Did you know Diaz had been cast as Sonya in the first Mortal Kombat movie? And only pulled out because she broke her hand having karate lessons? We didn't.

Imagine that...one of the most beautiful and successful actresses of our generation, and she was one broken hand from throwing it all away...

[Ed Boon @ Twitter, thanks Frank!]

That is, if you plan on holding your own Mortal Kombat contest any time soon and plan on letting a four-armed beast with an IQ like Goro's run the logistics for you. It'll all make sense when you watch College Humor's new video.

Mortal Kombat Is Not A Tournament [College Humor]

Proce, who contributed to Midway's final fighting game (Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe) before being snapped up by Warner Bros, wrote that the re-imagining of the MK franchise proposed "mixing modern muti-player and dismemberment game design with the original fighting mechanic." The artist's take on four Mortal Kombat mainstays—Raiden, Kano, Scorpion and Sonya Blade—are dramatic, gritty and, for the most part, a welcome change.

Proce describes his Scorpion as "a wraith wearing the yellow blood of the demon" that resurrected him, his Kano as "half Japanese half US military bad ass." His Sonya, which will likely draw the most criticism, was redesigned as "the daughter of a Texas Ranger who's sex appeal weakens her opponents while her Special Forces training kicks their asses." Finally, his Raiden pitch portrays "a god [whose] feet rarely touch the ground."

We're not sure what direction the Mortal Kombat team is taking the series at its new home, but I'm personally hoping it's more along these lines—a darker, more dramatic, less comic book-like treatment with a pared down cast—than what we got with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. I enjoyed that game as much as the next guy, but I like my MK with a little less Wonder Woman.

Here are the never before seen Mortal Kombat characters... [Vincent Proce Art Blog via GameSetWatch/SRK Forums]

(Yes, this is another impressively succcessful video bite from the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Pac-man and Contra vs. Duck Hunt. I'd say this man is on a roll.)

Unless of course Warner Bros. is keen on tossing about the term 'revolutionize' willy nilly, the new owners of the Mortal Kombat IP following Midway's fire sale have big plans for the franchise's online play. From the job listing:

"You will work closely with architects and designers on both the Mortal Kombat team and the advanced technology group to help design and implement functionality ranging from the core network transport layer all the way to owning the final implementation of brand-new features that will revolutionize online play"

Revolutionizing online play in Mortal Kombat shouldn't really be all that difficult, with only rudimentary online included in the most recent entries in the series. Here's hoping the WB does things up right!

WB Seeks Online Features For Mortal Kombat [Gamasutra]

While we were well aware that the WB would secure popular franchises like Joust and Spy Hunter, the currently changing trademark ownership of some classic Midway IP give us insight into what the new home of Mortal Kombat also secured. Some of it is positively ancient, like the Super Sprint spin off Badlands, and the classic Sinistar and Defender.

Trademark snooper superannuation dug up some of the trademarks transferred to Warner Bros. thus far, a list expected to expand as time goes on and the US Patent and Trademark Office gets around to it.

Missing from the list right now is Mortal Kombat, actually, which should show up as a WB property any day now—even though This Is Vegas is there.

For a very short list of what Warner Bros. didn't pick up, see this post.

Warner Bros. has contacted the United States Patent and Trademark Office to transfer proprietorship of the following Midway trademarks, Part One [superannuation]

But they could have! Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon has today revealed some artwork for a proposed crossover between the two franchises, which would have seen a Mortal Kombat-infused court made available in NBA Jam. With spinal columns, dismembered heads, the works.

Sadly, despite allowing gamers the chance to play as Bill Clinton as Prince Charles, playing on a Mortal Kombat court was a bridge too far for the NBA, who said nothankyou to the whole thing.

[noobde @ Twitter, via 1UP]

The recollections of the recently-deceased pop star continue to make the rounds in the media. And video games have gotten another mention, even though we weren't asking this time.

Author Paul Theroux recalls in today's U.K. Telegraph a phone call the writer had with Jackson that turned to the topic of dealing with the aftermath of the rush of performing on stage:

Jackson: "It makes people do strange things. A lot of our famous luminaries become intoxicated because of it - they can't handle it. And your adrenaline is at the zenith of the universe after a concert - you can't sleep. It's maybe two in the morning and you're wide awake. After coming off stage, you're floating.''

