Shinnok

"You turned on your fellow Elder Gods. You betrayed your title. You deserved much worse!"

- Raiden about Lord Shinnok in Shinnok's Mortal Kombat Gold ending. "Remove the shadow from the light, the shadow grows."

- Lord Shinnok

Shinnok is an Elder God that fell from grace and was banished into the dreaded Netherrealm after he attempted to conquer the Earthrealm as well as the rest of the realms and even tried to overthrown his fellow deities. Shinnok is also forever worshipped by a fanatic cult of demons and evil conjurers known as the Brotherhood of Shadow. He is one of the most powerful villains from the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. He first appeared in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero where he served as the main antagonist''. He is also the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mortal Kombat X''. Overall, he is the tertiary main antagonist of the MK franchise.

Attempt at Power
It is known that Shinnok knew Taven and Daegon and their father Argus. Shinnok desired to control Earthrealm, which would give him immense power. However, he knew that he could not enter the realm without the Elder Gods becoming aware of his plans. Shinnok then created a mystical talisman (the Amulet of Shinnok or the Sacred Amulet as it is called), which allowed him to enter Earthrealm by weakening the dimensional barriers. A war broke out and the Elder God found himself fighting the thunder god Raiden. At one point, Raiden was left with a terrible choice: either sacrifice the indigenous inhabitants of Earthrealm or surrender to Shinnok. However, the Elder Gods intervened and Raiden defeated the renegade god, stripping him of his precious amulet. Shinnok was cast into the depths of the Netherrealm, but his defeat left the dimensional fibers of the worlds weak, resulting in Earthrealm's then indigenous race, the Saurians, going almost extinct.

Claiming the Netherrealm
Shinnok was imprisoned within the Netherrealm, where he was tormented constantly by the Netherrealm's then ruler Lucifer. However he met Quan Chi, who agreed to help him overthrow his tormentor, in exchange for a great amount of power and a place at Shinnok's side. They were successful in their coup and became the main controllers of Netherrealm. In return, Shinnok himself, now the Netherrealm's only lord and master honored his word and imbued Quan Chi with incredible power, making him arch-sorcerer of the Netherealm, and later chose him to become the founder and high priest of his cult of worshippers, conjurers and demons known as the Brotherhood of Shadows whose only purpose is to serve Shinnok, the Lord of Darkness.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Shinnok began rebuilding and gathering his forces of darkness, but knew he could not escape from Netherrealm without his amulet. He dispatched Quan Chi to find it, who after many years discovered its location. The sorcerer recovered it for Shinnok using the elder Sub-Zero, but secretly gave him a useless replica. Sub-Zero confronted the fallen Elder God and managed to retrieve the amulet from him.

Mortal Kombat 3
Though Shinnok did not participate in Shao Kahn's invasion of Earthrealm, he did instigate them and monitored them. Earlier, Quan Chi had made a deal with Shang Tsung in exchange for the location of Shinnok's amulet, Shinnok would resurrect Shao Kahn's deceased queen, Sindel, allowing him to enter Earthrealm. Shinnok also ordered Noob Saibot to spy on Shao Kahn and to eventually side with the Earthrealm warriors, since Kahn had also attempted to invade the Netherrealm, which Shinnok took as a sign that he was becoming too powerful.

