Who's the Greatest Ruler of Outworld?
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- An analysis of Onaga, Shao Kahn and Kotal Kahn's strengths and weaknesses, as rulers, as well as their governing styles, in the Mortal Kombat series.
Spoiler alert: none of them should run for president.
Yes, I'm the power system guy:
• Mortal Kombat - An Acc...
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:40 Onaga
05:40 Shao Kahn
10:42 Kotal Kahn
16:07 None of them should run for president
#mk #mortalkombatx #shaokahn #kotalkahn #onaga #mkstory #lore #worldbuilding #powersystem #essay - Hry
We all know that KK in a wheelchair is the strongest ruler of Outworld
Charles Xavier's got nothin on KK.
SonicHaXD sends his regards.
“He started off hating Tarkatans, now he doesn’t really care.”
kk in a wheelchair kk in a wheelchair 🎉@@adventurianist2580
@@adventurianist2580 Sonic's the man.
The New Timeline has turned Onaga into MK Godzilla.
Shao inspired Triple H's King of Kings gimmick in the WWE.
Kotal...had so much potential.
Onaga, the Kaiju King.
Shao Kahn, the WWE star.
Kota Kahn, the wheelchair enthusiast.
Source for Shao inspiring Triple H? Not trying to be rude, that’s actually kinda cool if it were true.
@@MrCritic77There's not really a source, per say, it's more fan speculation, but the resemblance between the two is uncanny. Also Sub-Zero DID inspire Glacier from WCW and that IS a fact so maybe...🤔
@@CynicalWarlockLMAO TRUE 😂
Trips was inspired by Conan the Barbarian and the art of Frank Frazetta for that (a role he auditioned for but lost out to Jason Momoa) but there's a lot of that Conan imagery in Shao Kahn too, so the connection is understandable.
13:12 Hatred of Earthrealm isn't the only reason Mileena is deemed a poor ruler, but it does motivate some of her actions. Recall that Mileena is a clone who lacks a lot of mental development in the MK9/X time line; she behaves like a psychotic toddler because she kind of *is* a psychotic toddler. She lacks the thousands of years of life experience or maturity that Kitana has, and knows only that her existence is predicated on serving her "father" Shao in violent fashion. With Shao dead, she has no guidance on how to conduct herself and seeks it out in confidants like Tanya - confidants who woupd gladly stab her in the back for their own ends.
Very well mentioned. It's a pity they chose to kill her off, in that same game. Would be interesting to follow such a 'young' character's growth.
Shao Kahn did more than anyone else.
Even in MK1 Liu Kang decided to leave his conquest in place, Edenia is still a part of outworld, as well as Zaterra
He's the ultimate overachiever.
He didn't exactly leave it in place as kahn wasn't the emperor but instead the edinian family.
Edenia was still a part of Outworld when Kotal ruled, and he didn't want to free them, that's why Edenians were on Mileena's side
I must've missed that bit of info. Source?
Interesting. I wonder if Mileena would be, so generous as to grant independence to Edenia... can see that being another kolossal failure in a possible ending where Rain and Tanya betray her to get their way.
@@CynicalWarlockTanya says it in mkx in chapter 2, she says that mileena promesed to free edenia, and she says that kotal won’t
@@gdstudios9522 Oooh, I remember now. Vaguely. Thanks a bunch.
@@gdstudios9522indeed, but it remains ubseen whether Mileena truly meant it. It is just as likely she only said it to foster resentment among the Outworld populace, rallying Edenian rebels against Kotal and accelerating a civil war. She could very well have been lying through her many teeth, with the intent of later subjugating the Edenians to her cruel will. It certainly helps explain why so many Edenian characters chose to support her. Rain and Tanya are also playing Mileena, however; they are very selfish and treacherous characters in MKX and the tie-in comics.
I would definitely vote for good old Onaga-Kahn. I think it is the most proper thing to do from a commoner perspective, aswell as privileged. With Shao you would suffer no matter who you are, a random guy or his personal adviser. Kotal is just not very smart nor farsighted, his rule portends instability and struggles, which sounds not that horrible, but why this when we have a better option... Stability, prosperity and having no fear for your life (as much as outworld allows it), what else can you ask for? Those were the days...
A compelling argument.
Onaga has that whole Chinese 'divine right to rule' thing goin on.
I vote for Onaga, Kotal's a pu**y.
Kotal didn't need to have a backbone for Shao Kahn to break it.
I'd also hardly call him level-headed when he couldn't keep it on his shoulders- also courtesy of Shao Kahn.
Ouch and double-ouch.
I vibe most with Kotal, offering a more subtle and level-headed approach to his rule, but can't deny Shao Kahn's capabilities overall. Though not the biggest fan of brute force, I do commend the level of cunning and strategic might he brought to the table, probably the most evident of the three given what he's achieved. I sometimes forget that side of him, often overshadowed by the overwhelming bravado he's portrayed with, but he does possess an exceptional aptitude of intelligence and tactical thinking worthy of respect, and that's applied most (though cruel and chaotic) effectively throughout his reign, in ways in which you described really well during his portion of the video. The will to win is powerful.
Of course, it's not without fatal flaws that bite him in the end, but I think he could still potentially be considered the "smartest" of the three given his achievements and the degree to which he's held power and how he obtained (and maintained) it.
Yeah, Shao's the ultimate hustler; always tryna get a little more.
MK: Conquest's portrayal of him actually showcases this side of him a lot more. It's more or less the Shao Kahn show.
