Shinnok/Original Timeline



"I am weakened! Son Of Argus, you must protect me!"

- Shinnok to Taven in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Storyline
Shinnok's fall from grace was caused by his lust for power and more specifically, his desire to take Earthrealm for himself. At the dawn of time, when the realms were created, Shinnok desired to rule Earthrealm, and thus acquire for himself immense power. However, Shinnok couldn't enter Earthrealm without the Elder Gods being aware of his actions. To resolve this issue without directly defying the sacred rules, Shinnok created a powerful amulet, weakened the dimensional barriers, and entered Earthrealm. During the war against his fellow gods, he came into direct conflict with the thunder god Raiden.

While in the final stages of the war, Raiden was forced to choose between sacrificing Earth's indigenous races, or ceding the rule of Earthrealm to Shinnok. The Elder gods intervened, and assisted Raiden in his struggle. Raiden defeated Shinnok, and stripped him of his amulet and his status as an Elder God. Shinnok was then banished to the deepest regions of the Netherrealm. However, at the expense of Shinnok's defeat, the dimensional fibers of the worlds were severely weakened, and the Saurians - Earth's indigenous life form at the time - were nearly exterminated.

In the Netherrealm, Shinnok endured constant torture from the Netherrealm's overlord, Lucifer. Shinnok was at his mercy until he encountered a sorcerer, Quan Chi, who could travel through the realms at will. Quan Chi would aid Shinnok in overthrowing Lucifer and taking his throne, becoming ruler of the Netherrealm. As payment for Quan Chi's efforts, Shinnok endowed him with incredible powers, making him arch-sorcerer of the Netherrealm, and made him his most-trusted servant.

Shinnok began building his second army of darkness, and plotted to escape the Netherrealm once more. In order to do so however, he would need his lost sacred amulet. After centuries of searching, Quan Chi eventually discovered the amulet's whereabouts for him. It had been placed in a temple by Raiden, and guarded by four Elemental gods. Using the Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero (the elder), Quan Chi recovered it, but unbeknownst to Shinnok, he created a flawed replica in its place which he delivered, keeping the original for himself. In Deception, Shinnok sends Shujinko to retrieve the amulet and return it to him, claiming Quan Chi had left in a city of the Netherrealm. Once returned, Shinnok notices a "difference" in the amulet. Implicating it was Quan Chi's fake amulet returned.

His time in the Netherrealm was well spent, having built a massive army, as well as a fanatical cult of demons called the Brotherhood of the Shadow, dedicated to worshiping him. Also loyal to him was Tanya, an Edenian woman who became a traitor to her realm after she let Shinnok into the realm. He changed the Netherrealm's appearance as well, to make it look closer in appearance to Earthrealm.

Shinnok would ultimately be the catalyst for Shao Kahn's successful breach of Earthrealm. Years before, through Shang Tsung, the emperor of Outworld had bargained with Quan Chi to have Shinnok resurrect the soul of the Edenian queen Sindel upon Earthrealm, which would allow Shao Kahn to cross over to it from Outworld. In return, Shang Tsung had been the one to provide Quan Chi with the location of Shinnok's amulet. By the time Shao Kahn's forces were prepared, Sindel was resurrected, and Earthrealm was laid open. During Kahn's failed invasion, Shinnok ordered Noob Saibot to spy on these events and eventually sided with the Earthrealm warriors (Shao Kahn had also unsuccessfully attempted to invade the Netherrealm, which Shinnok had seen as a sign that the Emperor was becoming too powerful).

With the defeat of Shao Kahn and the retreat of the Outworld forces, Shinnok's Army of Darkness began its own assault on the realms. Its first target was Edenia. After successfully posing as a group of refugees, Shinnok and his highest generals, using Tanya's Edenian connections, were allowed entrance to the peaceful realm. Immediately, he seized this opportunity to bring in a full-scale invasion force, and captured Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana. After that, he began his attack against the heavens and there, he killed 3 of the 4 Elemental Gods (a weak Fujin escaped barely but was followed by demons and before the final blow by them, he was saved by Liu Kang and Kai).

