Shinnok



"Remove the shadow from the light; the shadow grows. The legacy of life is death, Raiden."

- Shinnok to Raiden in Mortal Kombat X

Shinnok is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero as a boss, and first became playable in Mortal Kombat 4, in which he also served as the boss and main antagonist of both games as well as Mortal Kombat X. He serves as the main antagonist of the franchise alongside Shao Kahn.

About Shinnok
Shinnok is considered one of the most evil beings in Mortal Kombat. A vengeful and powerful fallen Elder God, Shinnok appeared in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Mortal Kombat 4/Mortal Kombat Gold, and Mortal Kombat X as the main antagonist. He has also made an appearance in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, seemingly leading the side of evil.

Unlike Shao Kahn, Shinnok relies less on brute strength and fear-mongering, but more on magical powers and ancient artifacts. He is the ruler of the Netherrealm, possessing millions of years' worth of knowledge and power. He can impersonate any other beings of his choosing, as well as to transform into an immense demon. He also possesses extreme cunning, as well as the ability to manipulate events through others. For example, he had Quan Chi convince Shao Kahn to merge Earthrealm with Outworld against the Elder Gods' will. As a result, both realms were severely weakened and left vulnerable to invasion by the Netherrealm.

Shinnok demands unwavering faith and loyalty from his followers and will not hesitate to kill anyone who doubts, challenges, or even represents a potential threat to him. He may even be more brutal and heartless than Shao Kahn.

Only Shang Tsung, Delia, Shao Kahn and Quan Chi can match Shinnok's skills as a sorcerer.

Appearance
Shinnok appears as a very tall, slender built man. Because of his corruption and imprisoning in the Netherrealm, his skin is completely white and decayed. His eyes are usually changing from white to green, this effect resulting from his powers. As a mockery to the Elder Gods, Shinnok is wearing for formal gatherings a predominately blue robe with golden motifs, a reference to his royal roots. His most distinctive feature is the sacred crimson crown he is wearing following his debut in Mortal Kombat 4 with small modifications in each game he is present.

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. With his amulet, Shinnok can 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
Other moves
 * Mimicry: Shinnok has the ability to replicate any character's moves, much like Shang Tsung. (MK4, MKG, MKX)
 * In MKX, Shinnok steals a single ability from his current opponent (such as Sub-Zero's ice ball and Johnny Cage's shadow kick), which he stores for later usage. While the power is stored, the runes on his outfit will glow yellow instead of red. Impostor Variation
 * 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)
 * Charging Shoulder: Shinnok charges at his opponent. (MKX)
 * Amulet Strike: Shinnok pulls out his amulet that strikes the enemy with magic. (MKX)
 * Hell Sparks: Shinnok summons magical projectiles to burst out of the ground in a series of three. (MKX) 
 * The Devil's Hand (X-Ray): Shinnok summons a giant skeletal hand from the ground, trapping the opponent as he breaks their jaw with a backhand slap. He then use the same skeletal hand to crush his victim's ribcage. Shinnok then summons a skeletal spear to impale his opponent in the heart. (MKX)
 * Unnamed X-Ray (Corrupted Shinnok only): First, Shinnok uses telekinesis to lift up his opponent and fires a beam from his chest, breaking his opponent's ribcage, then he summons two rocks whilst his victim's still in the air and bashes the sides of his skull, breaking it. Lastly, he throws his opponent back down to the ground, breaking the front of the skull. (MKX)
 * Body Smasher: Shinnok grabs his foe's leg, knocking them to the ground. He then stomps on his foe's face, and finally jumps onto their chest, crushing them. It is the most damaging "limb-breaker" attack. (MK4)

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)
 * The Grinder: Shinnok summons two skeletal hands around his opponent, and grabs the opponent with them. He proceeds by making the hands twist the opponent torso, before ripping it off. Finally he smashes both the torso and the lower body by clapping both hands. The head can be seen rolling towards Shinnok afterwards. (MKX)
 * Flick Trick: Shinnok summons a skeletal hand then proceeds to grab his opponent, then places the thumb of the skeleton hand under the opponent's jaw and flicks the head upwards. He then catches the head and looks at it as the skeletal hand disappears and the opponent's headless body falls down. (MKX)
 * Unnamed Fatality (Corrupted Shinnok only): Shinnok summons a totem with sharp blades around it, then he summons two demons which carry the opponent towards the totem, brutally throwing him/her to the blades. The opponent's head and torso are impaled by the blades. Shinnok then proceeds to pull down his victim, tearing his victim's head off, and then rips the victim's body completely in half. As the victim's organs fall off from their body, the two demons feast on them. (MKX)

Other Finishers

 * Brutality #1 - Gory Hole: Shinnok pulses energy from his palm which creates a gaping hole in the opponent's chest. (MKX)
 * Brutality #2 - Skull Bash: Shinnok grabs his opponent, punches them, slams and then delivers a stomp to the face, smashing their face inwards. (MKX)
 * Brutality #3 - Face Off: Shinnok proceeds to throw purple energy into the opponent which then rips the opponent's face off. Impostor variation (MKX)
 * Brutality #4 - Have a Nice Day: Shinnok summons a bone scythe and slices his opponent several times before bisecting them. Bone Shaper variation (MKX)
 * Brutality #5 - Hands Down: Shinnok calls down a giant skeletal hand which flattens the opponent and pops their head off. Necromancer variation (MKX)

Movie appearance
The evil Elder God Shinnok is portrayed by Reiner Schöne in the second Mortal Kombat movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, And according to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Shinnok is the father of Raiden and Shao Kahn, who wishes for power not only over all realms, but over the gods as well. Shinnok is also never without his Sacred Amulet (Amulet of Shinnok) which in its alternate version, is made of gold with a ruby gem instead of bronze with an emerald gem.

