Johnny Cage



For maximum dramatic effect, Johnny Cage arrived on the island fortress of Shang Tsung by way of parachute. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Bio -- Johnny Cage is a character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is one of the most recurring characters, debuting in the first Mortal Kombat arcade game.

About Johnny Cage
Johnny Cage is a Hollywood movie star. Originally entering the Mortal Kombat tournament to display his fighting skills and prove himself to skeptical movie critics and the movie-viewing public, Cage becomes one of the most important defenders of Earthrealm. Though he has occasional lapses into his former selfish and materialistic ways, he has always been a brave and loyal warrior for Earthrealm.

Appearance
Johnny Cage is depicted as the typical American action movie star; bare muscular build with karate pants and his trademark sunglasses which he keeps in his pants. In his debut, his clothing was modeled directly after Jean Claude Van Damne's character in Bloodsport, consisting of black shorts with a red obi and black shoes. From MKII to MK4, he is depicted with black pants with blue accents. In Deadly Alliance and onwards, his design becomes a fusion of his first and familiar appearances, regaining the black shorts, but with a Cage emblem and blue obi tied to his waist. He goes barefoot with bandages straps. Interestingly, he has dyed his hair to a blond color.

Storyline
A martial arts superstar trained by great masters from around the world. Johnny was derided by film critics and the movie-going public for using special effects and wires for his fights. Unknown to them, his Shadow Kick and Force Ball were not effects; he actually performed those supernatural feats. To prove it to the world, he entered the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Mortal Kombat
During the final battle between Liu Kang and Shang Tsung, Johnny teamed up with Sonya and Kano to fight Goro near the pit. When Shang Tsung's island fortress began to crumble because of his defeat to Liu Kang, Raiden saved Johnny and dropped him off at a boat that belonged to the Special Forces Agency near the island. He then met Major Jackson Briggs and was interrogated by him on the whereabouts of Sonya. Johnny told Jax all about the events on the island, but the major didn't believe him. After Johnny was set free, he made the movie Mortal Kombat (Film), based on his experiences, which revived his then-failing career.

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Mortal Kombat II
Not long after that, Johnny was attacked while shooting a commercial by a revitalized Shang Tsung, Kintaro, Baraka, Kitana, and Mileena. Jax manages to help him in the fight. They were later joined by the other Earthrealm warriors to help fight the horde off. He then traveled into Outworld with his friends for another tournament. Eventually, Liu Kang challenged Shao Kahn, proving again he was the true champion of Mortal Kombat; Kang beat the emperor within inches of his life. Defeated, Kahn ordered his forces to kill the Earth warriors. Johnny’s comrades were fortunate to make their way back to Earthrealm. Johnny, however, was not so lucky and was killed by Kahn's forces.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy
When Shao Kahn invaded Earthrealm by way of a loophole involving having his deceased Queen Sindel reincarnated on Earth, Cage, due to the merger of the realms blocking his ascent into the Earthrealm, was one of the chosen warriors whose soul was protected by Raiden. Like the other chosen warriors, he became a target for Kahn's Extermination Squads.

Mortal Kombat 4/Mortal Kombat Gold
After Shao Kahn’s defeat at the hands of Liu Kang, Johnny’s soul was free to leave to a higher place. Johnny watched from the heavens as the events unfolded and the fallen Elder God Shinnok attacked Earthrealm. Johnny Cage sought out Raiden so that he could restore his deceased soul and fight alongside Liu Kang once more and help defeat Shinnok. After the defeat of Shinnok, it appeared as though Raiden’s revival of Cage was permanent as he did not ascend back to the heavens but instead remained on Earth.

Deadly Alliance
Years later, Johnny Cage went on to film Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage, in which he was repeatedly killed and brought back to life. Upset at the way he was being portrayed, believing his own adventures were far more entertaining, he wanted out of the movie but he couldn't due to his contract.

As luck would have it, he was approached by Raiden, who asked him to help fight the Deadly Alliance of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. At first, Johnny thought it was the actor who played Raiden, but when he saw the actor eating lunch, he realized it was the real Raiden, who told him to go to Shang Tsung's island for further instructions. He found a loophole in his contract and left the movie. He would then use this new adventure to make his own movie. Arriving on the island by way of parachute, he learned of Liu Kang's death and went to Outworld to help his friends.

Deception
Cage was killed during the final assault on the Deadly Alliance (he, Sonya, Kung Lao, Kitana, and Jax were overwhelmed by the Deadly Alliance's Tarkatan warriors). Soon afterwards, he was resurrected by Onaga and made into his slave. Some time later, he was freed from this state by Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang.