Shao Kahn is to MK what HHH is to WWE; in terms of ruthlessness, cunning, and sheer brute force. Plus BOTH wield a sledgehammer and occasionally wear skull masks so there's that.
In my heart I think Onaga is the greatest. He literally is just everything a young me would think is the biggest and baddest ruler. But realistically I think Kotal is the most sensible of the three. He would enact soft power which would gain him more in the long term than hard power. Eventually people would side with him because his success would mean their success.
Yeah, you combine the two, and get a pretty apex ruler.
@@CynicalWarlock exactly. Kotal could have been so much more than he is shown in the game's.
Kotal intended to execute a man for stealing bread and to make Tarkatans go extinct tho
@@soulwarrior5791 sure but that doesn't mean he is worse than the other two or has worse diplomacy. We're grading on a scale here.
@@soulwarrior5791 Yeah, but this opinion is solely based on my video's depiction of Kotal, in this video. Which is much more generous than what NRS gave him.
And Kotal executing a man for stealing is childsplay, compared to what Shao Kahn's penalties likely were.
Onaga is still the strongest it’s not even close. This man mental was so strong it basically blocked all of the “One Being” thoughts to merge the realm.. mean while shao submitted to the one being..
Shao beat him in Armageddon...
This is hot nonsense. The One Being influenced him just like Shao Kahn. Besides, it doesn't change the fact that Kahn beat him.
@@ItsOfficiaI I think it is cannon that Onagas obsession for immortality gave him such tunnel vision that the One being decided to influence Shao Khan instead
Mileena is said to have gained the nickname "The Mad Empress" which is obviously a reference to Caligula, "The Mad Emperor" of Rome, so I think we can assume her reign would've been modeled on his too... so, if nothing else, at least it wasn't boring. (Would've been cool to witness some of the crazy shit she got up to, but I guess we can't have nice things. 😒)
One thing about Shao Kahn in MK11 I think about, how much the people of Outworld love him. It does not take much for him to convince the masses and soldiers to get behind him, even Kotal's own people the Osh Tekk cheered and joined him when Shao delivered his head. He has a "Hulk Hogan" level of crowd manipulation (and a "Hulk Hogan" level of behind the scenes manipulation).
Good points. Shao Kahn knows how to whip the crowd into a frenzy, and he reminds me of some of the old communist 'rulers', that ruled for so long and many people were so familiar with, that they didn't really wanna be freed from under them.
@@CynicalWarlock Outworld's got that Mao-stalgia going on. I can totally imagine your average Outworlder living through a civil war being "I remember a simpler time, a better time. I miss Shao Kahn." Or should that be "Shao-stalgia"?
He's also got Napoleon-appeal too, who also easily convinced his rival's army to join him on the spot when he returned from exile.
@@lordtrigon1733 Communism! We're on the exact same page. Life was so much simpler back in my day, when good ol' Shao would give us a half-eaten loaf of bread and a good whipping. We didn't have much, but we were provided for. And there was always a newly merged realm to make friends with.
Thooose were the daaays.
Shao-stalgia's the perfect term for it.
They also cheered when kitanna took over. It seems like they just value strength.
@@fightingmedialounge519 Outworlders: "Hooray! Not-Kotal!"
The absolute disrespect NR did on Kotal is outstanding
Which strains credulity. Why create a character just to have him be a punching bag, from day one?
Morally kotal is the best but objectively in shao’s rule he had control over multiple realms and did more over all
Yes, Shao did the most, by far. Too much, even.
My Boi Kotal goin' straight to the bottom, but I'm here for the fun facts and quality kontent. 💪✨
Our boy Kotal needs a do-over, but for now, I'm doing the best I can with what I've got.
@@CynicalWarlockjust put KK in a wheelchair and he’ll be invincible
@@tiendungle2465 And then watch KK get defeated by a flight of stairs.
@@CynicalWarlock i would toss his blue sub ass down that shit
@@CynicalWarlock "Ah, my old enemy... *stairs."*
Few things..
There’s this really common misconception throughout the community that paints this picture of Onaga being one of, if not, the most powerful character in the MK franchise. When no, that’s not the case, and leans into the fact that Shao Kahn is more than likely more powerful than he is. The REASON he poisoned him wasn’t because “he was stronger than Kahn and he’d know he’d lose”, it’s because Kahn KNEW that if he were to fight Onaga one on one, the evidence would backfire and fall right back onto him. The clever way of doing was to simply slip poison into his drink, everyone would go “hey since he’s dead, Kahn might as well take over the throne. He was his advisor after all”, and he’d have the throne handed to him in no time flat. Onaga’s specialty is necromancy. He’s famous for his ability to resurrect his army once they are killed in battle. That’s it. He is no sorcerer, he is no God of any sort. He is JUST a necromancer and a strong dragon warrior. The reason he was invincible in Deception was *because* of the Kamidogu, which is why smashing them was what neutralized him and resulted in his defeat (stated in Shujinko’s arcade ending and Armageddon bio)
And yes, we do know what Onaga’s rule was like, or it’s at least described through Hotaru’s Deception bio. His rule was said to establish a great deal of order and stability across Outworld, willing the strength and power to command an undefeatable army of soldiers. It was a direct mirror to what Seido is now.
