Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion are obviously the main poster children for the Mortal Kombat franchise. However, since his debut in the first game, Johnny Cage has been a mainstay character; this has resulted in him becoming a fan favorite.
However, like with every character over the multitude of Mortal Kombat games and adaptations, Mr. Cage has had his ups and downs. Not every incarnation worked, some had little to no character, some didn’t even play that well. So what are the best and worst versions of everybody’s favorite Hollywood star turned savior of the realms?
11 Best: Mortal Kombat
It’s impossible to go wrong with the original Johnny Cage. It was the game that started it all and introduced everyone to the future of M for Mature games. Johnny Cage’s uppercut fatality became so iconic that it is actually the starter brutality in Mortal Kombat 11.
With solid gameplay, the famous sunglasses, and the ability to uppercut the other player in the groin: Johnny was an instant hit. The character would only evolve and became an icon in the gaming world.
10 Worst: Shaolin Monks
This game was not about Johnny, it was Liu Kang and Kung Lao’s story. So it made sense that Cage was sidelined. However, once unlocked as a bonus, his combat is just not that good. The combat for Shaolin Monks has dated quite a bit over the years, especially for bonus characters.
While Johnny wasn’t meant to be the star, it would have been nice if Johnny at least had a decent supporting role in the story. Instead, his only major appearance (if it can be called that) is during the opening cinematic.
9 Best: Mortal Kombat 9
After years of mediocre entries to the series, NetherRealm Studios was formed and they decided to return to form for their fighting games. Nearly every character played flawlessly, including good ol’ Johnny Cage. This game also featured probably his best alternate costume with the blue tuxedo look.
So why isn’t this one higher? Unfortunately, Johnny starts off great but with each subsequent appearance, his jokes and personality become more and more grating. The character never really goes through any changes and mainly felt one-note by the end of it.
8 Worst: Casper Van Dien
For many, the second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy was a letdown. Some characters felt overused while others were underused, and some were straight-up missing. While Casper Van Dien nailed the cocky and obnoxious personality of Johnny Cage, the show didn’t seem to know what to do with him.
Instead of an awesome fighter, he spends most of the show either running away like a coward, complaining, or losing fights. It just felt like a complete waste of one of the series’ most famous characters.
7 Best: Mortal Kombat Trilogy
While Mortal Kombat 4 ended up being a disappointing sequel, another game was released for that generation of consoles. Mortal Kombat Trilogy was essentially the closest thing to an emulation of the Mortal Kombat arcade games.
For Johnny, it had by far the best-looking sprite of the early era. For every person who wishes to experience early Johnny Cage at his absolute best? This is the perfect game to go with.
6 Worst: Deadly Alliance/Armageddon
Gameplay-wise, Johnny is simply forgettable and boring. He has iconic moves but his combos were lackluster at best. It’s not the worst gameplay for him but it’s definitely not that good either.
What earns this version such a low ranking is his design. Many fans agree this was the ugliest incarnation of the character. Why is he wearing snowboarder sunglasses? The blonde hair made him look more like a Ken doll that merged with Duke Nukem. It doesn’t help that Johnny was reduced to nothing in terms of story.
5 Best: Mortal Kombat X
The tenth Mortal Kombat game took everything that MK9 did great with Johnny Cage and fixed all the issues with his character. Throughout the story, flashbacks and events show Johnny change from a cocky playboy to a dedicated warrior and family man. Andrew Bowen is easily the best voice actor for the character and would only get better.
Even gameplay-wise, Johnny is extremely fun to play with all variations. At first, he’s very simple but has many layers underneath to learn and master. This was the game that turned Johnny into the main character and it was a refreshing change after all these years.
4 Worst: Mortal Kombat 4
In this case, it is the reverse of the Deadly Alliance version. In Mortal Kombat 4, Johnny looked great (ignoring incredibly dated graphics) and looked like how Johnny should look. So what went wrong? The controls.
To be fair, the controls for almost every character were botched upon transitioning into 3D. It was awkward, slow, and the camera was more nauseating than anything. This was something that was greatly improved upon over time with multiple sequels.
3 Best: Linden Ashby
Why is the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie version so high? It is, in fact, the most important version of Johnny Cage to be created. When the movie was made, there was no voice acting or really any story to Mortal Kombat games up to that point. The movie had to invent things for the characters in order to be effective.
For example, every version of Kano after the movie was now the Australian scumbag criminal portrayal. With Johnny, not only was he the cocky Hollywood star but he could be serious when he needed to be. This led to iconic lines like “this is where you fall down”, “let’s dance”, and others that have been referenced in the games over the years. Without the movie version, iconic portrayals like MKX wouldn’t exist.
2 Worst: Annihilation
Remember how great Johnny Cage was in the first movie? Well, don’t get attached because this version of Johnny is killed in the opening scene. It’s not even a sad or tragic death that makes us hate the villain, it just comes off as tasteless when audiences spent an entire movie growing to love the character. Johnny only had a single line of dialogue!
Why was the character killed off? It wasn’t because of recasting because nearly every character was recast for the botched sequel. Perhaps it was just one of the dozens of horrible choices that went into making Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
1 Best: Mortal Kombat 11
This game takes everything that was so great about MKX‘s Johnny and makes him even better. The contrast between the more serious (kinda) older Johnny with the arrogant Johnny of the past (both voiced by Andrew Bowen again) is just gold. It’s also just great character development, showing how far Johnny has come since the tournament.
Without a doubt, Mortal Kombat 11 has the best looking Johnny and the best controls. Every combo string, special move, parry, and fatality is just Johnny Cage at his absolute finest. Even in the Aftermath DLC expansion, Johnny has even more development as a character. It would be criminal to put this version anywhere else.
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