Crossovers between different companies through various medias isn't that common, though it is one that can grab people's attention. its not everyday yo get to see the likes of Mario and Sonic fighting one another in a video game. Still, there are some crossovers that make people raise and eyebrow to and ask, "Why?" Case in point: Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe!
(The crossover not many would've expected)
Published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and then-Midway Games, this game features different heroes and villains of the DC Universe taking on the brutal fighters of the Mortal Kombat universe. Is this a formula for success? Well, kinda, no.
Not many people really asked for a crossover like this (the more popular choice would've been Mortal Kombat VS Street Fighter) and a 'T' rating, involving a series used to being 'M' rated, that turned off several people from the get-go. Still, this can be considered a transitional period between the Mortal Kombat Armageddon and Mortal Kombat 9 in terms of production. In a sense, this would lead to the creation of Netherworld Studios and the re-introduction of Mortal Kombat to the masses.
One of the things that would lead to a 'Mortal Kombat rebirth' would be MK VS DC's story mode, trying to create a story that featured the characters from two different universes. How much of a success was it? Time to find out.
The story for the two universes begin at the end of a great battle. The MK universe has the evil emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn fleeing after failing to conquer Earthrealm. The DC universe has the evil god Darkseid losing a battle against Superman.
During a confrontation with the thunder god Raiden, Shao Kahn tries to take out the sorceror Quan Chi for fleeing him through a portal. After Shao Kahn knocks Quan Chi aside, Raiden shocks Shao Kahn as he stands near the portal, the energies engulfing Shao Kahn as an explosion erupts and seemingly destroys the emperor. Thinking the Emperor dead, Raiden deals with Quan Chi.
After Superman drops Darkseid several hundred feet from the air, he confronts Lex Luthor for his part in helping Darkseid. As the evil god flees through a 'boom tube', Superman uses his heat vision to stop him, not knowing that the energy would disrupt the 'tube' and seemingly destroy Darkseid. Afterwords, Superman takes Lex Luthor to a prison for his crimes.
Elsewhere in Metropolis, the mercenary named Deathstroke crosses paths with the Flash, who appeared in Metropolis to help with cleanup. Flash manages to beat Deathstroke, but starts suffering from some strange headaches. Shrugging them off, he gets called to Gotham City to help Batman.
Back in the MK universe, Liu Kang is meditating at the Shaolin Monastery when his friend Kitana arrives. They talk about how their own friends, Kitana's Edenian forces and Liu Kang's monks, have disappeared. They decided to focus on the remaining groups that could pull this off: the criminal Black Dragons and the elusive Lin Kuei. Kitana goes to help Sonya Blade, who has a grudge against the Black Dragon known as Kano, while Liu Kang goes searching for someone from the Lin Kuei.
In Gotham City, home of Batman, the Flash manages to catch the burglar Catwoman as she was stealing a priceless artifact. Strangely enough, Kano appears trying to take the artifact himself. The Flash tries to intervine, but develops another strange headache. Catwoman manages to snatch the artifact back up, but soon walks into a random portal by mistake. The Flash, now seemingly possessed by some force, fights Kano under the belief he was working with Catwoman. He nearly ends up killing Kano before Batman appears to stop the Flash. Flash switches to fight Batman, though ends up getting tasered when he thought he beat him.
Back over to the MK universe, Liu Kang manages to find Sub-Zero, an ice ninja of the Lin Kuei. The two fight, though they both stop when they realize that neither one is causing the other's forces to disappear. In an effort to gain Sub-Zero's trust, Liu Kang manages to save Sub-Zero from a sneak attack by the spectre Scorpion. As Sub-Zero flees to help his clan, Liu Kang manages to hold his own against Scorpion. During the fight, Scorpion appears to be convulsing with yellow energy, rather similar to the Flash. Liu Kang tries to go in for a finishing move, but Scoprion gets them both engulfed in yellow light.
In Batcave, Batman tries to go over the Flash's physicality, trying to figure out what drove the speedster mad. However, the Flash soon starts glowing yellow energy and convulses as well, forcing Batman to back off. Soon, a bright light erupts and a startling event has occurred: the Flash and Scorpion end up switching places!
