Which is Better: Marvel or DC Movies?

by Chris Vegvary

When you ask this question, you better be prepared for a lot of debate and fanboy arguments. With the success of Marvel’s “Phase 1” films that ended with the 2012 smash success The Avengers, some would say that Marvel is definitely the frontrunner in regards to big film blockbusters based on their characters. Their line of solo films for each of the (main) characters and subsequent massive crossover featuring even more characters from the comics definitely took a step in the direction of uncharted territory. Some would say it’s been done before, but I put it to you that it has never been done in such a way, and has never been as huge a success.

...is what FOX said to Marvel Studios regarding the use of the term in their films.

Unfortunately for Marvel Studios, they don’t own the film rights to all their characters, which makes certain story arcs unavailable to them, unless they drastically change the roster, and at that point, why bother following a particular story arc instead of just making it your own thing? Fox owns the rights to Marvel film properties such as X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man, so we shouldn’t expect to see key characters from those movies appear in any Marvel Studios films (however awesome that would be). This makes things difficult for Marvel, being that they can’t refer to mutants in any of their films or TV shows, like Agents of Shield, because Fox holds the rights to that term when it comes to the Marvel universe.

And what of DC? It’s obvious that their track record of films hasn’t been too great, and only now are they finally doing it right. Everyone remembers the 2011 film Green Lantern, which starred Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Yes, it was somewhat of a disaster, and any plans for sequels or any movies related to it fell through after people saw it. Personally, I didn’t have a huge problem with it, but I have barely read a Green Lantern comic. But in 2012, DC seemed to take a step in the right direction with the movie Man of Steel, which is following Marvel’s idea of a shared cinematic universe. Does that mean they’re copying Marvel? I say no, it just means that they’re catching on. It’s a good idea, and I’m excited to see them implement it. Even if they’re not going to have as many solo films for their characters as Marvel Studios did, at least DC owns the film rights to their most widely-recognized and popular characters.

So who’s better, you may wonder? While at one point I would have been inclined to say that Marvel is way better than DC, I’ve changed my mind on that. To me, they’re much closer to equals now, at least in terms of the comics, and I’m genuinely excited to see Ben Affleck (yeah, I said it…do with me what you will) as Batman in the sequel to Man of Steel, and I’m very excited to see how Ultron comes to be in Avengers: Age of Ultron. I’m both Marvel and DC now, and it feels good. Can we not all just accept that both have their advantage? I did.