DC’s most iconic heroes and villains clash in the Injustice video game series and the franchise’s third entry is the perfect time to bring Marvel’s roster of characters into the fray and pit the rivals against each other. Though a third Injustice game hasn’t been officially announced yet, with the announcement that NetherRealm will be ending DLC support for Mortal Kombat 11 and nebulous leaks that continue to pile up, the game's existence seems more a matter of when than if. With the Marvel vs. DC debate waging now more strongly than ever, NetherRealm bringing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes of Marvel toe to toe with DC’s Brave and Bold could be a compelling ride.
If there was ever a time to merge two canonically separate universes it would be now, as the concept of a multiverse is now well ingrained into mainstream cultural consciousness thanks to both Marvel and DC’s movies. Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home just united two decades' worth of live-action Spider-Men into one movie, and DC’s upcoming The Flash is set to feature two Batmen from two different realities in the form of Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck. With the success of Sony’s Spider-Verse and Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, it seems audiences are primed to accept a reality where characters who have never interacted get the chance to.
An Injustice game with Marvel characters on the roster would be the definitive proving ground for age-old "who would win in a fight" debates. Batman and Moon Knight, Green Arrow and Hawkeye, Swamp Thing and Man Thing, and every one of DC and Marvel's counterparts could finally square off. Injustice has managed to pull from DC’s most iconic and more obscure characters, and it seems Marvel’s bringing more obscure heroes of their own into the spotlight in their films every day. With lesser-known characters like Adam Warlock, America Chavez, and Korg either already in the MCU or soon to make their debut, there’s no shortage of characters that fans would be excited to see in an Injustice game.
Marvel and DC Could Collide In An Injustice 3 Fan Dream
As iconic DC heroes appear in Injustice, the series features equally iconic battle locations from the DC Universe like the Batcave, The Daily Planet, and the Fortress of Solitude. A game that includes contributions from the Marvel universe could include more commonly known locations - thanks to Marvel’s movies - like Stark Tower, Wakanda, and X-Mansion which would be a joy for fans to see characters like Superman or Batman tear up with Injustice’s environmental damage system. The game would also give players an opportunity to explore locations we’ve mainly only seen in comics so far like Castle Doom, The Negative Zone, and Namor’s Atlantis.
Gamers are already actively seeing IP used in more liberal ways than has been seen in other mediums, and NetherRealm could follow that cue. In Fortnite, gamers can currently play as Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America alongside DC favorites like Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Epic Games has been given free rein to pit disparate IP’s against each other in their wildly popular battle royale franchise, the events of Fortnite's Marvel crossovers can even be considered canon. It’s not hard to imagine the same agency could be given to a company with a track record like Neththerrealm’s. Considering that Warner Bros. Interactive - who publishes NetherRealm’s Injustice games - happens to have published the LEGO Marvel series of games as well, the existing working relationship between WB Interactive and both Marvel and DC certainly makes a crossover game seem that much more plausible.
Across mediums, consumers today are living in a bit of a fan service renaissance. Whether it’s reuniting cinematic Spider-Men, re-animating a poorly received Sonic the Hedgehog design, or the whirlwind of IP that has become Epic Games’ Fortnite and Fall Guys, it seems that content creators are more inclined than ever to deliver fans what they really want. NetherRealm has done nothing to dissuade fan optimism, and with Ed Boon - Mortal Kombat co-creator - teasing Marvel vs. DC (even if an imagined one) on multiple occasions, it's possible that now is the time for fans to get their ambitious wish for the Injustice franchise.