Rate the Fighter (MK11): Johnny Cage

Rate the Fighter: Mortal Kombat 11 Edition!

Welcome back everyone to Rate the Fighter: Mortal Kombat 11 Edition. Last time we chilled with the Lin Kuei grandmaster Sub-Zero. In today's blog post we'll be taking a trip to Hollywood to take a look at a wise cracking smart ass who eventually became one of Earthrealm's greatest warriors. Prepare to bow and get caged because today we'll be talking about Johnny Cage!

Johnny Cage, Hollywood's Bitch

Young Johnny Cage as he
appears in Mortal Kombat 11.

Johnny Cage, much like everybody we've been talking about recently, made his first appearance in the franchise in the original 1992 arcade game. Back then he was just a movie star that was desperate to prove to the world that his martial art skills were real. Now on the other hand? Well for starters, he defeated Shinnok at the very beginning of Mortal Kombat X's main story mode. He married and had a daughter with Sonya Blade known as Cassie cage. Oh and uh, Cassie also defeated Shinnok at the end of the Mortal Kombat X story mode, so this name is already carrying along pretty well.

In Mortal Kombat 11, the current Johnny Cage finds himself working with his past self, a version of the character that is much more immature and a pain in the ass. Together, the two must work together at a certain point in the story mode to fend off the Black Dragon clan and its leader, Kano. Should the two men fail to do so, the future of their daughter and wife will be lost to time...

Appearance

Johnny Cage didn't receive that big of a redesign compared to most returning characters in this game. For the most part, Johnny looks more aged as evident by the gray hairs in his hair. However, that's actually only one variation of this character. Since both past and present versions of Johnny Cage meet each other in the story mode, it should come as no surprise that a younger version of Johnny Cage is also available with its own set of skins.

When it comes to what I'll call "Old Man Cage", his outfits are designed around looking militaristic. His default appearance, for example, dresses him in a combat vest but can also be replaced with skins that throw either a tank top or a fighter pilot jacket. As for Johnny's younger self, he wears clothes that exaggerate the fact that he's an actor with a big ego. Prime examples of this are the fact that he wears a leather jacket with his own initials on it, as well as a skin that simply exposes his upper body, showing us that Cage has his first name tattooed across his chest. As an added bonus, he also gets a tank top like his older self, only this time it appears to be a tank top that fitness junkies used to wear in the 80's with the Mortal Kombat logo on the front of it.

An exclusive set of skins came with the purchase of the game's season pass downloadable content known as the Kombat Pack. These skins turn Johnny Cage into someone known as the Ninja Mime. For those that may not know the lore of Mortal Kombat, Ninja Mime was a film staring Johnny Cage. It was horrible and was panned by critics in America, yet it ended up becoming a huge hit in France. The inclusion of these skins, while they may be locked behind a paywall, are a nice, silly addition to the game.

So yeah, that wraps up my thoughts on how Johnny Cage looks. Overall, I love the variety that comes with picking each age. Like I said above, the inclusion of the Ninja Mime skins were a great addition and really help this character's appearance go above and beyond. I'm rating Johnny's appearances a 10/10.

Johnny Cage's more older appearance
in Mortal Kombat 11.

Equipment

For Johnny Cage, looking sexy seems to be the top priority and that's something he can't do unless he's got good gear. Luckily for us, he does in the shape of his shades, hand wraps, and belt buckles. The video below showcases all the gear available for Johnny and I'll be including a list of my favorites once again.

Shades

• Summer Hi-Rays
• Final Countdown
• Deluxe Dealmaker
• Squib Technician
• Radical Ski Instructor
• Rocka Flair

Hand Wraps

• Stage Hands
• More Than a Beating
• MK9219 Gauntlets
• Shadow Punches
• White Ninja
• Park City Payback
• Utility Gloves
• Ribbons of Glory

Buckles

• Throwback Knot
• Armageddon Cage
• Headliner
• Steel Bars
• #1 with a Bullet
• Bullet Gang is Fine
• Driven to Greatness
• Bite Me
• Cage 2 Cage

When it comes to gear pieces that a relatively small compared to the rest of your character, sometimes it can be hard to find something you like. Thankfully, Johnny Cage is able to pull this off thanks to the fact that most of this gear was made specifically to fit with both his young and old skins in mind. For his older variations, more futuristic and advance hand wraps and shades can be equipped to fit the style while actual cloth hand wraps and ego-inflating buckles can be given to his Hollywood skins.

It's for this reason why I'm able to find so much enjoyment with these gear pieces, resulting in Johnny's equipment earning a 9/10.

Moveset

Cage is famous for a very unique power of his that he genetically shares with his daughter, Cassie Cage. Green energy surrounds Cage, enabling him to do things like propel himself forward and increase the strength of his attacks. It even allows him to throw a green ball of energy at his opponents and can be customized to thrown straightforward or lobbed at an angle. Some of his more popular special moves that utilize this power are his Shadow Kick, Force Ball, and Green Shadow Uppercut. Of course, Johnny doesn't just have to rely on his special powers to help him win the fight, especially when it comes to his most famous special ability: the Nut Punch. It's exactly what it sounds like, Johnny does the splits and punches his opponent (male or female) in the groin. Ouch.

There are so many more moves at Johnny's disposal, but we really should move on. Yet another combo video will be posted right below, so check that out if you're interested in trying to pull things off that I still can't succeed at doing. As for the rest of Cage's moves, 8/10.

Fatalities and Fatal Blow

For the video provided below, it showcases everything listed below in reverse order just like with Sub-Zero.

Fatality #1, Mr. Cage's Neighborhood:

• An absolutely brilliant fatality that just screams "Johnny Cage". Seriously, this fatality speaks for itself when it comes to how funny it is. The added bonus to it all is the audience throwing the tomatoes and Johnny's reaction to it hitting the opponent's lifeless corpse. 10/10. 

Fatality #2, Who Hired This Guy:

• Much like the first fatality, it's both hilarious and a fatality that could only belong to Johnny Cage. The best part about it though is the fact that it references a glitch from Mortal Kombat II that would result in Johnny punching the head off of his opponent three times. Much like with the glitch, Johnny punches the opponent's head three times before the fatality finally ends. Amazing. Simply amazing. 9/10.

Fatal Blow, The Award Goes To:

• While this fatal blow is admittedly pretty standard all things considered, I love how flashy it is at the beginning. The highlight of it all is, of course, the award trophy that Johnny pulls out and stabs into his opponent. 8/10.

Closing Thoughts

While I haven't really played with Johnny Cage that much compared to the other characters on this list, I can vouch for him and say that he's fun. I'm honestly a really big fan of how he looks in general, with each piece of gear seeming to belong to a specific skin, as if it were made for it. I'm going to award Johnny Cage with a 9 outta 10.

Who's Next?

Next up is a rootin' tootin' former member of the Black Dragon clan. Armed to the teeth will all sorts of western gear, this cowboy isn't the brand new sheriff coming along to clean up the town. No, he's trying to kill it. Look out for the next blog post where we'll be talking about Erron Black.

Stay tuned!