Well other than the Kotal Kahn information we don't know much if anything about the actual plot. MK9 suggests Shinnok and Quan Chi have something up their sleeve so im assuming he will play a role in MKX one way or another. Unless they decided to scrap that idea for the time being , who knows lol

We'll find out more info on story-mode in the months to come. I'd rather them keep story-mode for us to find out for ourselves. NRS should not show spoilers what-so-ever.

Kotal Kahn must have sucked at being emperor because he came into and fell out of power either over the span of 25 years or less than that. Shao Kahn was emperor for at least 10,000 years, probably a lot longer than that. Isn't 25 years like nothing for Outworld and Edenia also? How are they going to explain the Outworld and Earthrealm time difference?

This is kind of an interesting question. I don't know if there is actually a passage of time difference between Outworld and Earthrealm - I don't recall one being implied in Deception off the top of my head, at least. Does anyone recall anything about this?

Kotal Kahn's rise and fall may be due primarily to Shinnok's invasion of Edenia and Earthrealm spilling over into Outworld, or perhaps he was destabilized by existing factions in Outworld. I wouldn't dismiss him as particularly ineffective just yet. Though I would remark that, from him being playable and his absence in the previous timeline, he probably doesn't match up to his predecessor for sheer power. Seems that even a weak Shao Kahn (As revealed in Deadly Alliance) may have been a bit much for Kotal Kahn.

Can't even weigh in on the whole Shinnok/QuanChi angle. Don't even know if they'll go down that route at all.

What I do know though, is that Kotal Kahn and D'Vorah have a connection. And it was implied by their intro dialogue that D'Vorah betrays Kotal Kahn. So I'm guessing that will play into his fall as emperor.

I like this topic...

While roughly a 20-25 year rule is weak sauce compared to Shao Kahn, I can't imagine Shao Kahn has faced as many warriors trying to lay claim to the throne as Kotal inevitably will. Shao Kahn was THE guy in outworld. Now that he's (presumably) gone, imagine how many beings are trying to lay claim to Outworld. Shao Kahn's bloodline(Mileena), Shokans, Tarkatans, Centaurs, The Neatherrealm...and not to mention whatever Kotal Kahn has done to catch Raiden's attention.

All this and we're not even sure what(if any) role Chaos and Order realms will play in this whole thing. That's a shit ton of opposition for anyone to overcome.

While IMDB is not really a credible source to rely on, I remember seeing something about how Earthrealm is going up against both forces of Outworld and Netherrealm.

I'm not going to speculate heavily on that, I'm just throwing that out there. However, every now and then I have doubts that Shinnok might show up. They might save him for the game after this and he's just slowly plotting stuff from the Netherrealm to make an even bigger threat.

But of course, that's just throwing out random stuff just for the sake of conversation.

@IceBaby in all honesty.... I have a feeling you are right.. I know Ed Boon can be a douche when it comes to revealing info, but I have a gut feeling that his statement on seeing a unsuspecting boss (I think those were his words) will be true which also means we won't be seeing Shinnok and Quan Chi's plan come to action this game.. just my opinion on things..

How I see it, and bear with me, is this:

Quan Chi is basically still in control of a lot of stuff, and Shinnok is mainly around in that holographic ability he was able to do at the end of 2011.

Quan Chi gathers the army of the dead and attacks Earthrealm.

Whoever the writers choose to make the one person (or heck, a group beating) to finally kill Quan Chi could lead to Shinnok finally coming out of his hiding spot and that's the end of X, finally making him the threat that he should have been in his fighting game debut.

However, I just don't know whether Shinnok should be pleased that Quan Chi's dead, like "he was just a pawn in something of mine," or ticked that a good comrade is gone. The only thing I hope with Quan Chi is that he gets killed in this game.

I agree completely, while apart of me want to know more info, i don't want it to be spoiled. So the revealing of character and other small details/info is fine but i don't want to ruin this game for myself.

Although it still is fun to speculate isn't it?!

Sure is.

Ditto.

I actually feel sorry for Kotal, if he indeed falls shortly after having obtained the seat as emperor of Outworld. It is understandable though...

First of all, Outworld is a broken realm because of Shao Kahn's reign. Shao Kahn was NOT a good emperor, he just wanted power, clearly not caring about his people. So of course there will be ALOT of chaos after Shao Kahn's death.

Imagine having to pick up the pieces after that... I doubt it would be an easy task. Especially when Hell is literally knocking on your front door. And if Kotal is supposed to be evil, like Shao Kahn, it would just make matters worse. He won't have the trust/fear as Shao Kahn had, simply because Shao Kahn had several millennia to build up his regime.

That Kotal is able to gain the throne at all is a fantastical task in itself! Especially when others are craving it as well.

Can't wait to see how it will play out. ^^

Agreed. Boon said this main bad guy would be a surprise returning character IIRC and Shinnok wouldn't be much of a surprise.. I have a feeling Shinnok might not be on the front lines in this game but sitting back in the shadows pulling strings and preparing for the perfect time to put whatever plan he has into action.

Shinnok generally isn't a character who is credible as a warrior participating from alpha to omega in the whole thing. The previous continuity furthers this assumption too, he didn't get involved even in the Battle of Armageddon.


There are quite alot of characters, mostly B listers who would be good to retain but have them as background characters, not as selectable fighters. Shinnok, Darrius, Tanya (but that is not going to happen given the rabid fanbase), Bo' Rai Cho (though would waste the drunken slob character entirely for which i could kill) or an NPC Sindel.