The Tattoo Crew

You can make a lot of assumptions about a person based on their tattoos, and this is certainly true in the case of Johnny Cage. After making a name for himself in Hollywood, the arrogant movie star entered the Mortal Kombat tournament to prove himself to skeptical critics. The fate of the world hangs in the balance, but Johnny is more concerned with public relations than he is with saving humanity. We’re talking about a guy who is so preoccupied with his appearance that he chooses to fight with his sunglasses on! I’ve met a lot of self-absorbed people in my life, but I can’t imagine anyone being so egotistical that they tattoo their name across their chest! Johnny’s acting career was on the decline and most of his projects were straight-to-video affairs, so I guess the tattoo was his way of making sure that nobody forgot who he was.

At the onset of Far Cry 3, Jason Brody is an adrenaline junkie with an adventurous spirit. When a skydiving trip goes awry, he’s captured by pirates before being rescued by the indigenous Rakyat tribe. At this point, Jason is marked with a “tatau” on his wrist to signify his potential as a warrior. This mystical tattoo represents three totemic animals – herons, sharks and spiders – and it allows Jason to tap into his warrior spirit. As he draws upon the power of the totems, he becomes stronger, his speed increases, and his reflexes improve. Unfortunately, he also becomes desensitized to violence, and he begins to lose his grip on reality. The tatau grows in size and complexity over time, and the tribal armband eventually becomes a half-sleeve tattoo. His humanity is being overtaken by bloodlust, and the expanding tattoo is indicative of this.

After losing his parents at a young age, Kazuma Kiryu found a new family in the world of organized crime. He made a point to uphold his own personal code of honor as he navigated through Japan’s criminal underworld, and he eventually rose through the ranks of the Tojo Clan. The elaborate tattoo on his back depicts a silver dragon grasping a pearl, and it’s meant to symbolize power, wisdom, and balance. These qualities already applied to Kiryu, so the body art merely accentuated his existing personality traits rather than defining him as an individual. People started calling him the Dragon of Dojima specifically because of his tattoo, but the moniker was also indicative of his unyielding resolve. Yakuza 0 gives us a glimpse of the tattoo in an uncomplete state, and this reminds us that Kiryu didn’t become the Dragon over night.

Miriam looks like a goth chick with trendy tattoos, but the elaborate markings on her body are actually the result of a curse that was placed on her by an alchemist. Demonic crystals were embedded into her skin at a young age, and they slowly spread throughout her body. Although the curse bestows her with all sorts of supernatural abilities, she’s fiercely opposed to evil and wants to rid herself of the burden. Miriam is a woman of few words (and a mild case of amnesia), but she’s driven by purpose even though she doesn’t fully understand her past. Without downplaying her situation, she should be thankful that the markings are so tasteful. The curse could have just as easily taken the form of a Hitler moustache or an unsightly tramp stamp, so she kind of lucked out with the stained glass motif. The markings are surprisingly fashionable.

In the world of Borderlands, Sirens are individuals who have been bestowed with all sorts of supernatural abilities. The specific powers vary from one person to the next, but one trait shared by all of them is the presence of unique tattoos that cover the left sides of their bodies. These markings manifest themselves when a Siren starts to develop their abilities, and they seemingly act as conduits that the channel the Siren’s power. (The markings will literally glow when the powers are active!) Although we have met many Sirens in the Borderlands series, Lilith is being singled out on this list for the simple reason that she was introduced first. Also, her tattoos helped shape her personality. Incidentally, Lilith was bullied as a child on account of her tattoos. This might explain why she developed a fierce independent streak as an adult.

Rei Kurosawa is a young woman who was hired to photograph an abandoned manor. When her recently deceased fiancé appeared in one of her photos, she followed him into the mansion looking for answers. At this point, she encountered a ghostly woman with an intricate tattoo running the length of her body. Somehow, this tattoo was transferred to Rei and it began to take hold over her. The so-called Tattoo Curse caused terrifying hallucinations, and the markings spread further across her body each night. The interwoven snake-and-holly markings were indicative of Rei’s spiritual pain, and they threatened to consume her entirely. On the bright side, she got thousands of dollars of tattoos for free! If she can’t figure out how to get rid of the markings, she could probably land a gig modeling for SuicideGirls.

Also known as Subject Zero, Jack is a violent criminal with a troubled past. She was kidnapped at a young age, stripped of her identity, and subjected to a litany of unethical tests. After escaping from her captors, she had a brief stint as a sex slave before joining a cult. Even though she’s one of the most powerful human biotics alive, she has “damaged goods” written all over her. Her body art is a reflection of her fractured psyche, and it serves as a constant reminder of where she came from. She has markings that denote her race and where she was born, and she also has tally marks to keep track of how many people she has killed. (She even tallies up the number of bones she has broken!) The markings also conceal her physical scars and provide a way for her to assert control over her own body. More than anything, Jack is a survivor.

The Nameless One is an ancient being who is effectively immortal. His uncanny regenerative abilities can heal even the most egregious injuries, and his body can even be restored after death! His memory is erased each time he dies, however, and his personality is altered in the process. Since his memories are so fragile, he uses the markings as a window to keep track of his previous lives. I probably would have just kept a notebook, but I’ll concede that the tattoos are appropriate for a hulking man dressed in bones and animal hides. Hidden among his tattoos is the metaphysical “Mark of Torment” that acts as a beacon for anguished souls. This mark ensures that his life will be marred by sorrow, and he can only remove the symbol by learning his true name. Again, I probably would have just written that down in a notebook, but I digress.

It would be easy to write Kratos off as an impulsive murderer, but the carmine markings on his body are indicative of a man who is surprisingly sentimental. Incidentally, his brother Deimos had an unfortunate lightning-shaped birthmark that concerned the Gods of Olympus. A prophecy spoke of a marked warrior who would bring destruction on Mount Olympus, so the Deimos was sent to the Domain of Death and forced to endure a lifetime of torture. As a tribute to his brother, Kratos gave himself a tattoo in the likeness of the cursed birthmark. As he set forth on a quest for vengeance, it became clear that Kratos was actually the marked warrior that the prophecy warned about! By targeting the wrong person, the gods had inadvertently created the very problem that they were trying to avoid. They kind of sealed their own fate with that one.

By design, Agent 47 is fairly nondescript. His suit is unremarkable, his shaved head is generic, and he shows no signs of morality or emotion. The one thing that truly defines him as a character is his distinct tattoo. He has a UPC barcode (with the number 640509-040147) printed onto the back of his head, and it’s one of the most meaningful tattoos on this list despite its simplicity. Incidentally, Agent 47 was genetically engineered in an underground cloning facility. He was literally born to be an assassin, and the barcode tattoo is a constant reminder that he’s a manufactured product. His name was derived from the UPC number, but he’s just one of many individuals who were conceived as expressionless killing machines. When scanned, the barcode lets Agent 47 pass through security checkpoints inside the facility where he was made.