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* ButtMonkey: Rendered as such after ''II'', likely as punishment for his actor (Daniel Pesina) advertising a rival game, ''VideoGame/BloodStorm'', while in full costume. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBatReTSCU Even the dev team doesn't take him seriously.]] Finally seems to be outgrowing this as of ''X''.
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* ButtMonkey: ButtMonkey:
** Rendered as such after ''II'', likely as punishment for his actor (Daniel Pesina) advertising a rival game, ''VideoGame/BloodStorm'', while in full costume. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBatReTSCU Even the dev team doesn't take him seriously.]] Finally seems to be outgrowing this as of''X''.''X''.
** His younger self is this in 11. His future self is ashamed of him because he's exactly who he was before. The younger Sonya is slightly ashamed of how she’ll marry and have a kid with him in the future and the other good guys unabashedly prefer his older self over him. This even extends to physical abuse, he gets his ass kicked by future self, Erron Black, the older Kano, and Shao Kahn.
** Rendered as such after ''II'', likely as punishment for his actor (Daniel Pesina) advertising a rival game, ''VideoGame/BloodStorm'', while in full costume. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBatReTSCU Even the dev team doesn't take him seriously.]] Finally seems to be outgrowing this as of
** His younger self is this in 11. His future self is ashamed of him because he's exactly who he was before. The younger Sonya is slightly ashamed of how she’ll marry and have a kid with him in the future and the other good guys unabashedly prefer his older self over him. This even extends to physical abuse, he gets his ass kicked by future self, Erron Black, the older Kano, and Shao Kahn.
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He would later meet up with his younger self in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' and they're working together to thwart Kronika's EvilPlan.
Now with a [[SelfDemonstrating/JohnnyCage Self-Demonstrating page]].
Now with a [[SelfDemonstrating/JohnnyCage Self-Demonstrating page]].
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He would later meet up with his younger self in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' and they're working together to thwart Kronika's EvilPlan.
EvilPlan. Now with a [[SelfDemonstrating/JohnnyCage Self-Demonstrating page]].
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* OneTrueLove: Sonya. While Johnny constantly hits on girls in his intros, and was implied to have had past relationships in his days as an arrogant, entitled actor, the only woman he married and had a child with is Sonya. While they divorced, Johnny (nor Sonya for that matter) never remarried and they eventually got back together. When Sonya dies, Johnny is incredibly heartbroken and when the past versions of him and Sonya arrive in the present, Johnny pushes his younger self to be nicer so that he can end up with Sonya.
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* McNinja: He's not an example (barring some bonus costumes) but in-universe he plays these in his movies, with titles like "Ninja Mime" and "Ninja Priest" being name-dropped.
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* HandCannon: He has a Desert Eagle holstered around his waist in ''11'', although he doesn't ever use it.
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* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: Fighting to protect Earthrealm caused him to grow way past being a smug Hollywood star in over his head. This particularly true in the rebooted timeline where the significant losses on the heroes side forced him to step up as it's champion against Shinnok.
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* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople:
** Fighting to protect Earthrealm caused him to grow way past being a smug Hollywood star in over his head. This particularly true in the rebooted timeline where the significant losses on the heroes side forced him to step up as it's champion againstShinnok.Shinnok.
** The CharacterDevelopment for Past Johnny Cage in ''11'' starts in ''Aftermath'', [[spoiler:after witnessing Sonya and Cassie getting defeated by Shao Kahn and Sindel. It didn't work, but he did take things seriously for once in that moment]].
** Fighting to protect Earthrealm caused him to grow way past being a smug Hollywood star in over his head. This particularly true in the rebooted timeline where the significant losses on the heroes side forced him to step up as it's champion against
** The CharacterDevelopment for Past Johnny Cage in ''11'' starts in ''Aftermath'', [[spoiler:after witnessing Sonya and Cassie getting defeated by Shao Kahn and Sindel. It didn't work, but he did take things seriously for once in that moment]].
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** In ''Aftermath'', the younger Johnny [[spoiler: gets beaten by Shao Kahn (or Sindel), then captured and escorted to Outworld.]]
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** In ''Aftermath'', past!Johnny takes off the kid gloves [[spoiler:when Cassie and past!Sonya are endangered by Shao Kahn and Sindel.]]
-->'''Johnny:''' Okay bozos! No jokes, no gimmicks, ''just kombat''! You wanna get nuts?! '''Let's get nuts!'''
-->'''Johnny:''' Okay bozos! No jokes, no gimmicks, ''just kombat''! You wanna get nuts?! '''Let's get nuts!'''
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Individual Characters: [[Characters/MortalKombatHanzoHasashi Scorpion]] | [=Johnny Cage=] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn]]-]]]
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Individual Characters: [[Characters/MortalKombatHanzoHasashi Scorpion]] | [=Johnny Cage=] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShangTsung Shang Tsung]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn]]-]]]
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* TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople: Fighting to protect Earthrealm caused him to grow way past being a smug Hollywood star in over his head. This particularly true in the rebooted timeline where the significant losses on the heroes side forced him to step up as it's champion against Shinnok.
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** Though he has some of the most brutal [[DeathAsComedy (and comical)]] fatalities, he only kills when it's absolutely necessary. When Shang Tsung orders him to execute Reptile after defeating him, he's aghast at Tsung's ruthlessness and tells him that he's not going to kill him.
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* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}''.
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* WholeCostumeReference: WholeCostumeReference:
** His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in''Film/{{Bloodsport}}''.''Film/{{Bloodsport}}''.
** His Commando costume in ''X'' is based on that of Dutch from ''Film/{{Predator}}''.
** His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in
** His Commando costume in ''X'' is based on that of Dutch from ''Film/{{Predator}}''.
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* YouFightLikeACow: At least in X, he ''constantly'' taunts his opponents. Bad puns, movie references...whatever insult is handy.
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* YouFightLikeACow: At least in X, ''X'' and ''11'', he ''constantly'' taunts his opponents. Bad puns, movie references...whatever insult is handy.
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* NotInTheFace: He does not take it well when he's about to get hit in the face. Best shown when Sonya Blade threatens to punch Cage in the face.
--> '''Sonya:''' You are begging to be punched in the face.\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' No, NO! Not the face.\\
'''Sonya:''' Reverse psychology at its best.
--> '''Sonya:''' You are begging to be punched in the face.\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' No, NO! Not the face.\\
'''Sonya:''' Reverse psychology at its best.
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* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in ''{{Film/Bloodsport}}''.
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* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in ''{{Film/Bloodsport}}''.''Film/{{Bloodsport}}''.
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* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in Film/Bloodsport.
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* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in Film/Bloodsport.''{{Film/Bloodsport}}''.
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* SoreLoser: His younger self at least. When he gets trounced by his much older (and wiser) self in a fight, he tells him that he got lucky and bitterly walks away.
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-> Johnny Cage, born Jonathan Carlton, is a Hollywood movie star. Originally entering the Mortal Kombat tournament to display his fighting skills and prove himself to skeptical movie critics and the movie-viewing public, Cage becomes one of the brave and loyal warriors for Earthrealm.
-> In ''Mortal Kombat'', 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. Not long after that, Cage traveled into Outworld to join the other Earthrealm warriors in ''[=MK2=]''. Defeated, Kahn ordered his forces to hunt down the surviving warriors when he steals the souls of Earth's populace in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3''. Though his comrades managed to make it out alive, Johnny was not so lucky and was killed by Motaro. During the events of ''Trilogy'', he was brought back [[NiceJobFixingItVillain due to his soul being blocked from going to the afterlife]], and fought alongside Earth's warriors until they won, upon which he ascended to Heaven. Raiden brought him back permanently during the events of ''[=MK4=]''. However, Johnny was killed once again during the final assault on the Deadly Alliance's Tarkatan warriors.
-> Later, he is, as well as many other warriors, restored to life one more time by Onaga and made into his slave. Some time later, he was freed from this state by Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang, in time to join the battle of ''Armageddon''.
-> ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' sees Cage have a much more... err... [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold outgoing personality]], but it also makes him much more heroic, being a genuine part of the heroes' team. He also serves as a sort of AudienceSurrogate, as he's one of the few normal humans amidst the FantasyKitchenSink cast. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' it's revealed that he and Sonya have a daughter, Cassie Cage.
-> He would later meet up with his younger self in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' and they're working together to thwart Kronika's EvilPlan.
-> In ''Mortal Kombat'', 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. Not long after that, Cage traveled into Outworld to join the other Earthrealm warriors in ''[=MK2=]''. Defeated, Kahn ordered his forces to hunt down the surviving warriors when he steals the souls of Earth's populace in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3''. Though his comrades managed to make it out alive, Johnny was not so lucky and was killed by Motaro. During the events of ''Trilogy'', he was brought back [[NiceJobFixingItVillain due to his soul being blocked from going to the afterlife]], and fought alongside Earth's warriors until they won, upon which he ascended to Heaven. Raiden brought him back permanently during the events of ''[=MK4=]''. However, Johnny was killed once again during the final assault on the Deadly Alliance's Tarkatan warriors.
-> Later, he is, as well as many other warriors, restored to life one more time by Onaga and made into his slave. Some time later, he was freed from this state by Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang, in time to join the battle of ''Armageddon''.
-> ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' sees Cage have a much more... err... [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold outgoing personality]], but it also makes him much more heroic, being a genuine part of the heroes' team. He also serves as a sort of AudienceSurrogate, as he's one of the few normal humans amidst the FantasyKitchenSink cast. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' it's revealed that he and Sonya have a daughter, Cassie Cage.
-> He would later meet up with his younger self in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' and they're working together to thwart Kronika's EvilPlan.
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-> '''Non-game appearances''': ''Mortal Kombat: The Movie'' (Linden Ashby), ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (Chris Conrad), ''Mortal Kombat: Rebirth''/''Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' (Matt Mullins)
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-> '''Non-game appearances''': ''Mortal Kombat: The Movie'' (Linden Ashby), ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (Chris Conrad), ''Mortal Kombat: Rebirth''/''Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' (Matt Mullins)
Mullins), ''Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge'' (Creator/JoelMcHale)
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* NeverLiveItDown: In-universe, his ''Ninja Mime'' movie is so infamously bad that multiple other kombatants taunt him about how much it sucks. Somehow it eventually got sequels, to the point that over twenty-five years later in ''Mortal Kombat 11'', he's apparently still shooting them. It's such a running joke that whenever a character specifically names a movie Johnny has been in, odds are they'll mention ''Ninja Mime'', and he's got Mime costumes in ''X'' and ''11''.
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* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While he can joke with him occasionally, Johnny takes on an uncharacteristically threatening tone when faced with Kano, warning him with grave seriousness to stay away from his family in ''X'' and ''11''. An attitude that not even Shao Kahn receives.
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* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: His ''Ninja Mime'' movie is so infamously bad that multiple other kombatants taunt him about how much it sucks. Somehow it eventually got sequels, to the point that over twenty-five years later in ''Mortal Kombat 11'', he's apparently still shooting them. It's such a running joke that whenever a character specifically names a movie Johnny has been in, odds are they'll mention ''Ninja Mime'', and he's got Mime costumes in ''X'' and ''11''.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While he can joke with him occasionally, Johnny takes on an uncharacteristically threatening tone when faced with Kano, warning him with grave seriousness to stay away from his family in ''X'' and ''11''. An attitude that not even Shao Kahn receives.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While he can joke with him occasionally, Johnny takes on an uncharacteristically threatening tone when faced with Kano, warning him with grave seriousness to stay away from his family in ''X'' and ''11''. An attitude that not even Shao Kahn receives.
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* NeverLiveItDown: In-universe, his ''Ninja Mime'' movie is so infamously bad that multiple other kombatants taunt him about how much it sucks. Somehow it eventually got sequels, to the point that over twenty-five years later in ''Mortal Kombat 11'', he's apparently still shooting them. It's such a running joke that whenever a character specifically names a movie Johnny has been in, odds are they'll mention ''Ninja Mime'', and he's got Mime costumes in ''X'' and ''11''.
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* WillTheyOrWontThey: In regards to Sonya, [[TheyDo he does.]] Too bad it didn't last.
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* WillTheyOrWontThey: In regards to Sonya, [[TheyDo he does.]] Too bad it [[spoiler:It didn't last.last for a bit but then they got back together]].
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** Taken further in Mortal Kombat X as the Cage family are arguably the main characters of the story. Johnny and Cassie are instrumental in taking down Shinnok, the past segments show signifigant time to Johnny and Sonya, and the present storyline sees Johnny mentoring a small group lead by Cassie.
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** He gives one against Shang Tsung in one of their intros as he finds out he killed Johnny's master.
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** All of that being said, if Joker's interaction with Sub-Zero is indication of anything, he has at least endeared himself to even some of the more serious of his allies. Even someone like Liu Kang will play along with his banter sometimes.
-->'''Joker''': Grandmaster Blueberry Ice, eh?\\
'''Sub-Zero''': Only Johnny Cage may use that name and live.
