Bosses (MK)

This article, Bosses (MK), is property of Billy cougar.

The boss is the final opponent that the player must face at the top of the battle plan after having braved their way through the ranks of other fighters. Final bosses are often computer-controlled only, and thus, are unplayable. Bosses are always inhuman, often demonic, compared to the cast of other characters. In addition, they often possess several advantages over the normal characters such as higher resistance to attacks and much more prominent strength. Victory over the boss results in his climatic demise, followed by the selected combatant's ending. On rare occasions, the player may unlock a prize for their success.

Bosses[]

Mortal Kombat[]

Shang Tsung - Goro's Dungeon

Shang Tsung has the first boss role in the entire series. Despite his decrepit appearance, Shang Tsung is a force to be reckoned with. His main form of attack involves launching fireball volleys at his opponent, with each of them being very damaging. In addition, he has the ability to morph into any other character in the game, including Goro. When he is defeated, the numerous souls of the combatants will slide out of his body and vanish as he convulses in pain until he dies.

Mortal Kombat II[]

Shao Kahn - Kahn's Arena

Shao Kahn is even more fierce and intimidating than Shang Tsung was. Unlike him, Shao Kahn relies on brute strength, thus most of his attacks are melee oriented, but have long reach and can seriously damage the opponent if off guard. He mainly attacks with single punches and kicks along with a powered charge that comes out rather abruptly. Upon his defeat, he will scream "no" in terror as the backgrounds change before he petrifies, cracks, and explodes.

Mortal Kombat III[]

Shao Kahn - The Pit III

Not much has changed about Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 3, though he has replaced his fists with a Wrath Hammer and features a new rising charge attack. His death in this is similar to MKII with the exception of his body being enveloped in soul energy with power being siphoned out of his body until it reaches a zenith and causes him to explode, taking the portal from Outworld with it.

Mortal Kombat IV[]

Shinnok - Shinnok's Temple

A fallen Elder God who also appeared in Mortal Kombat: Mythologies Sub-Zero, Shinnok has waged a war against the Elder Gods and succeeded in slaughtering most of them.

The first boss character to be initially playable without having to fulfil any conditions. Unlike other bosses before him, he is less intimidating, being the same size as the other playable characters and with no original moves of his own, though he possesses the ability to use other characters' movesets. When he is defeated, his face stretches out and shatters, leaving behind a mutilated head as he plummets into a fiery portal leading back to the Never Never Land.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero[]

Shinnok - Shinnok's Temple

The fallen Elder God and Quan Chi's master, Shinnok slowly hovers towards the player, launching projectiles while at the same time, keeping himself safe from counterattacks by erecting an energy shield. However, while it is possible to freeze him, the shield will persist still. The only way to deal with Shinnok is to accomplish your original mission of taking the Amulet from him by freezing him and using the teleporter to bypass the shield and snatching it from him. Doing this will anger the fallen God as he transforms into a flying demonic creature, now relying on brute force as he bashes the floor with his fists towards you. You can either stay and fight him or take the recently opened portal and escape. The only sure-way method to defeat him is to use the polar blast and stock up on regenerative items until he falls.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance[]

Quan Chi - Quan Chi's Fortress, Shang Tsung - Shang Tsung's Palace

Unlike the previous games, the final boss in this game is actually split into two separate battles, with the order being predetermined by the storyline of the player's selected character. After an unusually total absence from the previous Mortal Kombat games, Shang Tsung returns as one of the bosses, for the first time since the original tournament. Though he lacks the ability to morph into other characters, he still possesses dangerously fast combos, variations of his classic fireball attack, and he can also power-up from the soul chamber. Tsung's partner in the Deadly Alliance, the sorcerer Quan Chi, is also a formidable opponent. He uses a devastating combination of sweeps, fast melee attacks, and a deadly expertise of his broadswords to make it all miserable for the player. Like Shinnok in Mortal Kombat 4, both Shang and Quan are playable in the game. For the first (and only) time in a MK game, they are also the only final bosses against whom the player can perform a fatality on when they are defeated although the congratulatory picture shows their bruised and broken bodies laying on the ground with their souls being absorbed into the Soulnado.

