Kombo was a territory and kingdom in Gambia during the colonial period.^[1] In 1840 the King of Kombo was Suling Jatta.^[2]

See also: Kombo (disambiguation)

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Shang Tsung (尚宗) is a boss and player character from the Mortal Kombat series. He is a powerful and deadly sorcerer and a recurring antagonist from the series. Shang Tsung is a shapeshifter who absorbs the souls of those he slays in order to maintain his youth and power. He has also frequently appeared in the other media in the franchise.

In video games[link]

There are several different origin stories for Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung's bio in the Mortal Kombat II comic book Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition states his origin as "Earthrealm/Outworld". According to Midway's defunct Mortal Kombat Mythologies website, Shang Tsung was originally from Earth. However, his Armageddon bio makes reference to Tsung binding his soul to Shao Kahn, which could provide a loophole allowing him to represent Outworld in the tournament despite not being a native of that realm.

According to the first Mortal Kombat comic, Shang Tsung was cursed by "his gods" not only to kill his enemies, but to take their souls as well. Only in this way would he hold off a grim fate to age rapidly and die prematurely. As a side effect of his consuming the souls of others, he also absorbed their memories and knowledge, an ability which would greatly benefit him years later. At some point, he entered the Mortal Kombat tournament and then overcame all competition and became Grand Champion. How long he retained the title is unclear; however, the overconfident Shang Tsung would eventually be defeated by the legendary Shaolin warrior monk, the Great Kung Lao. He returned years later, much older in appearance, after the "mysterious" death of one of the tournament's three Grandmasters, with his greatest student: the Shokan Prince Goro. He had been ordered by the ruler of Outworld, Shao Kahn, to finally bring about the winning streak in Mortal Kombat necessary to unbalance the Furies and weaken the dimensional gates, thus allowing the Outworld Emperor to conquer Earth. The Great Kung Lao was defeated by Goro and killed and the Outworld's domination of the Mortal Kombat tournament began. Shang Tsung came into contact with another sorcerer, Quan Chi, who was seeking a mystical item, Shinnok's amulet. The amulet's location was known only to the Shaolin Monks; as a result of consuming the Great Kung Lao's soul, Shang Tsung knew where it was. In exchange for Quan Chi's and Shinnok's aid in completing a task for the Emperor Shao Kahn, he revealed the location of the Map of the Elements – but neglected to inform Quan Chi that no sorcerer could enter the Temple where it was stored. Over the next 500 years, as Goro remained undefeated, the tournament fell further into Shang Tsung's depraved hands. He became the sole Grandmaster, and the tournament came to be held on his private island – in reality, a zone in between Earth and the Outworld. Near the end of this time period, he learned of the swordsman Kenshi, disguised himself as an old man named Song and tricked him into releasing his warrior king ancestors, blinding Kenshi in the process. Shang Tsung revealed his true self, consumed the souls and left Kenshi to die, not knowing the swordsman would survive to become his bitter enemy. He also sparred with Shujinko to determine whether or not he would allow him to enter the tournament, ending in a draw with him granting Shujinko permission to enter.

During the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, the final victory that would enable Shao Kahn to conquer Earth, Liu Kang defeated Goro, breaking the streak. Liu Kang then challenged Shang Tsung to restore the honour of the once-sacred tournament; Liu Kang prevailed, and Shang Tsung fled to Outworld. Dragged before Shao Kahn, he begged for his life and said that if they challenged Earthrealm to Mortal Kombat in Outworld, they would have to accept or forfeit. The emperor agreed to this plan and restored Tsung Tsung's youth. While the tournament served as a diversion, Shao Kahn could continue with his own scheme, 10,000 years in the making: the restoration to life of his former queen, Sindel. During the Outworld tournament, despite having his youth restored and after a long brutal fight, Shang Tsung lost again to Liu Kang, this time in front of his master. After Shang Tsung's defeat at the hands of Liu Kang, Shao Kahn finished the process of Sindel's resurrection with the aid of his cult of Shadow Priests. Thanks to the help of Quan Chi and Shinnok, her soul would indeed be resurrected – but in Earthrealm, and tainted by evil. When Queen Sindel was revived in Earthrealm, Shao Kahn could reach across the realms and reclaim her, forcefully merging Earthrealm with Outworld. Shang Tsung led one of Shao Kahn's extermination squads to hunt down the fighters that Lord Raiden had protected. Despite being granted more power than ever before, Shang Tsung still lost to Liu Kang for a third time. Upon Shao Kahn's defeat, Shang Tsung retreated with him back to Outworld, when the merger was reversed. e would then be imprisoned and tortured for his failure to help his master merge Earthrealm into Outworld. He was periodically released to do Shao Kahn's bidding before being finally released for good after.