-->'''Joker''': Grandmaster Blueberry Ice, eh?\\
'''Sub-Zero''': Only Johnny Cage may use that name and live.
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Originally put this in the wrong spot. Fixed.
* LittleNo: In ''11'', after the mission to destroy Liu Kang and Kitana's castle in Chapter 1, Johnny invokes this when he sees the look on Cassie's tear-streaked face and realizes that Sonya perished during the mission.
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* LittleNo: In ''11'', after the mission to destroy Liu Kang and Kitana's castle in Chapter 1, Johnny invokes this when he see the look on Cassie's tear-streaked face and realizes that Sonya perished during the mission.
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* LittleNo: In ''11'', after the mission to destroy Liu Kang and Kitana's castle in Chapter 1, Johnny invokes this when he see the look on Cassie's tear-streaked face and realizes that Sonya perished during the mission.
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Individual Characters: [=Scorpion=] | [[Characters/MortalKombatJohnnyCage Johnny Cage]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn]]-]]]
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Individual Characters: [=Scorpion=] [[Characters/MortalKombatHanzoHasashi Scorpion]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatJohnnyCage Johnny Cage]] [=Johnny Cage=] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn]]-]]]
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!Johnny Cage (Jonathan "John" Carlton)
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[-Spinoffs: [[Characters/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero Mythologies: Sub-Zero]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatSpecialForces Special Forces]]\\
Non-videogame: [[Characters/MortalKombatTheMovie The Movie]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatConquest Conquest]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatDefendersOfTheRealm Defenders of the Realm]]\\
Individual Characters: [=Scorpion=] | [[Characters/MortalKombatJohnnyCage Johnny Cage]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatLiuKang Liu Kang]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatRaiden Raiden]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatKuaiLiang Sub-Zero II]] | [[Characters/MortalKombatShaoKahn Shao Kahn]]-]]]
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!Johnny Cage (Jonathan "John" Carlton)
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!Johnny Cage (Jonathan "John" Carlton)
----
!! Spoilers for ''Mythologies'' will be unmarked
----
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnny_cage.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I make this look easy!"'']]
-> '''Debut game''': ''Mortal Kombat'' (Daniel Pesina)
-> '''Other appearances''': ''Mortal Kombat II'' (Daniel Pesina), ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Mortal Kombat Trilogy]]'' (Chris Alexander), ''Mortal Kombat 4'', ''Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance'' (Robert Keating), ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' (cameo), ''Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'', ''Mortal Kombat 9'' ([[Music/{{Dokken}} Jeff Pilson]]), ''Mortal Kombat X'' (Andrew Bowen, English; Creator/MarioCastaneda, Latin American Spanish), ''Mortal Kombat 11'' (Andrew Bowen, English; Colin Ryan, Face Model; Sergio Bonilla [base voice] and Creator/MarioCastaneda [some pre-patched dialogues], Latin American Spanish)
-> '''Non-game appearances''': ''Mortal Kombat: The Movie'' (Linden Ashby), ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (Chris Conrad), ''Mortal Kombat: Rebirth''/''Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' (Matt Mullins)
-> Johnny Cage, born Jonathan Carlton, is a Hollywood movie star. Originally entering the Mortal Kombat tournament to display his fighting skills and prove himself to skeptical movie critics and the movie-viewing public, Cage becomes one of the brave and loyal warriors for Earthrealm.
-> In ''Mortal Kombat'', 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. Not long after that, Cage traveled into Outworld to join the other Earthrealm warriors in ''[=MK2=]''. Defeated, Kahn ordered his forces to hunt down the surviving warriors when he steals the souls of Earth's populace in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3''. Though his comrades managed to make it out alive, Johnny was not so lucky and was killed by Motaro. During the events of ''Trilogy'', he was brought back [[NiceJobFixingItVillain due to his soul being blocked from going to the afterlife]], and fought alongside Earth's warriors until they won, upon which he ascended to Heaven. Raiden brought him back permanently during the events of ''[=MK4=]''. However, Johnny was killed once again during the final assault on the Deadly Alliance's Tarkatan warriors.
-> Later, he is, as well as many other warriors, restored to life one more time by Onaga and made into his slave. Some time later, he was freed from this state by Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang, in time to join the battle of ''Armageddon''.
-> ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' sees Cage have a much more... err... [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold outgoing personality]], but it also makes him much more heroic, being a genuine part of the heroes' team. He also serves as a sort of AudienceSurrogate, as he's one of the few normal humans amidst the FantasyKitchenSink cast. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' it's revealed that he and Sonya have a daughter, Cassie Cage.
-> He would later meet up with his younger self in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' and they're working together to thwart Kronika's EvilPlan.
Now with a [[SelfDemonstrating/JohnnyCage Self-Demonstrating page]].
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: A-M]]
* AbusiveParents: Implied. He tells his younger self that his father was an asshole and angrily scoffs at his quote about how hungry people eat lunch but humble serve it.
* ActionDad: He's the father of Cassie Cage, one of the new characters in ''X''.
* AgentPeacock: Downplayed, but in ''9'', he proclaims that he's "so pretty!" after a win, and in ''11'', his younger self carries a compact mirror and gets his BerserkButton pressed when he gets grazed in the cheek by a bullet.
* AmazonChaser: Johnny seems to have an attraction to strong women, as evidenced by hitting on many of the female Kombatants. He eventually married Sonya Blade, who's a Special Forces operative and drill sergeant. In MK 11, he admits to having a thing for Edenians and openly expresses an interest in Jade, in particular.
* AmbidextrousSprite: Played with in ''X''. In his normal win pose, he pulls out a marker and autographs an 8x10 of himself, tossing it to his foe. Which hand he writes with is based on which way he's facing. He has separate scenes for writing (the "Cage" portion of "To My Biggest Fan! CAGE") with his right and left; either way, his handwriting is perfectly fine.
* AmicableExes: With Sonya. It appears that it's only on his part and only whenever Cassie is concerned. [[spoiler: Becomes this for real at the end of X, with Sonya actually warming up to him.]]
* AndYouThoughtItWasAGame:
** He starts ''Mortal Kombat 9'' thinking the whole tournament is just elaborate role-play.
** In the movie, he had ''no'' idea what the stakes were in the tournament. He just thought it was a competition to show off his skills and prove that it wasn't wire tricks and stuntmen. By the time he realizes that it's a ''lot'' more than just an ordinary tournament, it's far too late for him to back out.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: He thinks the Outworld warriors are just people in really nice costumes and not interdimensional monsters, yet his reason for participating in Mortal Kombat is because people accuse him of being a fraud who can only look good through movie magic when he wants to show them all his superhuman abilities are entirely his own.
* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Sonya's ''11'' tower ending [[spoiler: had him be recruited for her "God Squad". But only because Cassie insisted. [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther And because she missed him...]] [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial but only a little.]] Don't tell him about that last part though.]]
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Johnny's main defining character trait is his overwhelmingly large ego, tempered by an equally sharp tongue and razor wit. And while it's mostly justified, given he's [[spoiler: the new Earthrealm Champion]] by MK X, it hasn't won him many friends. His daughter Cassie, Jacqui Briggs, and Tak are among the few who seem to ''like'' him.
* AscendedExtra: Years before MKX, if you told MK fans that Johnny Cage would be the new [[{{TheChampion}} champion]] of Earthrealm, you would be called a liar. Yet, here we are. Even if Johnny was a part of the original MK, he was always portrayed as the ButtMonkey to [[TookALevelInBadass one of Earthrealm's finest warriors]]. While the new timeline has been very generous to him, unfortunately most of his friends got killed as a result.
* AscendedGlitch:
** In the first game, a glitch allowed Johnny to perform his decapitation fatality uppercut multiple times, knocking off at least 2 heads of his opponent. It was kept (and the ante upped by guaranteeing ''three'' heads were sent flying) for ''2'' and ''Trilogy'', but dropped ever since.
** It does come back in a BreakingTheFourthWall way in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11''; at first it seems he's just going to do his regular deadly uppercut (which does shatter his victim's jaw, to his credit) before a director offscreen yells cut. Cue him getting more and more frustrated as he performs the move twice more (for a total of three like the [=MK2=] and Trilogy versions) before tossing the opponent's now decapitated head at the camera and breaking it.
* BackForTheDead: His eventual fate in ''Annihilation'', courtesy of Shao Kahn.
* BackFromTheDead: ''Constantly'' in the original timeline. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when, prior to joining the battle against the ''Deadly Alliance'', he was (unwillingly) starting to film ''Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage'', in which he was repeatedly killed and brought back to life. [[spoiler: Finally subverted in ''9'', as he manages to survive a plot where most of the major characters die. Played straight when he is almost close to death in ''X'' and is saved thanks to Raiden and Sonya's efforts at meddling with Quan Chi's necromancy.]]
* BadassBoast: From the story mode of ''9'':
--> '''Johnny Cage:''' Fans think my moves are all wire work and special effects. Truth is... ''I am the special effects.''
* BadassInANiceSuit:
** Prior to the events in ''Deadly Alliance,'' he arrives on Shang Tsung's Island dressed in a tux via parachute. He also has one as an alternate in ''4'', ''Deadly Alliance'' and ''Armageddon''.
** In ''9'', he comes to the first tournament wearing a tuxedo with a loosened bow tie that also serves as his alternate.
* BadassInDistress: Towards the end of ''Mortal Kombat X'', [[spoiler:he's captured by Shinnok and D'Vorah, and spends the rest of the game in a cocoon with maggots slowly eating his face. It takes Cassie beating them both down to save him.]]
* BerserkButton:
** In the first movie. Goro should not have crushed those $500 pair of shades. That, and killing off Johnny's friend.
** ''MKX'' implies he's sensitive to remarks about his movie career.
-->'''Mileena:''' The failed actor.\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' I'm gonna take my awards and ''shove 'em through your skull!''\\
'''Mileena:''' [[LampshadeHanging Touchy, aren't we?]]
** In ''11'', his younger self snaps when he gets grazed by a bullet and it leaves a [[NotInTheFace gash on his cheek]].
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Sure, Cage may seem like a wisecracking goofball, but disregard him at your own peril. And mellowed out he may be in ''X'', but threaten his loved ones and he'll gain a new SuperMode and NoSell an ''[[PhysicalGod Elder God's]]'' attacks and then ''wipe the floor with him!''
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' Mr. Briggs, I presume.\\
'''Jax:''' You always gotta be a fool?\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' Alright. [[LetsGetDangerous Let's get serious.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: The first chapter of ''MKX'' has him not only beat up Sub-Zero and Scorpion, but he also manages to not only NoSell Shinnok's amulet and save Sonya, but also beat up said fallen Elder God and help Raiden seal him away in his own amulet! And people wonder how he's the new Champion of Earthrealm...
* BondOneLiner: Johnny pieces one together after beating Kano at the end of his chapter in ''[=MK9=]'', although he's a little unsure about it because he can't really do Australian.
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' Throw that on your...barbie...shrimp... ''(Shrug)''
* BornLucky:
** While other combatants can justify their special powers with reasons going from TrainingFromHell or being {{Physical God}}s, sorcerers or {{Ninja}}s[=/=]{{McNinja}}s; Johnny Cage has no background for how he got his energy blasts, he's simply naturally gifted.
** In ''9'', it's revealed that he is descended from a [[BadassNormal Mediterranean warrior cult who bred fighters for the gods.]] Yet, despite that, it is made even more obvious how his powers are so natural; Johnny initially is in disbelief about the whole Mortal Kombat and other realms thing, and yet he doesn't mention or see his powers as being equally unbelievable. Also, the whole reason he's there is because of people calling him out and saying he's all flash with no substance. He insists that his energy powers are legit and will prove it at the Mortal Kombat tournament... yet thinks nothing of them in spite of that.
* BoxOfficeBomb: InUniverse. His film debut, ''Ninja Mime'', which also doubles as an OldShame. Even ''Cyrax'' hates the film and wants his money back. ''Ninja Mime'' is a CultClassic in France though.
* {{Brainwashed}}: To serve Onaga in ''Deception''.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Corrupted under the Blood Code in the MKX comics thanks to Jacqui.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Johnny can summon a stunt double in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' (and not just a shadow clone like he did in the "Stunt Double" variation in ''X'' but an actual lookalike) to attack or hold his opponent down, can accidentally bump into a boom mic between rounds, and his first Fatality has him try to knock his opponent's head off with his classic uppercut Fatality but it goes wrong, resulting in the ''director calling for a retake''. He tries two more times ([[MythologyGag like his hidden "Triple Uppercut" Fatality from II]]) before his opponent's head gets stuck on his hand (by virtue of it having already lost the jaw two punches ago) and he throws the decapitated head towards the camera out of frustration.
-->'''Johnny Cage''': Who hired this guy? What the f***?
* BrokenWinLossStreak: With Kitana, apparently.
-->'''Kitana''': "I have bested you before."
-->'''Johnny Cage''': "I was being nice, those... ten times."