Despite all these successes, the specter of doom arrived for Shinnok. The amulet he had was a fake, the real one in Quan Chi's hands. The sorcerer himself was captured by Scorpion and trapped in the Netherrealm. Raiden and his warriors defeated many of Shinnok's soldiers and the former Elder God faced Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat. Although the evil deity tried his best, he lost to the Shaolin Monk and Raiden ultimately banished Shinnok back to the Netherrealm.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, it is revealed that Shinnok knew Taven and his family well before the start of Taven and Daegon's quest, as Taven is at first confused as to why an Elder God would reside within the realms. He calls upon Taven for help when being attacked by Li Mei in the Netherrealm, Taven ordering her to get away from "Lord Shinnok". Shinnok lied to Taven after Li Mei was defeated, claiming that he was no longer an Elder God because he "meddled in the affairs of mortals," and that, in his weakened state, he needed Taven to help clear out his sanctuary, which has been "overrun by demons." Taven completed this task, but alas, Shinnok was revealed to have easily deceived Taven, tricking him into kombatting images he conjured up himself. Shinnok tells Taven that Daegon (whom Taven was chasing) had already departed the Netherrealm after he defeated Shinnok's Kintaro and Sheeva illusions. With Taven gone, Shinnok was revealed to be aiding Daegon; Daegon was shown to be hiding behind Shinnok's throne the whole time. Shinnok began to doubt his choice in favoring the skills of Daegon immediately afterwards, claiming that Taven defeated his illusions much faster than Daegon did, and it was Shinnok who alerted the many combatants to the prize at the top of the Pyramid of Argus, telling them that whomever obtained this power would be granted godlike power.

In his Armageddon ending, it is stated that Shinnok created a copy of himself to assist Daegon in the Battle of Armageddon, but after Daegon's apparent death, the clone defeats Blaze himself, gaining as much power as the real fallen Elder God. The actual ending has it that this clone was indeed created and sent to fight in Shinnok's stead, but did not get to veer in objective, as it was killed off shortly after successfully killing Kung Lao.

Shinnok does not appear in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, but he is mentioned by Quan Chi to Shao Kahn, saying that Shinnok will be displeased by his failure to conquer Earthrealm.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat 4: "Banished to the Netherrealm for crimes committed against his once fellow Elder Gods, Shinnok is freed from his confines by Quan Chi. With the aid of a traitor he is then able to take the Realm of Edenia. From there he wages a war against the Elder Gods, and awaits a chance to enact revenge against the god who banished him there - Raiden."
 * Bio Kard: "Once an Elder God, Shinnok was banished to the Netherrealm when he attempted to overthrow his fellow deities. Upon his escape, he once again tried to usurp his former allies' dominion over the realms. Nothing will stand in the way of his insatiable lust for power."

Powers and abilities
Being a fallen Elder God, Shinnok possesses immeasurable powers. The nature of his powers seem to revolve around darkness and the Netherrealm, summoning skeletal hands from the ground to grab and bind his opponents as well as pulverize them. He also possesses shape shifting powers similar to Shang Tsung. Unlike Shang Tsung, he is not required to steal souls in order to perform this feat, instead he must have to defeat them or for them to serve him (likely he defeated a large demon in an unknown time, so he can take on a larger demonic form as shown in the final level of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero when his Sacred Amulet was stolen from him). His powers of mimicry and shape shifting are absolute, as he can mimic the abilities and powers of other combatants; the only drawback to this is that the powers he mimics must be in his jurisdiction. He is unable to mimic every power due to the fact that he doesn't have his amulet nor his staff. Despite this, he can still mimic black magic freely, although for an unknown reason he cannot copy the powers of Shang Tsung or Quan Chi. Shinnok can, with his amulet, freely traverse the realms and open up portals.

Related to his mimicking abilities, Shinnok is capable of creating clones or physical illusions of other warriors with their powers and abilities intact. His magic abilities also include the ability of creating demons and wraiths to do his bidding. He even created a clone of himself to aid Daegon in the Battle of Armageddon.

With his amulet, he regains all his immense power befitting a fallen Elder God.

