Quan Chi/Alternate Timeline

Biography

• Mortal Kombat (2011): "The Netherrealm has produced many vile beings, but none rival the Arch-Sorcerer Quan Chi. In lieu of Netherrealm demons, he prefers to resurrect deceased warriors for use in his sinister plans. Foremost among them is the tortured Shirai Ryu ninja Scorpion, who is Quan Chi's personal assassin. Quan Chi is building an army of such specters--the purpose of which has yet to be revealed. Another mystery is the sorcerer's involvement in the Mortal Kombat tournament. The Netherrealm has no stake in its outcome, which leads some observers to question his presence..."
• Mortal Kombat X: "Originally a Netherrealm demon, Quan Chi evolved into one of the most powerful sorcerers in the realms. He serves the High Lord Shinnok, who was imprisoned in the Netherrealm by his fellow Elder Gods. Twenty-five years ago, Quan Chi helped Shinnok escape his hellish prison. Together they waged war on an Earthrealm weakened by the conflict with Outworld. When Shinnok was defeated, Quan Chi was driven underground. He continues to manipulate events from parts unknown."

Storyline

Prior to the series, Sindel, former queen of Edenia, was forced to marry Shao Kahn after her realm had been conquered. She soon ran afoul of Quan Chi, who accused the Empress of "distracting" the Kahn. He soon murdered her, and staged her death as a suicide due to the fact that she posed a threat to Shinnok.

Quan Chi claimed that Sindel has died by suicide, and that in so doing she has betrayed Shao Kahn and created a magical ward over Earthrealm, preventing Kahn from invading it.

In reality, after Sindel’s death, Quan Chi himself created a magical ward for Earthrealm in order to use this to complete the plan to eliminate Shao Kahn. Sheeva came to suspect of Quan Chi's involvement in Sindel's death but could not find any proof to convict him otherwise.

Mortal Kombat (2011)

Quan Chi controls Scorpion throughout the first Mortal Kombat tournament. When Scorpion demands to face the elder Sub-Zero, Quan Chi tells him to restrain himself. Scorpion eventually gets his wish, and while in the Netherrealm, he defeats him. However, Scorpion was not going to kill Sub-Zero, remembering what Raiden has said to him earlier. Sensing this, Quan Chi shows Scorpion false images of Sub-Zero slaughtering the Shirai Ryu, as well as Scorpion´s wife and child. Enraged, Scorpion kills Sub-Zero, and brings his skeleton back to the tournament. Quan Chi eventually resurrects the elder Sub-Zero, and turns him into Noob Saibot.

Quan Chi later appears along side Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung during the second Mortal Kombat tournament. After the younger Sub-Zero defeats Reptile, Shao Kahn orders Scorpion to face Sub-Zero, to which Quan Chi summons Scorpion from the Netherrealm. Later in the tournament, Quan Chi is partnered with Shang Tsung to face Kung Lao, but both sorcerers are defeated.

When Shao Kahn is fatally wounded by Liu Kang, Quan Chi uses his sorcery to heal Shao Kahn. As well as this, he provides Shao Kahn a new way to merge Outworld and Earthrealm: he resurrects and corrupts Queen Sindel. With Sindel's resurrection, Earthrealm was no longer protected by the magic Sindel's suicide provided.

During the invasion of Earthrealm, Quan Chi is present in Shao Kahn's throne room when Mileena returns from Earthrealm with the body of Motaro. He witnesses Shao Kahn sacrificing Shang Tsung to enhance Sindel's power, as well as Kabal's battle with Noob Saibot and Mileena. After Kabal wins, Shao Kahn orders Quan Chi to seal the portal to Earthrealm that Mileena came through in, but Kabal escapes before the portal closes.

Quan Chi later attempts to create a Soulnado. During the process, he is stopped by Nightwolf, who defeats him in kombat and eventually knocks Noob Saibot into the Soulnado, destroying it. Quan Chi then retreats back into the Netherrealm.

