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'''Shang Tsung''' is a male video game villain who features in [[Mortal Kombat]]. ==Biography== ===Original Timeline=== Shang Tsung (尚宗 - pinyin: shàng zōng) was a male human-like being whose origins were largely a mystery though he was said to had been born in [[Earthrealm]]. At some point, he had developed a skill in the black arts and his relentless pursuit of powerful magic led him to [[Outworld (Mortal Kombat)|Outworld]]. It was there that he came into the service of the Emperor [[Shao Kahn]] who had offered him great dark power. He was later charged with heading the [[Mortal Kombat Tournament]] and defeat Earthrealm's champions in order to allow Outworld to absorb that realm. Shang Tsung was noted to had won a number of tournaments but came to lose against the legendary Shaolin warrior monk named the '''Great Kung Lao'''. Though defeated, Shao Khan dispatched him again to compete but this time he was aided by the four-armed Shokan warrior [[Goro (Mortal Kombat)|Goro]]. Years later, Tsung returned where he now appeared far older after the 'mysterious' death of one of the tournament's three Grandmasters. With him was his greatest student which was the Shokan prince Goro where they looked to finally bring about the winning streak in Mortal Kombat necessary to unbalance the Furies and weaken the dimensional gates, thus allowing the Outworld Emperor to conquer Earth. After a valiant but doomed fight, Kung Lao was defeated by Goro and killed. Tsung consumed his soul, and the Outworld's domination of the Mortal Kombat tournament had begun that lasted for the next 500 years. As the head of the tournament, he managed it from his island that lay in an area that resided between the realms of Outworld and Earthrealm. During one of his tournaments, he was noted to had defeated the samurai '''Muso Gonnosuke''' and consumed his soul. During this time, Shang Tsung came to sought to consume the souls of ancient Warrior Kings that resided in a labyrinth tomb under the '''House of Pekara'''. To gain access to it, he came to learn of a skilled swordsman named [[Kenshi]] and intended to exploit the warriors pride. This saw Tsung disguise himself as an old man named '''Song''' and praised Kenshi for his skill where he suggested that the warrior needed a sword worthy of his skill. Thus, he convinced Kenshi to journey through he tomb beneath the House of Pekara where he came upon a deep well covered by a large stone. 'Song' then told Kenshi to remove the cover with his prize lying beneath it but once he did so it caused the souls of the swordman's warrior king ancestors being released where their power blinded swordsman. Shang Tsung then revealed his true form and consumed the Warrior King's souls and left Kenshi to die as he had no further need for him. However, Kenshi survived and vowed revenge against the sorcerer for the disgrace he had experienced as a result of Shang Tsung's treachery. Afterwards, Shang Tsung journeyed across Earthrealm to find warriors to fight in his tournament and encountered the fighter [[Shujinko]]. After sparring with him, the sorcerer allowed Shujinko permission to participate in the tournament though he would not do so as he was on his own quest. During the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, the final victory that would enable Shao Kahn to conquer Earth, Liu Kang, a Shaolin Monk, defeated Goro, breaking the winning streak. Liu Kang then challenged Shang Tsung in Kombat to restore the honor of the once-sacred tournament; Liu Kang prevailed, and Shang Tsung fled to Outworld. Upon losing the Shaolin tournament, he returned to his master in disgrace and faced being killed by Shao Kahn. However, he promised Kahn a victory by luring the Earth warriors to compete in a contest within Outworld. As a result, the Emperor restored the sorcerer his youth and set him about enacting the plan. Dragged before Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung begged for his life. He told the tyrant that if they challenged Earthrealm to Mortal Kombat in Outworld, they would have to accept or forfeit. Kahn agreed to this plan, and restored Tsung's youth. Meanwhile, the tournament served as a diversion, Shao Kahn could continue with his own scheme, after 10,000 years in the making: the restoration to life of his beloved former Queen, Sindel. Though his plan failed, Tsung came to be instrumental in bringing about the conquest of Earthrealm and was granted even greater power by Kahn. Tsung lost to Liu Kang again, this time in front of Kahn. After Shao Kahn's defeat at the hands of Liu Kang, Shang Tsung finished the process of Sindel's resurrection with the aid of his cult of Shadow Priests. Thanks to the help of Quan Chi and Shinnok, her soul would indeed be resurrected – but in Earthrealm, and tainted by evil. When Queen Sindel was revived in Earthrealm, Shao Kahn could reach across the realms and reclaim her, forcefully merging Earthrealm with Outworld. Shang Tsung led one of Kahn's extermination squads to hunt down the fighters that Raiden had protected. Despite being granted more power than ever before, Tsung lost to Liu Kang yet again. Upon Kahn's defeat, Shang Tsung retreated with him back to Outworld, when the merger was reversed. Tsung would then be imprisoned and tortured for his failure to help his master merge Earthrealm into Outworld. He was periodically released to do Kahn's bidding, but was only permanently released after regaining Kahn's favor. During this time, Shang Tsung came to be imprisoned within he depths of Shao