They created the realms, so why not?

I believe they are able to do about anything, but they have set up these rules so they can't abuse that power, like Shinnok tried to do.

According to the story about the One Being, they can shatter realms - apparently they've shattered the one realm into many parts. However, if that's the case, how come Shinnok's fight with Raiden didn't shatter Earthrealm?

Well, first of all, Shinnok did not seek to shatter Earthrealm. Second, the Elder Gods as a whole shattered the One Being into the realms. Not just one Elder God, but all of them. So maybe individually they aren't THAT powerful, but together they are.

I don't think they're as powerful as the name implies.

Shinnok was an Elder God, and he doesn't seem to be all that powerful.

Well, he was stripped of his title after what he did. Probably alot of his power as well, as he was condemned to spend the rest of eternity in the Netherrealm.

Even then, he fought in the War of the Gods as an Elder God, and he lost.

A being capable of shattering realms should have won with ease, don't you think?

Again, the Eldr Gods as a whole, as in ALL of them, working together, were able to shatter realms. Individually, they might not be that powerful.

But they shattered the one realm into chucks, such as Earthrealm, ect. Shinnok has been displayed as a ruthless god; I'd think with that personality, and supposedly being able to cut planets in half, that Earthrealm should've been broken apart.

Well, there's your answer then. He isn't powerful enough to do so then.

It's just if we go by what Deception says on the Elder Gods, and Shinnok being a former Elder God, you'd think Earthrealm would've winded up like a dropped mirror. Who knows; maybe the Elder Gods are weak outside the void, like how Raiden is weak in Outworld.

I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding here.

The elder gods didn't shatter realms, they defeated the One Being. It was only after that event when the One Being's existence was formed into the realms. We're not given any information regarding how powerful the One Being actually was nor are we told what it cost to convert his substantial accidents into different worlds. It's possible that the elder gods became significantly weaker after the events occurred for whatever reason. It could have been because of the transformation process. Hell, it could just be age. Know one really knows the exact nature of the elder gods, so it's hard to narrow down true/false statements about them.

The reverse scenario could also be true: the One Being wasn't as powerful as we thought he was. We're only assuming his power equals the sum of the six realms, but there's no reason to believe that's true. For all we know, the realms may have already existed as a blank firmament, and the consciousness of the one being is what gave that firmament shape and color.

Shujinko stated the realms are the shattered consciousness of the One Being. From that, I presume they did shatter parts of the one realm, and over the course of time, the parts changed to look more like planets with life and water, and such.

Well again, I don't see any reason to believe the consciousness of the One Being took the form of a realm. Most likely, the One Being was just a dude like Raiden or Fujin at the moment his consciousness was shattered. It was only after that when his essence turned into what we know as the realms of MK (presumably). Don't get me wrong, though. The One Being was probably CRAZY powerful, but I don't think his power equated the sum of the realms. But this guy was scary, no doubt.

Also, if the One Being's original form was that of a realm, it's difficult for me to visualize his relationship with the elder gods. I think it's safe to assume that if he was a realm in essence, then the elder gods did not inhabit that realm. If they did, how exactly did they know he was a threat? Why was he a threat? If he was a danger to their own existence, why not just avoid the realm?

Honestly, it's a semantics game. No one actually knows what it means to "shatter consciousness" in the context of the MK universe. It may very well be possible that Vogel himself doesn't know what exactly transpired in these events.

Even if we were to say the One Being's real form is made of flesh and blood instead of a realm; they still shattered its consciousness. Although not a planet, shattering a consciousness the size of a planet is still a big feat.

True. However they did it, it probably wasn't easy. Everything hinges on the "how" I guess. If the elder gods punched the One Being repeatedly until his mind broke, then that would indeed reflect on their strength. If they used ritual or mechanism, then it's hard to say.

Added to Argus stating all reality is merely the One Being's dreams; it seems as if it's meant to be extremely powerful.

They used weapons to shatter it, but that's a big feat on their part to forge such weapons.

It brings me back to the headache of the battle between Shinnok and Raiden. Not only was Shinnok an Elder God at that time, but he also had his amulet... and it's possibly the most powerful of all the Elder Gods' tools. For that very reason, I find it difficult imagining a tough battle between those two not destroying Earthrealm.

It took all of them together, AND a superweapon they forged, to kill the One Being.

That weapon was the Kamidogu. Which got the job done, sure, but it broke when it was used.

It broke into 6 pieces. And Shinnok's Amulet is considered an unofficial 7th Kamidogu...And remember, when Shinnok made the amulet, he put his Elder God powers inside of it.

So if the amulet, which has the power of an Elder God, is equivalent to one Kamidogu, that should tell you how powerful the whole, unbroken Kamidogu would be. It was at least as powerful as six Elder Gods combined.

And we've technically seen how tough Shinnok is with his amulet, which means with his full Elder God powers, when we fight him as the end boss in Mythologies.

It gave him forcefield powers that make him impossible to hurt, and he had fireballs and stuff, but...it's not like he ever snapped his fingers and erased Sub-Zero in one shot or shot a laser that could crack a realm in half or anything that big.

Plus, Shao Kahn at full strength can shrug off the power of several Elder Gods attacking him at once.

So to answer the question, I don't really think a single Elder God by theirself can destroy a realm. (But don't forget that the war between Raiden and Shinnok DID wreck the shit out of the landscape. Their attacks made new mountain ranges and almost killed a whole species of intelligent people in the crossfire and shit like that. Hell, they're probably what turned Pangaea into the 7 continents.)

If I had to put it as a metaphor that might be easier for people to understand, I would say it's like this: The One Being was like God, capital- G, Christian-style, and the Elder Gods were just angels until they kicked him out and took over Heaven.

The Elder Gods have never been seen lifting. FACT.

You can afford to skip leg day when you don't have legs.

Can the elder gods microwave a burrito so hot that they themselves cannot eat it?

Literally the best post all year. Haha.

Can the Elder Gods stop climate change and solve world hunger? :B

Only person who knows how strong the Elder Gods are is Shao kahn...and anyone else who has faced them lol

Powerful enough to destroy Everything in the realms, let alone the fighters.