Quan Chi

I haven't a life to give, you fool. -- Baraka's Mortal Kombat Gold Ending

Quan Chi is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, and first became playable in Mortal Kombat 4.

About Quan Chi
Quan Chi became the most powerful sorcerer and necromancer in the Netherrealm and a primary villain in the Mortal Kombat series. Quan Chi combines both cunning and brute force in his neverending plots to overtake not only Earthrealm, but all of reality. He is an opportunist and will ally himself with anyone who can help him further his own goals. He is notable in particular for his ruthlessness and pragmatism. His manipulating and deceptive nature has earned him several enemies, including Sub-Zero and most notably, the ninja spectre Scorpion, due to the fact that he destroyed Scorpion's entire family and clan.

Storyline
Details of Quan Chi's past are unknown, except that he was once an Oni from the Netherrealm, who transformed when he learned sorcery. While in the Netherealm, he came upon Shinnok, who was under torment from the realm's then-ruler, Lucifer. In exchange for power, and a place at Shinnok's side, he assisted the fallen Elder God in overthrowing his tormentor and helping him ascend to become the new ruler of the Netherealm. Their victory achieved, Shinnok honored his word and imbued Quan Chi with incredible power, making him arch-sorcerer of the Netherealm.

When Shang Tsung took possession of the Great Kung Lao's soul after his defeat at the hands of Goro, he learned the location of Shinnok's long lost amulet. Tsung later traded this information with Quan Chi. In return, Quan Chi would help to revive Sindel and enable Shao Kahn to take control of Earthrealm at a later date. Although Shao Kahn's invasion failed, it gave Quan Chi the opportunity to make his move.

Shortly after receiving this information which was before the upcoming Mortal Kombat tournament, the sorcerer proposed a deal with the Lin Kuei - he would destroy their rival clan, the Shirai Ryu, in exchange for the assistance of one of their warriors. Quan Chi convinced the elder Sub-Zero to retrieve the amulet for him. Sub-Zero did so (and killed Hanzo Hasashi in cold blood in doing so), unaware of Quan Chi's motives. Once the Lin Kuei warrior acquired the amulet, Quan Chi claimed it, and explained its origins before leaving to give the amulet back to Shinnok. Unknown to the fallen Elder God however, Quan Chi had replaced the amulet with a useless imitation, and kept the real one for himself. Shortly afterwards, Sub-Zero, who had been ordered to reclaim the amulet by Raiden, confronted Quan Chi, and defeated him temporarily with assistance from Sareena. Quan Chi would spend the following years assisting Shinnok in preparation for his forthcoming assault, as well heading the unholy cult of the Brotherhood of Shadows.

It would occur during the time of Mortal Kombat Gold. Believing he would need a powerful warrior to defeat the younger brother of the original Sub-Zero (who had since been destroyed by Scorpion), Quan Chi informed the ninja spectre that this younger Sub-Zero had killed his family and clan, and allowed him access to the outer realms once again. Scorpion's rage enabled him to defeat the Lin Kuei warrior, but as he prepared to finish his enemy, Quan Chi appeared and revealed that he was the actual murderer. Enraged, Scorpion grabbed him as the sorcerer made a move to send the ninja to the Netherealm, and the both of them were sent back down to the depths.

In the Netherealm, Quan Chi was tortured by Scorpion until the Oni Drahmin and Moloch found them. The Oni protected Quan Chi from Scorpion, and in return, Quan Chi promised to bring them back with him when he eventually escaped the Netherealm. Upon discovering a portal that led to Outworld, he fled without them, leaving them determined to destroy him. The portal led Quan Chi to the tomb containing the mummified remains of the long forgotten Dragon King. Reading the writings on the king's sarcophagus, Quan Chi realized that the army was invincible, and could be revived. With an idea in mind of the individual who could assist him in his aims, he journeyed to Shang Tsung's palace.

The sorcerer was still not safe from Scorpion, however. The specter had pursued him into Outworld, and they fought, gaining the attention of Shang Tsung. Dispatching Scorpion temporarily, and impressing Tsung, Quan Chi described his plan to his fellow sorcerer; Quan Chi would open a "Soulnado" to the heavens, providing Tsung with infinite souls, and Tsung would help him revive the army of the Dragon King. Together, they would embark with determination to achieve absolute domination of all realms, forming the Deadly Alliance.

But before they could enact their plans, they had to eliminate the only two people who could oppose them. They began with the current ruler of Outworld, Shao Kahn, still weakened from his failed invasion of Earthrealm, and waging a war against joint Edenian-Shokan forces. Tsung introduced Quan Chi to Kahn, and they pledged their loyalty in a false show. They then quickly sprang their attack, killing Kahn (in actuality, a clone, although they had no way of knowing this). Kano, Kahn's acting general who had witnessed the murder, pledged his own support to them. Soon after, using a portal known only to sorcerers and deities, they then headed to Earthrealm's Wu Shi Academy, where the Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang was practicing a kata. Under the guise of Kung Lao, Tsung snuck up on, and battled Kang. Quan Chi attacked Kang from behind with a skull fireball attack, taking him completely unaware and weakening him. Tsung took the opportunity to break his old adversary's neck and consume his soul.