While I’d say most of your points are correct, I would say Onaga is stronger than you give him credit for solely due to the entire Damashi thing. Unless im forgetting Damashi lore, projecting your consciousness as a deceptive ball of light is no easy feat
yeah exactly, id say than Onaga was stronger at that time, however later shao kahn was more powerfull, its even seen in armageddon it was I think were shao took Onaga 1v1 and won and still was able to fight meaning the fight wasnt too diffcult for him
@@Henry-iz7iv “Damashi” was a conscious form that was created *after* Onaga was killed and his essence was trapped within an egg by his holy men. He connected with the realms outside of death and slowly gained knowledge and insight on the universe and its ways. Onaga couldn’t do that while living.
What we also tend to forget about Shao Kahn as a character is that (and I blame the newer games for this), he was once depicted as an all powerful sorcerer who feared across all the realms. Onaga is nothing compared to that. The newer installments just depict him as an idiot who swings hammer left and right.
A magic based warlord who specializes in sorcery Vs. A large dragon who breathes fire and can resurrect the dead (Which wouldn’t be viable in a one on one scenario. Necromancy isn’t an instant spell.
@@mystictj9626 Im aware of what Damashi was, but i guess the debate is whether Damashi should be accredited to Onaga or his servants. Personally I would say Onaga, as he essentially managed to live on after death, manipulate Shujinko, and restore his life on through his own actions and intelligence, even if Shujinko technically did most of the work. While he couldn’t have become Damashi on his own, once put within the vessel everything he did was his own feat, including bestowing Shujinko with arguably one of the most powerful… well, powers, we’ve seen in Mortal Kombat
Would you say Kitana or Sindel would be better rulers due to them being able to unite Outworld, keeping peace between realms, but still being willing to fight risky battles for the better of their people?
Deception Kitana & Sindel, definitely. Just because of the stuff they've already been through and the lessons they've learned.
MK1 Kitana & Sindel.. I'll tell you after I play the game.
Sindel; at least in MK 1 and her MK9 bio, would make a GREAT ruler. She ruled over Edenia however after King Jarod was murdered and in the ORIGINAL time-line she never got a chance to rule because after Shao Kahn took the throne of Edenia and fused it to Outworld Sindel... unalived herself... so we never got to see what she would do.😢
Idk Edenia has an army of near immortal warriors but even so peace can make you soft. They may have not been prepared for the battle hardened outworlders and that is why they were crushed.
Yep, my sentiments exactly, from a few videos ago.
It has to go to Shao Khan. Because hearing somebody call him only as "Shao", or "General Shao" sounds just not right. Just his name alone, Shao Khan just feels like it rolls out of the tongue naturally.
It is like calling Liu Kang a "Liu", or Kung Lao "Kung".
But if we go for more "in-universe" I would say with Kotal you have more potential. Kotal has internal struggles, relationship with Jade, this is atleast something interesting about his character. Shao Khan was a brute with a bit of scheming behind him (for Netherrealm he is and will always be a dumb brute I guess) and Onaga is even less interesting on top of basically never been able to be actual boss you can fight in MK anymore, unless you give him Armaggedon Motaro treatment and just make him like a big dude with normal legs and stuff, or a dumb battle where he would have to be immune to any special moves, because nobody in hell would make special animations just for that.
Onaga was pretty bipedal, in Deception. But yeah, could've had a more elaborate fighting style.
And I, of course, agree - Kotal has the most unrealized potential.
it's interesting how you showed the fight between shao kahn and onaga during armageddon, a fight where shao kahn kills onaga despite losing the wrath hammer, while saying that "shao kahn would get violated to pieces in 1 on 1 fight". he won the fight pretty well, considering how after it he returned to the pyramid, was strong enough to finish off blaze, and then defeat dark raiden and taven who has reached the full godhood at that point. i hope this is not an intentional spreading of misinformation.
*Advisor Shao* would get violated to pieces, not emperor Shao, who ruled for millennia, absorbed the power of countless realms and their souls, and has more battle experience than most of his armies put together.
Great Video!
Great comment.
Top vid as always 👍
Top subscriber, as always.
Really great video. I'm gonna subscribe if i haven't already. You make an extremely compelling argument. I think MK1 Sindel is probably up there. I know you haven't played the story yet.
Hopefully, I'll get around to playing it soon.
Then inevitably critique it to death.
great vid🔥
Thank you, Mr. Terminator.
It always seemed to me that Shao Khan is like Raiden being assigned as "advisor" to the ruler of outworld to serve as its protector, I think that explains his power level and his ability to defeat Onaga at Armageddon and his odd powers and his inability to die unless killed by the elder gods 😂
There's a voice file in Deception that claims Shao Kahn is the same race as the gods. And in Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Shao and Raiden are actual brothers.
Oh my glorious sweet rule of outworld Shao khan where do I even begin.
This whole thing is confusing to me. They said shao kahn is the ruler. Others say Herold is the ruler. Another group say kotal is the ruler. Some say onaga is the ruler and certain people say sindel is the ruler
😕🤔
Who's Herold?
you mean Jerrod?
Sindel and Jarrod ruled over Edenia; not Outworld.
@@Nick-up5wv they now rule outworld in mk1. they probably mean that
@@omarxperez That's true. He hasn't played MK1 yet though, so I didn't want to include any spoilers.
Don't forget that Shao Kahn got snatched up by Onaga in Armageddon and must have single handedly defeated him because.. well Shao still ended up winning the power of blaze after everyone else was dead.
Yeah, as I mentioned, that starts to feel a bit fan-service-y, but I chalk it up to Shao using some kind of trickery or subterfuge to beat Onaga, just like the first time.