Armageddon
Johnny became disheartened that both Raiden and Liu Kang were unable to unite and lead the Earthrealm warriors. Then, he began to receive visions of Shinnok creating several portals in different realms. He decided to visit these areas to confirm his visions, and sure enough, he found evidence that Shinnok had been there. Deciding to take action, Johnny Cage saw in his visions that Shinnok's next destination was Shang Tsung's island fortress. When he arrived at the island, he saw Shinnok scheming with Quan Chi to take Shao Kahn's fortress by force. When Quan Chi vanished back through the portal which he came through, Johnny Cage attacked. He caught Shinnok off guard and appeared to have the upper hand, until the former Elder God retreated in a cloud of smoke, leaving Johnny to decide what to do next.

Biographies

 * Mortal Kombat: "A Martial Arts superstar trained by great masters from around the world. Cages uses his talents on the big screen and star of such movies as Dragon Fist and Dragon Fist II as well as the award winning Sudden Violence."
 * Mortal Kombat II: "The world was shocked when martial arts movie star Johnny Cage disappeared from the set of his latest film. But in truth, he was following his former ally Liu Kang into the Outworld where he plans to complete in a twisted tournament in which lies the balance of Earth's existence as well as a script for another blockbuster movie."
 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy: "Killed in battle with an Outworld extermination squad, Johnny Cage's life came to a tragic end. But the celluloid superstar manages to cheat death when his path to the after life is blocked by the merger of Earth and Outworld. His soul takes possession of his body once again and enables Cage to rejoin his friends to battle for Earth's survival."
 * Mortal Kombat 4: "After Shao Kahn's defeat, Cage's soul is free to leave to a higher place. From the heavens, he observes his friends engaged in battle. With the heavens in disarray, he learns of the war waged against the Elder Gods by Shinnok. Cage seeks out Raiden to help him restore his deceased soul and join Liu Kang in his quest. Once again, Johnny Cage finds himself fighting alongside Earth's greatest warriors."
 * Deadly Alliance: "Johnny Cage had been fed up with the lame writing on his current movie "Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage," in which his character repeatedly died and was resurrected. To him, his real-life adventures were much more sensational... he kicked butt! But his studio felt that the hero needed to take a fall for dramatic purposes. Johnny Cage reluctantly agreed to continue with the project until the Thunder God Raiden called him away to a new adventure in Outworld. For maximun dramatic effect, Johnny Cage arrived on the island fortress of Shang Tsung by way of parachute. He glided to the exact place on the beach where Raiden has told him to rendezvous with the others. When night fell, the Earthrealm kombatants lit a fire and discussed possible strategies to defeat the Outworld threat. Once the fire has reached its full strength, Raiden finally appeared and revealed to them the events that had led to the formation of the Deadly Alliance."
 * Shaolin Monks: "Most think of Johnny Cage as nothing than a glory-seeking Hollywood actor. But there is more to this action star than his contemporaries know: Johnny Cage helped save the world. Now he must face yet another threat to Earthrealm's existence."
 * Armageddon: ''"It used to be, when there was a threat to Earthrealm, that Raiden would rally the Forces of Light to face the enemy in Mortal Kombat. Somehow he could always discover the truth behind the deception. I was one of his allies and fought with him against the Forces of Darkness. In those early days Liu Kang was the point man, he was the star. The rest of us played supporting roles, clearing the way so he could take on the main threat. But times have changed. Raiden has abandoned us. He's become darker, using more ruthless ways to keep the "peace." And Liu Kang was killed. Though his spirit is still around to help us, eventually he'll pass on into the Heavens. It seems like we have no clear leader. We're just not the fighting force we once were. We're scattered all over the realms. Maybe it's because there hasn't been a real threat since we took care of the Dragon King, I don't know. But I can't help but feel uneasy about the future. I used to think, "What if there's a new threat? Who's gonna lead us?" With Raiden gone, how would we even tell when something bad is about to happen? The answer came soon enough. I started having visions of someone we had defeated years ago: I saw the Fallen Elder God Shinnok plotting something and I decided to find out what. In my visions I could see Shinnok in different locations, conjuring these communication portals to give orders, which I couldn't quite understand, to his minions. I followed him, finding each place I saw in my visions, and always there was evidence that he had in fact been there. My visions weren't dreams after all. Shinnok was back! In my last vision, I clearly heard Shinnok say the next place he was going to contact his minion from was Shang Tsung's island fortress. That place has played a big part in the fight between good and evil. It seemed fitting that I would confront Shinnok there. When he finally showed up, I watched him for a while, to try to get some idea as to what he was planning. Was I surprised to see that the "minion" in the portal was Quan Chi! Shinnok ordered him to gather the Forces of Darkness and retake Shao Kahn's fortress in Outworld. When he dismissed the sorcerer, I approached Shinnok. He was startled and immediately conjured up a skeleton hand to trap me. I jumped out of the way and followed with a Green Shadow Kick to the chest. I pummeled him, and he never regained his composure. The coward escaped in a cloud of smoke... a teleport of some kind, I suppose. I seem to have discovered the next great threat to Earthrealm. Now I need to find the others. I'll need their help if I'm going to defeat Shinnok's forces. The fate of Earthrealm depends on me."thumb|300px|right''

