MK vs DC: The Ranting Begins
Ever since the announcement that Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe was being made into a reality, I’ve had to remain calm in order to properly collect myself before unleashing my fury of nitpicking criticism. As expected, no one in the gaming community can help rolling their eyes at the concept; one that’s not only 10 years past its window of opportunity for success, but also completely absurd in principle.
No doubt as more press releases surface, I’ll contribute more to my own personal musings, picking it apart in the fashion that my fanboy blood dictates I do. But I do need to start somewhere. For the time being, I’ll prime this observational trek counting down to and a bit beyond its release with words that have already been said, yet bear repeating. Here is an excerpt from my previous article, noting why any fighting game incorporating the DC Universe could never be believable:
The only reason why Marvel characters work in a fighting game scenario is because most of their characters are defined by their powers. And while nerds may argue endlessly over the mathematics of their individual stats, you can easily bullshit around that and create a balance. You can’t do that with DC characters because while many of them do have fantastic powers, their characters are defined by the skills they possess and the application by which they use their abilities. So in the DC cast, you have an obvious unbalance of raw superpowers.
The two perfect examples of this reside in their two most popular characters: Superman and Batman, of which you can’t have any DC-centered ensemble cast without. Superman is nigh-invulnerable and possesses powers from almost every corner of the spectrum. If he doesn’t have one specific power, he can use the ones he does have to accomplish the same task Superman doesn’t even need the rest of the Justice League other than to keep him company. So there’s no way you can have a fighting game with him in it and ever hope for it to be believably balanced.
Then there’s Batman, who is the exact opposite. Batman has no super powers whatsoever. His abilities are based in his intelligence and skills. Pit him in a fist fight with just about any superhuman character, and he’s toast. Of course, many geeks out there will quote, “Yeah, but… In The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Batman almost kills Superman!” Yes. If given a week to formulate a plan, gather the necessary tools and resources, and also enlisted a couple other superhero buddies to give him a hand, Batman could in fact kill Superman. But that’s not how a Street Fighter style game works… Fighting games are one-on-one, on the fly.
Think of it like a bar fight. Say both Superman and Batman are in a bar one night and Batman slaps his hand down and says, “Alright, fuck it, let’s go!” right in Superman’s face. Superman would shatter Batman’s body with his freeze breath while simultaneously melting his face before the caped crusader’s beer mug hit the floor. Superman wouldn’t even have to get up from his stool; the most he’d have to do is turn his head! And if Superman was feeling sporting enough to use his fists, he would fuckin’ destroy Batman! One punch and Batman’s done…no contest. In a physical fight, Superman could fucking eat most of the DC characters.
Come to think of it… I don’t know why Superman doesn’t do that. Why doesn’t Superman eat people?? I mean, he’s a figure of righteousness, so he stands firm on his policy of not killing, no matter how dangerously twisted his villains may be. Wouldn’t that be an acceptable loophole? Cuz it’s not like he’d be murdering Lex Luthor if he simply used him as a food source. And it can’t be considered cannibalism, because remember that Superman isn’t human…he’s an alien being from another planet. God dammit! I want to see Superman eating more people!
Anyway, that tangent aside… While you can take a decent selection of DC’s characters to make a balanced video game, you can’t do it using the most essential of heroes and still maintain any credibility. And for those geeks eager to point out the Sega Genesis game, I’m aware of it and I think it proves my point.
After talking with some of my buddies, we explored the idea further, this time applying the Mortal Kombat casts contribution. Resident contributing writer, Harlock, made the point that in Mortal Kombat’s Outworld, there is no sun, thus Superman would be weakened to the point where he’d be more balanced against other characters in the game. My response to this was as follows:
Superman–unlike Birdman–does not require a constant exposure to the rays of Earth’s yellow sun in order to sustain his strength and superpowers. Otherwise, he’d be totally fucked either indoors or at night. His body absorbs them like a battery, allowing him to go for days (possibly weeks) without falling prey to fatigue. In order for your theory to hold, Superman will need to have been trapped in Outworld for quite some time before weakening enough for Johnny Cage to bruise him.
And to pull that off, that would require the developers to set up an in-game plot that establishes that back story. As we’ve learned from the additions of Darth Vader and Yoda into Soul Caliber IV, the policy of “more mystery, less history” is gamer-preferred. We don’t care how they meet up, just as long as the match is believable.
Not only that, but this also assumes that every stage in the game will take place in Outworld. While that’s not outside the realm of possibilities given the circumstances, I doubt very much that either comic book or video game fans alike would be pleased by it. Midway would be foolish not to attempt recreating familiar DC Universe environments such as Apokolips or a dark alley in Gotham City to arena this epic contest of daemons and super-friends.
Mix in that since the Mortal Kombat characters have been neutered of their trademark fatalities, they’re far less deadly than their earlier incarnations. This means that they’re less (or in some cases, more?) of a match to most any of the other DC characters, let alone Superman. Scorpion may still be able to use his flaming skull to set The Flash on fire, but now he’s only likely to last a mere 34 seconds against Lobo, whereas in his integral form he’d last a full minute and 5. However he’d always be completely invincible against Green Lantern, just for the simple fact that he’s YELLOW.
Similarly, another buddy of mine made the excellent point that Superman is vulnerable to magic, of which most of the characters of Mortal Kombat are in one way or another, well-versed. Not bad! It would balance Superman against the MK cast, but unfortunately it doesn’t save other DC characters like Batman, should they fight head-to-head.
DC characters are fantastic in their complexity, since more of their stories are anchored more toward their humanity than their powers. Unfortunately, what makes them weak as characters are, well…their weaknesses. Superman’s makes for an excellent comic book, but terrible for a fighting game. Then there are characters like the fore-mentioned Green Lantern whose weaknesses are just plain silly. Each of those alone make for a challenge in setting up a battle between characters within their own canon, but mix in a new franchise with their own set off rules… Lots o’ luck, guys!
