10 Video Game Bosses Who JUST WOULDN'T DIE

9. Shao Kahn - Mortal Kombat

final fantasy 10 seymour guado
NetherRealm Studios

Pretty much any rival from Mortal Kombat could've been on our list, since death is pretty meaningless in Ed Boon's spine-ripping bloodfest. But if anyone is taking the piss when it comes to cheating death, it's Shao Kahn.

Despite dying in MKII, MK3, and MK: Deadly Alliance, retcons kept allowing the Outworld Emperor to come back. Having said that, it really looked like Kahn met his maker in MK9, when his very essence was obliterated.

But after Kronika meddled with the timestream in MK11, Shao Kahn was transported through time to the present. Fortunately, Liu Kang defeated Kronika and Kahn, bringing peace to the Realms... for about five minutes. Thanks to a time paradox, Liu Kang had to send Earthrealm's champions into the past, causing them to tangle with Kahn for the umpteenth time. 

After Liu Kang inherited Kronika's power, the Shaolin monk was able to mould the Realms as he saw fit. Despite his best efforts to shape his old nemesis into a less destructive force, the reborn Shao was more cunning than ever. Since the skull-helmeted barbarian survived the events of the last instalment, there's no doubt he'll return in the follow-up.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows