Johnny Cage



"I make this look easy!"

- Johnny Cage's Mortal Kombat (2011) Battle Cry

John Carlton, better known as Johnny Cage, is an action movie martial artist in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is one of the most recurring characters and one of the few original 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, who believed Cage was nothing more than an actor who relied too much on stunts and camera work and was not a real proficient fighter. Eventually, Cage becomes one of the most important defenders of Earthrealm. Though he occasionally 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. In his debut, his clothing was modeled directly after Jean-Claude Van Damme's character in Bloodsport, consisting of black shorts with a red Kung Fu belt and black shoes. From MKII to MK4, he is depicted with black pants with blue accents.

In Deadly Alliance onwards, his design becomes a fusion of his first and familiar appearances, regaining the black shorts, but with a Cage emblem and blue belt tied at his waist. He goes barefoot with bandage straps. Interestingly, he has dyed his hair to a blond color.

In MK 2011, he has a similar outfit from MKII, but with slight changes: he keeps his sunglasses on all the time, his chest is tattooed with his own name, he has straps in his arms and hands, his pants' accents are blue, and his last name is on his belt.

Powers and abilities
Despite having the behavior of a comedian, Johnny Cage is a strong and agile warrior, showing an excellent fighting technique during a battle. Due to long periods of training with various masters of martial arts, Cage himself has acquired mastery of several fighting styles, such as the famous Karate.

Although Johnny Cage is a human being, he possesses superhuman powers. One of these is the ability to propel himself forward and increase the strength of his blows. When Cage uses this power, afterimages of a green color are produced. Cage can augment the power of these shadow attacks, which are represented by afterimages of a red color. In addition to these physical shadow abilities, Cage also has the ability to launch blasts of energy.

Signature moves

 * Shadow Kick: Cage slides across the floor with one foot at a steady speed and connects with a kick to the torso of his opponent with the other one. (MK)
 * Green Shadow Kick: Improving on the speed of his Shadow Kick, Cage kicks his opponent at an increased speed. This version produces a green-colored afterimage. In MK 2011 the move is once again called Shadow Kick, however, he keeps the green trail. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM, MK:DA, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * Red Shadow Kick: The most powerful incarnation of the Shadow Kick, which leaves a red trail. This is the enhanced version of the Shadow Kick in MK 2011 and is called Eclipse Kick, the range and damage of this technique is augmented, and Johnny Cage is armored while performing the kick. After the move is done, Johnny sometimes says "You got Caged!" or "Watch This!" (MKT, MK4, MKG, MK 2011)
 * Green Bolt: His original fireball traveled straight across the screen. (MK)
 * Plasmic Fireball: This fireball curved upwards, and would remain Cage's standard projectile. In Deadly Alliance the screen shakes if the projectile hit the opponent, while in Armageddon the screen will not shake. In MK 2011 this is called a Forceball and can have a high arc or low arc. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:SM, MK:A, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced versions are Double Low ball and Double High ball. On either one of these, Johnny fires a second ball in a straight direction at his opponent.
 * High Green Orb: A higher version of the curved fireball. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK 2011)
 * Triple Green Orb: Johnny shoots 3 low green orbs one after another. (MK:SM)
 * [[Image:Johnny_Cage's_nut_cracker.jpg|thumb|250px|Johnny Cage's Nut Breaker]]Split Punch: One of Cage's most memorable moves where he does a split and punches the opponent in the groin. This previously only worked on male fighters -- against women, instead of punching, he would simply do a split and stand back up. Available in both Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat (2011), it can be performed on both male fighters and female fighters. In MK 2011 it is called Nut Punch. (MK, MKII, MK4, MKG, MK:SM, MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Nutcracker and turns Cage's fist green with energy.
 * Green Shadow Uppercut: Cage would leap into the air and deliver an uppercut with his elbow which launched his foe into the air, leaving a green trail. In MK 2011 Cage uses this move as his Breaker attack. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK 2011)
 * Red Shadow Uppercut: A faster version of the move, which leaves a red trail. In MK 2011, this move is done after the Ultra Flipkick  and after performing this move he will say "Johnny Cage!". (MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM, MK 2011).
 * Sliding Uppercut: A new move given to Cage had him do the split 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)
 * Flipkick: Cage does a somersault kick that launches his foe into the air, leaving a green trail. This move began as a command attack available in MK: DA. (MK 2011)
 * The enhanced version is called Ultra Flipkick and leaves red trail, as well as following up with a Red Shadow Uppercut.


 * thumb|250px|rightX-Ray Move - Ball Buster: Cage taunts his opponent. If, during this time, they attack him, he parries them and performs a triple Split Punch in the opponent's groin area. As they double up, he jumps and then slams his elbow on their back, dealing damage to their spine. There was a glitch that allowed him to do this over and over again without any energy in the super meter by staying crouched while holding down the block button, but the glitch has since been patched. (MK 2011)

Other Moves

 * Throw: Cage punches his foe twice, drops a low chop to their genitals, forcing them to lean forward, then either smashing them in the face with a glowing fist (Forward) or sidestepping around to kick them to the curb (Backward). (MK2011)
 * Throw: In older games, Cage would perform a very standard fighting-game-fare body throw. (MK, MK2, MKT, MK4)
 * Knee Bash: Cage grabs his foe in a headlock & quickly slams them with a knee kick. (MK4)
 * Pop Up: Cage performs a brutal, lightning-fast snapkick, launching his foe into the air. (MK2, MK2011)

Fatalities

 * Deadly Uppercut: Johnny Cage delivers a bloody and 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, MK:SM)
 * Torso Rip: Johnny Cage grabs his enemy around the torso and rips their torso off, and throws it to the ground. (MKII, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)
 * Triple Punch 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 a portion of the opponent's torso off. The remaining portion then falls on what remains of the enemy. (MKT N64)
 * 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)
 * Super Split Punch: 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)
 * Heads Up: This fatality is a combination of the Deadly Uppercut and the Torso Rip fatalities. Cage uppercuts his opponent's head off, then he finishes by ripping off their torso and throwing it to the ground as the head bounces up. He then catches the head and holds it up. (MK 2011)
 * And The Winner Is...: Johnny Cage karate chops the opponent's head in half and takes out a trophy. He then says, "And the award goes to..." and plants the trophy in between the two chopped halves of the opponent's head. Then while the announcer says "Johnny Cage Wins." Johnny pushes the opponent, making them fall to the ground. For unknown reasons, Johnny does not plant the trophy in Kratos' head, as Kratos simply falls backwards when he gets his head split. (MK 2011)

Other finishers

 * Friendship: Autograph: Johnny Cage signs a photo of himself stating: "TO MY BEST FAN! Cage" (MKII, MKT)
 * Animality: Hyper Kangaroo Kick: Cage turns into a kangaroo and kicks his opponent off screen. (MKT)
 * Babality: Johnny Cage takes a pencil and paper and draws on it. The wind then blows the paper, making it land on the screen with the paper having a horribly drawn picture of himself and a few words saying, "To My Best Fan! Johnny Cage." which is most likely a homage to his Friendship in earlier games, see above. (MK 2011)

Mortal Kombat
Johnny Cage was portrayed by Linden Ashby in the first Mortal Kombat movie. In the film, he is a Hollywood action movie star who is branded a fake by the media, and seeks to prove otherwise to the world. He is invited to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament by his sensei, Master Boyd, who in reality was a disguised Shang Tsung, posing as Boyd to lure Cage into the tournament. He is chosen along with Liu Kang and Sonya Blade as representatives of Earthrealm in the tournament by Raiden. During the tournament, he fought Scorpion, and won, and later caused the demise of Goro, avenging the death of a fellow fighter named Art Lean, one of the few people who believed the authenticity of Cage's abilities. He accompanies Liu Kang and Kitana to Shao Kahn's castle in the Wastelands of Outworld to rescue an imprisoned Sonya, and witnesses the climatic battle between Liu Kang and Shang Tsung.

