Shao Kahn



"Hahahaha, foolish boy! Do u know who I am? I am Shao Kahn! Ruler of all the planets, you will taste no victory."

- Shao Kahn to Liu

Shao Kahn is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He made his debut in Mortal Kombat II as the final boss, a role he also served in Mortal Kombat 3. He serves as the main antagonist of the series in many instances.

About Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn the Emperor is represented as the guy of evil. In many respects, he resembles a large Asian warrior, and is well known amongst the roster of Mortal Kombat kombatants for his godlike strength which rivals, if not outright exceeds, that of Raiden, the God of Thunder. He is also known for his extreme evilnes, brutality, ferocity in battle, and his fondness of personal executions, though he has occasionally spared the lives of his enemies, if they prove their worth, and his victims such as Sindel and Kitana, raising the latter like his own daughter and treating the former like his own wife. However, his true power that has served him well and allowed him to rise above the image of a mere warlord is his high intelligence and profound knowledge of the black arts. Like his personal sorcerer Shang Tsung, he has the power to consume other souls.

Perhaps Shao Kahn's greatest strength lies in his ability to work towards his goals with great tenacity and his ability to organize. However, his greatest weakness is his arrogance. Shao Kahn has often underestimated mankind, and therefore tried to conquer Earth many times, with or without a queen, to no success.

Fighting style
Kung Fu

Special moves

 * Light Spear: Shao Kahn crouches down to his knees and throws a long light spear at his opponent. (MKII, MK 9)
 * War Hammer Attack: Shao Kahn summons his War Hammer, seemingly from the air, and smash his opponent over the head with it, setting them up for a free hit. In Armageddon and on, the War Hammer became a weapon style and thus was no longer needed as an individual special move. (MK3, MK2, MKA, MKvsDC, MK 9)
 * Upliftin' Knee: Shao Kahn performs a rising knee attack with a streak following behind him, much like Johnny Cage's green-ass moves. Between two games, "Uplifting Knee" had red shadows, but in Trilogy they were replaced by green, however in the PS3 version, they were blue. (MK3, MK:A, MK 9)
 * Hammer Hit: Shao Kahn swings his hammer at an alarming rate, causing his foe to fly. He makes 9 hittin' strikes and 1 final punch. (MK:A)
 * Trash-Talkin': Shao Kahn would often taunt, mock, and of course insult his opponent with mockery, or just plain laughter. It is the well known special move of Shao Kahn and is what makes him one of the more memorable bosses in fighting game history. In Return of The Dragon King, performing a taunt could heal Shao, though only a tiny sliver of health would be recovered and could only be performed three times a match before it was automatically disabled. Same goes for Armageddon, though it can be performed eternal times in a battle, heals him once for a rate above 10%, and decreases the more it is used. (All he appears in)

Fatalities

 * Headcrusher: Shao Kahn hammers his opponent into the ground leaving only their head sticking out. He then laughs before hammering his opponent into a bloody explosion. Only available in the PS3 version of the game. (MK9)
 * Rome hit: Shao Kahn uppercuts his opponent into the air, and smashes them to pieces with his hammer as they fall. In MK 9, he grabs the opponent by the neck and flips them in the air before delivering the killing blow. (MK:RotDK, MK 9)
 * Fork: Shao Kahn hammers his opponent into the ground and then, when they are buried up to their torso, smashes their head off with a golf swing, much similiar to MK 3. (MKD)
 * Emperor's Fatality: Shao Kahn runs in the crowd as the crowd yells "Yeah! Finish him, Emperor!" then hits his opponent with his hammer several times, eventually breaking their head. (MK3)
 * Double Hit: Shao Kahn claps his hands into the middle of his foe's torso and slowly rips their body down the middle. (MK 9)lol

Other Finishers

 * Suicide: Hammer Throw: Shao Kahn launches his hammer into the air, and it comes back down and crushes his head. (MKD)
 * Babality: Shao Kahn is turned into a baby and still standing on his feet, points at the opponent and says "You suck!" (in a high pitched voice). He then starts to laugh (in baby giggles) in his laughing taunt pose. (MK 9)

Mortal Kombat film


Shao Kahn appears in both Mortal Kombat movies. In the first movie, Kahn's appearance is only as a special effect at the end of the film (though he is referred to throughout the movie only as "the Emperor"). His voice is provided by an uncredited Frank Welker (who also did voice for Goro in the movie).

In the second, Shao is played by Brian Thompson and is the main enemy he is ultimately defeated and killed by Liu Kang in the final battle.

In Annihilation, as an attempt to shock the viewer, Raiden announced that Shao Kahn was his friend once and Shinnok is like Shao's father. He wore the same tattoo on his right shoulder as a sign of their rivaly. This has never been made official in MK canon, and most fans have dismissed this as another example of how far removed from the games Annihilation was.

In 2011, after Annihilation, Shao Kahn's relationship with Raiden was mentioned in Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe, with Raiden's profile stating that the two were friends. Given the game's non-canonical status, it has caused many to again disregard this information.

