Shao Kahn

Shao Kahn is a major character from the Mortal Kombat series.
== Charactah Account ==
The supreme ruler of Outworld and one of the biggest threats facing Earthrealm, Shao Kahn is one of the most powerful forces in all the realms. The Emperor has long been obsessed with the conquest of Earth.
Shao Kahn is a treacherous, violent, ruthless, sarcastic, persuasive, egotistical and bloodthirsty sadist, so he has driven to his goals by any means, yet also possesses a strange sense of humor, laughing maniacally all the time. He desires only power and will do anything to make sure he has it, showing great paranoia at times. Kahn is also extremely manipulative, malevolent, arrogant, and cruel, so he desires only to conquer other realms and add them to his own.
Like Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn can absorb the souls of others to increase his own power, often through the usage of soulnado. His ability to absorb souls is so potent, he can rob the billions of souls of an entire realm with a hand motion, often using portals in conjunction with his soul steal to access the souls of a realm without stepping foot on it. The warrior souls he has taken have also retained their memories such as combat knowledge, making him wiser with every soul he imprisons within him. 
== Appearance ==
=== Cartoons ===
* Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm
=== Comics ===
* Mortal Kombat
* Mortal Kombat 4
* Mortal Kombat II Collector's Edition
* Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe
* Mortal Kombat X
* Mortal Kombat: Battlewave
* Mortal Kombat: Kitana & Mileena
* Mortal Kombat: Kung Lao
* Mortal Kombat: Rayden & Kano
* Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
* Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition II
* Nintendo Power
=== Video Games ===
* Injustice: Gods Among Us
* Midway Arcade Treasures 2
* Midway Arcade Treasures 3
* Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition
* Mortal Kombat (2011)
* Mortal Kombat 3
* Mortal Kombat 11
* Mortal Kombat Advance
* Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
* Mortal Kombat II
* Mortal Kombat Mobile
* Mortal Kombat Trilogy
* Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
* Mortal Kombat X
* Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
* Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
* Mortal Kombat: Deception
* Mortal Kombat: Onslaught
* Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
* Mortal Kombat: Unchained
* Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
* Ultimate Mortal Kombat
* Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
== Trivia ==
* Shao 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 Tarkatans was later dropped.
* His height changes considerably between depictions. In the 2D games, he was scaled to be even taller than the Shokan Goro and Kintaro, with a height estimated to be 7'6'', yet he was depicted as only half a head taller than the regular characters in Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, he appeared to stand around seven-and-a-half feet, with Liu Kang and Kung Lao only coming up to his chest, but he was not quite as tall as either Shokan character. He appears to be around the same height in Mortal Kombat (2011) as he was in the 2D game, about a head taller than the playable characters, however he is same height as Goro and Kintaro.
** This is also depicted in Mortal Kombat 11 where he is the tallest character on the roster, however he is roughly the same height as Raiden, Geras, Kotal Kahn, The Terminator, Spawn, Sheeva, and RoboCop.
* Shao 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 face is based on the MKII comic depiction.
** This would later be changed in MK11 where he is given sharp teeth and a large nose, which also marks the first time Shao Kahn can be seen helmetless in a mainline canonical game.
* Shao Kahn's voice is an ever present sound in the Mortal Kombat games. Even when he isn't present, he can be heard in the form of an announcer with phrases such as "Outstanding", "Well Done", "Incredible", "Superb" and "Excellent". He also orders you to finish your opponent at the end of a match (supporting his character type). His voice can be heard in Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, 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 MK4, where Quan Chi was the announcer. Kahn resumed being an announcer afterward, even when you fight and kill him as an opponent.
* Though Shao Kahn was initially 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 infamous before Taven and Daegon were sealed, which happened before Shinnok's fall from grace. In Shinnok's ending in Mortal Kombat 4, he states that Raiden had imprisoned him for "millions of years", which aligns with his fall and the battle for Earth being the cause for the cretacous extinction event that killed the dinosaurs and led to the Saurians fleeing Earthrealm. This would seem to be an example of time passing differently between realms–as it has been noted at times to do–as it would otherwise humorously mean that Shao Kahn had been unsuccessfully attempting to conquer Edenia for at least 65 million years, since Taven stated that Shao Kahn had made an unsuccessful attempt at the realm before Taven was sealed. The period of Shinnok's fall has also been alternately referenced as only thousands of years ago at times, and this may be also simply be an example of an inconsistency in the timeline.
* 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. He later wears smaller capes with some of his outfits in Mortal Kombat 11, which also have an emblem of his Helmet on it.
* Shao Kahn's name was accidentally hyphenated in the closing credits of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation ("Shao-Kahn").
* Though Kahn has no official Animality in the games, in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Kahn is given the Animality of a Five-Headed Hydra.
* Shao Kahn's "mask" or "Skull Mask" is actually a Kabuto, a Japanese Samurai helmet with a Menpō, a face mask commonly worn with the Kabuto.
** In MK11 through the Kustomization, Shao Kahn can wear different variations of his iconic mask, from MKII to MK 2011 to brand new variations for MK11.
* Despite being the "announcer" for most games, Shao Kahn will have a different voice actor in-game then when commentating.
** In MK11, two voices of Shao Kahn are selectable as announcers for gameplay, the default and Shao Kahn himself (See Below).
* In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Shao Kahn was placed at #4 of the best Mortal Kombat Characters in the Mortal Kombat Series.
* Shao Kahn has been the final boss in more Mortal Kombat games than any other character, serving as the final boss in MKII, MK3/UMK3/MKT, MK:SM, and MK 2011.
* In the Parody fighting game Divekick, in Kung Pao's story, she is the daughter of Theodore Khan, an evil dictator. Theodore Khan is likely a parody of Shao Kahn.
* A 1993 UK-published strategy guide for Mortal Kombat II described Kahn as being "dressed like a '70s disco queen."
== Gallery ==
File:Shao Kahn Render 01.png
File:Shao Kahn Render 02.png
File:Shao Kahn Render 03.png
File:Shao Kahn Render 04.png
File:Shao Kahn Render 05.png
== External Links ==
* Shao Kahn at Mortal Kombat Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Mortal Kombat