Shao Kahn - in Other Media

In Other Media

Shao Kahn makes his first appearance in MK comic books during the Battlewave miniseries by Malibu Comics, though he already was present in the first, Blood & Thunder. Shao Kahn remained mostly faithful to his game counterpart, being the Emperor of Outworld and attempting to take Earthrealm for himself. In Battlewave, Shao Kahn would arrange a different plan to open the portals. He kidnaps Sonya and, by means of hypnosis and brainwashing, convinces her to marry him; the marriage would weaken the barriers between realms enough to allow Shao Kahn to seize Earth easily (and make Sonya the queen of both realms and his wife). During these two series, he never appears wielding his trademark helmet (instead, he is always shown with his visible face and design taken from the official Mortal Kombat II comic by John Tobias), and he is seen wearing his helmet only in the comic Kitana & Mileena (according to which he actually loves Kitana).

Shao Kahn appears in both Mortal Kombat films. In the 1995 first movie he is referred to simply as "The Emperor" and makes a brief appearance at the end, as a special effect and voiced by Frank Welker. Kahn (his name, incorrectly hyphenated in the closing credits of Annihilation, was additionally misspelled as "Shoa-Kahn" on the DVD release's fight scenes menu), played by Brian Thompson, is the main antagonist in the 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. In the film he fights Raiden, Johnny Cage and Liu Kang. He brutally kills Johnny Cage in the film's opening scene, murders his own allies Rain and Jade in cold blood and then Raiden (later brought back to life) near the end prior to his final fight with Liu Kang. In addition, Kahn and Raiden were portrayed as brothers, with Shinnok as their father, though neither of them shared any relation in the games (with the exception of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe in which Raiden's biography states that the two are brothers, although the game itself is non-canon). The only subplot taken directly from the games' storyline was his past relationship with Kitana and Sindel; a segment in the film featured Kitana, imprisoned in Kahn's fortress, mentioning the destruction of her family and Sindel's subsequent suicide under his rule.

He was played by Jeffrey D. Harris and Ted Nordblum in the 1995-1996 stage show Mortal Kombat: Live Tour.

Shao Kahn was played by Jeffrey Meek (who also played Raiden) in Mortal Kombat: Konquest. Despite having lost much of his physical stature from the games and movies, he has a much more threatening disposition. He served as the mediator of the Mortal Kombat matches. Meek played opposite himself in the series finale, where Kahn battled Raiden in a void seemingly between the realms. With Kung Lao dead, Shao Kahn forced Raiden into submission and commenced full military assault on Earthrealm. The series was discontinued following this event.

He also made several appearances in the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, in his usual role of Outworld's emperor and the leader of enemy forces. He was voiced by John Vernon and Michael Des Barres in separate episodes.

Aleks Paunovic portrays an unmasked (human) Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat: Legacy two-part episode "Kitana & Mileena", dealing with his early rule over the conquered Edenia and an alternate version of his relationship to Sindel, Kitana and Mileena.