Shao Kahn, a known Immortal
Immortals are beings in the Mortal Kombat universe. While not on the same level as Demi-Gods, Gods, Elder Gods or Titans, Immortals share similar traits to such beings such as their longevity and unkillable nature.
About Immortals
Immortals are beings of a ranking below the level of Gods and Titans but share similar traits with them. These include longevity, undying capabilities and, in a sense, God-like strength and power. Immortals in the franchise have ranged from actual Godly beings to some that are just immortal characters such as Kharon.
Immortal Godly beings in the series include the Elder Gods and their creators, Titans. This is proven by the beheading of the Elder God Shinnok as his living yet disembodied head was still in tact and alive. Other immortal Godly beings include the Keeper of Time, such as Kronika, are beings with immense power and control over the timeline through control of The Hourglass within their respective timeline.
A commonly known immortal is the Outworld tyrant Shao Kahn whose long life of konquest, dark magics and his inability to die by unconventional means makes him one of the most formidable immortals in the series, as his strength and power have rivaled and/or outright exceeded that of Raiden and the Elder Gods on many occasions. Shao Kahn's durability as an immortal has only been exceeded one two occasions, once when he was killed by the combined efforts of the Elder Gods for violating the rules of Mortal Kombat and when killed by Shang Tsung, who stole his soul after achieving a high level of Godly power using Kronika's Crown. His counterpart in the current timeline known as General Shao lacks these immortal traits his previous timeline counterparts shared, however his strength is still immensely powerful.
The Wraith known as Noob Saibot implies he and his fellow Revenants are immortal due to his survival of being destroyed by a Soulnado, however this is proven false in Mortal Kombat 11 as several of his Revenant allies die in the game's Story Mode and Aftermath expansion.
As a fixed point in time, the artificial construct Geras cannot die, as he is imprinted on the timeline itself and can revert time for himself to restore his body, no matter the injury. In Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns, it is revealed that Geras can die. Titan Havik, a variant of Havik from an unknown timeline had seized The Hourglass to become Keeper of Time. Amassing the Kamidogu, he used the artifacts to warp his reality. Discovering other timelines in the multiverse, he had began to kidnap Geras variants and harvest Time Crystals, crystals within Geras' body that imprint him on the timeline. Infusing the Kamidogu allowed him to warp the reality of that Geras' respective timeline, killing the Geras variants as a result, which also allowed the chaotic Titan to merge timelines into his own.
A trait established in Mortal Kombat 11 is that some immortals are immune to the effects of the Hourglass. This is shown with the younger version of Raiden, who is still an Immortal God, while his counterpart of the current timeline, Dark Raiden, was merely a Demi-God, causing Dark Raiden to be erased from the timeline completely. Once the younger Raiden merged himself with Revenant Liu Kang, his Immortality was transferred to Liu Kang, granting Liu Kang immunity to when Kronika restarted the timeline before his assault on the Hourglass. Due to Cetrion's status as an Elder God, she also has this immunity and due to Geras' ability to manipulate time on a smaller scale like his creator Kronika, he too is unaffected. Shang Tsung, having been empowered by Kronika's Crown and absorbing her abilities, is also immune to the effects of the Hourglass.
Non-canon guest characters Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Spawn are all undead immortal beings from their respective franchises, with each of their immortalities stemming from different traits. Freddy's control of the dream realm and his victims dreams render him impervious to damage, however when pulled back into the real world, his powers and immortality are rendered useless. Jason's immortality comes from him already being dead, having drowned as a young boy only to return to continue his mother's killing spree. Despite "dying" numerous times, Jason has always returned one way or the other to kill again. Spawn is granted immortality through the neural parasite bound to his body. If the parasite his removed, not only will it kill the parasite, but also Spawn as well.