After Sindel kills most of the Earthrealm warriors, Raiden goes to the Netherrealm to plead for Quan Chi's assistance. Raiden even offers the souls of all of the fallen Earthrealm warriors, any future fallen souls, and his own soul. However, Quan Chi states that Shao Kahn already granted the souls of the fallen warriors to him and demonstrates this by summoning undead versions of Kung Lao, Nightwolf, Sindel, Kitana, Jade, Cyber Sub-Zero, Smoke, Jax Briggs, Kurtis Stryker, and Kabal. He orders the undead Jax, Kabal, Stryker, Kitana, Nightwolf, and Kung Lao to attack Raiden. After Raiden defeats the attackers, Quan Chi informs Raiden that Shao Kahn will soon arrive in the Earthrealm to merge it into the Outworld. In doing so, he indirectly gives Raiden the key to defeating Shao Kahn: If Kahn is allowed to merge the realms, the Elder Gods will finally intervene and destroy him for breaking the rules of Mortal Kombat. Raiden "thanks" Quan Chi and teleports back to Earthrealm.

After Raiden and the Elder Gods defeat Shao Kahn, Quan Chi appears in Earthrealm where he examines the charred remains of Shao Kahn's Helmet. Here it is revealed that Quan Chi has been acting under Shinnok's orders this whole time. Quan Chi compliments Shinnok, stating that his plan worked to perfection. At the same time, he expresses concern over Raiden's survival. Shinnok says it is no matter, for now neither the Earthrealm nor the Outworld can survive the onslaught of the Netherrealm. Soon Shinnok will be free and the Netherrealm will take both Earthrealm and Outworld.

Mortal Kombat X (Comic Series)

After Hanzo Hasashi died at the hands of the cryomancer Sub-Zero, Quan Chi approaches the tormented Shirai Ryu in the Netherrealm. Intrigued that the fires of the Netherrealm did not burn him, Quan Chi questions Hanzo over his immunity to hellfire and when Hanzo could only call out to his family, Quan Chi becomes further interested.

Using his magic to pull Hanzo to him, Quan Chi imbues Hanzo with the hellfire of the Netherrealm, all the while promising Hanzo vengeance and justice for his clan and family. To the dark sorcerer's delight, the infusion was successful and the wraith Scorpion was born. Quan Chi was present when Scorpion took his retribution on Bi-Han, who pleaded his innocence even as he was being burnt alive, and fought alongside Scorpion against Liu Kang in the Mortal Kombat Tournament.

Quan Chi was present when Shao Kahn adopted Reiko and declared him his most ruthless general. After Kahn's death at the hands of the Elder Gods, Quan Chi spoke with Shinnok. Neither the sorcerer nor the fallen god realized that they were being observed by an enraged Reiko.

As the Netherrealm War began, Quan Chi realized that the cybernetic Sub-Zero still possessed a soul and has his revenants, Smoke and Jax, hold Sub-Zero in place. When Sub-Zero expressed confusion by his friends actions, Quan Chi explained to him that his soul belonged to the Netherrealm and calls a defiant Sub-Zero his puppet. Using his dark magic, Quan Chi destroys Sub-Zero's cyborg body, saying that he doesn't trust technology and prefers the traditions of blood and sorcery. Quan Chi then restores what little of Kuai Liang's human body remained, reviving him as one of his revenants.

In the final hours of the Netherrealm War, Quan Chi's fortress was assaulted by Special Forces, the necromancer himself under attack by Sonya Blade as Raiden used his divine power to free Sub-Zero, Jax Briggs, and Scorpion from Quan Chi's enslavement, reviving them in the process.

After the Netherrealm War, Quan Chi went into hiding deep within the Netherrealm, eventually coming into an alliance with the cleric of chaos, Havik. The two struck a deal: Quan Chi would provide Havik with Nitara's Blood Magik, which would allow the cleric to corrupt the Kamidogu that locked away Shinnok's amulet, and in return for this power, Havik would deliver Shinnok's amulet to Quan Chi after undoing Raiden and the Elder God's seal on the relic, so that the sorcerer could free his master. Havik, however, betrayed Quan Chi and attempted to use the amulet to sow chaos among the realms, even desiring to destroy the Netherrealm itself, only for his own plans to fail due to Quan Chi's former servant Scorpion beheading him and casting his still living head into the Netherrealm.

Quan Chi's servants Moloch and Drahmin delivered Havik's severed head to Quan Chi, and as the chaos cleric ranted on how the realms would soon be doomed to chaos, Quan Chi crushed his head under his boot, killing the cleric of chaos. Enraged that Havik had reneged on their deal, Quan Chi turned his ire to his Oni servants, having Kitana execute Moloch by decapitation, and as Drahmin pleaded for his life, reminding Quan Chi that he had never failed him as his master torturer, Quan Chi raged that he would trade a thousand Drahmins for one Hanzo Hasashi, and used his magic to murder Drahmin, reducing him to a skeleton.

