The TW Network
Johnny Cage Variations
Fighter ID:
Password
Age
39
Eye Color
Blue
Full Name
John Carlton
Hair Color
Brown
Height
6' 0"
Occupation
Actor
Species
Human
Weight
190lbs
Birthplace
Venice, California, U.S.A.
Weapon(s)
Bowie Knife, Pistol, Nunchaku
Fighting Style(s)
Jeet Kune Do, Karate, Shinto Ryu, Shorin Ryu
Relations
Robert Carlton (father), Rose Carlton (mother), Rebecca Carlton (sister)

Games
Mortal Kombat
Arcade
Portrayed by Daniel Pesina. Unavailable in the GameBoy version.
Mortal Kombat 2 / Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat II: Kyūkyoku Shinken
Arcade
Not available in Game Boy, Game Gear, or Master System versions.
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Playstation
Unavailable in R-Zone, Game.com, and Tiger LCD versions.
Mortal Kombat 4
Arcade
Not available in the GameBoy Color version.
Mortal Kombat Gold
Dreamcast
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Playstation 2
Unavailable in GameBoy Advance version.
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
Game Boy Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Playstation 2
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Playstation 2
Mortal Kombat: Unchained
Playstation Portable
Mortal Kombat (2011) / Mortal Kombat 9 (fan name)
Xbox 360
Mortal Kombat X
PlayStation 4
Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat 1

Storyline
Mortal Kombat 1
21st Century Action Hero
Like many stars before him, Johnny became addicted to his fame. He came to measure his self-worth by his fans' adoration and their praise of him on social media.
But with his star now fading, Johnny is fighting an uphill battle to remain relevant. He joins Liu Kang’s Earthrealm champions hoping that it will provide his career and his fame a desperately needed boost.
Mortal Kombat
Vanity
B-list celebrity, recipient of no acting awards. Following a string of lowbrow direct-to- VHS sequels to Ninja Mime , Johnny Cage’s career peaked at the age of 28. Now, he fights against all odds to save Earthrealm and prove that he’s an even braver hero in real life than on the silver screen.
Kombat Rebooted
There is no greater martial arts movie star than Johnny Cage. Films such as "Dragon Fist", "Time Smashers" and "Citizen Cage" have made him one of the most highly paid actors in Hollywood. But there is more to Johnny than even he knows. He is a descendant of an ancient Mediterranean cult who bred warriors for the gods -- warriors who possessed power beyond that of mortals. This legacy has made Johnny Cage a star. More important, it will aid him in the battle to come.
Kombat Begins
A martial arts superstar trained by Great Masters from around the world, Cage uses his talents on the big screen. He is the current box-office champ and star of such movies as Dragon Fist and Dragon Fist II as well as the Award-Winning Sudden Violence.
Kombat Kontinues
After Shang Tsung's tournament, the martial arts superstar disappears. He follows Liu Kang into the Outworld.
There he will compete in a twisted tournament which holds the balance of Earth's existence- as well as a script for another blockbuster movie.
The Wrath of Kahn
Killed in battle with an Outworld extermination squad, Johnny Cage's life came to a tragic end. But the celluloid superstar managed to cheat death when his path to the after life is blocked by the merger of Earth and the Outworld. His soul takes possession of its body once again, and enables Cage to rejoin his friends to battle for Earth's survival.
A New Dimension of Kombat
A New Dimension of Kombat
After Shao Kahn's defeat Cage's soul is free to leave to a higher place. From the heavens, he observes his friends once again engaged in battle. When he learns of the war waged against the elder gods by Shinnok, Cage seeks out Raiden to help him restore his deceased soul and join Liu Kang in his quest. Once again, Johnny Cage finds himself fighting alongside Earth's warriors.
MK Trilogy Endings
With his nearly deceased soul restored, Johnny Cage finds himself fighting along side his friends once again. This time, he seeks revenge against the extermination squad that took his life. But during their battle, Cage learns that if they win against Kahn, his soul will again be deceased when Earth reverts back to normal. Knowing this, the movie star embarks on a one way mission to destroy Shao Kahn. His determination fuels his fellow warriors as they embark on one final onslaught against the evil emperor. The Earth warriors emerge victorious and when the realms revert to their normal state, Cage bids farewell to his comrades as his soul leaves to a higher place.
Deadly Alliance
Johnny Cage had been fed up with the lame writing on his current movie "Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage", in which his character repeatedly died and was resurrected. To him, his real-life adventures were much more sensational... he kicked butt! But his studio felt that the hero needed to take a fall for dramatic purposes. Johnny Cage reluctantly agreed to continue with the project until the Thunder God Raiden called him away to a new adventure in Outworld.
For maximum dramatic effect, Johnny Cage arrived on the island fortress of Shang Tsung by way of parachute. He glided to the exact place on the beach where Raiden had told him to rendezvous with the others. When night fell, the Earthrealm kombatants lit a fire and discussed possible strategies to defeat the Outworld threat. Once the fire had reached its full strength, Raiden finally appeared and revealed to them the events that had led to the formation of the Deadly Alliance.
Return of the Dragon King
A Hollywood action movie star, Johnny Cage's most important role has been protecting Earthrealm from the forces of Evil. His latest movie, "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" was based on his battle against Shang Tsung and Quan Chi.
The Battle of Armageddon
"It used to be, when there was a threat to Earthrealm, that Raiden would rally the Forces of Light to face the enemy in Mortal Kombat. Somehow he could always discover the truth behind the deception. I was one of his allies and fought with him against the Forces of Darkness. In those early days Liu Kang was the point man, he was the star. The rest of us played supporting roles, clearing the way so he could take on the main threat.