Kahn's fortress for his repeated failures in winning the Mortal Kombat tournament. On occasion, he was freed in order to perform tasks for the emperor until he eventually regained Kahn's favour and was given his freedom. Tsung remained within Outworld where he risked his life in order to drain the souls of warriors to sustain his own youth. It was during this time that he met the sorcerer [[Quan Chi]] who had returned from the [[Netherrealm (Mortal Kombat)|Netherrealm]] and he came to propose an alliance between the pair that would prove to be mutually beneficial. Quan Chi gave Tsung immortality by unlocking a portal that was linked to the Heavens thus giving the sorcerer access to an unlimited souls which he used to preserve his youth. In return, the necromancer required Tsung's aid in transplanting the souls of warriors into the mummified remains of [[Onaga (Mortal Kombat)|Onaga]] the Dragon King's army thus leading to the two forming a deadly alliance to take over the realms. In the resultant blast, he was killed and his soul along with Raiden's intertwined where they battled one another in the ether. This was until he was draw away by a magic that was more powerful than death where he found his essence draw to Outworld. Once there, he was reborn where he came to find himself before Shao Kahn himself who had seemingly survived the assassination. By his side, he also saw the Shokan Prince Goro who had also seemed to had returned from the dead. ===Reboot Timeline=== During the Armageddon, Shao Kahn ultimately won where all of creation faced destruction but during the last moments of Raiden he managed to his past experiences back to his younger self. This created a change in the timeline as the younger Raiden was guided by the scattered visions of the future where he sought to avert this dark future. In this timeline, he continued to be the host of the previous nine Mortal Kombat tournaments in Earthrealm on his island where he stacked the odds in his master's favour. Tsung came to be imprisoned in the Void by Kronika after he had fulfilled his purpose where he was joined by Fujin and Nightwolf. Whilst there, he formulated a plan for revenge and attaining ultimate power for himself. After Kronika was killed, the sorcerer along with his fellow prisoners were able to escape where they appeared at Kronika's Keep. They came to warn the Fire God Liu Kang from using Kronika's Hourglass without the Crown of Souls which they had to get from the past. As Shang Tsung's past self was killed, he volunteered to take part in this mission where he was accompanied by Fujin and Nighwolf. ===New Era=== ==Overview== ===Personality and attributes=== In appearance, Shang Tsung resembled a human but this varied depending on whether he had fed on souls to make himself young again. In his natural state, he resembled a decrepit old man whose skin was pale with long, balding white hair, a beard and moustache, with dangling thin fingers as well as long fingernails. It was noted that he was ever-scheming and treacherous. To him, morality was an illusion and he believed that cunning prospered whilst those that were 'good' would only suffer. He had pledged his eternal loyalty to Shao Kahn in exchange for evil magic but it was known that he was no faithful servant. In fact, he dreamt of a day when his sorcery would overtake Kahn's and would pay any price to achieve this goal. He came to gain nothing but hatred for Liu Kang which ran deep and he desired nothing more than to consume the soul of the one warrior that denied him victory. ===Powers and abilities=== Born of Earthrealm, he was a human but one who came to be a skilled martial artist over the centuries. Tsung was skilled in a variety of fighting techniques that included '''Snake''', '''Crane''' and '''Mantis''' though his talent of mimicry allowed him to adopt other styles as well. He was a talented mystical shapeshifter which allowed him to take the form of others and even copy their techniques or abilities. This allowed him to morph into a number of warriors and use their techniques against his enemies. Shang Tsung had a variety of fire-based spells that he could use in combat. He was shown as being able to project a fireball at his targets. It was also that he could shoot out '''Flaming Skulls''' at his opponents to deal damage to them. Through his '''Soultaker''' technique, he was able to consume the soul of his opponent which left behind a shrunken corpse. He was known to keep vials of souls by himself which he used as part of his '''Scatter Soul''' attack where he shattered them to create small explosions of energy that knocked enemies away. His '''Soul Warp''' technique allowed him to switch places with his opponent with this causing a small amount of damage to his opponent. Through his magic, he developed knowledge of genetics allowing him to create biological abominations and monsters within his '''Flesh Pits'''. He was noted to had been bound to the emperor Shao Kahn by powerful dark magic. On his island, he maintained an underground '''Well of Souls''' that contained numerous souls he had collected over the years. A sizeable number of them had been taken by the sorcerer over the years. ==Notes== *Shang Tsung was created by Ed Boon and John Tobias with him making his first appearance in Mortal Kombat (1992). *The character was based off of [[Lo-Pan]] from the 1986 film [[Big Trouble in Little China]] with the character originally being labelled as ''Shang Lao''. *Early concept sketches of Shang Tsung for Mortal Kombat II revealed that the character would have had a