Crushing Drahmin's bones under his heel, Quan Chi stated that the Netherrealm could not afford such failures with Shinnok still imprisoned. Regaining his composure, Quan Chi turned towards the returned revenants of Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Quan Chi explained their plan wasn't a total loss, as Shinnok's amulet was now exposed due to no longer being locked with the Kamidogu.

With both Earthrealm and Outworld on high alert after Havik's rampage, Kung Lao suggested to Quan Chi that they rely on subterfuge for the time being and turned to Shinnok's newest acolyte: D'Vorah.

Mortal Kombat X

Quan Chi is first seen leading an army of Netherrealm demons in an attack on Raiden's Sky Temple. The sorcerer summons revenant versions of Stryker, Sindel, and Kabal to attack Raiden and Fujin, who manage to repel the attack. Eventually, Shinnok arrives outside of the Jinsei chamber, intending to corrupt its life-force. However, Raiden successfully imprisons Shinnok inside of his own amulet, causing Quan Chi to retreat to the Netherrealm.

Several years later, he is confronted in his own lair by Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and a battalion of Special Forces soldiers. In response, he calls forth Scorpion, Sub-Zero (still undead), and Jax (also undead) to fight beside him. Thanks to Jax, Quan Chi nearly succeeds in killing Johnny Cage and adding him to his ranks, but Raiden intervenes. As the thunder god works to suppress Quan Chi's dark magic, Sonya directly confronts the sorcerer in combat and beats him. As a result, the link between Quan Chi and Johnny Cage is severed, allowing Raiden to reverse the spell. As an unintended side effect, he also manages to free Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Jax from Quan Chi's control and restore them to human form. After this, Quan Chi is forced to flee into hiding.

Later, it is revealed that D'Vorah had been secretly working for Quan Chi as a double agent. She had been ordered to steal Shinnok's amulet from Kotal Kahn and deliver it to Quan Chi directly. When the Special Forces learn of this plan, they (along with a newly revitalized Jax) head to Netherrealm to capture Quan Chi, also hoping to use his magic to free the rest of the fallen Earthrealm warriors from his grasp. Although they are successful in apprehending Quan Chi, Scorpion (who had learned five years earlier that it was Quan Chi who was responsible for the death of his family and clan) arrives with his fellow Shirai Ryu at the SF camp where Quan Chi is being held, intending to slay the sorcerer himself and finally have his revenge. After the Special Forces refuse to hand him over, Scorpion orders his ninjas to attack. After intense fighting, the Shirai Ryu successfully subdue the Special Forces, allowing Scorpion to go after Quan Chi. After Scorpion beats the sorcerer within inches of his life, D'Vorah arrives with Shinnok's amulet and immediately rushes to Quan Chi's defense. She is ultimately unsuccessful, however, as Scorpion brutally decapitates Quan Chi, but not before she can throw the amulet over to the sorcerer, allowing him to finally free Shinnok from his prison.

Ending

• Mortal Kombat (2011) (Non-Canonical): "Having finally brought about Shao Kahn's demise, Quan Chi was then tasked with growing the ranks of the Brotherhood of Shadow. Many warriors had perished in Outworld's invasion of Earthrealm. Quan Chi stole their souls and remade them to serve his master, the fallen Elder God. The task completed, Shinnok repaid Quan Chi's service by ordering his execution, thereby eliminating a possible challenger to his rule. Quan Chi had anticipated this act of treachery, however, and resurrected Shao Kahn--the ultimate phantom warrior. With Shao Kahn as his enforcer, Quan Chi struck down the Brotherhood of Shadow and Shinnok. Quan Chi forgives betrayal from no one. Not even a god."
• Mortal Kombat X (Non-Canonical): "Quan Chi had long been a servant of Shinnok; his role in freeing him from imprisonment had not gone unnoticed by the Elder Gods. Shinnok was no longer a threat, but Quan Chi's actions had given rise to a new power. After much deliberation, the Elder Gods contrived a plan to rebalance this power before it grew further. Free will was burned from Quan Chi's soul and replaced with a single directive... He must kill Raiden."