* ButtMonkey: Rendered as such after ''II'', likely as punishment for his actor (Daniel Pesina) advertising a rival game, ''VideoGame/BloodStorm'', while in full costume. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBatReTSCU Even the dev team doesn't take him seriously.]] Finally seems to be outgrowing this as of ''X''.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Blames Sonya's job for their divorce. [[spoiler:They manage to patch things up between ''X'' and ''11'' when he becomes more directly involved with Special Forces.]]
* CaptainErsatz: Started as one of Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme in the first game, being directly modelled on his appearance in {{Film/Bloodsport}}, complete with the [[GroinAttack Split Punch]]. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn This has largely disappeared in subsequent games.]]
* CastingAShadow: Johnny's Stunt Double variation has him able to use some of his moves in a safe distance, and keeping him away from trouble. However, the shadow "stunt doubles" or "mimics" as the game refers to them are yellow instead of his usual green.
* TheCasanova: While his luck with other kombatants is low, Cage is capable of getting women, if one dialogue with Kano is any indication:
--> '''Kano''': "If it's tail ya want, I can get that."\\
'''Johnny''': "Johnny Cage doesn't pay for it, Kano!"\\
'''Kano''': "A scruple?! Note the date and time."
* CasanovaWannabe:
** Towards Sonya in the first chapter of ''9'':
--> "I'm taking you down, I'm taking you down, I'm taking you out, I'm taking you out, and ''[approaches Sonya]'' I'm taking you out... for dinner."
** Johnny also flirts with Jade during their pre-fight banter in MK 11:
-->'''Johnny''': ''(smirking)'' "My green magic, ''your'' green outfit...?"\\
'''Jade''': ''(smirks back and chuckles)'' "[[HAHAHANo By the gods, no.]]"\\
'''Johnny''': Your loss, sweetheart.
** Kitana, too, is much less impressed.
-->'''Johnny''': Johnny Cage. Is. [[Film/TheManchurianCandidate The Edenian Candidate]].\\
'''Kitana''': [[NoJustNoReaction By the gods, no.]]
** Add Frost to his list of would-be "Konquests," though she isn't as kind about it as Jade:
-->'''Frost''': "Do not even ''[[DoYouWantToCopulate think it]]'' Johnny Cage."\\
'''Johnny''': ''(smirking)'' "Admit it, you ''know'' it's crossed your mind."\\
'''Frost''': "I am NOT interested."
** Not even Elder Gods are immune:
-->'''Johnny:''' You thinking what I'm thinking?\\
'''Cetrion:''' That you are a vapid, arrogant child?\\
'''Johnny:''' Don't let that stop you.
* TheChampion: In the comics, Kotal Kahn refers to him as Raiden's, effectively replacing the late Liu Kang.
* CharacterDevelopment: He's introduced in ''9'' as an insufferable, showboating and self-aggrandizing movie star, and over the course of the game, turns out to be a surprisingly loyal friend, and the [[TheHeart conscience]] of the team. The sequel takes it up a notch and reveals him to be a [[GoodParents doting and loving father]], a supportive mentor to an entire generation of heroes, and a visibly more mature guy overall, a very far cry from the shallow Hollywood caricature of the old games.
** Based on his ending in ''11'', after defeating Shinnok, [[spoiler:he had returned to Hollywood, obviously having Cassie with Sonya during that time, but soon spiraled out of control and hit rock bottom. In order to be a be a better father to Cassie, he cleaned up his act and became the man she looked up to by ''X''. Past!Johnny lampshades this as he could remove this part of his history in his ending, but he would never be the man that Present!Johnny is without the hardships.]]
* TheCharmer: Mediates successfully with [[spoiler:Kotal Kahn]] to defuse a tense standoff in the comics.
* ChronicallyKilledActor: In the most literal way possible.
* CombatPragmatist: In the movie, he realizes that going toe to toe with Goro would be suicide, so he uses strategy to outmaneuver him. Then there's his GroinAttack.
* CoolOldGuy: He's 54 in Mortal Kombat X (as he was 29 for the first tournament), so this qualifies. He's pretty easygoing and always ready with the witty repartee, and a supportive mentor to the next generation.
* CoolShades:
** While they were always part of his character, with official art always depicting him wearing shades, he only started wearing them during fights from ''Trilogy'' onwards.
** In the first movie, he values them more than any worldly possession. Then Goro broke them, and [[BerserkButton the rest is history]]:
---> "[[MyFavoriteShirt Those were five-hundred-dollar sunglasses, asshole!]]"
** In his ''9'' victory pose, his shades break in half. No problem: he just takes out a brand new pair and puts them on!
** In ''11'', his shades are customizable via gear and evidently come with a self destruct mechanism as seen in one of his brutalities.
* CoolTeacher: Helps in training Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda and Kung Jin in [=MKX=].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Looks every bit of a {{muggle|s}}, and acts like a {{jerkass}}, but he can hold his own against all kinds of enemies, including Tarkatans, cyborgs, {{physical god}}s, sorcerers, etc.
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** In the rebooted timeline, he's the focus of the first chapter of both games.
** By ''Mortal Kombat 11'', he's the focus of Chapter 6.
* DeadGuyPuppet: One of his Fatalities in ''[=MK11=]'' involves him shoving his arm into his opponent's body and tearing off their torso. And then [[RefugeInAudacity he starts using it in a ventriloquist act]], complete with a DramaticSpotlight!
-->'''"Opponent"''': What did you do, Johnny? \\
'''Johnny''': Just what you asked! \\
'''"Opponent"''': Not what I meant by "[[{{Pun}} the splits]]"!\\
''([[LamePunReaction Crowd boos Johnny]] and [[ProducePelting throws tomatoes at him, with one of them hitting the corpse]])''
* DeadpanSnarker: Seems to be this at first, in tone with his [[Film/MortalKombat movie self]], as seen in ''[=MK9=]''. And [[{{VideoGame/MortalKombatX}} 25 years later]], he still got it.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In [[Awesome/MortalKombatX his finest hour]], Johnny Cage defeated [[GodOfEvil Shinnok]].
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: The first chapter in ''X'' hints at this as he [[spoiler:[[TakingTheBullet takes an intented killshot from Shinnok to protect Sonya]] and comes out unscathed, all while glowing his usual green. His immediate reaction quickly tells that he was clearly not expecting to come away standing.]]
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Because of his crass personality, the temporally-displaced characters [[CassandraTruth don't believe that he defeated Shinnok]].
-->'''Kitana:''' So you were to defeat Shinnok?\\
'''Johnny:''' What is with people!? Is it so hard to believe!?\\
'''Kitana:''' [[BluntYes Yes]].\\\
'''Johnny:''' Once upon a time, I beat Shinnok!\\
'''Shang Tsung:''' My, what a ''colorful'' imagination...\\
'''Johnny:''' Look it up! I laid him out!
* EmbarrassingNickname: His intro dialogue with his Daughter in '''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'''
-->'''Johnny Cage:'''Grandma Carlton told you my secret?\\
'''Cassie Cage:'''(chuckle) Johnny Pee-Pants?\\
'''Johnny Cage:'''I had one accident. ONE!
* EveryoneHasStandards:
** [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface's]] [[FacialHorror "mask"]] disgusts him to the point that [[SarcasmFailure he can't even joke about it]].
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' What's that on your fa-- [[ScreamingAtSquick OHHHHH!]]\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' ...That's just really fucked up, man.
** And despite his penchant for hitting on women, even he draws the line at Mileena (in MK X) and D'Vorah and Scarlet in MK 11. In Mileena's case, it's because she's part Tarkatan and ''a cannibal'', whereas D'Vorah and Scarlet both creep him out.
-->'''D'Vorah''': Why not come closer?\\
'''Johnny''': You are ''not'' [[spoiler:sucking my face like Mileena's!]]\\
'''D'Vorah''': Johnny Cage, [[spoiler:afraid of a kiss?]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In ''9'', he spends his first few fights goofing off, preening and grandstanding, hitting on Sonya, and generally making an ass of himself... [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold but is horrified when Shang Tsung demands he "finish" a fallen opponent]].
* FakeUltimateHero: Dips into this from time to time.
** ''Armageddon'' tries to take the "fake" part out, by having him being the first of the heroes to see Shinnok back into the scene, and then rallying the band of heroes for the final battle. His (non-canonical) ending states that he gained superior strength and dexterity, but more important, a new insight into his existence. With the help of Shaolin masters, he renounced his superficial former life and became enlightened.
** Subverted in the alternate timeline. The first time is in MKX's Story mode, [[spoiler: where he defeated ''Shinnok'' by sending his amulet to Raiden so he can have the fallen Elder God sealed in]] and the second time in the MKX prequel comics, [[spoiler: where he succesfully defuses a tense standoff with Kotal Kahn, with the latter even respectfully calling him 'champion'.]]
* FanserviceWithASmile: He's always been [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] and smiling since the original ''Mortal Kombat''.
* FightingClown: His Ninja Mime skins in ''X'' and ''11'' make him a literal example, but he always has a couple of silly attacks in his fighting style, including using trophies, stunt doubles and cameras. And that's not even getting into his constant snark.
* TheFightingNarcissist: A rare heroic example. In brief, he's full of himself, cocky and arrogant, but he really is THAT good a fighter, and he's possibly the game's most moral, selfless hero. And he is undoubtedly one of the good guys.
* FightingWithChucks: In ''Deadly Alliance'', ''Deception'' and ''Armageddon''.
* FlippingTheBird: His first Fatality in ''11'' ends with him discreetly flipping off the camera as he chucks his opponent's decapitated head towards it.
* FreudianExcuse: An interaction with his past self reveals that his self-absorbed and conceited behavior is was the result of having an AbusiveDad who spoiled him with his Hollywood fame.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes:
** Zig-Zagged. His part in saving the world on more than one occasion means he enjoys a fair deal of respect, especially from the younger generation of heroes and particularly Cassie who [[DaddysGirl adores him]]. However, his boisterous personality and penchant for lame jokes and puns at the expense of others tends to earn him a lot of flak in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. This is particularly prevalent in MKX. Skarlet {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this in ''11''. However, by the time of ''X'' and ''11'', this mainly seems to apply to intros due to RuleOfFunny since Johnny is noticably OlderAndWiser and doesn't really behave obnoxiously or invite derision from his allies in the story mode.
-->'''Sub-Zero:''' You approach me as a foe...\\
'''Johnny:''' Nah, I'm just outta ice cubes.\\
'''Sub-Zero:''' At times, I regret our alliance.
-->'''Raiden:''' You followed me.\\
'''Johnny:''' You need me here!\\
'''Raiden:''' Has '''anyone''' agreed with that statement?!
-->'''Skarlet''': I will have your ancient power.\\
'''Johnny''': Not what I call it, but, uh... okay.\\
'''Skarlet''': [[PrepareToDie No one will miss you, Cage.]]
** In ''11'', nobody - not even himself - likes his past self, dues to being Johnny Cage at his worst, pre- CharacterDevelopment point. Future Johnny's reaction to his younger self boasting about sleeping with Sonya loud enough for her, Jacqui, Cass and everyone else in the room to hear is to unleash a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to try and teach him a bit of humility.
-->'''Johnny:''' Come on, do you really like Future Johnny better?\\
'''Jacqui:''' Name someone who ''doesn't''.
* FullNameBasis: He screams "JOHNNY CAGE!" after winning a round or winning a ''Test Your Might/Strike/Sight'' minigame.
* GallowsHumor: [[spoiler:After being stabbed by the revenant Jax as he lies bleeding out when Sonya tells him he'll be ok.]]
--> '''Johnny:''' [[spoiler:I don't know. I think blood is supposed to be on the inside.]]
* GoodParents: [[DaddysGirl Cassie]] adores him, and [[HiddenDepths surprisingly]], he turns out to be possibly the best dad in the [=MK=]-verse by a long shot. Only Jax even comes close.
* GroinAttack:
** His "Split Punch" signature attack, a special move where he does the splits and plants his fist directly into his opponent's crotch. It wouldn't work on Sonya in the first game or on Kitana, Jade and Mileena in the second game, probably because of the common misconception that women somehow wouldn't be harmed by it. It also couldn't be used on bosses either. Later games remove those limitations and now it affects women and bosses just fine.
** One of his Fatalities in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatShaolinMonks'' is a series of punches to the stones, ending with one last punch that hits so hard, the victim's legs pop off of their torso.
** Also, the first part of his X-Ray move in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' is a three-punch combo to the groin. ''Ouch''.
** It also has a Brutality version in MKX, wherein it either pops the victim's head off, or causes their ''eyes to pop out''.
** And then there's his memorable use of the move on ''Goro'' in the movie.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: His Torso Rip fatality.
** In ''Shaolin Monks'', he has a [[FinishingMove fatality]] where he ''will'' punch the opponent in [[GroinAttack the groin]] several times, mugs for the camera, punches the groin for a bit like a speed bag, and then does one final monster punch that pulverises the entire pelvic region, effectively cutting the unlucky victim in half.