Mortal Kombat 4
With Shao Kahn defeated, Shinnok led his dark forces in an assault on the realms and proved successful in conquering Edenia, capturing Sindel and Princess Kitana. However, after this, Shinnok's plans went downhill, thanks to his possession of a fake amulet, with the real one belonging to Quan Chi. The sorcerer was dragged down to Netherrealm when he attempted to send Scorpion back to Netherrealm. Shinnok's forces were defeated by Raiden and his warriors, and Liu Kang managed to defeat Shinnok himself, resulting in his banishment back to Netherrealm.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Earlier, Shinnok discovered Onaga trapped in the Netherrealm and offered him freedom in exchange for the Dragon King's assistance in reclaiming his power. When Onaga agreed, the fallen Elder God opened a portal for him to Outworld where he allied himself with Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi. Shinnok later encountered Taven during his quest in Netherrealm while he was being attacked by Li Mei. Taven did not know about Shinnok's fall from grace and he saved the fallen Elder God from her wrath. The god said that he had been sent to Netherrealm because he had meddled in the affairs of mortals. Shinnok asked him for assistance in driving out invaders in his sacred tower, only for him to reveal, after Taven had left, that these were illusions he had conjured up and that he was in league with Daegon, whom Taven had pursued to Netherrealm. Shinnok said that perhaps he should have placed his trust in Taven, since he defeated the illusions faster than Daegon. The god also revealed he was the one that alerted the kombatants to the godlike powers Blaze's defeat would give to the person who defeated him.

In his ending, Shinnok sent a doppelganger of himself to the final battle to assist Daegon in defeating Blaze. However, this doppelganger defeated Blaze himself and became a living being as powerful as Shinnok. Now the fallen Elder God would have to face his doppelganger to attain ultimate power.

Mortal Kombat (2011)
Shinnok makes a brief cameo in the ending of the Story Mode of Mortal Kombat (2011). Shinnok is pleased with his new plans perfectly coming to fruition thanks to the efforts of his powerful disciple Quan Chi. According to him, Shinnok himself will soon be free, and his dark forces will conquer Earthrealm and Outworld for themselves.

Mortal Kombat X
Started in 25 years ago after Shao Kahn's defeat, Shinnok starts a Netherrealm War by invading Earthrealm with both the Netherrealm forces and the Brotherhood of Shadow under his command, only to be sealed by Raiden into his own amulet with Johnny Cage's interference inside the Sky Temple, where Shinnok planned to corrupt the Jinsei to gain more power, take over Earthrealm and slay the Elder Gods.

One of his second subordinates other than Quan Chi, D'Vorah was tasked to act as Kotal Kahn's follower to get the amulet. Once D'Vorah found an amulet without any interference from the new generation of Earthrealm heroes and without Kotal noticing, she goes to Earthrealm where Quan Chi is about to be executed by Hanzo Hasashi (Scorpion). She throws the amulet to Quan Chi to break the seal to free Shinnok before Hanzo beheads the sorcerer after he finished breaking the seal. Thus, it will be Hanzo's fatal mistake of killing Quan Chi, which means that most of Raiden's fallen warriors cannot be revived and remained revenants, including his family and clan.

Once Shinnok is freed, he and D'Vorah subdue the Special Forces and the Shirai Ryu clan, and took Johnny Cage as a hostage, then to the Sky Temple once more. He arrived at the Temple, killing Bo' Rai Cho and enters the Jinsei Chamber while his top five revenants, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Smoke, Kitana and Sindel fight with Raiden. They ultimately failed but were able to ambush Raiden into his trap that he prepared for the thunder god while his revenants wasted his time long enough. Finally, after corrupting the Jinsei and taking over Earthrealm, he become Corrupted Shinnok. However, it does not last long and he was knocked out by Johnny's daughter Cassie, with Raiden sacrificing himself to restore the Jinsei and Earthrealm, thus ending Shinnok's reign of terror.

Afterwards, when Raiden becomes what appears to be a corrupted form based on Dark Raiden from the original timeline, he beheads Shinnok off-screen, yet he is still alive and only loses his body, thus no longer threatening Earthrealm or the realms. When Raiden promotes still revenants Liu Kang and Kitana as the new rulers of the Netherrealm, the thunder god gave Shinnok's head to them as a warning not to threaten Earthrealm or else they will suffer from Raiden's wrath.

In his MK X ending, Shinnok at last succeeded in claiming Earthrealm which was used as a staging area for his war against his former fellow Elder Gods eons ago. This time, he will merge the realms, and to that advantage in his vendetta, to awaken the ominous entity known as the One Being, a being the Elder Gods have not told the truth about to all the denizens of the realms that he was the greater collective they were all part of. Whole once more, the One Being consume the Elder Gods. Shinnok watched with satisfaction as his vengeance was complete. This reality has come to an end.

