The cover for this special North American-only version of the game — which will also include a print of the artwork and "exclusive video content" — was created by fan-favorite comic book artist Alex Ross, painter of Marvels and Kingdom Come. Kotaku has video of Ross creating the cover, giving you the chance to be impressed and confused by his method (Seriously, why does he do everything in black ink first if he's just going to paint over it anyway?). Alternatively, you can just spend as much time as we have nitpicking what's going on with the DC heroes' outfits — What's going on with Green Lantern's shoulder padding? What's with the Flash's armbands? Is that the post-Flash: Rebirth costume (in which case, which Flash is that?)?

In case you're as anal as we are about these things, Comic Book Resources are reporting that DC will publish a tie-in comic that leads into the game's release, as created by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias. Crisis On Infinite Modes, anyone?

I've been pretty upset about the DC characters' inability to kill in the traditional Mortal Kombat fashion, but at least it'll provide some amusement to watch Johnny Cage punch Batman's head off. That's what you get if you don't allow your kick-ass comic characters to kill: some shirtless loser who wears sunglasses to fight will decapitate Batman with his bare hands.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will be released in November of 2008.

The argument broke out initially over the question of which Green Lantern would be appearing in the upcoming fight game, and almost immediately, the fanboy gloves were off:

[Original Lantern] Alan Scott is a no in my books, unless they want to include members of the JSA... The real question is whether or not we will see Hal Jordan or John Stewart. Personally I feel John Stewart is the "Barack Obama" choice for this game, especially with his less than stellar track record (Gee, did I blow up that planet?). Kyle Rayner really hasn't been GL in a while since he took up the role as Ion (Oa's GL super weapon), so I am willing to count him out.

Picking the best Green Lantern is tough, because they all have pretty much the same powers and abilities. As a result, it all comes down to personality and whether or not you have a jet pilot fetish. Here's our rundown of the five top GLs for you to choose from:

Hal Jordan
Pros: Called "the greatest Green Lantern of them all" by his fellow members of the Green Lantern Corps, Silver Age GL Hal Jordan was a founder member of the Justice League of America and helped save the universe during the Crisis of Infinite Earths after being chosen as one of the few fearless men on the planet.
Cons: Hal was also responsible for the destruction of the Corps twice; once by executing villain Sinestro (Don't worry, he got better) and tripping a failsafe that depowered all the heroes, and the second time by becoming possessed by Parallax, the insect god of fear and killing everyone around him. He's kind of a cosmic jinx that way.

John Stewart
Pros: He's the Green Lantern that all the kids know, thanks to his role in Cartoon Network's Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series, although his hard-ass-marine portrayal there is at odds with his thoughtful architect comic persona. In the '90s, Stewart got his own series, Mosaic, which saw him have to build an international community made up of different alien races on an accidental patchwork planet; his reward for doing so successfully? Temporary godlike powers. Which was nice.
Cons: Well, that whole "being accidentally responsible for the destruction of a planet and its entire population" thing doesn't really go away that quickly. Also, superpowered alien cop architects? Who'd buy that?

Alan Scott
Pros: The original Green Lantern, Scott got his power not from little blue aliens, but from a magical lantern (Hence the name). Similarly, his weakness isn't the color yellow, but anything made of wood, meaning that he's particularly powerless against pornstars.
Cons: Well, he's been around since the 1940s, so there's that whole age thing going on, and who wants a superhero who can be beaten by a well-placed tree branch on the head, no matter how experienced he may be?

Kyle Rayner
Pros: After Hal Jordan got himself possessed and destroyed the Corps, freelance illustrator Rayner became the last Green Lantern in the universe, fighting Hal and keeping the name alive until the powers that be decided to hit the magical reset button.
Cons: Post-magical reset button, Rayner's been more than a little superfluous to requirements, and has been thrown around DC's publishing line (including an unfortunate stint in weekly book Countdown where he did very little for weeks on end). Is there a place out there for a replacement with little personality when the main man comes back?

Guy Gardner
Pros: Former football star and current arrogant asshole, Gardner is one of the more complex and realistic superheroes in mainstream comics, capable of being a dick or shameless, stupid, romantic as needs be.
Cons: Like I said, "former football star and current arrogant asshole." What didn't you understand about that? In lesser hands, the character can turn into a one-note joke, and as well as know, the ranks of comic writers is pretty much filled with lesser hands, not to mention other body parts.

Of course, there are many, many other Green Lanterns for the game makers to choose from - Mogo, the planet Green Lantern, for one. Personally, I'm hoping that the one that shows up in Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe is Ch'P, the chipmunk Green Lantern who died after getting run over by a truck. And, no, I'm not joking.

Green Lantern? [Midway Boards]