Powers and abilities
Human as he may be, Johnny Cage is not without superhuman powers. Cage appears to specialize in the shadow attributes, similar to Noob Saibot. By using this attribute, he is able to propel himself forward and increase the strength of his blows. When using this power, he leaves greencolored afterimages in his wake. He can further increase these shadow attacks if need be, which is represented by red afterimages. He also has the ability to throw concussive blasts of energy.

Signature moves

 * Shadow Kick: Cage would slide across the floor at a steady speed connecting with a kick to the torso of his opponent. (MK)
 * Green Shadow Kick: Improving on the speed of his Shadow Kick, he would move faster, and leave a green trail. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM, MK:DA, MK:A)
 * Red Shadow Kick: The fastest version of the move, which leaves a red trail. (MKT, MK4, MKG)
 * Green Bolt: His original fireball travelled straight across the screen. (MK)
 * Low Green Orb: This fireball curved upwards, and would remain Cage's standard projectile. In MK: Deadly Alliance the screen shakes if the projectile hit the opponent, As to where in Armageddon the screen will not shake. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:SM, MK:A)
 * High Green Orb: A higher version of the curved fireball. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG)
 * Split Punch: One of Cage's most memorable moves where he does the splits and punches the opponent in the groin. This only worked on male fighters. (MK, MKII, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)
 * Green Shadow Uppercut: Cage would leap into the air and deliver an uppercut which launched his foe into the air, leaving a green trail. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG)
 * Red Shadow Uppercut: A faster version of the move, which leaves a red trail . (MKT, MK4, MKG)
 * Johnny Uppercut: A new move given to Cage had him do the splits and rise up in the air delivering an uppercut to the opponent (this may resemble the "Shadow Uppercut" and the "Split Punch" combined). (MK:DA, MK:A)
 * X-Ray Move: Cage puts his opponent off balance, then immediately performs a triple Split Punch in the opponent's groin area. As they double up, he slams his elbow on their spine. (MK 2011)

Fatalities

 * Head Pop: Johnny Cage delivers a savage uppercut that tears his opponent's head off. A glitch allowed the fatality to be performed multiple times in MK. (MK, MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG)
 * Torso Rip: Johnny Cage grabs his enemy around the torso and rips their torso, and throws it to the ground. (MKII, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)
 * Triple Decapitation: A bizarre fatality in which Cage performs his uppercut fatality, only instead of one head, Cage knocks off three. Most likely done in parody of a glitch discovered in the first Mortal Kombat game, where Johnny Cage could knock off multiple heads in his fatality. (MKII, MKT)
 * Torso Kick: Johnny Cage begins to smoke, right before he performs a Shadow Kick that tears the opponent's torso off. The severed head then falls on what remains of the enemy. (MKT)
 * Backbuster: Cage would lift his opponent over his head and then bend them over his shoulders causing the opponent to explode into pieces. Only available in the CD versions of the game. (MKT)
 * Brain Rip: Cage thrusts his hand through the enemy's head and pulls out their brain. (MK:DA)
 * Forceful Shadow Kick: Cage performs a Shadow Kick strong enough for his foot to penetrate the enemy's flesh. Only available in the SNES version of Mortal Kombat. (MK, MK:SM}
 * Punching Bag: Cage performs his groin strike move, only takes it a step further by continuing to assault his opponent's genitals with a series of punches until with one final blow, he punches the enemy in half. (MK:SM)
 * Head Pop to Torso Rip: Cage uppercuts his opponent's head off, then he finishes the Fatality by ripping off their torso. (MK:2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: Johnny Cage signs a photo of himself stating: "To My Greatest Fan! Cage" (MKII, MKT)
 * Animality: Johnny Cage turns into a kangaroo and kicks his opponent off screen. (MKT)