Theroux: "How do you handle that?''

"I watch cartoons. I love cartoons. I play video games. Sometimes I read.''

"You mean you read books?''

"Yeah. I love to read short stories and everything.''

"Any in particular?''

"Somerset Maugham,'' he said quickly, and then, pausing at each name: "Whitman. Hemingway. Twain.''

"What about those video games?''

"I love X-Man. Pinball. Jurassic Park. The martial arts ones - Mortal Kombat.''

"I played some of the video games at Neverland,'' I said. "There was an amazing one called Beast Buster.''

"Oh, yeah, that's great. I pick each game. That one's maybe too violent, though. I usually take some with me on tour.''

"How do you manage that? The video game machines are pretty big, aren't they?''

"Oh, we travel with two cargo planes.''

Jackson was a gamer, no doubt. Anyone remember Beast Buster? I missed that one.

My trip to Neverland, and the call from Michael Jackson I'll never forget [Telegraph]

According to the LA Times' report on the matter, Warner's $33 million bid for the better portion of the company's assets was the only serious offer. There were no other formal bids.

As part of a buy out time line that would accept offers until June 24th, Midway's goods and people were previously planned to go up for auction on June 29th to the entity with the deepest pockets. No need for that now.

Warner's bid would net the media giant development studios in Chicago (Mortal Kombat, Stranglehold) and Seattle (The Suffering, This Is Vegas) and rights to new and classic IP. It would also almost certainly mean another Mortal Kombat and DC crossover.

Midway still has two orphaned studios, one in San Diego, one in Newcastle (Wheelman), with the latter currently seeking a buyer for the team and its original Necessary Force property.

More details at the LA Times.

Warner Bros. emerges as sole bidder for Midway Games [LA Times]

The complaint filed by Kasanoff's Threshold Entertainment seeks to protect the company from losing intellectual property rights to certain Mortal Kombat characters and the ability to create movies and television shows based on the series in the event of the sale of Midway assets to a third party, such as Warner Bros. The suit contends than no such protection is currently on record, and any sale occurring without such protections in place could result in the unjust losing of said rights.

The suit goes on to contend that it was Kasanoff who made the series into the brand it is today, taking the property and characters such as Liu Kang and Sonya blade far beyond the relative obscurity of arcades, delivering a household recognition that the series would have never seen otherwise.

In a way I suppose he is right. While those of us steeped in gaming would recognize those original digitized fighters anywhere, the movies did go a long way towards establishing the characters in mainstream culture.

If the suit is successful, it would suddenly make Midway assets a great deal less valuable to Warner Bros., perhaps halting the sale completely pending some sort of resolution. Check out the link below to view the full court document.

Kasanoff's Complaint Against Midway [Game Politics Document Dump - Main Article]

Okay, let's be realistic...your ass is most likely never getting close enough to Megan Fox for her to kick it, but in that bizarro dream world where you accidentally run into Megan alone and bored with a console and a Mortal Kombat game nearby, she would totally plant heel in your rear end, as What They Play discovered when they asked the actress which games she was badass at.

Anything Mortal Kombat. I have that down and I don't cheat. That game just works well with my brain. The way my brain fires signals works well with how that game works. And I'm just really good.

So in that situation you'd be in for a beating, unless you somehow tricked her into confronting her own ironic Kryptonite.

The Mortal Kombat that just came out (Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe), I hated playing as Superman. His combos were so weird. I don't know, I just thought it was lame.

Megan apparently began playing back on the Super Nintendo, where she mastered Disney's Aladdin, which is an excellent choice of game names for a celebrity of drop. Nowadays, when she isn't kicking ass or tending her garden in Viva Pinata, Fox spends her time trying to play with her Wii, but it's hard.