A few years later, Quan Chi gave Shang Tsung an offer: if Shang Tsung helped him revive the lost army of the Dragon King Onaga by means of his ability to transplant souls, he would open a "Soulnado" to the Heavens, giving him an endless supply of souls. Shang Tsung accepted, and together they formed the Deadly Alliance and attacked and apparently killed Shao Kahn (however, Shao Kahn appears in the GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception, and reveals that they merely killed a clone). After accepting Kano's offer to serve them, they travelled through a portal, known only to sorcerers and deities, to Earthrealm and headed to the Wu Shi Academy where Shang Tsung disguised himself as Kung Lao and ambushed Liu Kang; although Liu Kang had the upper hand, Quan Chi struck from behind, giving Shang Tsung the opportunity to finally take his revenge on Liu Kang by breaking his neck and taking his soul. However, Shang Tsung did not fully trust Quan Chi. Upon returning to Outworld, he gave the Oni Drahmin and Moloch, who had escaped from the Netherealm, an offer: after Shang Tsung performed his part in the plan, Quan Chi, who the two despised for abandoning them in the infernal pits after promising to free them, would be theirs to do with as they wished. The Deadly Alliance soon commanded Kano's troops to enforce construction of a new palace around the tomb to house the Soulnado. When one of the slaves, Li Mei, attacked Kano, they offered to free her village if she could win a tournament they would hold. About the same time, they approached Mavado, offering him a deal as well; he could earn the right to fight and kill Kano in exchange for eliminating Kenshi, who had been spying on Shang Tsung; Mavado accomplished his mission, and the Alliance granted him his wish. Li Mei, having won the local tournament, demanded her reward, but instead Shang Tsung started transferring her soul to a mummified soldier of Onaga's army. It was at this time that the forces of Earthrealm, led by Raiden, attacked. Li Mei was rescued by Bo' Rai Cho, who escaped with her, but the remainder of the warriors assaulted the Alliance. The two defeated Earthrealm's champions (with Shang Tsung victorious in a one on one battle against an improved Kung Lao) and finally Raiden. Then, Shang's lust for power and Quan Chi's suspicion finally came to light. The two fought, and Quan Chi emerged the victor. But immediately after defeating Shang Tsung, he was confronted by the powerful reborn Onaga. Shang Tsung regained consciousness, and recognizing the Dragon King to be a more serious threat, assisted Quan Chi in attacking him, soon joined by Raiden as well, but their combined efforts could not stop the former Outworld ruler. In Raiden's ensuing last-ditch attempt at victory through a self-sacrificial blast, Shang Tsung was caught in the blast, killing him.

The thousands of souls he had consumed over the years were released, including the souls of Liu Kang and the Great Kung Lao. Shang Tsung's own soul was magically drawn to Outworld, where he was delivered to Shao Kahn. Shang Tsung had pledged his soul to the emperor ages before and this agreement was binding, even beyond death. Shao Kahn provided Shang Tsung with a new body and then allied with him in taking his kingdom from Mileena, Kitana's clone once created by Shang Tsung for him. Although Shang Tsung was bound to serve Shao Kahn, an opportunity to free himself arose when he discovered that Quan Chi was alive. Quan Chi brought word from Shinnok of a plan to take a great power, and Shang Tsung realized if he were to take the power for himself, he could sever his bond with Shao Kahn. Until his opportunity arose, Shang Tsung continued to feign loyalty to the emperor while redirecting suspicion to other members of the his alliance. In the ensuing battle of the Armaggeddon, Shang Tsung manages to hold off several warriors, including Kahn himself, and nearly reaches Blaze, but is stopped when Liu Kang's corpse holds him back with his chains; this causes Shang Tsung to age rapidly and perish.