Returning to Outworld, the Deadly Alliance commanded Kano's troops to force a small Outworld village to construct a new palace around the tomb to house the Soulnado. When one of the citizens, Li Mei, attacked Kano, they offered to free her village if she could win a tournament they would hold. About the same time, they approached Mavado, offering him a deal as well; he could earn the right to fight and kill Kano, in exchange for eliminating Kenshi, an old enemy of Tsung's who had recently been spying on him.

Quan Chi had no way of knowing, but Tsung had made a side deal with Drahmin and Moloch, who had recently escaped from the Netherealm as well; once his own part of the plot was completed, and the army resurrected, Tsung would allow the two to have their revenge on Quan Chi. Mavado, in the meantime, mortally wounded Kenshi, accomplished his mission, and the Alliance granted him his wish. Li Mei, having won the local tournament, demanded her reward, but her soul instead began to be transferred to a mummified soldier of Onaga's army. It was at this time that the forces of Earthrealm, led by Raiden, attacked. Li Mei was rescued by Bo' Rai Cho, who escaped with her, but the remainder of the warriors assaulted the Alliance.

Their attack was in vain, as each one was killed by the sorcerers and their Tarkatan hordes (Quan Chi himself personally defeating and killing Kitana one on one). Only Raiden remained, and the Alliance confronted him together before the Soulnado. They defeated him, but their victory was short-lived. Quan Chi had harbored his own suspicions on Tsung's part, namely that his ally wanted Shinnok's amulet for himself. He was correct.

With all their enemies defeated, they turned on each other. Quan Chi emerged victorious, but could not savor his victory: Onaga, the Dragon King, newly reborn, entered the chamber. Tsung awakened, as did Raiden, and together, the three attempted to stop him. In desperation, Raiden released his essence in a blast that destroyed everything in the vicinity, but Onaga alone arose from the ruins, unharmed and in possession of the amulet.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Quan Chi is revealed to have somehow returned, likely with Shinnok's help, and with the amulet once more and now wishes to acquire the ultimate godlike power granted from defeating the elemental Blaze. To that end, he has formed an uneasy and distrustful alliance with fellow villains Onaga, Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn. He knows that the realms are in the brink of destruction, so he casts a deadly spell upon Orin, Taven's guardian dragon, in order to try and prevent him to put a halt to his plans. In his ending, Quan Chi defeats Blaze and has his sorcery's power increased drastically and it shatters his medallion. He confronts the elder gods, who set him up and transform him into a Kamidogu. They then send the Kamidogu back in time to when Shinnok first discovered it. This reveals that the medallion was infact himself and that his fate would be sealed.

In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, despite being unplayable, plays a sizable role on MK's side of the story. It is Quan Chi who suggests and re-enforces the idea that each of the kombatants assembled must join forces for he was one of the few who was first aware of the serious imbalance of the merger between the two worlds and the result if the merger continued. Despite his known treachery, Quan Chi proved his honesty by using the last reserves of his magic to free Kitana from the Rage that was influencing her.

He was originaly intended to be a playable character for the DLC of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe but was cancelled,along with his DC counterpart Harley Quinn, due to Midway's bankruptcy.

Powers and abilities
As aforementioned above, Quan Chi is the most powerful sorcerer the Netherrealm has ever seen, excelling at both black magic and necromancy (magic involving the dead). A being of many talents, Quan Chi uses powerful dark magic to keep his enemies guessing. Using his necromancy, Quan Chi's form of attack involves using disembodied skulls and skeletons that emit an eerie green glow. He can also use these skeletal structures as a form of defense to block incoming attacks as well as summon reanimated skeletons to do his bidding ( i.e making clones of him self). For his black magic, he was able to open up a Soulnado, which was one of Shang Tsung's primary sources of power, in which he can shut off any time he chooses now. Due to the power of the amulet he gained from the original Sub-Zero, he has the ability to freely move between realms via portal. More of his powers include: shapeshifting, life force/soul stealing, and power nullifying. Along with Shinnok's Amulet he is able to control all forms and types of magic[ this power has only been shown by Quan Chi ], which for all purposes, allows him to do anything he chooses.

Signature moves

 * Green Flaming Skull: Quan Chi fires a skull of green magical energy at his opponent. (MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Rising Star: Quan Chi slides and kicks his opponent from below. (MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Magnet Force: A special move that disables the opponent's weapon from being used or withdrawn for the remainder of the match. In Mortal Kombat 4, the move, called Weapon Steal, would snatch the weapon from the opponent's hand and move it into Quan Chi's hands. (MK4, MKG, MK:A)
 * Tele Stomp: Quan Chi teleports high, disappearing on the game's camera, and reappears above the opponent, stomping him numerous times. (MK4, MKG, MK:A)

Fatalities

 * Fatality Steal: Quan Chi simply imitates the fatality of his opponent. (MK4, MKG)
 * Leg Beatdown: Quan Chi rips off one of his opponent's legs and beats the helpless victim with the torn limb. (MK4, MKG)
 * Neck Stretch: Quan Chi hops onto his opponent's shoulders, grabs them by the head, and pulls on it. The opponent's neck is stretched out and the strain leads to the opponent's demise. (MK:DA)

Television
Quan Chi made his debut in the animated series, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, which aired a year before the Mythologies game. In the episode "The Secret of Quan Chi", he used his sorcery to turn everyone on Earth against each other, creating pandemonium and chaos that Earth's heroes were forced to overcome. He was voiced by Mark Hamill.

