One thing that was always sort of weird about Jax: He was technically Sonya's superior, right? I'm not sure if that has changed (and I pay an unusual amount of attention to MK's story, so that should say something about how little I care about the Special Forces), but it always felt like Jax was supporting Sonya. It doesn't really felt like she looked up to him, or anything like that. She owes him her life and everything.

Please go !!!

i hate Jax he is sooo boring

yeah jax is boring, until he got those cyber arms. thats where I see great potental in him. you could do so much with them. use your imagination. example he could transfrom his arms into a gatling gun like bumblebee from transformers, or a chain saw. just thinks about all the possibilities.......

now for story he does need to get away from sonya, its so old and they do the same thing everytime. maybe he gets new cutting edge transforming, indestructible cybernetics that he can control with his mind but, only if he has a chip, like doc ock in spider man 2. then the chip gets destroyed and he turns evil, thus creating sonya vs jax. i know that might sound a lil to copy catish.....

and if you say sonya is iconic because shes the first girl(white) is it wrong to say jax iconic because he the first Black guy?????

Sonya is not iconic because she is the first female. That she is the first female of MK adds to the hype surrounding her, I guess; but there are more pressing things that make her iconic. For example: Being the centre of the Special Forces storyline, which has been the biggest representation of westernized culture in the Mortal Kombat universe. Being touted as a promotional tool (apparently) is another. These are what make her a symbol of the series. Not that she lacks a Y-chromosone.

alright i get what you are saying. she was the first girl but she had important part of the story. do you think jax is iconic or he's just been sonya side kick?? i think someone used the term as a "wedge" character, when we was talking about jade.

I'd consider Jax many things. I'd consider him a classic character, a prolific character, and a supporting protagonist. But I would not consider him iconic. No.

Yeah, Jax's rank is Major and Sonya's is Lieutenant, which makes him her superior officer.
But the games make him look like a sidekick, by having Sonya always being the one leading the chase against the Black Dragon or the villains. She's a woman of action and he's this guy who sits at base until she runs off on another crazy mission and he gets stuck following along or trying to track her down to help out or keep her out of trouble.

I definitely agree with you about Jax seeming like a sidekick. The funny thing is, though -- he has only chased Sonya in two of his video game appearances. That being the story for MKII and the story for MK4. Other than that, he is actually doing his own thing in the story. It just blends with Sonya's too much for my liking. That is why I feel Jax needs out of the Special Forces if/when he returns.

Wow, people really don't want to talk about Jax. Part of me just wants to go on to the next character (who I am really looking forward to discussing, as he splits people right down the middle), but I will be patient.

I'll say this about Jax: I hope they don't go with him becoming a full cyborg. I don't mind it if he does upgrage himself with some more technology and such; but I'd rather him snap as a human being with flesh and blood. I don't like the idea of him being evil by default because he has sacrificed his humanity.

Johnny should stay because he is HHHHHHHHHHHOT and I'd love to perform nasty fatalities on him. Still, if I were a character in the game, he and I would have at least sleep with eachother every night in story mode without anyone noticing, especially Sonya.

So yeah, Johnny Cage finally got a story development in Armageddon....finally, after years of being a careless jokester, decides to take things seriously and prove he can be a legitimate hero.

Congratulations Johnny.....only took you six games, two resurrections, a retcon, and a partridge in a pear tree to achieve the simplest and most blatantly obvious development your character could possibly have had.

A lot of people see his Armageddon bio as a new beginning for him...something that instantly erases the years of being a worthless tool and earns him the right to continue on and perhaps take a more prominent & important role in the story.

I don't. I see it as closure. Big end of the world battle, Johnny Cage finally woke the fuck up, and did something relevant. The end.

Why should this schmuck be granted a spot on the roster and allowed to precedence in the story? Because he finally got a character development that he should've gotten over a decade ago? Why should characters with actual potential who can go somewhere like Drahmin or Hotaru or Nitara not get a second chance, while this asshole gets a seventh?

Because he's icon. Because some random person who hasn't looked at Mortal Kombat in years might recognize his name.