I'm totally a fan of the Wii, I'm just not good at it. I actually have a Wii Fit and it's actually a really hard workout. It's pretty interesting. I think it's amazing you can combine exercise and gaming. There really are games like Raving Rabbids and there are these little missions that you have to do where you run. You're running with your arms but I swear to God I was so out of breath after every time I completed a mission. It really gets your cardio workout and it's a video game, which sounds crazy. But I think that's amazing. I hope we keep heading in that direction.

Just to take the wind out of you guys' sails, we've already come up with every possible iteration of the Wii being hard for Megan Fox joke imaginable, so you couldn't possibly impress us at this point.

Megan Fox: Celebrity Gamer [What They Play - Thanks Joon!]

While the rest of Mortal Kombat's cast of in-game characters were digitised actors, Goro obviously wasn't. He was, instead, a stop-motion miniature, whose moves were recorded on the 1990's most cutting-edge recording equipment: a table, a blue screen and a table lamp.

noobde @ Twitter [Twitpic, via Giant Bomb]

In honor of Father's Day, we celebrate dads in video games: from the good to the bad to the "Luke, I am your father kind," that don't fulfill any fatherly duties beyond lopping off a limb. Join us now in separating the Bill Cosbys from the Darth Vaders.

Fathers in… Role-Playing Games
Much like mothers, fathers in role-playing games often are killed early in order to inspire the hero to leave home and avenge dear daddy (and mommy) and the rest of their destroyed village. However, there are some dads who stick around. When they do, they're usually playable support characters their son or daughter's active fighting party, or they show up in flashbacks and hallucinations to offer pep talks and parental criticism. Here are a few of these fatherly figures:

Jecht, Final Fantasy X – Father of Tidus: He's an alcoholic all-star blitzball player who insults his son to toughen him up. Instead, he winds up alienating him. Only after son and father find out they're dead do they make up with a manly high-five.

Kaim, Lost Odyssey – Father of Liram: Kaim believes his daughter is dead, but when he rediscovers her as an old, sick woman, he gets around to some parental duties like making funeral arrangements and babysitting the grandkids.

Pankraz, Dragon Quest V – Father of The Hero: Pankraz travels the world with his son and eventually sacrifices himself to save The Hero from monsters. Alas, he can't save his son from being sold into slavery from beyond the grave.

Walter, Suikoden Tactics – Father of Kyril: Walter goes into exile to protect his lover and bastard son but decides to keep Mommy's identity a secret. He gets turned into a fish monster and attacks Kyril before another party member puts him out of his misery.

James, Fallout 3 – Father of You: Daddy dearest ditches you in Vault 101 and goes to find a cure for irradiated water. When you finally catch up with him, he sends you on a deadly quest and then bites it in the name of science. And, uh, saving you – that too.

Uriel Septim VII, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – Father of Martin: Had several legitimate sons to stock the throne with heirs, but wisely kept a child out of wedlock just in case a Daedra Lord killed all of his other kids. Instead of fostering the boy to a vassal or something noble, Septim stuck Martin in the church to keep him out of trouble.

Best Dad… Pankraz, because, while he couldn't keep his son from being sold into slavery, he didn't hesitate to take on a horde of monsters to save him.

Worst Dad… Uriel Septim VII, because, really, it was bad enough for Martin to be born a bastard – even worse to have Daedra Lords come after you because of some dude you've never even met. Thanks for nothing, Dad!

Fathers in… Fighting Games
Fighting games have a high volume of fathers. Apparently, popping out a few kids is the thing to do after winning world martial arts tournaments. But no father in any fighting game seems to have thought the decision to become a father and a world martial arts champion at the same time all the way through: Either you're abandoning the kid at a young age so they invariably follow in your footsteps just to find you. Or – worse – you actively train them in your fighting style so they can grow up, follow in your footsteps and then kick your ass.

Raphael Sorel, Soulcalibur series – Foster father of Amy: Raphael got kicked out of his own family for killing some crazy noble and found the orphaned Amy wandering the streets of some French town. He took her in, raised her, trained her and went completely crazy trying to create a perfect world for her.

Frederick Schtauffen, Soulcalibur series – Father of Siegfried: Frederick left his infant son to go fight in the Crusades. While he was gone, Siegfried fell in with a bad crowd and wound up beheading his own father in a misguided act of patriotism.