** His Stunt Double variation in X has a Brutality that does the same with the Shadow Kick.
** ''11'' brings back the torso rip, now with a decidedly comedic twist, as mentioned under DeadGuyPuppet above.
* HasAType: In MK 11, Johnny admits there's two types of women he likes: blondes (like Sonya) and he likes Edenians. In one of his pre-fight banters with Jade, Johnny makes it clear that [[DoYouWantToCopulate he's interested.]] A separate one has him tell Jade that he once dated a beauty queen who looked exactly like her. And, if you use Johnny to fight Kotal Khan, he'll ask Kotal if he knows whether Jade has any sisters.
* GuileHero: For all his goofiness, Cage is smarter than he looks: his defeat of Goro in TheMovie was reliant almost entirely on cunning tactical maneuvering, as he lures the Shokan to a cliff and ambushes him, [[DisneyVillainDeath knocking him to his doom.]]
* TheHeart: Believe it or not. Cage may be a pompous ass, but he's genuinely a nice guy underneath, and of all the heroes he's the one that fights for the good guys just because it's the right thing to do. He also may love to kick ass, but he's horrified when asked to kill his defeated opponent by Shang Tsung. During the course of the Story Mode in ''[=MK9=]'', he pretty much becomes the team's moral center. Becomes even more notable in MKX when paired with the stricter Sonya, [[spoiler:keeping her from giving into her desire to kill Kano so that they can get info out of him and getting her to talk to Cassie less as a commander and more like a mother in spite of them having already split up on bad terms.]]
* TheHero: Takes up the position in the flashbacks of Mortal Kombat X to the point where [[spoiler:he's singlehandedly responsible for Shinnok's defeat.]]
* HeroicWillpower: Even more than Sonya. This guy [[spoiler:spent last quarter of ''X'' wrapped up in a cocoon with maggots trying to ''eat him alive''... ''and his sanity was still intact after all of it.'' Seriously.]]
* HiddenDepths:
** Johnny was always insufferably arrogant but consistently proved himself a decent person when push came to shove. A large part of his CharacterDevelopment involves him blunting his arrogance while emphasizing his more heroic qualities.
** There are hints that all his years in the film industry have made him business savvy in ''11''.
** He can also be surprisingly deep at times, as evident in one of his banter lines with Shang Tsung:
---> '''Johnny:''' Every man dies, but not every man really ''lives.''
* HumblePie: [[spoiler:Johnny's Tower Ending in ''11'' vaguely hints to a key moment post-Shinnok that truly changed Johnny from the Hollywood glory hound to the true Champion of Earthrealm and supportive father/father figure he was in ''X'' and onward.]]
* {{Hunk}}: Sure, he may be egotistical, but you can't deny his good looks. ''He'' certainly won't.
* IHatePastMe: Has [[JustForPun shades]] of this when he runs into his younger self in ''11''. Johnny is fully aware of what an egotistical asshole he used to be and the older and far more mature Cage Senior is incredibly frustrated with his younger self's ArrogantKungFuGuy attitude. He even refers to his younger self as his evil twin.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: ''11'' adds an arsenal of silly weapons for him to use in combat, including trophies, cameras with the flash on, stunt doubles, and in one Brutality, a boom mic.
* InsaneTrollLogic: He is flabbergasted how Shao ''Kahn'' is not a ''Shokan'' (to Shao's annoyed bewilderment), even claiming to lose sleep over it.
* IllTakeThatAsACompliment: This exchange between Johnny and Sonya in the first film:
-->'''Sonya:''' ''[after Johnny tells her that he is facing Goro]'' Oh, I can't believe this! You are the most egotistical, self-deluded person I have ever met! \\
'''Johnny:''' Yeah, well you forgot good-looking.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: During Jax's chapter in ''9'', Johnny, Raiden, and Jax find themselves stuck at the Kombat Armory, when he probes Jax's relationship with Sonya.[[note]]Mind you, Jax and co. are mulling around Outworld looking for her whereabouts, as Sonya is ''scheduled for execution'' as they speak[[/note]] Johnny, being himself, makes his intentions with Sonya a little less than subtle. This prompts Jax to challenge Johnny to a fight right there and then. However, afterwards, he brushes it off later and even good-naturedly jokes about it after they find Sonya. By the time of ''[=MKX=]'', he has mellowed out almost to the point of being a straight up NiceGuy.
* JerkassRealization:
** Outright admits to how much of a ass he has been while chewing out his younger self.
-->'''Past!Johnny:''' Dad always said, "Hungry people eat lunch, humble people serve it."\\
'''Present!Johnny:''' Dad was an asshole! Hollywood made us an even ''bigger'' one!
** Past!Johnny goes through one himself, albeit in more understated fashion after his Sonya saves his life, both thanking her as well as sincerely apologizing for being the way he was.
* KangaroosRepresentAustralia: He turns into one to kick his opponent off screen as an Animality in ''MK Trilogy''.
* KillSteal: Interrupts Kung Lao before he can finish off Goro in ''Shaolin Monks'', then he throws his fist in the air in celebration.
* LargeHam: Expected from an actor, of action movies no less.
* LetsGetDangerous: whilst fighting a brainwashed Jacqui in the comics:
-->'''Johnny:''' All righty. Glasses on... (Shadow Kicks Jacqui) ...gloves off.
* MadeOfIron: Johnny has proven to be a glutton for punishment on multiple occasions. Most notable in ''11'', where Past Johnny is forced to fight Past Sonya, but takes it in stride, ''orders'' Sonya to beat the shit out of him and refuses to take a dive, all because he ''knows'' Kano better than to be even the slightest bit fair with them.
* MeaningfulName: It's probably more than coincidence that Kage in Japanese means shadow and Johnny Cage is the master of many "shadow" techniques himself.
* TheMerch: As of ''11'', Johnny Cage now sports an action figure of himself on his person he whips out for brutalities and a win pose.[[note]]And apparently has had these on the market for a long time, as the one he uses has "Cass" written on the sole of one of its feet, meaning it belonged to his daughter as a child[[/note]]
* MrFanservice: He's an action movie star who's always been [[WalkingShirtlessScene bare-chested]]. Slightly averted in ''X'', where he spends the game dressed either in a military uniform or pants and a hoodie [[spoiler: and has his face chewed up by D'Vorah's maggots.]] However, his bare-chested primary costume from ''9'' is an [[AndYourRewardIsClothes unlockable]], and he answers the door for Sonya in the [=MKX=] comics in ''nothing but a towel''. ''Enough said.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder: N-Z]]
* NiceGuy: By the time of ''11'', he has become one. The older Johnny has completely mellowed out to the point that he and Sonya have got back together and he has zero moments during story mode where his ego gets in the way and remains a supportive and loving husband and father. In fact, he takes it upon himself to teach his own younger self some manners and humility.
* TheNicknamer: Constantly in the pre-battle dialogues in ''Mortal Kombat X'', usually via [[PopCulturedBadass an insulting movie reference]]. He clearly knows everyone's names, and will sometimes even address them properly, he just enjoys being a comical ass at the expense of his opponent--in other words, it's completely in character.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While he can joke with him occasionally, Johnny takes on an uncharacteristically threatening tone when faced with Kano, warning him with grave seriousness to stay away from his family in ''X'' and ''11''. An attitude that not even Shao Kahn receives.
* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: Despite being put through the wringer during the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', Johnny does eventually hook up with Sonya, as evidenced by their daughter Cassie Cage appearing in ''MKX''. They were married for a while, but divorced some time before that game began due to Sonya being MarriedToTheJob. ''11'' has them back together, [[spoiler: only for Sonya to die in the first chapter in a HeroicSacrifice. Past!Sonya's chapter implies they can still end up together after she saves Past!Johnny's life.]]
* OffWithHisHead:
** His classic Fatality, in which Cage delivers a savage uppercut that tears his opponent's head off.
** The intro of ''[=MK9=]'' inverts this: [[spoiler:he's shown decapitated]].
* OhCrap: When against [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason]] [[ShownTheirWork and with good reason.]]
--> ''Ohh... freak.''
* OlderSidekick: To his daughter in [=MK11=] and he is completely cool with it.
* OurAncestorsAreSuperheroes: Johnny's [[AllThereInTheManual bio]] in ''9'' reveals that he is descended from a race of superhuman warriors who were bred as champions for the gods.
* TheOneThingIDontHateAboutYou: Every interaction with Johnny and Kano have them trading insults with each other, but Johnny respects the fact that Kano has a showman's instinct for his "fans" by situating a fight club in Russia.
* PapaWolf: Joins Sonya in Outworld to rescue Cassie in the [=MKX=] comics and has to be restrained by ''Sonya'' from throttling Kano after he makes a snide jab about her fate.
* PersonAsVerb: Tried this with himself in ''Shaolin Monks'' and ''[=MK9=]''. "You just got ''Caged''!"
* PluckyComicRelief: Unquestionably fills this role for the series.
* PopCulturedBadass: Comes out full force with ''Mortal Kombat X''. [[JustifiedTrope It's only natural for an actor with superpowers.]] Of note is his first Fataility, where he reenacts [[Film/TheShining Jack Torrance's break in]] with his enemy's chest and his bare hands. "Heeeeeeere's ''Johnny!''"
* PowerIncontinence: His ending in ''9''. [[spoiler:His body begins to emit large, destructive bursts of energy in uncontrollable spasms, and neither Raiden nor Nightwolf are able to soothe them. Eventually, Raiden takes Johnny Cage to Seido to control his powers, which will result in him [[TookALevelInBadass becoming more powerful than humanly imaginable.]]]]
* ThePowerOfLove: In VideoGame/MortalKombatX it's theorized that his SuperMode is powered by the desire to protect a loved one, hence why he can't use it on command.
* PrecisionFStrike: Originally, he didn't swear much. In ''XL'', however, he has a few rare intro quotes against Leatherface and Triborg where he lets a few f-bombs fly. By ''11'', he more liberally incorporates swearing into his dialogue.
-->'''Against Triborg''': "Is it mechanically possible for you to ''fuck'' yourself?"
-->'''Against Leatherface''': "Dude, that's just really fucked up."
* PungeonMaster: In the Movie, he is particularly prone to {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s, to the point that he's basically the [[PluckyComicRelief comic relief]] of the film. Possibly referenced with his intros in Mortal Kombat X, with some of them involving puns.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: His squad in [=MKX=] consists of two Special Forces operatives (one of them being his daughter with Sonya), a Shirai Ryu ninja and a Shaolin archer. He has his work cut out for him. And as Jacqui points out, Team S-F was ''his'' idea.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's quite laidback and approachable with the kids, contrasting Sonya's more hardline approach.
* RedHerringShirt:
** Johnny Cage [[spoiler: survives]] the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''. Keep in mind that in every form of media he's been in ''(the films, the games and even In-Universe in a role he refused to take part in)'', he dies in some form or fashion.
** In ''[=MKX=]'', [[spoiler:he comes close to dying in the finale, but ultimately pulls through.]]
** ''Mortal Kombat 11'' [[spoiler: does this to both Johnny Cages. Present!Johnny is shot in the legs at the end of Chapter 6 and is taken out of commission for the remainder of the story. Past!Johnny is often held at gunpoint obviously risking Cassie's life as well. He is also out of commission for the remainder of the story after being rescued.]]
* RippleEffectIndicator: In ''11'', younger Johnny gets grazed in the face by a bullet, causing pain and a scar to show up on older Johnny's cheek in the exact same spot
* TheRival: Of Goro. [[RetCanon Becomes canon]] after the movie.
* RunningGag: Johnny is the victim of three gags in MK 11.
** The main one is that hardly anyone can believe he (of [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass all people]]) [[spoiler: defeated Shinnok]]. In most cases, Johnny brushes it off with good humor, or a sarcastic retort. But when even Kitana says it, Johnny becomes exasperated and asks: "Is it ''really'' THAT HARD to believe??" to which, Kitana replies, "Yes."
** MK 11 also reveals that he's attracted to Edenian women, by having him hit on both Kitana and Jade. Both shoot him down with the exact same line: "By the gods, no."
** He also tries to get the others to act in his films, but each of them turns him down either because they say his films suck, or simply because they'd have to put up with him.
-->'''Scorpion''': "The answer is, "No."
-->'''Johnny''': ''(enthused)'' "But you'd be co-starring [[ComicallyMissingThePoint with yours truly!"]]
-->'''Scorpion''': ''([[DeadpanSnarker deadpan]])'' [[TheFriendNobodyLikes "Exactly."]]
* SharpDressedMan: His alts. in ''4'', ''Deadly Alliance'', ''Armageddon'', and ''9''.
* ShipTease: Especially in the first movie, towards Sonya. In ''[=MK9=]'', he [[CasanovaWannabe tries to conquer her]]. As ''Mortal Kombat X'' shows, he succeeded in wooing Sonya, as their daughter is a playable character.
* {{Shotoclone}}: He has it all: a projectile (Plasmic Bolt), an anti-air uppercut (Green Shadow Uppercut) and a straight attack (His Shadow Kicks).
