Not only is Mortal Kombat filled with memorable characters with amazing powers, but the story and lore of the series are very fascinating. So, here are the top 10 most powerful characters based on the lore.
10. Ermac
Short compilation of Ermac’s cutscenes in Mortal Kombat X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhpL1NA_9uI
Starting at 10th place is the red ninja Ermac who has the power of telekinesis. Ermac isn’t really just one person; he is actually a warrior that has many souls of different warriors within his body. In fact, Ermac refers to himself as “we” rather than “I” or “me”. Throughout the series, Ermac has fought on both the side of Outworld and Earthrealm.
Figure 1 Ermac about to fight Mileena in Mortal Kombat X after betraying her.
Ermac is a strong fighter, and his telekinesis powers are really fun to use in the games. Not only is he a fun character to play, but his backstory is interesting. In the original timeline, he began as a bad guy but became a good guy, in Mortal Kombat Deception, after Kenshi freed him from Shao Kahn’s influence. In the current timeline, he fights on the side of the outworld once more.
Fun Facts about Ermac
- There were rumors of Ermac existing in the first two Mortal Kombat games; those rumors were false. However, Ermac would be introduced in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
- In Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Ermac’s ending stated that he may return in the fourth game. However, he was never included in Mortal Kombat 4.
9. Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn launches an attack against Kotal Kahn and Kitana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La3Q41zDsTc
In 9th place is Outworld’s iconic ruler, Shao Kahn. He was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 2 as the final boss; he would return as the main antagonist in a couple of other games. He relied on his warriors to win the Mortal Kombat tournaments, so he could invade Earthrealm. However, Liu Kang won against Shang Tsung in the first Mortal Kombat game which foiled Shao Kahn’s plan to take over Earthrealm. Shao Kahn decided to take things into his own hands and host a tournament in Outworld in Mortal Kombat 2. Shao Kahn is an ambitious tyrant who wants to conquer every realm in existence. He usually fights with a hammer, and he has green energy powers.
Figure 2 Shao Kahn about to fight Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 11.
Shao Kahn is a powerful and skillful warrior; he defeated Raiden in Mortal Kombat Armageddon during the original timeline. Not only is he powerful, but he rules the entire realm and thus has a massive army against his enemies.
Fun Facts about Shao Kahn
- The creators of Mortal Kombat initially wanted Shao Kahn to be a Tarkatan, but they ultimately decided against it.
- It is unknown how old Shao Kahn exactly is, but it is stated that he is at least 10,000 years old.
8. Blaze
Blaze final boss fight in Mortal Kombat Armageddon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnRDlJjX8Q4
While Blaze has made a couple of appearances throughout the series, his most notable is his appearance as the final boss of Mortal Kombat Armageddon. His species is called “Elemental” and their appearances are based on their elemental power; since Blaze’s elemental is fire, his appearance of that of a fiery being.
Figure 3 Blaze explaining to Taven that they must fight in Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
Being that he was created to keep an eye on Mortal Kombat’s warriors, he was made to be very powerful. Because of him being a fire elemental being, he is skilled at using all kinds of fire elemental abilities.
Fun Facts about Blaze
- Blaze's first appearance was in Mortal Kombat 2 as a background character in the stage called The Pit 2. His first playable appearance was in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance as a secret character.
- As it turns out, in Mortal Kombat Armageddon, Blaze actually uses some of Onaga’s animations such as his howling. This suggests that Blaze shares a similar skeleton (or model) with Onaga possibly because it was cost-effective, and it helped save the development team time.
7. Onaga
Onaga final boss fight in Mortal Kombat Deception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9BWN_4ovsc
The dragon king Onaga was once the ruler of Outworld before he died after being poisoned by the ambitious Shao Kahn. During the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat Deception, his spirit would go on to manipulate Shujinko into uniting the Kamidogu which would grant Onaga great power. Onaga would be resurrected (using Reptile’s body as a host) and would take over Outworld. However, he was later defeated by Shujinko.
Figure 4 Onaga attacking Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
As a dragon, Onaga has fire elemental powers, can fly, and is very strong especially when the Kamidogu is united. Whenever he does rule Outworld, he has the entire realm’s army to follow his orders and thus can invade realms if he wanted to.
Fun Facts about Onaga
- Onaga is the second boss character to be immune to projectile attacks from the player. The first is Motaro from Mortal Kombat 3.
- Despite being the ruler of Outworld at one point, he was never referred to as a Kahn.
6. Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung’s final confrontation with Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFZk_JtDW8g
Shang Tsung is a sorcerer that enjoys stealing souls from people and was the villain and host in the first Mortal Kombat where he was defeated by Liu Kang. Apart from Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance where he was one of the main villains, Shang Tsung would serve as a secondary villain in his subsequent appearances after Mortal Kombat 1.
Figure 5 Shang Tsung confronting Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 11.
Shang Tsung has the power of fire, and he can steal people’s souls. He is a competent fighter who can even put up a fight against Liu Kang and Raiden. Not only he steals people’s souls, but he can transform into them and even use their abilities. This leaves him with a wide range of abilities that allows him to adapt to any fight he is in.
