Quan Chi
Quan Chi is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. First appearing as an original guest character in the 1996 animated series ', he made his game canon debut as the non-playable main antagonist of Midway's 1997 side-scrolling action-adventure game ', which was followed by his official playable debut in the three-dimensional fighting title Mortal Kombat 4 the same year. Quan Chi has since evolved into a significant villain in the Mortal Kombat franchise, becoming involved in multiple story modes and character storylines.
In the games, Quan Chi is a sorcerer and necromancer from the eternally-damned Netherealm. He is a malevolent opportunist who will ally himself with anyone who can help him further his goals, and his conniving nature has earned him several enemies, including Mortal Kombat mainstays Sub-Zero and Scorpion. As part of the eponymous pair in ', he forms a tenuous partnership with fellow sorcerer Shang Tsung in attempt to conquer both Earthrealm and the otherworldly dimension of Outworld, and plays a notable role in the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot game as he is written into the continuity of the series' first three titles, and returned in the 2015 release Mortal Kombat X. He has additionally featured in other franchise media such as the television program ' and the web series. General and media reception to the character has been mostly positive, but split in regards to his Fatality finishing moves.
Appearances
In video games
In the events of both ' and Mortal Kombat 4, nefarious free-roaming sorcerer and necromancer Quan Chi assists disgraced former Elder God Shinnok—who had been banished to the Netherealm by the thunder god Raiden after centuries of warring—in defeating the realm's then-ruler Lucifer in exchange for power and the opportunity to co-rule the realm at Shinnok's side. After another sorcerer, Shang Tsung, reveals the location of Shinnok's long-lost amulet, Quan Chi attempts to retrieve it, only to encounter its four elemental guardians, so he proposes a deal with the Lin Kuei clan of assassins: he would destroy their rivals, the Shirai Ryu, in exchange for the assistance of one of their warriors, Sub-Zero. Quan Chi convinces Sub-Zero and Shirai Ryu warrior Hanzo Hasashi to find a map leading to the amulet's location in the hopes of having them meet in combat, with the Lin Kuei assassin succeeding in killing his rival before retrieving the map. True to his word, Quan Chi eliminated the Shirai Ryu before sending Sub-Zero to find the amulet itself. Once he succeeded, Sub-Zero returned the amulet to Shinnok, though they were both unaware that it was a fake and that Quan Chi kept the genuine article for himself. Sub-Zero later defeated the sorcerer and sent him into exile before stealing the fake amulet from Shinnok. After reviving Hasashi as the undead revenant Scorpion, Quan Chi told him Sub-Zero killed his clan and family. Once Scorpion defeats his rival however, Quan Chi reveals his involvement in killing the revenant's family before attempting to banish him to the Netherrealm, only for Scorpion to take the sorcerer with him. In Mythologies, Quan Chi was assisted by Sareena, Kia, and Jataaka; members of the Brotherhood of the Shadow who served as his personal assassins. In his non-canonical ending in MK4, Quan Chi turned against Shinnok and destroyed him with his own amulet.Quan Chi returned in ' as part of the titular group. After escaping from Scorpion with the assistance of the Oni Drahmin and Moloch, Quan Chi abandoned his rescuers and fled to the other dimension Outworld; coming across a mummified army of the dormant Dragon King Onaga. Quan Chi brokers a deal with Shang Tsung for his assistance in reviving Onaga's army in exchange for a supply of souls that would preserve Shang Tsung's youth, then eliminate evil Outworld emperor Shao Kahn and the perennial Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang. Together with the assistance of Onaga's soldiers, the Deadly Alliance kills Raiden's chosen defenders and defeat Raiden himself. The partnership dissolves however when Shang Tsung attempts to steal Shinnok's amulet to take control of Onaga's army for himself. While Quan Chi tries to stop him, Onaga suddenly arrives to take the amulet for himself. To stop the Dragon King, Raiden unleashed his godly energy in a violent explosion, seemingly killing the Deadly Alliance.
Quan Chi returned in '. After teleporting at the last minute while Raiden tried to kill Onaga, Quan Chi attempted to acquire the elemental Blaze's godlike power. In Armageddon's Konquest mode, Quan Chi suggests he, Onaga, Shang Tsung, and Shao Kahn join forces to defeat the forces of good while secretly working for Shinnok to lead them to the Pyramid of Argus. During the battle royal for Blaze's power, Quan Chi engages Kenshi in a sword fight on the pyramid's steps and stabs him, but Shang Tsung throws him off.
