become immortal. Before his goal could be realized, Shao Kahn made his move by poisoning Onaga and taking his kingdom. Leading whatever troops that remained loyal to the Dragon King, Kahn continued many of the former emperor's plans. He continued to add lesser realms to Outworld, either through direct conquest or through Mortal Kombat.

A milestone in his military victories was the merging of Edenia with Outworld. After his warriors had won in Mortal Kombat, Kahn invaded the realm. On the battlefield, Kahn killed King Jerrod, and took Queen Sindel as his wife, raising her daughter, Princess Kitana, as his own. He had the young princess trained as his personal guard and as an assassin. Unfortunately for Kahn, Sindel took her own life in an attempt to escape what she believed was eternal subservience to the Emperor. However, Shao Kahn held her soul in Outworld, stopping her transition to the afterlife, not willing to let his beloved queen go so easily.

Many years later, Kahn chose Earthrealm as his next conquest. He sent Shang Tsung and eventually Goro to Earthrealm to prepare it for an invasion in the event of Goro maintaining his position of champion. A turning point came when Prince Goro defeated the Great Kung Lao and started a winning streak that would last for 500 years. Shang Tsung, a shapeshifter, supervised the tournament. The tenth Mortal Kombat however, saw the defeat of both Goro and Shang Tsung by a Shaolin monk, Liu Kang, ruining five hundred years of Tsung's investment. Shang Tsung begged Shao Kahn for his life, and came up with a plan to lure Earth's chosen warriors to Outworld for a second tournament. Convinced, Shao Kahn spared Tsung's life and restored his youth. If Earthrealm's champions could be killed, they would not be able to cause further damage to Kahn's plans. With the captured Kano and Sonya Blade 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.

By this time, Shang Tsung was able to resurrect Queen Sindel in Earthrealm, and Kahn would be able to cross the border to claim his beloved wife. Kahn had Tsung proceed, and once he invaded Earthrealm, he began to merge it with his own realm of Outworld. Nearly every living being in Earthrealm had their souls ripped from their bodies by Kahn, claiming them as his own. Kahn's day finally seemed to have come. Kahn sent extermination squads to hunt them down and kill the remaining survivors, but Lord Raiden had protected the souls of a handful of warriors. It would be their task to try to stop Kahn, and return Earthrealm to its normal state. In the ensuing fights, Kahn was confronted by Kung Lao, another Shaolin monk and descendant of the warrior Goro defeated to become champion of Mortal Kombat, but Kahn blasted a powerful spell on Kung Lao nearly killing him. It was Liu Kang who again managed to defeat Kahn. Worn down from the battle, Kahn recalled his squads and retreated back to Outworld. This stopped the merger with Outworld, and restored Earthrealm to its original status. To make matters worse for Kahn, many of his loyal soldiers had abandoned him, and Kitana had succeeded in turning Sindel to her side, restoring Edenia as an independent realm.

The emperor was now greatly weakened, and would remain so for a period of several years, remaining inactive during Shinnok's war against the gods. The Edenians had in the meantime made peace and military treaties with the Shokan, on whom Kahn had always heavily relied, and were ready to attack Outworld a few years later. It was only through his new commander Kano's ingenuity, and the stealth of his assassin Noob Saibot (who critically wounded Goro) was Kahn able to save the day (in a manner of speaking) and force the Edenian army into a draw. Soon afterward, the sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung entered his throne room, and swore false allegiance to the emperor. Quan Chi and Shang Tsung caught Shao Kahn off guard and seemingly killed him. This would appear to be the demise of the mighty Kahn. In the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception it is revealed that Kahn did not die, and that it was a clone that Quan Chi and Shang Tsung killed. The real Kahn appeared to the wounded Goro and, using what little power he had left, revived him, thus gaining Goro and the Shokan as allies once again.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
In the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Shao Kahn is the Emperor of Outworld once again. It was revealed in the bios of Shang Tsung and Mileena that Shao Kahn had regained power after Onaga's defeat, by storming his own fortress (then under the command of Mileena who had earlier deceived and used Kitana's Edenian force to capture the fortress) with the aid of Goro and Shang Tsung. When he succeeds in using his own brute force to storm the throne room, Mileena surrenders to him and Shao Kahn becomes Outworld's ruler once more.