As a homage to his Friendship in MKII, he left behind an autographed picture of himself after he defeated Scorpion. The film also took a page from Malibu's 1994-1995 MK comic book series by starting his love interest with Sonya.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Johnny Cage appears during the opening sequence of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, played by Chris Conrad.

When Shao Kahn takes Sonya Blade hostage, Cage successfully saves her from certain death at the hands of Kahn, only to be intercepted and killed in Sonya's place soon thereafter when Kahn snaps his neck. His death leaves Sonya emotionally gulit-ridden.

Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins
Johnny Cage appears as one of the main characters opposite Liu Kang and Sonya Blade in the animated film Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins. The trio are guided by Raiden who explains to them the situation and the history of Mortal Kombat. Through the course of their journey, they encounter several adversaries, including Scorpion, the elder Sub-Zero, Goro, and a Tarkatan army, all of whom are aligned with Shang Tsung.

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Matt Mullins plays Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. Similar to his game counterpart, he is a movie star whose career has gone dry. In the following events, he begins a career as a secret agent, and is hired by the Deacon City Police Department to gather information on Baraka for them. After a brutal fight, Johnny is defeated by Baraka who subsequently decapitates him.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy


Matt Mullins reprises the role of Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Appearing in the third episode of the series, Johnny Cage is an action star fallen in disgrace, who is dropped by his producers who, after refusing two of his proposals for a new television series, declare that audiences want to see more than what Johnny can offer. Moments later, Johnny finds out that the two are using his ideas for a show to launch an actress named Erica. Enraged, he violently beats one of the producers and some security agents. Leaving the studios, he is approached by Shang Tsung, who stops time, and proposes an opportunity to change his life forever.

Comic book appearances
Johnny Cage is one of the main characters in the Mortal Kombat comic book series, where his portrayal in the comics is faithful to the games. He appears during the whole Blood & Thunder series, most of the time alongside Sonya, with whom he shares a relationship in the comics. His most serious moment is when he, under Raiden's advice, decides to not seek the power of the Tao Te Zhan, since he felt it would be like faking his moves in his films. During the second series, Battlewave, he is seen resuming his acting career when Sonya asks him to help with an investigation. He initially refuses, but later reconsiders what's important and decides to follow with Jax into the Outworld. In the meantime, he sends his musclebound bodyguard, Bo, to protect Liu Kang.

Mortal Kombat (film)

 * "Let's dance"
 * "This is where you fall down."
 * "Where d'ya get these guys?! And the press says I don't know how to do this stuff?!"
 * "Huh, thank God I didn't ask him to park the car."
 * "Alright, tough guy, you wanna get... rough?"
 * "We got a guy with things coming out of his hand, we got another guy who freezes stuff, and then there's a man, who as far as I can tell, is made out of electricity. I mean, how did he disappear like that? What is going on here? Who is this guy?"
 * "Do I look like your travel agent?"
 * "Oh, great! Can't wait to see what the bathrooms look like."
 * "Y'know, when a woman looks at you like that... it usually means something."
 * "Come to a little tournament, he said. Be good for the career, he said. Yeah right..."
 * "You know, you gotta admire her... when she sets her mind on something."
 * "Sonya, you go ahead. Find out what that was. Liu and I'll wait right here."
 * "Kitana went this way. I can smell her perfume."
 * "You guys are lucky he stopped us."
 * "This is our tournament, remember? Mortal Kombat. We fight it."
 * "Those were 500 dollar sunglasses, asshole."
 * "So, this is Outworld, huh? Well, I can see why they want a change of scenery."
 * "Liu, I hate this place. I do. I'm telling ya, I hate it. I'm in a hostile environment, I am completely unprepared. I'm surrounded by people who probably wanna kick my ass... it's like being back in high school!"
 * "Nice dress."

