Shao Kahn makes his first appearance in "MK" comic books during the "Battlewave" miniseries by Malibu Comics, though he already was present in the first, "Blood & Thunder". Shao Kahn remained mostly faithful to his game counterpart, being the Emperor of Outworld and attempting to take Earthrealm for himself. In "Battlewave", Shao Kahn would arrange a different plan to open the portals. He kidnaps Sonya Blade and, by means of hypnosis and brainwashing, convinces her to marry him; the marriage would weaken the barriers between realms enough to allow Shao Kahn to seize Earth easily (and make Sonya the queen of both realms and his wife). During these two series, he never appears wielding his trademark helmet (instead, he is always shown with his visible face and design taken from the official "Mortal Kombat II" comic by John Tobias), and he is seen wearing his helmet only in the comic "Kitana & Mileena" (according to which he actually loves Kitana).