He favors Shao Kahn, considering Raiden too weak and caring to be his son. Shinnok orders Shao Kahn to kill his brother while guiding him in his path to merging the parallel universes of Earth and Outworld. Shinnok is later imprisoned by his fellow Elder Gods and Raiden was offered his position in their ranks.

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)
 * Jinsei Chamber: In MKX, players who reach the end of the arcade ladder, will fight Shinnok here. Shinnok absorbs the power in the chamber to turn into his final form. When defeated, he gets his amulet taken from the chosen character and then explodes to bits. (MKX)

Trivia

 * Shinnok's origins are similar to that of Lucifer's (Satan) and Hades' (Pluto) in Western mythology:
 * He is cast out and stripped of his Elder God status similarly to Lucifer losing his angel status and being sent to Hell.
 * He relies on cunning and the use of others to do his bidding. Whether they follow him by their own accord, they are forced, or even tricked into his service is also similar to that of Lucifer.
 * His abilities are magical and necromantic similar to Hades.
 * Shinnok's deceptive nature to copy abilities or powers can also be related to Lucifer and Hades as they both mimicked angels and prophets (Lucifer) and siblings (Hades) to get their desired results.
 * Shinnok's Spire in the Netherrealm is similar to that of the real-life Necromanteion temple dedicated to Hades and Persephone in southeast Europe.
 * Shinnok is heavily implied to have the ability to change his shape much like Shang Tsung. However, because of limitations, Shinnok was stuck with only able to mimic fighting styles and voices only, despite there being a Randper Kombat code that randomly transforms the player's characters in both model and moveset. However, he does have the ability to morph himself into a demonic shape if his amulet was removed from him in Mortal Kombat Mythologies.
 * If "Big Head Mode" is activated in Mortal Kombat 4, the hands in Shinnok's fatalities will roughly double in size. Oddly, in the Two Hand Clap, the hands will fail to retract entirely into the portal, offering an excellent view of the bloody gunk on them.
 * In Shinnok's bio Kard made for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Ed Boon admitted that making Shinnok the final boss of Mortal Kombat 4 was a poor decision.
 * Shinnok's little-known "backstory" concerning his overthrowing of the Netherrealm from Lucifer's hand is mentioned in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zeros instruction manual, as well as MK:Deceptions Konquest mode, where Shinnok makes a cameo (his voice here seems to be the same that he had in MK4). However, there is no other information about Shinnok's battle with Lucifer.
 * So far, Shinnok is the first boss character to be playable without the aid of a cheat code or third-party cheat device upon his first appearance (every other boss character was playable either through these devices, or not at all). Since MK4, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung have also appeared as playable boss characters in the game Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
 * Although seen in the  Armageddon' s character roster as wearing a sorcerer's robe, Shinnok is seen in the in-game screenshots as wearing a similar attire to his costume in Mortal Kombat 4.
 * In promotional pictures of Mortal Kombat 4, Shinnok is shown to have a staff on which his amulet is housed, although he never actually uses it in the game. He does appear to use it as his weapon stance in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, though it's unclear how he regained the amulet from Onaga. It is likely that Shinnok sent one of his enforcers to retrieve it after the Dragon King's defeat.
 * Shinnok's MK4 face model is based on Midway developer Steve Beran. Steve also voiced Shinnok for MK4 and Gold.
 * In Armageddon, Sektor says "Initiate code K-0-N-N-1-H-5", which spells "5H1NNOK" backwards, though there is no relation between Sektor and Shinnok except their alignment.
 * But according to Sonya Blade's MKA Bio, Sektor has connections with hostile entities outside Earthrealm (Shinnok) and the Fallen Elder God began to reunite the Forces of Darkness for the Battle of Armageddon.
 * In early versions of MK: Armageddon, Pao Chui was supposed to be his unarmed fighting style.
 * Shinnok makes an appearance in Konquest Mode in Mortal Kombat: Deception, where he asks Shujinko to find his amulet. The amulet Shujinko finds is, in fact, the fake amulet Quan Chi created.
 * There is a mistake in Shinnok's Bio. It says that Shinnok's Place of Origin is Netherrealm instead of the Heavens, the Netherrealm being the place where he currently resides.
 * In the opening cutscene of the MK 2011 Story Mode, Kung Lao is seen with the skeletal hands of Shinnok's clone wrapped around him. This leads many to believe that Shinnok's clone killed Kung Lao.

Shinnok Шиннок Shinnok