Mortal Kombat 11's Johnny Cage Reveal Has an Award-Winning Fatality

CBR

An original Kombatant -- Johnny Cage -- is back, and he's going to get his Fatality right, no matter how many tries it takes.

Mortal Kombat 11’s roster continues to grow, and this time, the game has an award-winning fan-favorite back in the mix.

Johnny Cage, one of the original fighters from 1992's Mortal Kombat, has been officially confirmed for the latest entry in the storied fighting franchise.

As revealed by IGN, Cage’s inclusion should serve as no surprise. A major story element of Mortal Kombat X was the Cage bloodline's mysterious Shadow Magic, which allowed Johnny and his daughter Cassie to defeat the fallen Elder God Shinnok. With Liu Kang’s fall from grace to become Emperor of Netherrealm, Cage has stepped up to become the de facto defender of Earth.

Johnny’s return is highlighted by his typical bombastic fashion, entering a fray with Kabal and comparing the cutthroat nature of Kombat to his own experiences in Hollywood. Johnny’s special moves seem to be populated with references to his history throughout the franchise, including summoning a stunt double decked out in his Mortal Kombat II attire.

The reveal trailer also features perhaps the most outright hilarious Fatality in the franchise to date. Johnny, performing his classic decapitating uppercut from the original Mortal Kombat, appears to botch the finisher. He’s then forced to perform the move over and over again at a director’s behest, as his opponent doesn’t seem to be cooperating, before finally angrily thrusting his opponent’s head into the camera.

Johnny rounds out an extensive roster that so far features a number of classic fan-favorite characters, including Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Jade and Baraka. Johnny's estranged wife, Sony Blade, has also been confirmed for the game and is being portrayed by UFC-turned-WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey.

Mortal Kombat 11 marks Johnny’s ninth appearance in the franchise, having sat out 1995's Mortal Kombat 3 on account of being dead. That was later retconned as being a misunderstanding, and Johnny’s death was only a plot point of his blockbuster movie based on the events of the game.

NetherRealm has announced it will be showing off more of Johnny Cage's gameplay during the next KombatKast event, which takes places February 27. Series creator Ed Boon has also teased another massive reveal during the event but did not specify if this would be another character or a game feature.

Mortal Kombat 11 is expected to be available on Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch April 23.