Mortal Kombat: Legacy

 * "Growing up, I was shy, I was weak. I actually got my ass kicked a lot. But martial arts changed all that, and I was reborn. And that gave the world... Johnny Cage."
 * "Piracy, burning more than just DVD's."
 * "Well, no shit the fighting's fake. It's a fucking movie!"
 * "You're dropping me? After all the fucking money I made you?
 * "'Get over here, you son of a bitch!"
 * "Does that look fucking fake to you?!"

Mortal Kombat (2011)

 * "I make this look easy!" (Battle Cry)
 * "You got Caged!"
 * "Oh yeah!"
 * "Damn, I'm good!"
 * "Come on!"
 * "Johnny Cage!!"
 * "Watch this!"
 * "Hey beautiful, Johnny Cage." (to Sonya)
 * "What? 'Massive Strike?' 'Citizen Cage?' 'Ninja Mime?' None of those ring a bell?"
 * "Kano? Wasn't in that one."
 * "Heh, that old geezer's the final challenge? Might as well give me the belt right now. They do have belts right?" (talking about Shang Tsung)
 * "What, How did you-?" (to Shang Tsung)
 * "Heh, That's right, That's right, who's it gonna be?"
 * "Nice stunt! Who's your agent?" (to Reptile)
 * "Alright! It's showtime!" (beginning his match against Reptile)
 * "He got caged!" (after defeating Reptile)
 * "That's it, ha ha, oh yeah, I am so pretty! And I'm takin' you down. I'm takin' you down. I'm takin' you out. I'm takin' you out. And I'm takin' you out... for dinner." (to several kombatants &amp; Sonya Blade)
 * "Okay, nice makeup. But is it really necessary?" (to Baraka)
 * "Man, I love those blades." (after beating Baraka)
 * "My producer has GOT to meet you. We're doing 'Tommy Scissorfists' and..." (after beating Baraka)
 * "Finish him? Heh. Yeah right." (To Shang Tsung)
 * "Woah, woah, woah, wait a second. I'm not gonna kill anyone." (after Shang Tsung tells him to kill Baraka)
 * "What that's it? Really? Now where'd that hottie go?"
 * "Thanks. Nice hat." (to Raiden)
 * "Now look. I don't know what kind of role playing you guys are into, but count me out." (to Raiden and Liu Kang)
 * "What are you talking about?" (to Liu Kang)
 * "Dun dun dun. Look guys, I'm an actor. I save the world for the cameras. If this emperor is really a threat, call the military. Me, I've got a date with a blonde. Ciao!" (to Raiden and Liu Kang)
 * "Need help? I specialize in rescuing damsels in distress." (to Sonya)
 * "Look baby, I can't let you run loose without an escort."
 * "Ha Haa! Not bad for a... girl" (after defeating Sonya)
 * "Fine, have it your way. I'll just leave you to your... problems" (to Sonya)
 * "Step away from the lady!" (to Kano)
 * "Fans think my moves are all wirework and special effects. Truth is... I am the special effect!" (to Kano)
 * "Throw that on your... barbie... shrimp!" (after beating Kano)
 * "I'm not worried, I bet you can win this thing no problem."
 * "What should we do, besides standing around looking pretty?"
 * "Ouch..." (After Scorpion shows everyone the burnt-out skull of Sub-Zero)
 * "Ready for your beat down, Sunshine? Here it comes." (to Cyrax)
 * "What's a Goro?!"
 * "MVP, baby!" (after Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung)
 * "The wrestler guy with a cow skull on his head? And why aren't the Kung Fu Twins here helping us?"
 * "So what's the deal with you and Sonya anyways? She's smokin' hot." (to Jax)
 * "He was busy hitting me in the face!" (to Sonya; about Jax)
 * "What are we? Chopped liver?" (to Raiden)
 * "Sure, let's ruin someone else's life." (after Raiden suggests that they turn Kitana against Shao Kahn)
 * "You couldn't have seen that in one of your hot flashes?" (to Raiden, after Kitana defeated both him and Smoke)
 * "Lord'? I was with Smoke. I thought she was a bad guy. Girl. Guess he turned another one... What's Raiden got that I haven't got?" (about Jade)
 * "My head hurts just thinking about it."
 * "Liu Kang! Raiden! NO!" (when Raiden and Liu Kang are fighting)
 * "What did you do!?" (after Raiden has accidentally electrocuted Liu Kang)

