fighting
Mortal Kombat Team "Modifying" Fatalities For DC Crossover
Posted by Michael McWhertor at 9:20 AM on May 9, 2008
When Midway announced at their recent Gamers Day event in Las Vegas that the Mortal Kombat franchise was going to get a boost from the superheros and superheroines of the DC universe, it made us wonder, "Why?!?" It also made us wonder, "Hey, what about those signature fatalities? Surely, Kano can't rip out the heart of Blue Beetle and get away with that." Given that Ed Boon says the game is locked in at a T-rating, that particular fatality is probably out. And Superman may be a dick, but he's not a murderer.
Just don't assume that fatalities are a thing of the past. Boon says they're simply "modifying" fatalities for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. "The names of these moves, and the level of violence we use, are to be determined," the MK co-creator said. "But it's certainly not a feature we plan on eliminating from the series." Just please, please make good use of Plastic Man, Ed. Maybe Elongated Man, too. They're begging for some fleshy Wile E. Coyote-style murderous contraption. Begging.
Mortal Kombat's Creator Talks [GameTap]

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Shiryu
Posted 9:57 AM 9/5/08
"When youre dead, youre dead."
Just like the Mortal Kombat franchise, eh?
Shiryu
Mansteak
Posted 9:55 AM 9/5/08
@shinko: Here's something that McWhertor HASN'T alluded to yet (unless yet again, he's getting his type on before I can finish my own entry):
[www.rawbw.com]
Mansteak
KaneRobot
Posted 9:55 AM 9/5/08
"When you're dead, you're dead" is the worst line of utter bullshit ever associated with a comic. Nobody stays dead. Not even Bucky.
KaneRobot
Mr.SithNinja
Posted 9:54 AM 9/5/08
Well, I am officialy pissed....
This is going to be a disatrous failure. Remember what happened when you toned down the fatalities in the SNES version MK??? Huh?? DO YA?? How'd that work out for ya?
Boon is raping his own life's blood, his legacy for a cash grab that isn't going to net him squat! Ed Boon just went from gaming icon to douchbag by selling out what made his games great.
Way to bend over and take it from DC who obvioulsy has more integrity than you by not alowing THEIR IP be tarnished by this. They aren't the ones taking away what is essentialy the heart and soul of their IP.
A "T" RATED MK ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???? You were the reason why there is a rating system in the first goddamn place!
Congrats Ed you just cracked my top 10 biggest douchbags of all time. You should be honored to be on the same list as Jack Tohmpson, EA Games and Hitler to name a few (in no particular order).
Mr.SithNinja
EnigmaNemesis
Posted 9:54 AM 9/5/08
They tried that whole Mortal Kombat with non-violent fatality thing back in the SNES, and it was outsold by the graphically, and sound inferior Genesis version.
Major fail by Midway!
EnigmaNemesis
cdammers
Posted 9:51 AM 9/5/08
Teen? Mortal Kombat? Really? The whole appeal of MK is the gore, and anyone who actually cares about the MK brand is welll over Teen age. Just make a DC fighting game for Christ's sake.
It will, however, all be worth it if I can rip off Jimmy Olsen's head and shit down his neck.
cdammers
KeroseneClimax
Posted 9:51 AM 9/5/08
Announce Doomsday as a playable character and then they'll have my attention. I wonder what fatality they'd give him when going against superman...wait, was that joke too soon?
KeroseneClimax
DigiMish
Posted 9:49 AM 9/5/08
wow, I never realized how much of a dick Superman really is... thanks for the linkage guys.
... but not Red Son... he is never a dick.
DigiMish
Mokai
Posted 9:47 AM 9/5/08
I love the line at the bottom of the comic cover. It's like something I can imagine John Madden exclaiming.
Mokai
SaanZ
Posted 9:47 AM 9/5/08
I WANT to rip Superman's head off...
I really do wat freeze and then SHATTER Superman..not to mention The Flash
SaanZ
kidnicky
Posted 9:45 AM 9/5/08
Pac-Man was a pretty popular game,right? Midway released that. And NBA Jam,and NFL Blitz,and whatever the hockey one was called. And Cruisin',which I think is one of the highest earning arcade games of all time. And Killer Instinct.
kidnicky
kingme
Posted 9:45 AM 9/5/08
How about Tsang Tsung stealing the DC Heroes Soul!! LOL!!
kingme
Green-clad Gamer Dude
Posted 9:42 AM 9/5/08
You people should have kept the Superdickery dickery going.