Later on, he would go on to form an uneasy alliance with Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Onaga in the hopes of defeating Blaze and seizing his god-like powers. Shao Kahn soon found himself fighting his allies and was carried off by Onaga after an unsuccessful attack on Shang Tsung. Kahn somehow escaped from his former emperor and found himself and Raiden as the last remaining kombatants.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Shao Kahn is first seen humiliated by his defeat at the hands of Raiden. Quan Chi knows that Shinnok would not be pleased. Raiden confronts the Outworld Emperor and seemingly kills him before taking Quan Chi before the Elder Gods. However, Shao Kahn did not die: he merged with Darkseid and they became Dark Kahn. Superman and Raiden defeat Dark Kahn and soon, Shao Kahn awoke in the DC universe in Darkseid's throne room. Without his powers, Kahn is left to rot in the Phantom Zone. However, the zone gave back Shao Kahn's powers enough for him and other kryptonian villains to escape and start a conquest of world domination.

Mortal Kombat (2011)
In Mortal Kombat (2011), Shao Kahn is shown beating on Dark Raiden on top of the Pyramid of Argus. As a result, Raiden sends a message to the Raiden of the first Mortal Kombat ' s time. As Shao Kahn prepares to finish him off, Raiden's final message is "He must win."

As the timeline shifts, the first Mortal Kombat tournament is the focus. While Shao Kahn is not there, the tournament is being monitored by Shao Kahn. When Shang Tsung is defeated by Liu Kang, an irate Shao Kahn prepares to kill Shang Tsung. However, Shang Tsung offers an alternate solution for Shao Kahn: holding a tournament in Outworld with new rules. Shao Kahn agrees, and rejuvenates Shang Tsung.

During the second Mortal Kombat tournament, Shao Kahn is physically present. He also makes some of the matches instead of Shang Tsung. Shao Kahn becomes frustrated when after Sub-Zero defeats Scorpion, the Lin Kuei cyborgs appear in front of him. While he allows them to take Sub-Zero away for automation and is granted the Lin Kuei's loyalty and service, he demands that Kitana explain why Earthrealm warriors are able to come and go freely. He dismisses her, which allows Raiden the opportunity to sway Kitana to the Earth warriors' side. When Kitana discovers the experiments in Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits, she defeats Shang Tsung and brings him to Shao Kahn. Instead of punishing Shang Tsung as Kitana expected, Shao Kahn complements him instead. He then reveals to Kitana that her whole life has been a lie, and orders her to be executed and replaced by Mileena. In the process, Kitana's best friend Jade overhears this, and aligns with the Earth warriors as well to defeat Shao Kahn.

Near the end of the second tournament, Shao Kahn pairs Shang Tsung with Quan Chi to face Kung Lao. However, they fail to defeat Kung Lao. Shao Kahn then sends out Kintaro to fight Kung Lao, but Kintaro also fails. As Kung Lao celebrates, Shao Kahn breaks the rules of the tournament by snapping Kung Lao's neck despite not being in battle with him. While Raiden attempts to electrocute Shao Kahn, and enraged Liu Kang assaults Shao Kahn. Liu Kang proceeds to defeat Shao Kahn, and punches a hole through his chest, mortally wounded him.

It is revealed that Quan Chi used his sorcery to heal Shao Kahn, and also revived Shao Kahn's former queen, Sindel. Sindel had committed suicide, and as a result protected Earthrealm from Shao Kahn's wrath. With Sindel resurrected, Shao Kahn had an open window to merge Earthrealm with Outworld. He starts the invasion of Earthrealm as a result.

When Motaro is brought back, having been killed by Raiden, he is enraged, however Sindel states that she will finish what Motaro has started. To ensure that Sindel does not fail, Shao Kahn drains the souls from Shang Tsung's body, killing him. He then transfers the souls into Sindel. After Sindel kills most of the Earth warriors and is killed herself, Quan Chi reveals to Raiden in the Netherrealm that all of the souls of the lost warriors were granted to him by Shao Kahn. It is during this time that Raiden discovers who "He must win" truly is: Shao Kahn. If Shao Kahn is allowed to merge the realms as he intends, he will be breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat, and the Elder Gods will destroy him.

