Shinnok, also known as The Fallen Elder God, is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. A vengeful, powerful Elder God of Death, he seeks death and destruction across all the realms. He serves as a primary antagonist of the franchise alongside Shao Kahn.
Shinnok made his debut in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero as the main antagonist and the final boss, and first became playable in Mortal Kombat 4, in which he again served as the main antagonist and final boss.
Shinnok returned as a playable character and the final boss of Mortal Kombat X, serving as the main antagonist of the game's Story Mode.
Shinnok is one of the most evil beings in the entire Mortal Kombat universe. A vengeful and powerful fallen Elder God of Death, Shinnok appeared in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Mortal Kombat 4/Mortal Kombat Gold, and Mortal Kombat X as the main antagonist and final boss. He also made an appearance in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, seemingly leading the side of evil.
Unlike Shao Kahn, Shinnok relies less on brute strength and fearmongering, and more on charisma, dark powers, ancient artifacts, and manipulation. He is the ruler of the Netherrealm, possessing millions of years' worth of knowledge and power. He can impersonate any being of his choosing, as well as transform himself into an immense demon. He possesses extreme cunning and the ability to manipulate events through others. For example, he had Quan Chi convince Shao Kahn to merge Earthrealm with Outworld against the Elder Gods' will, so that both realms would be severely weakened and left vulnerable to invasion by the Netherealm.
Shinnok demands unwavering faith and loyalty from his followers and will not hesitate to kill anyone who so much as doubts, challenges, or even poses a potential threat to him. However, as Shinnok is a former Elder God, it is not possible to actually kill him; he can only be imprisoned within his own amulet or incapacitated.
Shinnok is the son of Kronika, a titan and the original Keeper of Time. His sister, Cetrion, is also an Elder God. In the story mode of Mortal Kombat 11, it is revealed that Kronika intended for both of her children to duel forever, thereby maintaining a balance of light and dark throughout the realms, with Shinnok representing darkness and death and Cetrion representing life and light.
This design suffocates all of the realms, as it requires them to constantly battle one another for domination. As such, not even Shinnok's banishment posed a threat to her design, nor did his eventual imprisonment within his own amulet or Cetrion's own betrayal of the Elder Gods.
However, Raiden irreversibly thwarted this balance by beheading Shinnok, thereby permanently incapacitating him. This enrages Kronika and sets in motion a chain of events where Kronika attempts to reset time and start a New Era where Shinnok and Cetrion can duel forever, and Raiden does not exist to thwart them.
Only Shang Tsung, Delia, Shao Kahn and Quan Chi can match Shinnok's skills as a sorcerer.
Shinnok's Theme (Mortal Kombat: Betrayal)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Part II[]
Shinnok was briefly seen as an unknown tall God wearing rainbow clothing and having blue skin during Aiko's heart meld with Kung Lao. He, along with Quan Chi, ruled Earthrealm with an iron fist raising several dead Kombatants and wreaking major havoc!
Mortal Kombat: Shinnok's Uprising[]
As the name entails, Shinnok has finally broken his shackles as he escaped the Netherrealm and waged war on the heavens. Aiko, Lao, Nightwolf and Fujin were receiving disturbing night terrors of the same ominous man the former two encountered during Aiko's heart meld in Kahn's invasion. Fujin dreaded it was indeed the fallen Elder God of death and destruction, the one Fujin and Raiden fought thousands of years ago and plunged Earthrealm and Zaterra to despair. At the sight of a dark cloud expanding and the weather changing sporadically, Fujin forewarned of the danger.
Shinnok then escaped from the Netherrealm and onto Edenia and started his conquest ruining the kingdom and to wage war on the Elder Gods in the heavens! He actually planned the ploy with the opal gift which burst into a portal as his Army of Darkness escaped and others began to destroy the Edenians, courtesy of his close followers Quan Chi and Tanya.
Shinnok soon disguised himself as Kai inside the Prison of the Edenian Palace. He persuaded Lao and Aiko to save him from Reiko; the former monk urged her for healing duties while he decimated the general! He thanked them both and was fully healed when Reiko fell. He watched the couple leave the cells, only to perform a taste of her powers. He made Aiko's heart speed up making her nervous and panicky. Then, he reached in further, causing her breathing to suddenly fasten and have sharp pangs while her organ was being expanded! Those same attacks affected Lao's heart, and he was shocked it was Kai; however, upon his hazy observation, the sinister expressions were those belonging to Shinnok!! Thru his telekinesis, he drew their bodies close and read their hearts, emotions, desires and fears; he was intrigued by Aiko's rare abilities. He assured he won't have them killed, but to change their perception as he'd lure the Champion and the Gods to his domain in the Netherrealm!
He then took them to the Fire Well in order to lure in the Champion and the two surviving Gods, Raiden and Fujin. The trio reached the twisted place, but they arrived too late for Lao and Aiko had their hearts corrupted. While Shinnok stunned the brothers, Liu was barely a match for the cardiokinetic and his best friend. Shinnok drew the hero close and was about to waste away his heart until Nightwolf performed a ritual that allowed his and the compatriots' strength to cross into the Netherrealm from the Edenia Palace. With Shinnok weakened by Liu's positive thoughts, he lost the Amulet temporarily, though Lao retrieved it, and the warlord attached it to the Staff! By the time Hanzo and Kuai restored the REAL Amulet at the Temple of Elements, Shinnok's powers ran out and realized he only was using the duplicate and Aiko's abilities since it was only in his possession! Raiden stunned the usurped couple before taking them to the Jinsei while Liu backed the hapless Elder God to the spiked Well! Fujin pushed the monk aside before he and Raiden forced Shinnok into the massive spikes below!! The two Gods became the new Champions and escorted the hurt hero back to Edenia!
