The tiger is one of the deadliest animals in the world, a fine-tuned killing machine with power, swiftness, and cunning. Culturally, tigers have fittingly become symbols of strength, fury, and courage. But when that predatory prowess is fused with ingenious martial mastery, the result is a force of devastation few can withstand. Today’s warriors wield all of these attributes, being tigrine in every sense of the word. They are Kintaro, the ferocious four-armed enforcer from Mortal Kombat, and Master Tigress, the disciplined kung fu feline from Kung Fu Panda! Who is DEADLIEST?
Kintaro[]
| “ | Humans. Less ugly when they burn.
— Kintaro
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” |
When the warlord Shao Kahn conquered the realm of Outworld, the Shokan, a race of half-dragon beings, swore fealty to him. Kintaro was born into the Tigrar, a subspecies of the Shokan seen as inferior. Regardless, he rose to become one of the Shokan’s greatest warriors, second only to Prince Goro. During Shao Kahn’s invasion of Earthrealm, Goro led his master’s forces in the customary Mortal Kombat tournament. The Shaolin monk Liu Kang defeated Goro, who vanished and was presumed dead. In Goro's absence, Kintaro took the role of Shao Kahn’s general. He faced Liu Kang in the next tournament and was defeated. As the Shokan fell from Shao Kahn's favor, tensions with the Centaurians, their rivals and fellow vassals, escalated into war. Peace was brokered, and the two races turned on Shao Kahn. However, Goro revealed himself to be alive and loyal, and Kintaro returned to Shao Kahn’s service.
- Saber Teeth: Kintaro’s weapons of choice are his Saber Teeth, a set of wrist-mounted blades shaped like giant fangs that function similar to push daggers. He wields four at once, one mounted on each forearm.
- Pyrokinesis: Having inherited the power of his draconic ancestors, Kintaro can breathe fire. He can spit flames as long-range fireballs or in a flamethrower-like stream that reduces humans to charred skeletons. He can also project fireballs from his hands or ignite his fists to add incendiary force to each blow.
- Vacuum Breath: Kintaro learned to use even his superhuman lung capacity as a weapon. By inhaling deeply, he can create a powerful vacuum effect to pull enemies toward him, bringing them into range of his fists.
- Superhuman Physicality: As a Shokan, Kintaro naturally has great physical power. Ordinary Shokan can hurl boulders, a feat Kintaro undoubtedly surpasses. He can pulverize a person into bloody chunks with a kick, and he once backhanded Kitana over the horizon. His stomps create shockwaves, and he can leap many times his height to crash down like a meteor. Kintaro is stronger and much faster than the Shokan champion Goro, only losing to him due to Goro's superior skill.
- Expert Martial Artist: While not on par with the masterful Goro, Kintaro's skills make him the second best warrior among the Shokan. His martial art of choice is Heihuquan, or the Black Tiger Fist, a style known for its wide stances and sweeping, aggressive strikes designed to overwhelm a foe before they can attack. Kintaro elevates this style further by fully utilizing his four-armed physique, such as by grappling with two arms while simultaneously striking with the other two.
Tigress[]
| “ | You are failing yourself. No matter how much you try, you will never be Shifu. The question is, can you be Tigress?
— Oogway to Tigress
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” |
Abandoned as an infant, Tigress grew up in an orphanage, where she was feared for her temper. She was adopted by Master Shifu, who taught her self-control through the discipline of kung fu. Shifu was emotionally distant, haunted by guilt over his adoptive son Tai Lung’s descent into evil. Desperate for Shifu’s approval, Tigress trained relentlessly and became the leader of the Furious Five, a team of elite warriors. Oogway, Shifu's mentor, predicted Tai Lung's return and decided to select the prophesied Dragon Warrior. Tigress expected to be chosen, but Oogway chose Po: a clumsy panda with no fighting skills. Tigress dismissed Po as a joke. Oogway’s prediction came true and Tai Lung returned, easily defeating the Furious Five. Through ingenuity and persistence, Po mastered kung fu and defeated Tai Lung, earning Tigress’s respect. Tigress became one of Po’s closest friends, standing by his side in the battles that followed.
