Jack Thompson Takes Aim At Mortal Kombat

Lawyer Jack Thompson failed to get Take-Two's Bully taken off shelves and is currently fighting off a request to be held in contempt of court for his comments against Miami Judge Ronald Friedman, but he has taken another sidequest to order publisher Midway to cease distribution of its recently-released Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. However Thompson's beef with Armageddon strangely does not lie with the fighting game's depictions of violence, but its "unauthorized commercial exploitation" of his image and likeness.

"It has today come to my attention that the newly recently [sic] Mortal Kombat: Armageddon contains an unauthorized commercial exploitation of my name, photograph, image, and likeness within the game," Thompson wrote in an e-mail addressed to Midway president and CEO David Zucker and carbon-copied to several news outlets. "You are commanded to cease and desist immediately from the distribution of this game because of this unauthorized, illegal content."

Thompson himself is obviously not a character in the game's official roster of fighters, but fans have been able to create their own representations of the lawyer (as well as other personalities) using the game's "kreate-a-fighter" mode. Gameplay screens depicting these likenesses have already been circulating over the net, and one featuring a likeness of Thompson himself has attracted the lawyer's attention. Midway has not yet responded to Thompson's cease and desist order.