Green-clad Gamer Dude
ManjiKengo
Posted 9:40 AM 9/5/08
Honestly, supes could drop rain somewhere in a desert and taunt him with water.
ManjiKengo
Herodito
Posted 9:40 AM 9/5/08
"Jimmy, this gift you got me for Father's Day makes me sorry I ever adopted you as my son. I'll have to destroy it to teach you a lesson!"
Man, what a DICK!
jajajaja
Herodito
Fyren
Posted 9:40 AM 9/5/08
@bakakensai: What?!!!!, have you not ever played the holy grail called "NBA Jam"?!.
Fyren
Atheist Jew
Posted 9:38 AM 9/5/08
The whole fact that Superman is in this game in the first place is ridiculous. He can lift mountains! One punch from Superman will completely mulch any other character, and unless every other character is equipped with some kind of Kryptonite accessory they wouldn't be able to hurt him in the first place.
Atheist Jew
Fyren
Posted 9:38 AM 9/5/08
I love the fact that Lois wants to know what it feels like to be black for 24 hours.
" I AM CURIOUS (BLACK)!"
Fyren
BigWyrm
Posted 9:38 AM 9/5/08
@bakakensai:
Psi-Ops was Psick!
A next gen sequel would be even sweeter, but they'll prob make another Area 51 instead (yawn).
BigWyrm
ShaggE
Posted 9:38 AM 9/5/08
Y'know, despite all the flack I've given to this game, it could be good. I liked Deception and Armageddon, in fact, I'm a dyed in the wool Kombat fan from day one. And I love Batman.
So I promise myself now that I won't pass judgment on this game until I've played it. We survived Mokap, so I think we can survive Sub Zero fighting Aquaman.
ShaggE
Palladium
Posted 9:37 AM 9/5/08
Well, they've obviously screwed up the Mortal Combat system. The combat was always slow an unwieldy. What made it acceptable was the over-the-top aspect in every situation.
If you make it a teen game, what do you have? Another generic fighter in a genre that's over-saturated right now.
Palladium
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Posted 9:36 AM 9/5/08
Damn the both of you!
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Posted 9:36 AM 9/5/08
@CheechWizz: Superdickery Says otherwise
[www.superdickery.com]
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Mansteak
Posted 9:35 AM 9/5/08
DAMN YOU MCWHERTOR.
Mansteak
Mansteak
Posted 9:35 AM 9/5/08
@CheechWizz: I've got some bad news, friend...
[www.superdickery.com]
Mansteak
Michael McWhertor
Posted 9:35 AM 9/5/08
@CheechWizz: Wrong.
[www.superdickery.com]
Michael McWhertor
Fyren
Posted 9:34 AM 9/5/08
Aww, I really did wonder what would happen if you did bring the comics for a 100% translation.
If a batarang hits a prominent artery, foutains of blood should be spilt. If superman punches you, your body should look like its in shambles and mutilated.
Fyren
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Posted 9:33 AM 9/5/08
@Samos42: Screw Superman,I wanna decapitate Aquaman with a swordfish or something...
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
shinko
Posted 9:33 AM 9/5/08
thats what happens when superman has sex with a woman...... she dies in the process
shinko
CheechWizz
Posted 9:33 AM 9/5/08
hey, hey, just cool it mister! Superman is no dick
CheechWizz
Samos42
Posted 9:32 AM 9/5/08
The game isn't worth it if I can't rip Superman's head off.
Samos42
bakakensai
Posted 9:32 AM 9/5/08
Just wondering, did Midway ever release anything worth mentioning? Other than Mortal Kombat that is.
bakakensai
Szin
Posted 9:31 AM 9/5/08
I'm still calling it...
BEST CROSSOVER EVER! EV-ER!
Szin
Tesahli
Posted 9:31 AM 9/5/08
I suppose Batman's fatality could be like tying someone up or something.
But really, Mortal Kombat was a pretty average fighter, the only thing that made it stand out was the excessive violence, without that, it's not really Mortal Kombat.
Tesahli
KM91
Posted 10:28 AM 9/5/08
Can I at least uppercut Raiden into another galaxy?
KM91
Fortyseven
Posted 10:18 AM 9/5/08
@Atheist Jew: Perhaps if the combat takes place off of Earth or in an alternate dimension, his powers might be weakened or something. No doubt they'll completely bullshit their way into making him a realistic opponent. ;)
Fortyseven
SynKade
Posted 10:16 AM 9/5/08
@Tob3z: DC, not Marvel, get it right before you sound off, please.