Liu Kang fights with the Flash (thinking him to be the shape-shifting sorcerer, Shang Tsung) and Scorpion fights Batman (thinking him to be Sub-Zero). Both Flash and Scorpion get beaten, with Liu Kang realizing that Flash is someone different and Batman learning that Scorpion isn't human at all. Liu Kang takes the unconscious Flash back to the Shaolin Monastery, only to be confronted by the real Shang Tsung. Liu Kang manages to beat the sorcerer, then getting a call from Sonya Blade. She is close to tracking down Kano, but can't pin down his location. Liu Kang explains that they could be dealing with another invasion of sorts and tries to connect to the Flash's 'chi'. However, he gets an overload of the mysterious energy within Flash and disappears.
Sonya tries to reconnect with Liu Kang back at her HQ, trying to link up the teleporter to Liu Kang's current position. She gets interrupted by the arrival of Catwoman, who Sonya Blade quickly beats down. She leaves Catwoman to be taken in as she tries to reach Liu Kang by herself.
Back in Gotham, Batman tries to get more information from Scorpion (which involves taking the spectre for a ride in the Batmobile), but gets stopped by a surprise attack from the Joker. Both get a surprise when Liu Kang appears. Batman tries to help him, but Liu Kang, seeing Batman as Shang Tsung, fights him instead. Batman manages to beat Liu Kang, but Scorpion and the Joker have disappeared as the two were fighting. Batman calls the Green Lantern to take him up to the Watchtower orbiting the Earth to try and extract more information.
Sonya Blade reaches Raiden's Sky Temple and tries to contact him, but gets a surprise in the form of the hero Captain Marvel. The good Captain tries to explain himself to Sonya, but gets taken over by the same energy that has been infecting people at times, known as 'the rage'.
At the Watchtower, Batman goes over the details with Green Lantern, thinking something is off. He knows that Scorpion is clearly inhuman (and possibly connected to Darkseid, in this sense), but Liu Kang is not. Green Lantern lets Batman continues his investigating as he tries to find Superman, who has disappeared after the events with Darkseid. Surprisingly, Green Lantern manages to find Captain Marvel fighting Sonya Blade, intervening on his friend's behalf. However, Sonya Blade, empowered by 'the Rage' manages to beat Green Lantern down. Fortunately, Captain Marvel saves him and they both try to fly back to the Watchtower. Jax, Sonya's partner, appears and tries to help her up, but she starts seeing him as Kano (much like how Liu Kang saw Batman as Shang Tsung). The two end up brawling as a result.
Meanwhile, Batman gets his investigation interrupted by the arrival of Raiden. The thunder god manages to hold of Batman long enough to rescue Liu Kang. However, Batman notices that the energy of 'the Rage' appears across the Earth. Back at the Sky Temple, Jax manages to keep Sonya down long enough for Raiden to appear with Liu Kang. They come to the conclusion that Shao Kahn is alive, merging the Earth with another world and launching a new invasion force in the form of heroes from the DC universe. Jax heads back to the base with Sonya Blade, intent on fixing the teleporter and launch a counter attack at the Watchtower itself.
On Themyscira, home of the Amazons, the island is starting to merge with Shang Tsung's island. Wonder Woman, champion of the Amazons, manages to fight off the mad sorceror and sent him back running. A call of Batman reveals that, of course, the planets are merging with one another. Wonder Woman gets the idea to go find Superman once more, starting in Metropolis.
Back at their HQ, Jax starts reconfiguring the portal generator to reach the Watchtower. He gets a surprise visit from Lex Luthor, who tries to buy off the portal technology. Course, Jax doesn't take the offer and has to take Luthor down once he knows he's hostile. With Luthor locked up as well, Jax and Sonya start their trip to the Watchtower.
Back in Metropolis, Wonder Woman tries to follow a fleeing Kitana, only to lose her in a portal jump. She gets a call in from Batman once more, now saying that Superman's Fortress of Solitude has been breached. Wonder Woman soon flies to the north and, upon reaching the Fortress, sees Sub-Zero and a frozen Superman. The two fight, with Sub-Zero losing and Superman being freed. When Superman flies back to Metropolis, Wonder Woman gets the call from Green Lantern that Captain Marvel is wrecking the place in a rage. Wonder Woman flies back to the Watchtower, with Sub-Zero in tow.
