| Shang Tsung | |
|---|---|
| Series | Mortal Kombat |
| Age | Unknown (Elderly) |
| Birthday | Unknown |
| Sex | Male |
| Species | Human |
| Height | 5'11" (180 cm) |
| Weight | 210 lbs (95 kg) |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil |
Shang Tsung is a powerful cryptid sorcerer and one of the main antagonists from Mortal Kombat. He is the series' first villain, appearing as the final boss in the original game.
Background[]
Little is known about the earliest days in Shang Tsung's life, but at some point he was an Earthrealm human who was caught cheating in the Mortal Kombat tournament and sentenced to death. His life was saved by Shao Kahn, however, struck a deal with the young man to spare his life in exchange for eternal allegience. Shang agreed, and he was soon taught by the emperor in the ways of magic. Eventually Shang Tsung used his magic to steal a soul, in which the Elder Gods punished him by making him rapidly age to death unless he constantly sustained himself on the souls of his victims. Soon, Shang returned to the Mortal Kombat tournament under the banner of Outworld, where he easily took the title of Grand Champion. For 9 separate Mortal Kombat tournaments he would hold this title until he met the Great Kung Lao, who defeated Shang in combat and took the title as his own. Quickly, he would return as a master for the Shokan prince Goro, who soon took the Great Kung Lao's life and the title of Grand Champion 9 times in a row. Upon his 10th tournament, however, the young monk Liu Kang defeated Goro and Shang to fend off the Outworld invasion.
Upon defeat, an enraged Shao Kahn nearly killed Shang Tsung before he devised the idea to hold a new tournament in Outworld that would raise the stakes, where victory either meant the immediate conquer of Earthrealm or for Outworld to never attempt to take Earthrealm again. After Shao Kahn's defeat, Shang Tsung's soul was taken as a sacrifice to resurrect the deceased Sindel and begin an invasion of Outworld, ending the sorcerer's life.
Powers & Abilities[]
- Supermortal Physique:
- Magic: Due to his training in magic, Shang Tsung has learned a variety of abilities to use in combat.
- Morphing: Technically, this ability should fall under his soul magics, but it is such an iconic trait of MK's deadliest sorcerer, so it does deserve its own section. That aside, Shang Tsung is well known by his allies and enemies for his ability to shapeshift into anyone he knows. In a burst of soul energy, he quickly morphs into his desired form (usually a person) to gain access to their powers and any weapon that they're currently wielding. This power synergizes well with his sneakiness and treachery, since he can morph into someone's ally to slip through their guard if they're not careful. Even if he's still morphed as someone else, he can use his own powers while retaining his disguise. This was first seen in the story expansion MK11: Aftermath where he knocks Kronika down with an energy beam while still disguised as Kung Lao's revenant, who lacks any kind of ability to shoot an energy beam. Besides morphing into other people, Shang Tsung has some of his own forms to morph into. He can turn into a giant fiery serpent and turn into a flying wisp of green energy.
- Soul Steal: By grabbing onto an opponent, Shang Tsung can magically absorb a portion of their soul and gain access to some of their memories and skills. With every soul he steals, Shang can partially heal his wounds and revert his body back to its physical prime. He also gains the ability to morph into the user, being able to use their abilities and skills at will with the same efficiency as the original owner.
- Increased Longevity: With every soul Shang Tsung takes, his overall lifespan increases.
- Soultaker: Shang Tsung takes the entirety of his opponent's soul, leaving them a shriveled corpse.
- Teleportation: A common ability among supernatural characters in MK is the power of teleportation. In the sorcerer's case, he can teleport himself alongside others (and even objects) in a burst of flame. He can also use this ability to swap positions with his target.
- Portal Creation: Shang Tsung is one of the few kombatants who's capable of interrealm travel. He can conjure a burning portal that can lead to almost any location in all of the six current realms. In combat, he can banish an opponent to a distant realm where they have low chances of returning, provided that they don't have any powers to counter it.