Though Quan Chi was not part of the first generation of Mortal Kombat fighting games, he was the only playable character from the three-dimensional era included in both the storyline and immediate roster of the Mortal Kombat reboot, which retold the first three games' stories as part of a new continuity. In the game's story mode, Quan Chi first appears at the start of the Shaolin Tournament with the resurrected Scorpion serving as his personal assassin. Scorpion has entered the tournament to seek revenge against Sub-Zero, whom he believes slaughtered his family and clan. Raiden, in his effort to prevent Armageddon, convinces him not to after defeating him in combat, but Quan Chi manipulates Scorpion into doing the deed by showing him a vision of the Lin Kuei warrior murdering Scorpion's clan, wife, and child. He and Scorpion join forces in the tournament to face the Shaolin monk Liu Kang, but both are defeated. During the second tournament in Shao Kahn's Outworld arena, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung join forces to battle Kung Lao, but are defeated. Following this, Quan Chi revives the deceased Queen Sindel in order to enable Shao Kahn to invade Earthrealm, in addition to resurrecting Sub-Zero as Noob Saibot to assist him in his plans. With Quan Chi entrenched as Shao Kahn's second-in-command, the emperor eliminates Shang Tsung and transfers his powers to Sindel, while Quan Chi constructs a Soulnado to take every soul on Earth. However, Native American warrior Nightwolf defeats Quan Chi in battle and kicks Noob Saibot into the Soulnado to destroy it, though Quan Chi escapes. After Sindel massacres the Earthrealm warriors assembled to stop Shao Kahn's takeover, Raiden seeks cooperation between Earth and the Netherealm by offering Quan Chi their souls as compensation, but Quan Chi has already acquired them and transformed into his revenant slaves. However, he inadvertently causes Shao Kahn's downfall when he reveals the Elder Gods are obligated to stop the tyrant for failing to honor Mortal Kombat's rules. Raiden kills Shao Kahn and halts his invasion, but Quan Chi makes preparations for Shinnok's invasion; leading Netherrealm's forces in attacking the weakened Earthrealm and Outworld.
In Mortal Kombat X, Quan Chi has built an army of revenants from the fallen Earthrealm warriors to aid him in retrieving Shinnok's amulet over the course of two years. Though he succeeds in doing so with the aid of D'Vorah, he is decapitated by the resurrected Hasashi once he learned the sorcerer conspired with the Lin Kuei ninja Sektor to kill the Shirai Ryu.
Despite not being playable nor appearing in Mortal Kombat 11, Quan Chi was referenced by most of the characters. During the Aftermath DLC in particular, Sindel reveals he killed her for apparently distracting Shao Kahn, staged her murder to appear as if she committed suicide, and used her soul to prevent Shao Kahn from invading Earthrealm until the time was right.
Quan Chi makes non-playable appearances in the 2005 beat 'em up spinoff title ', and the story mode for the 2008 crossover game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Midway had planned to add Quan Chi to MKvsDC as downloadable content, but he was removed late in the process due to Midway's financial issues despite Boon's announcement at the time that the character was "almost done."
Character development
Quan Chi became an instantly ubiquitous presence in the franchise following his 1997 debut. Mortal Kombat co-creator and programmer Ed Boon described Mortal Kombat 4 as "the Quan Chi show." He was played in Mortal Kombat Mythologies by actor and martial artist Richard Divizio, who additionally provided motion capture and voice work for the character in MK4. Divizio called Quan Chi "definitely" his favorite of all the characters he had portrayed in the series, and found acting in the cutscenes for Mythologies "exciting." Quan Chi was the centerpiece of print-media advertising for Mythologies that included the tagline "Meet the root of our evil", while Divizio was prominently featured with Mortal Kombat 3 actress Lia Montelongo in a blooper reel that was included among the game's bonus materials. Quan Chi would additionally become the symbol of the first Mortal Kombat fighting title that ushered in the three-dimensional era of the series; Midway character artist Herman Sanchez explained in 2006 that the MK4 cabinet design would serve to reintroduce the series to fans while enabling the machine to stand out in arcades, and therefore a "big old Quan Chi face"—a shot of Divizio in costume superimposed against a wall of fire—was displayed on both sides of the cabinet: "No one could miss it, and that's what ended up happening."The character first appeared in the Defenders of the Realm cartoon and Mythologies as a tall, bald figure wearing a teal-colored bodysuit under a black tabard adorned with ornamental spikes on the shoulders, accented by a yin-yang symbol on the sternum. Designed by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias, this style was carried over into Mortal Kombat 4, but for Deadly Alliance, the first release following Tobias' 2000 departure from Midway, Quan Chi's design was minimized with him going shirtless and revealing a well-built physique with only a black bandolier across his chest, in addition to simple black trousers and knee-high boots, with Shinnok's amulet usually attached to his belt; this has remained his primary template in all his MK appearances thereafter, while his first design returned as an alternate costume in several games. In conceptual sketches by Deadly Alliance character designer Allen Ditzig, Quan Chi was seen brandishing a "mysterious living weapon"—a staff topped with a grotesque head capable of spewing green mist and flies from its mouth. Though the staff was cut from the game, its concept was used in the creation of Drahmin, one of whose offensive moves involved shooting flies at his opponent. The one element of Quan Chi's design that has remained unchanged is his albino skin tone, with simple parallel black stripes extending upward from his eyelids and extending over the top of his head in his first appearances, then enhanced in Deadly Alliance and onward with an extensive collection of red tattoo-like markings on his head, back and arms, in addition to an elliptical red gem planted in the center of his forehead.