But times have changed. Raiden has abandoned us. He's become darker, using more ruthless ways to keep the "peace." And Liu Kang was killed. Though his spirit is still around to help us, eventually he'll pass on into the Heavens. It seems like we have no clear leader. We're just not the fighting force we once were. We're scattered all over the realms. Maybe it's because there hasn't been a real threat since we took care of the Dragon King, I don't know. But I can't help but feel uneasy about the future. I used to think, "What if there's a new threat? Who's gonna lead us?" With Raiden gone, how would we even tell when something bad is about to happen?The answer came soon enough. I started having visions of someone we had defeated years ago: I saw the Fallen Elder God Shinnok plotting something and I decided to find out what. In my visions I could see Shinnok in different locations, conjuring these communication portals to give orders, which I couldn't quite understand, to his minions. I followed him, finding each place I saw in my visions, and always there was evidence that he had in fact been there. My visions weren't dreams after all. Shinnok was back!

In my last vision, I clearly heard Shinnok say the next place he was going to contact his minion from was Shang Tsung's island fortress. That place has played a big part in the fight between good and evil. It seemed fitting that I would confront Shinnok there.

When he finally showed up, I watched him for a while, to try to get some idea as to what he was planning. Was I surprised to see that the "minion" in the portal was Quan Chi! Shinnok ordered him to gather the Forces of Darkness and retake Shao Kahn's fortress in Outworld. When he dismissed the sorcerer, I approached Shinnok. He was startled and immediately conjured up a skeleton hand to trap me. I jumped out of the way and followed with a Shadow Kick to the chest. I pummeled him, and he never regained his composure. The coward escaped in a cloud of smoke... a teleport of some kind, I suppose.

I seem to have discovered the next great threat to Earthrealm. Now I need to find the others. I'll need their help if I'm going to defeat Shinnok's forces. The fate of Earthrealm depends on me." -Johnny Cage
MK Armageddon Endings
Johnny Cage defeated Blaze, and the power of the gods rushed through him. 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.

Fun Facts
Cage Conspiracy
After Mortal Kombat 2, Daniel Pesina (who played Johnny Cage and the male ninjas) used his Johnny Cage likeness to endorse some non-MK products including sports supplements, workout videos, and even Bloodstorm, another particularly violent fighting game. The subsequent controversy and falling out was supposedly a factor in both Johnny Cage (and the ninjas) absence in Mortal Kombat 3.
Cabinet Absence
In lieu of Daniel Pesina (Johnny Cage's actor) fallout, the Mortal Kombat cabinet Liu Kang drops in game is missing one character who appears on it in real life.
Low Blow
In the Mortal Kombat movie Johnny Cage performs his infamous "splits punch" on none other than Goro. This is only interesting because Goro is one of the few characters Johnny has never been allowed to "splits punch" in game.
I See Red People
One of the many player rumors about MK2 that was actually true was the random chance for Johnny to perform his Shadow Kick with red shadows, instead of green. Though the exact science behind it was never deduced in that game, both the red shadow kick and red shadow uppercut would become regular special moves in Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
Decap Recap
Almost every fatality in Mortal Kombat 1 had some sort of associated glitch, but none was so infamous as Johnny Cage's multiple decapitation punch fatality. By simply mashing out the fatality motion over and over again, Johnny would crouch down and repunch off his opponent's head up to three times in a row (though some claim to be able to get four). Such was the popularity of the triple decap that Midway made it a normal extension of his decap punch fatality when it returned in MK2, and MK Trilogy.
Grimm-me a break
Johnny Cage's name was originally going to be Michael Grimm. His "real" name, John Carlton is actually the name of one of the many MK staff members at Midway. It is unknown if the relatives in Johnny's profile are the real John Carlton's relatives, though.
Cage's Career
The full listing of Johnny Cage's performances is: Dragon Fist, Dragon Fist II, Son of Dragon Fist, Sudden Violence, Aquatic Assault, 7 Poisons, Cage Match, The Gist of My Fist, 24 Karate Gold, Ninja Mime, HWAAAAA!!, Exiting the Dragon of Death, Wu Shu (television show), Who's That?, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Mortal Kombat: The Death of Johnny Cage (unfinished). Though which films and for what reasons are unknown, Cyrax thinks Johnny Cage to be a pretty crummy actor.
Forceball Technique
According to some Deadly Alliance story materials, Johnny Cage used his Forceball technique to defeat Mutoid Man on Celebrity Smash TV (Smash TV being another Midway arcade game, and Mutoid Man being its first boss).