Movies

 * Trained and mentored by Master Boyd
 * Entered Shang Tsung's Mortal Kombat tournament.
 * Ally of Liu Kang, Sonya and Kitana.
 * Fought and defeated Scorpion in the first movie.
 * Outsmarted and killed Goro in the first movie.
 * Killed by Shao Kahn after saving Sonya in the second movie.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy

 * Is a famous actor and martial artist.
 * His career goes dry. He hasn't had work since "Power Rangers" went off the air. (This could be a sly reference to Matt Mullins role of Len in Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight)
 * Tried to regain his glory days by making a new television series, but is ignored by the producers.
 * Attacked one of the producers and several of his bodyguards after discovering that his ideas had been stolen.
 * Invited by Shang Tsung to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Comics

 * Once trained with an actress named Lynn Kway.
 * Has a bodyguard named Bo.
 * Is romantically attracted to Sonya.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * Johnny Cage alongside Sonya and Raiden were the only 3 selectable characters to have more than two special moves in the first Mortal Kombat game.
 * Brandon Lee was originally cast as Johnny Cage in the first film, but he died before filming began.Early_johnnycage.jpg
 * Gray Daniels, Tom Cruise, Ryan Reynolds and Johnny Depp were among some of the actors considered for the role in the film.
 * The name John Carlton was briefly mentioned in Johnny Cage's song from the Mortal Kombat album by the techno group "The Immortals"
 * Cage's body can be seen in the introduction of Mortal Kombat: Deception, located on the beginning of the stairway which leads to the Soulnado chamber, along with the other fallen Earthrealm warriors.
 * Despite being the first character designed in the game, 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 MK movie, Johnny Cage was the second choice opponent that Shang Tsung choose to fight (the first being Sonya which she was capture for) though Liu Kang volunteer to fight Tsung instead.
 * In the first game, Cage was modeled 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 to 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. Cage's Nutcracker Split Punch was also inspired from Bloodsport.
 * 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 stars Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead role, which whom Johnny 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. In MK 2011, the red shadow properties return as powered up versions of Cage's original green shadow attacks.
 * Johnny Cage is the third character to swear in the entire series, preceeded by Scorpion and Sonya Blade.
 * Johnny 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.
 * 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 some of the extras in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, his official biographies, the official comics, the officially-released "Johnny Cage: In Your Face" video, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, and Mortal Kombat: Legacy Johnny Cage has starred in the following movies:
 * 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!! (according to MK:DA, it won an Oscar)
 * 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 (cancelled)
 * Caged Rage
 * Every Dog Has Its Day
 * Massive Strike
 * Iron Claw
 * Time Smashers
 * Citizen Cage (a spoof of Citizen Kane)
 * Tommy Scissorfists (a spoof of Edward Scissorhands)
 * Fight Dirty
 * World's Most Wanted (a spoof of Wanted)
 * Power Rangers (A T.V. series)
 * You Got Caged (2 pilots not picked up by the network)
 * Pirates of the Outworld Demons (a spoof of Pirates of the Caribbean)
 * Stryker: I Was Doing My Job as Kurtis Stryker (as of Stryker's MK 2011 ending) (cancelled by Stryker himself)
 * Brokenose Mountain (a spoof of Brokeback Mountain)
 * 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). He won the episode he was in, and donated his winnings to charity.
 * 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-ge") 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!".
 * His MKII ending showed him battling Shao Kahn on the big screen.