SynKade
kingme
Posted 10:15 AM 9/5/08
@Tob3z: It's DC, not Marvel....and its not the same shit...
kingme
CheechWizz
Posted 10:14 AM 9/5/08
I know superdickery says otherwise but that's just communist propagana, I tell you!
CheechWizz
SynKade
Posted 10:14 AM 9/5/08
Honestly I dont have any issue with any of this. The trailer shows that there is still blood just not in the rediculously unrealistic way that it was before and 90% of the fatalities in the games were idiotic and gore for the sake of gore and had no real attachment to the character and their unique abilities. Depending on how they pull everything off I could enjoy this more then the others.
Fatalities-
-Superman:Fly the opponent into the upper atmosphere, pound on the opponent a bit and toss him back to earth, a massive crater being produced from the impact. Gory? Doesn't need to be. Cool? I think it would be fun.
-Batman:I think it would be suiting to have Bats just pummel the shit out of his opponent, extremely brutal, but no dismemberment or gratuitous amounts of blood flow.
-Sub-Zero:Freeze the opponent and shatter him in some way, no issues. Sure your superhero is dead but at there's no decapitated head rolling around or anything.
-Scorpion:Return to the flaming skull, wouldn't be changed too much if at all, if I remember correctly this fatality never had blood or gore in it, just a skeleton.
Why everyone is hammering on this so much at this point in time astounds me. It's alright to think, 'Hey, this don't look too hot. They really need to put some effort in to make me ever want to buy this.' But to jump the gun and proclaim, 'This game will suck, no ifs, ands, or buts,' is just stupid.
Hold your tongues until we have more information. Everyone just chill and stop bitching because this game has a slight chance of stealing some attention away from Tekken 6 or Boob Calibur 4.
SynKade
conglomerate
Posted 10:12 AM 9/5/08
T-rated MK game = DICKMOVE, GUYS!
instead of fighting, why don't we have them just argue with each other?
conglomerate
AuthenticM
Posted 10:08 AM 9/5/08
Superman killed Lois Lane ?!!
AuthenticM
Tob3z
Posted 10:05 AM 9/5/08
Is no one thinking from the MK point rather than Marvel?
I don't give a shit if I can fight Superman against anyone else. I want some fucking old skool again. I want blood and gore. You take that out you have just killed MK.
Fucking sell out imo.
For Marvel fans yeah this is probably awesome. But I cant see how this could be great if your more of a MK fan.
Tob3z
DaiMacculate
Posted 10:04 AM 9/5/08
@DigiMish: No Red Son Superman is indeed the shit, as is, paradoxically, Red Son Luthor ;)
Speaking of that *version* of Superman, that and the "Justice Lords" Superman from JLU make me wonder if there will be alternate variations/clones of the DC characters, perhaps Superman can't kill people but when you select the Red Son variation then you can lobotomize people with his heat vision.
Basically, if I can lobotomize people with my heat vision with a variant Superman and perhaps completely break all their bones with Batman or some version as a finishing move, this game goes from "I doubt I'll even rent it" to MUST-OWN :P
@KeroseneClimax: It was timely to make superman-doomsday jokes about a month after the first comic came out, IMO. That was always a joke :)
DaiMacculate
Guild_Navigator
Posted 10:04 AM 9/5/08
Superman's fatality should be sending his opponent to the phantom zone. Be funny seeing Mortal Combat characters all screaming as they fly through space in a two dimensional diamond.
Guild_Navigator
DaveKap
Posted 10:03 AM 9/5/08
Instead of actual fatalities, they are now going to have emotional fatalities.
When you beat Batman, your character goes "Ever dance with the devil by the pale moon light? I KILLED YOUR PARENTS!" and Bruce Wayne begins to cry. When you beat Aquaman your character says "You are the lamest excuse for a super hero EVER!" and Aquaman begins to cry.
EMOTIONAL FATALITY!
(... man when is 6pm gonna hit so I can get out of work...)
DaveKap
Bicro
Posted 10:47 AM 9/5/08
Mortal Kombat has always been one of the worst in the fighting game genre.
No finesse, just gore.
EPIC FAIL.
Bicro
kevvlosophy
Posted 10:46 AM 9/5/08
@bakakensai: I'm not sure but... the gauntlet series?
kevvlosophy
edison12567
Posted 11:17 AM 9/5/08
Oh Mortal Kombat you don't deserve the infamous K initial anymore, in my eyes you will now always be spelled the right way, with a C.
edison12567
MURDERFACE
Posted 11:10 AM 9/5/08
Goddammit but i wanted to see Superman rip Sub-zero in half like a phonebook.
