Sarcophagus in the Lost Tomb
The Dragon King's Army, also sometimes known as the Army of the Dragon King, are a legion of long dead soldiers, in uniforms reminiscent of samurais, who made up the undefeatable empire of Onaga the Dragon King, Outworld's true and long-lost emperor. They made their first appearance in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
Onaga originally formed the greatest army that Outworld had ever known; an army so powerful that it had never lost a battle. When he was betrayed and killed by Shao Kahn, his army was entombed along with him after they ritualistically committed mass suicide after his death.
For millennia, this army of undead warriors would remain undiscovered in his tomb and awaiting his second coming, until centuries later, the sorcerer Quan Chi discovered their location after escaping from the Netherrealm, and along with the help of another sorcerer Shang Tsung was able to revive them one by one. The young fighter Li Mei with the intention of freeing her home village, entered the Mortal Kombat tournament held by the Deadly Alliance, only to discover that the tournament itself was a setup; the Deadly Alliance was planning to transplant the winner's spirit as the last soul needed to completely revive the Dragon King's lost army.
Before Li Mei’s soul was completely transferred, her teacher Master Bo' Rai Cho rescued her, yet the experience left some strange and strong supernatural influence on Li Mei. The Dragon King's army was completely destroyed in an ethereal energy blast caused by the thunder god Raiden's suicide, but their master Onaga, who had risen from beyond the grave, survived the explosion and continued forward to reclaiming Outworld, achieve his revenge and complete his plan of conquering the realms with the aid of a set of certain treasures with powers beyond comprehension.
After Onaga's return and eventual defeat, it was revealed that the army was only undefeatable due to his ability to constantly resurrect them after their death during battle.
Ikran's MK Khronology[]
Onaga's army was erected as inanimate dead sarcophaguses both in the Lost Tomb and Shang's Palace. Leading with the fists of ruin, Kung Lao shattered each one along with Jax and company. The area was cleaned out excepting for Onaga's casket, when Jade, Kitana, and several others began to swat away swarms of flies which later came from Drahmin! In Shang's Palace, the sorcerer was unable to retrieve Liu's soul, contrary to Deadly Alliance, although he and Quan were enslaving and sacrificing the souls of Sun Do as their stronghold was being constructed. Quan then conjured the Soulnado which empowered the dead army more, but it was eventually disabled by Lao and Fujin! Bo' was able to save Li Mei before he sacrificed himself driving away the wrathful spirits within the funnel!
Alas, the army became reanimated as Quan perished with Raiden and Fujin observing the occurrence, even the arrival of their master!
In Return of the Dragon King, Raiden and Fujin fought off some of the undead but were mostly occupied by Onaga's unstoppable might! Raiden's sacrificial explosion blew the Palace into shambles and decimated some of the corpses.
When Kung Lao and Liu's spirit addressed Queen Sindel, she and at times Goro highlighted the Dragon King's plot involving his legion and how Kahn and his extermination squads bested them in battle, thus making Shao as Outworld's ruler.
Unfortunately, most of the undead legion was still standing and continued to serve Onaga along with the likes of Kitana (whom regained her senses by Ermac), Sonya, Jax and Johnny as they destroyed the Sun Do village and marched thru Outworld en route to Edenia to find Shinnok's Amulet and if Sonya shall give the exact location! They were fought off by the Edenian Resistance including the Chameleons, Kuai, Smoke, Frost, Ashrah, Baraka and Nightwolf! Ashrah was able to incapacitate Jax and Sonya, the original Baraka was slain by the time displaced Tarkatan, the mutant army was defeated along with the undead as soon as Onaga was weakened then his soul was exorcised from Reptile via Sin Eater and imprisoned in the Netherrealm!
Trivia[]
- The Dragon King's Army seems to be loosely based on the Terracotta Army.
- In the production gallery of Mortal Kombat: Deception, there exists a character called the Undead General, who is part of the Dragon King's Army, and is an obedient servant to Onaga himself.