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Ah, Shang Tsung. The OG Mortal Kombat boss. The lethal, soul-stealing sorcerer will be Mortal Kombat 11's first official DLC character, not counting the pre-order bonus Shao Kahn. No, Shang Tsung is the first member of the first Kombat Pass.
The trailer, revealed earlier today, gave us a glimpse of what to expect with Shang Tsung, modeled and voiced this time around by the man who played him in the Mortal Kombat movie, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. This will be Tagawa's third time around playing the character, as he also portrayed him in Mortal Kombat: Legacy, a nine-part YouTube series giving fans a live-action backstory to a dozen classic characters.
In the gameplay trailer, Shang Tsung faces off against his eternal rival, the Thunder God Raiden, and the man responsible for his downfall, Earthrealm's Chosen One Liu Kang. Some classic staples in his arsenal are back, of course. His rising fireballs and the use of soul magic return. However, what's interesting this time around is that we'll be able to take advantage of an ability that he was really only able to use as a boss character.
When we take control of the iconic villain, we'll be able to use all the souls Shang Tsung has held in the past and present. While Rain, Smoke, and Ermac are dead in cannon, all their souls belong to MK 11's first DLC character, meaning we'll be able to morph into them and several other characters, both alive and dead, as we play. His Fatal Blow shows him changing into Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Noob Saibot to incapacitate his opponent.
What's even more gruesome is his fatality, in which he tosses a soul into Raiden's body. Four arms break through him, and the Shokan warrior Kintaro emerges, tearing Raiden asunder in the process. If you stay through to the end, you'll also see three more DLC characters announced. Sindel and Nightwolf, two fighters who died together in MK 9 after Sindel wiped out half of that roster on her own, will be returning to the series.
Making his Mortal Kombat debut is a guest character that has been requested by fans for years, Spawn. Todd McFarlane, the creator of the vengeful superhero, all but confirmed that he would be appearing in Mortal Kombat 11.
Early access, for those who have purchased the Kombat Pack, begins on June 18th.
