Shao Kahn
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Shao Kahn is a boss and recurring playable character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.
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[edit] About Shao Kahn
One of the primary villains in the Mortal Kombat series, Shao Kahn (frequently misspelled as Shao Khan) resembles an Asian warrior-king in many respects, and embodies evil in many forms. He is known for his godlike strength, extreme callousness, brutality and his fondness of personal executions, but rises above the level of a mere warlord through his intelligence and knowledge of black magic. Like his subordinate Shang Tsung, he has the power to consume other souls. His greatest strength is probably his ability to work towards his goals with great tenacity and his ability to organize, but his greatest weaknesses are his arrogance and his overconfidence.
[edit] Storyline
Shao Kahn originally served as an advisor 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. Sindel took her own life in an attempt to escape subservience to the Emperor. Unwilling to be denied, Kahn held her soul in Outworld, stopping her transition to the afterlife.
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. 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 her. 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 crushed 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 unreliable 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 afterwards, 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.
In the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Shao Kahn is the Emperor of Outworld once again, and forms an uneasy alliance with Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Onaga in hopes of obtaining Blaze's powers. In his ending, Shao Kahn makes his way to the top of Argus's Pyramid for the final confrontation with Blaze. Shao Kahn proved to be too powerful for Blaze and easily defeated him. Shao Kahn's armies destroyed what was left of his enemies, and with the power Shao Kahn received from defeating Blaze, he merges all the realms with Outworld. With his main goal completed and having complete control over all the realms, Shao Kahn grew mad with boredom, as he had nothing else left to conquer.[1]
[edit] Combat characteristics
[edit] Signature moves
- Charging Spikes: Shao Kahn would shoulder ram his opponent with a green streak following behind him, much like Johnny Cage's Shadow moves. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A)
- Wrath Hammer Attack: Shao Kahn would summon his Wrath Hammer, seemingly from thin air, and smash his opponent over the head with it. 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)
- Explosive Blast: 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)
- Uplifting Knee: Shao Kahn would perform a rising knee attack with a green streak following behind him, much like Johnny Cage's Shadow moves. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A)
- 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 perform three times a match before it was automatically disabled. (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:SM, MK:A)
- 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. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
- Emperor's Shield: Shao Kahn would perform an uppercut like motion that would not only throw up a force field for a split second to deflect projectiles, but could also knock an opponent off his/her feet if physically too close. (MK:D, MK:U, MK:A)
[edit] Recurring fatalities
- Human Nail: Shao Kahn hammers his opponent into the ground leaving only their upper torso sticking out. He then laughs before hammering his opponent into a bloody explosion. (MKT N64, MK:D)
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Film
Shao Kahn appears in both Mortal Kombat movies, although he is played by different actors. In the first movie, he is referred throughout the movie as "The Emperor." He appears briefly at the end, but only as a special effect. In the second movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Kahn is played by Brian Thompson; he is ultimately defeated and killed by Liu Kang.
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 (nor even mentioned for that matter), and most fans have dismissed this as another example of how far removed from the games Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was.
Thompson, because of the movie being a box office flop, was often accused of overdramatizing his character in many scenes. Other criticisms include Thompson only wearing Kahn's signature mask twice, as well as the small size compared to the game Kahn.
[edit] Television
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. The Emperor of Outworld is the mediator of the Mortal Kombat matches; it was this role that first drew his attention to Shang Tsung, and earned him personal vendetta against Kung Lao, despite not fighting the monk himself.
Though he rarely interacts with the heroes of the series (due to his inability to travel to Earthrealm), Shao Kahn is ruthless and influential from the Outworld throne. He employs the services of many fighters from Outworld, Earthrealm, and others in unsuccessful attempts to bring down Kung Lao. As the series continues, paranoia overtakes him as invaders from many realms converge on Outworld, seeking to take it for their own. Shao Kahn is also forced to defend his realm from former allies and numerous traitors from his own ranks, who have begun working against him.
Meek played opposite himself in the series finale, where Shao Kahn battled Raiden in a void seemingly between the realms. The foil was that Kahn had successfully lured the Thunder God into Outworld itself, leaving Earthrealm vulnerable to the invasion of Kahn's Shadow Priests. With Kung Lao dead, Shao Kahn forced Raiden into submission and commenced full military assault on Earthrealm. The series was discontinued following this event.
Shao Kahn also appeared in several episodes of Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm playing his usual role of Outworld's emperor and leader of the enemy troops.
[edit] Comic books
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 red 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 Tournamend Edition final issue.
In Battlewave, Shao Kahn would arrange a different plan to open the portals: He kidnaps Special Forces agent Sonya Blade and by means of hypnosis, convinces her to marry him. The marriage would weaken the barriers between realms enough to allow Shao Kahn to seize Earth easily. During the wedding ceremony held, however, he would be stopped by the Earthrealm warriors' interruption, ending with Sonya becoming free from Kahn's influence. 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.
[edit] Character development
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.
It was originally stated that Shao Kahn is a demonic character, and his monstrous visage from the official comic books, as well as Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks lends credibility to that. However, in the most recent games he appears to be more along the lines of a large, powerful human. Though Kahn's monstrous face has been displayed in one game and several types of related media (both official and unofficial), Shao Kahn's face has never been seen in the actual continuous fighting game series.
In MKII, Kahn was digitally resized 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, surprisingly showed that Boon was taller.
In many official depictions of Shao Kahn made by Midway, he is shown wearing a cape, though he never wore one in the games. Mortal Kombat: Deception was the first time in which he wore the cape in-game. In MK:A, he at one point throws it at Liu Kang as a weapon.
[edit] Game information
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 height has been changed considerably since the 2D Mortal Kombat games, in which he 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, provided by Midway employee Steve Ritchie, is an ever present sound in the Mortal Kombat games. He is heard as an announcer with phrases such as "Outstanding" and "Excellent". He also 'orders' the player to finish his opponent at the end of a match. His voice can also be heard in Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, which featured Mortal Kombat themes. It is amusing to note that due to Shao Kahn being the announcer, he will say "I win" whenever victorious in Mortal Kombat 3.
Shao Kahn's Ridicule quotes in Unchained, the GameCube version of Deception, and Armageddon are taken directly from Mortal Kombat II, with only a few from Mortal Kombat 3.
[edit] Trivia
- Kahn's name was incorrectly hyphenated in the closing credits of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation ("Shao-Kahn").
- Aside from the "classic" characters returning in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Kahn's digitized sprites were the only ones ever reused in the transition from one game to another (from MKII to MK3).