MURDERFACE
Ycare
Posted 11:06 AM 9/5/08
Well, technically, if no one bears Kryptonite, this game won't be much fun since Superman win them all...
Now who between Superman and Superman wins ? Bah... worst than Smallville's intrigues.
Ycare
Green-clad Gamer Dude
Posted 11:05 AM 9/5/08
@Tob3z: Please, PLEASE tell me you did this purposely.
Green-clad Gamer Dude
DaiMacculate
Posted 11:55 AM 9/5/08
@Tob3z: For Marvel fans yeah this is probably awesome.
Yeah, for once we're NOT the ones who have to suffer our favorite characters being mangled by a third-rate fighting game developer.
DC deserves more crappy games, they haven't had nearly as many as Marvel, IMO :P
DaiMacculate
ban_hammer
Posted 11:39 AM 9/5/08
Best Hardcore Fighter Crossover Series:
Marvel vs. Capcom
Best Casual Fighter Crossover Series:
Super Smash Bros.
ban_hammer
HikariOblivion
Posted 12:16 PM 9/5/08
for this to be good, they need to have more than just mainstream DC, we'd have to get some Vertigo :P
HikariOblivion
Ashkihyena
Posted 12:11 PM 9/5/08
@Ashkihyena: Funny I said that after looking at the articles cover picture.
Ashkihyena
masonreloaded
Posted 12:03 PM 9/5/08
I like the Batman tying up enemy (with a batarang maybe?) as a finishing move idea. They will probably end up just calling them "Finishing Move!" instead of "Fatality!". Superman could just punch someone so hard they fly off the screen, Wonder Woman can tie them up with her lasso etc. They might keep some blood, but DC is not going to let Superman rip Sub-Zeros head off...
masonreloaded
Ashkihyena
Posted 12:00 PM 9/5/08
Hey McWhertor, I got bad news for you, Superman is pretty much a murderer.
[www.superdickery.com]
Ashkihyena
Zeiphor
Posted 11:56 AM 9/5/08
Blitz was pretty decent..
Zeiphor
shouryuuken
Posted 12:49 PM 9/5/08
@Tesahli: truth.
shouryuuken
Jetsetneo
Posted 12:46 PM 9/5/08
I can't help but feel like this game is going to ruin both franchises, but I'd love to be proven wrong.
Darkseid, Hal Jordan, and some sort of tag-team system for the Outsiders, Please and thank You
Jetsetneo
Ashkihyena
Posted 12:41 PM 9/5/08
@Tom Clancy's Samuraidino: Lol, I just saw that, I used the same comic you did, whoops.
Ashkihyena
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Posted 12:39 PM 9/5/08
@Ashkihyena: Maybe you should check out my earlier post Here: lol :P
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Dave Silva
Posted 12:36 PM 9/5/08
Holy crap, you just namedropped Blue Beetle. I hope you meant Ted Kord, but you probably meant Jaime Reyes. <3
Dave Silva
spiderweb1986
Posted 12:33 PM 9/5/08
Also, I know that they've written the Green Lantern's weakness to the color yellow out of the comic, but just imagine the bloodshed of a Lantern with a worthless ring against Scorpion.
spiderweb1986
spiderweb1986
Posted 12:32 PM 9/5/08
@Fortyseven & @Ycare: If memory serves, the explanation they're going with is magic. Superman's always been susceptible to magic (for who knows what reason), and it's also a convenient way to explain the powers of most of the Mortal Kombat characters.
Yes, it's kind of a lame explanation, but it actually makes sense in the DC continuity, which is probably why they chose it.
It's a shame, though - I wanted to see Baraka with Kryptonite claws...
spiderweb1986
PeterBeck
Posted 1:11 PM 9/5/08
I'm sorry, but if you're gonna have any fatalities involving Blue Beatle, it can only be him getting shot in the head.
*ALTERNATE JOKE*
Fatalities in a fighting game with DC characters? All I wanna know is if Doctor Light is in it, and if so his fatality should be raping your wife.
...Yeah, I'm gonna go sit in my comic nerd corner.
PeterBeck
Ghede
Posted 1:10 PM 9/5/08
I could never pull off the fatalities anyways. What attracted me to Mortal Kombat were the special moves and the character design. What drove me away from the new Mortal Kombats are the combo-based combat that just doesn't feel the same. I miss not having set combos. My favorite trick would be to jump+punch then as soon as it hits press down and punch and pull off an uppercut. If it fails, I can still pull of the rapid punch move, or throw them if they are blocking. Sigh.