Powers and Abilities
Shinnok is quite a powerful being thanks to him being an Elder God, his powers seeming to mainly revolve around darkness and the Netherrealm, such as summoning a skeletal hand from the ground to grip his opponent and take them into the Netherrealm. Shinnok can also shapeshift and mimic the powers of other kombatants, however the powers he mimic must be in his jurisdiction. He can also take on a larger demonic form as shown in the final level of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero when his precious amulet became stolen from him and in his anger, he transforms into a gigantic, unholy monster. His magic abilities also include the ability of creating demons and wraiths to do his bidding, as well as creating clones and illusions of others and himself.

The fallen Elder God Shinnok, when combined with his Sacred Amulet (Amulet of Shinnok) once more, becomes already more powerful then ever, meaning he is allowed him to freely traverse the realms and open up portals as well as instantly destroys anyone and anything that stands in his way.

Movie appearance
The evil Elder God Shinnok is portrayed by Reiner Schöne in the second Mortal Kombat movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and according to Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Shinnok is the father of Raiden and Shao Kahn, who wishes for power not only over all realms, but over the gods as well. He also appears to be the Elder God of Wind. Shinnok is also never without his Sacred Amulet (Amulet of Shinnok) which in its alternate version, is made of gold with a ruby gem instead of bronze with an emerald gem but still with the 4 sections of the amulet itself are etched with the elemental forces of Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire. Each includes alchemical symbols, shapes, and parts of I Ching trigrams, all of which pertain to their respective element.

He favors Shao Kahn, considering Raiden too weak and caring to be his son. Shinnok orders Shao Kahn to kill his brother while guiding him in his path to merging the parallel universes of Earth and Outworld. Shinnok is later stopped and ultimately imprisoned by his fellow Elder Gods and Raiden was offered his position within the ranks of their pantheon.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
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Mortal Kombat 4
"Infidel! You are in no position to demand anything! I could kill you...with a mere thought!"

- Shinnok, to a demanding Reptile

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
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Mortal Kombat (2011)
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Gameplay
"Miserable wretch!"

- Shinnok "Taste your death!"

- Shinnok "I bring death!"

- Shinnok "I am death!"

- Shinnok "Embrace the darkness!"

- Shinnok "The realms will be mine!"

- Shinnok "Serve me and live!"

- Shinnok

"There is fear in your heart!"

- Shinnok "You offend me!"

- Shinnok "You are a fool!"

- Shinnok "Death calls for you!"

- Shinnok "This ends with your death."

- Shnnok "You never cease to amuse."

- Shinnok "What did you expect?"

- Shinnok

"Judgment is at hand!"

- Shinnok "The end is near!"

- Shinnok "Young fool!"

- Shinnok "Fall into darkness, hero!"

- Shinnok "Earthrealm will fall."

- Shinnok "I will have my revenge!"

- Shinnok

"Your father will weep for you."

- Shinnok, threatening to kill Johnny Cage's daughter Cage Cassie. "You amuse me, clown."

- Shinnok to Johnny Cage.

"No more trickery, Cage."

- Shinnok to Johnny Cage. "That is a god's power!"

- Shinnok to Kotal Kahn. "Know your place."

- Shinnok to Quan Chi. "Death to all!"

- Shinnok

Story Mode
"You see it now, Raiden... Your legacy. You poison their hearts with hope."

- Shinnok to Raiden regarding his former friends now turned into Shinnok's undead slaves. "The legacy of life is death, Raiden. My followers accept this, and live on. They fight for me."

- Shinnok to Raiden "Tremble before me as I absorb Earthrealm's power."

- Shinnok

Intros

 * Shinnok: "Greetings."

- Shinnok "Such blatant mockery!"

- Shinnok "You assumed I'm not you."

