A fight scene doesnt make him cooler. In fact he looks like a generic asian guy.

I picked Havik.

Shang Tsung,

Havik's done relatively well in the comic, though his role seems a bit ill-defined besides "chaos!" Though to be fair, I'm a week behind.

Still, his look may be cool, but his move set is one of my least favorite in the series. I'll take MK1's big bad boss over him any day, though I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the cleric again if the gave him a new move set.

Dude was stealing souls, blowing up bodies from the inside, and corrupting tournaments probably before you were born. Shitty writing gave everything he was known for to Quan Chi instead. Respect. ;)

Shang Tsung

Always been my favorite gameplay in every games he appeared. The morphs in the Trilogy, and in MK9 flames, badass combos and ground skulls.
However, he has never been my most effective, need a lot of practice, but still, that's the one I prefer using.
Even in terms of story/appearance, I consider him to be one of the most fitting character to the serie. An evil chinese martial artist with dark powers, master of all kombat style (Morphs), it's the most Mortal Kombat of the Mortal Kombat characters.

Havik is one of the very few 3D char I like, he should have been in MKX.

I love Shang Tsung, I really do, but I had to go with Havik for this one, I really hope/want to see him make a playable appearance soon, I also want Shang to return but Havik hasn't had a shot in the new era yet, so im going with him.

Havik

He's a ugly(in a good way) design and has potential to be something great. Evident from the MKX comics

Damn, this was a tough one. I voted for Havik

Quan Chi does it better. He looks more evil and accomplishes more. He is 10x the sorcerer Shang will ever be. I dont see the appeal to Shang Tsung besides being MK's first boss. He only still exists because of nostalgia.

Nooooo! I accidentally voted for Havik. Fuck you tablet!

*sigh* Well, I do like Havik too, so I guess it's ok. Sorry Shang.

lol no

And, if looking like a tennis ball that wandered drunk into a tattoo parlor counts as evil, sure. :p

See, things like this are the reason Shang frigging needs his morphs back. I feel like we've got an entire generation of MK players who know Shang as "the guy who throws skull fireballs and can turn into his opponent for ten seconds".

You've gotta understand the sheer joy that comes with playing Shang in MKII and Trilogy, when he could turn into anyone in the playable cast on command. If you were good with Shang, it meant you were good with everybody.

Shang Tsung is cut from the classic Kung-Fu film archetypes that encompass half the original cast (Seriously, watch Enter The Dragon). That alone makes him much more than generic; he lives at the heart of MK's origins, and is an essential element that keeps the series in line with its kung-fu film roots. Much more than 'nostalgia'.

He has survived for thousands of years, is a master of infiltration, a master deceiver (see Kenshi), a skilled actor, a careful planner, someone who learns from his mistakes and always finds new schemes and plans to appease Shao Kahn or get what he wants. He skill in soul manipulation is second to none; if you remember, in Deadly Alliance, Quan Chi needed his help transplanting souls into Onaga's army because that was something he could not do himself.

They are two very different sorcerers. Quan's skills lie in manipulation, mind control, long-term contingency planning and necromancy. And I like Quan Chi, but a decade's worth of favoritism, having him be the secret mastermind who always gets away scot-free, has gotten rather old. I'm beyond glad MKX finally put him down.

I'll be the first to admit that Shang hasn't had a good showing for a good long while; MK9's Story shat on him and gave Quan Chi his entire MK3 arc for absolutely no good reason, and that hasn't helped his image.

This is why people are voting Shang. They remember how awesome he was. And if you want to talk potential, well...with Kahn dead, Shang possibly back and no longer tethered to him, who knows what he'll do next? Looking forward to it.

I will gladly take the tattooed tennis ball anyday. Shang looks like some random asian guy that just got sucked into all of this. His appearance is so boring. I was never a fan of him in MK1-3. I did fin him interesting in DA though, but thats not saying much.

People voting for Shang because they remember how good he WAS, proves my point. People are holding on to the old memories of Shang when he hasnt been good in over a decade. Havik causing chaos in Deception and his current story in the komics have been consistently interesting. Havik has a good moveset too. Shang Tsung has a Terrible moveset. He has flaming skulls and the ability to steal souls. Its not that great. Its actually VERY boring.

So people who vote for Shang Tsung are automatically just nostalgic and nothing else? Hmm. Okay.