* ShoutOut:
** His ''[=MKX=]'' fatality has him pulling the "Heeeeeeeere's JOHNNY!" line from ''[[Film/TheShining The Shining]]'', except instead of through a busted door it's through his enemy's torso.
** When he faces off against the Film/{{Alien}}, he says "IT'S GAME OVER, MAN!"
-->(to Ermac): [[Film/TheMummyReturns "The mummy returns."]]
** One of his quotes when he's in a match against himself
-->'''Johnny Cage 1''': Is this for real?\\
'''Johnny Cage 2''': How many of us are there?\\
'''Johnny Cage 1''': "[[Film/{{Highlander}} There can be only one]]!"
* ShutUpHannibal:
** In an intro against Shinnok, Johnny cuts him off and tells him to shut up when Shinnok is asserting a threat at him.
** In the comics, Johnny himself is on the receiving end of this when Jacqui (under the Blood Code) cold-cocks him mid-sentence.
* SilverFox: Jacqui seems to think so, much to Cassie's chagrin. To be fair, he ''is'' pretty good-looking for a man in his fifties.
* SituationalDamageAttack: All the way through the series, Johnny Cage can use his notorious [[GroinAttack Nut Punch]]. Until ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'', this attack had no effect on female fighters, possibly due to the erroneous assumption that groin attacks aren't painful to women.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Johnny trades verbal jabs with nearly the entire cast, usually because he's [[TheGadfly the one who starts it.]] Most try to ignore his comments, but ex-wife and his daughter won't hesitate to [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame return "fire".]]
-->'''Johnny''': ''(at Sonya)'' "Talk to me."
-->'''Sonya''': ''(ties her hair back)'' "You'd have to shut up first."
-->{{Beat}}
-->'''Johnny''': "You're right. Fighting it is."
* SpamAttack: In his "Fisticuffs" variation in ''X'', he can infinitely perform his variation's unique string ("The One-Two") by continuing the string input (b+1, 2, 1, 2...).
* SpannerInTheWorks: Shinnok's plans in ''X'' didn't take him into consideration. [[spoiler:When Shinnok escapes his prison, he's much more savvy and takes Johnny with him to suffer some ColdBloodedTorture.]]
* SpeedEchoes: Several of his Shadow moves have this effect.
* StacysMom: A rare male example, as mentioned during one of Jacqui and Cassie's intro dialogues in ''MKX''.
-->'''Cassie:''' [[NoJustNoReaction Don't speak to me ever.]]\\
'''Jacqui:''' I just said your dad's kinda hot.\\
'''Cassie:''' ''Stop it!''
* StanceSystem:
** In ''Deadly Alliance'', he has Jeet Kune Do and Karate as unarmed styles, and Nunchaku as weapon style.
** In ''Deception'', he replaces Karate with Shinto Ryu.
** In ''Armageddon'', he has Shorin Ryu as unarmed style, and Nunchaku as weapon style.
** In ''X'', his variations are [[ChargedAttack A-List,]] [[ScratchDamage Fisticuffs]] and [[DoppelgangerAttack Stunt Double.]]
* StrongerWithAge: In [=MK11=], his older version is significantly tougher than his younger one.
* TakingTheBullet: In ''X'', he saves Sonya from being attacked by Shinnok by jumping in front of her. He then proceeds to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kick Shinnok's ass.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Canonically six feet tall, and one of the series' poster boys for male fanservice.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Thanks to the pre-fight banter system of ''X'', we find out that he's also not above sassing everyone he comes across, either with smartmouthed comebacks or just plain getting on their nerves. Watching [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC1YCpEWhQE a rundown of his exchanges]] could be summed up as "Johnny Cage is a dick to the Mortal Kombat universe." Turned up to 11 in... well, ''11'' as we don't just have the older Johnny Cage, but we now have dialogue featuring the younger Johnny Cage.
* TeamDad: While the older generation of Kombatants tend to find Johnny obnoxious, the new Special Forces members in MKX get along with him rather well, better than with the stricter Sonya Blade.
* ThatCameOutWrong: One of his pre-fight intros in ''11'' presumably has his younger self try and compliment Cassie... in a way that made it sound like [[{{Squick}} he was hitting on her.]] Cass does not appreciate this, and Johnny is quick to explain that no, he does not want to flirt with his adult daughter.
* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Johnny dies in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'', temporarily resurrected in ''Trilogy'' (meaning that he's dead again at the end), resurrected in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' reveals that he doesn't survive the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'' and the aftermath of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', dies in the second Mortal Kombat movie, and even rejects a role in the movie "The Death of Johnny Cage" in ''Deadly Alliance'' ''(even [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] that he was tired of starring in roles where he died and came back to life again)''. Surprisingly, given his track record, [[spoiler: he survives the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''Videogame/MortalKombatX'']]!
* ThouShaltNotKill: In 9, he's shown to be against killing his enemies, refusing to kill Baraka after defeating him in the tournament. He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] one of the most well-known concepts of this game - Fatalities - in that scene; when Shang Tsung tells him to "Finish him" after winning during the story, he says, "Finish him? Heh. Yeah right."
* TheTimeTravelersDilemma: [[spoiler:His Tower Ending in ''11'' puts younger Johnny up against this, realizing the events that made him a better person in the future won't happen without him suffering the bad with the good. He thus opts to follow the same path...[[CloseEnoughTimeline most]][[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong ly.]]]]
* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Gains a SuperMode when he saves Sonya from Shinnok. That results in him [[PowerGlows glowing with shadow energy]], allowing him to ''NoSell Shinnok's attacks!''
* TookALevelInBadass: After learning that his bloodline originates from a Mediterranean tribe of warriors who were infused with the power of the gods, he takes fighting a lot more seriously after he learns to control it.
* TookALevelInKindness: Apart from the occasional quip, he seems to have mellowed out significantly by the time of ''X'', and while he still has a bit of an ego, it's not as big as it was in previous games. By the time of ''11'', his mellowing out is complete since Sonya had reconciled with him and Cassie.
* TurnsRed: Literally in MKX. Going into critical health turns all his shadow moves red and gives them a damage boost. Doubles as a DesperationAttack.
* UnfazedEveryman: During his chapter in ''9''[='s=] story mode. Also doubles as the AudienceSurrogate for those new to the series, as he's just as out-of-the-loop as newcomers probably will be.
* VitriolicBestBuds: In the reboot, he has the dynamic with Jax. Despite what appears to be disgust (and the occassional beatdown) from Jax to Johnny, the latter never takes it personally. The 'best buds' part doesn't truly hit home until Jax's ending, though, where he is shown as the one person Johnny trusts to protect the life of his daughter, after he pays him a visit in the hospital.
* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in Film/Bloodsport.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: His default outfit in most games and available as an alternate if not his standard outfit. Though he starts ''9'' with a tuxedo, he quickly goes shirtless, and remains like this through the rest of the game.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: In regards to Sonya, [[TheyDo he does.]] Too bad it didn't last.
* WorkingWithTheEx: [[spoiler: He divorced from Sonya at some point. Doesn't stop him from stepping up with her in Earthrealm's defense]].
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: He's pleased as punch any time that Sonya calls him by his first name as it means that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther she still clearly cares a lot about him]]. His reaction each time only makes him that much more [[Heartwarming/MortalKombatX endearing]].
* YouFightLikeACow: At least in X, he ''constantly'' taunts his opponents. Bad puns, movie references...whatever insult is handy.
[[/folder]]
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!! Spoilers for ''Mythologies'' will be unmarked
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnny_cage.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I make this look easy!"'']]
-> '''Debut game''': ''Mortal Kombat'' (Daniel Pesina)
-> '''Other appearances''': ''Mortal Kombat II'' (Daniel Pesina), ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Mortal Kombat Trilogy]]'' (Chris Alexander), ''Mortal Kombat 4'', ''Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance'' (Robert Keating), ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' (cameo), ''Mortal Kombat: Armageddon'', ''Mortal Kombat 9'' ([[Music/{{Dokken}} Jeff Pilson]]), ''Mortal Kombat X'' (Andrew Bowen, English; Creator/MarioCastaneda, Latin American Spanish), ''Mortal Kombat 11'' (Andrew Bowen, English; Colin Ryan, Face Model; Sergio Bonilla [base voice] and Creator/MarioCastaneda [some pre-patched dialogues], Latin American Spanish)
-> '''Non-game appearances''': ''Mortal Kombat: The Movie'' (Linden Ashby), ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' (Chris Conrad), ''Mortal Kombat: Rebirth''/''Mortal Kombat: Legacy'' (Matt Mullins)
-> Johnny Cage, born Jonathan Carlton, is a Hollywood movie star. Originally entering the Mortal Kombat tournament to display his fighting skills and prove himself to skeptical movie critics and the movie-viewing public, Cage becomes one of the brave and loyal warriors for Earthrealm.
-> In ''Mortal Kombat'', 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. Not long after that, Cage traveled into Outworld to join the other Earthrealm warriors in ''[=MK2=]''. Defeated, Kahn ordered his forces to hunt down the surviving warriors when he steals the souls of Earth's populace in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3''. Though his comrades managed to make it out alive, Johnny was not so lucky and was killed by Motaro. During the events of ''Trilogy'', he was brought back [[NiceJobFixingItVillain due to his soul being blocked from going to the afterlife]], and fought alongside Earth's warriors until they won, upon which he ascended to Heaven. Raiden brought him back permanently during the events of ''[=MK4=]''. However, Johnny was killed once again during the final assault on the Deadly Alliance's Tarkatan warriors.
-> Later, he is, as well as many other warriors, restored to life one more time by Onaga and made into his slave. Some time later, he was freed from this state by Ermac and the spirit of Liu Kang, in time to join the battle of ''Armageddon''.
-> ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' sees Cage have a much more... err... [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold outgoing personality]], but it also makes him much more heroic, being a genuine part of the heroes' team. He also serves as a sort of AudienceSurrogate, as he's one of the few normal humans amidst the FantasyKitchenSink cast. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' it's revealed that he and Sonya have a daughter, Cassie Cage.
-> He would later meet up with his younger self in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' and they're working together to thwart Kronika's EvilPlan.
Now with a [[SelfDemonstrating/JohnnyCage Self-Demonstrating page]].
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: A-M]]
* AbusiveParents: Implied. He tells his younger self that his father was an asshole and angrily scoffs at his quote about how hungry people eat lunch but humble serve it.
* ActionDad: He's the father of Cassie Cage, one of the new characters in ''X''.
* AgentPeacock: Downplayed, but in ''9'', he proclaims that he's "so pretty!" after a win, and in ''11'', his younger self carries a compact mirror and gets his BerserkButton pressed when he gets grazed in the cheek by a bullet.
* AmazonChaser: Johnny seems to have an attraction to strong women, as evidenced by hitting on many of the female Kombatants. He eventually married Sonya Blade, who's a Special Forces operative and drill sergeant. In MK 11, he admits to having a thing for Edenians and openly expresses an interest in Jade, in particular.
* AmbidextrousSprite: Played with in ''X''. In his normal win pose, he pulls out a marker and autographs an 8x10 of himself, tossing it to his foe. Which hand he writes with is based on which way he's facing. He has separate scenes for writing (the "Cage" portion of "To My Biggest Fan! CAGE") with his right and left; either way, his handwriting is perfectly fine.
* AmicableExes: With Sonya. It appears that it's only on his part and only whenever Cassie is concerned. [[spoiler: Becomes this for real at the end of X, with Sonya actually warming up to him.]]
* AndYouThoughtItWasAGame:
** He starts ''Mortal Kombat 9'' thinking the whole tournament is just elaborate role-play.
** In the movie, he had ''no'' idea what the stakes were in the tournament. He just thought it was a competition to show off his skills and prove that it wasn't wire tricks and stuntmen. By the time he realizes that it's a ''lot'' more than just an ordinary tournament, it's far too late for him to back out.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: He thinks the Outworld warriors are just people in really nice costumes and not interdimensional monsters, yet his reason for participating in Mortal Kombat is because people accuse him of being a fraud who can only look good through movie magic when he wants to show them all his superhuman abilities are entirely his own.
* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Sonya's ''11'' tower ending [[spoiler: had him be recruited for her "God Squad". But only because Cassie insisted. [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther And because she missed him...]] [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial but only a little.]] Don't tell him about that last part though.]]
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Johnny's main defining character trait is his overwhelmingly large ego, tempered by an equally sharp tongue and razor wit. And while it's mostly justified, given he's [[spoiler: the new Earthrealm Champion]] by MK X, it hasn't won him many friends. His daughter Cassie, Jacqui Briggs, and Tak are among the few who seem to ''like'' him.
* AscendedExtra: Years before MKX, if you told MK fans that Johnny Cage would be the new [[{{TheChampion}} champion]] of Earthrealm, you would be called a liar. Yet, here we are. Even if Johnny was a part of the original MK, he was always portrayed as the ButtMonkey to [[TookALevelInBadass one of Earthrealm's finest warriors]]. While the new timeline has been very generous to him, unfortunately most of his friends got killed as a result.
