I have had my doubts about the new Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game that is being worked on because I think the two genres are just too far apart, but I have been giving it the benefit of the doubt. I had heard about the in-ability to kill the DC characters and the change that they will not receive fatalities but instead get brutalities, this I can deal with. I have seen clips of the Klose Kombat and Air Kombat and these do look pretty interesting but then we get to the Joker.

After looking at the latest screen shots that Midway released showing the Joker in action I have to say I have mixed emotions. One shot shows the Joker fighting against Scorpion and it seems that he is blowing him up and has his typical evil grin, which makes him seem even more evil and sadistic. Then there is another shot of him getting punched in the face with an uppercut from Sub Zero and he has the same grin on his face, this just seems odd. Does the Joker only have one facial expression, judging from the other screenshots when characters get punched or kick they do not grin happily. It is almost disturbing in a masochistic way to look at the screen shot of him getting punched and smiling.

No one should smile when getting an uppercut to the jaw, not even the Joker. His facial expression is wrong on many levels and does not fit the fighting style of Mortal Kombat, neither does his overall look. The Joker is more of a mental villain not a physical villain, although his inclusion is nice it may actually hurt the overall feel of the game.

At the GDC there will be a press conference to announce more characters that will be in this game so we will have to wait and see who else comes out. Maybe his character just isn’t meant to be in a fighting game? What do you think?