DC vs Marvel

Hello everyone…..

Now this article might be a little esoteric for people who aren’t either; in my generation of youths or below, or interested in comics/superheroes. As you know – My blog tries to focus on a world view, which is why I have many diverse articles ranging from Chatting and Beauty to Politics.

So…..let us begin :D

Now a lot of people might know that before the big time movies that popularized the superhero franchise such as the recent Dark Knight Trilogy and Avengers, or the older Batman and Superman movies of the 20^th century – the origin of these popular stories was the comic companies. There are several brand names, but the two biggest which have had the most impact, not just on the entertainment world, but even society – are DC and Marvel.

Two companies which have brought out great characters, storylines and concepts over the numerous years of their existence. A common belief amongst many of these companies fans is that there is a sort of long-standing competition among them, which although it may be true or not – isn’t actually their primary concern. Their primary concern is money. They ARE a company after all.

Quite not too long ago, DC and Marvel were acquired by entertainment monguls Warner Bros. and Disney respectively. Both companies have of course done their best to squeeze money of the pockets of the fans who have long sought to see their favourite heroes portrayed  – in the flesh – on TV and in movies. These two companies have also used very different methods in bringing their characters to the screens, and as usual, just like for everything else these two companies do, the “fanwars” began for the comparison.

I was talking the other day with a friend - who just happens to absolutely LOVE Marvel because his favourite superhero character is Spiderman. My favourite just happens to be Batman btw – and we started talking about the recent line of movies planned to be released around the comic characters by these two companies before he began claiming that Marvel was better because Dc movies were apparently “inconsistent”. Of course, it wouldn’t have really struck a nerve if he had pointed out some major flaws like the two different universes shared by the DC TV and Movie subdivisions (Arrow and Flash, for example). Instead he mentioned the most IMO, ridiculous “inconsistency” I’ve ever heard - That Superman not having the signature S-curl as seen in his hairstyle in the comics apparently took away from the character.

Seriously. An “s-curl”. Marvel has;

• The Amazing Spiderman lacking a green goblin
• Ultron being created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner instead of Hank Pym
• Thor lacking his signature warrior helmet with wings
• Pietro and Wanda Maximoff not being mutants or having Magneto as their father
• Two different pietro maximoffs (Quicksilver) being shown in the Avengers and X-men movies
• Pietro dying. Seriously.

Now I’m not here to hate on Marvel, I like a few Marvel Characters myself, Spiderman included even. I'm just against unfair comparison. If you noticed, the title of this article is DC vs Marvel, and not Marvel vs DC. Is it because DC is better and cooler or my more preferred choice or is it simply obvious that the title is simply arranged in alphabetical order. Only time will tell, but your first thought should reveal to you whether you are biased or not. (eg as in Batman v Superman)

The basic thing to understand is that originality is actually pretty hard to come by, and when you have originality, making it interesting and acceptable is another uphill task to engage in. Then again, one could just go copy something popular that another company has made. Looking at the history of the two comic giants, it’s pretty easy to see that Marvel more or less just blatantly copied DC. Let me use just a few examples….

DC                                                                      MARVEL

Justice League ---> 1960                               The Avengers ---> 1963

Robin (-Batman) /Nightwing                         Bucky Barnes (-Captain America) /The Winter Soldier

The Flash --->  1940                                      Quicksilver --->1964

Braniac ---> 1968                                           Ultron ---> 1978

Darkseid ---> 1970                                         Thanos ---> 1973

Deathstroke (Slade Wilson) ---> 1980           Deadpool (Wade Wilson) 

Clayface ---> 1940                                         The Sandman ---> 1943

Green Arrow ---> 1941                                  Hawkeye ---> 1964

Now, I’m not exactly aiming to attack Marvel here; I’m really just pointing out the facts. DC is far from perfect as well, especially as regards to the latest take on their superhero live action movie franchises; Man of Steel specifically. I mean seriously….. Superman is now killer. A hero who was meant to stand for light, hope and positivity is now being dark, brooding and takes choices to kill. Only heaven knows what they’ll do to Batman. Smh.

Unlike most of my other articles, I don’t really have an inspirational conclusion to help try change the world, but I do want to emphasize that all preferences are rather subjective in bias. It’s all a choice. Choose what you like and live with it. Do not be afraid to recognize it’s flaws and imperfections. They say that the first step to fixing a problem is recognizing that there IS one.

Thanks for coming here :)

Love, Stars and Jam