- Claws: As a South China tiger, Tigress naturally has retractable claws. She has never been seen using them as weapons, but she does use them as tools for climbing, helping her scale sheer surfaces and cling to unstable terrain. Once, she drove her claws into Tai Lung’s forearm to save herself from falling.
- Chi Manipulation: Though she is far from a master of the art, Tigress is capable of performing basic methods of manipulating chi, the energy within all living things. By focusing deeply, she can project her chi outwardly through her palm to stimulate life in others, mending injuries and revitalizing nearby plantlife.
- Superhuman Physicality: Tigress’s intense training has made her body capable of incredible feats. Her strikes are powerful enough to shatter stone structures, and she once launched a cannon into the air with a single kick. She even proved strong enough to stagger the mighty Kai in battle, a feat matched only by Oogway and Po. With great dexterity, she can evade a hail of arrows, leap hundreds of feet in a single bound, and navigate rooftops and cliffsides with effortless grace.
- Master Martial Artist: Tigress mastered Tiger Style, becoming a kung fu master worthy of leading the Furious Five. Tiger Style emphasizes overwhelming offense, with users combining high-flying strikes with fluid movements to keep constant pressure on their opponent. Tigress rarely stays on the defensive; blocks are brief and meant for setting up the next assault. This approach allowed Tigress to briefly hold off Tai Lung’s ferocious Leopard Style while hanging from a rope bridge.
X-Factors[]
Experience
As is customary for Shokan warriors seeking to serve Shao Kahn, Kintaro was required to prove himself against a Centaurian rival. Kintaro not only defeated his opponent, but he slaughtered several other Centaurians purely to grandstand. This curelty impressed Shao Kahn, who made Kintaro his personal bodyguard. He likely held this role for centuries, given the Shokan's long lifespans. Kintaro also served as second-in-command to Goro, having led Outworld’s armies against the forces of Earthrealm and Edenia. However, despite his prowess, Kintaro’s performance in tournaments is poor, having been defeated by Goro, Liu Kang, and Jax.
After years of training, Tigress earned her stripes as a teenager by defeating Boar, a monstrously strong outlaw. As the leader of the Furious Five, Tigress faced down countless threats to the Valley of Peace and participated in conflicts of mythic scale, such as the Battle of Weeping River, in which the Five faced and defeated over five thousand enemies. Despite their prowess, Tigress and the Five found their limits against adversaries like the prodigious Tai Lung, Lord Shen’s gunpowder-wielding army of wolves, and the vengeful spirit warrior Kai. Although they fought with everything they had, they were outmatched and needed to be saved by Po.
Training
Among the Shokan, weakness is a death sentence. Their society embraces a social Darwinist ideology in which mercy is taboo and the only virtue is strength. From an early age, Kintaro would have been subjected to brutal “trial by fire” training, where failure to learn would mean certain death. Kintaro endured this relentless training and emerged as one of its greatest products, desplaying a mastery of violence against the Centaurians so relentless that he earned the favor of Shao Kahn. Having lived and fought for centuries, Kintaro has had plenty of time to sharpen his skills and cement his position as the second deadliest warrior in Outworld.
Adopted by Master Shifu as a child, Tigress devoted herself wholly to kung fu. Though all members of the Furious Five are paragons of discipline, Tigress’s dedication was especially impressive, being driven by a deep-seated sense of inadequacy. To harden her body, she spent years punching ironwood trees until her fists could no longer register pain. Even after becoming a master, Tigress continued to train daily alongside the Five at the Jade Palace. Their training hall is filled with complex and dangerous equipment designed to force trainees to learn to maintain balance on unstable terrain and to react instinctively to attacks from all directions.
Notes[]
- Kintaro is as he was in Mortal Kombat's original timeline, prior to the Battle of Armageddon. Tigress is as she was following the events of Kung Fu Panda 3.
- The battle takes place in the Jade Palace.
- Voting ends whenever.