Endings

 * Mortal Kombat (non-canonical): "Through the battles and life or death situations faced during the Tournament, Johnny Cage learns the true importance of his fighting skills. He also realizes the full potential of the Tournament. He returns to Hollywood after defending his new title as Grand Champion. Cage goes on to film Mortal Kombat: The Movie and it's many successful sequels."
 * Mortal Kombat II (non-canonical): "After disappearing from the set of his latest movie, Cage finally resurfaces. He used all his knowledge and experiences as a fighter to end the Outworld menace. How heralded as a hero, Cage recieves the respect he rightfully deserves. He also gets his inspiration for the sequel to his blockbuster movie, Mortal Kombat. MK II is released and quickly becomes the greatest motion picture event of all time. Cage realizes that MK III is inevitable."
 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy (non-canonical): "With his nearly deceased soul restored, Johnny Cage finds himself fighting alongside his friends once again. This time he seeks revenge against the extermination squad that took his life. But during their battle, Cage learns that if they win against Kahn, his soul will again be deceased when Earth reverts back to normal. Knowing this, the movie star embarks on a one way mission to destroy Shao Kahn. His determination fuels his fellow warriors as they embark on one final onslaught against the evil emperor. The Earth warriors emerge victorious and when the realms revert to their normal state, Cage bids farewell to his comrades as his soul leaves to a higher place."
 * Mortal Kombat 4: Johnny enters a set with the audience cheering. He finds he has won an award. But once he was about to speak, the crowd comically started to boo him. It then became a riot as they threw vegetables and bottles at him. In serious disarray, Cage warns he will never forget this amount of disapproval.
 * Deadly Alliance (non-canonical): "Upset by the way his adventures had been portrayed in the past, Johnny Cage found a loophole in his contract and left MCM studios during the production of "Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage". He then used his own money to fund the production of his next movie, which is rumored to be the true story of his latest adventures in Outworld. "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" broke all records in its first weekend in theaters, and made Johnny Cage extremely wealthy. The movie told the true story of how Johnny Cage single handedly saved the world from the threat of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung's deadly alliance."
 * Armageddon (non-canonical): "Johnny Cage defeated Blaze, and the power of the gods rushed through him. He gained superior strength and dexterity, but more important, a new insight into his existence. With the help of Shaolin masters, he renounced his superficial former life and became enlightened."

Movie appearance
Johnny Cage was portrayed by Linden Ashby in the first Mortal Kombat movie. In the film, he defeated and caused the death of Goro, avenging the death of a fellow fighter named Art Lean. Before doing so, he fought Scorpion too, and won. The film also took a page from Malibu's 1994-1995 MK comic book adaptations by starting his love interest with Sonya, which was later referenced in his ending in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. As a homage to his Friendship in MKII, he left behind an autographed picture of himself after he defeated Scorpion. He was featured briefly in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, (played by Chris Conrad) in which he was killed by Shao Kahn in the opening scene.

Matt Mullins plays Johnny in Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. Similar to his game counterpart, he is a movie star whose career goes dry. He is employed by Sonya and Jax, and fights Baraka but is eventually defeated and decapitated.