Shang Tsung appears in the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe representing the Mortal Kombat Universe against the DC Universe. Despite an apparent alliance between himself and all of the Mortal Kombat warriors involved in the event, he still has aspirations of supreme power and is as devious a villain as ever. In his ending, Shang Tsung, being impressed by Captain Marvel's fighting ability, but angered at his own defeat by the hero, he seeks to create a new creature which would have Captain Marvel's abilities but be a perversion of them. Using his sorcery, he merged blood from a torn piece of Captain Marvel's cape, and the flesh of a Tarkatan corpse. The result of this experiment being a "Super Tarkatan", an abomination the likes of which had never been seen before. Knowing that he would be unstoppable with more of such creatures, Shang Tsung quickly began preparations to create an army of them.

He is featured as a playable character in Mortal Kombat (2011). As the game is a reboot of the first three titles in the series, his role is mostly consistent with these; however, he is killed when Shao Kahn steals his soul to power up the resurrected Sindel.

Character design[link]

This section requires expansion.

Shang Tsung's name was hyphenated in Midway's official arcade flyer for the original Mortal Kombat ("Shang-Tsung").^[1] He first appeared as an elderly man in his mid-eighties, then became a younger man in his late-twenties to early-thirties. According to GamePro magazine in 1993, the Mortal Kombat II version of Shang Tsung was 19 years old. The article also included a rough sketch of Tsung's "true form," a twisted demon. Though it was drawn by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias, this form has never actually appeared in the video games.^[2] In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance he is roughly 45 years old. Tobias wanted Shang Tsung's long hair to hang loose in Mortal Kombat 3, but potential problems with it flopping about whenever he jumped resulted in it being tied back into a ponytail.

Gameplay[link]

This section requires expansion.

In the original Mortal Kombat game, Shang Tsung seems to be hovering on the floor, like his fellow Shadow Priests. Because of this, he is completely immune to sweep attacks and Sub-Zero's "Slide". In Mortal Kombat II, Tsung could morph into any one of the other playable characters; being stuck in that form if his health expired during his second defeat before he can revert back (a fatality could be performed on the character that he morphed into); Tsung could morph into the sub boss Kintaro for one of his fatalities.

Tsung could not transform into anyone in Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon, or Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe; Ed Boon explained in an interview with Mortal Kombat Online this was due to a lack of sufficient memory.^[3] However, he could actually transform into anyone but Reptile in the Game Boy Advance version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (and the second re-release called Tournament Edition).

In MK (2011), Shang Tsung's morphing ability returns. His pre-fight introduction shows him in the guise of his opponent before morphing back to his true form. However, when playing as him, he can only morph into his opponent. When controlled by the CPU, Tsung can morph into anyone, but is limited to three characters per fight, two randomly chosen (excluding Kintaro, Goro and Shao Kahn), the third one being the player's. Tsung is stuck in his morphed form if his health expired before he can revert back, forcing him to start the next round in that morph, but if Tsung has lost two rounds a fatality could be performed on the character that he morphed into). Shang Tsung's Friendship in MK3 turns him into a sprite from the arcade game Joust.

In other media[link]

This section requires expansion.

Shang Tsung plays his original role of main villain in the first series of the Malibu Comics' Blood & Thunder miniseries, with his backstory mostly unchanged as an old man serving Shao Kahn to open the portal through 10 consecutive Mortal Kombat wins. He and Raiden share a bitter relationship, usually ending in either verbal assaults or draw fights. While Shang Tsung hosted the tenth tournament, he secretly planned to gain the powers of the mystical book Tao Te Zhan, which granted immense strength to whoever resolves its seven riddles. Shang Tsung and Raiden later joins forces to stop Goro after he took the power of the book, since he cannot be trusted with such strength. During the Battlewave miniseries, it is implied that Shang Tsung resumed the tournament after his plans were foiled and lost it alongside Goro at the hands of Liu Kang. He is seen in the first pages of issue #1 being pursued and punished by Shao Kahn, Kintaro, and Gorbak (Goro's father). Even though Shao Kahn supposedly punished him, he later appears in the last page of issue #5 completely rejuvenated and still under Shao Kahn's servitude. Shang Tsung would later serve as leader of Shao Kahn's team during the tournament he prepared in the last issue of the series, "Tournament Edition II". Shang Tsung's last appearance is during the 1995 Kung Lao one-shot comic, in which he serves as antagonist, attempting to kill Kung Lao through deceptive tricks using his shapeshifting abilities.

