Mortal Kombat X developer NetherRealm Studios has released a new character interaction image that has everybody talking about second generation debutante: Cassie Cage!

The daughter of klassic kombatants Johnny Cage & Sonya Blade was first introduced to us way back during June's E3 debut! An official render image soon followed - and it was there that the apparent work in progress first became evident. The latest picture's quippy dialogue is standard fare for "going viral", but like gossip coverage of Hollywood starlets - it's Cassie's changing face that is perhaps unintentionally drawing all the attention.

Changing Faces: Cassie Cage is growing up so fast!

Comparing and contrasting the different iterations of Cassie Cage has been simple, thus far. Both incarnations of the official render have favoured an obscured face -- the E3 build, in particular, featuring a Cassie with choppy short hair that covered even more of her distinguishing features.

The E3 look implied a slightly more mature, austere character than the bubblegum chewing, trash talking fighter that has since emerged -- a likely indication of the work in progress, more so than characterization. In the latest image, Character Variations come into play, but the rendering of Cassie's face is noticeably different.

Despite a five month timeframe following, we've still seen comparative little of Cassie when measured against other E3 introductions. D'Vorah, Ferra/Torr & Kotal Kahn took the lions share of demo coverage and screenshots, with only D'Vorah receiving the Character Variation spotlight, in the mean time! Tumblr animated GIFs - another attempt to virally spread, but only with thumbnail detail.

While the few glimpses we have seen have fed easily into assumptions based on the character's lineage -- it's fair to say we still know very little about the character's motivation, attitude, or circumstances.

Talking to Comic Vine at New York Comic Con; upcoming Mortal Kombat X comics writer Shawn Kittelsen toyed with the idea of Cassie Cage's parental issues as daughter to two of Earthrealm's greatest heroes -- a movie star and military woman, respectively.

It goes without saying that all characters in the demo are subject to change. The development process inherently lends itself to ongoing and organic improvements. Almost every modern version of Mortal Kombat has previewed elements that were altered, or improved, come the final retail version. It seems clear that Cassie Cage is nearing her definitive form, and while likely unintentional, the different images have provided an interesting look inside the creative process.

Related Article: Mortal Kombat X Behind the Scenes Notes - Sounds, Sights]

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