Trivia
In general:
 * The original name for Cage was going to be Michael Grimm. It was changed during preproduction of MK.
 * Cage's "real name" came from Midway game programmer John Carlton, who worked on the popular NBA Jam arcade series.
 * The name John Carlton was briefly mentioned in Johnny Cage's song from the "Mortal Kombat" album by the techno group "The Immortals"
 * Cage was the last character in the original MK to be given a Fatality. Until a last-minute brainstorm by co-creator John Tobias that later evolved into the Head Punch Fatality, he was simply going to throw his opponent across the screen as a finishing move.
 * In the first game, Cage was modelled after the Belgian actor Jean Claude Van Damme. The creators wanted Van Damme to be Johnny Cage in the first Mortal Kombat, but Van Damme was unable due to his busy movie work. Johnny Cage's clothes in the first Mortal Kombat are almost identical to the clothes Van Damme wore in the last match in the 1988 movie Bloodsport and his split punch is taken directly from a move done by Van Damme in the movie.
 * The fictitious Johnny Cage film "Ninja Mime" is most likely inspired by the opening scenes from the action film "The Quest" which the hero, dressed like a mime, evades authorities using martial arts like moves. The film "The Quest" also stars Jean Claude Van Damme in the lead role, which whom Johhny Cage is based on.
 * Cage was the only character in the original MK who did not have a past history with any of the other characters.
 * In early arcade test versions of MKII, the word "Otomix" appeared on Cage's pants (they were worn by actor Daniel Pesina during filming), but was omitted in subsequent chip upgrades. Otomix is an established supplier of martial arts and athletic wear.
 * The Red Shadow Kick, and Red Shadow Uppercut special moves happened randomly in Mortal Kombat II. In Mortal Kombat 4, and Mortal Kombat Gold, selecting Player 2's outfit would cause the moves to have red shadow properties, rather than green.
 * Cage was cut from the Game Boy version of MK due to memory constraints. He was also the only character from the first MK game who did not appear in Jeff Rovin's non-canon 1995 novel.
 * Cage was exclusively recreated for Mortal Kombat Trilogy because Daniel Pesina was fired by Midway after appearing in an ad for the arcade game BloodStorm dressed as Cage, and thus his MKII sprite wasn't used. He was replaced by Chris Alexander.
 * Originally Brandon Lee was the actor in talks to be Johnny Cage in the first Mortal Kombat movie.
 * Also in the film, after Cage defeats Scorpion, a headshot photo signed 'To my greatest fan' lands in the debris, a nod to his Friendship finishing move in Mortal Kombat II.
 * Some think that Johnny had defeated Goro in the first Mortal Kombat tournament (most likely due to the movie). However in the videogame storyline it was Liu Kang who had defeated Goro in the tournament. In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, there is another fight between Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Goro, in which Johnny intervenes and finishes off Goro. This is a homage to the film.
 * According to Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and his official biography, Johnny Cage has starred in:
 * Ninja Mime (a box office flop in America, but a cult classic in France; Cyrax loathed this film)
 * Dragon Fist
 * Dragon Fist 2
 * Son of Dragon Fist
 * HWAAAAA!!
 * Sudden Violence (Said to be award-winning)
 * Aquatic Assault
 * Exiting the Dragon of Death (opposite Hong Kong action star Channie Jack, a spoof of Jackie Chan)
 * 7 Poisons
 * Cage Match
 * The Gist of my Fist
 * 24 Karate Gold
 * Who's That?
 * Wu Shu (a TV series)
 * Mortal Kombat
 * Mortal Kombat II
 * Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
 * Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage
 * He also appeared on Celebrity SMASH TV (as a result, Smash TV and the Mortal Kombat series are both portrayed as occurring in the same fictional universe)
 * Cage is the comic relief character of Mortal Kombat (claimed in a bonus item in the Mortal Kombat: Deception double pack).
 * Though Mortal Kombat is notorious for replacing the letter "c" with "k", Cage is an exception. It's probably more than coincidence that Kage (影, pronounced "ka-gei") in japanese means shadow and Johnny Cage is the master of many "shadow" move techniques.
 * In Unreal Championship 2, Raiden will occasionally taunt his opponent by stating that they "fight like Johnny Cage!".
 * Reportedly, John Vogel did not like Cage's storyline in Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Mortal Kombat 4, and Cage's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance bio can be viewed as retconning this, with Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage explaining away - and mocking - his repeated death and revival during Trilogy and MK4. Fan reaction to this intent has been mixed; some like the loss of another "resurrection" storyline, but others feel the retcon destroys what was perceived as a refreshing change of pace for Cage's otherwise stilted storyline. Others do not view this as a retcon at all, as it would directly contradict his story screens in Trilogy and MK4 and therefore make them canonical. To these fans, the references to The Death of Johnny Cage movie therefore take on a more satirical aspect.

Character Relationships
Video Games: Movies:
 * Trained by several masters in martial arts around the world.
 * Former Hollywood movie star.
 * Entered Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament.
 * Ally of Liu Kang, Sonya, Raiden, Kitana, Jax, and Sub-Zero.
 * Fight alongside Sonya and Kano to defeat Goro at the end of the first tournament.
 * Arch nemesis of Goro.
 * Attacked by Kitana, Mileena, Jade, Baraka, and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat II. Jax arrives and help him.
 * Entered Shao Kahn's Outworld Tournament.
 * Killed by Kahn extermination forces.
 * Cheated death and joined the Earth Warriors to fight Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
 * Joined the Earthrealm warriors to fight Shinnok in Mortal Kombat 4.
 * Employed Mokap to do some motion capture for his movie.
 * Joined Raiden's forces to fight the Deadly Alliance.
 * Killed by Baraka's Tarkatan hordes.
 * Revived by Onaga to serve him.
 * Freed from Onaga's spell by Ermac.
 * Investigates his visions, who leads him to a Shinnok's new plan.
 * Attacked Shinnok before Armageddon.
 * Gathered the Forces of Light to fight in the last battle in Armageddon.
 * Defeated Scorpion in the first movie.
 * Killed Goro in the first movie.
 * Killed by Shao Kahn in the second movie.