- Shinnok to himself "You"

- Shinnok to his clone. "You did not killed me at the Pyramid"

- Shinnok's clone to his creator (referring to their battle at the Pyramid of Argus). "This time, I will."

- Shinnok ready to destroy his clone permanently. "What in all of the realms?"

- Shinnok "I'm of no realm you know."

- Shinnok "I know all, pretender."

- Shinnok "Who dares?."

- Shinnok "You do not know me?"

- Shinnok "The damned are nameless."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Cassie Cage: "You will serve me."

- Shinnok "Servitude begins at death."

- Shinnok "All too easy."

- Shinnok "Your life ends now, child."

- Shinnok to Cassie Cage. "Do you fear death?"

- Shinnok "You will be welcomed in my service."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to D'Vorah: "D'Vorah"

- Shinnok confronting D'Vorah. "Insect."

- Shinnok insulting D'Vorah. "You serve your master well."

- Shinnok to D'Vorah, regarding her master Kotal Kahn. "I will deal with him next."

- Shinnok threatens to destroy D'Vorah's emperor Kotal Kahn.


 * Shinnok to Ermac: "Come to pledge your service?"

- Shinnok confronting Ermac. "For now."

- Shinnok before fighting Ermac. "Soon, that will be me."

- Shinnok, before facing Ermac in combat over his soul and dominion over Outworld as it's new ruler.


 * Shinnok to Erron Black: "Weapons will prove ineffective."

- Shinnok confronting Erron Black. "I am not of the Netherrealm."

- Shinnok to Erron Black "Serve my glorious cause!"

- Shinnok "Then know the glory of death!"

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Ferra and Torr: "You offend me, creature!"

- Shinnok to both Ferra and Torr. "The Kahn will thank me for this."

- Shinnok before attacking Ferra and Torr. "Ferra and pet."

- Shinnok confronting Ferra and Torr. "You shall serve me together."

- Shinnok to Ferra and Torr


 * Shinnok to Goro: "Please to see you, my prince."

- Shinnok to Prince Goro. "Then your race is doomed."

- Shinnok threatening to eradicate Prince Goro and the Shokan people.


 * Shinnok to Jacqui Briggs: "Mortal fool."

- Shinnok "You will die."

- Shinnok "Jacqui Briggs."

- Shinnok confronting Jacqui Briggs. "Absolutely."

- Shinnok before fighting Jacqui Briggs.


 * Shinnok to Jax Briggs: "You risked much, Briggs."

- Shinnok to Jax Briggs. "She will soon be mine."

- Shinnok threatening to claim the soul of Jax Briggs' daughter Jacqui. "Enough pleasantries."

- Shinnok "You are human again."

- Shinnok to Jax Briggs. "Pity those who discard my gifts."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Johnny Cage: "You can defeat an Elder God?"

- Shinnok to Johnnny Cage. "Proceed."

- Shinnok before fighting Johnny Cage. "Another mortal to crush."

- Shinnok "Your soul will burn."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Kano: "What is your purpose here?"

- Shinnok confronting Kano. "You have nothing to offer."

- Shinnok to Kano. "No deal."

- Shinnok before attacking Kano.


 * Shinnok to Kenshi: "Your sword is a talisman."

- Shinnok to Kenshi about his ancestral sword Sento. "Nothing can do that."

- Shinnok "Another of Raiden's pets."

- Shinnok confronting Kenshi. "Than perhaps I will."

- Shinnok before fighting Kenshi.


 * Shinnok to Kitana: "Shall we, Kitana?"

- Shinnok confronting Princess Kitana. "Thank you for making an exception."

- Shinnok to Princess Kitana. "Mine is the hand of death!"

- Shinnok "That is exactly what it shall do."

- Shinnok before fighting Princess Kitana.


 * Shinnok to Kotal Kahn: "Kotal Kahn."

- Shinnok confronting Kotal Kahn. "Save the realms, false god."

- Shinnok taunting Kotal Kahn. "I will have Outworld."