* AscendedGlitch:
** In the first game, a glitch allowed Johnny to perform his decapitation fatality uppercut multiple times, knocking off at least 2 heads of his opponent. It was kept (and the ante upped by guaranteeing ''three'' heads were sent flying) for ''2'' and ''Trilogy'', but dropped ever since.
** It does come back in a BreakingTheFourthWall way in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11''; at first it seems he's just going to do his regular deadly uppercut (which does shatter his victim's jaw, to his credit) before a director offscreen yells cut. Cue him getting more and more frustrated as he performs the move twice more (for a total of three like the [=MK2=] and Trilogy versions) before tossing the opponent's now decapitated head at the camera and breaking it.
* BackForTheDead: His eventual fate in ''Annihilation'', courtesy of Shao Kahn.
* BackFromTheDead: ''Constantly'' in the original timeline. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when, prior to joining the battle against the ''Deadly Alliance'', he was (unwillingly) starting to film ''Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage'', in which he was repeatedly killed and brought back to life. [[spoiler: Finally subverted in ''9'', as he manages to survive a plot where most of the major characters die. Played straight when he is almost close to death in ''X'' and is saved thanks to Raiden and Sonya's efforts at meddling with Quan Chi's necromancy.]]
* BadassBoast: From the story mode of ''9'':
--> '''Johnny Cage:''' Fans think my moves are all wire work and special effects. Truth is... ''I am the special effects.''
* BadassInANiceSuit:
** Prior to the events in ''Deadly Alliance,'' he arrives on Shang Tsung's Island dressed in a tux via parachute. He also has one as an alternate in ''4'', ''Deadly Alliance'' and ''Armageddon''.
** In ''9'', he comes to the first tournament wearing a tuxedo with a loosened bow tie that also serves as his alternate.
* BadassInDistress: Towards the end of ''Mortal Kombat X'', [[spoiler:he's captured by Shinnok and D'Vorah, and spends the rest of the game in a cocoon with maggots slowly eating his face. It takes Cassie beating them both down to save him.]]
* BerserkButton:
** In the first movie. Goro should not have crushed those $500 pair of shades. That, and killing off Johnny's friend.
** ''MKX'' implies he's sensitive to remarks about his movie career.
-->'''Mileena:''' The failed actor.\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' I'm gonna take my awards and ''shove 'em through your skull!''\\
'''Mileena:''' [[LampshadeHanging Touchy, aren't we?]]
** In ''11'', his younger self snaps when he gets grazed by a bullet and it leaves a [[NotInTheFace gash on his cheek]].
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Sure, Cage may seem like a wisecracking goofball, but disregard him at your own peril. And mellowed out he may be in ''X'', but threaten his loved ones and he'll gain a new SuperMode and NoSell an ''[[PhysicalGod Elder God's]]'' attacks and then ''wipe the floor with him!''
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' Mr. Briggs, I presume.\\
'''Jax:''' You always gotta be a fool?\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' Alright. [[LetsGetDangerous Let's get serious.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: The first chapter of ''MKX'' has him not only beat up Sub-Zero and Scorpion, but he also manages to not only NoSell Shinnok's amulet and save Sonya, but also beat up said fallen Elder God and help Raiden seal him away in his own amulet! And people wonder how he's the new Champion of Earthrealm...
* BondOneLiner: Johnny pieces one together after beating Kano at the end of his chapter in ''[=MK9=]'', although he's a little unsure about it because he can't really do Australian.
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' Throw that on your...barbie...shrimp... ''(Shrug)''
* BornLucky:
** While other combatants can justify their special powers with reasons going from TrainingFromHell or being {{Physical God}}s, sorcerers or {{Ninja}}s[=/=]{{McNinja}}s; Johnny Cage has no background for how he got his energy blasts, he's simply naturally gifted.
** In ''9'', it's revealed that he is descended from a [[BadassNormal Mediterranean warrior cult who bred fighters for the gods.]] Yet, despite that, it is made even more obvious how his powers are so natural; Johnny initially is in disbelief about the whole Mortal Kombat and other realms thing, and yet he doesn't mention or see his powers as being equally unbelievable. Also, the whole reason he's there is because of people calling him out and saying he's all flash with no substance. He insists that his energy powers are legit and will prove it at the Mortal Kombat tournament... yet thinks nothing of them in spite of that.
* BoxOfficeBomb: InUniverse. His film debut, ''Ninja Mime'', which also doubles as an OldShame. Even ''Cyrax'' hates the film and wants his money back. ''Ninja Mime'' is a CultClassic in France though.
* {{Brainwashed}}: To serve Onaga in ''Deception''.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Corrupted under the Blood Code in the MKX comics thanks to Jacqui.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Johnny can summon a stunt double in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' (and not just a shadow clone like he did in the "Stunt Double" variation in ''X'' but an actual lookalike) to attack or hold his opponent down, can accidentally bump into a boom mic between rounds, and his first Fatality has him try to knock his opponent's head off with his classic uppercut Fatality but it goes wrong, resulting in the ''director calling for a retake''. He tries two more times ([[MythologyGag like his hidden "Triple Uppercut" Fatality from II]]) before his opponent's head gets stuck on his hand (by virtue of it having already lost the jaw two punches ago) and he throws the decapitated head towards the camera out of frustration.
-->'''Johnny Cage''': Who hired this guy? What the f***?
* BrokenWinLossStreak: With Kitana, apparently.
-->'''Kitana''': "I have bested you before."
-->'''Johnny Cage''': "I was being nice, those... ten times."
* ButtMonkey: Rendered as such after ''II'', likely as punishment for his actor (Daniel Pesina) advertising a rival game, ''VideoGame/BloodStorm'', while in full costume. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBatReTSCU Even the dev team doesn't take him seriously.]] Finally seems to be outgrowing this as of ''X''.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Blames Sonya's job for their divorce. [[spoiler:They manage to patch things up between ''X'' and ''11'' when he becomes more directly involved with Special Forces.]]
* CaptainErsatz: Started as one of Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme in the first game, being directly modelled on his appearance in {{Film/Bloodsport}}, complete with the [[GroinAttack Split Punch]]. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn This has largely disappeared in subsequent games.]]
* CastingAShadow: Johnny's Stunt Double variation has him able to use some of his moves in a safe distance, and keeping him away from trouble. However, the shadow "stunt doubles" or "mimics" as the game refers to them are yellow instead of his usual green.
* TheCasanova: While his luck with other kombatants is low, Cage is capable of getting women, if one dialogue with Kano is any indication:
--> '''Kano''': "If it's tail ya want, I can get that."\\
'''Johnny''': "Johnny Cage doesn't pay for it, Kano!"\\
'''Kano''': "A scruple?! Note the date and time."
* CasanovaWannabe:
** Towards Sonya in the first chapter of ''9'':
--> "I'm taking you down, I'm taking you down, I'm taking you out, I'm taking you out, and ''[approaches Sonya]'' I'm taking you out... for dinner."
** Johnny also flirts with Jade during their pre-fight banter in MK 11:
-->'''Johnny''': ''(smirking)'' "My green magic, ''your'' green outfit...?"\\
'''Jade''': ''(smirks back and chuckles)'' "[[HAHAHANo By the gods, no.]]"\\
'''Johnny''': Your loss, sweetheart.
** Kitana, too, is much less impressed.
-->'''Johnny''': Johnny Cage. Is. [[Film/TheManchurianCandidate The Edenian Candidate]].\\
'''Kitana''': [[NoJustNoReaction By the gods, no.]]
** Add Frost to his list of would-be "Konquests," though she isn't as kind about it as Jade:
-->'''Frost''': "Do not even ''[[DoYouWantToCopulate think it]]'' Johnny Cage."\\
'''Johnny''': ''(smirking)'' "Admit it, you ''know'' it's crossed your mind."\\
'''Frost''': "I am NOT interested."
** Not even Elder Gods are immune:
-->'''Johnny:''' You thinking what I'm thinking?\\
'''Cetrion:''' That you are a vapid, arrogant child?\\
'''Johnny:''' Don't let that stop you.
* TheChampion: In the comics, Kotal Kahn refers to him as Raiden's, effectively replacing the late Liu Kang.
* CharacterDevelopment: He's introduced in ''9'' as an insufferable, showboating and self-aggrandizing movie star, and over the course of the game, turns out to be a surprisingly loyal friend, and the [[TheHeart conscience]] of the team. The sequel takes it up a notch and reveals him to be a [[GoodParents doting and loving father]], a supportive mentor to an entire generation of heroes, and a visibly more mature guy overall, a very far cry from the shallow Hollywood caricature of the old games.
** Based on his ending in ''11'', after defeating Shinnok, [[spoiler:he had returned to Hollywood, obviously having Cassie with Sonya during that time, but soon spiraled out of control and hit rock bottom. In order to be a be a better father to Cassie, he cleaned up his act and became the man she looked up to by ''X''. Past!Johnny lampshades this as he could remove this part of his history in his ending, but he would never be the man that Present!Johnny is without the hardships.]]
* TheCharmer: Mediates successfully with [[spoiler:Kotal Kahn]] to defuse a tense standoff in the comics.
* ChronicallyKilledActor: In the most literal way possible.
* CombatPragmatist: In the movie, he realizes that going toe to toe with Goro would be suicide, so he uses strategy to outmaneuver him. Then there's his GroinAttack.
* CoolOldGuy: He's 54 in Mortal Kombat X (as he was 29 for the first tournament), so this qualifies. He's pretty easygoing and always ready with the witty repartee, and a supportive mentor to the next generation.
* CoolShades:
** While they were always part of his character, with official art always depicting him wearing shades, he only started wearing them during fights from ''Trilogy'' onwards.
** In the first movie, he values them more than any worldly possession. Then Goro broke them, and [[BerserkButton the rest is history]]:
---> "[[MyFavoriteShirt Those were five-hundred-dollar sunglasses, asshole!]]"
** In his ''9'' victory pose, his shades break in half. No problem: he just takes out a brand new pair and puts them on!
** In ''11'', his shades are customizable via gear and evidently come with a self destruct mechanism as seen in one of his brutalities.
* CoolTeacher: Helps in training Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda and Kung Jin in [=MKX=].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Looks every bit of a {{muggle|s}}, and acts like a {{jerkass}}, but he can hold his own against all kinds of enemies, including Tarkatans, cyborgs, {{physical god}}s, sorcerers, etc.
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** In the rebooted timeline, he's the focus of the first chapter of both games.
** By ''Mortal Kombat 11'', he's the focus of Chapter 6.
* DeadGuyPuppet: One of his Fatalities in ''[=MK11=]'' involves him shoving his arm into his opponent's body and tearing off their torso. And then [[RefugeInAudacity he starts using it in a ventriloquist act]], complete with a DramaticSpotlight!
-->'''"Opponent"''': What did you do, Johnny? \\
'''Johnny''': Just what you asked! \\
'''"Opponent"''': Not what I meant by "[[{{Pun}} the splits]]"!\\
''([[LamePunReaction Crowd boos Johnny]] and [[ProducePelting throws tomatoes at him, with one of them hitting the corpse]])''
* DeadpanSnarker: Seems to be this at first, in tone with his [[Film/MortalKombat movie self]], as seen in ''[=MK9=]''. And [[{{VideoGame/MortalKombatX}} 25 years later]], he still got it.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In [[Awesome/MortalKombatX his finest hour]], Johnny Cage defeated [[GodOfEvil Shinnok]].
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: The first chapter in ''X'' hints at this as he [[spoiler:[[TakingTheBullet takes an intented killshot from Shinnok to protect Sonya]] and comes out unscathed, all while glowing his usual green. His immediate reaction quickly tells that he was clearly not expecting to come away standing.]]
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Because of his crass personality, the temporally-displaced characters [[CassandraTruth don't believe that he defeated Shinnok]].
-->'''Kitana:''' So you were to defeat Shinnok?\\
'''Johnny:''' What is with people!? Is it so hard to believe!?\\
'''Kitana:''' [[BluntYes Yes]].\\\
'''Johnny:''' Once upon a time, I beat Shinnok!\\
'''Shang Tsung:''' My, what a ''colorful'' imagination...\\
'''Johnny:''' Look it up! I laid him out!
* EmbarrassingNickname: His intro dialogue with his Daughter in '''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'''
-->'''Johnny Cage:'''Grandma Carlton told you my secret?\\
'''Cassie Cage:'''(chuckle) Johnny Pee-Pants?\\
'''Johnny Cage:'''I had one accident. ONE!
* EveryoneHasStandards:
** [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface's]] [[FacialHorror "mask"]] disgusts him to the point that [[SarcasmFailure he can't even joke about it]].
-->'''Johnny Cage:''' What's that on your fa-- [[ScreamingAtSquick OHHHHH!]]\\
'''Johnny Cage:''' ...That's just really fucked up, man.
** And despite his penchant for hitting on women, even he draws the line at Mileena (in MK X) and D'Vorah and Scarlet in MK 11. In Mileena's case, it's because she's part Tarkatan and ''a cannibal'', whereas D'Vorah and Scarlet both creep him out.
