Shang Tsung

Bio

A sorcerer who consumes the souls of his victims, Shang Tsung played host to the Mortal Kombat tournament in Earthrealm, stacking the odds in favor of the Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn. He was finally defeated by the Shaolin monk Liu Kang and has sought to regain the favor of his master, Shao Kahn, ever since. His hatred of Liu Kang runs deep, and he would desire nothing more than to consume the soul of the one warrior who denied him victory.

## Storyline

### Mortal Kombat

Shang Tsung's past remains shrouded in mystery, with his exact origins never specified and unclear at best. According to some sources, he was originally a human from Earthrealm. He participated in the Mortal Kombat Tournament, but he cheated in one of the battles. Breaking the sacred rules is considered treason against the represented realm and the Elder Gods, and so Shang was sentenced to death by the tournament judges. The Dark Emperor Shao Kahn took advantage of the evil in his heart and made a deal with Shang Tsung; that he would be spared if he swore allegiance to him. Tsung agreed and was taken to Outworld and was trained by the Emperor in the Black Arts.

## Kombat Characteristics

### Power and Abilities

As mentioned above, Shang Tsung was cursed by mysterious entities identified only as his gods. The curse forcibly decreases his lifespan, unless he takes the souls of others to replenish himself. Shang Tsung's primary objective is to find an infinite source of souls on which to thrive indefinitely. Without souls, his body will rapidly age, wither, and eventually die.

However, due to his ability to absorb souls, he has also discovered an unforeseen side effect, granting him the ability to shapeshift into the people whose souls he has taken. The change is more than skin deep as he has access to their memories and powers as well. Shang Tsung is not required to steal a person's soul in order to morph into them, as he took on the form of Kung Lao to sneak up on Liu Kang. As a sorcerer, Shang Tsung wields incredible black magic, most of it provided by Shao Kahn though after the third and second tournaments, this is no longer the case. It would appear that he, when paired with Quan Chi, was able to defeat the Thunder God of Earth, Raiden.

## Movelist

### Special Moves

* **Soul Steal:** Shang Tsung steals a small portion of his opponent's life force.
* **Flaming Skulls:** Shang Tsung sends a fiery skull at his opponent.
* **Slide Launch:** Shang Tsung does a slide kick that trips the opponent, then launches them into the air.
* **Up Skull:** Shang Tsung throws a skull upwards hitting the opponent from mid-air.
* **Hot Escape:** Shang Tsung digs into the ground and erupts at his opponent as a means of teleportation.

## Finishing Moves

### Fatalities

* **Soultaker:** Shang Tsung consumes the soul of his opponent, leaving behind a shrunken corpse.
* **Soul Steal:** Shang Tsung levitates his victim and slams him/her onto the ground three times before jumping on top of them, each time extracting a part of their soul.

## Sequences

### Battle Intro

Shang Tsung walks to the battlefield disguised as his opponent. He then reveals his true form and says, "Your soul is mine!"

### Victory Pose

Shang Tsung steals his opponent’s soul, and laughs once he’s consumed it.

## Endings

* **Mortal Kombat:** *"When Shao Kahn overtakes the Earth, he needs Shang Tsung to help locate the remaining humans. Granted new powers, he soon discovers his dark emperor's true plan: As soon as the remaining warriors are disposed of, Kahn will take Tsung's own soul. After learning of this, Tsung turns on his master. He catches Motaro off guard and then defeats Shao Kahn. But before the Earth can return to normal, Tsung takes all the souls as his own. He will forever rule Earth with his own brand of evil."*