- Shinnok. threatening to invade and rule Outworld. "Challenge accepted."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Kung Jin: "Protect yourself, child."

- Shinnok to Kung Jin. "Optimism is a thin shield."

- Shinnok "To what do I owe of this intrusion?"

- Shinnok confronting Kung Jin. "Very well, hero."

- Shinnok to Kung Jin, regarding of Lord Shinnok's malicious nature.


 * Shinnok to Kung Lao: "Kung Lao."

- Shinnok confronting Kung Lao. "Nothing can prepare you for me."

- Shinnok "On your knees, Shaolin."

- Shinnok to Kung Lao. "Your lesson begins."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Liu Kang: "Deliver your message, boy!"

- Shinnok confronting to Liu Kang. "Yours I assumed."

- Shinnok before attacking Liu Kang. "You wished to combat me?"

- Shinnok to Liu Kang. "For you, child."

- Shinnok before fighting Liu Kang.


 * Shinnok to Mileena: "The brave Outworld empress."

- Shinnok confronting "Empress Mileena". "I am here, am I not?"

- Shinnok "Stand aside, Mileena."

- Shinnok to Mileena. "All realms will soon be mine."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Quan Chi: "You will learn or die."

- Shinnok "My servant."

- Shinnok to Quan Chi. "Always."

- Shinnok regarding Quan Chi's allegiance to him.


 * Shinnok to Raiden: "What say you, Raiden?"

- Shinnok confronting Raiden. "Arrogant to the end"

- Shinnok before fighting Raiden. "You have lost, Raiden."

- Shinnok to Raiden. "They will worship me."

- Shinnok threatens to make his former fellow Elder Gods worship him forever once he succeeds in conquering all the realms.


 * Shinnok to Reptile: "Prove your worth!"

- Shinnok "I've already forgotten your name."

- Shinnok "What do you want, creature?"

- Shinnok confronting Reptile "You are but a relic of the past."

- Shinnok to Reptile.


 * Shinnok to Scorpion: "The vengeful shade."

- Shinnok confronting Scorpion. "Failure is for lesser beings."

- Shinnok "Why resist, Scorpion?"

- Shinnok "So be it."

- Shinnok "The firefly."

- Shinnok confronting Scorpion. "Served me or be extinguished."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Sonya Blade: "Humans will soon be extinct."

- Shinnok "And be erased from history."

- Shinnok "Raiden's light blinds you."

- Shinnok to Sonya Blade. "I will smother you in darkness."

- Shinnok


 * Shinnok to Sub-Zero: "Your skills wither in Earthrealm."

- Shinnok "Then why do I sensed fear?"

- Shinnok "Sub-Zero."

- Shinnok confronting Sub-Zero.


 * Shinnok to Takeda Takahashi: "Run along, child."

- Shinnok to Takeda Takahashi. "Then play time has ended."

- Shinnok "Son of Kenshi."

- Shinnok confronting Takeda Takahashi, son of Kenshi. "You flattered me."

- Shinnok after being called the "Father of All Evil" by Takeda Takahashi.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
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Trivia

