SDCC 08: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Panel Report

Jul 25, 2008

If there's one thing Midway knows how to capitalize on, it's timing. Just a week after The Dark Knight and the darkest Joker ever blew the doors off every movie theater in the known universe, Midway announced that Mr. J will be coming to Mortal Kombat vs. the DC Universe.

The news came during a San Diego Comic-Con panel about MK vs. DC featuring Jimmy Palmiotti, an accomplished comic book scribe who is behind the story for the game, and Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon. The two traded stories about how the game came to be (originally it started with the idea of just having Batman in the game) as well as explaining how Superman can fight people and not just dominate (he's vulnerable to magic, people).

After some talking, the panel moved to a video narrated by Boon. It went through the game's three announced environments (Hell, the graveyard, and Metropolis) and showcased a fight between Superman and Scorpion. When Superman ran Scorpion through one side of a building and out the other, the crowd went nuts. Next was a battle between Batman and Sub-Zero. There was freezing, punches and teleports galore. Next was Flash vs. Sonya -- super-speed, freefall kombat, and throws ensured.

A great video that you'll never get to see, right? Wrong! The video's embedded right below this sentence, fool!

Neat, right? Feel free to download that bad boy from the video link below.

After the walkthrough, Boon broke down the specifics of freefall kombat (tap the button on screen to inflict damage before landing) and Klose Kombat (the camera zooms in so you can wail on your opponent from the closest vantage point). Next, we got to see some signature moves from Flash, Supes, Scorpion and so on.

Cool, but it's all stuff you know because you read IGN. Well, next Boon announced some new characters: Shazam, Liu Kang, the Joker, Jax, Kitana, and the Green Lantern. Before you eat me alive in the article comments, keep in mind that the announcement slide said "Shazam" and not Captain Marvel, and it looks like we're getting Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern.

The news didn't end there; Boon announced that there's going to be a Kollector's Edition of MK vs. DC coming that features a comic book illustrated by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias as well as a PS2-exclusive set called MK Kollection that includes Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The set will be on store shelves this September and retail fro $29.99.

Next up was the traditional Comic-Con Q&A. Interesting tidbits included:

A kid asked about Doomsday being in the game as the final boss. The panel said that they couldn't speak to Doomsday specifically but would be announcing the final boss in the coming months.
Two folks in a row asked if the Teen rating was holding the game back. Boon said that they made concessions, but they're happy with pushing the limits that that rating entails.
No Babalities. Focusing on fighting and story mode.
Toasty-guy could possibly be in the game.
Boon did the most subdued "Get over here" I've ever heard.
They're not doing platform specific characters -- it would've pissed people off and it would've hindered the story.
They're looking into DLC.
No environmental Fatalities like the old school spike death.
Smoke's "probably not" in the game.
Different, unlockable costumes? Boon says there'll be differences so Batman vs. Batman doesn't feature too exact clones, but they're still looking into the different ideas.
If fans demand it, a MK comic book series could happen. However, there aren't plans right now.
Extra content -- stuff like the commercials, etc. -- will be in the game.
Cutscenes? Boon says "absolutely."
The game is broken into character-specific chapters. You'll play as the Flash for a while, meet Batman, and eventually switch to the Batman chapter.
A slideshow running during the Q&A featured concept art of the Fortress of Solitude as well as screens of Captain Marvel calling lightning bolts down on his opponent.
A guy begged for Aquaman to be in the game and be badass. Just about everyone laughed at this thought.
Create-A-Fighter not in.
Mortal Kombat vs. Marvel? "It's not in the planning."
The game's not coming to the PS2 or Wii, people. Get over it.
They'd like to do MK vs. Street Fighter, but there's a lot of legal stuff there, and just who would make the game?
A woman stepped up to the mic to say she was here to represent the female Mortal Kombat fans. Someone booed her. You have to love Comic-Con. Anyway, she asked how they created a story that dealt with two universes that were so different. Palmiotti said the biggest thing was crafting a story that made sense. He thinks they have it, but can't talk too much about it.
No in-game weapons.
There are no plans to bring MK back to the arcades, but there's going to be a strong online component. There will be a chat room-like gathering place to challenge folks and here about match results. There will be leaderboards.
The DC idea was presented to the MK team by its marketing department.
Boon says they got the DC characters they wanted -- recognizable faces. No Krypto, Bat-Mite, or Mr. Mxyzptlk.