Mortal Kombat: Every Boss In The Series, Ranked By Difficulty (2024)

Mortal Kombat is known, especially in its early days, for guzzling quarter after quarter in the arcades. Whether it was just a normal Kombatant you were fighting, a sub-boss, or one of the giant end-game bosses, you were lucky to have made it to any of the top of the game's 3 towers. But which bosses are the absolute most difficult to best?

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There's Shao Kahn, the demon king of Outworld, Shang Tsung, the murderous sorcerer who eats the souls of those unfortunate enough to fall to him in battle, and a whole other host of magical beings, evil fusions, and general ne'er-do-wells that must be defeated to ensure the survival of Earthrealm. Let's take a look at some of them now.

10 10: Shang Tsung (MK 1)

Shang Tsung surely must be the baddest of the bad, right? He consumes the souls of the fallen warriors who were arrogant, foolhardy, or desperate enough to challenge him. Not to mention that he has secret button combinations that'll allow the player in the later games to take on the shape of any other playable character, and steal their moveset from them for their own use.

He also has the audacity to turn into Goro if he wants, a giant four-armed mutant that knows how to put all of them to good use. If you survive that and he's in his regular form, he shoots fireball after fireball at you. Definitely a tough fight but not the toughest.

9 9: Shinnok (MK 4/Sub-Zero)

Shinnok is a little bit different in Sub-Zero than he is in MK 4, and this makes sense considering the different nature of Sub-Zero as a game. The best way to deal with him flying around above you at a safe distance and launching projectiles is to get in there close and snatch the amulet you came for from him.

After you've done this, he'll turn into a hellish beast and pummel you to bits until you've hit him with the Polar Blast move enough to kill him. In 4, he's Quan Chi's master which makes him incredibly deadly. Mostly because he mimics Shang Tsung's moveset and can take on the abilities of any other character.

8 8: Shao Kahn (MK 2, 3, Shaolin Monks)

When talking about Shao Kahn in the early games, we really have to weigh which game he's featuring as the boss of in that he's honestly much tougher in some than in others. InMortal Kombat II, he's definitely tougher than Shang Tsung, relying on his muscles and intimidating appearance. He has a ridiculous reach, he mostly attacks with a series of punches and kicks that do major damage, and he has a charge ability.

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In 3, he has a new eye beam and a rising charge that'll put you down quick. InShaolin Monks, he can grab the player and doesn't get stunned nearly as much by hits, and later he'll attack with only his skull-crushing hammer.

7 7: Quan Chi/Shang Tsung (MK Deadly Alliance)

Quan Chi and Shang Tsung are two separate fights depending on how you played the game up to the point when encountering them.

Shang Tsung doesn't have the power to morph anymore, but he does have incredibly fast combos and will hit the player with a barrage of fireballs. When you reach Quan Chi, a new boss at this point, he'll hit you with tons of sweeps, quick punches, and a broadsword he has that deals major damage.

They're also some of the only playable boss characters in the game up until this point.

6 6: Dark Kahn (MK Vs. DCU)

Dark Kahn is a fusion of DC Comics' Darkseid and Shao Kahn. As it sounds, he's pretty ridiculous to fight.

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He has the abilities of both Darkseid and Shao Kahn and is generally not good news. Especially when we consider that Darkseid is one of the most powerful enemies in DC canon and that Shao Kahn is one of the most fearsome rulers that's ever had the throne in Outworld.

5 5: Kronika (MK 11)

The final boss inMK 11 is Kronika, who's the first female boss in theMK series. She's the architect of the universe, whose power surpasses even that of the elder gods to whom Raiden is beholden, and that of Shinnok, who himself is a fallen elder god.

She's the keeper of time and has powers over pretty much anything physical, relying on teleportation and energy beams to attack the player, in addition to summoning a weaker Kombatant to fight the player when her health gets low.

4 4: Blaze (Armageddon)

Blaze is a character that was first introduced during MK II as a background character in the Pit II stage. You can see him in the background on another giant bridge, although this character looks a lot more like a Linn Kuei character on fire than the giant fire elemental we see as the boss in MK Armageddon.

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At this point, Blaze is the most powerful character in the MK universe. He uses ridiculously far-reaching attacks, doesn't use any projectiles, and is somehow able to teleport. He also can't be finished off, but instead, when he dies he screams, the screen darkens, and he explodes leaving only his head behind.

3 3: Shinnok (MK X)

Shinnok in MK X is horribly different from his incarnation in Sub-Zero or MK 4. He's much more difficult than he has been before and has 3 distinct forms in which the player can encounter him. He has the imposter form, bone-shaper form, and necromancer form.

In his imposter form, he can take on the movesets of other combatants. In the bone-shaper form, he can create weapons from bones to bash you with. In his necromancer form, he's able to summon skeletal hands to attack or grab the player.

2 2: Onaga (MK Deception)

Onaga, king of the dragons appears for the first time in Mortal Kombat: Deception. He's the first boss to be notably and very obviously non-human. While most of the series bosses have previously been from Outworld, meaning they can't technically be human, Onaga is a humanoid beast.

He also has an immunity to projectiles, meaning depending on who you're playing as, your special moves may be near useless. Luckily, there are Kamidogu at the edge of the stage which you can use to lower his defense. He breathes fire, creates wind with his wings, and delivers huge melee attacks.

1 1: Shao Kahn (MK 9)

Shao Kahn's moveset in MK 9 is actually really similar to his moveset in 2/3, which is undoubtedly done in homage to the character's origins. He's much more difficult here though, this most likely being his most powerful incarnation.

There's no time limit, he uses his hammer much more often, charges almost constantly, and he has his own fatalities that he'll use on you if you're playing on medium or higher. When he dies, it essentially does the animation for a Brutality.

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