Warning: SPOILERS for Mortal Kombat.
Lord Raiden, god of thunder and lightning, and Shang Tsung, Outworld's villainous sorcerer, both play key roles in director Dennis McQuaid's Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) takes on the responsibility of leading not just Young, but all the heroes, against Outworld's evil denizens. Both Shang Tsung and Raiden are extremely significant to the overarching lore of the Mortal Kombat franchise, and although each is an extraordinary fighter, one is more powerful than the other.
The first Mortal Kombat video game, which released in 1992, debuted with Raiden and Shang Tsung as original of the grueling tournament's huge pantheon of bloodthirsty fighters. Raiden was playable, unlike the unplayable Shang Tsung, who awaited players as the game's final boss. Over the subsequent decades, each character experienced some visual alterations and adaptations to their stories as new games were released. However, their general characteristics have stayed relatively unchanged, a trend that continued in the new Mortal Kombat movie.
In the film, as in the video games, Shang Tsung is a monstrous sorcerer who feeds on the souls of other fighters. Forced to remain in Outworld, waiting for each tournament to commence, he leads the other merciless antagonists in their invasion of Earthrealm to enslave humanity. Although Shang Tsung doesn't get his hands dirty too often, when he does, it's to terrible effect, as he kills Kung Lao by sucking the warrior's soul from his body. It's an impressive fatality, but one kill doesn't mean Shang Tsung's more powerful than Raiden. He is an immortal god and the sworn protector of Earthrealm. Not even Shang Tsung can challenge him, and that's because he's nowhere near as powerful.
In Mortal Kombat, Raiden unites Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kung Lao, and Cole Young at his ancient temple. There, he teaches Young, Kano, and Blade about Arcana, the supernatural energy that the film's creators invented to explain how certain fighters on Earthrealm possess their exceptional powers. When the villains from Outworld arrive and attempt to gain access to the temple, Raiden deploys a force field that not even Shang Tsung can break through. It's only because Kano betrays Raiden, by opening the forcefield from within, that the god's magic is broken.
As a divine being, Raiden doesn't need to feast on the souls of others to stay alive. He uses powerful lightning blasts to subdue Kano (Josh Lawson) and Cole Young, both tough warriors in their own right, with almost embarrassing ease. He has the power to teleport himself and others across multiple dimensions. Although he resists becoming involved directly in the events of McQuaid's Mortal Kombat, another sign that his power is miles beyond the struggles of mere mortals, fans of the franchise will know that when Raiden does choose to fight, he's got all the moves to become tournament champion. That's why Raiden is favored by so many players of the Mortal Kombat games. Even though Shang Tsung is another popular fighter, his deadliest skill in the movie, taking the life force of his enemies by swallowing their souls, is also his curse: without souls to harvest, his power wanes, and he loses his ability to dominate opponents.
Still, Shang Tsung is the stuff of nightmares. There's a reason why the soul-harvesting monster leads seasoned killers like Sub-Zero, Prince Goro, and Mileena into battle. In the new Mortal Kombat universe, he's definitely one of the most powerful beings, just not as powerful as Raiden. The real question is, if McQuaid's film performs well, and a sequel is greenlit, will Raiden finally step in and show fans exactly how he's more powerful than Shang Tsung? It would certainly be a showdown for the ages.
