The Best Versions Of Johnny Cage In Mortal Kombat

Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion are the main poster children for the Mortal Kombat franchise. However, since his debut in the first game, Johnny Cage has been a mainstay; this has resulted in him becoming a fan favorite, starting from the first game to Mortal Kombat 1.

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However, like every character throughout Mortal Kombat games and adaptations, the A-list actor turned realm-saving hero has had his ups and downs over three decades across games, movies, and even television. Not every incarnation worked, while some revolutionized the character forever.

Updated August 30th, 2024, by Melody MacReady: Mortal Kombat 1 is set to start it's second year of content with not only a DLC that features the likes of the T-1000 and Ghostface joining the game, but fans are also getting a new story expansion with Khaos Reigns. Continuing where the Mortal Kombat 1 storyline ended, Khaos Reigns takes place after the events in the post-credit scene, with Havik became the new main villain across timelines. In it, Johnny Cage is set to return, with new scenes and likely more than a handful of witty jokes and pop culture references to make the player laugh. This makes it the perfect time for fans to look back at the long history of Johnny Cage to see how far he's come since 1992.

14 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

Wasted An Iconic Character In The Opening Scene

• Linden Ashby was replaced as Johnny Cage because, unsurprisingly, he disliked the script for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
• Robin Shou as Liu Kang and Talisa Soto as Kitana were the only actors to reprise their roles for the sequel.

From the beginning, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation did not waste time showing just how much of a downgrade from the first movie it was. In the first ten minutes, Johnny Cage was not only recast (along with most of the other cast members as well), but he was killed off despite being a fan favorite in the first movie.

Fans of Johnny Cage were taunted even more when Annihilation gave him his Shadow Kick special move from the games, only for Shao Kahn to parry it and kill him off by snapping his neck. It was at that moment that fans would realize that Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was not the epic sequel they were hoping for.

13 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance & Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

The 3D Era Was Not The Greatest Era For Johnny Cage

• The first time Johnny Cage was depicted as a blonde.
• Deadly Alliance was the first time Liu Kang was killed off in the games.

With a then-modern redesign with blonde hair, Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance looked like a typical 2000s character, for better and worse. He had his iconic moves, but his combos were lackluster at best due to the divisive change to 360-degree movement of the 3D Era.

Sadly, like most characters, not much changed with Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon other than slightly smoother controls. Armageddon is often criticized for having little-to-no innovation, and that was showcased as much by Johnny Cage as any other character. There's nothing terrible about him in the 3D Era, he simply pales in comparison to other versions.

12 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1

Tried To Make A Dark And Edgy Version Of Johnny

• The first live-action adaptation to use Johnny's modern catchphrase: "He got caged!"
• Mortal Kombat: Legacy began as a concept trailer for a gritty Mortal Kombat movie reboot.

Johnny Cage was given a dark, gritty, and realistic take in the first season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. He was a martial artist turned reality television star with extreme anger issues. It was a nice attempt to make Johnny Cage into a more tragic character, but there needed to be more of him for it to sink in.

Unfortunately, Mortal Kombat: Legacy only featured Johnny, as played by Matt Mullins, in one episode, since the series was more of an anthology, while the second season went in a completely different direction. Matt Mullins was replaced with Casper Van Dien and so the first season almost seems obliterated from continuity.

11 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 2

Johnny Cage Was Treated Like A Joke

• Matt Mullins declined to come back as Johnny Cage.
• Casper Van Dien was set to return for a third season before Mortal Kombat: Legacy was canceled, and it evolved into the 2021 movie.

Overall, Mortal Kombat: Legacy season 2 was a weaker season compared to the first, with some characters feeling overused while others were underused, and some were straight-up missing. Johnny Cage was recast from the first season and was now played by Casper Van Dien, and overall, the actor portrays Johnny's arrogance and cocky nature rather well.

Unfortunately, Van Dien's potential as Johnny Cage was ruined due to Mortal Kombat: Legacy reducing Johnny to a useless character. Rather than an expert fighter, he spends most of the episodes complaining and running away. Even when he fought, he was eliminated in anticlimactic ways, leading to him becoming forgettable.

10 Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

Johnny Is Only Featured In Versus Mode

• Johnny Cage can only be unlocked via a secret coin found in the Shaolin Monks story.
• Another spin-off starring Scorpion and Sub-Zero was almost made, titled Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice.

While Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks does deserve praise for taking a bold step in a new direction as a God Of War-esque hack-and-slash video game, it was not a game about Johnny Cage. As the title suggests, the game was almost purely about Liu Kang and Kung Lao on their own adventure set between the first two Mortal Kombat games.

However, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks did feature Johnny as a secondary character in the story, and HE could be unlocked to play as, but only in the two-player Versus mode. He plays just as well as the other characters, showing the potential for another game, but this was the last time Mortal Kombat experimented with spin-off titles.

9 Mortal Kombat (1992)

The Classic Is Still A Beloved Arcade Fighting Game

• Originally, Mortal Kombat was going to be a Jean-Claude Van Damme game, but was retooled into Mortal Kombat when he rejected the project.
• The gore in Mortal Kombat was so controversial that it led to the ESRB rating system being created.

It was the Mortal Kombat game that started it all, helped define the 90s gaming era, and introduced everyone to the future of M for Mature games, as well as Johnny Cage. Johnny's uppercut Fatality became so iconic that it is the starter Brutality for every character in Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat 1.

The only issue that comes from the original Mortal Kombat after decades of aging is that, aside from their special moves, every character on the roster has the same gameplay; high punch, low punch, high kick, and low kick. So, Johnny only stands out due to his flair, which is far from a bad thing.

8 Mortal Kombat 2

Improved On The First Game In Almost Every Way

• Johnny Cage first got his green magic abilities in Mortal Kombat 2.
• The Friendships were made as a joke because of the controversy over Fatalities in the first game.

Johnny Cage came back in the immediate sequel, Mortal Kombat 2, with new powers, and the consensus for him was the same as for the game itself: bigger and better. From the animations of the sprites to new and brutal Fatalities to even the silly inclusion of Friendship finishers, Mortal Kombat 2 proved that sometimes a sequel can surpass the original.

In Johnny Cage's case, he was given his now-signature green magic powers that have stuck around in every game since; at least until the series was given a reboot with Mortal Kombat 1. His autograph signing as a finisher was so famous it would continue to be referenced in future games.

7 Mortal Kombat 4

The First Time Johnny Cage Was In 3D

• Mortal Kombat 4 was the first game to introduce weapons in gameplay.
• Mortal Kombat 4 was the last Mortal Kombat game to go to arcades.

Aside from infamously bad ending cutscenes for characters, Mortal Kombat 4 was still a top-tier fighting game that brought Johnny Cage back strong after being absent from Mortal Kombat 3. This was due to the gameplay in Mortal Kombat 4 being a sturdy middle-ground between Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.

Mortal Kombat 4 experimented with the 3D aspect while keeping most of the new aspects that were introduced in Mortal Kombat 3, including the combo system that gave every character more depth to their gameplay. Johnny is fast, with all the expected special moves and a new design that still fit his character.

6 Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Johnny Cage Was Given The Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Treatment

• Mortal Kombat Trilogy was the last mainline game to use digitized actors as sprites.
• Johnny Cage has only been missing from three mainline games: Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat: Deception, and Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe.

When Johnny Cage was missing from both Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, fans of the character were left disappointed. Thankfully, Midway rewarded their patience with Mortal Kombat Trilogy, which took gameplay and characters from the first three games and fused them to create the best of all three.

Johnny Cage finally returned to the franchise in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, sporting a fancier sprite, and was given the combo system from Mortal Kombat 3, which changed the way Mortal Kombat was played forever. Sadly, this version of Johnny is rarely remembered, since Mortal Kombat Trilogy does not have the same amount of adoration as Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

5 Mortal Kombat (2011)

The Reboot Made Johnny Feel Familiar But Fresh

Mortal Kombat

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Fighting

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5 /10

Released

April 19, 2011

Developer(s)

NetherRealm Studios

Platform(s)

PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, PC

Genre(s)

Fighting

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• The first time Johnny featured a tattoo of his name.
• Mortal Kombat 9 condenses the first three Mortal Kombat stories into one.

When NetherRealm Studios rebooted Mortal Kombat thanks to the convenience of time travel after the disappointment of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Johnny Cage was brought back to his roots in terms of design, but changed just enough to stand out. This resulted in even more attitude, and a tattoo of his name that became his signature appearance throughout a trilogy of games.

Mortal Kombat, also known as Mortal Kombat 9, also brought back classic 2D fighting with 3D characters, resulting in gameplay for all characters being praised for being simple to pick up and play, but featuring many layers to master with every character, including Johnny.