| Shang Tsung | |
| Series: | Mortal Kombat |
| First: | Mortal Kombat (1992) |
| Creator: | Ed Boon John Tobias |
| Designer: | John Tobias (early games) Herman Sanchez (MK:DA) |
| Origin: | Earthrealm; Outworld |
| Nationality: | Chinese |
Shang Tsung is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. He debuted as the final boss in the original 1992 game and has remained one of the franchise's primary villains. A powerful sorcerer, he is principally defined by his abilities to shapeshift into other characters and to absorb the souls of defeated warriors. Shang Tsung is usually portrayed as the right-hand man of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn and the archenemy of Shaolin monk Liu Kang. He also appeared as the main villain of (2002), alongside Quan Chi as the eponymous Deadly Alliance, as well as in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath (2020) and Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).
The character has appeared in various media outside of the games, including as the main villain of the 1995 film and the 2021 film. He has received a positive reception for his design, abilities, and role in the series.
Shang Tsung (originally named "Shang Lao") was based on a "Chinese sorcerer" archetype from martial arts films, including but not limited to the character Lo Pan from the film Big Trouble in Little China.[1] [2] He was originally envisioned as the one who would behead the losing fighter, prior to the concept of character-specific Shang Fatalities.[1] A cut character named "Kitsune", which was later developed into Kitana, "was going to fit into the story as Shang Lao's (Tsung's) princess daughter - the spoil of victory for winning the tournament", who would betray her father after she fell for Liu Kang.[3] However, mid-development, Boon and the team thought it would be fun to put the finishing power in the player's hands, and started coming up with gruesome ways we could finish off their enemies rather than just Shang Tsung. So it was going to be just the boss, but just "goofing around one time" they made Johnny Cage duck down and uppercut the sorcerer. Following this test, the staff decided to turn everybody into finishers.[4] The original idea was that Shang Tsung was a human traitor who had sold his soul.