As Shao Kahn appears to merge the realms, Liu Kang attempts to stop him, despite Raiden's warnings. Raiden electrocutes Liu Kang, which results in Liu Kang's death. Sonya and Johnny Cage attempt to stop Shao Kahn, but Shao Kahn easily blasts them away. Raiden, horrified by having killed Liu Kang, surrenders to Shao Kahn. Shao Kahn gleefully attacks Raiden, beating him up in a similar fashion to the beginning of Mortal Kombat (2011). However, as just Shao Kahn prepares to finish Raiden, the Elder Gods intervene, giving Raiden their powers. Raiden and Shao Kahn face off, and Raiden finally defeats Shao Kahn. As the weakened Shao Kahn attempts to attack Raiden one final time, Raiden blasts all of the Elder Gods' power into Shao Kahn, and the Elder Gods take Shao Kahn away for punishment. Raiden, Sonya, and Johnny Cage then leave to help rebuild the world.

At the end of Mortal Kombat (2011), Quan Chi is seen picking up what's left of Shao Kahn's helmet. He then speaks with the fallen Elder God Shinnok, who reveals that all of the events in the game were actually apart of Shinnok's master plan to escape the Netherealm and take control of both Earthrealm and Outworld.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy: "Long ago, Shao Kahn rose to power in the Outworld, usurping the realm from Kitana's parents and taking Queen Sindel for his bride. Then she died. Now, centuries later, Sindel is reborn. And since Shang Tsung failed to win the Earth Realm through Mortal Kombat I and II, her rebirth is the means by which Kahn will finally seize the planet forever unless..."

thumb|250px|right|Shao Kahn's Bio Kard


 * Deception: "My defeat at the hands of the Earthrealm warriors had left me weakened, and my dominance in Outworld was waning. Kitana's forces were closing in. It was only a matter of time before they would overrun my stronghold. Using a powerful magical item retrieved long ago by my minions, I created a clone of myself to draw my enemies' attention while I escaped into the wilds. When I have regained my strength, I will destroy all who opposed my rule. Though I have gone to great lengths to ensure my old nemesis Onaga could never be revived, I have discovered that he has indeed returned from beyond death, as his holy men had prophesied. He now commands the Tarkatan Horde, a vicious fighting force once loyal to me. When I have killed Onaga and regained control of Outworld, they will pay for their treason with their lives."


 * MK vs DCU: "Emperor Shao Kahn's lust for power is matched only by his ruthlessness. For ages he conquered other realms and merged them with Outworld. Eventually he turned his attention to Earthrealm. To stave off invasion, Raiden convinced the Elder Gods to enforce the rules of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Only if Shao Kahn were to win the tournament could he take Earthrealm. But Liu Kang defeated Outworld's champion, Shang Tsung, dashing any chance of Shao Kahn's victory. Enraged, Shao Kahn disregarded the Elder Gods' warnings and mounted an invasion. Defeated once again by Raiden and his allies, he was seemingly ripped apart by his own portal. But the realms are never truly safe from the evil that is Shao Kahn."


 * Mortal Kombat (2011): "Emperor Shao Kahn's lust for power is matched only by his ruthlessness. Millennia ago he overthrew Onaga as ruler of Outworld and has conquered many other realms since. Eventually he turned his attention to Earthrealm. The Mortal Kombat tournament prevents him from taking the realm by force, but if Shao Kahn's champions win 10 consecutive tournaments, Earthrealm will be his. As long as his champion Shang Tsung and Prince Goro do not fail him, he will be victorious."

Powers and abilities
Shao Kahn is shown to be immensely powerful throughout the series. He is able to utilize magic and has superhuman strength. He is also able to charge at the opponent with considerable speed and power. His kombat abilities were demonstrated during the events of Mortal Kombat 3, wherein he defeated Kung Lao with relative ease. Armed with his Wrath Hammer, however, Shao Kahn can send opponents flying with one swing. During the events of Armageddon, he was able to smash through Mileena's magic barrier with his hammer.

Apart from his projectile attacks, Kahn's knowledge of magic seems to include cloning, as he has managed to do so to avoid assassination at the hands of the Deadly Alliance. After escaping into the wilderness, he was able to revive a severely injured Goro and recruit him back to his cause.

