Apparently not too long ago, some guy on the IGN boards started a rumor about a Mortal Kombat vs. DC Comics fighting game in the works, citing an “inside source” as his feed. People dismissed it as false, and moved on about their business.

Now it seems the rumor is getting more hype. TRMK.org, one of the more prominent and informed MK sites on the net, has a recent article that analyzes the rumor a bit more.

As incredulous as this rumor has sounded ever since it first made the rounds more than ten years ago, TRMK has confirmed from our own sources that the next Mortal Kombat game for the current generation of consoles – Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – will indeed be a “Versus” style game.

While we were unable to confirm the DC Comics angle proposed by the IGN Boards message, we do know that the game will feature another well-known established intellectual property. It seems unlikely that the DC Comics license will appear along side a franchise known for its gruesome fatalities; however, the MK Team did state that they were intent on “reinventing everything from the ground up” in order to “wipe the slate clean”. Therefore, the idea that the game will not feature fatalities in the traditional Mortal Kombat style is not as far fetched as it initially sounds.

The original rumor on the IGN boards had been picked up by a user of MKOnline forums, which enticed the guys of TRMK.org to do their own digging, and it seems they got a little more than just hearsay. It seems everyone from the staff of the fansites to the fans themselves are skeptical, and with good reason. Mortal Kombat became famous for it’s gruesome Fatalities and gobs of bloodshed and violence, and has not deviated from that road since it’s conception. With DC, despite being darker, leaning more towards the anti-violence side of things, it just seem farfetched to believe this 100%.

Not alot of DC fans would be too keen on seeing Batman having his spine ripped out, or Green Lantern having his head eaten off. On the other side, MK fans would not want to see Scorpion *not* impaling someone with his spear, or Sub-Zero *not* freezing his enemy and smashing them to bits. But, I guess we’ll see.

While this is not new by any means, I wanted to post some pictures from the second wave of DC Universe. We first mentioned the lineup for this wave in our second roundup of SDCC toy news. Here is the updated lineup with mirrored images below:

• Black Manta
• Superman Blue
• Superman Red (evenly distributed with Blue)
• Harley Quinn
• Modern Aquaman
• Modern Firestorm
• Variant: Classic Aquaman
• Variant: Classic Firestorm
• BAF: Gorilla Grodd

   
   
 

Source: Toyfare

IESB has been breaking all the news on this proposed JLA movie. They’ve received word that the way a JLA movie can come to pass and not interfere with any other movie series is an all motion capture computer generated imagery animated movie. Yes, they’ll cast actors, track their movements, and assign those to CG characters.
While Ryan Reynolds and Brandon Routh have made no secret they want to be on board as The Flash and Superman, respectively, Batman star Christian Bale says he hasn’t been approached, and adds: “It’d be better if it doesn’t tread on the toes of what we’re doing, though I feel that it would be better if it comes out after Batman 3”
Couldn’t agree more, but a CG movie would certainly elevate awareness of Wonder Woman, The Flash and any other hero they might want to turn into a bigger movie. And even if its very well animated and photo-real as promised, people are more likely accept it has nothing to do with current Superman or Batman movies, and re-casting would be perfectly acceptable.
Casting begins next week, we could be hearing some definite announcements very soon.

A couple years back, Screenwriter David Goyer was getting ready to go on a movie based on the DC hero The Flash, and he made no mystery that he wasn’t Ryan Reynolds in the role. Then the movie died. Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman isn’t happening either. Batman rolls on into the Dark Knight, and Superman is still tenatively scheduled to return again as Man Of Steel in 2009.
IESB reports that Warner Bros execs are gassed about a Justice League script they got and want to put it into production as early as next spring fro a 2009 release…

Our sources have confirmed earlier reports that the Justice League of America film will consist of at least Superman (Clark Kent), Batman (Bruce Wayne), Wonder Woman (Princess Diana), The Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman and the Green Lantern (John Stewart) and will follow the OMAC storyline and also feature Maxwell Lord.
Within a few weeks, George Miller should be confirmed as the director and casting should commence immediately. The priority for the studio will have to be to figure out what they are doing with Superman and Batman.

I bolded that last part because its important. I don’t know if Batman or Superman as a franchise can survive with a JLA movie. I don’t know if Nolan & Goyer’s Batman would even work in this movie. And recasting Batman would be as big a mistake as keeping him and changing his character.
Fueling speculation is Ryan Reynolds dodging Flash questions. Why would he talk at all unless he was either already signed or seriously being considered for the role?

Personally I’d leave Batman and Superman out of it. If they’re so gung ho to get a League movie going, lets get Giffen and DeMatteis on it and make a Justice League Detroit or Justice League International movie.

                                                     Picture courtesy of Draw!

Earlier today Newsarama broke the news that industry legend Mike Wieringo had passed away from a heart attack. Wieringo was probably best known for his runs on The Flash (where he co-created the character Impulse) and Fantastic Four, both with writer Mark Waid. Most recently he had just finished up a run on Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with Peter David and the miniseries Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four with Jeff Parker. Mike was regarded as one of the nicest, most humble guys in the business. He was only 44. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family.

For more details, please read the original Newsarama article here.
UPDATE: Newsarama has also added a few words from Mike’s friends and colleagues Mark Waid and Tom Dezago here.

Among some unexpected news from Wizard World Chicago, it appears DST has put on display the previously unannounced wave 8 of the DC Minimate line. The line appears to include Cyborg, Raven, The Question, Salakk, Batwoman, Sinestro, Red Son Superman and Red Son Wonder Woman.

News came from MinimateHQ, while the image came from Fwooshnet.com.

I was browsing through my feeds this afternoon, specifically the Blogs@Newsarama feed and saw the following preview posted to YouTube. It looks pretty interesting. It will be based off of Darwyn Cooke’s comic that was highly influenced by the silver age of DC comics. This trailer was shown at SDCC and will apparently be released in Spring 2008, though the B@N post says February 2008. Keep your eyes open for more info and feel free to share any thoughts on the trailer in the comments!

Today brings us more news from the San Diego Comic Con concerning upcoming toy lines and exclusive figures. We’ll start pretty much where we left off yesterday. We’ll try to cover the following topics:

• Marvel Legends Icons and 2-Packs
• DC Universe/DC Superheroes
• Castlevania

So read on for more details…

[Read the rest of this entry…]