Seong Han-myeong, Soulcalibur series – Father of Mi-na and wannabe foster father to Hwang: Teaches both children how to kick some serious ass, but winds up favoring Hwang with family heirlooms. When Hwang refuses Han-myeong's offer to adopt him, he tries to marry Mi-na to Hwang. Mi-na runs away.

Cervantes de Leon, Soulcalibur series – Father of Ivy: Somehow fathered the hottest thing in the Soul series and then tried to devour her when she comes looking for his sword, Soul Edge.

Heihachi Mishima, Tekken series – Father of Kazuya: Throws his son off a cliff to toughed him up, throws him down a volcano out of spite and basically does nothing but try to destroy his son for the entire Tekken series.

Kazuya Mishima, Tekken series – Father of Jin: He may not have thrown his son off any cliffs, but Kazuya's revenge aspiration against his own father eventually turns his son against him. Also, it turns his son into a flying demon thing.

Marshall Law, Tekken series – Father of Forest: Law sees more of the insides of restaurants than he does of his own son, but he stops at nothing to pay the hospital bills when Forest wrecks his motorcycle.

Lau Chan, Virua Fighter – Father of Pai: Abandons his daughter to fight in the World Fighting Tournament and has the nerve to act surprised when she devotes her martial arts career to kicking his ass.

Bass Armstrong, Dead or Alive series – Father of Tina: Two words sum up his entire parenting technique– over and protective.

Fame Douglas, Dead or Alive series – Father of Helena: Fame knocks up a world-famous opera singer and then doesn't marry her; but he does leave his daughter his effed up company, DOATEC, after being assassinated. Thanks, Daddy!

Raidou, Dead or Alive series – Father of Ayane: Raped her mother. ‘Nuff said.

Dhalsim, Street Fighter – Father of Datta: Dhalsim serves as a father to his entire village by entering the World Warrior tournament to raise money for them.

Best Dad… Bass, because he loves his daughter too much to let her dress like a slut – unlike Cervantes.

Worst Dad… Heihachi, because he throws his son off a cliff and into a volcano; and he imprisons his grandson. Somebody call Child Protective Services!

Fathers in… Action Adventure and Survival Horror Games
It's hard to feel warm and fuzzy about fathers in these types of games because they're almost always an antagonist. Even the well-meaning Dads who just want to protect their offspring usually wind up doing the opposite by turning evil, letting work consume them or by losing the family farm to a rival rancher. But, even if they're real jerks, they're still fathers and they deserve their due on this day.

Joe Hayabusa, Ninja Gaiden – Father of Ryu: Leads an entire ninja clan and raises a badass ninja son.

William Birkin, Resident Evil 2 – Father of Sherry: The guy's got no time for parenting – he's so married to his work he becomes the last boss.

Mr. Burnside, Resident Evil: Code Veronica – Father of Steve: Not only did he raise his son to be a whiny loser, but Mr. Burnside also thought it'd be a great idea to steal from the Umbrella Corporation, thus getting his wife shot full of holes and landing him and his son on a zombie-infested prison camp island. Great going, old man.

Harry Mason, Silent Hill and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – Adoptive father of Cheryl and possibly Alessa, depending on which ending you get: Harry probably shouldn't have picked up a strange child on the side of the road, but damned if he doesn't do his best to hang onto her – even when the monsters start showing up to kill him.

King Zora XVI, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Father of Princess Ruto: He loves his daughter, but is too fat and lazy to go save her when she goes missing inside a giant fish monster.

Talon, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Father of Malon: Talon is a narcoleptic rancher who makes a good living for himself and his daughter on Lon Lon Ranch; but unfortunately, he has poor taste in employees. Pro tip: don't hire somebody with the hots for your daughter.

Deku King, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask – Father of Deku Princess: Overprotective doesn't quite sum it up – this is a guy who tortures small animals when his child goes missing instead of looking for her himself.

Bowser, Super Mario Bros. series – Father of Bowser Jr. and seven other Koopalings: He lets his kids run wild with pirate ships and magic zappy wands. Not exactly parent of the year material.

Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong series – Father of Donkey Kong Jr.: He'd rather hang out with his nephew, Diddy Kong, than his own son. What does that say about his fatherly reputation?

Kratos, God of War series – Father of Calliope: He's away from home a lot, fighting wars and when he does come back, he kills his kid in a God-induced rage. She goes to heaven and he tries to visit, but that would kind of break the world, so he leaves her be.

Kento Marek, The Force Unleashed – Father of Galen, aka Starkiller, aka Vader's Secret Apprentice: He escapes the Jedi purges with his wife and young son and hides out on Kashyyyk. Vader shows up, kills him and takes his son to train/raise.

Dr. Light, Mega Man series – Father of Mega Man: Okay, so he didn't provide Mega Man chromosomes; but Dr. Light built him and raised him. So he's like both father and mother to Mega Man.

Nate Harlow, Red Dead Revolver – Father of Red: If nothing else, the old man sure taught his son to shoot.

King of All Cosmos, Katamari Damacy – Father of The Prince: His binge drinking wiped out the world, and he sent his son to clean up the mess. What a role model.

The Mourning King, Prince of Persia – Father of Elika: He makes a deal with the dark god Ahriman to resurrect his daughter, sends his men to capture her and then unleashes pure evil by destroying the Tree of Life.

Best Dad… Harry Mason, because he could have adopted some other orphan, but no – he went through Silent Hill for his Cheryl. That's a dad who cares.

Worst Dad… Steve Burnside's dad, because, while Kratos might've killed his kid, too, at least his daughter went to heaven instead of a zombie-infested prison camp island.

Fathers in… Shooters
Dads are the stars of shooters. Even if they're not the main character, they very often drive the plot even from beyond the grave. This is probably because a lot of cultures have a manly mythos of the son surpassing the father and it's bled right into the manliest of video games. Even with all that testosterone, there's room for really great dads. And some really awful ones, too.

Eli Vance, Half-Life series – Father of Alyx: Eli lived the simple life of a scientist at Black Mesa Research Facility with his wife and young daughter. Then things explode as they often do in the profession and his wife dies. He eventually falls in love with another woman, but to his dying day, he never stops loving his daughter.

James McCloud, Star Fox series – Father of Fox: Clearly James did something right in parenting Fox; he inspired such filial piety that his son hallucinates him during boss fights.

Andrew Ryan, BioShock – Father of Jack: Andrew had Jack out of wedlock with stripper/dancer Jasmine Jolene and didn't get to spend any time parenting him. Mommy Dearest sold the embryo off to Andrew's enemy. Ryan Sr. might make a big fuss about a man choosing; but, the truth is, you can't choose your children.

Big Daddies, BioShock series – Father of Little Sisters: Big Daddies have no blood relation to Little Sisters and probably no soul, either. But they do what all good daddies do: protect the bejesus out of their babies with power tools.

Roy Campbell, Metal Gear Solid series – Father of Meryl: He lies to his daughter and says he's her uncle for most of her life, but then relents and calls her his "pride and joy" at the most inopportune moment. Later, he gives her away at her wedding.

Jack Raiden, Metal Gear Solid series – Father of Rose's son: To his credit, Raiden probably would have been a great dad if his wife had lied and said she miscarried the baby. But, since she did lie and tell him that, he let himself be turned into a high-tech version of a Ken doll and now his son is really going to have daddy issues despite his parents getting back together.

Big Boss, Metal Gear Solid series – Father of Liquid and Solid Snake: Daddy must be so proud of his clone sons. One of them is a chain smoker with a terminal illness and the other one keeps trying to bring about a nuclear holocaust. He probably should have spent more time raising them instead of trying to kill one or both of them.

Adam Fenix, Gears of War series – Father of Marcus: Supposedly he's some kind of genius and like James McCloud he must've done something awesome to inspire filial piety that borders on insanity. His son winds up in prison for abandoning his post to save Fenix Sr. during an alien invasion.

Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell series – Father of Sarah: Sam is so devastated by his daughter's death he spends an entire game avenging her. Drunk drivers and assassins beware a bereaved father, especially one who's a secret agent.

