Mortal Kombat 1: 22 Biggest WTF Moments
8. The True Villain
In the third act, the Earthrealmers and Outworlders finally come face-to-face with Shang Tsung's benefactor, who appears to be Kronika.
Just before this puppet master appears, Shang Tsung refers to it as "Damashi". Because this was the name Onaga went by when he deceived Shujinko in MK: Deception, fans expected the Dragon King to reveal himself at this point.
Sadly, there's no Onaga. (He does appear in Reiko's ending though). Instead, Shang Tsung's master is revealed to be Titan Shang Tsung from MK11: Aftermath!
The Titan explains how his battle with Liu Kang over the Hourglass was so epic, it created opposing timelines where each of them was the victor. After learning about Liu Kang's reality, Titan Shang set his sights on destroying it, using that timeline's Shang Tsung as his pawn.
Not only was this one hell of a twist, it was a neat way to tether the story with Aftermath.