In the Watchtower, Jax and Sonya arrive, but end up in completely different places. They both hide out temporarily and wait for the right moment to strike. Elsewhere, Wonder Woman arrives fast enough to see Captain Marvel blast Green Lantern, forcing the latter to disappear. Captain Marvel is under 'the Rage's influence once more, forcing Wonder Woman to fight him and force him under lock and key.
Green Lantern, meanwhile, has teleported to Oa, where the Guardians of the Universe are explaining how not just the Earth, but the entire universe is being merged with another. Before anymore can be explained, Lex Luthor and Catwoman make a surprise visit, having escaped and used the same portal tech from the MK fighters. However, Luthor gets into a rant on how he believes that the Green Lantern's ring should be his own, all the while under the influence of 'the Rage'. Green Lantern manages to defeat him, but the Guardians interrupt before more fighting can take place. They explain how 'the Rage' is infecting everyone, forcing energy between beings to be redistributed to try and balance 'the Rage'. If it continues, then neither universe will survive the merging. With his ring recharged, the Green Lantern takes Luthor and Catwoman back to Earth to mount a defense against the MK universe.
Back in the Watchtower, Jax manages to get into a fight with both Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman, both of whom fall under 'the Rage's influence. He also manages to free Sub-Zero, allowing the ninja to form a partnership of sorts. Sub-Zero believes that he knows how to fix the problem, but he needs a certain individual to help him in the matter: the villain Quan Chi.
As Sub-Zero leaves to find Quan Chi, Green Lantern reaches the Watchtower and fights off Jax and Sonya Blade. He meets up with Captain Marvel once more, now calmed down enough to review 'the Rage' over with Green Lantern. The good Captain then heads off to his home, the Rock of Eternity, to communicate with his ally, the Wizard Shazam.
Back with Sub-Zero, he reaches Raiden's Sky Temple to talk with the thunder god. Raiden doesn't trust him at first, but knows that now is not the time to turn down help. The thunder god tells Sub-Zero of a mysterious structure that appeared right across from his sky temple (its actually the Rock of Eternity) and explains how powers are being re-balanced as the worlds are merging. Raiden then suggests Sub-Zero to search for Scorpion, who has always been known to work closely with Quan Chi. Sub-Zero leaves to find the spectre as Raiden continues his study of the Rock of Eternity.
Captain Marvel soon appears at the Rock of Eternity, fighting Raiden and blasting the thunder god back to his temple. He gets a vision from the Wizard, explaining the force that is behind the merging: Dark Kahn, a terrible infusion of Shao Kahn and Darkseid. His existence is what's causing the merging, so his defeat would end it. The Wizard believes that a team of 'light and dark' is needed, with Superman taking the fight straight to Dark Kahn. Captain Marvel begins his flight to Metropolis, hoping to find Superman.
Elsewhere, Sub-Zero manages to trace Scorpion back to the Batcave, fighting Batman himself for awhile. After the fight, a portal to the Netherrealm appears, with Scoprion pulling Sub-Zero in. Sub-Zero finds Quan Chi trapped in the Netherrealm, but ends up fighting Scorpion before he could get any answers. Their fight starts to destabilize the Netherrealm, enough to free Quan Chi. However, the sorcerer tells Sub-Zero that they need a team to combat 'the Rage' and sends him back to warn Raiden. He then orders Scorpion to find Kitana, whom he believes has come in contact with their enemy.
Scorpion goes searching for Kitana, first starting in Gotham City. He beats down the Joker for insulting him and then leaves. However, Joker ends up being recruited by Luthor for some purpose. Scorpion arrives in Metropolis, fighting off Superman before finding Kitana. He ends up restraining her while Quan Chi tries to control her. Once successful, Quan Chi orders his allies (Scorpion, Shang Tsung, and the dangerous Baraka) to take on Captain Marvel, who has arrived in Metropolis, while he goes to meet with Raiden.
The MK fighters try to weaken Captain Marvel by dragging him into the Netherrealm, but do not succeed in winning. Captain Marvel arrives back in Metropolis, only to be greeted by the group of villains led by Luthor (The Joker, Catwoman, and Deathstroke). Superman appears, ready to fight Luthor, but Captain Marvel tells the two to back off and join forces against Dark Kahn. They agree, with Luthor suggesting to find the MK's portal to reach Darkseid's home, the planet Apokolips. They split up into groups: Deathstroke and the Joker go off to find the portal, Luthor sticks with Catwoman, and Superman and Captain Marvel go recruit the rest of the heroes to work together.
