Johnny Cage

For the Modernist composer, see John Cage.

Template:Mortal Kombat character Johnny Cage is the stage name of John Carlton, a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

About Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage is a movie star who is a master at martial arts. Although he is a primary character, he's not as serious a character as say, Liu Kang. He jokes around a lot and can be a little full of himself every now and then. Nevertheless, his skills are nothing to joke about, and he is a good friend to Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and particularly Sonya Blade, whom he is known to possibly have a relationship with.

Storyline

As said before, Johnny Cage is 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. After the final battle between Liu Kang and Shang Tsung, he 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 Jax and was interrogated by him on the whereabouts of Sonya. Johnny told him everything he knew, from the tournament to Sonya's whereabouts but Jax didn't believe any of it. After Johnny was set free he made the movie Mortal Kombat based on his experiences, which revived his then-failing career.

Not long after that, Johnny was attacked while shooting a commercial by a revitalized Shang Tsung, Kintaro, Baraka, Kitana and Mileena. Luckily for him, Jax arrived and tried to help him. They were later joined by the other Earthrealm warriors to help fight the horde off. He then traveled into Outworld with his friends for Mortal Kombat. He used this new adventure as a script for a sequel, Mortal Kombat II, which broke box office records.

When Shao Kahn invaded Earthrealm by way of a loophole involving having his deceased Queen Sindel reincarnated on Earth in Mortal Kombat 3, Cage 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.

In the events of Mortal Kombat 4, the fallen Elder God Shinnok attacked Earthrealm. Again, Raiden asked the assistance of the Earthrealm warriors. Johnny Cage was among them. After the defeat of Shinnok, Johnny filmed another movie, but after receiving an award, he opened his big mouth and received the proverbial vegetable thrown at him by film critics.

Years later, in the events of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, 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.

File:Pesina cage.png

Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat II

But 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 tragic death and went to Outworld to help his friends.

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, Cage was killed by both Quan Chi and Shang Tsung during the final assault on the Deadly Alliance. Soon afterward, he was resurrected by Onaga and made into his slave.

In MK Armageddon, Johnny Cage is apparently released from Onaga's control, though no explanation is given as to how it happens. Ermac's Deception Ending, which shows him and Liu Kang's spirit being succesful in rescuing the slaved Earthrealm warriors, is generally accepted as the possible explanation, though no official word has been made as to whether this is true or not.

In his Mortal Kombat: Armageddon ending, after defeating Blaze and gaining godlike powers, Johnny Cage gives up his superficial life for a life of enlightenment.

Combat characteristics

Signature moves

• Shadow Kick: Cage would slide across the floor, connecting with a kick to the torso of his opponent. As its name implied, he left a trailing image of himself.(MK, MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM, MK:DA, MK:A)
• Low Green Orb: A green fireball that would be thrown into the air, before curving down towards the ground. (MK, MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:SM)
• High Green Orb: A higher version of the curved fireball. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:A)
• 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, (Except in Shaolin Monks, where he is able to do the move on Kitana). In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Cage can do a modified version of this when instead of punching the groin, he rises up with a surprise uppercut. (MK, MKII, MK4, MKG, MK:DA, MK:SM)
• Shadow Uppercut: Cage would leap into the air and deliver an uppercut which launched his foe into the air. (MKII, MKT, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)

Recurring fatalities

• Decapitation: 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, MK:DA, MK:SM)
• Torso Rip: Johnny Cage grabs his enemy around the waist, rips their upper body from their lower, and throws it to the ground. (MKII, MK4, MKG, MK:SM)

Appearances in other media

Film

File:Johnny Cage.jpg

Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat

Johnny Cage was portrayed by Linden Ashby in the first Mortal Kombat movie. In the movie, he fought and defeated Scorpion and later killed Goro (after a scene in which he crushes Johnny's beloved sunglasses). The movie also took a page from the MK comics produced during the 1992-1993 years by Malibu by starting his love interest with Sonya, which was later imported to the games (his ending in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance seems to be the most indicative of this).

He received a cameo appearance in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, played by Chris Conrad, in which he was killed by Shao Kahn by breaking his neck in the opening scene.

Trademarks

File:Cage.gif

Johnny Cage in the first Mortal Kombat

• Johnny's sunglasses - he took them off during fights in the first two games, but starting with MKT and all MK games released after, he wears them all the time - even at night.
• Johnny's split punch, taken from the Van Damme movie, "Bloodsport".
• His Shadow moves, where he performs a move and leaves trail of "shadows" - either green or red.
• Johnny's Friendship - a signed photograph "To my greatest fan! Cage"

Character Development

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 artist John Carlton, who worked on the popular NBA Jam arcade series.