List of Known Immortals
- Raiden - (Formerly God of Thunder, currently Mortal in 3rd Timeline)
- Shao Kahn - (God in 1st Timeline, Immortal in 2nd Timeline, Draconic Humanoid in 3rd Timeline)
- Shinnok - (Fallen Elder God of Death, Corruption and Darkness, Unknown species in 3rd Timeline)
- Cetrion - (Fallen Elder Goddess of Life, Virtue and Light)
- Geras - (Artificial Construct)
- Kronika - (Titaness, formerly the Keeper of Time)
- Kharon
- Fujin - (God of Wind)
- Liu Kang - (Former Keeper of Time in 2nd and 3 Timeline, currently Fire God)
- Shang Tsung - (Keeper of Time, Titan in 2nd and 3rd Timeline)
- Kitana - (Keeper of Time from a different timeline)
- Havik - (Titan from a different timeline)
- Titan variants across different timelines
Non-Canon
- Freddy Krueger - (Guest Character, Dream Demon)
- Jason Voorhees - (Guest Character, Revenant)
- Spawn - (Guest Character, Hellspawn)
- Kenshi - (Elder God of the Blade - depicted in Mortal Kombat Mobile)
- Omegis
Death of an Immortal
Due to their durability, immortals are known to be impossible to kill, however extreme measures are needed in order to actually kill them. These methods have varied but have proven possible on successfully defeating and killing an immortal.
Known Defeated/Killed Immortals
- Shinnok - Killed in the Battle of Armageddon in the original Timeline
- Fujin - Killed in the Battle of Armageddon in the original Timeline
- Raiden - Killed by Shao Kahn who was empowered with Blaze's power in the 1st Timeline during Armageddon
- Shao Kahn -
- Present version was killed by the combined efforts of the Elder Gods empowering Raiden in the 2nd Timeline
- Past version was killed by Shang Tsung after completely draining his soul along side Sindel's
- Cetrion - Sacrificed herself and transferred essence to empower her mother, Kronika, in the new Timeline
- Kronika -
- Titan Shang Tsung - Erased with temporal energy by Liu Kang in Shang Tsung's timeline
Determinant
Due to the timeline being fractured by their battle, while both outcomes are canonical in Mortal Kombat 1, Liu Kang and Shang Tsung can both be killed in the endings of Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath Story Mode expansion.
- Liu Kang - Killed by Shang Tsung after he acquired Kronika's Crown and absorbed her powers
- Shang Tsung - After ascending to Keeper of Time, he is defeated by Fire God Liu Kang and erased from the timeline as a result
Non-Canon
- Freddy Krueger - Immortal in the dreams of his victims, but becomes mortal when brought to the real world
- Jason Voorhees - When his entire body is destroyed, however, despite this, this does not actually mean Jason is dead
- Liu Kang - After ascending to Fire/Thunder God, if he loses two rounds to Kronika, she decapitates him and finalizes the New Era
- Spawn - Decapitating Spawn or removing K7-Leetha from his being, which will also kill the parasite
Trivia
- Raiden, Shao Kahn, Cetrion, and Kronika are the only immortals in the series that have died in one way or another.
- Raiden, Shao Kahn and Kronika are the only ones that were killed by a fighter being assisted by an outside source, with Raiden it was with Shao Kahn being empowered by Blaze, with Shao Kahn it was from Raiden being empowered by the Elder Gods and with Kronika it was Raiden merging with Liu Kang.
- Cetrion is the only immortal, and so far the only Elder Gods, to actually die by killing themselves.
- Raiden, Shao Kahn and Kronika are the only ones that were killed by a fighter being assisted by an outside source, with Raiden it was with Shao Kahn being empowered by Blaze, with Shao Kahn it was from Raiden being empowered by the Elder Gods and with Kronika it was Raiden merging with Liu Kang.
- Despite other characters and Shinnok himself stating that Elder Gods cannot die, they never directly state the Elder Gods as immortals despite them being unkillable.
- Raiden's past self states he is immortal in MK11, however he is not of Elder God status during that time.
- Kronika also supports this by stating Raiden's past self is still an immortal as the reason why his present self was able to be erased from the timeline, Dark Raiden being merely a Demi-God.
- Raiden's past self states he is immortal in MK11, however he is not of Elder God status during that time.
- Kharon is the first character to actually say they are immortal and not from a Godly origin, as he says this to D'Vorah that he can not die in her attempts to incapacitate him and torture him.
- Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Spawn are the only non-canon immortals featured in the series as playable characters.
- Due to his status as the new Keeper of Time, Liu Kang gains immortality with his manipulation of the timelines just like Kronika had.
- Geras is the only immortal whose immortality comes from reverting time.
- Jason Voorhees and Kharon are the only pure immortals in the series.
- Both are unkillable beings not stemming from the Heavens or any God-like species or status, however Jason is non-canon.