Fighting games are nothing without a memorable final boss and Mortal Kombat has seen its share. Series co-creator and ultimate big boss Ed Boon used his powers to find out which of four major menaces fans think is the biggest bad of them all. Read on for the contenders:

An overwhelming 56.6% majority of Twitter voters chose Shao Kahn: the final boss of Mortal Kombat II and MK3, who recently made his return as a time displaced pre-order download in Mortal Kombat 11, and sent the realms into turmoil in the newly released animated adaptation Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms.

Losing to Outworld's Emperor with 24.5% was original final boss Shang Tsung, who also shared boss duties in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and returned as MK11 DLC. Single game final threat Onaga, The Dragon King earned a respectable 13.2% for his nostalgically remembered MK: Deception appearance. The fallen Elder God from MK4 and Mortal Kombat X remained a tougher sell with only around 2,072 out of 36,357 votes. Shinnok also has the infamous distinction of having been final boss of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero -- inspiration for MKX's Corrupt Shinnok.

Shao Kahn has been an evergreen favourite for the franchise, making frequent return appearances despite his apparent destruction. Fans voted the conquering emperor runner-up of MK Online's 2021 Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion tournament from 64 potential winners.

Ed Boon has a history of polling fans on specific subjects, sometimes leading to interesting examples of long term correlation. In 2016 he quizzed fans on MKX's missing men and women -- all of whom eventually turned up as playable returns in Mortal Kombat 11.

Most recently, Boon got Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks trending globally when he asked fans about remastered re-releases. The adventure game spin-off was a popular pick when he polled fans on the developer's next project in 2016.

[Related Article: Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Trailer]

There have been one or two other bosses in the series' history. Which was your favourite? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or discuss the origins of the polled antagonists in the 2D Kombat Klassics and 3D Kombat Klassics forums. Or debate your own fantasy match-ups in the Fan Koliseum!