If this is like the old Mortal Kombat, Shao Kahn won't be selectable, and he will be tough to kill.

I think they've hinted enough at his origins that they don't actually need to go in depth and spell it out. People might not be happy with the full version anyway.

Yeah...I've heard people say some pretty whacky things to deny that Kahn is a God (i.e. calling Lucifer and Raiden Outworlders). For some reason Kahn being a God really offends people, and I agree, they may want to only imply it instead of doing what they did in MK vs. DC.

Is it just a coincidence that Shao Kahn and Shokan sound similar? Or did they actually say something about that?

Coincidence. The Shokan realm was one that Kahn conquered and added to Outworld at some point, just like Edenia and Zaterra and all the others, so he couldn't be connected to there.

The realm is called Kuatan.

Not sure if I'd want an explicit biography of Kahn, but I would like to know more about motivations prior to poisoning Onaga. Evil is a journey; it doesn't happen over night.

They've given us some important pieces of his history, like the poisoning of Onaga and usurping the throne of Outworld. I don't see why they shouldn't end the speculation and add depth to his character by looking deeper into his past. It'd be nice if they could do something that adds a bit of pathos to the character. Just about anything would be better than making him a god, or demi-godly sibling, or some such.

The guy's been the most enduring big bad and, like so many of MK's heavy hitters, his most character filled moments make him look like an absolute chump. If he isn't dying, he's acting like a little weasly bitch. Dude needs to earn some of that cred back with something solid we can really see!


I always thought going down that path would add some nice classic, mythological pathos to the character. Expelled by the Shokan, he rises to conquer them all, etc etc.





Any of the available options probably won't do a lot for the obsessive compulsives, but it might give him some depth. The above idea lets you play around with the notion that he was perceived as a hero, for a time, which a lot of people seem to like.

The way they treat the realms moving forward could have a part to play, too. I like the thought that the universe requires balance, so Shao Kahn absorbing a few realms into Outworld could be good, until his aspirations go beyond the point of balance. If they're going to retread story, they might a swell take control of the canon and hammer out the specifics.

I made a comment in another thread about wanting a collector's edition of the game with a huge book chronicling the series' history. This kind of thing is why. I'd love a detailed biography of Kahn's past and his ascension to Emperor of Outworld. Make it happen, WB!

Yeah, as curious as I am about Kahn's history with Onaga and Raiden I'd rather they never go into the details than do a poor job of it.

Honestly with the direction they've gone with MKvsDC and the new game's intro I think we're going to be seeing a lot more details about Raiden and Kahn's rivalry whether we want to or not. Hopefully they don't screw it up.

The capital city is called Kuatan. The Realm itself was called Shokan, which is where the species gets its name.

Sort of like calling people from Earth "Earthlings" or "Earthrealmers" and people from Outworld "Outworlders".

Racist.

Yet that's the hot part about Kahn. He's that mysterious. For somebody to look like a regular yet oversized human, but we know you don't get what meets the eye. What you get is years of a reputation that says "I'm hard to kill".

Which would be fine if he lived up to the reputation of that power, instead of always scraping by through some sort of weasly scheme. He's all dummy clones and ear poison, this guy!

Armageddon didn't help his rep one bit either. lol Kahn must have been extremely strong before he captured souls, otherwise he wouldn't have the authority to boss around beings with the same abilities like Shang Tsung & Ermac. I just dont get it.

I always hated the contradiction of Shao Kahn being a God and Serving Onaga; unless Onaga is a God too, it doesn't make a lick of sense.

I would love to see the origins of Shao Kahn explored, but I don't know if I'd trust the MK Team with it. They seem to have this idea that he should be a god, and that completely ruins the character for me. The thing about Shao Kahn is that it's possible to kill him and win Mortal Kombat. If you can't do that, then what's this business about always fighting him?

The one thing I do love about this going back in time business is that Shao Kahn wins the "true" timeline of Mortal Kombat. Good on him. All his scheming, cloning and other plot devices worked out well for him, and he somehow actually manages to destroy a Thunder God. Fatality.

WAS a god. He's not anymore. He's just "an immortal". And they've ALWAYS called him "the immortal emperor", calling into question whether or not he can be killed. But that word can just as easily mean the "doesn't age" sense, not the "can't be killed" sense. I mean, we were always told Raiden's mortal form can be killed, so it's not like either "can you kill a god?" or "can Kahn even be slain?" has ever actually been in question.

And frankly "Ex God (possibly of War? Why don't they mention their domains anymore? What's Argus/Taven the god of? I'm seeing moves involving fire, "the speed of light", and a ground pound/gravity? Is he God of the Sun?) and protector of Outworld who lost his mind" makes a LOT of sense as a backstory for this guy who's one of a kind and that powerful.
But I've always been far more interested in WHY he suddenly turned heel and killed Onaga. And also people don't always remember this, but it was suggested he had actual husband/father feelings for Sindel and Kitana back in the MK2 and 3 days. Maybe he and Jerrod used to know each other and there was some sort of rivalry or jealousy there that led to him targeting Edenia? I dunno, I'd like to see Kahn showing a little more dimension besides just "I am villainous in a very generic way, there's no difference between my personality and Shinnok's or Onaga's, except sometimes I like to use Earth slang like "you suck", blargh"

Earthicans

Gods don't get to be in charge. Looking at Raiden, Fujin, and Argus, protector is a pretty shitty gig compared to sitting on a throne.
But yeah, it's more likely the Elder Gods stripped him of his rank rather than him giving it up himself.
Plus we know the current source of his powers is soul stealing sorcery and he's the one who taught it to Shang, so you gotta figure, why would he need to learn that stuff? To replace the powers he lost, of course.
That would be interesting to see. Did he anticipate the gods would punish him and learned dark magic in secret before he killed Onaga, sort of the same way Raiden picked up the spells to raise Zombie Liu from fighting a cult of necromancers long ago? Or did he not see it coming when he was suddenly stripped of his godhood and had to crawl his way back up from nothing to become the most powerful guy in the realms?
Maybe he never intended the world he ruled to be a dead, worthless wasteland, he HAD to steal so many souls and ruin his own kingdom just to keep up his power, and he's actually bitter or remorseful or...y'know...feels something about it?
See, there's a lot of interesting things you could explore with the "used to be a god" backstory the games hint at, that are really quite good and make much more sense than trying to connect him to the Shokan (who weren't even part of Outworld until after he conquered them) or the Tarkatans (whom it's heavily implied he actually created).

I would definately like to know more about the Kahn/Onaga situation. Is it also canon that Kahn was once like Raiden? I personally don't like that route but I'd want to know more.

Given the number of times multiple different people tell you those exact words in Deception, yes, I'd call that canon.

I never really played deception's konquest you fuckface, so I didn't know that.

Interesting though...