 * After MKII, it's unknown what happened to Johnny Cage at the time MK3 occur. Some speculated that he was killed after the event in MKII, some say he got killed by the Outworld Extermination Squad, the game even hinted that he might be dead due to his tombstone at the Graveyard stage however Cage wasn't confirm dead until MK Trilogy where his bio state that he was resurrected by Raiden to help the Earth realm warriors fight against the Outworld invasion.
 * The movie poster seen during Cage's ending in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance featured both himself as the main character, standing in the forefront, and several other characters, including Sonya as his romantic interest, as well as Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, Scorpion, and Moloch as antagonists.
 * 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. This debate was put to rest in MK 2011, as one of the visions Raiden receives from his future self is Johnny being slain by Motaro, confirming the resurrection storyline as canon in the unchanged storyline.
 * He was the first character created for Mortal Kombat, and the test prototype of the original game had just two Johnnies fighting each other
 * A glitch in MK makes Johnny Cage's Uppercut, if performed quick enough, knock off a phantom head of the opponent, though this can be only done on Kano, Sub-Zero and Scorpion. In MKII this became an actual fatality, but this time Johnny Cage uppercuts three heads off.
 * Originally he used a variant of Mileena's X-Ray Move before it was changed to his infamous "Split Punch".
 * He is the character who has died and resurrected the most times in the series.
 * Cage is the first playable character in MK 2011´s story mode.
 * Though a major character in the MK series and despite appearing in both MK films, Johnny Cage was never seen or reference at all in the MK Defender of the Realm USA cartoon which had ties to the two movies.
 * One of only two survivors of the Earthrealm fighters in MK 2011, the other being Sonya Blade.
 * Cage is the only character in MK 2011 whose X-Ray move is a counter as opposed to being a direct damage attack like the rest of the characters.
 * MK 2011 is the first game to give an explanation for Johnny's shadow abilities, with him being descended from a Mediterranean cult who bred warriors for the gods with special abilities.
 * If Johnny Cage performs his And the Winner is... Fatality on Kratos, for some reason, he will not get a trophy planted in his head. This may be because he is a guest character.
 * In a Top 10 list for the best Mortal Kombat characters hosted by Screwattack.com, Johnny Cage was listed at #10.
 * In a Top 10 list for best Mortal Kombat fatalities, also hosted by Screwattack.com, his Nut Buster fatality from Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks was placed at #3.
 * In a Top 10 list again hosted by Screwattack.com, Johnny Cage was placed at #9 of the P.A.B ("Pussy Ass Bitch") characters in the game histories, due to his nutpunch.
 * In MK 2011, his P2 color swap resembles his MKT attire.
 * Johnny Cage one of the seven characters who does not fight against a tag match in their chapter in Story Mode. The others being Cyrax, Jax, Sub-Zero, Jade, Stryker and Nightwolf.
 * Johnny Cage, along with Jade, Nightwolf, Sindel, and Jax have the only X-Ray attacks that don't feature damage to the skull.
 * Johnny Cage can be witnessed being impaled by Motaro in Rain's MK 2011 ending, a nod to his death during the original timeline.
 * Implied by Raiden's visions, chronologically, Johnny Cage was the first kombatant to fight Reptile in the first tournament.
 * During the Bonus Challenge Tower in the PS Vita version of MK 2011, Johnny Cage is burnt alive by Scorpion and resembles Meat from the severe disfigurement as a result, but he survives the burns and defeats Scorpion before collapsing in agony.
 * Strangely, in the introduction sequence of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, during Quan Chi and Kenshi's fight on the Pyramid and in the background, Johnny Cage pushes Sonya down the side of the Pyramid.
 * A tombstone entitled "CAGE" can be seen on the Graveyard stage of both MK3/UMK3/MKT and MK vs DCU.
 * Johnny Cage's X-Ray move is the only X-Ray where a character punches the opponent in the groin area, making it unique.
 * Johnny Cage's official theme is titled, "Prepare Yourself".thumb|300px|right|Johnny Cage's theme