Ghede
Huckleberry
Posted 12:57 PM 9/5/08
No fatalities, no buy.
Huckleberry
ichiban1081
Posted 2:24 PM 9/5/08
Superman no murderer, I thought he killed Doomsday? Surely its ok to kill when its self defense right :)
ichiban1081
xuratu
Posted 2:46 PM 9/5/08
Oh, you're so dark.
xuratu
HowardC
Posted 2:42 PM 9/5/08
@bakakensai:
Yes, yes they did. Bally/Midway, back in the day was THE arcade manufacturer in the US aside from Atari of course. Virtually every classic you can think of was either made by midway or liscensed to midway (usually by namco, like digdug and pacman). Of course gorf, the earliest example of a multi-staged game with unique levels, was a midway original! Aside from that, they made original titles in the 90's like smash tv, narc, and countless others.
Asking if midway ever made anything else just shows how ignorant you are regarding the arcade industry's roots (no offense).
Also remember, they were originally a pinball company! Ed boon and John Tobias were taken straight from pins to working on smash tv and Mk!
HowardC
mercatfat
Posted 3:25 PM 9/5/08
@HowardC:
Thanks for responding to that. I was getting worried it would slip away.
Midway was probably the most consistently awesome American (or otherwise, fighters aside) creator of high-intensity arcade titles. Midway Arcade Treasures 1 & 2 are completely amazing, and the third was fine if you're into arcade racers. Never really was my thing, though.
mercatfat
Bluur
Posted 4:19 PM 9/5/08
Sub Zero: I shoot Ice!
SuperMan: I can fly at near light speeds and lift entire mountains.
Sub Zero: Let's fight!
Genius.
Bluur
cheeses
Posted 6:15 PM 9/5/08
@CheechWizz: Come on! When Lois Lane became Cinderella he was all up in her face, laughin' it up in the background with her stepsisters while she had to scrub the floors while listening to them gloating about going to the grand ball.
Super. Dick.
cheeses
Tob3z
Posted 8:31 PM 9/5/08
Sorry DC lol. I'm not a fan of Marvel as you can probably tell. :p
Tob3z
Sam_Lowry
Posted 10:11 PM 9/5/08
This sounded like an interesting idea at first, but there's no way in hell I'm going to buy a T rated Mortal Kombat game. And I don't think a lot (any?) MK fans will either. So the only audience that's left are the DC fans that aren't offended because of the fact Midway neutered some of the best parts of MK.
Sam_Lowry
Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.
Posted 10:35 PM 9/5/08
And I suck so badly at fighting games, if they're gonna turn off every single fan maybe they'll make the game so that I can actually play it.
Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.
Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.
Posted 10:33 PM 9/5/08
@Bluur: Ask him whether he'd fight a guy who can lift mountains, shrug off nukes, fly at the speed of sound and shoot laser beams from his eyes, or Batman.
Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.
Ultrasinc
Posted 11:44 PM 9/5/08
Yeah, will Shang Tseng be able to turn into Superman? Thats a slightly bit wrong though...
Ultrasinc
MerlynNY
Posted 11:42 PM 9/5/08
Sorry but "modified" fatalities basicly mean toned down fatalities. In my book, thats NOT Mortal Combat. It's a watered down version of MK, so that they can have DC characters in it, in hopes of boosting sales.
I would have gladly plunked down 60 bucks on a new MK, with nextgen graphics and a good story. This, I'll pass on.
MerlynNY
wirebrain
Posted 12:08 AM 10/5/08
@bakakensai:
Midway released the first two Shadow Heart games here in the US.
But seriously... who approved this concept?
wirebrain
CommentatorHatman
Posted 12:46 AM 10/5/08
@Palladium: Over-saturated? Only thing I see is over-saturated is Mortal Kombat games.
Unless that became a genre when I wasn't looking.
CommentatorHatman
Jacktherip
Posted 2:12 AM 10/5/08
Batman's fatality should be to talk about his origin again for the 1 billionth time and have the person kill themselves.
Though I really do like Batman and think he could probably kick the ass of any MK fighter.
Jacktherip
zerojad
Posted 10:19 PM 12/5/08
@DaveKap: ahah "Emotional Fatalities"?
Nice xD!
eh I think this crossover could be possible, there are strong characters and imaginable powers on both sides.
zerojad