Quan Chi also had substantial guest appearances on Mortal Kombat: Conquest, in which he is played by Adoni Maropis, and mostly inspired by his Mythologies incarnation. A dominant presence in the Netherealm, he sought to disgrace Kung Lao and claim his soul on his own terms. Quan Chi was also approached by Shang Tsung to combine their sorcery in a brief alliance to end the monk's life in a hellish parallel universe. When Shang Tsung turned renegade, Shao Kahn employed Quan Chi to eliminate him. Although a fierce battle occurred between the two sorcerers, neither was victorious.

Quan Chi also employed three female Netherealm assassins, undead souls encased in living flesh named Siann, Mika and Sora. The three girls were often sent to do his bidding in Earthrealm when the sorcerer was not capable of directly interfering. Although they used their prized beauty and deadly fighting skills to their advantage, none were successful in slaying Kung Lao, his friends, or other enemies of Quan Chi. He usually mistreated the three girls, but Sora in particular looked like she had feelings for him in one episode.

In the series finale, Quan Chi is sealed in the Cobalt Mines of Shokan's cobalt by Shao Kahn's rampaging Shadow Priests. The mineral nullified his powers, and he is slain.

Character development
He was supposedly inspired by Destro, a character from G.I. Joe. He may also have been based on one of the demons of the movie The Monkey King.

In a conceptual art piece for Quan Chi's Deadly Alliance look, he is seen holding a staff with a grotesque head at the end, which is able to spew green mist and dozens of flies from its mouth. This "living weapon" was elaborated on, and became its own character, Drahmin.

Curiously, Quan Chi returns in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon with his outfit from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance with amulet in hand, even though Onaga claimed it from him in the opening of Mortal Kombat: Deception, and Shinnok has it as a weapon called Amulet Staff. This may simply be the result of his character model being recycled from Deadly Alliance, or perhaps he wears another fake amulet for the purpose of looking more powerful to others.

Game information
In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, as well as in Armageddon's Konquest mode, Quan Chi is served by three assassins: Sareena, Kia, and Jataaka. At some time, Ashrah also served as one of Quan Chi's assassins. But like Sareena, she would turn against him.

He was the first non-Shokan character to use a teleport-stomp attack.

Quan Chi appears in Deception's Konquest mode, in which the player must fight him as Scorpion. The model is taken from Deadly Alliance, with the amulet on his belt replaced by a yin-yang symbol, and he borrows his two original hand-to-hand stances from Havik (Tang Soo Do) and Dairou (Escrima) respectively. His weapon stance, however, is replaced by a single Broadsword (based on Dairou's Autumn Dao) since no character in Deception uses dual swords.

There is a scene at the end of Shaolin Monks where Quan Chi takes Shinnok's amulet from Shao Kahn's remains. This amulet is believed to be the fake one which Shinnok gained possession of once again in MK4, as Quan Chi already had the real amulet since Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero.

Trivia

 * Quan Chi was going to appear in the climax of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, but his scenes were cut from the final print. He still appears in some posters and international versions of the movie on laserdisc and DVD.


 * Ed Boon's favorite and least favorite Fatalities both come from Quan Chi (the Leg Rip and the Neck Stretch, respectively).


 * According to Armageddon's Konquest story, Quan Chi was the one who suggested that Onaga, Shang Tsung, and Shao Kahn team up, arguing that it would be necessary to defeat the good guys. However, he was actually working under the direction of Shinnok to lead the other villains to the spot where Armageddon was supposed to take place.


 * While not expressly stated in the games, Quan Chi's in-game voice sounds very similar to the announcer from Deadly Alliance on. If they are indeed the same person (and are, thus, voiced by the same actor), this would break the tradition of Mortal Kombat games having their final bosses as the commentators (as, while Quan Chi was one of the final bosses in Deadly Alliance, he was replaced by Onaga and Blaze in Deception and Armageddon, respectively, and in fact was assumed dead at the beginning of Deception, preventing him from being the commentator).


 * In Jarek's Armageddon bio and ending, Quan Chi offers him the power to finish his enemies all at once in exchange for his services, which culminates with Blaze's defeat in the form of using Jarek's enemies' signature fatalities against them. This is a nod to Quan Chi's ability to use his opponent's fatality against them in MK4.


 * In Armageddon, Quan Chi's alternate outfit has a puffy shirt, which is said to be "worn on formal occasions"


 * Quan Chi has made many unkept promises to many Mortal Kombat characters. The only agreement he has ever fulfilled was to the Lin Kuei for eliminating Scorpion's clan.