Back at Raiden's Sky Temple, Quan Chi appears with Kitana in tow, explain to Raiden, Liu Kang, and Sub-Zero about the situation at hand. He drains all his make to return Kitana to normal, who then explains that the enemy is Dark Kahn. They decide to launch an assault against the DC superheroes and villains, requiring the forces of 'light and dark' to work together as well. This leads to an interesting partnership with Liu Kang and Shang Tsung...
Meanwhile, Deathstroke and the Joker keep searching for the base, though run into Sonya Blade and Kano along the way. Joker tries to kill Sonya with an acid flower, though it just ends up damaging her wrist teleporter. All 4 get teleported to Oa, of all places, and start fighting. While Deathstroke deals with Kano, Joker manages to beat Sonya, much to everyone's surprise. Joker steps in to take care of Kano while Deathstroke manages to work on Sonya's teleporter to send them back home. Upon arrival, Joker double-crosses Deathstroke, saying he doesn't care what happens to the world. He beats the assassin, coming to the conclusion that he'll be more than a match for Batman.
At the Fortress of Solitude, the unlikely pair of Liu Kang and Shang Tsung end up fighting Superman and Green Lantern. Both MK fighters end up triumphant, though Shang Tsung makes the comment of how they were easier to defeat than Liu Kang's masters. Liu Kang gives into 'the Rage' and tries to fight him, but surprisingly loses. Shang Tsung believes that the redistribution of energies have taken away most of his power before and are now returning back to him. Before he could elaborate anymore, Green Lantern awakens and knocks out Liu Kang. Shang Tsung defeats Green Lantern to save Liu Kang, only noting that they need him to save the world.
In Gotham City, Joker confronts Batman and, to his surprise, beats him. During his moment of glory, he gets tasered by Batman, who let Joker win to prevent further harm. Batman calls up Luthor, saying how Joker let 'the Rage' get to his head. Luthor rebuttals, saying that he sent the pair on a wild goose chase to distract the enemy. Batman warns Luthor that if he betrays the group now, the Dark Knight will personally hunt him down and make him pay. Switching over to Luthor and Catwoman, the pair keep looking for the MK base they were in before. Soon, the villains get confronted by Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Taking action, Luthor manages to beat both Sub-Zero and Scorpion by himself. He continues the search for the base with Catwoman in tow.
Back with the MK fighters, they discuss their recent losses against the DC universe. When Shang Tsung and Liu Kang arrive, the sorcerer makes the comment on how Kano was 'defeated by a clown'. Kano doesn't take it too kindly, soon giving into 'the Rage' and fighting the sorcerer.
Meanwhile, Luthor and Catwoman manage to track down the MK base and portal. Luthor works on downloading schematics of the portal tech while Catwoman does recon. However, Luthor soon gets confronted by Jax, though soundly defeats the MK fighter this time. To his surprise, Flash arrives, overcome by 'the Rage', and with an unconscious Catwoman in tow. Luthor manages to knock 'the Rage' out of Flash just in time for the rest of the group. With the portal rerouted, the heroes step in to travel to Apokolips.
Back with the MK fighters, Shang Tsung beats Kano, though Sonya tells him to spare his life, mostly because he is still needed. She gets a call from Jax (whom Raiden teleports to bring him to the group), explaining how the DC heroes got the drop on him and are using the portal. Raiden decides enough is enough and they need to take the fight to Dark Kahn. Kitana opens a portal to Outworld, with all the fighters stepping in and ready to fight.
When the heroes and fighters re-appear, they find their respective domains nothing more than shattered debris floating in space. They both confront one another, prompting the appearance of Dark Kahn. The being channels 'the Rage' through them all, forcing them to fight til exhaustion.
However, Superman and Raiden manage to break free from 'the Rage' (this is after going a few rounds with Luthor and Batman, for Superman, and Shang Tsung an Liu Kang, for Raiden). Both end up reaching the stronghold of Dark Kahn, but that close proximity to him forces the to back into 'the Rage' and fight. Fighting back against 'the Rage', the two use its energies against Dark Kahn, destroying the being once and for all. Both the heroes and villains return to their respective dimensions (DC characters are in Darkseid's stronghold and the MK fighters are in Shao Kahn's throne room.) To everyone's surprise, Shao Kahn and Darkseid end up switching places, ending up in each other's realms and lost all of their power. They both end up imprisoned with everything returning almost normal.