Mortal Kombat: Return of The Dragon King[]

Onaga - Dragon King's Temple

The very first blatantly non-human boss in the series. The Dragon King is much more imposing than any other final boss encountered at this point and this fight requires a combination of both strategy and skill. While Onaga can be damaged normally (except for immunity against projectile attacks), Onaga's defence can be weakened by touching any of the Kamidogus lying in place at the edges of the area. Onaga cannot be defeated by a deathtrap and the Kamidogus cannot regenerate. Like Shao Kahn, he relies on brute strength, although his attacks tend to be somewhat quicker as he can even perform small combos. He can also breath fire, either firing off a single fireball or a stream of flame that can stun and burn the opponent. He also takes advantage of his wingspan, generating powerful gusts of wind to create gaps between his opponents as well as being able to fly. Upon his defeat the screen darkens and his body ignites, screaming in pain before he explodes, leaving on his helmet behind.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon[]

Blaze - The Pyramid of Argus

Transformed for the events of Armageddon, Blaze is the second most powerful entity in the entire games at this point, being behind only Dark Kahn. Having become a maelstrom of fire and destruction, Blaze uses long reaching attacks with swipes and kicks. Unlike his original form, Blaze strangely does not implement projectile attacks, but has the ability to teleport, something that other final bosses before him lacked. While he is a playable character, Blaze is the only boss character in the game who cannot be finished off. Upon his defeat, he dies in the exact same manner as Onaga, though in an earlier version, he simply fell over.

Mortal Kombat 9[]

Shao Kahn - Kahn's Arena

Arguably the hardest incarnation of Shao Kahn ever seen. He is as he was in his original MKII incarnation with a few differences. Unlike previous boss battles, there is no time limit, making this a death match. While he still uses powerful punches and kicks, he makes much more use of his hammer, even going so far as to chuck it at his opponents to stun them as well as making more frequent use of his charge attacks. Most notorious though is now having invincibility frames in his attacks, allowing him to continually punish his opponents with nigh impunity. Unlike the other final bosses encountered from previous games, Shao Kahn has his own set of fatalities which he will use if the player loses to him on easy mode or higher. Upon his defeat, the combatant will perform a series of painful attacks with the last one knocking him down, causing him to subsequently explode.

Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe[]

Dark Kahn - Aprokolis

The nightmarish merger of Shao Kahn and DC's Darksied. He is essentially a fusion of the two in every sense of the word, having a combination of their movesets which utilises a series of brutal attacks and swift charges. Upon his death, his body expands and inflates before exploding and leaving behind a big puddle of lava.

Mortal Kombat X[]

Shinnok - Jinsei Chamber

In contrast with his performance as a final boss in Mortal Kombat 4, this version of Shinnok is doubtlessly way harder than his one in the previously mentioned game, yet arguably under such other bosses like Shao Kahn or Onaga in difficulty terms. He is fought in the Jinsei Chamber, where he will battle you using any of his three variations, which is randomly chosen. Impostor allows Shinnok steal a specific special move from his opponent. Bone-shaper allows him to craft bone-like weapons for long-reaching melee attacks and necromancer allows him to summon his familiar giant skeletal hands to grab and crush the player. For the first in the series and a callback to his appearance in Mythologies, Shinnok will assume a much more powerful final form by using his Amulet to absorb the Jinsei's power, thereby taking the planet of Earth's power for his own and transforming him into a demonic visage called Corrupted Shinnok. From here, the battle is a one-round match and he is much more like the traditional final bosses, possessing high priority moves that can dish out a lot of damage. Though he uses his brute strength, his throw has him plunge the opponent's head into his abdomen, burning their head with the flow of lava in his body. His most powerful move is a beam of fiery energy from his belly, which can not only be spammed in quick succession, but even has an enhanced version that can hit the opponent twice. Both versions come out extremely quickly and reach just as quickly as well, making him an extremely difficult opponent in the higher difficulties. Upon defeat, the player's character grabs the Amulet and quickly rips it out of his body. He then falls to the ground, bereft of power before being slammed by a blast of purified energy. He is then lifted into the air, energy is building up until he explodes into pieces.

Mortal Kombat 12[]

Queen Almeida - Almeida's Keep

The very first female and mother final boss of the series, Almeida is the Keeper and Goddess of Time plus the Architect of the Universe whose power supersedes that of the rest of the Elder Gods, as she is also the mother of Shinnok and Cetrion. She is the ultimate conspirator of almost all (if not all) conflict that has ever transpired in both timelines and countless others in order to perfect her vision of cosmic balance and free Multiverse Federation. A stark and star contrast to every other boss before her, Almeida exclusively uses her powers over physical prowess to fight, attacking with various energy blasts and beams while being able to teleport by reducing her form to sand or a fly and reappearing elsewhere on the scene or even in a different game, she is that powerful. Her time powers also allow her to reverse the previous actions of her opponent. When her health bar has hit below middle, she retreats to her giant hourglass and summons a random character from the roster or any other game to fight in her stead, whom will disintegrate into sand once defeated. Due to her tampering with time, the arena shifts to the prehistoric era back and forth, and she may incite the wrath of a nearby Tyrannosaurus Rex to attack her opponent or even a nearby Bigfoot or Woolly Mammoth. Once her health hits below 20%, she retreats to her hourglass again and reverses the time back to the very beginning of history of man, now summoning a meteor and some cavemen (one of them being Great Marduk) to attack her opponents.

When she is defeated, the fighter knocks her into the hourglass, which shatters almost immediately upon impact, only for her to pop into dust and escape out into the unknown.