What else does he have going for him?
A supposed romance with Sonya Blade and a non-existent rivalry with Goro. Neither of which, by the way, are actually part of the canon....save for the occasional nod or reference here and there (which, since Threshold keeps throwing lawsuits around, would behoove the MK team to tone down from now on).

You got your overdue moment in Armageddon, Johnny. The end. Now fuck off.

Gone.

yeah johnny always seemed like a joke character but he was very popular. if they would have turned him serious i would say yes but they wont. he kinda looks out of place in the mk universe too..... anyways i say no, even though i kinda like his special moves.

Johnny Cage: Being my favorite character I must defend this jack ass. He fits perfectly with Mortal Kombat. MK has characters that are references, and cliches and Cage fits the roster nicely. I really like his story of being a Hollwood actor who also happens to be one of the best fighters. I like how he is the comical relief, and that he is just a cocky asshole who is full of himself. It was also so bad ass in MKA when he pulled the forces of good together while Raiden was being an douche. His moves are cool, and his story has potential.
I don't know why so many people hate his story. Most of the classic characters have plain stories that tend to repeat. And a lot of the new character stories tend to not make sense continuity wise, and make MK an even more cluddered mess.

Verdict: Stay.

I've always liked certain aspects of Cage, while despising others.

For one, I dig his moves. His shadow kick, shadow uppercut and projectiles are perfectly fine.

Also, unlike most characters, I actually really liked his bio and ending in Armageddon. For his character, it was a gigantic step in the right direction

Of course, there are some downsides to Cage.

I'm not a huge fan of the campier sides of Cage, but I think that he's got swagger and I like that alot. He's the cocky character and for me, that personality works a LOT. You have SO manys stiff characters that have little or no personality in MK, but here, we know him, probably more than most characters.

For one, his endings have always been traditionally among the worst in MK. How many times did we really need to see him make another movie about MK? It was borderline insulting after the 3rd or 4th time.

Then there's the inescapable fact that Cage has died, more than once, if I'm not mistaken.

To me, dead is dead. I know the Ed Boon lifts a bushy eyebrow and smiles whenever he refers to a character "never staying dead" and what not, but to me, once you've actually died in your ending, you should be gone.

It's not shocking if you come back from the dead, it's only going back and crapping on what was otherwise a good and surprising moment in the series. It's why so many people hate Liu Kang, seeing as how he came back a frickin zombie.

The fact that the MK team has barely acknowledged the fact that they've gone back on his endings is almost as annoying.

As time has gone on, he's also struck me as being sort of a relic of the past.

He's flat 2D MK, he's the MK that was around when making action movies like "Sudden Violence" would've been considered cool. Basically, he's Steven Segal or Van Damme and how cool are those guys today? Well, not very.

It's time to give the "cool" mantle to someone that's a bit more modern. I'm not saying NEVER come back, but you've gotta leave at least for a little while. If Heaven decides to destroy earth, I could see a good way to bring Cage back, otherwise...

VERDICT: GONE. I like Cage a lot and I even liked where his story was going, but it's time for a new character to step up and be the cocky S.O.B. I'll miss you John Carlton.

I kinda like Cage and I kinda hate him too.
I dont mind him being around and if he was made over he could be really cool instead of cheesy.

At the moment he looks like a plastic Ken doll. He needs to look a bit more rugged. Maybe he should grow some stubble.

Johnny's moves are fine and don't need to change IMO.
The shadow kick and his ball punch are my faves from him.

I'll say STAY and I would actually like to see him in the next game!
...Never thought I'd say that lol

I know this is the B-movie lover in me talking, but I always thought it would have been cool if Cage was the one who ended up defeating Shinnok in MK4. would have been a fun yet not out-of-bounds twist.

But I say "cool," not "should." That honor really belonged to Subzero, but the way the story is told, we're never given the details of the previous game. Would like that question answered one day.

Anyway, Cage is another hard character for me. I've always loved the concept, but it's hard to love a character that does nothing. I almost wish they hadn't retconed his death in MK1. I think that made him all the more hilarious and interesting. But as many have said, he had a great run in MKA and would like to see him in a more relevant role.

He's not my favorite character, but if the perpetual suckfest Kano got a shot in MKvsDC, I think Cage should get another chance in MK9.

