MORTAL KOMBAT!! That universally known phrase lets you know the bloodiest fight of the century is about to begin. The franchise changed video game fighters as we know it and Jazwares has the license to produce the characters. Today we look at Shao Kahn as he appears in Mortal Kombat 9. The packaging is very nice desgin, great graphics and a bio on the back. You are also teased with the other figure in the line everyone will want, Goro.
Sculpting for Shao is fairly detailed, a step up from your DC Universe figure but not quite yet at Marvel Legends texture. Standing at 7 inches tall his skull-faced helmet has great detail and so does his armor. The hands are a bit odd with the left one being scaled larger than the right for some reason giving the fingers a hot-dog look. Nice spikes and a flowing loincloth complete his He-man-esq look.
Articulation is plentiful with ball-n-cup joints for all the major articulation spots including wrists and ankles. There's a upper thigh cut that works great tho he won't be sitting on a throne any time soon due to the rather stiff loincloth. This means his hips need to angle out to the side to step. Shao Kahn has an ab crunch which pops apart to reveal empty holes for a ball post. Perhaps they were going to go with that before the change. Except for lack of ankle rockers he's nicely articulated.
Paint applications are a little iffy here. While his mask, armor trim, and overall uniform look great his spikes have slop and aren't painted all the way against the armor. Shao's detailed cat-eyes have a vicious look to them. There's a great tanned highlight to the head and upper body...but unfortunately is missing from the rest of his skin. The lower arms.legs are a completely different color than the main body looking like a reverse farmers-tan. Hopefully this will be corrected in future assortments as it's really noticeable here and looks as if the plastic has faded. 
Shao Kahn comes with a large hammer as his accessory with a nicely tampoed Mortal Kombat symbol on it. He can hold it in either hand though his left hand is a bit tight due to the enlarged fingers. Paint work on the hammer is great and it's quite menacing looking to behold. So what's the verdict? If you're wanting the ruler of Outworld for your collection he's pretty large and in charge. I'd take a close look at him in person to see if all his flesh is colored correctly tho. Jazwares had a great first series with Scorpion and Sub Zero, here they missed the mark on a few counts. An avid customizer could easily shave down the larger hand and repaint him however. Our sponsor Big Bad Toy Store has him for preorder as does Past Generation Toys including a special Shao Kahn with throne and arena.
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