Fighting games have fighters of all levels: simple characters with almost no special abilities, balanced “jack-of-all-trades” types, and beings so powerful that no one can realistically challenge them. Mortal Kombat is no exception. Since the very first game, the franchise has included everything from humans and monsters to cosmic entities and gods.
Below are the five most powerful characters in the entire Mortal Kombat universe — beings whose abilities redefine the limits of the series’ lore.
5. Geras
Geras is an artificial construct created by the Titan Kronika for a single purpose: to guard the Hourglass of Time. After Kronika’s defeat in Mortal Kombat 11, the newly ascended Fire God Liu Kang rebuilt Geras to protect the timeline in the New Era.
Geras’ strength isn’t just physical — though he’s immensely strong — but metaphysical. He is a “fixed point in time”, making him completely immortal. No matter how brutally he’s destroyed — crushed, vaporised, decapitated — Geras rebuilds himself seconds later.
His command over the Sands of Time allows him to stop time, reverse actions, trap enemies, and manipulate events. And this is only the bottom entry on the list.
4. Kronika
Introduced as the main antagonist of MK11, Kronika is a Titan, a being older and more powerful than the Elder Gods themselves. She is the mother of Shinnok (God of Death) and Cetrion (Goddess of Virtue) and has spent eons recalibrating timelines to achieve perfect balance.
As the Keeper of Time, Kronika can:
- Rewrite history
- Summon past versions of characters
- Restart timelines entirely
- Erase events or individuals at will
Her only weakness is dependency on artifacts like her Crown, which amplifies her control over time. Even so, her mastery over reality places her among the series’ most formidable beings.
3. Shang Tsung
The franchise’s most iconic sorcerer has always been dangerous, but his MK11: Aftermath incarnation is on another level. After deceiving nearly everyone, Shang Tsung manages to steal Kronika’s Crown and drastically amplify his powers.
With the Crown, he:
- Defeats Titan Kronika
- Overpowers an immortal Shao Kahn
- Becomes a Time-Guardian Titan in his own timeline
Even in Mortal Kombat 1, a variant known as Titan Shang Tsung emerges as the true mastermind manipulating the new universe. This version of Shang Tsung stands as one of the franchise’s greatest multiversal threats — a villain worthy of his legacy.
2. Liu Kang
The long-time protagonist of Mortal Kombat and Earthrealm’s greatest champion, Liu Kang has defeated legendary foes for decades — but his transformation in MK11 changed everything.
By merging with Raiden and a past version of himself, Liu Kang becomes the God of Fire and Thunder, powerful enough to defeat Kronika and take control of the Hourglass.
In Mortal Kombat 1, he:
- Resets the entire universe
- Creates a new timeline
- Steps down from Titanhood to become a demigod protector
Even after weakening himself for balance, Liu Kang remains the most powerful hero the realms have ever known.
1. The One Being
At the pinnacle of Mortal Kombat’s mythos sits The One Being, an entity so powerful it can barely be classified as a “character.” According to lore, The One Being existed at the dawn of creation alongside the Elder Gods, feeding on their essence.
Fearing annihilation, the Elder Gods united to defeat it — but could not destroy it. Its consciousness was shattered into the Kamidogu, relics that divided the universe into the Six Realms (Earthrealm, Outworld, Netherrealm, and others).
In essence, the realms themselves are fragments of the One Being’s body.
Many fans believe villains like Shao Kahn attempt to merge realms because they are subconsciously influenced by the One Being’s desire to reassemble itself and consume all reality. If it ever fully manifests, it would instantly become the most powerful force in the franchise — far beyond gods, titans, or time-manipulators.
Mortal Kombat is full of fan-favourite powerhouses like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, and Kitana, but none of them approach the cosmic scale of these five beings. When it comes to raw might, mastery of reality, and influence over the universe, these characters stand alone.
