When Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon takes the stage to introduce his new fighting game, we assume he's about to reveal the next gore-soaked entry in his signature series. Prepared for a spine-ripping good time, we settle into our seats...and then Boon pulls the rug out from under us. Though it recalls 2008's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Injustice: Gods Among Us isn't an MK spin-off or sequel — it’s a totally original brawler starring an iconic cast of DC Comics superheroes and villains.

Our demo opens with the Man of Steel himself and undead super-baddie Solomon Grundy going toe-to-toe. While their detail-drenched character models and defining powers get our attention, it's the backdrop that revs up our fanboy excitement. Rather than tearing up a generic warehouse or parking lot, the pair's unleashing their fists and feet in the friggin' Batcave! While we begin wondering just how pissed Bruce Wayne's going to be when he gets home, Boon takes the opportunity to showcase one of Injustice's major features: interactive environments.

More than a static skin of Batman’s storage area for his wonderful toys, the environment is as alive as the two dudes beating the stuffing out of each other. We get our first taste of this when Superman's tossed into a pile of Bat-gadgets and a bunch of grenades spill onto the floor; Supes swiftly scoops up the explosives and feeds them into Grundy's ugly mug. Solomon soon retaliates, though, by taking to a control panel and firing rockets from the Batmobile.

Moving on to the next bout, where Batman and Wonder Woman are duking it out in a futuristic metropolis, Boon displays how environmental interactions differ depending on which character's triggering them. When their fight takes the pair near an abandoned car, the Caped Crusader can smash Wonder Woman's head into the vehicle's hood, whereas the super-strong Amazonian can actually pick up the car and slam it into her dark-suited foe.

On top of finding weapons within the world, players can turn their surroundings to rubble. To reference our favorite line from Die Hard, the highly destructible arenas will need paint jobs and a s***load of screen doors following especially brutal bouts. One of the more interesting ways to erode the environments is by tossing opponents through concrete walls, plate-glass windows, and other surfaces that would break a normal person. A nice by-product of using an adversary as a battering ram is that it can open other sections of the playing field; arenas feature multiple areas, often discovered by hurling opponents into them. In true over-the-top comic book fashion, we witness Batman launch his lady opponent through various bone-obliterating structures before she lands two blocks away atop a skyscraper. Shortly after that, the two finish the fight...30 stories below.

While Boon's anxious to show off Injustice's more ambitious features, he also shares glimpses of some good old-fashioned fist-to-face action. Still, it’s complemented by animations specific to their signature traits and personalities; Superman's fight style, for example, is all about grace and finesse, while Solomon Grundy adopts a more brute force approach. Characters can make quite a dent with their bare hands, but it's their signature powers, weapons, and gear that will often determine a match's outcome. Players can count on hurling Batman's Batarangs, barbequing baddies with Superman's heat vision, and wielding Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth.

Rounding out the spandex-clad cast's arsenals are super-moves, enhanced versions of their regular powers. NetherRealm's keeping most of these über abilities under wraps, but we did see Superman execute an uppercut that sent Grundy soaring up, up, and away...right into space!

While our hands-off preview got our thumbs instinctively twitching in anticipation of the superhero smackdowns to come, Injustice still has much to reveal about its story, modes, mechanics, and roster. Still, based on our brief look, this brawler already has us grinning beneath our cowls.

PUBLISHER: Warner Brothers  •  DEVELOPER: NetherRealm Studios  •  MULTIPLAYER: Yes  •  RELEASE DATE: TBA 2013  •  FOR FANS OF: DC Comics, Mortal Kombat, superhero smackdowns