Whew, that was a lot to get through. However, this was all that contributed to the story, as a few other scenes took place that was little more than filler that could be taken out to make things go faster. For the most part, this was an entire compilation of two campaigns, so its a lot to take in at this point.
Anyway, that was the story of MK vs DC. Feels like one big clusterfunk, doesn't it? The concept for 'the Rage' is good, though its still hard to imagine some of the DC characters losing out to MK fighters in such a way. Its rather confusing and repedative at times, though some characters manage to get some cool moments tossed in. Overall, its good story to a not-so-good game. Now to wait on Netherrealm Studios' Injustice: Gods Among Us game to see if they can really pull of a DC fighting game.
Until next time...
Before I forget, here is the entire movie compilation that helped this review (thanks to Cr4z1D0G):
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe is owned by Warner Bros Interactive
Elsewhere in Metropolis, the mercenary named Deathstroke crosses paths with the Flash, who appeared in Metropolis to help with cleanup. Flash manages to beat Deathstroke, but starts suffering from some strange headaches. Shrugging them off, he gets called to Gotham City to help Batman.
Back in the MK universe, Liu Kang is meditating at the Shaolin Monastery when his friend Kitana arrives. They talk about how their own friends, Kitana's Edenian forces and Liu Kang's monks, have disappeared. They decided to focus on the remaining groups that could pull this off: the criminal Black Dragons and the elusive Lin Kuei. Kitana goes to help Sonya Blade, who has a grudge against the Black Dragon known as Kano, while Liu Kang goes searching for someone from the Lin Kuei.
In Gotham City, home of Batman, the Flash manages to catch the burglar Catwoman as she was stealing a priceless artifact. Strangely enough, Kano appears trying to take the artifact himself. The Flash tries to intervine, but develops another strange headache. Catwoman manages to snatch the artifact back up, but soon walks into a random portal by mistake. The Flash, now seemingly possessed by some force, fights Kano under the belief he was working with Catwoman. He nearly ends up killing Kano before Batman appears to stop the Flash. Flash switches to fight Batman, though ends up getting tasered when he thought he beat him.
Back over to the MK universe, Liu Kang manages to find Sub-Zero, an ice ninja of the Lin Kuei. The two fight, though they both stop when they realize that neither one is causing the other's forces to disappear. In an effort to gain Sub-Zero's trust, Liu Kang manages to save Sub-Zero from a sneak attack by the spectre Scorpion. As Sub-Zero flees to help his clan, Liu Kang manages to hold his own against Scorpion. During the fight, Scorpion appears to be convulsing with yellow energy, rather similar to the Flash. Liu Kang tries to go in for a finishing move, but Scoprion gets them both engulfed in yellow light.
In Batcave, Batman tries to go over the Flash's physicality, trying to figure out what drove the speedster mad. However, the Flash soon starts glowing yellow energy and convulses as well, forcing Batman to back off. Soon, a bright light erupts and a startling event has occurred: the Flash and Scorpion end up switching places!
Liu Kang fights with the Flash (thinking him to be the shape-shifting sorcerer, Shang Tsung) and Scorpion fights Batman (thinking him to be Sub-Zero). Both Flash and Scorpion get beaten, with Liu Kang realizing that Flash is someone different and Batman learning that Scorpion isn't human at all. Liu Kang takes the unconscious Flash back to the Shaolin Monastery, only to be confronted by the real Shang Tsung. Liu Kang manages to beat the sorcerer, then getting a call from Sonya Blade. She is close to tracking down Kano, but can't pin down his location. Liu Kang explains that they could be dealing with another invasion of sorts and tries to connect to the Flash's 'chi'. However, he gets an overload of the mysterious energy within Flash and disappears.
Sonya tries to reconnect with Liu Kang back at her HQ, trying to link up the teleporter to Liu Kang's current position. She gets interrupted by the arrival of Catwoman, who Sonya Blade quickly beats down. She leaves Catwoman to be taken in as she tries to reach Liu Kang by herself.