For Mortal Kombat X, he was designed by NetherRealm Studios character artist Solomon Gaitan, who initially referenced actor Yul Brynner when digitally sculpting Quan Chi's facial features. His final head render was described by Gaitan as "reminiscent of his old look with a new flair", while series art director Steve Beran "wanted me to merge Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff’s features" during the design process, in addition to researching vultures: "I wanted him to feel like he was in a permanent state of lurking and stalking; waiting for death to happen."
Gameplay
Quan Chi's signature special move since his MK4 debut has been his "Skull Ball", a glowing, green skull-shaped blast of energy that he shoots at his opponents; it was waist-high and impossible to duck in MK4, but reduced to life-sized in future installments. Alex Vo of GameSpy considered his specials in Armageddon to be "decent", but his Escrima fighting style could lead into "lengthy attacks which... can take out more than 20% of a life bar." Quan Chi was unlockable in MK2011 after completing the story mode; Mitchell Saltzman of GameFront described Quan Chi therein as capable of "frustrating players with his long, drawn out, and damaging combos", while his "Teleport Stomp" maneuver—present in every game except Deadly Alliance and renamed "Sky Drop" in the reboot—was best used against opposing players who overused projectile attacks. In Quan Chi's "X-Ray" attack, his opponents injure themselves, starting with smashing their own head with a hard skull-shaped object he tosses at them, followed by a self-inflicted neckbreaker. According to Prima Games, Quan Chi was one of the weakest characters in MK2011, with at least half of their test matches with him won against just three other characters, for a poor 38% overall victory rate. Bryan Dawson of Prima Games listed Quan Chi in his 2014 selection of the "cheapest" Mortal Kombat characters, as he had "80-percent-damage combos if land a hit and have enough meter to burn." In Mortal Kombat X, Quan Chi's three gameplay variations are "Summoner", which allows him to summon a demonic bat to use in offensive attacks; "Sorcerer" allows Quan Chi to create three distinct magical fields, and "Warlock" allows him more combos with portals.Like his in-game offense, Quan Chi's Fatalities vary from the use of magic to outright brutality. His first in MK4 enabled him to mimic opposing players' finishers, but his second involved tearing off his opponent's leg at the hip and then savagely beating them nonstop with the still-bleeding limb as the screen faded to black for the next match, making it the one neverending Fatality in the series. It was carried over into the 2011 reboot, while his other Fatality saw him summoning a sword composed of green energy that he used to dismember and decapitate his opponent, similar to Scorpion's "Split Decision" finisher in the same game. However, his Fatality from Deadly Alliance, the "Neck Stretch"—in which Quan Chi leaps onto his beaten opponent's shoulders and pulls on their head to stretch their neck to an impossible length—became one of the most infamous Fatalities in the series due to its cartoonish appearance and lack of blood or gore. It proved the least popular Fatality among many of the Midway staff; lead storyteller John Vogel revealed that the finisher was "a funny idea" that was instantly disliked after its addition, but the developers were forced to leave it in due to time constraints. Sound designer Dan Forden cited it as an example of the team at the time "getting a little low on creativity", and programmer Nick Shin declared that it "totally didn't make sense." Boon deemed the "Neck Stretch" his least-liked Fatality, but called the "Leg Beatdown" his all-time favorite.
