Jago was abandoned as a baby at a secluded monastery in the Himalayas where he was trained by the Monks of the Tiger. When he reached adulthood a fellow warrior—under the influence of an evil force—tried to murder him, but Jago killed the man in self-defense. To atone for this sin he became a hermit, isolating himself in a mountain cave and turning his thoughts inward, meditating on his actions and the guilt he carried from the act. During this time, he was visited by the Tiger Spirit and infused with a tremendous power.

The spirit called upon him to destroy Ultratech by entering their Killer Instinct tournament. Not knowing why such a thing was necessary, but confident in the wisdom of the spirit, he entered. As he competed, a growing sense of dread built in him, as the force of the Tiger spirit became hungrier and more aggressive, pushing him to further and deeper violent tendencies. He almost killed his long-lost sister Orchid, but was able to stop himself from landing the fatal blow.

The tournament finished, Jago returned to his temple to meditate on his growing anger and rage, but too late discovered the truth: The Tiger Spirit was actually a manifestation of the evil Astral entity known as Gargos. In an attempt to exorcise the sprit through a force of wills, Jago instead succumbed to the corruption. Possessed by the entity known as Omen, Jago was transformed into Shadow Jago, wreaking havoc across the globe as he strove to feed more power to Gargos.

Trapped within his own mind, Jago fought back against his possession, finally freeing himself from the corrupting influence and destroying the manifestation known as Shadow Jago. In doing so, he freed Omen, giving form to the once-formless shadow energy.

Once he recovered, Jago set out to find Omen and destroy him, but it was too late. The demon had gotten away, and Gargos’s return seemed inevitable. Jago and his sister joined forces with Maya and T.J. Combo vowing to fight both Ultratech and Gargos. While planning their next move, the allies were trapped by Ultratech forces and pinned down at Maya’s secret headquarters in the Andes Mountains.