Back in Gotham, Batman tries to get more information from Scorpion (which involves taking the spectre for a ride in the Batmobile), but gets stopped by a surprise attack from the Joker. Both get a surprise when Liu Kang appears. Batman tries to help him, but Liu Kang, seeing Batman as Shang Tsung, fights him instead. Batman manages to beat Liu Kang, but Scorpion and the Joker have disappeared as the two were fighting. Batman calls the Green Lantern to take him up to the Watchtower orbiting the Earth to try and extract more information.
Sonya Blade reaches Raiden's Sky Temple and tries to contact him, but gets a surprise in the form of the hero Captain Marvel. The good Captain tries to explain himself to Sonya, but gets taken over by the same energy that has been infecting people at times, known as 'the rage'.
At the Watchtower, Batman goes over the details with Green Lantern, thinking something is off. He knows that Scorpion is clearly inhuman (and possibly connected to Darkseid, in this sense), but Liu Kang is not. Green Lantern lets Batman continues his investigating as he tries to find Superman, who has disappeared after the events with Darkseid. Surprisingly, Green Lantern manages to find Captain Marvel fighting Sonya Blade, intervening on his friend's behalf. However, Sonya Blade, empowered by 'the Rage' manages to beat Green Lantern down. Fortunately, Captain Marvel saves him and they both try to fly back to the Watchtower. Jax, Sonya's partner, appears and tries to help her up, but she starts seeing him as Kano (much like how Liu Kang saw Batman as Shang Tsung). The two end up brawling as a result.
Meanwhile, Batman gets his investigation interrupted by the arrival of Raiden. The thunder god manages to hold of Batman long enough to rescue Liu Kang. However, Batman notices that the energy of 'the Rage' appears across the Earth. Back at the Sky Temple, Jax manages to keep Sonya down long enough for Raiden to appear with Liu Kang. They come to the conclusion that Shao Kahn is alive, merging the Earth with another world and launching a new invasion force in the form of heroes from the DC universe. Jax heads back to the base with Sonya Blade, intent on fixing the teleporter and launch a counter attack at the Watchtower itself.
On Themyscira, home of the Amazons, the island is starting to merge with Shang Tsung's island. Wonder Woman, champion of the Amazons, manages to fight off the mad sorceror and sent him back running. A call of Batman reveals that, of course, the planets are merging with one another. Wonder Woman gets the idea to go find Superman once more, starting in Metropolis.
Back at their HQ, Jax starts reconfiguring the portal generator to reach the Watchtower. He gets a surprise visit from Lex Luthor, who tries to buy off the portal technology. Course, Jax doesn't take the offer and has to take Luthor down once he knows he's hostile. With Luthor locked up as well, Jax and Sonya start their trip to the Watchtower.
Back in Metropolis, Wonder Woman tries to follow a fleeing Kitana, only to lose her in a portal jump. She gets a call in from Batman once more, now saying that Superman's Fortress of Solitude has been breached. Wonder Woman soon flies to the north and, upon reaching the Fortress, sees Sub-Zero and a frozen Superman. The two fight, with Sub-Zero losing and Superman being freed. When Superman flies back to Metropolis, Wonder Woman gets the call from Green Lantern that Captain Marvel is wrecking the place in a rage. Wonder Woman flies back to the Watchtower, with Sub-Zero in tow.
In the Watchtower, Jax and Sonya arrive, but end up in completely different places. They both hide out temporarily and wait for the right moment to strike. Elsewhere, Wonder Woman arrives fast enough to see Captain Marvel blast Green Lantern, forcing the latter to disappear. Captain Marvel is under 'the Rage's influence once more, forcing Wonder Woman to fight him and force him under lock and key.
Green Lantern, meanwhile, has teleported to Oa, where the Guardians of the Universe are explaining how not just the Earth, but the entire universe is being merged with another. Before anymore can be explained, Lex Luthor and Catwoman make a surprise visit, having escaped and used the same portal tech from the MK fighters. However, Luthor gets into a rant on how he believes that the Green Lantern's ring should be his own, all the while under the influence of 'the Rage'. Green Lantern manages to defeat him, but the Guardians interrupt before more fighting can take place. They explain how 'the Rage' is infecting everyone, forcing energy between beings to be redistributed to try and balance 'the Rage'. If it continues, then neither universe will survive the merging. With his ring recharged, the Green Lantern takes Luthor and Catwoman back to Earth to mount a defense against the MK universe.
