Because fans can be, y’know, fans, there is an ongoing effort to get to convince developer NetherRealm Studios to include Scooby-Doo’s best friend, Shaggy, in the new Mortal Kombat 11. But the recent reveal of Johnny Cage is all the humor the new game needs.
On Wednesday, IGN revealed the character trailer for Johnny Cage, which confirms his inclusion in Mortal Kombat 11, out on PC and consoles on April 23. In keeping with his rep for acting as comic relief amidst all the “murder by ancient monks,” Johnny Cage can kill opponents using his Oscar statue and gets a helpful assist from his stunt double to punch enemies right in the gnards.
But it’s his new Fatality that takes the cake. In homage to his boring “uppercut” Fatality from the first Mortal Kombat, Cage again tries to pull it off here, only for it to actually be a botched stunt where you hear a director call “Cut!” Notice Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon’s name in the clapboard.
Really, what more could you want? While Mortal Kombat has increasingly included crossover characters as downloadable content — horror icons Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and both the Alien and Predator were in the last game — Shaggy ain’t needed. Johnny Cage is all the fun this series needs. Let’s save a DLC spot for someone more weird, like Batman or the White Ranger.
See the trailer reveal for Johnny Cage below.
A series staple dating back to the very first game, Cage is an ex-Hollywood action star turned Special Forces agent who marries Sony Blade and becomes the father of Cassie Cage (introduced in 2015’s Mortal Kombat X). And he exists as a vision of what Mortal Kombat was supposed to be: an avatar for actor Jean-Claude Van Damme to star in his own video game.
But when Van Damme passed on the project, then-developer Midway kept the assets and turned the character into Johnny Cage, as a comedic parody in the exceedingly violent video game that became a worldwide hit sensation.
In live-action adaptations of Mortal Kombat, Cage has been played by Linden Ashby (1995’s Mortal Kombat), Chris Conrad (1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation), Matt Mullins (the 2010 short Mortal Kombat: Rebirth and the 2011 web-series Mortal Kombat: Legacy), and Casper Van Dien (Season 2 of Mortal Kombat: Legacy). In the games, Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson voiced Cage for the 2011 reboot. He was replaced by Andrew Bowen in Mortal Kombat X, who returns for the new Mortal Kombat 11.
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on April 23.