Signature moves

 * Mimicry: Shinnok has the ability to replicate any character's moves, much like Shang Tsung. (MK4, MKG)
 * Spear: Only in the Gameboy version of MK4. Shinnok shoots a kunai attached to a rope that drags the foe towards him, setting them for a free hit. (MK4)
 * Charge: In the Gameboy version of MK4, Shinnok charges at the opponent with his shoulder. (MK4)
 * Amulet Fireball: During the final battle against the elder Sub-Zero, Shinnok sends a fireball from his amulet. (MKM:SZ)
 * Shield: Another special move used against the elder Sub-Zero. Shinnok uses his amulet to create a protector shield. (MKM:SZ)
 * Summoned Fiend: Using his magical powers, Shinnok summons a large skeletal hand to grab and throw his opponent. (MK:A)
 * Tricky Portal: Shinnok creates a portal behind him, then attacks his opponent's back using his elbow. (MK:A)
 * Judgment Fist: Shinnok summons a violet streaking skeleton fist out of his hands. (MK:A)

Fatalities

 * The Hand From Hell: Shinnok disappears in a puff of flame, then a portal opens on the ground near the victim. A giant skeletal hand emerges from the portal and grabs the victim, slowly squeezing until their head pops off from the pressure. As the portal closes, the hand pulls back into the portal, taking the headless body with it, but leaving the head. Shinnok reappears. (MK4, MKG)
 * Two Hand Clap: Shinnok levitates his victim high in the air, then disappears. A giant portal appears under the victim, and two skeletal hands emerge on either side of him/her. The victim wails briefly before the two hands brutally clap on the victim. They then retreat into the portal, revealing bloody messes of flesh and bone on the inside of the palms as they do so. Shinnok reappears over the still-open portal. (MK4, MKG)

Endings

 * Mortal Kombat 4: (Non-Canonical)
 * Shinnok: (holding Raiden aloft in a magical whirlwind) For millions of years, I suffered in the bowels of the Netherrealm! YOU, Thunder God, are responsible for my suffering! Now the piteous mortals of Earth will pay for my grievance!


 * Raiden: You turned against your fellow Elder Gods! You betrayed your title! You deserve much worse.


 * Shinnok: But it's too late, Raiden! I win! With the Elder Gods out of the way, I will take my rightful place as ruler of all eternity! I can already feel the power, surging from within!!


 * Raiden: You're mad!!!


 * Shinnok: Farewell, Thunder God!! (laughs, then starts blasting lightning at Raiden until he explodes)


 * Armageddon: (Semi-Canonical) "Shinnok had anticipated the elimination of all the kombatants present at the final battle. He sent his doppelganger to aid Daegon in defeating Blaze. But with Daegon's unexplained disappearance, the false Shinnok defeated the firespawn. The power of Blaze breathed life into him, making him as powerful as the real fallen Elder God. Shinnok must now face himself if he is to rule supreme."

Character Relationships

 * Friend of Argus's Family.
 * Committed crimes against his fellow Elder Gods.
 * Banished to the Netherrealm by Raiden.
 * His amulet was stolen by the elder Sub-Zero.
 * Aided by Quan Chi to escape from the Netherrealm.
 * Killed 3 of the 4 Element Gods (Water God, Earth God and Fire God).
 * Fought Raiden in the Heavens.
 * Defeated by Liu Kang and banished back into the Netherrealm.
 * Created a clone of himself and sent it to travel the realms.
 * The clone was attacked by Johnny Cage before Armageddon.
 * Lied to Daegon that his parents were aiding Taven in his quest.
 * Created clones of Li Mei, Havik, Sheeva and Kintaro to test Taven's strength.
 * His clone joined the Forces of Darkness in the final battle in Armageddon.
 * The clone attacked Raiden and Kung Lao during Armageddon.
 * The real Shinnok was one of 5 survivors of Armageddon (alongside Shao Kahn, Taven, Daegon and the spirit of Liu Kang.)

Stage Relationships

 * Pyramid of Shinnok: Shinnok's pyramidal temple. It is heavily guarded by the Brotherhood of Shadow. It is also where the original Sub-Zero (Noob Saibot) battled Quan Chi with Sareena's help before she died at the hands of Shinnok as he soon faced him before escaping the Netherrealm. (MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero)
 * Fire Well: Shinnok was defeated by Liu Kang and sent back to the Netherrealm. (MK4)
 * Netherrealm Cliffs: The hostile terrain of the Netherrealm. This was where Taven and Shinnok met again after many years, pretending to have been attacked by a clone of Li Mei. (MK:A)
 * Shinnok's Spire: Many floors of Shinnok's tower are filled with hellspawn and deathtraps for the purpose of either testing the strength of promising warriors or hoping they will meet their demise. And the Spire is still both his sanctuary and his temple, revered as sacred by the Brotherhood of Shadows. (MK:A)
 * Shinnok's Throne Room: The highest floor of Shinnok's tower. This floor is where Shinnok's throne is located, it also serves as an altar where the Brotherhood of Shadow comes to worship him. (MK:A)