Long before there was Injustice: Gods Among Us there was the Midway produced, 2008 superhero crossover: Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe!

The cross-brand slugfest was the first encounter for the iconic heroes & villains of DC Comics, and what would later become Injustice developer NetherRealm Studios. While the moderately successful fighter set the stage for all that would follow, not quite everything went according to plan, as Creative Director Ed Boon revealed [via twitter]!

Maligned by many fans for its departure from the trademark violence of the core Mortal Kombat series; Vs DC Universe was not only a T rated game, but an all around watering down for both franchises.

Rejected box art [pictured above] offers a glimpse into the "darker look" the makers of Mortal Kombat were originally hoping to instill into the crossover. The sinister tone was vitoed by an unknown source, putting the kibosh on an abbreviated title, as well. A vaguely similar image found its way into Injustice [full story].

"MKvsDC" ultimately became the longform we know, and the rest is history. Midway would file for bankruptcy in 2009 [full story], leading to the purchase of all things Mortal Kombat by Warner Brothers. A "dark" reboot of the MK franchise was first order, before the harder edged Injustice launched the DC superheroes into fighting games in a more positive light.

Though almost certainly subject to a different process, Mortal Kombat had its own brush with "darker" cover art. Boon shared the discarded cover image last year, for the anniversary of the 2011 reboot [full story].

Would this darker tone have helped make MKvsDC a more compelling experience? Share your thoughts about what might have been in the DC Universe Injustice forum!