Fujin assured Lao and Aiko that Shinnok shall not return for another millennia or so, with the real Amulet restored in Earthrealm thus the fallen warlord remained trapped in the Netherrealm.
Return of the Dragon King[]
Shinnok was briefly seen as Shujinko encountered him in the Netherrealm; he was looking for his amulet and asked the wanderer for assistance. By the time he was able to retrieve the amulet, he realized something was off about it. This incident may've taken place before the events of Mythologies: Sub-Zero.
Final Kombat[]
Shinnok's wartorn state in Final Kombat
Aiko's heart gem corrupted by Shinnok
Shinnok was mentioned he'd detected Dark Raiden's signature, and he was the one giving him those disturbing visions of Armageddon, even Aiko revolving around the Revenants. Those were constant and brutal. They soon realized that his vengeance with the Elder Gods may be justifiable, even Hanzo thought so, albeit reluctant; he soon noticed the Elder Gods may bring his family back, but as corrupted undead. Shinnok stated that a new faction, the Forces of Darkness, would assemble for the final battle, only.... it'd be led by Kahn instead of him. He actually longed for his sister, Cetrion, if only she never met her demise by their mother, Kronika, known as the Titaness and Keeper of Time.
From their last encounter, Shinnok was still able to use his cardiokinesis as mimicked by Aiko. To prove it, he unveiled a black crystalized heart and had been using it to emanate and communicate with her, Raiden, and whoever was susceptible....
Such visions included Raiden's view of the battle of Armageddon, his gravely wounded state by Kahn uttering the cryptic message, He must win, the Revenant invasion taking place in the same date as the current time in Earth (April 14th), and the etching having its head erased as Caro stated that Blaze can erase someone off of existence.
The double walker was conspiring with Daegon that there's more to the quest than his parents described, and he promised Daegon to save the prize and the fight with Blaze for him in order to ascend and destroy all realms. He was also infuriated that Quan Chi was unable to best Orin in battle, thus never crippling Taven's transport and progression, and soon became intrigued that Orin wasn't alone. He was assisted by a powerful warrior wielding fire, lightning and extraordinary martial arts as he knew who he was and kicked the sorcerer back into Hell! Shinnok then hastily prepared his warriors for Armageddon.
After hearing this, the weakened Shinnok remembered Hanzo, so he declared him as his messenger to retrieve his amulet once his double kickstarts Armageddon with Shao Kahn. Only longing for his sister, Cetrion, to be restored in conjunction with the dark heart gem encasing their intact memories while his doppelganger leaves. Unfortunately, his essence was consumed by him, thus using his antimatter to form a portal and thus lead the invasion! Shinnok already knew since Hanzo was employed by Quan after his death in the first tournament: he knew of the Elder Gods' deception of their promise to restoring Hanzo's family as their "Champion," he knew his descent into eternal madness, he knew well of Quan's treachery, and he's the only one since he'd been there and slip under Raiden's radar. He hopes he shall restore everyone if Cetrion's revival was possible...
However, not all things came to plan! The vengeful double absorbed Shinnok's vitality, and it was just enough to form a portal utilizing the weak state's antimatter. He was on the prowl for Armageddon as the powerless shell awaited Hanzo and the amulet...
Hanzo remembered the message the weak vessel transmitted to him in order to retrieve the amulet while in the Chaosrealm. The doppelganger escaped to the battlefield while he led the Forces of Darkness with Kahn. He was one of the enemies stunned by Fire God Liu Kang's entrance and he challenged him! Thanks to the combined might from Liu and Raiden, Shinnok was shocked both literally and metaphorically. It was fortunate the double wasn't protected from Blaze's eruption! Meanwhile, the real Shinnok screamed for Cetrion after Hanzo was successful on giving him the amulet to keep him from dying; the black heart gem reacted and shattered, making the double irate before his demise...
Thanks to Cetrion's revival, Shinnok had ascended with his grey heart to make a stricter government over Purgatory! They may still make contact with each other and bring peace to the pantheon.
Trivia[]
- Ikran always envisioned Shinnok to be played by Jason Isaacs! He was the man who played Col. William Tavington in the war flick, The Patriot, always the conniving, psychopathic, merciless and intimidating main antagonist!
- Troy Baker may be used as the last VA in Final Kombat.
- It's likely Shinnok's been inspired by Jafar from Disney's Aladdin. He too wears an ominous, often crimson, robe with matching crown, wields a tall staff utilizing his magic abilities, and is a fallen Elder God which Jafar wanted to be, i,e genie! They were both sinister sorcerers as well.
- Shinnok can also be on pun related to the Chinook salmon, the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus Oncorhynchus. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples.
- Shinnok has been chosen as one of Ikran's Video Game Umbrakinetics.
Gallery[]