Fun Facts about Shang Tsung
- Shang Tsung was elderly in the first Mortal Kombat game, but his elderly form wasn’t playable until Mortal Kombat 2011.
- According to Mortal Kombat 2011, Shang Tsung was originally from Earthrealm who found a portal to Outworld at some point.
5. Fujin
Fujin having friendly chats with other characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSWTLM3_kkE
Fujin is the god of wind who made his first playable appearance in Mortal Kombat 4. He is a protector of Earthrealm and is Raiden’s younger brother. Throughout the series, he works with Raiden to protect Earthrealm from Outworld.
Figure 6 Fujin facing against Kabal in Mortal Kombat 11.
As pointed out, he is the god of wind and thus has wind elemental powers. He also understands and can relate to humans more than Raiden. This is because he chose to live amongst humans for a while; Raiden didn’t like that because he felt that it would weaken Fujin, but it actually made Fujin stronger.
Fun Facts about Fujin
- Fujin is based on the Japanese deity of the same name; the name Fujin means “wind god” in Japanese.
- In Mortal Kombat 11, it is revealed that Fujin blessed Johnny Cage’s ancestors at some point; this could be how Johnny Cage got his powers.
4. Shinnok
Shinnok fighting Cassie Cage in Mortal Kombat X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYcyEjOj9mM
Shinnok is the elder god of death who was the main villain of Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat X. In Mortal Kombat 4, he was defeated by Liu Kang and was banished to the Netherrealm. In Mortal Kombat X, he tried to take over Earthrealm but was defeated by Cassie Cage; Raiden then decapitated him to prevent him from ever fighting again.
Figure 7 Shinnok about to continue fighting Cassie in Mortal Kombat X.
Shinnok’s powers are mainly darkness and skeletal powers (he summons large skeleton hands to attack his opponents). Shinnok also can shapeshift, similar to Shang Tsung. His powers are increased if he is able to get his hands on his amulet.
Fun Facts about Shinnok
- Shinnok is shown to break his word. He would make deals with his allies, but ultimately wouldn’t follow up on his promises such as in Reptile’s Mortal Kombat 4 ending. Shinnok is never to be trusted.
- Shinnok lost to Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 4. The most likely reason is that, as it turns out, the amulet he had was a fake one made by Quan Chi; Quan Chi was the one with the real amulet.
3. Raiden
Raiden fighting and killing Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wSB4BH4nwY
Starting the top 3 is the god of lightning Raiden. He has been around since the very first Mortal Kombat game. He leads and mentors Earthrealm’s warriors to defend Earthrealm against Outworld’s warriors. However, he can become ruthless and show no mercy to Earthrealm's enemies if pushed to that point.
Figure 8 Raiden fighting Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 2011.
Raiden has the power of lightning making him a very powerful warrior. In fact, in Mortal Kombat 2011, he was the one that was able to save Earthrealm by defeating Shao Kahn when most of Earthrealm’s warriors died including Liu Kang.
Fun Facts about Raiden
- The game and the players pronounce Raiden’s name as Rayden. In actuality, his name is supposed to be pronounced as “Ryden”.
- Raiden wasn’t originally going to appear in Mortal Kombat Deception and was going to be replaced by Fujin. However, he was brought into the game after the developers got complaints from fans about it.
2. Kronika
Kronika final boss fight in Mortal Kombat 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SdVfgJ-Aa8
Kronika is the keeper of time and is a Titaness which means she is above the elder gods. She is the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat 11 who wanted to put an end to the current timeline due to Raiden’s interference after Raiden beheaded Shinnok.
Figure 9 Kronika about to fight Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 11.
As suggested by her being the keeper of time, Kronika can control time and space. Furthermore, she can even use sand powers and can fire energy beams at her opponents. This contributes to her being more powerful than even elder gods. However, there is one character who is stronger than her and has even defeated her.
Fun Facts about Kronika
- Kronika is the first female final boss character in the Mortal Kombat games.
- Kronika is also the first titan character in the series.
1. Fire God Liu Kang
Fire God Liu Kang fighting Kronika: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M9KtzPTTb0
The champion of Mortal Kombat Liu Kang is the most powerful character in Mortal Kombat, particularly him being Fire God Liu Kang. At some point, during the events of Mortal Kombat 11, both revenant Liu Kang and past Liu Kang was merged with Raiden to become Fire God Liu Kang. This new Liu Kang went on to defeat Titaness Kronika and Shang Tsung. From there, he would start a new timeline in the Mortal Kombat universe.
Figure 10 Fire God Liu Kang showing himself to other Earthrealm warriors after being created.
Being the champion of Mortal Kombat, Liu Kang was already a competent fighter who can use fire elemental abilities and fly kick opponents. When he became Fire God Liu Kang, he had mastered both fire elemental and lightning elemental abilities and can fight against much more powerful beings such as Kronika.
Fun Facts about Liu Kang
- Liu Kang has an ancestor named Cheh Kang.
- When both Liu Kangs merged with Raiden, it was past Liu Kang's consciousness that took over but retained revenant Liu Kang’s memories though.