Other appearances
Television and film
One year before the release of Mythologies, Quan Chi made a single-episode appearance in the 1996 animated series '. He is an independent sorcerer who has an allegiance to no one, and is first seen watching a future vision of the Earthrealm defenders battling Shao Kahn's cybernetic soldiers. When this event actually occurs, he teleports himself uninterrupted to the realm of Zaterra, where he enters a cave and steals a glowing red crystal called the gem of Tetsurri. He then passes through a portal into Earthrealm in the guise of a youth seeking sanctuary from Outworld. As part of his ruse, Quan Chi exposes the Earth defenders to the gem when he offers it as a gift. Kitana prevents the team from accepting it, but it nonetheless triggers acute personality changes that cause increased hostility among the heroes. According to Raiden, the gem contains powers that darken the human soul, and its effects will only get worse over time. The Earthrealmers travel to Zaterra amidst much infighting to find and destroy the gem. As Nightwolf was the only one not exposed to the gem, he is able to overcome Quan Chi's black magic and smash the object to pieces, thus breaking the spell over the Earthrealmers. Aghast at the foiling of his plans, Quan Chi disappears and the heroes escape the cave as he collapses it. He was voiced by Nick Chinlund, and his name was hyphenated in the episode title.Quan Chi was to make a cameo at the end of the 1997 film ' alongside Shinnok in the Netherealm, to where Shinnok had been previously banished for attempting to interfere in the final match between Liu Kang and Shao Kahn at the film's climax. They appeared together on the final page of the 1996 first draft of the script, with the only line of dialogue coming from Shinnok. Quan Chi was portrayed by a Thai extra who did not speak English, and the scene was actually shot, with an on-set photograph additionally published in the December 1997 issue of Sci-Fi Entertainment, but the producers were unable to get the footage added to the final print in time. Quan Chi nonetheless appeared on the packaging of the Russian, Chinese, and Italian DVD releases of the film.
In the 1999 television series ', Quan Chi guest-starred in four of the show's 22 episodes, and was played by Adoni Maropis. In the ninth episode, similar to his DotR storyline, he crafts a potion that magnifies the flaws of the lead characters, while subsequent appearances featured Quan Chi joining forces with Shang Tsung to defeat Kung Lao in exchange for Shang Tsung's instruction in stealing souls ; his building an army under the guise of a traveling circus ; and Shang Tsung morphing into Quan Chi in his plot to assassinate Shao Kahn. In a 2006 interview with Konquest fan page MKC Site, Maropis explained that he "honestly wasn't into the whole Mortal Kombat video game thing", but he "just felt this character" once his makeup was applied, a process that took two hours. Maropis added that he had to fight to use the vocal tone he had created for the character and had used in his first appearance because the Konquest producers wanted him to lower the character's onscreen intensity, but they eventually relented and allowed Maropis to rerecord his dialogue as he preferred in his second episode appearance: "They let me be and let it all hang out."
Quan Chi appears in the 2020 animated movie ', where he serves as one of the two main antagonists, on which he resurrects Hanzo and turns him into Scorpion and have him serve for eternity. He has him take part in the Tournament, so he can get revenge on Sub-Zero, he even tries to kill Shang Tsung, so he can free Shinnok. After Scorpion kills Sub-Zero, he reveals to a mortally wounded Scorpion, that he killed his clan and family and used sorcery to disguise himself as Sub-Zero and lead the Lin Kuei to attack the Shirai Ryu. Shang Tsung later becomes aware of his treachery, when Scorpion turns on both him and Shang Tsung, Scorpion battled Quan Chi and killed him by ripping his arms off, decapitating him and burning his corpse into ashes as the island began to collapse.
Literature
Quan Chi was a featured character in a special-edition tie-in comic book that was included with the 1998 PC home release of Mortal Kombat 4, where he cons his way into the otherworldly realm of Edenia by posing as a refugee from a realm that, he claims, was annexed by an evil ruler. He offers Queen Sindel a mysterious orb that she accepts, but the orb opens a portal through which Shinnok and his Netherealm denizens emerge, and they capture Edenia. Quan Chi's machination had been set up in advance with the assistance of the traitorous Edenian Tanya, which in turn established her storyline in the game. He is then seen on the last page awaiting the Earthrealm combatants emerging from a portal into the realm that was opened by Sonya.Other media
Quan Chi made a brief appearance in the eighth episode of the 2011 web series ', at the climax of a two-parter featuring Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Bi-Han has fatally stabbed Hanzo Hasashi just as Hanzo discovers that his family has been slain by whom he believes are the Lin Kuei, but Bi-Han is actually Quan Chi, who changes back to his original form and resurrects Hanzo as an undead specter, promising him revenge against Sub-Zero in exchange for his services. Quan Chi was played by Michael Rogers, who had originally auditioned for Kabal but was brought back for the part of Quan Chi after plans for including Kabal in the series were scrapped. Rogers enthused in a 2011 interview that he "absolutely loved the role" despite not having played the games, but once he got the part he avoided any kind of MK media aside from the 2010 short film ', because he "did not want any influences and wanted to come in with a fresh perspective" on the character.Merchandise
