10 Movie Franchises That Stupidly Killed Off Their Best Character
2. Johnny Cage - Mortal Kombat
Liu Kang may be the best character in the Mortal Kombat video games, but in the two original '90s movies, that honour duly went to Johnny freakin' Cage (Linden Ashby).
Linden Ashby's brilliantly smarmy performance as the egotistical martial artist-turned-movie star basically became the blueprint for the character in the video games from that point on, and with damn good reason.
Crushingly disappointing it was, then, to see him killed off in the first five minutes of the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, at the hands of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson).
Oh, and because Ashby opted not to return for the sequel - apparently due to very understandably hating the script - he was recast with Chris Conrad.
Basically, killing one of the games' most iconic characters, and certainly the most entertaining fighter in the 1995 movie, left a gaping void throughout Annihilation, which only exacerbated fan frustration with how utterly inept the entire sequel was.
And finally, if you haven't yet seen Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, MAJOR SPOILERS will follow...