After looking at Mortal Kombat up to Mortal Kombat (2011), I can't deny that if there's one really badass villain, it's actually Shao Kahn. So what's the deal with Shao Kahn? Whether it's the classic timeline or the reincarnation, he's THAT magnificent bastard. So what's up with him? I thought that if anybody deserves to be called the best villain ever, it's this guy and if you know his story, you'll see why he's the best sadistic motherf*cking villain ever.
Original timeline
When I first played the classic Mortal Kombat games, he started out as that legendary hard boss. Yes, he was really difficult and I can remember all the frustrations I had. When I played Mortal Kombat Trilogy the first time round, I used the secret cheat menu to actually beat that guy due to how powerful he gets. He uses his dash attack, you try to do a jump attack he uses his shadow rise and he spams that annoying hammer from Mortal Kombat 3 up to Trilogy. How annoying is that? Shao Kahn in MK2 was already difficult but not as difficult as the sub-boss Kintaro. In MK Trilogy, he's far more annoying than any of the sub-bosses even if projectiles could hurt him, he still comes in with nasty counterattacks that beats you in less than a minute.
His storyline started in Mortal Kombat II as the big bad of Outworld. I mean, this guy practically dominated the ring. When Shang Tsung was defeated in the last tournament which their victory could have allowed him to conquer Earthrealm, he demanded the execution of his sorcerer. However the sly sorcerer convinced him not to which resulted to the creation of a second tournament which he cleverly used as a diversion. So in the end, he was defeated by Liu Kang but this was just the chance of the lifetime for him to actually divert everyone's attention. He was starting an invasion all along which led to him violating the terms and conditions of the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Mortal Kombat II up to Trilogy revealed some important facts about this guy. In Kitana's semi-canonical ending, you get the information that he conquered Edenia presumably through ten consecutive wins. In his dastardly deed, he kills King Jerrod, he takes Sindel as his trophy and would later raise his stepdaughter Kitana as his personal assassin. The thought of serving Shao Kahn drove Sindel to commit suicide but not wanting to lose her (for some personal reason), he held her soul from entering the afterlife. He also ordered Shang Tsung to create the clone known as Mileena to inevitably replace Kitana. His defeat wasn't final and even after he was defeated, he always had a backup plan as seen in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. He did lose and retreat but he was simply plannig his return. While Shinnok may be more powerful but Shao Kahn was raw power.
So everybody thought it was the end of him but instead, it turned out to be that the Shao Kahn that was killed by Quan Chi and Shang Tsung was a clone of him. Mortal Kombat Deception (Game Cube version) revealed he's alive and well attempting to get rid of his former master Onaga. Long ago, he served as Onaga's right hand man but he was even more badass than Onaga. I mean, who would have the guts to get rid of your boss if he's a humanoid dragon who's immune to projectiles? He gave the middle finger to his boss by poisoning the latter allowing him to take over. In return, he would later manipulate Goro into joining him to help get rid of Onaga. By Mortal Kombat Armageddon, he becomes emperor again which infuriates his former master Onaga. In the end, he won the Battle of Armageddon after he managed to get even with Onaga again, he pummeled Raiden and all the events that would lead to the series' reincarnation.
If you played Shaolin Monks (which is most likely not canon), there are events that prove Shao Kahn is not that easy to get rid of. When he finally appears, he states that all who enter Outworld serve his purpose whether they know it or it. He knows Shang Tsung seeks to betray him but he managed to turn the tables around. Then he later summons Kintaro and later, he faces both Liu Kang and Kung Lao himself in the final battle. Even in cooperative mode, he's really that hard especially when he starts to draw that huge hammer.
Reincarnation timeline
The Mortal Kombat series' reincarnation last 2011 revealed more sinister sides of Shao Kahn. While the reboot had some similar events like he demanded Shang Tsung's execution (but Goro was safe and sound). But the series had managed to flesh out the magnificent bastard he is when he begins to show how much of a bastard he is as the events unfolded. Rather than just a typical big bad, he's really that huge of a monster.
He simply had no remorse in trying to replace Kitana after she had served him for some time as his personal assassin, congratulating Shang Tsung for creating Mileena. He would soon want Kitana executed and during the Arena scene, he shows just how crazy he is. After Kung Lao bows before the audience, he shows he's dirty and sneaky by breaking the former's neck. How evil can you get in breaking someone's neck out of sneakery? This led to his battle with Liu Kang which nearly killed him but instead, he was healed by Quan Chi's sorcery. He appears fully knowing that Shang Tsung had been scheming to betray him. Shortly after Sindel was resurrected as his newest enforcer, he sucks out all of Shang Tsung's collected souls and transfers them into Sindel.
Towards the finale, only karma could beat this motherf*cker as defeating him would only allow him to return. I'll admit that even if he didn't directly kill most of the protagonists, it wasn't Sindel's own doing but him basically using her as a puppet. Then later, he reveals just how sadistic he is. I mean, even after Raiden supposedly surrenders to him but instead of just accept his throne, what does he do? Do what he did in Armageddon by pounding Raiden back and forth. As much as I thought Raiden deserved all that punishment for his going 100% full retard, he simply showed the magnificent bastard he is by hammering Raiden just for the heck of it. This of course caused the Elder Gods to finally intervene because if they don't this magnificent bastard will really destroy the realms. But he didn't go down without a fight, in fact before he was finally destroyed, he still put up a fight against a newly empowered Raiden before the Elder Gods finally finished him off.
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