Mortal Kombat Shao Kahn Figure by Toy Island (Review)

Shao Kahn, the main villain (boss), in Mortal Kombat since MK II, has quickly became a household name to fans and non-fans alike. Almost anyone can immediately recognize that skull-helmet, cape, and loin-cloth wearing emperor.

Around 1996, Mortal Kombat released the first and second string of MK figures. From what I remember, most of those toys looked like overblown G.I. Joe style figures. However, to my surprise, even as a kid, Shao Kahn looked drastically different from how all of the other figures were made. Shao Kahn was bought from a local KB Toy Store, a really long time ago, and has been stored in a box ever since.

Although most of the MK characters looked like a large, yet cheap recast of G.I. Joe figures with completely new head sculpts, Shao Khan's case looks completely different. The entire figure seems as if the entire thing was redesigned. Toy Island certainly did not skimp on any critical details. Every thing is there:  A skull faced helmet, cross chest piece with a skull on the center, spiked wrist bands, spiked shoulders with a cape, and an armored loin cloth and shin guards. The muscles are nicely toned, while the cape sports natural wrinkles.

One convenient feature on this toy is that the cape can be removed and pop back in a peg hole, whenever needed. The only problem, though, is the shoulder guards are molded on the cape. Removing them with the cape would render Shao Kahn inaccurate to what he appeared in the game.

Shao Kahn did come with two different swords, but I lost one of them. Even having both swords is unconventional, considering Shao Khan has never used them in the game. The problem with the sword is Shao Khan can't even hold them properly; he has a tendency to hold his weapon at an awkward angle.

The articulation is very basic on this toy. All limbs with a swivelling joint can rotate, but is limited because of Khan's armor.

To this day, I am still impressed with the overall final product. Most of the key details are there, without a doubt that this is a proper Shao Kahn figure. It's a shame that Kahn did not have a hammer, and had to settle with a pair of swords instead. If you can find this toy with a cheap price tag, snag this toy up, but be careful because there is a staggering amount of eBay sellers asking a ridiculous amount for a toy that doesn't come close to their realistic price.