Shao Kahn the Konqueror is represented as the embodiment of evil. In many respects, he resembles a large Asian warrior, and is well known amongst the roster of Mortal Kombat Kombatants for his godlike strength which rivals, if not outright exceeds, that of Raiden, the God of Thunder. He is also known for his extreme callousness, brutality, ferocity in battle, and his fondness of personal executions, though he has occasionally spared the lives of his subordinates, if they prove their worth, and his victims such as Sindel and Kitana, raising the latter like his own daughter and treating the former like his own wife. However, his true power that has served him well and allowed him to rise above the image of a mere warlord is his high intelligence and profound knowledge of the black arts. Like his subordinate Shang Tsung, he has the power to consume other souls. It is revealed in Mortal Kombat Deception that Shao Kahn is of the same race as Raiden, which would make him a God, as well as the former protector of Outworld during Onaga's rule.
Perhaps Shao Kahn’s greatest strength lies in his ability to work towards his goals with great tenacity and his ability to organize. However, his greatest weakness is his arrogance and overconfidence. Shao Kahn has often underestimated mankind, and therefore tried to conquer Earthrealm many times, with or without a queen (consort), to no success. He also possesses a blinding lust for conquest that can sometimes overwhelm his better judgment, allowing him to be manipulated by those that are cunning enough to exploit this weakness.
NAME: Shao Kahn GENDER: Male SPECIES: Unknown, possibly draconic in nature OCCUPATION: Warlord, former Emperor of Outworld PLACE OF BIRTH: Unknown, likely Outworld CURRENT RESIDENCE: Outworld ORIENTATION: Gynephilia (attraction to femininity) HEIGHT|WEIGHT: 7'2"|400 lbs CHARACTERISTIC: Cocky, brash, crude and cruel. POWERS & ABILITIES:
Shao Kahn is shown to be an immensely powerful being throughout the series. He is able to utilize magic and has superhuman strength and durability. He is also able to charge at the opponent with considerable speed and power. His kombat abilities were demonstrated during the events of Mortal Kombat 3, where he defeated Kung Lao with relative ease. Armed with his Wrath Hammer, Shao Kahn can send opponents flying with one swing. During the events of Armageddon, he was able to smash through Mileena's magic barrier with his hammer.
Like Shang Tsung, he can absorb the souls of others to increase his own power, often through the usage of soulnado. His ability to absorb souls is so potent, he can rob the billions of souls of an entire realm with a hand motion, often using portals in conjunction with his soul steal to access the souls of a realm without stepping foot on it. The warrior souls he has taken have also retained their memories such as combat knowledge, making him wiser with every soul he imprisons within him.
Shao Kahn is one of the few wielders of the mysterious green energy besides Johnny Cage, Cassie Cage, Nightwolf and Jade. He is one of the most versatile wielders of green energy, as he can use it to create energy weapon constructs such as spears, generate protective forcefields that reflect projectiles and fire energy beams seemingly from his eyes and shoot laser beams from his hands. He can enhance his strikes with green energy to increase the power behind his attacks, greatly increase his attack speed with it (like how Johnny Cage uses green energy to speed up his attacks in his Little Improve fatality) and sometimes use it to propel himself to great distances.
Apart from his projectile attacks, Kahn's knowledge of magic seems to include cloning, as this is how he managed to avoid assassination at the hands of the Deadly Alliance. After escaping into the wilderness, he was able to heal and resuscitate a mortally wounded Goro and recruit him back to his cause. Shao Kahn has also created a body of flesh and bone for Shang Tsung using his magic when the evil sorcerer's original body was vaporized by Raiden's suicide attack in the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. He is capable of resurrecting others as well, he demonstrated this ability in the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy where he brings Mileena back to life after she was killed by Kitana.
His powers extend to wielding psychic powers, as he was able to enslave the thousands of souls within the magical being Ermac using his powerful mind control and is capable of using telekinesis to lift and rag doll opponents.
It is revealed in Mortal Kombat 11 in an intro between Scorpion and Skarlet that Kahn has knowledge in other fields of magic as well, as he was the one who taught Skarlet how to use Blood Magik and could possibly bestowed upon her this powerful and gruesome ability to manipulate blood.
NAME: Shao Kahn