Perhaps it was a clone. He fooled the Deadly Aliance with a clone once. He COULD have used a clone to fake out Onaga.
Shao Kahn made outworld powerful. Kotal was a reform ruler, he tried to mend a kingdom last ruled by an emperor who didn't care for his people, also, among a civil war. Onaga however ruled for a lot of time and outworld was prosperous and wasn't a powerhungry rabid-ridden hound. Also he had an undefeatable army but didn't use it. Definitely the best but also the most powerful.
Especially when you put it like that, yeah. Onaga did have ideal conditions for ruling, I suppose, whereas Kotal had the worst, but even so, I think Onaga's pretty underrated, as a ruler.
I knew shao kahn was probs gonna win but had my doubts that may be onaga is better. But after watching this vid I'm fully convinced. Nice video
It's obviously subject to debate - and I do think Onaga is a more well-rounded ruler - but Shao Kahn ultimately beats the other two by almost every objective, quantifiable metric.
I really hope you keep making Mortal Kombat Kontent. Kan't get enough of it!
See what I did there? With the K? HahaEHEH
Klever..
Lots of MK kontent planned. Not exclusively, but about a metric ton.
@@CynicalWarlock Clad to hear it. Keep it up my friend.
Haven’t watched fully yet, dropping a like anyways
Take note, ladies and gentlemen.
Glad to see that Mileena is in charge of outworld again. In the mk9 timeline she gets shit on but she wasn’t any worse than her father
Yeah, it'd be interesting to explore what the female rulers can do, instead of endlessly deposing them.
All these rulers, but everyone knows the true ruler of Outworld is Shang Tsung. Don't question how he got into power. Just know he knows a guy who knows a guy who got him into power. Totally didn't bribe a certain general to power then backstab him, although he totally would.
Shang Tsung, the shady mob boss.
I feel there’s an inherent bias here as the story of all the MK games take place during or after Shao Khan’s reign. We don’t know what battles Onaga had to fight or what it took to Conquer All of Outworld. Both Shao and Kotal start out with an entire empire to work from, where as Onaga built an empire from scratch. It easier to invade other countries when you have a country of your own.
Exactly. Like I said, there isn't as much info on the dragon king as I'd like.
OMG can't believe you actually did it! Amazing much better than I could have ever expected and i agree 100% Shao is da g.o.a.t even if i always cheer for kk the blood n crip 😂
All 3 deserved a video, so.. 3 birds with one ballistic missile.
@@CynicalWarlock u rock dude keep it up
Thank you for the entertainment 🙏
Happy to provide it.
I was like where is mileena and Sindel and then I was like oh let me shut up lol
I'll play it soon, I promise.
Haven't watched yet, but Shao Kahn. He defeated the other two, he achieved the most, he was the greatest existential threat to Earthrealm. Shao ultimately won in the original timeline.
Yeah, even discounting all of that, he ruled, by far, the longest, despite having the most despotic style, and bleeding his realm and people dry. No one managed to overthrow him for countless thousands of years. Not once.
@@CynicalWarlock yeah until "kitana kahn" came and solo beat him (wtf)
@@livingweaponnightmare Because feminism.
kotal had so much potential. I hope in the new era of mk they do his character justice bc boy went through it rough
My man gets executed in his own MK11 trailer. NRS is such a troll.
I miss Onaga. I hate we never got to see him on his prime before his death and resurrection...
That's such a good idea for a spinoff, actually.
Onaga doesn't sound like much of a bad guy, to be honest. What he did to Shujinko was insanely bad, but it was better than what Shao Kahn would've done if you think about swapping the Kahns scenario wise. I think the fact that we don't know much about him has something to do with it, and if NRS does bring him back hopefully they don't terribly write his character. I constantly think about the what if's of Onaga's rule.
I feel the same way. I think getting poisoned and killed put him on a warpath. So in a way, it's still Shao that's the root of all evil.
I’d say if these guys were in history, onaga and shao would to run an empire. Kotal on the other hand, would take the cake in a republic with his diplomacy and strengthening worldwide relations or realm wide relations in the mk universe.
Spot on.
Agree with most of these points, however at 2:18 I would like to add that not only did Shao Kahn managed to defeat Onaga and make it back to win Armageddon, but he shows absolutely no fear or respect to Onaga during the storymode ( And this was way before shao was protrayed as a brutish imbecile like in mk11) this to me points to the fact that by the time Onaga was resurrected for the battle of Armageddon Kahn had already surpassed him
Which would make sense, since Shao has had eons to absorb realms and grow more powerful, since poisoning the dragon king.
In my mind, though, I still like to imagine Shao defeating Onaga through wit and trickery, rather than raw strength. It befits him.
Hey, love your kontent
Since you briefly mentioned it, will you talk about Armageddon in detail? I know their main two dudes are both Kratos reskins but theres gotta be something else there. And the MK9 retcon is so much more lame than the og ending of Armageddon-
I assume you mean the Konquest mode ending.
While I know the broad strokes, I never actually played Armageddon, so I guess I owe it to myself to look into it.
@@CynicalWarlockYou Def should! it's one of the two times we can roam around the whole MK world in such detail. It's kinda cool seeing what everyone is up to when there isn't a realm absorbing tournament- but yeah the ending leaves many possibilities none of which MK9 did
Hope in the future you can talk about about sorcerer of mortal kombat like shang tsung and quan chi or similar one like ermac
Not a bad idea, actually.
