Kahn Guards

"We could use warriors such as yourself. You should join Shao Kahn's militia!"

- One of the Kahn Guards in the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Deception.

The Kahn Guards, sometimes erroneously known as Defenders, were an army of ruthless soldiers from Outworld that served Shao Kahn the Konqueror only and they primarily made up his own evil empire and his Extermination Squads.

Overview
These human-looking soldiers who were native to the realm of Outworld, wore skull-like masks just like their Emperor with his iconic helmet-like crown. The best of the warriors are known as Champions. Armed soldiers were known as Melee Fighters, Swordsman, Defenders, and as Impalers. General Reiko while still a high ranking member of the malevolent Brotherhood of Shadows which worshiped the fallen Elder God Shinnok, was originally among those same soldiers and was notorious for his fighting skills and his ruthlessness. Shao Kahn likes that in his soldiers, he sees such ruthlessness in Reiko and even promoted him to be a general of his army.

These war-like soldiers invaded, attacked and conquered other realms including Edenia, Vaeternus, and Zaterra under orders from their mighty Emperor Shao Kahn himself ever since he originally have stolen Outworld from its true ruler, Onaga the Dragon King many centuries ago.

The ruthless Kahn Guards and their emperor were later stopped by the god of thunder Raiden and his chosen defenders of Earthrealm when they first invaded their homeworld.

A number of Kahn Guards fought and attempted to protect Shao Kahn's Fortress from Taven in the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

Each of the Extermination Squads which are formed entirely by the Kahn Guards, were trained to not only exterminate Shao Kahn's enemies that opposes him, but also, as warned by the citizens of Outworld, to eliminate every would-be rulers and usurpers before they could rise to power.

Movie appearance
The Kahn Guards appeared throughout the entire film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation including the beginning, but without their iconic skull masks and as all black-clad ninjas, sometimes armored & still carried savage weapons and banners of their master's empire. The Kahn Guards first arrived when their legions (also called Extermination Squads) came from Outworld through the portals and began attacking Earthrealm in order to conquer it for their master Shao Kahn who has broken the sacred rules of Mortal Kombat in his plot to claim Earthrealm, but his entire army were ultimately stopped and the merging of the realms was halted by Raiden and his warriors.

TV appearance
The Kahn Guards later reappeared in the television series Mortal Kombat: Conquest and they still serve their emperor Shao Kahn. General Reiko who leads the Kahn Guards into battle, is second in power only to Shao Kahn. In the beginning of the series, the Kahn Guards were also present at the battle between the sorcerer Shang Tsung representing Outworld and the Great Kung Lao, a warrior representing Earthrealm within the throne room of Shao Kahn's Palace.

The Kahn Guards made another appearance in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, still under the command of their emperor Shao Kahn and these fanatic masked soldiers are aided by the cyborgs that are programmed to serve their master. In the episode "Sting of the Scorpion", skeletial undead warriors bearing the peticular armor of Shao Kahn's soldiers, were in fact, Kahn guards, men from Outworld with blind loyality to the Konqueror died long ago before they were revived and controlled by the ninja spectre Scorpion before he was defeated by both Liu Kang and Sub-Zero, and these dead Kahn Guards along with other undead corpses resurrected by Scorpion were no more.