Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Comics: No Blood, No Fatalities?

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Okay, first things first: we just recently ran a story about the new next-gen Mortal Kombat, as confirmed by Midway. Not long after that, fan site Mortal Kombat Online ran a pic depicting Sub-Zero (or Scorpion) facing off against Batman...that's right, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Comics. They cited "a source within Midway" and at the bottom of the original photo it said, "Koming Soon."

We won't delve into the potential pitfalls such an idea can produce, primarily because another bit of inside information has quickly surfaced (and this will explain the reason for that "E" ESRB rating in our pic, here). According to Kotaku, Midway contacted them and said that Mortal Kombat vs. DC features "no fatalities and little-to-no blood." ...no blood or fatalities? Sooo...in other words, this is not a Mortal Kombat game. Maybe Midway ran into weird licensing issues with DC, which says they can't allow Superman to be ripped to shreds in a particularly gory Kung Lao fatality. Perhaps the publisher is facing the same restrictions Sony and Polyphony had for years with Gran Turismo, when vehicle damage was strictly off-limits.

Well, whatever the reason, this whole thing is a little bizarre. We're not sure who's idea this was, and while we're hoping for the best, we're a touch concerned. Superhero fighting games haven't exactly been the bastion of combat excellence in the past, and MK really needed a nice, bloody next-gen entry to help rejuvenate the franchise. We'll try to dig up more details on Mortal Kombat vs. DC Comics, though. We like to keep an open mind, you know.

4/18/2008 Ben Dutka

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