Back in the Watchtower, Jax manages to get into a fight with both Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman, both of whom fall under 'the Rage's influence. He also manages to free Sub-Zero, allowing the ninja to form a partnership of sorts. Sub-Zero believes that he knows how to fix the problem, but he needs a certain individual to help him in the matter: the villain Quan Chi.
As Sub-Zero leaves to find Quan Chi, Green Lantern reaches the Watchtower and fights off Jax and Sonya Blade. He meets up with Captain Marvel once more, now calmed down enough to review 'the Rage' over with Green Lantern. The good Captain then heads off to his home, the Rock of Eternity, to communicate with his ally, the Wizard Shazam.
Back with Sub-Zero, he reaches Raiden's Sky Temple to talk with the thunder god. Raiden doesn't trust him at first, but knows that now is not the time to turn down help. The thunder god tells Sub-Zero of a mysterious structure that appeared right across from his sky temple (its actually the Rock of Eternity) and explains how powers are being re-balanced as the worlds are merging. Raiden then suggests Sub-Zero to search for Scorpion, who has always been known to work closely with Quan Chi. Sub-Zero leaves to find the spectre as Raiden continues his study of the Rock of Eternity.
Captain Marvel soon appears at the Rock of Eternity, fighting Raiden and blasting the thunder god back to his temple. He gets a vision from the Wizard, explaining the force that is behind the merging: Dark Kahn, a terrible infusion of Shao Kahn and Darkseid. His existence is what's causing the merging, so his defeat would end it. The Wizard believes that a team of 'light and dark' is needed, with Superman taking the fight straight to Dark Kahn. Captain Marvel begins his flight to Metropolis, hoping to find Superman.
Elsewhere, Sub-Zero manages to trace Scorpion back to the Batcave, fighting Batman himself for awhile. After the fight, a portal to the Netherrealm appears, with Scoprion pulling Sub-Zero in. Sub-Zero finds Quan Chi trapped in the Netherrealm, but ends up fighting Scorpion before he could get any answers. Their fight starts to destabilize the Netherrealm, enough to free Quan Chi. However, the sorcerer tells Sub-Zero that they need a team to combat 'the Rage' and sends him back to warn Raiden. He then orders Scorpion to find Kitana, whom he believes has come in contact with their enemy.
Scorpion goes searching for Kitana, first starting in Gotham City. He beats down the Joker for insulting him and then leaves. However, Joker ends up being recruited by Luthor for some purpose. Scorpion arrives in Metropolis, fighting off Superman before finding Kitana. He ends up restraining her while Quan Chi tries to control her. Once successful, Quan Chi orders his allies (Scorpion, Shang Tsung, and the dangerous Baraka) to take on Captain Marvel, who has arrived in Metropolis, while he goes to meet with Raiden.
The MK fighters try to weaken Captain Marvel by dragging him into the Netherrealm, but do not succeed in winning. Captain Marvel arrives back in Metropolis, only to be greeted by the group of villains led by Luthor (The Joker, Catwoman, and Deathstroke). Superman appears, ready to fight Luthor, but Captain Marvel tells the two to back off and join forces against Dark Kahn. They agree, with Luthor suggesting to find the MK's portal to reach Darkseid's home, the planet Apokolips. They split up into groups: Deathstroke and the Joker go off to find the portal, Luthor sticks with Catwoman, and Superman and Captain Marvel go recruit the rest of the heroes to work together.
Back at Raiden's Sky Temple, Quan Chi appears with Kitana in tow, explain to Raiden, Liu Kang, and Sub-Zero about the situation at hand. He drains all his make to return Kitana to normal, who then explains that the enemy is Dark Kahn. They decide to launch an assault against the DC superheroes and villains, requiring the forces of 'light and dark' to work together as well. This leads to an interesting partnership with Liu Kang and Shang Tsung...
Meanwhile, Deathstroke and the Joker keep searching for the base, though run into Sonya Blade and Kano along the way. Joker tries to kill Sonya with an acid flower, though it just ends up damaging her wrist teleporter. All 4 get teleported to Oa, of all places, and start fighting. While Deathstroke deals with Kano, Joker manages to beat Sonya, much to everyone's surprise. Joker steps in to take care of Kano while Deathstroke manages to work on Sonya's teleporter to send them back home. Upon arrival, Joker double-crosses Deathstroke, saying he doesn't care what happens to the world. He beats the assassin, coming to the conclusion that he'll be more than a match for Batman.