- Summoning:
- Snake Familiar: A powerful technique that dates back to days of MK: Deception that allows him to summon his most powerful familiar yet, this creature's body is entirely composed of physical fire and can span at least ? meters long. He can summon this snake in front of him or directly below the opponent starting with its tail. The snake is often summoned to finish his enemies, especially against more powerful characters. Still, Shang does not discriminate his victims.
- Soul Stealing: This snake also shares its master's ability to drain souls, usually summoned to do this as a finishing move. Before doing so, it coils around the opponent and constricts them with its burning grasp before it opens it mouth to siphon their soul and life force.
- BFR/Battlefield Removal: Another finishing move that the snake can do is banish its master's opponents. This snake then chomps down and swallows them whole with one bite, then dives into a fiery portal to transport them somewhere else.
- Demons: Near the climax of the Aftermath story, Shang Tsung was able to assist Fujin and Raiden in forcing Kronika to retreat. He conjured several fiery portals that unleashed flying demonic creatures that lacked lower torsos. These mysterious beings were able to harm Kronika and they appear to be dragging her down, but their identities and origins are not yet known. Unlike his other summons, their eyes do not glow green. Green glowing eyes indicates that Shang Tsung's magic is used to control something. This could mean that he is merely calling upon them from their domain.
- Necromancy: Just like his fellow evil sorcerer, Shang Tsung can perform the forbidden darkest magics of necromancy. He can summon and reanimate the dead Shaolin monks that once followed in his steps and roamed his island. Even after death, they still retain their strength and agility as a warrior monk as well as their skills in martial arts.
- Flesh Pits: Shang Tsung's motif as the master of the Flesh Pits is well integrated into his fighting style. He is capable of summoning his Flesh Pits creations to attack his foes whether they are dead or alive.
- Snake Familiar: A powerful technique that dates back to days of MK: Deception that allows him to summon his most powerful familiar yet, this creature's body is entirely composed of physical fire and can span at least ? meters long. He can summon this snake in front of him or directly below the opponent starting with its tail. The snake is often summoned to finish his enemies, especially against more powerful characters. Still, Shang does not discriminate his victims.
- Pyrokinesis: Using magic, Shang Tsung can manipulate fire in a variety of ways.
- Flame Skulls: Shang Tsung can fire explosive, flaming skulls at his enemies as projectiles to attack from afar. He can fire these skulls from the ground, raining down from the sky, or just straight at his enemies in up to groups of 3 skulls at once.
- Fireballs:
- Fire Ring:
- Hot Escape: To traverse the battlefield quickly, Shang Tsung creates fiery portals to teleport in an instant.
- Flaming Cobra: As seen in Mortal Kombat Deception's intro cut-screen, Shang Tsung can conjure a giant, flaming cobra which can incapacitate even Raiden.
- Lava Manipulation: As a callback to his MK vs DCU days, Shang Tsung has the ability to manipulate lava. With a single hand gesture, he scorches the earth with streams of viscous lava that he launches towards the opponent, burning them in its torrid embrace.
- Lava Portal: Combined with his portal creation, he can make a portal made out of a pool of lava. Once he creates the portal, he can bury his enemy into the portal to submerge them in lava before they are spat out of another one.
- Soul Magic: This magic can be said to be his most deadliest one yet. Considered to be more powerful than the diabolical blood magic due to its ability to manipulate a great source of power, this magic is made even deadlier in the hands of someone who is so skilled at it. Shang Tsung can drain the souls of others to obtain more strength, heal himself from near-death, siphon others' powers, etc. A testament to his great skill in the art of soul magic is his versatility with the usage of souls.
- Energy Constructs: Using his green magic, Shang Tsung can create a variety of constructs suited for battle. He can make a set of chains that manifest directly on the target to restrain them as well as an energy shield that he can use to bash them with or detonate it to release an explosion.
- Energy Chains:
- Telekinesis: This power might be an ability he possessed long ago or a side effect of the vast amount of souls that he consumes which gives him immense telekinetic power. Either way, it's still an excellent addition to his arsenal. With it, he can restrain and suspend his foes to make them oblivious to his own deadly magic.