Kotal could have been the besr of both worlds (glad you noticed how powerful he *should* theoretically be due to having three awesome sources of power, btw.) I think he should gave been Shao's equal in terms of power while rivalling the prosperity of Onaga'a rule, or perhaps eventually exceeding it through ko-operation with Earthrealm and being a gracious and kompetent ruler. Again, he had great potential until the writers started dunking on him-to an unnecessarily egregious degree imo.
Of course, Shao Kahn will always be best Kahn, though. There can only be one. It really is impressive to me how deceptively kunning he is on top of his raw power (at least in the old timeline; he stupid-dumb in the NRS timeline.)
And, though I don't know all the details about Onaga, it sounds like Outworld may have been a genuinely a better place when he was in charge. Not sure how long he was in power, but it could have been as long as Shao, or longer... unless the lore says Shao ruled the longest lol.
P.S: Mileena Khan got an honorable mention, but not Kitana Kahn? D:
Kitana ruled Outworld for a bit, in the old timeline, true; forgot about that. Didn't really get to see her rule, in MK11, and I haven't played MK1 yet, so.. there it is.
And yeah, not only is Kotal this powerful, he is so, through natural talent and mastery, whereas Shao inflated himself with a bunch of souls and magics to get to where he is; doesn't change anything, but still thought I should mention it.
And from the little info there is on Onaga, I think his rule may not have been so bad, yeah. Outworld was strong and unified. And not totally through fear or conquest.
@@CynicalWarlock Yeah, it would be nice to actually see how Kitana, Mileena and Sindel rule.
After all, their fans already agree that they do, indeed, *rule.*
Poor kitana kahn
(Dis)honorable mention.
Kotal loses extra points because in one of his Intro Dialogues is implied he cheated Jade with Dvorah
WITH Dvorah
I know; I think Kotal has some bugs in the system (pun intended). Someone at NetherRealm reaaally wanted a character to shit on.
Thus, Kotal Kahn was born.
Very common Shao Kahn W
Man the ending of mk11 truly was wasted we could’ve had young Shao Kahn prime Onaga king gorback and a prime king jerrod
Man that would've been sick. Have them plot and scheme against each other, then force them to work together.
Kinda sucks Kitana in mk11 was the first outworld ruler that wasn’t using fear and competition to control outworld and instead by unity and just had all of that thrown away by aftermath, like what was even the point of the outworld plot if they planned to rid all of its development in the dlc?
You could ask the same thing about the MK series, in general, at this point: what's the point of even having a plot anymore, if they're just gonna undo everything and start over with every new game?
Kills the investment.
All great Kahn’s on a side note Kotal is a ridiculously underrated character, so much potential there, shame the clowns at nrs don’t see it 🤦♂️
So strange to make a character a laughing stock in his debut game.
Seeing this video kinda makes me wish we had a game with all 4 rulers in one game so we can have a real civil war in outworld and not that pathetic little rebellions we got in mk x and mk 1
Yees. Setting that up believably is a bit tricky, but I'd love to see it.
@CynicalWarlock I think we could do it with the current timeline if they drop the titan crap now. It would need a new way to introduce kotal and onaga though, maybe make kotal into a replacement for general Shao after shao starts his rebellion, he could start calling himself Kahn and get more followers through subterfuge and convincing the public that the royal family are to blame. I don't have any idea for how to get onaga in the story for now
Mileena did briefly rule in MKX, but you have the Deception/Armageddon time-line with her rule and you can make SOME inferences with how she would/did rule if you wanted to do a separate video on her. Also you can now use MK1 information. However Kitana would be the hardest since she Briefly was appointed Kahn in MK11 and wasn't set to rule at all in MK1. I don't think she ever ruled prior, but she has organized rebellions, so you could probably infer how she would rule if given the chance. She's a Titan now and has also ruled the Netherrealm before. Anyway great video.👍
Kitana ruled Outworld very briefly, after Shao Kahn got deposed, in the original timeline, if I recall correctly. I think she'd be too soft of a ruler. Her vanilla version, at least.
And yeah, Deception Mileena has been around way longer than MK9/MKX Mileena, so she's clearly more adept at posing as her sister and acting like a ruler, at the very least.
@@CynicalWarlock It was implied that Kitana ruled in the ORIGINAL time-line, but her reign was short-lived and was over Edenia. Back when Edenia and Outworld were diffrent Kitana briefly ruled over Edenia once it was separated from Outworld after MK3, but before MK4. She probably was ruler during MK4 since; in the comic at least, Sindel was imprisoned by Tanya. MAYBE Kitana was ruler during MKDA; but was killed by MKD, allowing Mileena to take over.
@@Nick-up5wv So, not.. much to talk about.
@@CynicalWarlock Basically. You'd have to mostly speculate how she would rule, but if her MK11 ending is anything to go by she can't handle the pressure. She'd be a loved, but not feared ruler and wouldn't be able to do ANYTHING to stop a would be conquer; especially Shao Kahn. No I'm not counting MK11. Her beating Shao Kahn was garbage and I'm glad her story got retconed.
@@Nick-up5wv Couldn't have said it better myself.
I think shao Kan is the better of the three, he just has a sort of raw power to him without seeming like a faceless bad guy. He also has a great design and looks like someone who would fight most of his battles
And the mask adds a bit of mystique to him, as well. No underling may gaze upon the emperor's face. Very well-rounded character.