Never thought I would say this, but for Cage: Stay.

Cage has some great potential. From what I understand, they're now saying he never died? It's interesting that it seems that way. I would like to see him be a bit more serious, but keep things that do make him John Carlto...I mean Johnny Cage. I honestly would like to see him stay and really see what they do for him.

It'd be funny if now that he is serious, he decides to drop the Johnny Cage name, and he starts calling himself "John Carlton." But anyway, I am not surprised to see he difference in opinions here. Like Baraka, I am on the fence with him myself. There are elements to his character that I like, and there are elements that I hate. It really wouldn't have bothered me if he had stayed dead after MKII. They still could have brought him back in a canonically correct Shaolin Monks years later, and it would have been quite fun to see him again.

But as it stands right now, his death was retconned, and now he has only died as many times as Liu Kang, Sonya, Jax, Kung Lao, Mileena, Shang Tsung and Sub-Zero V. But not as many times as Scorpion.

I can understand why Xero thinks it was too little, too late, but Armageddon was a pretty cool change for Johnny Cage. It's like an idiot character being wrong about so much, but then saying something smart and it being all the better because of your low expectations. To be honest, I don't think some of the characters with "potential" have all that much potential, anyway. They just haven't been in enough MK games to be seen as pure shit yet. Johnny Cage is at least resilient enough to keep coming back and being shit.

Canonically, Cage is obviously a competent fighter, and I think they are looking to expand on that more. Another positive of Cage returning is that he can be a hero for Earthrealm, but at the same time he's not the hero to detract from a newer character. Even as "Serious" John Carlton I can only see him being the Ken to someone's Ryu. And I've got to be honest, I'd rather see a character like that return that a Kung Lao, who I feel will demand the spotlight too much.

So Johnny Cage returning would not piss me off, although I do hope that he has given up his movie career. That being said, if he's never heard from again, I really would not give two shits. It might make him more refreshing when they do bring him back. Like Bo' Rai Cho, though, they need to remove some of his "joke" elements, and focus on the areas that make him a strong force in the story. I'd also like an updated look. Cage with stubble is not a bad idea. Maybe even a beard if he has been training in the mountains. Instead of his old costume, perhaps update it to either be more MMA-based (as that is the latest pop-fight trend, or just put him in some sort of official martial arts gi). I'd also like to see him in just regular clothes (sort of MK-movie style, as I felt that suited Cage), and maybe something Shaolin-like if he's joined up with them.

But I think his image is something that needs to change if he himself has changed and become more "serious."

I'm actually a huge Johnny Cage fan. I have a soft spot in my heart for lighthearted jackass characters like him and his superhero equivalent, Booster Gold.

That said, I actually don't want to see him come back at this point in the mythology. He's been around so long without ever doing anything and Armageddon was indeed too little too late. Not to mention, I don't fucking buy it. Even if Johnny knew EVERYTHING that was going on, and he didn't, he was just being manipulated by Shinnok into being at the right places at the right times, that STILL doesn't qualify him to lead anybody at all ever.

Now, bringing him back is just wasting a spot on the character select screen that could've gone to Kung Lao or a new guy.

A more rugged version of Johnny Cage? I have no idea why, but when you said that, Daniel Craig as James Bond immediately popped in to my mind. A guy that kinda looks like a pretty-boy, but also looks like a stone cold killer that could kick your ass.

I'd be cool with that kind of Cage reboot, especially if they wanted to make him more serious.

Heh, this Johnny Cage stubble talk reminds me of what they did with Aquaman in the 90's.

"How can we make Aquaman bad ass and prove he's not a joke?"

"......."

"Have him grow a beard! Yeah!"


Maybe Johnny Cage can also get his hand chopped off and replace it with a hook.

I don't know about Cage. I did like his jumping kick pop-up attack. I thought that was a nice signature non-special move for him until Darrius took it in Deception. I never really followed his story, except that he makes movies, and Cyrax hates the movies. I want other characters in more than him, so I'm going to have to pass him. Although I won't be disappointed if he comes back.

They should make Johnny Cage "come out of the closet".

NO. Johnny Cage is the epitome of straight. Hence why he is always after Sonya.