I've seen several conversations lately about MK1 Shang Tsung vs MK11 (not just here, elsewhere and in my own personal friend groups) and I'd like to have a sit-down and go over some key elements I think we're all overlooking.
1. Why are we pitting two bad bitches against each other, you can enjoy all versions of him I promise (ask me how I know! I've been playing these games for over 20 years)
2. Of course they're going to be vastly different from each other, they have different origins and different lived experiences. Previous Era Shang Tsung has an origin story that's about as clear as mud and New Era Shang Tsung was purposefully nerfed by Liu Kang.
This also plays into my next point, but even with the nightmare non-canon vs canon vs semi-canon state of MK lore, it still matters.
3. New Era Shang Tsung seems to visibly be younger, but not by a wide margin. We have to remember that MK11 Shang Tsung is mind-boggling levels of old.
New Era Shang Tsung started with nothing and likely never expected to see that change. He's very suddenly offered the world on a silver platter, power beyond his imagination, and a way out of his suffering. Of course he takes it. If we assume that ALL timeline Shang Tsungs have that same ambitious root, good or bad or in between, it only makes sense that he would jump head-first into such an opportunity. The key here is that he's never done anything like this before.
He's not so young that he's completely naive. He has light wrinkles, he's not baby-faced (see below). Maybe he has a few stray greys if I'm looking at these screencaps right, or it could just be the lighting. My point being that it's still so early in his development as a person that he thinks he can't be outsmarted, that nobody could possibly be three steps ahead of him, and his focus is still narrow. He knows how to survive, and has done so for long enough to see that this may be his only chance, but he's missing the signs that say it's a scam because he's never seen them before. He's essentially been put behind the wheel of a high-end sports car but he's never learned how to drive, and never needed to know until this exact moment.
Whether or not he's feigning his confidence is another subject altogether, because I do think he peacocks for several reasons, but anyway. This Shang Tsung is learning to run on his new sorcerer legs, and they're shaky at best. Imagine having nothing your entire life and suddenly having everything at your fingertips, having to craft a persona and a gimmick from the ground up and maintain it flawlessly lest you fall right back to the bottom, or worse.
He's going to cower, he's going to lie and flatter and whatever else keeps him from losing his footing. It's easier for him to slip up or be caught unawares because of that narrow focus. He lacks the broad perspective of the previous Shang Tsung, which brings me to my next point.
4. Previous Shang Tsung had roughly a thousand years to develop and become who he was (or still is). He has a wealth of knowledge, he's absorbed an untold amount of souls and retained their information on top of what he already knows. He has a confident swagger about him that New Era Shang Tsung simply has not grown into yet. He's made a point to be several steps ahead of anyone, and both time and experience have made him nigh impossible to outsmart. He's the "you cannot kill me in a way that matters" post that floats around here from time to time, because really, you can't.
He still has that sort of fruity smarmy charm about him, but his smugness doesn't feel as petty because he knows and is fully confident that he's got everything under control. Everything will go his way, and if it doesn't, he's got about 700 backup plans to make sure that it does. New Era Shang Tsung believes he's ahead of the game, but he hasn't quite figured out the nuances of covering his ass when things go wrong.
I think it will be interesting to see where New Era Shang Tsung leads. There's potential for him to be a bit more violently cutthroat in the literal sense, someone who isn't as secure in their choices as OG Shang Tsung.
Not that either of them are predictable, but our beloved MK11 Shang Tsung takes measured, confident steps. He has time to be lavish and bask in his riches (he paints his nails, braids his hair, this man has all the time in the world to do what he wants and still look pretty doing it), there's no need for him to make a show of hasty choices or taking chances that could hinder him later. New Era has been betrayed and purposefully placed at a disadvantage right out of the gate, and maybe there's a hint of desperation there. Desperation to be seen as something greater than he was, to exact his revenge on those who purposefully placed him in a life of suffering, and to keep his grasp on his new powers. There are unresolved emotions that will take time to work through, and I imagine he might make rash decisions out of anger or spite on the way.
At their core, they are very, very similar. Ambitious men with silver tongues and minds like steel traps. Serpents disguised as peacocks, but their flattery and reasoning behind their lies come from very different angles and experiences. One is surviving, the other spits in the face of death and time and laughs about it.
If you read all this, I am very sorry. I just have so many thoughts about this character and I don't understand how New Era Shang Tsung is catching so much ire. He hasn't had a chance to bloom into full bastard yet; let him settle, let him oxidize and shake the New Car smell off his clothes.
dededos
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
andulkaphoto