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 character is loosely based around Van Damme's Portrayal of Dux Ryu Ninjutsu founder Frank Dux in the 1988 movie Bloodsport. This is apparent in more than one way as Cage's outfit in the first MK is nearly identical to the one used by Van Damme in the last fight of the movie. Also, his split punch is taken from an actual scene in the movie. Dux was originally supposed to be in a Bloodsport video game but production of the game was stopped.

Cage was the lone character in the original MK who did not have a past history with any of the other characters. Though not determined, his lack of storyline may likely have played a part in his omission from several MK side projects.

Game Information

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.

He was also the only one character in MK2 who has two different images in his profile and versus screen.

Cage was left out from the Game Boy version of MK, MK2, MK4 and MK:DA due to memory constraints.

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 actual established supplier of martial arts and athletic wear. [1] [2] [3]

The Red Shadow Kick special move occurred randomly in MKII. In MKT the Red Shadow Kick is a separate move from the Green Shadow Kick. In MK4 and MK Gold, selecting Player 2's outfit would cause the moves to have red shadow properties, rather than green.

Cage was exclusively recreated for Mortal Kombat Trilogy due to the fact that Daniel Pesina was fired by Midway in 1994 after appearing in an ad for the arcade game BloodStorm dressed as Cage [4], and thus they couldn't use his MK2 sprite. He was replaced by Chris Alexander.

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, which is becoming increasingly common in the Mortal Kombat story, but others feel the retcon destroys what was perceived as a refreshing change of pace for Cage's otherwise stilted storyline (with Cage's death and subsequent semi-altruistic resurrections portraying him more compassionate and understanding of the gravity of the tournament, instead of simply using them as inspiration for more of his movies). Others do not view this as a retcon at all, as it would directly contradict his story screens in Trilogy and MK4 and cannot therefore be canonical. To these fans, the references to The Death of Johnny Cage movie therefore take on a more satirical aspect.

Trivia

• Brandon Lee was rumored to have been offered the role of Johnny Cage in the first Mortal Kombat movie.
• He was the only character from the first MK game who did not appear in Jeff Rovin's non-canon 1995 novel, and the only one of the seven playable fighters in MK not to appear in the 1996 animated series.
• 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. Of course, the official MK2 comic also has Cage running into and fighting Goro alongside Kano and Sonya as they attempt to escape the then-crumbling island the tournament was held on, although neither story is considered canon. Despite this, Cage and Goro are often pictured together probably in homage to the film.In the last game, Mortal Kombat Armageddon, the random main menu shows Cage on the front of Goro.
• According to Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, his official biographies, and a movie poster that can be seen in the Subway background in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Johnny Cage has starred in:
  • Ninja Mime (a box office flop in America, but a cult classic in France; Cyrax loathed this movie)
  • Dragon Fist
  • Dragon Fist 2
  • Son of Dragon Fist
  • HWAAAAA!!
  • Sudden Violence
  • Aquatic Assault
  • Exiting the Dragon of Death (opposite Hong Kong action star Channie Jack, a spoof of Jackie Chan)
  • 7 Poisons (a take on the Shaw Brother's classic "Five Deadly Venoms")
  • Cage Match
  • The Gist of my Fist
  • 24 Karate Gold
  • Caged Rage
  • Who's That?
  • Massive Strike
  • Wu Shu (a TV series)
  • Mortal Kombat
  • Mortal Kombat II
  • Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage (Never finished)
  • Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (Non-Canon, as the canon ending of Deadly Alliance had Johnny Cage die)
  • Every Dog Has His Day (Non-Canon, was only depicted in the MK Comics by Malibu, in which he also got Sonya Blade an acting bit).
• 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 donated all of his winnings on the show 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 ("KAH-geh") in Japanese means shadow and Johnny Cage is the master of many "shadow" move techniques. Nonetheless, his last name is pronounced like the kind of "Cage" one would keep an animal in.
• In Unreal Championship 2, one of Raiden's taunts states that "you fight like Johnny Cage!".
• Cage appears in a sketch in the animated TV series, Robot Chicken along side another Mortal Kombat character Kano. The sketch shows Cage having his heart ripped out due to a fatality, his surgery to put his heart back into his chest, his recovery and his physiotherapy treatment. He then returns to have a rematch with Kano only to have his heart ripped out again.
• One of Cyrax's Konquest missions in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has him practicing moves against Johnny Cage, supposedly taking out his frustration over how much he hates Cage's films (including feeling "especially robbed of his eight bucks" when he saw Ninja Mime). One of the comments made in the instruction boxes is "Johnny Cage is not afraid to die", a line from the song about Cage, "Prepare Yourself" by The Immortals on Mortal Kombat: The Album.
• In MK: Armageddon Johnny Cage and Goro are shown in one of the main menu screen, portraying them as rivals. But whether all the other images have the evil guy in the foreground and the good guy in the background with full-body, Johnny Cage and Goro are oddly enough shown switched in place.