Marvel vs. DC

I love all things super. I remember watching Black Panther when it first came out, excited to see an African superhero. I also remember watching the series Young Justice and falling in love with the Teen Titans. Of course, outside of the big Marvel and DC franchises, there are other superhero franchises such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Umbrella Academy, though they don’t receive even a smidge of the same attention as The Avengers or The Justice League. People love to bicker about what makes DC better than Marvel or what makes Marvel superior to DC. What DC and Marvel have in common is that they both tell the stories of superheroes. Most of Marvel’s popularity is in their cinematic universe and long storylines, while fans of DC focus on the comics and individual characters. You may see people line up for the next Marvel movie release, but the DC cinematic universe may not be given the same hype. DC and Marvel are such big franchises, but they remain at the top of the superhero business for different reasons.

Marvel: The Rise and the Fall

Marvel Comics (under the parent company Marvel Entertainment) was established in 1939 by Martin Goodman. It was originally named Timely Comics; it became Atlas Magazines in the 1950s, and it would officially become Marvel Comics in the 1960s. Marvel is most well-known for its cinematic universe, titled the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). The MCU has featured a wide range of movies and shows, all emerging from the same universe. This means that one can see their favorite characters from different stories eventually appear in one movie. The MCU has its own storyline that began with the first Iron Man movie, which was released in 2008. The MCU had a big climax with Avengers: Endgame, where (almost) every MCU hero came together to defeat a villain in an epic battle. The release of Marvel movies has always been a huge deal. Recently, people have been gearing up for the release of Avengers: Doomsday. With a consistent canon (canon being what is true in a fictional universe) and storyline, Marvel has been able to draw in fans across the world. Marvel’s animated projects have pretty large followings as well, especially for the recent Spider-Verse movies (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, with a third movie to arrive in 2027) featuring Miles Morales and a multitude of other Spider-Man variants. Marvel comics have not gone down in popularity as Marvel is still one of the top comic-producing companies in the world, alongside DC.

Unfortunately, the MCU seems to have hit a roadblock. After the release of Avengers: Endgame, it seemed like the story had nowhere to go. Many fans (including myself) complain about there being too many characters, too many stories, and too much CGI. Some people do not feel as excited for the next Marvel movies as they did for previous ones. Marvel seems to be overloading fans with content, causing them to feel less excited to be fans, as keeping up with stories has become a chore. It feels as though Marvel’s popularity (in cinema) may be on the decline. Could that mean that other superhero franchises have a chance at making it big the way Marvel did? I doubt Marvel will completely fade into obscurity, but one cannot deny that the influx of content has made Marvel movies lose their shine. Marvel movies were once special moments, but now they feel like everyday experiences.

DC

DC (Detective Comics) was founded in 1934 as National Allied Publications. DC published the first comic book that only featured new content. DC is credited with leading the golden age of comics with superheroes such as Superman (1938), Batman (1939), and Wonder Woman (1941). Compared to Marvel, DC has more “unearthly” superheroes. Marvel superheroes are more relatable, more human, while DC heroes are larger-than-life beings (though most of them are still humanoid). DC, like Marvel, has many shows and movies. My personal favorite pieces of DC media are the show Young Justice and the Webtoon series Batman: Wayne Family Adventures. Most people prefer DC’s comics and animated media over their live-action content because their live-action films and series have lower quality and a lack of consistency compared to their other releases. DC, however, is still coming out with new live-action movies such as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and The Batman Part II.

DC’s biggest fault is its lack of continuity. DC has multiple storylines and multiple universes in live-action media, animated media, and comics. Though Marvel is similar, they have managed to create a consistent timeline in their live-action universe. DC, on the otherhand, has not. Take Batman, for example. Batman “canonically” is a dark and gritty hero who fights for justice in the city of Gotham. In one universe, he also has a kid named “Jarro” who is an alien starfish. In another universe, Batman is a Russian freedom fighter. DC is even coming out with a new comic series titled Absolute Batman, which reimagines Batman’s backstory and villains. Yes, it is nice that there are different universes to choose from with cool stories and new characters to love. Nonetheless, not being able to tell what is true about a character can be a bit off-putting and cause more fan wars.

Conclusion

In the end, DC and Marvel are still the producers of some of the biggest superhero franchises in the world. Even with their current issues, DC and Marvel still have a special superhero magic that can’t be replicated easily, especially for those who grew up with their superheroes.

Bibliography

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