


The original game has spawned many sequels and spin-offs consisting of several action-adventure games, as well as a comic book series and a card game. Mortal Kombat was the first ever fighting game to introduce a secret fighter, reached if the player fulfilled a set of requirements. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a video game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but as that idea fell through, a fantasy-themed fighting game was created instead, nonetheless paying homage to him with nut-cracking movie star character Johnny Cage, whose initials and personal style echo Van Damme's. Mortal Kombat is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games, originally developed by Midway Games in 1992.
