MK vs. DC Roster Revealed: Fewer Spinal Cords, More Superheroes

You’ve seen them before: Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK, and now this, from a place where fictional universes collide comes another fighting game of mash-up mayhem: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Midway has kept the much-anticipated roster a secret, but this past week, only months away from the game’s release, they finally spilled the beans.

The cast of characters has very few surprise contenders and sticks with the “stars” of each respective universe. Whereas games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 delved into the realms of mild obscurity with characters like Devilotte and Shuma-Gorath and had a wide spectrum of choices, you’ll find none of that here—or at least, not for the first time around.

Let’s take a look at the roster, shall we?

Mortal Kombat:

Baraka
Jax
Kano
Kitana
Liu Kang
Raiden
Scorpion
Shang Tsung
Shao Kahn
Sonya
Sub-Zero

DC Universe:

Batman
Catwoman
Darkseid
Deathstroke
The Flash
Green Lantern
The Joker
Lex Luthor
Shazam
Superman
Wonder Woman

Much has already been said regarding grateful exclusions (Johnny “Chump” Cage) and disappointing inclusions (Lex “Lame” Luthor), but the main cause for controversy seems to be not about the characters themselves, but their abilities. Namely fatalities, or a possible lack thereof, thanks to the game’s less-than-M rating. Gore goes with Mortal Kombat like cake goes with ice cream, so the mere thought of not being able to tear a character’s spine out of his back is enough to bring tears to anyone’s eye. But fear not, loyal fans: there will be blood. Well, some, at least—as much as a T rating will allow.

According to MK creator Ed Boon, “We’re modifying fatalities. But I have every intention to keep finishers.” He also added that he intends to “push the envelope of a T-rated game as far as we can without being an M-rated game.”

Case in point: a sneak preview of the Joker fatality.

Sure, there’s no blood, but it’s delightfully twisted, and enough to instill hope in all the naysayers that are still wary of the diminished gore factor.

There are others yet who have the opposite problem: aren’t superheroes typically not supposed to kill people? Isn’t that Batman’s “thing?” Boon responds to this stance by saying, “the DC heroes who don’t kill that often will have brutalities that will function just like fatalities but don’t actually kill the opponent.”

Regardless of how many fatalities exist or what worthy characters didn’t make the cut, MK vs. DC is sure to satiate both fighting game and comic book dorks alike with its all-star cast and action-packed gameplay. MK and DC characters might come from drastically different worlds, but they’ll come together in this game for one unified, worthy cause: kicking ass. Now that’s what I call teamwork!