Shang Tsung is the main antagonist in Mortal Kombat, and was played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. He regularly resorted to intimidation and trickery to try to manipulate the outcome of the tournament, which ultimately proved unsuccessful as he was defeated and killed by Liu Kang in the final battle.

Shang Tsung is also the prime villain of the animated film Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, voiced by Jim Cummings. In this version, he is portrayed as having the ability to read his opponent's thoughts during battle (an ability which is not present in the game series), allowing him to predict their attacks and adapt his own strategy to exploit the opponent's greatest weakness.

Shang Tsung appeared in several episodes of the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, voiced by Neil Ross.

In the Mortal Kombat: Konquest TV series, Shang Tsung was portrayed by Bruce Locke as a sorcerer eager to take revenge on the Great Kung Lao, who had defeated him in Mortal Kombat. For most of the series, he was confined to Shao Kahn's cobalt mines for his failure in the Mortal Kombat tournament, although he occasionally escapes, since his powers are unaffected by the cobalt in the mines due to his human heritage. While in the mines, he keeps Kreeyan princess Vorpax as his personal slave (both literal and pleasure), and generally mistreats her until she receives her mother's powers. He was played by Bruce Locke.

Shang Tsung appeared briefly in the short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, portrayed by James Lew, and in the third episode of the webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy, played by Johnson Phan.

He also appeared in an episode of The Annoying Orange, played by Bobby Jennings (Bobjenz).^[4]

Reception[link]

Shang Tsung was ranked 17th on GameDaily's 2009 list of top evil masterminds of all time, which noted his attack style and goals while stating he is "one twisted freak."^[5] That same year, GamesRadar listed him as one of the top villains who will never stay dead.^[6] He was also sixth on GamesRadar's list of most misunderstood videogame villains.^[7] In 2010, Shang Tsung was ranked 97th in IGN's list of top video game villains, with a comment that "considering Shang Tsung's devious powers and his cruel methods, his status as a reputable villain of the series is well deserved."^[8]

He was also ranked as third in Game Revolution's list of top old school Mortal Kombat characters in response to morph into other fighters across the battles.^[9] Game Rant ranked Shang Tsung at number five on their list of "most awesome" Mortal Kombat characters, praising his ability to transform into other characters and adding "despite Shang Tsung’s limited arsenal of unique special attacks, the character still provides experienced players with a stylish way to dispatch opponents."^[10] In 2011, GameFront ranked his moustache in MK2011 as the fourth best moustache in video games.^[11] In UGO's 2012 list of top Mortal Kombat characters, Shang Tsung placed at 15th.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Shang Tsung - The Mortal Kombat Wiki
• Shang Tsung at IGN
• Shang Tsung at the IMDb

Top Quality was an American rapper formally signed to RCA Records in the early 1990s.

After appearing in The Source magazine's Unsigned Hype, a column dedicated to finding unsigned talent, Top Quality eventually caught the eye of EPMD's Parrish "PMD" Smith, who made him a member of the rap collective Hit Squad and was subsequently signed a deal with RCA Records. His debut album, Magnum Opus was released in November 1993 and was executively produced by Smith himself. The album, however, was a commercial failure. Unlike other Hit Squad releases at the time, Magnum Opus failed to sell many copies and peaked at only 95 on the Billboard R&B charts.^[1][2]

After being released from RCA, Top Quality appeared on PMD's Shade Business in 1994 and 3rd Eye's Planets in 1998, but he has not been heard of since.

Discography[link]

References[link]