The influence of the former Elder God of Death, Shinnok, can be seen throughout the main Mortal Kombat series as the main characters fight against his Netherrealm forces. However, Shinnok did not originate from the Netherrealm, nor was he always its ruler. While Shinnok’s evil goals come to light in many of the games, the story of how he came to rule Mortal Kombat‘s hellish realm is one not often addressed.

The Netherrealm is one of Mortal Kombat‘s many realms, along with other locations such as Earthrealm and Outworld. This hell-like underworld is a place where the evil are tortured for eternity, and as such, only the evil can enter the Netherrealm. This was the fate of Shinnok, too, until he found a way to become the realm’s ruler.

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How Shinnok came to rule over the Netherrealm is explained in the manual of spin-off game Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero. Shinnok was once an Elder God, but greed compelled him to conquer Earthrealm, and he fought with Raiden for its control. Eventually, Shinnok was defeated. Stripped of the special amulet that allowed him to freely travel between realms, he was banished to the Netherrealm. There, he was tortured by its former ruler, Lucifer, for years, until he had a fateful encounter with sorcerer Quan Chi.

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In exchange for a chance to rule alongside Shinnok, Quan Chi aided him in conquest of the Netherrealm. The combined might of Shinnok and Quan Chi was enough to overthrow Lucifer and claim the land. From there, Shinnok strove to mold the Netherrealm to look like the Earthrealm he craved, leaving Quan Chi the task of recovering his amulet. Filled with the desire for revenge for his defeat at the hands of Raiden and the Elder Gods, Shinnok then commanded his Netherrealm armies and manipulated those in Earthrealm and Outworld, hoping to fill every realm with death and destruction.

Shinnok’s future in the Mortal Kombat series is uncertain. He was shown being decapitated by Raiden in the opening cutscene of Mortal Kombat 11, a fate even his mother, Kronika, could not undo. Still, the Elder Gods’ immortality, in addition to the series’ tendency toward finding ways for old or deceased characters to return, keeps the possibility of Shinnok’s return in a future Mortal Kombat game open.

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About The Author


Justin Loveland
(90 Articles Published)

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Justin is a Gaming Features Writer for Screen Rant, and a graduate of Quinnipiac University. Based in Connecticut, he is also currently a staff writer for Parish Property Management in Pelham, NY, as well as an avid fan of fantasy fiction. Justin has enjoyed a variety of games since his beginnings with the Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation.

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