Video Game Fans May Have Noticed Mortal Kombat II's Best Cameo

"GET OVER HERE!" Anyone who has played the "Mortal Kombat" video game franchise has heard the aggressive voice of the fighter Scorpion when he activates his deadly whip-and-grab special move. It's a truly iconic soundbite from video game history, and it was provided by "Mortal Kombat" video game co-creator Ed Boon, who has also lent his voice to characters like Reptile, Smoke, Jax, Liu Kang, and Johnny Cage.

While Boon is best known for his work on one of the biggest video game franchises of all-time, now he's officially an actor, thanks to a quick cameo that is hard to miss in "Mortal Kombat II," playing in theaters now. Funnily enough, the cameo allows Boon to interact with Johnny Cage, one of the most beloved characters from the fighting game series, and their exchange allows for an amusing reference to Cage's history in the "Mortal Kombat" franchise.

If you're not seeing "Mortal Kombat II" just yet, you can actually catch the Ed Boon cameo at the beginning of this role call trailer above, which calls out the names of all the key characters in the movie, complete with the recognizable voice from the original techno "Mortal Kombat" theme that made waves in the original 1995 box office hit film adaptation of the video game.

Boon's cameo is brief, appearing as a bartender named Ed as he serves drinks to Johnny Cage, following his rejection of a call to fight on behalf of Earth in Mortal Kombat. As Cage orders another drink, Ed says, "You seem a little down, Johnny. You're normally a little more animated." Cheeky!

The cameo from Boon isn't the only presence that the co-creator has in the movie either. "Mortal Kombat II" also sees the introduction of Noob Saibot, a resurrected version of Bi-han (or Sub-Zero), who looks like a darkened, shadow version of the typically blue ninja-clad fighter. The name "Noob Saibot" is actually a combination of Boon's last name spelled backwards combined with the also backwards last name of fellow "Mortal Kombat" co-creator John Tobias. 

This is proving to be a big year for fighting games on the big screen, with "Street Fighter" also making a comeback in theaters this year. Our own review praised "Mortal Kombat II" as being a "(mostly) flawless victory," both for fans of the games and action cinema. While I'm personally not throwing as much praise at the movie, Karl Urban is certainly the best part of the sequel, and seeing Ed Boon share the screen with a character that he created over three decades ago is pretty damn cool.