Rumors about the Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm working on a Marvel property have been reignited recently. The idea has been floating around for a couple years after Ed Boon was once asked about a possible relationship with Marvel and gave a particularly cagey response. If those rumors are true, fans might be in store for more than just "Injustice with Marvel characters." NetherRealm has pulled off some impressive, and previously seemingly impossible, crossovers so the studio might be going for broke with access to the Marvel license.
Up top, any speculation about a possible Marvel vs. DC game is just that: speculation. But with the recent resurgence of rumors about the Mortal Kombat team working on a Marvel property many fans are wondering about what form that game could take. While it's probably more likely that if it is indeed working on a Marvel game, it will stay a strictly Marvel affair albeit with some MK crossover a la Injustice. And while the prospect of seeing Scorpion do battle with Marvel's resident revenant Ghost Rider is certainly appealing, NetherRealm is known for its ambitions; with no limits, what could it be?
The Precedents for a Marvel Vs. DC Game
When most fighting game fans think about Marvel crossovers, the first thought it is Marvel Vs. Capcom. After a lackluster reception to Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, though, the now-gargantuan entertainment company may be looking at other avenues to bring Marvel characters into the fray. The biggest possible splash for a new Marvel fighting game would be to see its iconic characters battle against the other comic giant, DC. Barring the licensing issues that may arise from NetherRealm games being a part of Warner Bros. (also owning DC's rights), the crossover would likely garner huge attention. NetherRealm has already set itself a high bar for Injustice 3, so if it's in fact working on a Marvel game, the expectations are likely already a factor.
Conceptually. most fans perceive Marvel and DC as in direct competition with each other, and that's largely true on screen/print. Obviously, the natural kind of fan arguments with Marvel versus DC isn't terms of their games, at least not yet, so a crossover this big isn't something out of the ordinary. The two comic book giants have already collaborated on a huge crossover event in their comics back in the 90s, with the outcomes of major battles like Superman against the Hulk being decided by fan mandate. A modern crossover for the two would do a lot to generate the one thing that could easily propel the two to work together again, money. A Marvel vs. DC fighting game with the polish of MK11 brought to its story and gameplay would draw in a large swath of fans beyond just the more niche audience for fighting games.
And the team at NetherRealm would already have a groundwork for crafting a story due to the aforementioned comic event, but with the Injustice series, the developer has already proven its merits in crafting stories of its own with licensed franchises. If any studio could manage to bring together Marvel and DC, it's likely the one that has already created games where the Xenomorph can battle Leatherface or where Terminator and Robocop can duke it out. And with stakes as high as the total destruction of Earth already in its wheelhouse, NetherRealm could be one of very few studios ambitious enough to tackle a Marvel vs. DC game.
Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm is rumored to be working on a Marvel game.