Quotes

 * "You weak pathetic fools, I'd come for your souls!"
 * "Hold your tongue, sorcerer!"
 * "Raiden... You will be destroyed."
 * "Quan Chi!? Traitor!"
 * "What have you done?! No!"
 * "I am Shao Kahn! And you will all bow to me!"
 * "What in the name of Gods are u talkin' 'bout?"
 * "Sindel never really told u what happened to your father..."
 * "No, I am your father."
 * "Where are the Elder Gods, Raiden?" (lols)
 * "Their pathetic Mortal Kombat shackles me no longer. (Hits Raiden)"
 * "They made it for best dragon warriors, but not for your pathetic toothless worms."
 * "My power spreads. It is the end of all the living. The World."
 * "First... my balls! And then... The World!"
 * "Your time has passed."
 * "Ages wasted in foolish resistance."
 * "Now is the start of my rule."
 * "Yes. Pray to the worms, Raiden."
 * "As you will all die." (preparing to kill the Raiden)
 * "You failed me! Five hundred years I have waited! Now I must wait five hundred more!"
 * "Curse the Elder Gods and their stinkin' tournament. I should have taken Earth by the force!"
 * "The tournament will now begin!"
 * "Finish him!"
 * "Kitana... You will join me."
 * "(name) wins. Fatality."
 * "And what do I gain from granting this bold request?"
 * "Very well. He's yours."
 * "Kitana! How is it that Earth ninjas prey before me when my daughter, Princess of Edenia, was sent to intercept them?"
 * "Well done, Sektor."
 * "I am your EMPEROR! Your father was a weak Edenian king. I kill him while merging his planet with Outworld and took his queen as my wife. If only I had not allowed Sindel to convince me of your worth. But now I have a true daughter!"
 * "Return to the Flesh Laboratory. Bring me my daughter... Mileena."
 * "Raiden! Put a worthy champion if you can."
 * "You will face Sektor... And... Quan Chi."
 * "Hahaha! Worthless boy. Do you know who I am?"
 * "I am Shao Kahn! Ruler of Worlds! You will taste fatality!"
 * "And you breathe because I let you."
 * "I am not so easily killed. Quan Chi resurected me."
 * "Are u mocking me?"
 * "Bow to me!"
 * "Feel the power of Shao Kahn!"
 * "You suck!"
 * "Don't make me laugh."
 * "You will never win!"
 * "You will die, worm!"
 * "Prepare to die!"
 * "You are pathetic!"
 * "Is that your best?"
 * "That was pathetic!"
 * "You weak, pathetic, fool!"
 * "You are nothing!"
 * "You suck! Still."
 * "It's official! You suck!"

Trivia

 * Kahn seen, is unmasked and with large human teeth similar to human-akaka, since everyone from Outworld was originally to be of human's race. The idea of all inhabitants of Outworld being aliens was later dropped.
 * In many official depictions of Shao Kahn made by Midway, he is shown wearing a cape, which he takes off before starting a fight. Mortal Kombat: Deception was the first game in which he wore the cape in-game.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Return of the Dragon King, where in Konquest mode, his costume of MKII appeares. He also forces Shujinko to clean all the floors in Outworld, or sweep them up.
 * Shao was never seen unmasked in a games until Mortal Kombat 9, where once he loses 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 face is based on the MKII comic depiction.
 * Shao Kahn's voice is an ever present sound in the Mortal Kombat games. Even when he isn't present, he can be heard as a form of commentator with phrases such as "Outstanding", "Well Done", "Incredible", "Super" and "Excellent". He also orders you to finish your opponent at the end of a match (finish him!). His voice can also be heard in WWE 2k14, which featured Mortal Kombat themes. Starting in Mortal Kombat II, he narrates the match. He would often laugh when a kombatant was low on health. He was the announcer for all games from MKII until MKvsDC, where Dark Kahn was the announcer. Sha0 resumed being an announcer afterward, even when you fight and kill him as an opponent.
 * Kahn's name is sometimes misspelled as "Shao Khan" in MK movies and games.
 * Though Shao Kahn is shown to be well over 10,000 years old, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon places him as being even older. Shao Kahn was shown to be highly famous before Steven and Daegon were seen, which happened before Shinnok's fall from grace. In Shinnok's ending in Mortal Kombat 4, he states that Raiden had imprisoned him for "hundreds of millions of years". Contrarily, Raiden states in the intro of the game that it was only some thousands of years ago. The fact that Shinnok's ending is non-canon may mean that it was in fact not millions and only an week. This also indicates that Shao Kahn had been attempting to conquer Edenia for a very long time, since Steven stated that Shao Kahn had launched an unsuccessful invasion before he was sealed.
 * Although Shao Kahn holds a staff in Mortal Kombat III, and II and Mortal Kombat Deception, he has never been seen using it.
 * Shao Kahn's "mask" is actually a Kabuto, a Japanese Samurai helmet with a Menpō, a facemask commonly worn with the Kabuto.
 * Despite being the "announcer" for most games, Shao Kahn will have a different voice actor in-game then when commentating.
 * In an MK 9 trailer, Shao Kahn uses his Rome Hit Fatality on Raiden.
 * In a Top 10 list hosted by Midway itself, Shao Kahn was placed as 4 of the best Mortal Kombat kharakters in the Mortal Kombat Series, because of his quotes.
 * His rapping background were steps of Pyramid of Argus, and his opponet was Ultranationalist General Olaf Tutchenko.

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