Best Dad… Eli Vance, because he loves his baby girl without smothering her independent spirit.

Worst Dad… Big Boss, because one lousy man-hug does not make up for the sheer number of times he tried to kill his son.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions
Shinnok, Mortal Kombat – He's only Raiden and Shao Kahn's dad in that awful movie, Annihilation, so he doesn't count as a video game dad.
Homer Simpson, Don Corleone, Darth Vader – They've all got a presence in video games, sure, but their status as good or bad fathers comes from the shows and films they're from, not from the games they appear in.
Dr. Tenma, Astro Boy – Father of Astro Boy and Tobio: Like a lot of Dads, Tenma was married to his work until the day his nine-year-old son Tobio died in a car accident. Then, he turned his work into his son, created Astro Boy as the son that would never die. Unfortunately, he wouldn't age, either – so Tenma sold him to a robot salesman.
You, Fable II, The Sims games and Harvest Moon games - Just as with moms, even if you play as an upstanding paragon of parental vigilance as a dad, you're going to be guilty of neglect at least half of the time.

That does it for dads this year. Think we missed somebody important? Drop a line in the comments. And don't forget to call your dad on Father's Day!

Boon has been dropping small tidbits about the bloody fighting game sequel via his Twitter account, writing "Motion capturing special moves & fatalities today....they are kind of sick!!" Boon also backs up what he told us last year during an interview at Comic-Con, that Mortal Kombat 9 will be a Mature rated game—and it "isn't going to have Superheroes in it"—unlike the T-rated, toned down Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

"People want an M-rated MK....dammit we will give them an M-rated MK," Boon writes. He previously ponders "I hope we aren't taking these too far."

We've talked to a couple MK team members over the past year who have told us similar things, that MK9 would be "disgusting" in its violence, a return to form that we expect will be cathartic to longtime Mortal Kombat fans turned off by the less gory MK vs. DC... and maybe even a few of the game's developers.

According to a report from MCV, Warner Bros. is "keen to acquire Midway's flagship Mortal Kombat and Stranglehold franchises" as well as casual fare like the Touchmaster series and legacy intellectual property that the company has squandered over the past decade. As WBIE co-published Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe with Midway, it could certainly make a sequel to that million-seller much easier to get out the door if the media conglomerate owns all properties involved.

We named Warner Bros. as one of three companies looking at a buyout of Midway earlier this month.

According to MCV's source, Midway is aiming to sell the company for the agreed upon $30 million price tag, which would presumably please creditors and the nearly-30 employees who would benefit under a "key employee incentive program."

MCV's take on the matter is that Warner Bros. may opt to sell off select franchises and studios. No word on whether the company is actively seeking to keep the Mortal Kombat team on board, a studio that may be looking for a new home on its own.

That same unnamed source cautions that "The deal isn't done yet. Midway is still open to offers from other potential buyers – but Warner looks to be favourite to wrap it up."

Whether Warner Bros. ultimately feels like being embroiled in the legal... unpleasantness the company is currently experiencing remains to be seen.

Warner Bros in for Midway? [MCV via Joystiq]

That grim revelation is contained in a statement issued to the courts by Midway owner Mark Thomas last week:

Moreover, the Debtors have conceded that if they continue consuming the cash at the current rate, the Debtors' cash will be depleted by late June 2009...Furthermore, the Debtors do not have any new, major video game releases which could have provided an influx in cash between now and June 2009.

Also contained in the document, despite the heavy use of REDACTIONS, is a suggestion Midway have "overstated the value of Mortal Kombat", and that Citigroup were hired last year to look for someone who could buy the troubled company. Their findings? "Citi failed to find interested investors."

On a "brighter" note, Midway themselves claim that those documents are based on previous projections of the company's cash reserves, and that as of today, they feel there's enough cash to last until August, not June as the court records claim.

Court Document: Midway Will Run Out of Cash in June [GamePolitics]

The MK team, which comprises about 50 developers, is said to be in discussions with a handful of unnamed publishers, with senior members of the group handling negotiations for a possible exodus from Midway. According to Midway sources who wished to remain anonymous, one of the catalysts for the move is a lack of payment in bonuses due to MK team members based on meeting Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe sales targets.