At the Fortress of Solitude, the unlikely pair of Liu Kang and Shang Tsung end up fighting Superman and Green Lantern. Both MK fighters end up triumphant, though Shang Tsung makes the comment of how they were easier to defeat than Liu Kang's masters. Liu Kang gives into 'the Rage' and tries to fight him, but surprisingly loses. Shang Tsung believes that the redistribution of energies have taken away most of his power before and are now returning back to him. Before he could elaborate anymore, Green Lantern awakens and knocks out Liu Kang. Shang Tsung defeats Green Lantern to save Liu Kang, only noting that they need him to save the world.
In Gotham City, Joker confronts Batman and, to his surprise, beats him. During his moment of glory, he gets tasered by Batman, who let Joker win to prevent further harm. Batman calls up Luthor, saying how Joker let 'the Rage' get to his head. Luthor rebuttals, saying that he sent the pair on a wild goose chase to distract the enemy. Batman warns Luthor that if he betrays the group now, the Dark Knight will personally hunt him down and make him pay. Switching over to Luthor and Catwoman, the pair keep looking for the MK base they were in before. Soon, the villains get confronted by Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Taking action, Luthor manages to beat both Sub-Zero and Scorpion by himself. He continues the search for the base with Catwoman in tow.
Back with the MK fighters, they discuss their recent losses against the DC universe. When Shang Tsung and Liu Kang arrive, the sorcerer makes the comment on how Kano was 'defeated by a clown'. Kano doesn't take it too kindly, soon giving into 'the Rage' and fighting the sorcerer.
Meanwhile, Luthor and Catwoman manage to track down the MK base and portal. Luthor works on downloading schematics of the portal tech while Catwoman does recon. However, Luthor soon gets confronted by Jax, though soundly defeats the MK fighter this time. To his surprise, Flash arrives, overcome by 'the Rage', and with an unconscious Catwoman in tow. Luthor manages to knock 'the Rage' out of Flash just in time for the rest of the group. With the portal rerouted, the heroes step in to travel to Apokolips.
Back with the MK fighters, Shang Tsung beats Kano, though Sonya tells him to spare his life, mostly because he is still needed. She gets a call from Jax (whom Raiden teleports to bring him to the group), explaining how the DC heroes got the drop on him and are using the portal. Raiden decides enough is enough and they need to take the fight to Dark Kahn. Kitana opens a portal to Outworld, with all the fighters stepping in and ready to fight.
When the heroes and fighters re-appear, they find their respective domains nothing more than shattered debris floating in space. They both confront one another, prompting the appearance of Dark Kahn. The being channels 'the Rage' through them all, forcing them to fight til exhaustion.
However, Superman and Raiden manage to break free from 'the Rage' (this is after going a few rounds with Luthor and Batman, for Superman, and Shang Tsung an Liu Kang, for Raiden). Both end up reaching the stronghold of Dark Kahn, but that close proximity to him forces the to back into 'the Rage' and fight. Fighting back against 'the Rage', the two use its energies against Dark Kahn, destroying the being once and for all. Both the heroes and villains return to their respective dimensions (DC characters are in Darkseid's stronghold and the MK fighters are in Shao Kahn's throne room.) To everyone's surprise, Shao Kahn and Darkseid end up switching places, ending up in each other's realms and lost all of their power. They both end up imprisoned with everything returning almost normal.
Whew, that was a lot to get through. However, this was all that contributed to the story, as a few other scenes took place that was little more than filler that could be taken out to make things go faster. For the most part, this was an entire compilation of two campaigns, so its a lot to take in at this point.
Anyway, that was the story of MK vs DC. Feels like one big clusterfunk, doesn't it? The concept for 'the Rage' is good, though its still hard to imagine some of the DC characters losing out to MK fighters in such a way. Its rather confusing and repedative at times, though some characters manage to get some cool moments tossed in. Overall, its good story to a not-so-good game. Now to wait on Netherrealm Studios' Injustice: Gods Among Us game to see if they can really pull of a DC fighting game.
Until next time...
Before I forget, here is the entire movie compilation that helped this review (thanks to Cr4z1D0G):
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe is owned by Warner Bros Interactive