 * Shinnok's fall from grace is similar to that of Satan (also known as Lucifer).
 * Shinnok's little-known "backstory" concerning his overthrowing of the Netherrealm from the demon Lucifer's control is mentioned in the Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero instruction manual, as well as the Konquest mode of Mortal Kombat: Deception, where Shinnok makes a cameo (his voice here seems to be the same that he had in MK4). However, there is no other information about Shinnok's battle with Lucifer.
 * Shinnok is loosely based on the demon Yan Wang from Journey to the West.
 * So far, Shinnok is the first boss character playable in the game without aid of a cheat code or cheat device.
 * Shinnok's MK4 face model is based on Midway developer Steve Beran. Steve Beran also voiced Shinnok for MK4 and Mortal Kombat Gold.
 * In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Sektor will say to initiate code K-0-N-N-1-H-5 where that code should be read is 5H1NNOK, despite there being no relation between Shinnok and Sektor.
 * But according to Sonya Blade's MKA Bio, Sektor has connections with hostile entities outside Earthrealm (such as Shinnok himself) and the Fallen Elder God began to reunite the Forces of Darkness for the Battle of Armageddon.
 * So far, the exact element Shinnok is a deity of is not made clear, though Mortal Kombat: Annihilation marks him the god of wind. The use of skeletal hands in most of his techniques hints he is a god of death at least, though his death-based powers may be a result of his banishment to the Netherrealm.
 * Shinnok is heavily implied to have the ability to change his shape much like that of the sorcerer Shang Tsung. However, because of limitations, Shinnok was stuck with only able to mimic fighting styles and voices only, despite there being a Randper Kombat code that randomly transforms the player's characters in both model and moveset. However, he does have the ability to morph himself into a demonic shape if his amulet was removed from him in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero.
 * Shinnok's MK4 face model is based on Midway developer Steve Beran who also voiced Shinnok for MK4 and MK Gold.
 * If "Big Head Mode" is activated in Mortal Kombat 4, the skeletal hands in Shinnok's fatalities will roughly double in size. Oddly, in the Two Hand Clap, the hands will fail to retract entirely into the portal, offering an excellent view of the bloody gunk on them.
 * In Shinnok's bio Kard made for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Ed Boon admitted that making Shinnok the final boss of Mortal Kombat 4 was a poor decision.
 * So far, Shinnok is the first boss character to be playable without the aid of a cheat code or third-party cheat device upon his first appearance (every other boss character was playable either through these devices, or not at all). Since MK4, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung have also appeared as playable boss characters in the videogame Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
 * Although seen in the Armageddon's character roster as wearing a sorcerer's robe, Shinnok is seen in the in-game screenshots as wearing a similar attire to his costume in Mortal Kombat 4.
 * In promotional pictures of Mortal Kombat 4, Shinnok is shown to have a staff on which his amulet is housed, although he never actually uses it in the game. He does appear to use it as his weapon stance in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, though it is unclear how he regained the Amulet of Shinnok from Onaga. It is likely that Shinnok sent one of his enforcers to retrieve it after the Dragon King's defeat.
 * Shinnok, while not appearing physically in the Mortal Kombat X comicbook series, has been mentioned and his imprisonment in his amulet is strengthened when the amulet is banished to a dark dimension, the lock being the Kamidogu bound in Raiden's blood. Havik, the Cleric of Chaos, seeks to claim all the Kamidogu to gain possession of Shinnok's Amulet.
 * In the early versions of MK: Armageddon, Pao Chui was supposed to be Shinnok's unarmed fighting style.
 * Shinnok makes an appearance in the Konquest Mode of Mortal Kombat: Deception, where he asks the Earthrealmer Shujinko to find his Sacred Amulet. The amulet Shujinko finds is, in fact, the false amulet created by Quan Chi.
 * There was a mistake in Shinnok's Bio. It says that Shinnok's Place of Origin is the Netherrealm instead of the Heavens, the Netherrealm being the place of his current residence and imprisonment.
 * In the opening cutscene of the MK 2011 Story Mode, a defeated Kung Lao is seen with the skeletal hands of Shinnok's clone wrapped around him. This leads many to believe that Shinnok's clone murdered Lao.
 * In Mortal Kombat X, Shinnok is the only character to address guest character Jason Voorhees by name.
 * In Mortal Kombat X, Shinnok is the only character to be unlocked through Story Mode.
 * While the name "Shinnok" has no basis in any existing world mythologies, the components of his name may have bases in real world languages. "Shin" could be in reference for the Japanese word for "god" or "spirit" (such as that used in the name of the religion of Shinto ("way of the gods"), while "Nok" is most likely a play on the Latin word "[Nox]" which translates into English as "night", but can also mean "darkness" and, figuratively speaking, death.
 * In one of Kung Lao's match intro dialogues in MK X, he called Shinnok, "Lord Cockatrice." The name however is a reference to the mythical creature.