-->'''D'Vorah''': Why not come closer?\\
'''Johnny''': You are ''not'' [[spoiler:sucking my face like Mileena's!]]\\
'''D'Vorah''': Johnny Cage, [[spoiler:afraid of a kiss?]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In ''9'', he spends his first few fights goofing off, preening and grandstanding, hitting on Sonya, and generally making an ass of himself... [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold but is horrified when Shang Tsung demands he "finish" a fallen opponent]].
* FakeUltimateHero: Dips into this from time to time.
** ''Armageddon'' tries to take the "fake" part out, by having him being the first of the heroes to see Shinnok back into the scene, and then rallying the band of heroes for the final battle. His (non-canonical) ending states that he gained superior strength and dexterity, but more important, a new insight into his existence. With the help of Shaolin masters, he renounced his superficial former life and became enlightened.
** Subverted in the alternate timeline. The first time is in MKX's Story mode, [[spoiler: where he defeated ''Shinnok'' by sending his amulet to Raiden so he can have the fallen Elder God sealed in]] and the second time in the MKX prequel comics, [[spoiler: where he succesfully defuses a tense standoff with Kotal Kahn, with the latter even respectfully calling him 'champion'.]]
* FanserviceWithASmile: He's always been [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] and smiling since the original ''Mortal Kombat''.
* FightingClown: His Ninja Mime skins in ''X'' and ''11'' make him a literal example, but he always has a couple of silly attacks in his fighting style, including using trophies, stunt doubles and cameras. And that's not even getting into his constant snark.
* TheFightingNarcissist: A rare heroic example. In brief, he's full of himself, cocky and arrogant, but he really is THAT good a fighter, and he's possibly the game's most moral, selfless hero. And he is undoubtedly one of the good guys.
* FightingWithChucks: In ''Deadly Alliance'', ''Deception'' and ''Armageddon''.
* FlippingTheBird: His first Fatality in ''11'' ends with him discreetly flipping off the camera as he chucks his opponent's decapitated head towards it.
* FreudianExcuse: An interaction with his past self reveals that his self-absorbed and conceited behavior is was the result of having an AbusiveDad who spoiled him with his Hollywood fame.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes:
** Zig-Zagged. His part in saving the world on more than one occasion means he enjoys a fair deal of respect, especially from the younger generation of heroes and particularly Cassie who [[DaddysGirl adores him]]. However, his boisterous personality and penchant for lame jokes and puns at the expense of others tends to earn him a lot of flak in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. This is particularly prevalent in MKX. Skarlet {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this in ''11''. However, by the time of ''X'' and ''11'', this mainly seems to apply to intros due to RuleOfFunny since Johnny is noticably OlderAndWiser and doesn't really behave obnoxiously or invite derision from his allies in the story mode.
-->'''Sub-Zero:''' You approach me as a foe...\\
'''Johnny:''' Nah, I'm just outta ice cubes.\\
'''Sub-Zero:''' At times, I regret our alliance.
-->'''Raiden:''' You followed me.\\
'''Johnny:''' You need me here!\\
'''Raiden:''' Has '''anyone''' agreed with that statement?!
-->'''Skarlet''': I will have your ancient power.\\
'''Johnny''': Not what I call it, but, uh... okay.\\
'''Skarlet''': [[PrepareToDie No one will miss you, Cage.]]
** In ''11'', nobody - not even himself - likes his past self, dues to being Johnny Cage at his worst, pre- CharacterDevelopment point. Future Johnny's reaction to his younger self boasting about sleeping with Sonya loud enough for her, Jacqui, Cass and everyone else in the room to hear is to unleash a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to try and teach him a bit of humility.
-->'''Johnny:''' Come on, do you really like Future Johnny better?\\
'''Jacqui:''' Name someone who ''doesn't''.
* FullNameBasis: He screams "JOHNNY CAGE!" after winning a round or winning a ''Test Your Might/Strike/Sight'' minigame.
* GallowsHumor: [[spoiler:After being stabbed by the revenant Jax as he lies bleeding out when Sonya tells him he'll be ok.]]
--> '''Johnny:''' [[spoiler:I don't know. I think blood is supposed to be on the inside.]]
* GoodParents: [[DaddysGirl Cassie]] adores him, and [[HiddenDepths surprisingly]], he turns out to be possibly the best dad in the [=MK=]-verse by a long shot. Only Jax even comes close.
* GroinAttack:
** His "Split Punch" signature attack, a special move where he does the splits and plants his fist directly into his opponent's crotch. It wouldn't work on Sonya in the first game or on Kitana, Jade and Mileena in the second game, probably because of the common misconception that women somehow wouldn't be harmed by it. It also couldn't be used on bosses either. Later games remove those limitations and now it affects women and bosses just fine.
** One of his Fatalities in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatShaolinMonks'' is a series of punches to the stones, ending with one last punch that hits so hard, the victim's legs pop off of their torso.
** Also, the first part of his X-Ray move in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' is a three-punch combo to the groin. ''Ouch''.
** It also has a Brutality version in MKX, wherein it either pops the victim's head off, or causes their ''eyes to pop out''.
** And then there's his memorable use of the move on ''Goro'' in the movie.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: His Torso Rip fatality.
** In ''Shaolin Monks'', he has a [[FinishingMove fatality]] where he ''will'' punch the opponent in [[GroinAttack the groin]] several times, mugs for the camera, punches the groin for a bit like a speed bag, and then does one final monster punch that pulverises the entire pelvic region, effectively cutting the unlucky victim in half.
** His Stunt Double variation in X has a Brutality that does the same with the Shadow Kick.
** ''11'' brings back the torso rip, now with a decidedly comedic twist, as mentioned under DeadGuyPuppet above.
* HasAType: In MK 11, Johnny admits there's two types of women he likes: blondes (like Sonya) and he likes Edenians. In one of his pre-fight banters with Jade, Johnny makes it clear that [[DoYouWantToCopulate he's interested.]] A separate one has him tell Jade that he once dated a beauty queen who looked exactly like her. And, if you use Johnny to fight Kotal Khan, he'll ask Kotal if he knows whether Jade has any sisters.
* GuileHero: For all his goofiness, Cage is smarter than he looks: his defeat of Goro in TheMovie was reliant almost entirely on cunning tactical maneuvering, as he lures the Shokan to a cliff and ambushes him, [[DisneyVillainDeath knocking him to his doom.]]
* TheHeart: Believe it or not. Cage may be a pompous ass, but he's genuinely a nice guy underneath, and of all the heroes he's the one that fights for the good guys just because it's the right thing to do. He also may love to kick ass, but he's horrified when asked to kill his defeated opponent by Shang Tsung. During the course of the Story Mode in ''[=MK9=]'', he pretty much becomes the team's moral center. Becomes even more notable in MKX when paired with the stricter Sonya, [[spoiler:keeping her from giving into her desire to kill Kano so that they can get info out of him and getting her to talk to Cassie less as a commander and more like a mother in spite of them having already split up on bad terms.]]
* TheHero: Takes up the position in the flashbacks of Mortal Kombat X to the point where [[spoiler:he's singlehandedly responsible for Shinnok's defeat.]]
* HeroicWillpower: Even more than Sonya. This guy [[spoiler:spent last quarter of ''X'' wrapped up in a cocoon with maggots trying to ''eat him alive''... ''and his sanity was still intact after all of it.'' Seriously.]]
* HiddenDepths:
** Johnny was always insufferably arrogant but consistently proved himself a decent person when push came to shove. A large part of his CharacterDevelopment involves him blunting his arrogance while emphasizing his more heroic qualities.
** There are hints that all his years in the film industry have made him business savvy in ''11''.
** He can also be surprisingly deep at times, as evident in one of his banter lines with Shang Tsung:
---> '''Johnny:''' Every man dies, but not every man really ''lives.''
* HumblePie: [[spoiler:Johnny's Tower Ending in ''11'' vaguely hints to a key moment post-Shinnok that truly changed Johnny from the Hollywood glory hound to the true Champion of Earthrealm and supportive father/father figure he was in ''X'' and onward.]]
* {{Hunk}}: Sure, he may be egotistical, but you can't deny his good looks. ''He'' certainly won't.
* IHatePastMe: Has [[JustForPun shades]] of this when he runs into his younger self in ''11''. Johnny is fully aware of what an egotistical asshole he used to be and the older and far more mature Cage Senior is incredibly frustrated with his younger self's ArrogantKungFuGuy attitude. He even refers to his younger self as his evil twin.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: ''11'' adds an arsenal of silly weapons for him to use in combat, including trophies, cameras with the flash on, stunt doubles, and in one Brutality, a boom mic.
* InsaneTrollLogic: He is flabbergasted how Shao ''Kahn'' is not a ''Shokan'' (to Shao's annoyed bewilderment), even claiming to lose sleep over it.
* IllTakeThatAsACompliment: This exchange between Johnny and Sonya in the first film:
-->'''Sonya:''' ''[after Johnny tells her that he is facing Goro]'' Oh, I can't believe this! You are the most egotistical, self-deluded person I have ever met! \\
'''Johnny:''' Yeah, well you forgot good-looking.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: During Jax's chapter in ''9'', Johnny, Raiden, and Jax find themselves stuck at the Kombat Armory, when he probes Jax's relationship with Sonya.[[note]]Mind you, Jax and co. are mulling around Outworld looking for her whereabouts, as Sonya is ''scheduled for execution'' as they speak[[/note]] Johnny, being himself, makes his intentions with Sonya a little less than subtle. This prompts Jax to challenge Johnny to a fight right there and then. However, afterwards, he brushes it off later and even good-naturedly jokes about it after they find Sonya. By the time of ''[=MKX=]'', he has mellowed out almost to the point of being a straight up NiceGuy.
* JerkassRealization:
** Outright admits to how much of a ass he has been while chewing out his younger self.
-->'''Past!Johnny:''' Dad always said, "Hungry people eat lunch, humble people serve it."\\
'''Present!Johnny:''' Dad was an asshole! Hollywood made us an even ''bigger'' one!
** Past!Johnny goes through one himself, albeit in more understated fashion after his Sonya saves his life, both thanking her as well as sincerely apologizing for being the way he was.
* KangaroosRepresentAustralia: He turns into one to kick his opponent off screen as an Animality in ''MK Trilogy''.
* KillSteal: Interrupts Kung Lao before he can finish off Goro in ''Shaolin Monks'', then he throws his fist in the air in celebration.
* LargeHam: Expected from an actor, of action movies no less.
* LetsGetDangerous: whilst fighting a brainwashed Jacqui in the comics:
-->'''Johnny:''' All righty. Glasses on... (Shadow Kicks Jacqui) ...gloves off.
* MadeOfIron: Johnny has proven to be a glutton for punishment on multiple occasions. Most notable in ''11'', where Past Johnny is forced to fight Past Sonya, but takes it in stride, ''orders'' Sonya to beat the shit out of him and refuses to take a dive, all because he ''knows'' Kano better than to be even the slightest bit fair with them.
* MeaningfulName: It's probably more than coincidence that Kage in Japanese means shadow and Johnny Cage is the master of many "shadow" techniques himself.
* TheMerch: As of ''11'', Johnny Cage now sports an action figure of himself on his person he whips out for brutalities and a win pose.[[note]]And apparently has had these on the market for a long time, as the one he uses has "Cass" written on the sole of one of its feet, meaning it belonged to his daughter as a child[[/note]]
* MrFanservice: He's an action movie star who's always been [[WalkingShirtlessScene bare-chested]]. Slightly averted in ''X'', where he spends the game dressed either in a military uniform or pants and a hoodie [[spoiler: and has his face chewed up by D'Vorah's maggots.]] However, his bare-chested primary costume from ''9'' is an [[AndYourRewardIsClothes unlockable]], and he answers the door for Sonya in the [=MKX=] comics in ''nothing but a towel''. ''Enough said.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder: N-Z]]
* NiceGuy: By the time of ''11'', he has become one. The older Johnny has completely mellowed out to the point that he and Sonya have got back together and he has zero moments during story mode where his ego gets in the way and remains a supportive and loving husband and father. In fact, he takes it upon himself to teach his own younger self some manners and humility.
* TheNicknamer: Constantly in the pre-battle dialogues in ''Mortal Kombat X'', usually via [[PopCulturedBadass an insulting movie reference]]. He clearly knows everyone's names, and will sometimes even address them properly, he just enjoys being a comical ass at the expense of his opponent--in other words, it's completely in character.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While he can joke with him occasionally, Johnny takes on an uncharacteristically threatening tone when faced with Kano, warning him with grave seriousness to stay away from his family in ''X'' and ''11''. An attitude that not even Shao Kahn receives.
* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: Despite being put through the wringer during the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'', Johnny does eventually hook up with Sonya, as evidenced by their daughter Cassie Cage appearing in ''MKX''. They were married for a while, but divorced some time before that game began due to Sonya being MarriedToTheJob. ''11'' has them back together, [[spoiler: only for Sonya to die in the first chapter in a HeroicSacrifice. Past!Sonya's chapter implies they can still end up together after she saves Past!Johnny's life.]]
