The world of Mortal Kombat and its roster of Kombatants is one of the deepest, most diverse worlds in gaming. With characters like Jax and Sub-Zero, there's no wonder that fans are enamored over the lore and history of these characters. Johnny Cage is one of the original fighters, and over the past 30 years has built up quite a lengthy backstory. However, one of Cage's most trusted employees has fallen into relative obscurity.
Bo, Johnny Cage's bodyguard, played a vital role in Malibu's Mortal Kombat: Battlewave series by Charles Marshall, Vinton Heuck, David Mowry, Patrick Rolo, John Miller and Richard Emond. After Liu Kang has retired from the fighting life, Cage calls Liu Kang to check in, but the call is interrupted when Liu Kang is attacked by ninjas. Even though Liu Kang easily disposes of the ninjas, Cage feels the warrior could use an extra hand.
Cage sends his Liu help in the form of his bodyguard Bo. Although he's not a character from the games, Bo arrives with perfect timing to find that Goro has returned from the dead and is trying to enact his revenge on Liu Kang for dethroning him as the Mortal Kombat champion. Liu Kang is taking a beating when a hulk of a silhouette fills the doorway. Bo announces that Cage sent him to look after Liu Kang and Goro turns his attention to the bodyguard. Bo claims not to know karate as he lunges at the four-armed Shokan. Goro catches him in midair with a punch, but Bo barely flinches. Liu Kang kicks Goro out of a window and he thanks Bo for the assistance. Afterward, he agrees to let Bo help him full-time.
Liu Kang and Bo return to Kang's Chicago apartment but are interrupted quickly by another group of ninjas. Bo beats the ninjas aside with Kang's couch. The ninjas are not alone though, as Henge emerges from the doorway and lands a solid few hits on Bo. Liu Kang takes action and defeats the villain with a single kick. Kang announces that he must return to Outworld or the attacks will not stop. Bo agrees to tag along.
Liu Kang brings Bo to the peak of a snowy mountain that he reveals is a secret doorway to Outworld. Kang jumps off the mountain into the portal to Outworld with ease, but Bo is unsure. He's never been to Outworld before and the non-human beings he has been fighting are new to him. He gathers his confidence and jumps, only to be tackled by Siang before hitting the ground. Siang has already defeated Liu Kang by the time Bo lands in Outworld, and things don't look good for the giant bodyguard. Luckily Raiden, Jax, and Johnny Cage are on the scene and stop Siang before he causes more damage. The heroes then head to Shao Kahn's fortress to confront the Dark Lord.
The heroes arrive just in time to interrupt a wedding ceremony between Shao Kahn and a hypnotized Sonya Blade. Liu Kang, Bo, and the rest of the heroes fight it out against Shao Kahn's goons consisting of Goro, Reptile, and other villainous fighters. Bo suffers a broken arm during the fight but it is unclear who broke it. Shao Kahn then announces another round of Mortal Kombat between the two teams.
Bo's story is continued in Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition II by Marshall, Rolo and Emond. This story shows the conclusion of the events from Battlewave. During this issue, Bo takes a punch in the back of the head from Shang Tsung. Bo rises from this punch and grabs Reptile who has begun to attack Tsung. Bo, with a broken arm, smashes Reptile into the ground head-first. He then elects to sit on him for the remainder of the contest as he thinks he does not know enough about Outworld to be effective in the battle.
It would appear that Bo had his fill of the Mortal Kombat life. He would not go on to appear in any future comics or games. The next time Cage was shown with a bodyguard, it was Shaun Lo in the web-series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Since nothing in Malibu's Mortal Kombat run could be considered canon, Bo's existence ended when the series did, and he will likely never be seen in another MK story again.
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