Signature moves

 * Light Spear: Shao Kahn would crouch down to his knees and throw a large light spear at his opponent. (MKII, MK 2011)
 * Mystic Choke: Shao Kahn would engulf his foe in a force field and slams him/her twice in the chest. (MK:A)
 * Charging Spikes: Shao Kahn would shoulder ram his opponent with a shadow trail following behind him, much like Johnny Cage's Shadow moves. All three games (MKII, MK3, UMK3), "Charging Spikes" had white trailing shadows and in Trilogy was replaced to green, however in N64 version, the shadows were blue. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
 * Wrath Hammer Attack: Shao Kahn would summon his Wrath Hammer, seemingly from thin air, and smash his opponent over the head with it, setting them up for a free hit. In Deception and on, the Wrath Hammer became a weapon style and thus was no longer needed as an individual special move. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MKvsDCU, MK 2011)
 * Explosive Ball: Shao Kahn would fire off a green star like fireball, seemingly from his mouth or eyes. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, MKvsDCU)
 * Uplifting Knee: Shao Kahn would perform a rising knee attack with a streak following behind him, much like Johnny Cage's Shadow moves. Between two games, "Uplifting Knee" had white shadows, but in Trilogy they were replaced by green, however in the N64 version, they were blue. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * Hammer Dance: Shao Kahn swings his hammer at an alarming rate, causing his foe to fly. He makes 9 dancing strikes and 1 final strike. (MK:SM)
 * Ridicule: Shao Kahn would often taunt, mock, and of course ridicule his opponents with insults, mockery, or just plain laughter. A trademark of Shao Kahn's and what makes him one of the more memorable bosses in fighting game history. In Deception, performing a Ridicule could heal Shao Kahn, though only a tiny sliver of health would be recovered and could only be performed three times a match before it was automatically disabled. Same goes for Armageddon, though it can be performed eternal times in a battle, heals him once for a rate above 10%, and followly decreases the more it's been used. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * Grab and Punch: Shao Kahn would lift his opponent up by the throat with one hand and then smash his fist into their face sending them sailing back. In Deception, this is simply his throw, and if performed next to death traps could automatically knock opponents into them. (MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A, MKvsDCU)
 * Emperor's Shield: Shao Kahn creates an energy shield to either reverse attacks or to shatter the opponent. (MK:D, MK:U, MK:A, MKvsDCU)
 * Hammer Throw: Shao Kahn throws his hammer to an opponent, stunning and setting them up for a free hit. This move is only blockable with Nightwolf's Absorb. (MK 2011)
 * Hammer Swing: Shao Kahn uppercuts the foe with his hammer, also allowing a possible juggling combo if the move connects. (MK 2011)
 * Hammer Cut: Kahn sweeps the foe with his hammer. (MK 2011)
 * Upward Shoulder: Shao Kahn charges upwards, juggling the opponent. (MK 2011)
 * X-Ray Move - It's Official: Shao Kahn hammers his opponent to the ground and grabs their arm. He then stomps on their head (breaking the whole skull), lifts the opponent up by the arm, and delivers a skull-shattering headbutt. (MK 2011)

Fatalities

 * Headcrusher: Shao Kahn hammers his opponent into the ground leaving only their head sticking out. He then laughs before hammering his opponent into a bloody explosion. Only available in the Nintendo 64 version of the game. (MKT)
 * Home Run: Shao Kahn uppercuts his opponent into the air, and smashes them to pieces with his hammer as they fall. In MK 2011, he grabs the opponent by the neck and flips them in the air before delivering the killing blow. (MK:D, MK 2011)
 * Fore: Shao Kahn hammers his opponent into the ground and then, when they are buried up to their torso, smashes their head off with a golf swing. (MK:D)
 * Emperor's Bash: Shao Kahn boasts out to the crowd then pounds his opponent with his hammer several times, eventually breaking their neck. (MK:SM)
 * Double Down: Shao Kahn jabs his hands into the middle of his foe's torso and slowly rips their body down the middle. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Hara-Kiri: Hammer Throw: Shao Kahn launches his hammer into the air, and it comes back down and crushes his head. (MK:D)
 * Babality: Shao Kahn is turned into a baby and still standing on his feet, points at the opponent and says "You suck!" (in a high pitched voice). He then starts to laugh (in baby giggles) in his laughing taunt pose. (MK 2011)

Endings

 * Shao_Kahnend.gifMortal Kombat Trilogy: (Non-canonical) "Shao Kahn Wins."