* OffWithHisHead:
** His classic Fatality, in which Cage delivers a savage uppercut that tears his opponent's head off.
** The intro of ''[=MK9=]'' inverts this: [[spoiler:he's shown decapitated]].
* OhCrap: When against [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason]] [[ShownTheirWork and with good reason.]]
--> ''Ohh... freak.''
* OlderSidekick: To his daughter in [=MK11=] and he is completely cool with it.
* OurAncestorsAreSuperheroes: Johnny's [[AllThereInTheManual bio]] in ''9'' reveals that he is descended from a race of superhuman warriors who were bred as champions for the gods.
* TheOneThingIDontHateAboutYou: Every interaction with Johnny and Kano have them trading insults with each other, but Johnny respects the fact that Kano has a showman's instinct for his "fans" by situating a fight club in Russia.
* PapaWolf: Joins Sonya in Outworld to rescue Cassie in the [=MKX=] comics and has to be restrained by ''Sonya'' from throttling Kano after he makes a snide jab about her fate.
* PersonAsVerb: Tried this with himself in ''Shaolin Monks'' and ''[=MK9=]''. "You just got ''Caged''!"
* PluckyComicRelief: Unquestionably fills this role for the series.
* PopCulturedBadass: Comes out full force with ''Mortal Kombat X''. [[JustifiedTrope It's only natural for an actor with superpowers.]] Of note is his first Fataility, where he reenacts [[Film/TheShining Jack Torrance's break in]] with his enemy's chest and his bare hands. "Heeeeeeere's ''Johnny!''"
* PowerIncontinence: His ending in ''9''. [[spoiler:His body begins to emit large, destructive bursts of energy in uncontrollable spasms, and neither Raiden nor Nightwolf are able to soothe them. Eventually, Raiden takes Johnny Cage to Seido to control his powers, which will result in him [[TookALevelInBadass becoming more powerful than humanly imaginable.]]]]
* ThePowerOfLove: In VideoGame/MortalKombatX it's theorized that his SuperMode is powered by the desire to protect a loved one, hence why he can't use it on command.
* PrecisionFStrike: Originally, he didn't swear much. In ''XL'', however, he has a few rare intro quotes against Leatherface and Triborg where he lets a few f-bombs fly. By ''11'', he more liberally incorporates swearing into his dialogue.
-->'''Against Triborg''': "Is it mechanically possible for you to ''fuck'' yourself?"
-->'''Against Leatherface''': "Dude, that's just really fucked up."
* PungeonMaster: In the Movie, he is particularly prone to {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s, to the point that he's basically the [[PluckyComicRelief comic relief]] of the film. Possibly referenced with his intros in Mortal Kombat X, with some of them involving puns.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: His squad in [=MKX=] consists of two Special Forces operatives (one of them being his daughter with Sonya), a Shirai Ryu ninja and a Shaolin archer. He has his work cut out for him. And as Jacqui points out, Team S-F was ''his'' idea.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's quite laidback and approachable with the kids, contrasting Sonya's more hardline approach.
* RedHerringShirt:
** Johnny Cage [[spoiler: survives]] the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''. Keep in mind that in every form of media he's been in ''(the films, the games and even In-Universe in a role he refused to take part in)'', he dies in some form or fashion.
** In ''[=MKX=]'', [[spoiler:he comes close to dying in the finale, but ultimately pulls through.]]
** ''Mortal Kombat 11'' [[spoiler: does this to both Johnny Cages. Present!Johnny is shot in the legs at the end of Chapter 6 and is taken out of commission for the remainder of the story. Past!Johnny is often held at gunpoint obviously risking Cassie's life as well. He is also out of commission for the remainder of the story after being rescued.]]
* RippleEffectIndicator: In ''11'', younger Johnny gets grazed in the face by a bullet, causing pain and a scar to show up on older Johnny's cheek in the exact same spot
* TheRival: Of Goro. [[RetCanon Becomes canon]] after the movie.
* RunningGag: Johnny is the victim of three gags in MK 11.
** The main one is that hardly anyone can believe he (of [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass all people]]) [[spoiler: defeated Shinnok]]. In most cases, Johnny brushes it off with good humor, or a sarcastic retort. But when even Kitana says it, Johnny becomes exasperated and asks: "Is it ''really'' THAT HARD to believe??" to which, Kitana replies, "Yes."
** MK 11 also reveals that he's attracted to Edenian women, by having him hit on both Kitana and Jade. Both shoot him down with the exact same line: "By the gods, no."
** He also tries to get the others to act in his films, but each of them turns him down either because they say his films suck, or simply because they'd have to put up with him.
-->'''Scorpion''': "The answer is, "No."
-->'''Johnny''': ''(enthused)'' "But you'd be co-starring [[ComicallyMissingThePoint with yours truly!"]]
-->'''Scorpion''': ''([[DeadpanSnarker deadpan]])'' [[TheFriendNobodyLikes "Exactly."]]
* SharpDressedMan: His alts. in ''4'', ''Deadly Alliance'', ''Armageddon'', and ''9''.
* ShipTease: Especially in the first movie, towards Sonya. In ''[=MK9=]'', he [[CasanovaWannabe tries to conquer her]]. As ''Mortal Kombat X'' shows, he succeeded in wooing Sonya, as their daughter is a playable character.
* {{Shotoclone}}: He has it all: a projectile (Plasmic Bolt), an anti-air uppercut (Green Shadow Uppercut) and a straight attack (His Shadow Kicks).
* ShoutOut:
** His ''[=MKX=]'' fatality has him pulling the "Heeeeeeeere's JOHNNY!" line from ''[[Film/TheShining The Shining]]'', except instead of through a busted door it's through his enemy's torso.
** When he faces off against the Film/{{Alien}}, he says "IT'S GAME OVER, MAN!"
-->(to Ermac): [[Film/TheMummyReturns "The mummy returns."]]
** One of his quotes when he's in a match against himself
-->'''Johnny Cage 1''': Is this for real?\\
'''Johnny Cage 2''': How many of us are there?\\
'''Johnny Cage 1''': "[[Film/{{Highlander}} There can be only one]]!"
* ShutUpHannibal:
** In an intro against Shinnok, Johnny cuts him off and tells him to shut up when Shinnok is asserting a threat at him.
** In the comics, Johnny himself is on the receiving end of this when Jacqui (under the Blood Code) cold-cocks him mid-sentence.
* SilverFox: Jacqui seems to think so, much to Cassie's chagrin. To be fair, he ''is'' pretty good-looking for a man in his fifties.
* SituationalDamageAttack: All the way through the series, Johnny Cage can use his notorious [[GroinAttack Nut Punch]]. Until ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'', this attack had no effect on female fighters, possibly due to the erroneous assumption that groin attacks aren't painful to women.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Johnny trades verbal jabs with nearly the entire cast, usually because he's [[TheGadfly the one who starts it.]] Most try to ignore his comments, but ex-wife and his daughter won't hesitate to [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame return "fire".]]
-->'''Johnny''': ''(at Sonya)'' "Talk to me."
-->'''Sonya''': ''(ties her hair back)'' "You'd have to shut up first."
-->{{Beat}}
-->'''Johnny''': "You're right. Fighting it is."
* SpamAttack: In his "Fisticuffs" variation in ''X'', he can infinitely perform his variation's unique string ("The One-Two") by continuing the string input (b+1, 2, 1, 2...).
* SpannerInTheWorks: Shinnok's plans in ''X'' didn't take him into consideration. [[spoiler:When Shinnok escapes his prison, he's much more savvy and takes Johnny with him to suffer some ColdBloodedTorture.]]
* SpeedEchoes: Several of his Shadow moves have this effect.
* StacysMom: A rare male example, as mentioned during one of Jacqui and Cassie's intro dialogues in ''MKX''.
-->'''Cassie:''' [[NoJustNoReaction Don't speak to me ever.]]\\
'''Jacqui:''' I just said your dad's kinda hot.\\
'''Cassie:''' ''Stop it!''
* StanceSystem:
** In ''Deadly Alliance'', he has Jeet Kune Do and Karate as unarmed styles, and Nunchaku as weapon style.
** In ''Deception'', he replaces Karate with Shinto Ryu.
** In ''Armageddon'', he has Shorin Ryu as unarmed style, and Nunchaku as weapon style.
** In ''X'', his variations are [[ChargedAttack A-List,]] [[ScratchDamage Fisticuffs]] and [[DoppelgangerAttack Stunt Double.]]
* StrongerWithAge: In [=MK11=], his older version is significantly tougher than his younger one.
* TakingTheBullet: In ''X'', he saves Sonya from being attacked by Shinnok by jumping in front of her. He then proceeds to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kick Shinnok's ass.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Canonically six feet tall, and one of the series' poster boys for male fanservice.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Thanks to the pre-fight banter system of ''X'', we find out that he's also not above sassing everyone he comes across, either with smartmouthed comebacks or just plain getting on their nerves. Watching [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC1YCpEWhQE a rundown of his exchanges]] could be summed up as "Johnny Cage is a dick to the Mortal Kombat universe." Turned up to 11 in... well, ''11'' as we don't just have the older Johnny Cage, but we now have dialogue featuring the younger Johnny Cage.
* TeamDad: While the older generation of Kombatants tend to find Johnny obnoxious, the new Special Forces members in MKX get along with him rather well, better than with the stricter Sonya Blade.
* ThatCameOutWrong: One of his pre-fight intros in ''11'' presumably has his younger self try and compliment Cassie... in a way that made it sound like [[{{Squick}} he was hitting on her.]] Cass does not appreciate this, and Johnny is quick to explain that no, he does not want to flirt with his adult daughter.
* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Johnny dies in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'', temporarily resurrected in ''Trilogy'' (meaning that he's dead again at the end), resurrected in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' reveals that he doesn't survive the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'' and the aftermath of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon'', dies in the second Mortal Kombat movie, and even rejects a role in the movie "The Death of Johnny Cage" in ''Deadly Alliance'' ''(even [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] that he was tired of starring in roles where he died and came back to life again)''. Surprisingly, given his track record, [[spoiler: he survives the events of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' and ''Videogame/MortalKombatX'']]!
* ThouShaltNotKill: In 9, he's shown to be against killing his enemies, refusing to kill Baraka after defeating him in the tournament. He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] one of the most well-known concepts of this game - Fatalities - in that scene; when Shang Tsung tells him to "Finish him" after winning during the story, he says, "Finish him? Heh. Yeah right."
* TheTimeTravelersDilemma: [[spoiler:His Tower Ending in ''11'' puts younger Johnny up against this, realizing the events that made him a better person in the future won't happen without him suffering the bad with the good. He thus opts to follow the same path...[[CloseEnoughTimeline most]][[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong ly.]]]]
* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Gains a SuperMode when he saves Sonya from Shinnok. That results in him [[PowerGlows glowing with shadow energy]], allowing him to ''NoSell Shinnok's attacks!''
* TookALevelInBadass: After learning that his bloodline originates from a Mediterranean tribe of warriors who were infused with the power of the gods, he takes fighting a lot more seriously after he learns to control it.
* TookALevelInKindness: Apart from the occasional quip, he seems to have mellowed out significantly by the time of ''X'', and while he still has a bit of an ego, it's not as big as it was in previous games. By the time of ''11'', his mellowing out is complete since Sonya had reconciled with him and Cassie.
* TurnsRed: Literally in MKX. Going into critical health turns all his shadow moves red and gives them a damage boost. Doubles as a DesperationAttack.
* UnfazedEveryman: During his chapter in ''9''[='s=] story mode. Also doubles as the AudienceSurrogate for those new to the series, as he's just as out-of-the-loop as newcomers probably will be.
* VitriolicBestBuds: In the reboot, he has the dynamic with Jax. Despite what appears to be disgust (and the occassional beatdown) from Jax to Johnny, the latter never takes it personally. The 'best buds' part doesn't truly hit home until Jax's ending, though, where he is shown as the one person Johnny trusts to protect the life of his daughter, after he pays him a visit in the hospital.
* WholeCostumeReference: His costume in the first game is based on that of Frank Dux, John Claude Van Damme's character in Film/Bloodsport.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: His default outfit in most games and available as an alternate if not his standard outfit. Though he starts ''9'' with a tuxedo, he quickly goes shirtless, and remains like this through the rest of the game.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: In regards to Sonya, [[TheyDo he does.]] Too bad it didn't last.
* WorkingWithTheEx: [[spoiler: He divorced from Sonya at some point. Doesn't stop him from stepping up with her in Earthrealm's defense]].
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: He's pleased as punch any time that Sonya calls him by his first name as it means that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther she still clearly cares a lot about him]]. His reaction each time only makes him that much more [[Heartwarming/MortalKombatX endearing]].
* YouFightLikeACow: At least in X, he ''constantly'' taunts his opponents. Bad puns, movie references...whatever insult is handy.
[[/folder]]
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