Onaga will always be my favorite because NRS has yet to ruin him
Facts.😅
Give it time.
Onaga>Shao Kahn>Mileena>Kitana>Kotal Kahn
Poor Kotal.. Given his actual portrayal in the games, hard to disagree.
Don't think Mileena's a better ruler than Kitana.
But Onaga might, indeed, deserve the no. 1 spot.
@@CynicalWarlock She lasted more than Kitana tbh and has been ruler of Outworld in every single timeline.
Kitana is a great ruler for Edenia, not for Outworld.
@@silverviper13 Her "partnership" with Baraka was already showing cracks, Sheeva was easily convinced to go behind her back, her freaking army enthusiastically joined Shao and Sindel in an instant... "Kitana Kahn" failed spectacularly. 😬
in mk1 we also didn’t see mileena’s rule yet
maybe in the pt 2 dlc of the story it will show us
If there is one.
9:41 just note mk armageddon's ending was retconned in mk9
Yeah, it's unclear to me what, if anything, was supposed to be the original canon ending to Armageddon, as it was quickly retconned to the MK9 thing.
It wasn't retconned just accept it,Jon Vogel and Ed boon already said years ago that Shao Kahn canonically killed Blaze,y'all still salty over it
Lacks the backbone......OK😂😂😂😂
If I had to vote it would be Kotal to be honest, because all your points you presented make him an appealing ruler
He deserved a better part to play, in MKX & 11, honestly.
Just gunna answer before the video starts and say it's Shao Kahn. Dude held onto the throne without any uprising or rebellion and was doing a good job clapping other realm cheeks left and right.
Onaga dominated through sheer power, and Kotal tried being diplomatic but had to deal with rebellions and traitors. Shao didn't just have the strength but the intelligence to deal with any rebellious behavior or power vacuums before they even began. There's a reason he's held onto the throne for so long.
Pretty much what I go on to say, in the video.
Shao Kahn wins by almost every objective metric.
I honestly like Onaga laissez faire approach to everything think the only time he ever went out of his way to deal with other realms was when he sent some dumb kid to do side quest for him.
Sickest Shujinko burn.
Gonna need an update after you play MK1, think the reboot ruler has enough of a leg to stand.
Won't hold my breath, but here's hoping.
Kk in a wheelchair
You didn’t miss much with MK1. Spoilers ahead!:
Lui Kang made Sindel + Jerrod ruler of outworld in his new timeline. Their rule was pretty alright, although there was an active revolution going on as confirmed by Kitana’s tower ending and Shao Kh- sorry, “General Shao’s” tower ending.
Yeah, I already spoiled that Sindel dies, so I dunno what people expect me to say about her, as a ruler; seems like she didn't do anything. But I'll reserve judgement until I play the thing.
What about Sindel, Kitana and Mileena? MK1 Sindel ruled Outworld for a long time and it looks in way better shape than it ever did before. I would definitely want to live under her rule than any of the others. Kitana would be good too, but she didn’t rule long. MK1 Mileena is TBD, MKX Mileena was obviously not great.
Once again, I have not yet played MK1.
Narratively, I think Onaga is the weakest of the bunch. How he arrives in the story is uninspired, he’s just there to fill a void.
Kotal had potential, BUT, the whole Jade betrayal thing was actually emotional for me. If that’s really all he gets to do as a character, that’s fine, I’d rather get to have those standout moments in the story.
Shao is so well built inside of MK mythos even through MK1, that he’s cool and engaging and gets to continue to serve a purpose to all of the other characters is a testament to his longevity in the series. (Thank you for mentioning how they turned him into a buffoon before the reboot-sequel-boot though, my god. lol.)
Very curious what you’ll make of MK1 after you dive in and digest it. How you’ll incorporate it into your videos.
Anyway, big fan.
Yeah, hopefully MK1 won't give me indigestion.
It's true - the way Onaga is introduced into the story is kinda meh, but I do think his backstory and what he adds to the mythology is pretty cool. Just wish they'd have expanded on it, a bit.
Kotal is the most disrespected character, by the devs, by far. It used to be Reptile, but Kotal seems to have now surpassed even him.
I really miss Shao's MK9 voice actor. The MK11 guy seems to have deliberately been picked and directed to sound like a dumb brute.
6:04 so you could say he…..played the long khan?
The puns make themselves.
Kotal isn't like Obama, at least he didn't develop a lethal virus working with our enemies and thus causing a pandemic with no remorse!
Anyway, nice video, but you forgot Kitana Kahn. And pleasing everyone can please no one but themselves and be a subscriber's tool. I already know a few well known CZcamsrs in this regard! GrEeNsCoRpIoN!
I didn't include Kitana or Mileena, because their rule was either brief or it happened offscreen. Wanted to focus on those who governed for a reasonable chunk of time and affected significant change.
Not familiar with Green Scorpion.
If we talking lore/popularity wise: Shao Khan
Power wise: Onaga
Politically wise: Kotal Khan in my opinion, he was the most fair.
Accurate.
Shao Kahn 💯👊
👊
Kotal even though He’s a RACIST towards few/some Races….
Eh, a bit a racism builds character.
@@CynicalWarlock ironically Shao Kahn wasn’t a Racist towards said Races
@@peanutslaughter Guess not. He just kept them poor and sent them off to conquer and die in his name.
@@CynicalWarlock I Know Right!?