 * Mortal Kombat Deception: (Non-canonical) "Shao Kahn had regained his strength, and he and Goro marched boldly to the Dragon King's throne room, slaying all who stood in their way. Like an echo of their battle ages ago, Shao Kahn and Onaga fought with a fury fueled by intense hatred. Knowing the Dragon King was too powerful to defeat in mere kombat, Shao Kahn blasted Onaga with his war hammer, causing him to hurtle into Goro's poisoned blades. Onaga had fallen victim to Shao Kahn's treachery once more. With Onaga defeated, Shao Kahn reclaimed Outworld once again. His army of Shokan decimated what remained of Kitana's armies and the Tarkatan Horde and scattered their survivors into the unknown. A new era had begun in the realm of Outworld. Long live Emperor Shao Kahn!"


 * Armageddon: (Semi-canonical) "Blaze was no match for Shao Kahn the Konqueror. His strength increased tenfold, the forces of Light could not fend 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 to madness."


 * Shao_KahnMK_vs_DCending.pngMK vs DCU (Non-canonical): "Defeated, Shao Kahn was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, used for holding dangerous Kryptonian villains because of its ability to render them powerless. Possibly due to the magical nature of his strength however, the Phantom Zone had the opposite effect on Shao Kahn: Instead of neutralizing him, it revitalized the emperor, allowing him to break free. With him are untold numbers of criminals, released from millennia of imprisonment. Grateful, they have sworn allegiance to Shao Kahn and now follow him on his quest to conquer the universes."

Movie appearances
Shao Kahn appears in both Mortal Kombat movies, although he is played by different actors. In the first movie, Kahn's appearance is only a bit part, as he appears only as a special effect (though he is referred to throughout the movie only as "the Emperor"). His voice is provided by an uncredited Frank Welker (who also did vocals for Goro in the movie). Interestingly, Welker's voice for Kahn is almost identical to his voice for Dr. Claw, in Inspector Gadget.

In the second movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Kahn is played by Brian Thompson; he is ultimately defeated and killed by Liu Kang. Thompson, because of the movie being a box office flop, was often accused of over-dramatizing his character in many scenes.

In Annihilation, as an attempt to shock the viewer, Raiden announced that Shao Kahn was his brother and Shinnok their father. He bore the same tattoo on his right shoulder as a sign of their family that Raiden wore. This has never been made official in the MK canon, and most fans have dismissed this as another example of how far-removed from the games Annihilation was.

In 2008, 11 years after Annihilation, Shao Kahn's relationship with Raiden was mentioned in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Raiden's profile stating that the two are brothers. Given the game's non-canon status, it has caused many to again disregard this information.

Aleks Paunovic portrays Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Shao Kahn first appears, without mask, after he wins 10 Mortal Kombat tournaments over Edenia. It falls easily to his rule and its King, Jerrod, is no where to be found, only a loyal impostor left in his guise. Shao Kahn was very smitten with the realm's queen, Sindel who just had her child Kitana. Sindel resented his actions and Shao Kahn attempted to make a child from Kitana's essence that would not betray him, as he knew Kitana would most likely when she found the truth. This bore Mileena, a half Edenia who looks just like her twin, but was able to grow Tarkatan teeth, which revert back, because her other half was of Tarkata origins. Sindel, who was repulsed by this action, preformed a ritual that killed her body in order for her soul to bind with her true daughter, in hopes that this would stop Shao Kahn from corrupting her. Shao Kahn did not let that stop his own plans, as he raise the girls as if they were sisters, planting his own agendas in their head, making them fight each other. He is seen sitting on his throne watching the twins fight. He calls an end to the fight when Kitana gains the upper hand. Soon after, he sends them on missions to kill other impostors of Jerrod, then finally locating the real one, he sends the girls to kill the real King of Edenia. After this task is done, he brings the girls in front of him to tell them of a coming event: The Mortal Kombat Tournament against Earth.

TV appearances
Shao Kahn appears in Mortal Kombat: Conquest, played by Jeff Meek. Despite having lost much of his physical stature from the games and movies, he has a much more threatening disposition, though he rarely interacts with the heroes of the series (due to his inability to travel to Earth). However, he does have a romantic side (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. Jeff 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.

