10. Taven
Taven was first introduced in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon along with Daegon, his brother. He is a half-god and the oldest son of the Edenian god Argus and a sorceress.
Taven can control fire with many attack moves that you may find resemble with Liu Kang. He is also the first character to be introduced in the series with abilities to manipulate time and space. He can teleport himself to a far way destination and stop time temporarily.
Being his nature of being a half-god, Taven is one of the most powerful beings in Mortal Kombat, even stronger than his brother and has defeated most of the encounters in his journey.
9. Shang Tsung
Shang Tsung is one of the oldest characters in the Mortal Kombat series. He first showed up as the final boss in the first Mortal Kombat game.
Shang Tsung is an extremely powerful and dangerous sorcerer. He was cursed by a god which force him to consume soul to maintain his health and life or else he will age rapidly and die. But thanks to his magic, he can shape-shift into people whose soul were taken away. He will also be able to obtain their memory, power, not just their appearance.
Being a sorcerer, he has the ability to cast powerful spells, mostly associated with fire. While he has been beaten several times by Liu Kang and Shao Khan, he is still one of the most powerful villains in Mortal Kombat.
8. Quan Chi
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero was the first game that featured Quan Chi in 1997. Ever since he became a playable character in Mortal Kombat 4, Quan Chi has been showing up consistently in the Mortal Kombat universe.
Quan Chi is the strongest sorcerer and necromancer in the Netherrealm. Other than sorcery skills and the ability to control the dead, Quan Chi also has formidable brute strength. Like Shang Tsung, he can absorb soul and shape-shift. He used this ability along with many of his trick to manipulate his opponent as his will. Quan Chi was the one who tricked Scorpion into believing that Sub-Zero killed his entire clan and family.
7. Fujin
While Fujin is the God of Wind, he is one of the most underrated characters in Mortal Kombat. As a god himself, Fujin has the same power level as Raiden, the God of Thunder.
Fujin has full control of the wind element and can create powerful wind attacks such as strong tornadoes to send the enemies flying. Fujin first appeared in Sub-Zero Mythologies and proven to be immortal just like Raiden.
6. Shinnok
Shinnok also first appeared in Sub-Zero Mythologies along with Quan Chi and Fujin and became playable in Mortal Kombat 4. As the Elder God of Death, Shinnok is one of the strongest villains in the series.
Shinnok is the ruler of Netherrealm with the power and knowledge that takes millions of year to possess. He prefers using his magic, ancient artifacts, and manipulation to using brute strength. He can only mimic a limited number of abilities as he is a fallen Elder God. Only with his Amulet, can he regain full power and have even more fearsome abilities.
5. Liu Kang
Liu Kang has always been in the series from the beginning and is one of the most iconic characters. While he is only a human, he has won a total of 6 tournaments (4 in the original timeline and 2 in an alternate timeline). By only using his fist, kicks, and some fireball, Liu Kang has defeated powerful sorcerers, emperors, and even gods. He was referred to as the Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat in later games.
4. Blaze
Blaze is such a powerful being that he can bring the Armageddon to the universe by devouring existence itself. He is an elemental being from Outworld. As his name implies, his body is surrounded by flame and he has full control over fire, lava, heat, etc.
Besides his massive power, Blaze also grants anyone who can defeat him absolute power along with a wish.
3. Onaga
Onaga is also known as The Dragon King, the former ruler of Outworld. Onaga was poisoned and had his realm being taken over by Shao Khan.
With the Kamidogu, no one can go head to head with Onaga. Even when Shang Tsung and Quan Chi combined force with Raiden, they couldn't leave a scratch on him.
As a dragon, Onaga has the ability to breathe fire and fly. Also, he can use magic and have regenerative abilities.
2. Shao Khan
Shao Khan first appeared as the final boss of Mortal Kombat 2. The ruler of Outworld has proven himself multiple times throughout the series such as defeating Blaze and gained the ultimate power.
Shao Khan is a great magic-user with immersive strength and durability that is comparable to Raiden. However, what makes him a very dangerous opponent is the way he achieves his goal and defeats stronger opponents. Although, he was too arrogance and overconfidence that he still got defeated Liu Kang and Raiden.
1. Raiden
There is no other character apart from Raide, the God of Thunder deserves this spot. Even though Raiden is one of the oldest characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise, we haven't actually yet to see his true power as he is restricted by the rules of the Mortal Kombat tournament.
The God of Thunder is actually formless, but he usually takes form on mortal planes. He can freely control lighting and has immeasurable speed. He can create force fields, revive and heal others, along with the abilities to see the future.
Even when Shao Khan has defeated Blaze and gained omnipotent power, Raiden still managed to win by rebooting the universe and defeated both him and Liu Kang after that.