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t played MK 1 yet, Sindel should still be on this list
No because she only ruled over Edenia. She rules over Outworld now in MK1, but not much can be learned about her rule. He was smart NOT including her until he sees her rule for himself and can make a decent follow up.
A lot of rulers weren't on the list.
What they did to Kotal was straight disrespectful, he never stood a chance as a character
His wheelchair is sensational.
Ummm Katana??? She’s the literal answer.🤸💙🪭
Katana's a sword.
Jokes and grammar aside, she didn't rule very long, and apart from brokering peace between the Shokan and Centaurs, she didn't do much of anything.
Kitana. Next question.
No.
@@CynicalWarlock Is there any reasoning for that beyond sexism or...
@@HEARTLESSKAMUI Other than her ruling for 2 seconds, compared to the others, and her only accomplishment being a failed attack against a recovering Shao Kahn's forces, no, totally no other reasoning.
I vote Mileena for... qualities the other three can't possibly possess :D
Well met, fellow man of culture.
Kitana look basically the same BUT
Has a better personality
& doesn't have the Piranhas' Mouth
@@aleanddragonITA OF girl vs trad wife.
FIGHT!
Mexicas not Aztecs. Aztecs was what they where call whey they were a nomad tribe.. once they settle down they rename themselves Mexicas.
Sure, but Huītzilōpōchtli is commonly referred to as an Aztec god, not a Mexican god.
just forgetting mileena, sindel and kitana
One ruled for a nanosecond, another ruled mostly in-between games, and the third allowed her realm to be subjugated multiple times, so yeah, honorable mention at best.
Plus, I had just covered those 3 characters in another video.
I’m sorry I’m late general let’s begin
War council is now convened.
Update when you play mk1!
Will do.
Where is Sindel?
As I said, haven't played MK1, yet, so I can't rate her rule.
Sindel
Doesn't Sindel get killed in MK1?
@@CynicalWarlock yes, but in her time as ruler she managed to unite outworld's people and have peace in the realm...I hate that MK always does their characters (who are supposed to be strong) dirty like that because she died so unceremoniously. When it comes to this video tho... I do agree that Shao is the greatest ruler, but my favorite is Sindel... I also loved that I got to see her be a good guy.
You haven’t played MK 1 yet?! Go enjoy it 😂
I'm scared.
@@CynicalWarlock the kombat is fun and the story is interesting and pretty good in my opinion. You can definitely see the direction they want to go with future games….although I’m very curious what they will title it 😂.
I am under no delusion what life under shao khan is like. But let's face it there is an appeal to outworlds politics. Think of it like this you are in an ocean filled with sharks and your a lamphria eel.
Deliciously devious.
I think youre my favorite MK CZcamsr.
Also, I vote Kotal. With more time on the throne, he could have easily overcome his weaknesses and been able to foster a stable outworld.
Yes! Some love for Kotal. I agree, I think he should've been portrayed as more competent, to begin with.
And I'm truly humbled, considering how many cool content creators there are, in this community.
@@CynicalWarlock I liked Kotal, but NRS screwed the pooch and he was said pooch. I would have dome a NUMBER of different things with him; including having Kung Jin fight Devoriah first and fighting Kotal to ALMOST a draw, but Kotal stopping it almost immediately and declaring the fight as a no contest. I'd assume he would state he only wished to test Kung Jin's strength and through their brief fight he has demonstrated it and earned Kotal's respect. Also I would have had Kotal mop the floor up with Kung Jin during the woods chapter to prove he was holding back and could have easily defeated Kung Jin any time he wished. Also "blood magic" is his thing and also Nitara's why the hell did Shao Kahn teach Skarlet blood magic? It should have been Kotal and EVERYONE knows this. Also I would have had Kotal imprisoned for his failure in helping Shao Kahn invade Earthrealm during the events of MK3, but is freed after Shao Kahn dies.
Onaga best MK boss hands down
Agreed.
Yeah but what magic do they use?
Shao do use soul and blood magic but in the game he just punch really hard
That'll be it's own video, but in short, Onaga and Shao both use Soul magic, each in their own way (Onaga resurrects the dead, Shao consumed countless souls), Onaga also breathes fire, so that's.. uhm Fire, Shao uses Shadow shoulder charges, Fire/Force balls, he knows Blood magic (created/instructed Skarlet, probably uses it to enhance himself too), among other things.. Shao's a greedy bastard, he uses everything he can.
And Kotal uses Blood, Fire (sun attacks) and probably Earth (totems).
What about Kitana Kahn?
She ruled for 2 seconds in MK11, and off-screen, a bit, after MK3.
Guess I should've mentioned her, but that's about it.
kitana lasted longer than mileena yet there was no mentioned... she would've ruled outworld like kotal and her parents (more like sindel) due to her being diplomatic and level headed
Me ofc
Sold!
The gameplay has gotten better in mk but the story line has gotten worse we might need John Tobias back because they are ruining the fan favorites and their strengths
Gameplay's getting kinda stale too, of late.