Shao Kahn also appeared in several episodes of the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm as the main villain. He still seeks to conquer Earthrealm and have it as another addition to his collection of enslaved realms that he had merged with Outworld.

Comic book appearances
Shao Kahn makes his first appearance during the Battlewave series of Malibu Comics, though he already was present during the first, Blood & Thunder. Shao Kahn remained mostly faithful to his game counterpart, being the Emperor of Outworld and attempting to take Earthrealm for himself. During the two series, he never appears wielding his trademark helmet, instead always shown with his visible face and design taken from the official Mortal Kombat II comic written by John Tobias. However, in Kitana & Mileena, a comic about Kitana's past, Shao Kahn does appear wearing his helmet.

Shao Kahn appeared during Blood & Thunder while communicating with Shang Tsung by means of a big purple orb. He became disgusted by Shang Tsung's hold of the tournament, so he used his powers to bring all the kombatants into Shang Tsung's palace, triggering the big fight shown in the Tournament Edition final issue.

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 Shao 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.

Shao Kahn then would devise a tournament of sort: a race to reach a medallion high into a frozen cliff. Two teams were arranged, with the ultimate victor being Sub-Zero for Earthrealm.

Original Timeline

 * Former adviser of Onaga until he poisoned him and took control of Outworld.
 * Killed King Jerrod during his invasion of Edenia. Claimed Sindel as his queen and Kitana as his daughter by right of conquest.
 * Destroyed the realm of Zaterra and manipulated Reptile to serve him.
 * Invaded Nitara's realm of Vaeternus.
 * Orders his minions to destroy Ashrah.
 * His minions fought with Hotaru's Seidan Guardsmen.
 * Orders Shang Tsung to win the Mortal Kombat tournaments.
 * Aided by Kitana, Mileena, Jade, Baraka, Reptile, Shang Tsung, and Kintaro in MKII.
 * Aided by Sindel, Shang Tsung, Kano, Sheeva, Motaro, Reptile, Mileena, Jade, Ermac, Noob Saibot, Rain, and Chameleon in MK3.
 * Defeated by Liu Kang in MKII and again in MK3.
 * Created a clone to distract his enemies.
 * Heals Goro and allies with him to remove Onaga from his throne.
 * Created a substitute body for Shang Tsung whose soul appeared in front of him by an old pledge.
 * Retakes his throne with the help of Goro and Shang Tsung from Mileena and spares her life.
 * Along Shang Tsung, he allies with Quan Chi and Onaga.
 * Joined the Forces of Darkness in the final battle in Armageddon.
 * Was attacked by Onaga in the Battle of Armageddon.
 * Somehow, he escapes from Onaga.
 * Wins the Battle of Armageddon.
 * Fought Raiden after Armageddon and defeated him.
 * One of 5 survivors of the Battle of Armageddon (alongside Taven, Shinnok, Daegon and Liu Kang (Spirit)).

Alternative Timeline

 * Ordered Shang Tsung to be killed but then spares him after he hatches a plan, also restores his youth.
 * Compliments Shang Tsung for successfully creating Mileena which shocks Kitana.
 * Harshly reveals to Kitana the truth about her past and sends her away to be executed; this wouldn't happen in the prime universe, where Kahn is much more fond of Kitana and his queen Sindel.
 * Killed Kung Lao when he was celebrating his victory over Kintaro.
 * Liu Kang, seeing his friend die challenges Shao Kahn and seemingly kills him.
 * While Shao Kahn's followers discuss who should be the new ruler of Outworld, Shao Kahn appears and says that his wounds were healed by Quan Chi.Shao_Kahn_killed_by_the_elder_gods.png
 * Kills Shang Tsung by draining all the souls in his body and gives them to his queen Sindel, increasing her power.
 * Easily defeated Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade after shooting them with green rays.
 * Raiden "lets him win" so the Elder Gods can disrupt Shao Kahn's dominance and boost Raiden's power.
 * Defeated by Raiden and brought to the Elder Gods for punishment.