Quan Chi was included with Scorpion, Kabal, and Shao Kahn in a collection of 2.5" super deformed figures released by Jazwares in 2012, and despite his absence from Deception, he appeared on several common "attack" cards in the 2005 Epic Battles collectible card game that starred the game's roster, but he was not given his own character card. A placeholder for a planned 3.75" action figure was displayed by Jazwares at the 2012 American International Toy Fair, but the figure never came to fruition. Mezco Toyz featured a six-inch Quan Chi figure at the 2015 Toy Fair as part of their upcoming Mortal Kombat X-based line.Reception
Characterization and gameplay
Quan Chi was ranked fourteenth in UGO Networks' 2012 list of the top fifty Mortal Kombat characters, for his role as one of the "prime villains" of the series. Ben Richardson of GameFront said of the character in 2011, "He’s Scorpion’s boss—pretty much the ultimate badass credential." Jon Hamlin of The Game Scouts, in 2013, named him the number-one character in the series for similar reasons: " is the evilest of the evil and one of the more intriguing characters in the roster... he also manages to put a leash on Scorpion at some point." Complex named Quan Chi second behind only Shang Tsung as the series' most brutal character: "He's MK's root of all evil, having a hand in just about every villain's scheme." Den of Geek rated Quan Chi 26th in their 2015 ranking of the franchise's 73 playable characters, calling him "the true evil mastermind of the MK universe" who "suffers from the writers trying to make him a little too slick and smart for his own good." In 2010, Game Informer named Quan Chi as a character they wanted for the reboot: "Many of the characters introduced post-MK3 were forgettable, but Quan Chi stood out as one of the more interesting." However, Nic Rowen of Destructoid gave a harsher opinion of the character: "Quan Chi is a dark sorcerer shitbag that nobody likes, both in the fandom and in the series' narrative unsuccessfully scheming behind the back of whatever master he is currently serving like an incompetent, bald Starscream." Fans ranked Quan Chi as the 29th-best character in a 2013 online poll held by Dorkly that rated the entire Mortal Kombat roster, and eliminated him in the lower rounds in the annual "Supreme Mortal Kombat Champion" polls hosted by Mortal Kombat Online, losing to Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Jade, respectively.His noncanonical Deadly Alliance ending, in which he kills Kano and Liu Kang's soul enters Kano's body shortly thereafter, was ranked at #181 in 4thletter's 2013 selection of the top 200 fighting game endings, and his MK2011 ending came in at #90, where his undead army, including Shao Kahn, defeats Shinnok, who had turned against Quan Chi beforehand in attempt to eliminate any threat to his rule.
Finishing moves
While Quan Chi was generally well received by critics, the reaction to his Fatalities has been more polarized. His "Leg Beatdown" Fatality from MK4 was rated ninth in ScrewAttack's 2010 ranking of the top ten series Fatalities, with the site commenting, "Quan Chi, you may be evil, but you the man." GamesRadar considered it one of their "ten greatest things about Mortal Kombat" in a 2007 feature. Richardson ranked it as the sixth-best finishing move in the series, though he described it as "blue-collar and non-magical." Game Rant rated it fifth among their top ten Fatalities. Gameranx ranked it last in their 2012 rating of MK's top ten most gruesome Fatalities. Prima Games included the "Leg Beatdown" at #43 in their 2014 list of the series' top fifty Fatalities. Bloody Disgusting's Bill Frye ranked the "no-nonsense" finisher seventh in his list of the top ten series Fatalities, and Luke Brown of Arcade Sushi rated it sixth in his 2014 selection of the series' ten "gnarliest" Fatalities. Cameron Koch of TechTimes ranked it ninth out of the ten best finishers in the franchise's history in 2015 for its dark humor value.On the other hand, the "Neck Stretch" from Deadly Alliance was included in Game Rant's selection of the series' worst Fatalities. "First off, no blood. Second, why even bother?" David Saldana of 1UP.com ranked it the number-one worst Fatality. Hardcore Gaming 101 commented, "One highlight in particular is Quan Chi's Fatality, but only because of how incredibly stupid it is." Brian Nelms of GameSkinny opined that for Quan Chi being "literally the big bad guy" in Deadly Alliance, the finisher was "a polygon-bending display of lame." James Deaux of Earth-2.net deemed it the "lamest" finisher ever: "In a series where people have their heads blown up, ripped off, sliced in half, torched, melted, and even eaten whole, the producers of the games felt that Quan Chi should one-down them by... stretching their neck out an extra three feet." ScrewAttack ranked the finisher sixth on their 2011 list of the series' ten worst Fatalities, citing its lack of blood.