hidden demonic form. *In Mortal Kombat 11, actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa returned to the role of Shang Tsung who was designed and mo-capped to resemble the live-action film version of the character. ==In other media== ===Television=== *In Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Shang Tsung appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Neil Ross. *In Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Shang Tsung appeared as a villain protagonist in the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Bruce Locke. ===Films=== *In Mortal Kombat, Shang Tsung appeared as the primary antagonist of the 1995 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Before the Mortal Kombat Tournament began, Shang Tsung went to the temple of Order of Light to fight and killed Chan Kang and sent a message to Liu Kang, telling he will be the next, via dream. He then hired Kano, telling him to go to his island in order to lure Sonya Blade to participate in the Tournament. However, he warned Kano that if he did so much as to touch her, he would apparently make Kano need a seeing-eye dog. Later, he impersonated Master Boyd to visit Johnny Cage, inviting him to the Tournament as an opportunity to prove his on-screen martial art was not fake as the media claimed. After the trio boarded Shang Tsung's ship, they encountered Shang Tsung, who had his henchmen, Scorpion and Sub-Zero to attack them but Raiden showed up and stopped the fight. As the former Champion of the Tournament, Shang Tsung showed a particular interest in Sonya as he planned to face her in the final battle of the tournament, seeing her as an easy prey. Additionally, Shang Tsung intended to make Sonya become his queen once Earthrealm was conquered by Outworld. Shang Tsung also harboured suspicions of Princess Kitana, so he tasked Reptile to watch over her and keep her away from Liu Kang. He expressed disappointment with Kitana after she deliberately failed to defeat Liu Kang in the tournament. Following the defeat of both Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung unleashed Goro upon the Earthrealm kombatants. After Art Lean was killed, Shang Tsung allowed Johnny Cage to challenge Goro on the condition that he might challenge anyone of his choosing, in any place. After Cage killed Goro, Shang Tsung kidnapped Sonya Blade and took her to Outworld, where he intended to challenge and defeat her in the final battle of Mortal Kombat Tournament— thereby securing Outworld's victory. After imprisoning Sonya in the Black Tower, Shang Tsung tried to trick her into fighting him. He told her that unless she accepted his challenge, Earthrealm would forfeit the tournament and lose. Sonya defiantly declared that her friends would come for her. At that moment, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Princess Kitana revealed themselves. Kitana berated Shang Tsung for attempting to use treachery and deceit to win the Tournament. Shang, despite knowing where her loyalties truly laid, stood down and then formally challenged Johnny Cage. Liu Kang, however, stepped in and challenged Shang Tsung to Mortal Kombat, telling him to either fight or yield. Shang accepted Liu Kang's challenge and ordered his guards to leave. When Liu Kang gained the upper hand, Shang Tsung summoned an army of phantom warriors— the enslaved souls of those he had defeated in the past. After Liu Kang managed to defeat his minions, Shang Tsung then attempted to trick Liu Kang into letting his guard down by morphing into the image of Chan, Liu's murdered brother. Liu Kang was not fooled, though Shang Tsung temporarily gain upper hands. However, Liu Kang managed to fight back. During this time, the captured souls of Shang Tsung's victims rose up against him, weakening the sorcerer as parts of them began to leave him. Liu Kang finally knock Shang Tsung off a platform and into a pit of spikes. Shang Tsung was impaled on the spikes and died, his corpse then rapidly decaying into a skeleton. Then, all the captured warrior souls, including Chan, were released and went to the Heavens. *In Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, Shang Tsung appeared in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Jim Cummings. *In Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, Shang Tsung appeared in the 2020 direct-to-video animated film where he was voiced by actor Artt Butler. *In Mortal Kombat, Shang Tsung appeared in the setting of the 2021 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Chin Han. ===Video games=== *In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Shang Tsung appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game crossover where he was voiced by actor James Kyson. ==Appearances== *''Mortal Kombat'': (1992) *''Mortal Kombat'': *''Mortal Kombat XI'': ==External Links== *[https://mortalkombat.fandom.com/wiki/Shang_Tsung Mortal Kombat Wiki Entry] *[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/shang-tsung/4005-15541/ Comicvine Entry] *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_Tsung Wikipedia Entry] {{stub}} [[Category:Characters]] [[Category:Male Characters]] [[Category:Video Game Characters]] [[Category:Video Game Bosses]] [[Category:Undead]] [[Category:Tricksters]] [[Category:Martial Artists]] [[Category:Spellcasters]] [[Category:Necromancers]] [[Category:Shapeshifters]] [[Category:Mass Murderers]] [[Category:Villains]] [[Category:Video Game Villains]] [[Category:Mortal Kombat]] [[Category:Ed Boon]] [[Category:John Tobias]]

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