Trivia

 * Kahn started out unmasked and with large gnashing teeth similar to Baraka, since everyone from Outworld was originally to be of Baraka's race. The idea of all inhabitants of Outworld being Tarkata was later dropped.
 * In MKII, Kahn was digitally re-sized to a taller height to make him tower over the playable characters. Ironically, the actor who played him, bodybuilder Brian Glynn, was not nearly as imposing in comparison; a photograph published in GamePro magazine of Glynn and Ed Boon standing side-by-side, which was snapped during production of the game, showed that Boon was taller.
 * In many official depictions of Shao Kahn made by Midway, he is shown wearing a cape, which he takes off before starting a fight. Mortal Kombat: Deception was the first game in which he wore the cape in-game.Shaokahnkonquest.jpg
 * Kahn was never seen unmasked in a game until Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks where, once he loses half his health, a scene plays in which he pulls out a hammer and throws it at the player, which the player throws back at him and smashes the mask to pieces. His face is based on the MKII comic depiction.
 * His height has been changed considerably since the 2D Mortal Kombat games, in which he practically towered over most of the other opponents. His physical appearance has also been altered; Kahn had formerly been bigger proportionately than his foes.
 * Shao Kahn's voice is an ever present sound in the Mortal Kombat games. Even when he isn't present, he can be heard as a form of 'commentator' with phrases such as "Outstanding", "Well Done", "Incredible", "Superb" and "Excellent". He also 'orders' you to finish your opponent at the end of a match (supporting his character type). His voice can be heard in Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, which featured Mortal Kombat themes. Starting in Mortal Kombat II, he was shown to be the "narrator." He would often laugh when a kombatant was low on health. He was the announcer for all games from MKII until MK4, where Shinnok was the announcer. Kahn resumed being an announcer afterward, even when you fight and kill him as an opponent.
 * A 1993 UK-published strategy guide for Mortal Kombat II described Kahn as being "dressed like a '70s disco queen."
 * Kahn's name was accidentally hyphenated in the closing credits of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation ("Shao-Kahn").
 * Though Kahn has no official Animality in the games, in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Kahn is given the Animality of a Three-Headed Hydra.
 * If time expired with a round ending in an even draw (both players sustaining no damage) in MKII, a disgusted Kahn shouted an expletive.
 * Though Shao Kahn was initially shown to be well over 10,000 years old, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon places him as being even older. Shao Kahn was shown to be highly infamous before Taven and Daegon were sealed, which happened before Shinnok's fall from grace. In Shinnok's ending in Mortal Kombat 4, he states that Raiden had imprisoned him for "hundreds of millions of years." Contrarily, Raiden states in the intro of the game that it was only some thousands of years ago. The fact that Shinnok's ending is non-canon may mean that it was in fact not millions and only an exaggeration. This also indicates that Shao Kahn had been attempting to conquer Edenia for a very long time, since Taven stated that Shao Kahn had launched an unsuccessful invasion before he (Taven) was sealed.
 * Although Shao Kahn holds a staff in Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, he has never been seen using it.
 * In UMK3, Shao Kahn is the only character who bleeds from Robot Smoke's teleport.
 * Shao Kahn's "mask" or "Skull mask" is actually a Kabuto, a Japanese Samurai helmet with a Menpō, a facemask commonly worn with the Kabuto.
 * Despite being the "announcer" for most games, Shao Kahn will have a different voice actor in-game then when commentating.
 * In MK 2011, when he's performing his ridicule, some of the classic taunts throughout out the game returned, such as "It's official, you suck!", "Don't make me laugh!", and "Prepare to Die!"
 * Shao Kahn is similar to M.Bison from Street Fighter, both of them are considered to be iconic villains in their respective game series and both did not make an appearance until the second installment of the their games.
 * In a MK 2011 trailer, Shao Kahn uses his Double Down Fatality on Raiden.
 * Shao Kahn has been the final boss in more Mortal Kombat games than any other character (MKII, MK3/UMK3/MKT, MK:SM, and MK 2011).
 * In his MK 2011 victory pose, a slave girl is shown crawling to and hugging his thigh as he proudly stands. This could imply that he has female slaves of his own.
 * Shao Kahn's Light Spear is similar to Nightwolf's Spirit Arrow, but larger and more powerful.
 * In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Shao Kahn was placed at #4 of the Mortal Kombat Characters in the Mortal Kombat Series.

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Shao Kahn Шао Кан Shao Kahn