Ermac. Again, easily. A character who's evolved from a grunt to a powerhouse force for good, who's been revealed to have a very specific soul inside him.

Versus Shang, who...gets smacked around by Liu Kang, smacked around by Shao Kahn, smacked around by Quan Chi...god, how I want Shang to get his glory one of these days. He was a major force in the games, now he's the boot-kissing toady who just can't catch a break. I remember when I used to feel sorry for Reptile...Shang's occupying that spot now.

RE: Year of the Dragon: Who is the Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion? Why must everyone have such a difficult time allowing people to vote for a character for whatever reason they have, even if some tend to find it ridiculous for themselves? Let people vote for who they want because they want to. They don't need to meet your needs of requirements to vote. Let them vote without some stupid rant going on. Jebus. ------ EXACTLY!!!

What a true statement. Shang Tsung, we seen him as the ultimate badass villian in MK1, but then MK2 came out and I just thought, "What happened to that epic old man? This guy sucks!". His gameplay is only good in about 3 games, but his storyline makes him the uber-master, then turns him into basically from general to infantry. His story is in depth, but I like the Ermac story, it makes him turn from a puppet into the string-cutter (real MK Fans get that reference). You really explained this battle the way it goes in my head.

Does Ermac actually have Jerrod's sould in him though? Wasn't that only revealed in Ermac's ending? Same with Ermac's MK:D ending. Did any of that stuff about him becoming a powerhouse for good actually happen?

I agree that Shang Tsung needs a reprieve from being Shao Khan's toadie, but he did get his moment of glory in MK:DA, which obviously takes place after MK2011, so I'll be curious to see if they do anything further with him, or if he's just stuck inside of Sindel or whatever (man was that stupid).

What the hell? Why is Ermac losing?!

Was that directed at me or the guy talking about people voting for Ermac because he was a ninja? I only ask because my post was in response to someone saying that Ermac had a better story than Shang Tsung and I just wanted some clarification.

I've been saying this whole time that people vote based on a variety of reasons, some having to do with gameplay, story etc, and some as simple as Jade wears green. So I'd be the last person to begrudge someone for voting for a character for any reason whatsoever.

Ermac gets my vote...

The way I see it is Ermac has continued to evolve from absolute nothing (literally, a rumor) to a villain-redeemed-hero whereas Shang Tsung has just gotten bitch slapped by people and, personally, too much of a snake to get my vote

Shang Tsung.

Simple- he's not getting more votes. Some poeple may like Shang Tsung more on MKO than they do Ermac, which is their opinion. How people vote is totally up to them, so...
yeah.

Wasn't directed at you. Otherwise I would have quoted you!

Come on Ermac, force push Tsung out of the way!

Go! Go! Go!

EDIT: And just as I said that Tsung's lead increased. -_-'

EDIT II: Well $hit, Tsung's lead has now decreased lol. I give up.

Ah! Cool, fair enough. I just wanted to make sure. I've already been accused of being a jerk and part of the shadowy conspiracy to commit user poll fraud and all that, so I didn't want to add another notch to my "a-hole" belt lol.

We might be on opposite sides of the fence on this particular vote, but I just wanted to let you know that the pom pom smiley somehow managed to crack me up and brighten my day considerably, so for that, I thank you.

Granted, it's Monday, so the bar was set pretty low to begin with, but NONE THE LESS!!

I thank you.

If I recall correctly, his ending in Deception did happen. He freed the ones who were enslaved by Onaga shortly before Shujinko gathered the various warriors of different realms to absorb their abilities.

His connection to King Jerrod though makes little sense to me. Edenia is a dead realm now that the monarchy is dead and buried, in the old canon it was Kitana who freed that realm after Kahn's defeat.

The only hopes for reviving it would be Rain (using his nobility to rule over it as a Tyrant) or Mileena (who has the mental capacity of a 4 year old in this game, it's the least likely outcome). With Kitana, Jade and Sindel dead, there's no Edenian heroes to restore the realm, unless this time Ermac brings the realm back to order.

^ This.
None of the characters are just palette swaps anymore. They're all unique and awesome.
Also I'm not really sure how Ermac could even be classified as a ninja anymore. He really isn't. At all.

Neither are all of who many claim are except for Scorpion. But sadly, whenever one tried to be technical, they get crap shoved in their faces.

LOL! (Oh and, you're welcome! )

I vote for Ermac, because Shang Tsung is the worst villain of the game

That's kind of sad.

Really, I don't think appearance should make the character. Sub-Zero, Rain, Ermac, Scorpion, Reptile, Smoke, even Noob all looked the same at one point. I really just think it was because it was easier to design them that way then have new models and all that.

I'm not sure why people are dwelling on the beginning years of their design instead of looking at them now. They all look pretty badass, although I think some of their designs should have been simpler.

And is Scorpion really a ninja? I kind of grouped him in the same sort of 'profession' as the Lin Kuei assassins. I really just think he's an assassin. Ah, well. It doesn't matter to me.

Also I can't believe that went to 50/50 so fast.

Tsung Gets My Vote. Only Cause Of His Pointy Beard. If He Didn't Have The Beard I Would Vote Ermac.

Rainbow colored with a dickcape? Ninja.

Post of the day. Right there.

It's going to one of those back and forth match-ups isn't it? Never a dull moment.

Yep. Bios in MK unchained, specifically Jax's, elaborate on the fact that Liu Kang freed the Earthrealm warriors from Onaga's control, and we see that happening in Ermac's ending (it's even mentioned in his own bios that he teams with Kang), so that's part of the canon. As for Ermac having Jerrod's soul in him, there's something of a history of things that are revealed in endings happening, even if the entirety of the ending doesn't (Kabal goes vigilante even if he doesn't beat Shao Kahn, as a rough example).

We won't know until the future if they actually plan to go anywhere with Jerrod being in there, but for now it's one of this game's 'surprise revealed facts', along the lines of Smoke being an enenra and Kung Lao being a direct reincarnation of the original Kung Lao (which makes no damn sense to me and I hope never gets brought up again). It doesn't specifically require Ermac's ending to have happened. It's just 'something new about him', and it actually serves very well in making Ermac's initial regret over the time spent under Kahn all the more believable. It was one of my favorite reveals (I know I'm not the only person who wondered whether or not Jerrod was part of Ermac's soul union way back when MK trilogy came out!)

As of now I'd say it's a canon factoid unless they say otherwise, as there's no real reason not to.

I loved that Shang was a big bad again in MKDA, but MKD's opening totally undercut that for me. They even had Quan throttling him with one hand. I mean...damn. :(

You don't know how hard I pray for an 'MK Origins' game set during the initial tournaments when the Great Kung Lao and Shang had their dukes up....