Sources said that the Mortal Kombat team has become increasingly "frustrated" with the handling of Midway's bankruptcy filing. MK staffers also expressed irritation from being in the position of delivering million unit-selling titles on time and on a bi-annual schedule while other projects at the company languish in development.

Midway representatives, when contacted for comment, opted not to discuss the Mortal Kombat team's plans, saying that the team was in "good shape." They did, however, want to stress that Midway itself is not withholding any owed payment to the Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe developers.

"Midway is not refusing to pay out those bonuses," PR reps told us. "It's the unsecured creditors committee that is refusing to allow us to pay them. They're the ones holding that up."

If the MK team—who are apparently not under contract at Midway—does find a new studio to call home at a publisher other than Midway, the fighting game franchise may not go with them. That, as well as having to abandon work on the follow-up to MK vs. DC, tentatively titled Mortal Kombat 9, was going to be "tough."

Should the key Mortal Kombat talent leave, it could be a substantial blow to the ailing Midway, which has already closed and consolidated many of its in-house development teams.

But Midway has since altered the deal, submitting a revised version to the courts to address concerns about the proposed $3.75 million in payouts going to 29 employees. One of the alterations to Midway's "Key Employee Incentive Program" was the exclusion of CEO Matt Booty from eligibility of those payouts, reducing the number of folks who could potentially benefit to 28.

According to Midway reps, this isn't just a windfall opportunity for the publisher's suits. "The majority of the people in here are the rank and file [product development] guys," the kind of people potential buyers or employers might want to keep.

Midway also removed the mention of Wheelman from the deal.

The Vin Diesel-starring game, which has been released as part of a deal between Ubisoft and Midway, was attached to a bonus incentive that creditors and the trusted found unsavory. That's because the deal had already happened quite some time ago, meaning folks would've have gotten paid under the arrangement for something that was a done deal.

Mention of Mortal Kombat has also been removed from the agreement, as it's logically the most attractive, possibly least tarnished of Midway's properties. The milestone previously attached to the sale of Mortal Kombat has been altered to include the company's assets—possibly all of them—to the tune of a committee approved "target cash amount."

That means someone may have to snap up rights to Narc, Smash TV and Area 51 for certain bonuses to be paid out. Not implying that Smash TV rights would be a bad thing, just likely unprofitable unless in the right hands.

Frost was one of the less interesting additions to the Mortal Kombat roster in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, but suddenly I get the overwhelming urge to give her another try. Marie-Claude Bourbonnais pulls off Frost just as well if not better than she did Caitlin Fairchild from the Image comic book Gen 13. I could have sworn that Frost had more clothing, but I'm not going to be the guy to ruin it for everyone else by pointing that out.

While Marie-Claude's body certainly fills out the costume, Gil Perron's amazing photography makes it sing. If you manage to make it past our gallery, hit the link to see his galleries, which include many more Frost shots and lots of painfully-strained latex.

Gil Perron's Galleries [pBase.com - Thanks Sergey]

Late last year, Sumner Redstone sold his controlling interest in the failing Midway Games to industry unknown Mark Thomas for the sum of $100,000 plus debt. The sale led to creditors being able to demand immediate repayment for the $150 million they were owed, which ultimately resulted in Midway filing for bankruptcy last month.

With us so far? Here's where things get fishy.

Part of Redstone's agreement with Mark Thomas granted him preferred debt - debt that takes precedence over any other. To Midway's slighted creditors, this means that any large amount on money brought in to the company, say from the sale of a major franchise like Mortal Kombat, could result in Thomas earning a $30 million paycheck on his initial $100,000 investment.

Now lawyers want to know more about what went on during the Redstone/Thomas deal, and have subpoenaed Sumner and his daughter in order to get to the bottom of what looks like a rather shady situation. Shari in particular has been ordered to turn over any and all communications between her part and Thomas', and all documentation passed between the two.

The father and daughter will be deposed at a private law firm in New York on March 19th.

Sumner Subpoenaed Over Midway Games Bankruptcy [The Business Insider - Thanks Ttocs!]