- Resurrection: Usually viewed as the power that gives new life or undeath, Shang Tsung's usage of this magic is as ironic as it gets. Back in MK: Deadly Alliance, he transplanted many souls of fallen warriors into mummified corpses of the Onaga's army, bringing them back to life. He takes this to the next level by doing it on live victims, causing the soul to slowly regain their physical form that shreds them apart from within. An excellent example of Shang Tsung's dark humor and situational irony.
- Self-Healing: When Shang Tsung consumes souls, he replenishes his own life force and gains much more strength. This healing is strong enough to heal wounds such as being impaled through the chest from Baraka's blade, having his face burnt to the bone by hot lightning from Nightwolf's revenant, etc.
- Magical Unlocking:
- Energy Constructs: Using his green magic, Shang Tsung can create a variety of constructs suited for battle. He can make a set of chains that manifest directly on the target to restrain them as well as an energy shield that he can use to bash them with or detonate it to release an explosion.
- Master Manipulator:
- Master Martial Artist: Shang Tsung is a master martial artist capable of mimicking the fighting styles of every victim he's absorbed, though he normally specializes in the Crane, Snake, and Mantis variants of Kung Fu. Shang Tsung's fighting style is a culmination of martial arts and techniques he has trained himself in, as well as many other styles that he has copied and stolen from other warriors. His main fighting style is Snake Kung Fu alongside several other animal styles in Chinese kung fu, but Shang has also demonstrated his skill in many other styles:
- Hung Gar
- 7 Style Praying Mantis
- Aikido
Equipment[]
- Straight Sword: A one-handed jian that Shang Tsung keeps hidden for surprise attacks.
- Ancient Scroll: A scroll containing what appears to be written symbols that glow with an orange hue.
- Curse Manipulation: Holding out a scroll, he places a curse that acts as a debuff which weakens their opponent's attack or defense.
- Energy Projection: He can also fire a close range blast of purple colored magic from his scroll.
- Soul Phylactery: A small, engraved container that Shang Tsung uses to store souls that he steals in battle.
- Sealing: As seen in his Toward Throw in MK11, Shang Tsung rips out his opponent's soul to keep it in his urn. His Soul Well move can also store portions of the enemy's soul that he drains from them with each attack that he successfully lands.
Feats[]
Strength[]
- Could lift someone as heavy as Jax Briggs with a single arm and steal his opponent's soul if ever allowed the chance.
- In Mortal Kombat 9's Test Your Might game, Shang Tsung was only seen shattering Titanium upon focusing enough Ki it should be pointed out that he could shatter a steel anvil but wasn't ever seen doing so.
Speed[]
- Shang Tsung's speed is at least on the supermortal level with supersonic reactions.
Durability[]
- Managed to get back up to team up with Quan-Chi to fight Onaga despite bleeding heavily from his mouth after being incapacitated.
Skill[]
- Has a knowledge of genetics, which allowed him to create lifeforms such as Ermac, Mileena and Meat.
- Killed Liu Kang with the help of Quan Chi in the original Mortal Kombat timeline.
- Held the title of Mortal Kombat Champion for 9 tournaments.
- Managed to incapacitate Raiden by conjuring a giant flaming cobra in the original Mortal Kombat timeline.
Weaknesses[]
- Rapid Aging: As punishment for stealing souls, the Elder Gods have bestowed a divine curse upon Shang Tsung to rapidly age until his premature demise unless he regularly steals souls.
- Rather Dependent: Because Shang Tsung wasn't used to doing things on his own, he needed the help of individuals such as Quan Chi in order to finally kill Liu Kang.
Fun Facts[]
hang Tsung is considered to be vicious beyond the standards of an really evil wizard due to impaling his opponent right on a bed of spikes as one of his fatalities.
- Shang Tsung is based off the Chinese sorcerer Lo Pan from the film Big Trouble in Little China, which came to being in the year 1986.
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