I dont hate Shang by any means. I hope he does come back in MK11 and does something interesting, but he hasnt been interesting in YEARS. People are holding on to very old memories and dont realize just how boring he is.

Havik gets my vote simply because I want him in a game again. I like Shang Tsung but considering Shinnok pulls out his fireballs nonstop he's not terribly missed in MKX.

Havik atm.

Sure, Shang was better back in the old days, but ask yourself this:

Arguably Quan Chi got his ass handed to him in MKX worse than Shang ever had. He got his nuts bashed into the pavement, got the crap kicked out of him, got arrested, and got decapitated finishing his goal. Not his finest moment.

His shit showing in MKX is roughly analogous to Shang's shit showing in MK9. We can now say "they used to give Quan a better showing". (Mind you, it was long in coming and very deserved)

Does that mean that from now on when people say they're Quan Chi fans, they're tripping on nostalgia from when he wasn't written like a total chump? Has MKX ruined him? I don't think so. Nor do I think MK9 ruined Shang, even if he doesn't come across as awesome as he used to.

And it's not like Shang completely sucked in MK9 either. I found him still a lot of fun to use. I think he used to be better, but there are other characters I can say that for, like Jade. She was never as lethal as she was in UMK3, but she still comes near the top of my list of favorites.

It isn't 'nostalgia' if you continue to like the character even after the game treats them bad. That's a hilariously bad line of reasoning. And if you start turning on a preferred character after a bad showing then that just means you're fickle.

Look at the Shinnok fans. Character was arguably garbage until Armageddon came along and improved him, and then MKX made him a beast. They didn't have nostalgia to go off of because the character had a crappy debut. They just had a desire for a better character. Same with Shang.

If you like a character, it's natural to want them to be treated well in the games they show up in. That's all.

Havik...who should have been in MKX!....maybe there is still hope.

He isn't boring. He's one of the most interesting characters in the series imo. He's a relatable villain on top of that, you understand why he does shit, he doesn't want to die. + his gameplay is always awesome

Shang Tsung. To make him interesting if he's confirmed for MK11 (I think there's a very good chance he'll be in the playable roster): make him work for HIMSELF, not sucking down to other big baddies now that Shao Kahn is dead plus fucking Quan Chi isn't alive to embarrass him anymore as top sorcerer. Maybe he can be the fringe leader of the Shadow Priests who are hiding out after the death of Shao Kahn. I'd like to see him reunite with Erron Black and their interaction given that Shang WAS the one who slowed Erron's aging in exchange for slaying that anonymous Earthrealm warrior (Nightwolf's ancestor?).

Also to add charisma, bring back Cary Tagawa from the first MK movie and MK Legacy to voice act Shang.

Quan Chi got beat up. So what? Shang kept failing. And then when he started doing stuff right, he turned on Quan Chi and got his ass beat again. In MK9 he got beat up by Liu Kang, Kitana, Smoke, Kung Lao, etc. Then he failed at every task Shao Kahn gave him.

Quan Chi allowed himself to be captured so that he could release Shinnok in Earthrealm.

I loved Shinnok since MK4. Im not being fickle, I just have never been a huge fan of Shang Tsung. I feel like he rode the fame of being MK's first villain through the series. I am not saying just because you like him means that you are nostalgic, I am just saying I feel like some people are blinded by nostalgia because IMO I think he is boring AF and a dumb villain.

Havik, I really like the idea of someone who thinks that there shouldn't be any order at all, and people should do as they please.

Shang Tsung has been drowned down by a much better sorcerer.

My vote goes to Shang Tsung although I do love Havik and would like to see him in future games.

Shang to me is the perfect #2 villain. He's cunning, powerful, and even after 20 year he still carries his mysterious vibe. We never know what Shang is going to do next. That's why I believe his hiatus in MKX (like Jade) is to give him a break and have him come back stronger for the next game. Love his unique move set, personality, and his designs have just been getting stronger.

Havik is one of the best 3D characters made. Clear and fun character with motives ranging from troublemaker to world changing. Great play style and design. If we never know what Shang is going to do next, what does that say about Havik, who might not know what he himself will do next. His comic appearance his showing how much potential he really has.

This is a tough one, but I have to go with Shang because what he is up to currently has my curiosity more than Havik's plot (while being super interesting itself, just not as mysterious right now). I want both of them to return for MK11 or MKX DLC.