Kotal deserves a better writer.. he got dogged in X and worse in 11. Man may as well have died at the coliseum at the time merger. So here’s how imo should have ruled.. MAKE kotal the ruler of Seido!! The most advanced realm that hovers over skies for a sun god would make him more dangerous than shao khan easily because of how close he is to it. By day he is Judge for the criminals and by night, make the seidan guards panthers with a keen sense of smell for anyone out of curfew. Hell make hotaru the lava spewing Halfbreed of a liger and Aztec. Since he also practices in blood magic have the realm of order during night make a trade system for Veturnis, where he sacrifices his guilty to the vampires, as well as make use of starlet as the head blood mage. Now if we’re to build up a story with this setting, let’s ironically start with Johnny cages arcade ending being canon, where his training to control his outbursts becomes a weapon to even surpass shinnok and raiden combined. Then after the neither realm invasion is stopped, give the amulet to seido. Then next chapter goes to kanos attempt to assasinate the Aztec because Darrius is rebelling to liberate seido from his rule. So on and so forth as a example
Interesting choice.. to make Kotal a Seidan. Would also provide a good opportunity to flesh out that flimsy realm.
@@CynicalWarlockas for his romance with jade… that I decided would become a later moment instead of a forced one😅
I think if we were to powerscale youd have to take out allll of the outliers, problem being alot of characters are 50/50 on outliers. I also dont like the notion that all the characters are equal in power and can win any fight, not being equal in power and overcoming odds is much more cathartic and im a big dbz fan so 💀
That kind of catharsis is Earthrealm's mantra at this point, considering what kind of beings Earthrealmers have defeated. And even if you have an OG tournament where powers are prohibited, other realms still have the benefit of thousands of years more experience than the earhtlings, so it's pretty much never a fair fight.
@@CynicalWarlock “oh yeah these guys are all equal in power”
>trains for thousands of years.
>trains for 20 years.
It also deepens my admiration for liu kang whos insanely strong and gifted aswell as hardworking whos able to contend with people stronger than him and eventually even surpass them in power (unless this is NRS era i suppose)
@@InTheKitchenWristStirFry Yeah, Liu Kang is MK's version of Captain America, except more powerful. It's admittedly tough to portray the goodie-2-shoes character well, which is why they keep turning Raiden into Dark Raiden, and Liu Kang into dead Liu Kang.
@@CynicalWarlock specifically human Liu Kang in his intros in MKX is by far my favorite character. Hes snarky, banters some in alot of them but still has that honor-goodie twoshoes feel imo. I think they really nailed his intros well. Dark raiden is a cool idea in concept but he ends up becoming just bitchy raiden. I wanted to see a more "the ends justify the means raiden" it'd be cool if my favorite small time youtube mk channel did a vid on either of these :'), everyones enjoying the vids, keep up the good work if you end up seeing this reply. 👍
@@InTheKitchenWristStirFry Noted.
MKX, in general, nailed a lot of the intros. I hate that all of Cassie's personality is in the 1v1 intros, whereas in the story mode, she has the personality of a drywall.
But I agree - that kind of "I'm obviously better than you, but I'll limit my trash talk to a bit of snark" approach is great for Liu Kang.
As for Dark Raiden, I must admit I don't fully understand the obsession with that version of the character.
But I'll look into both.
#Onaga
Yesss.
Kotal is unfortunately a jobber in the games, but in the mkx comic book, he's a complete bad-ass
You can tell they were written by different people.
It's hard to determine what's cannon and what's not with the komic, so we should just stick to the games. In the games Kotal was executed poorly and sucks as a result. He needs MUCH better writing if he's brought back.
Wheres drahmin?
Running for president.
@@CynicalWarlock nice
@@CynicalWarlock also you deserve more subs
I think there should be a big strong female ruler for some realm,not bcuz of diversity but because i have a thing for that.
Based
Sheeva rules over the Shokans.
MK11 Sheeva,the worst Sheeva
@@Джекет Only big, strong, female ruler I can think of.
Fair
We know Mileena was a good Kahn cuz she ruled between MKD and MKA and she did a pretty good job
Because she was posing as Kitana. In MKX, she wasn't.
Also, I wouldn't call her rule in Deception "good", cause she basically worked to destroy the alliance between Edenia and Outworld that Kitana labored to build, up to that point.
@@CynicalWarlock She was posing but no one complained about her, she was really popular even with heroes like Bo'Rai Cho and Li Mei, people sacrificed themselves to save her from freaking Shao Kahn. They didn't do it for Kitana in MK11
@@silverviper13 Sure, but that's my point: she was good at duping people, not ruling them. We saw her untrammeled rule in MKX; but to be fair, these are 2 different versions of the character. So let's just say that Deception Mileena is more competent of a ruler than MKX Mileena - which is the version I was referencing in the video.
@@CynicalWarlockI agree. Midway Mileena was more competent, but got taken out of power the moment Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, and Goro raided/conquered the palace and Shao Kahn took his thrown back.
Didn't Reiko rule during mk4 for a brief period? Also, Sindel is technically the ruler of Outworld in mk1
I remember that ending cutscene. I initially thought Reiko was a reincarnated Shao Khan or something (before it was revealed Khan was still alive just in hiding/healing or something like that in MK Deadly Alliance/Deception) But no, he didnt rule. He just liked to wear Khan's helmet from time to time, this realy annoyed Shao (as hinted at in MK deception Conquest mode, in which Shao Khan orders you to deliver a message to Reiko, to quit wearing his helmet)
@@darkservantofheaven Ah, that's why I got confused. I guess my question then is who is the ruler of Outworld during the events of mk4 and deadly alliance? This is when Shao Kahn is hiding (presumably dead) but Mileena (posing as Kitana) hasn't taken over yet
@@pedromenchik1961Kitana was ruling. Then Mileena did.
@@fernathebest414 True, didn't mention Kitana's rule.
@@pedromenchik1961 I forget, but was Edenia seperated from outworld after MK3?